the ups and the downs

Well it seems that Life has pulled me away from all my writing lately....I'd love to say its a good thing, that life was going GRAND and I had nothing to share or vent on here....but as seems to be the case in my life that is far from the truth.

We have been so crazy lately again! Rob had to take extra classes this summer because he failed his second class at the university, causing him to loose his financial aid and get academically disqualified. Although I think the 10 week break ended up being a positive thing for him, he needed some time to breathe after 4 years of full time college!

Of course the down side there was that the financial aid was also cancelled, and we live off of that money. Again I was blessed with friends that helped pick up slack and loaned us cash, as well as a babysitting job. We have continued to pull through.
It seems when a door is closed a window is opened in our lives, I do wish that they would open just a bit more, but at least there is a trickle to keep us going.

We also started the process of getting legal custody of Robert this month. there again I thought that all was lost, two lawyers both wanted $4,000- half being a retainer to help us, and again, a good friend referred us to a family lawyer who is an amazing person, and who is doing everything for us for $1300!!!! so now the job really starts, paying him! again I feel blessed, not only is he giving us this HUGE discount, he is taking payments.....they are payments we really can't afford still, but they are payments we will make!

I have gotten even more creative in my cooking in the last 3 weeks or so....the other night I created a meal that everyone LOVED completely out of thin air, if you want to cook on a half a penny, try some of these recipes: I feed 3 adults, a 17 year old and 2 children who often eat more than the adults, and SOMETIMES we even have left overs!

potato casserole:
6 thinly sliced potatoes
1 can of kidney beans (drained)
6 cooked and shredded chicken legs (previously seasoned with a curry sauce from last nights dinner, but you can add whatever seasoning you want!)
1 Can of diced tomatoes
1 can of chicken broth
1 cup of milk

Layer a pan with your potatoes (I layered them two deep)
put beans, meat, tomatoes and seasons on top of potatoes
pour milk and chicken broth over everything
cook on 375 degrees for an hour or until tomatoes are tender and serve!
total cost for tonight's dinner: $7.62 or $1.27 per person!! :)

the kids said they would have liked olives, and cheese in this one, and maybe even a dollop of sour cream after its served, but everyone ate this just the way it was :)

Thai Peanut chicken:
3 chicken leg quarters cook and shredded
1 jar of San J Gluten free Thai peanut sauce (this is HALF the cost of the meal, but its OH SO GOOD!)
half of a white onion
one green bell pepper
3 cups of white rice

cook rice
dice bell peppers and onion and cook until tender in a pan with 2 tbs. of oil
add veggies and chicken in half a jar of sauce and simmer until it becomes thick
serve chicken and veggies over rice with additional half jar of sauce for everyone to add to taste individually :)
Cost: $10.41 or $1.74 per person!!

Tacolada casserole
12 pack corn tortillas
1 lb ground turkey (beef is cheaper if you can use it!)
1/4 cup of milk
8 0z of a chevre cheese of your choice (we use goat running $4.99 for 8 0z)
1/2 a jar a green salsa
fresh cilantro
fresh onion
1 can of black olives
1 can of tomatoes (drained)
1 can re-fried beans

cook meat
layer bottom of sprayed pan with 6 of your corn tortillas
add meat, salsa, olives, and tomatoes and beans
layer 6 more tortillas on the top
melt cheese in 1/4 cup of milk and pour melted cheese and milk over top layer of tortillas.
cook uncovered at 350-375 degrees until dish is warm and cheese sauce has firmed on top of crisp tortillas (about 20-30 min)
Cost: $ 11.96 or $1.99 per person!!

I try to stay under $2 per person per meal and as close to $1.50 as I can for dinners
I will post more of my concoctions as I come up with them!
until next time friends!