FREE Cloth Diapers

Want a way to add variety to your cloth diaper stash?  Would it be even better if I told you it was free??

It is well known I am a cloth diaper addict.  Throughout my time using cloth diapers Kelly's Closet has been my number one go to site.  They offer free shipping over a certain amount, and even better, they offer free diapers for spending over a certain amount.  That's right, FREE!  In addition to the free diaper you get for spending over the given amount, you also earn diaper dollar rewards which you can trade in for a Kelly's Closet gift certificate.  With this you can get more FREE diapers!

So far I have received 11 free diapers!  These included fuzzibunz one size elite, GroVia AIO One size diapers, Bum Genius 4.0 Pocket, Kawaii GHW pocket, and Kawaii One-size. Plus I have bought 2 newborn diapers when I earned a gift certificate.

The diapers that are free with the coupon code are a complete surprise.  Although they sometimes give hints like if it is pocket or AIO, if the value of the diaper is over a certain dollar amount.

To take advantage of earning free diapers, shop at Kelly's Closet.




*Note, I really do just love Kelly's Closet and they in no way influenced me to write this post.* 

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

This recipe was given to me by a friend and it is quickly becoming a favorite in our house, as we love spicy foods.  (I hope Charlotte learns to like spicy foods too.)

Buffalo Chicken Meatloaf

Ingredients:

2/3 cup old fashioned oats (not instant)
1/3 cup milk
1/3 cup hot sauce/buffalo sauce (I use 1/2 cup because I like the extra zing)
1 lb ground chicken
1 egg
1/2 cup blue cheese




Combine oats, milk, and sauce in bowl and let sit for a few minutes until oats are softened.
Add egg and mix in chicken.
Pour into a loaf pan and bake at 350 for 45 minutes.  Top with additional hot sauce (if desired) and let sit for 10 minutes (to avoid crumbling).

I don't care for blue cheese so I put half the mix into the pan then add blue cheese to the remainder and add it to the pan.  I also do not own a loaf pan so I use the smallest "brownie pan" that I own.  I like it better this way because it cooks faster.

Menu 10/13-10-19

Sunday-We drove home from the beach and ended up grabbing taco bell
Monday- Store bought rotisserie chicken and rosemary potatoes
Tuesday- Buffalo chicken meatloaf and corn (corn was Owen's request)
Wednesday- Chicken pot pie casserole
Thursday- Bourbon spiced Pork chops and brussel sprouts
Friday- Un-stuffed peppers (told you this is a favorite) and rice
Saturday- Sloppy joes and rice

Family vacation

Sorry for my absence, I have not abandoned the blog just yet.  Last week the family and my friend's family went to the beach.  It was a wonderful trip minus the rain.  My favorite part was kayaking!  It was nice to get away from the house.  My husband had a fishing tournament last weekend which is why we went.

Monday we arrived at the beach house in time for dinner.  We spent the rest of the day getting settled in and let the kids play.

Tuesday was really windy so we decided we would head to the aquarium and get out of the house.  Owen had such a blast.  He loved looking at all of the fish.  This was the second time he has gone to this aquarium and the fourth aquarium he has been to.  It took a little convincing to get Owen to leave the aquarium.  Thankfully though he was hungry so when I told him we were headed for lunch he didn't put up a fight.

Friday the rain finally stopped and the temperature was warm enough to hang out outside.  We went to the park in the morning and then grabbed some really tasty barbecue for lunch.  On our walk back to the beach house we decided the weather was nice enough to go kayaking.  We only had one vehicle and 3 adults and 4 children, so we made a couple trips.  Once the boats were in the water we were good to go.  At first the youngest two were not so happy and we spent time just floating around.  After Charlotte fell asleep I was off.  This was the first real kayak experience for me on this kayak.  I love this kayak!  It is a Hobie Revolution.  It has foot peddles so it can be peddled or paddled.  While holding a newborn, peddling is so much easier.  It was such a nice trip.  By far the thing I enjoyed most last week.  

Saturday was the final day of Martin's fishing tournament.  I dropped him off early in the morning and a few hours later we headed to Wilmington to check out the USS North Carolina Battleship.  It was commissioned during World War II. Her wartime compliment consisted of 144 commissioned officers, and 2,195 enlisted men, including about 100 Marines. It was pretty interesting to see everything on the ship and to learn a little more about what live may have been like on board the ship.  This ship is basically a city on water.  The ship has a post office, barber shop, wash room, "hospital," store, prison, and so on.  Owen was pretty excited about it and liked checking everything out.  He did really awesome despite being a little young for it.  He also did really awesome on all of the stairs.  If you have ever been on a Navy ship you know what I mean.

Wool Dryer Balls

These things, wool dryer balls, are amazing. 

So what are wool dryer balls?   

Wool dryer balls are wool spun into the shape of balls.  The ones pictured here are dyed, however there are some that are not colored.   The point of  the dryer balls is to replace dryer sheets.  Many of the brands of dryer balls that I have come across state they reduce static, reduce wrinkles, and most important to me, they reduce drying time.   Four balls are recommended for a small load of laundry and eight balls are recommended for a large loads.  

I got these last week and so far I definitely see a reduction in drying time.  The all-in-one newborn diapers I use typically take 80-90 minutes to dry, especially the lil joeys.  Using all 8 of the dryer balls the diapers are dry in 40-45 minutes.  That is HALF the amount of time.  I do diaper laundry 3 days a week.  In addition I do regular laundry about 3 -4 loads a week.  All that time saving equals up to a bunch of energy savings.  

As far as the reduction of static and wrinkles I am not 100% sure how effective it is.  (although hard to tell if it reduces wrinkles when sometimes the clothes sit in the dryer until I have to throw diapers into  it)  There is a little reduction in static, but there still is some, especially with sheets.  I do notice though that the clothes and diapers feel softer.  The same as if I were using drying sheets.  

One thing about these though, you have to dig them out of your laundry.  I have found a couple stuck in pant legs when I fold the laundry.  All of the savings though, totally make up for it. 

Mushroom pork chops

Mushroom Pork Chops

Ingredients

1 small onion

4 pork chops

1 apple, peeled, sliced, and cored

1 can cream of mushroom soup

1/2 cup brown sugar

1 tbsp steak sauce

2 cloves of garlic, sliced

4 oz button mushrooms, sliced

Slice onions and add to crock pot. Add pork chops and apples.  In a bowl mix cream of mushroom soup, brown sugar, steak sauce, garlic, mushrooms. Add to crock pot.  Cook on low for 8 hours.  

Chicken Ranch Casserole

One of my all-time favorite casseroles is Chicken Ranch Casserole.  I started making this several years ago and everyone that tries it loves it!  There are two different ways to make it, stove top or in the oven.  I typically cook it on the stove top because it dirties fewer dishes, it is faster, and I think it is easier.  However, cooking it in the oven is great if you want to prepare it ahead of time and then just pop it into the oven later. 

Chicken Ranch Casserole

Ingredients:

2 cups milk

1 8oz block of cream cheese

8oz of noodles (I use either rotini or shells, but any will work.)

1 packet of Ranch mix

1 10 oz can of diced tomatoes (do not drain) (I like to use the diced tomatoes with peppers for a little spice)

1 13oz can of chicken (can be substituted for cooked shredded chicken)

½ cup of shredded cheddar cheese

Stove top instructions:

            Mix milk, cream cheese, noodles, and ranch mix in a pan.  Bring to a boil reduce heat to medium until noodles are tender.  Add can of diced tomatoes (do not drain juice), add chicken.  Mix well.  Top with shredded cheese, let sit for 5 minutes.  Sauce will thicken as it stands. 

Oven Directions:

            Boil noodles until el dente.   In a casserole dish mix milk, cream cheese, ranch mix, diced tomatoes, chicken.  Add noodles.  Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 20 minutes.  Add cheese and bake uncovered for 5-10 minutes or until cheese bubbles. 

**Note:  You do not have to boil the noodles first; you can simply just mix everything into the casserole dish and bake for 50-60 minutes.