Zesty Slow Cooker Barbeque Chicken

This is one of my go to's when we have company. I love it! I always have the ingredients and it is always a hit. I made it for everyone after Connor's Blessing.

Zesty Slow Cooker Barbeque Chicken

Adapted from allrecipes.com

6 frozen chicken breasts

1 (12 oz.) bottle bbq sauce

1/2 c. Italian salad dressing

1/4 c. brown sugar

2 TBS Worcestershire sauce

1 tsp. liquid smoke

Place chicken in a slow cooker. In a bowl, mix the barbeque sauce, Italian salad dressing, brown sugar, and Worcestershire sauce. Pour over the chicken. Cover and cook 3 to 4 hours on High or 6 to 8 hours on Low.

Happy Halloween!!

Yeah, I know...a little late in posting Halloween. Oh well! We went over to our friends, the Wildes for a fun little Halloween party and then after we went trick-or-treating. It was a fun night with friends!

Here are all the kiddos: top: Noah, Annalee, Aliza. Bottom: Lilly, Addalynn, Mavery, Caden, Connor, Grace, Evan, Jake
We thought it best to just let them act goofy since that was all we were gonna get.

This little guy just loves his thumb...At first he couldn't find his thumb because his costume got in the way...we figured it out eventually:)

Evan, Cden and Ben goofing around.
They attached a wagon to the Lawn mower and had a hay ride. The kids LOVED it!
Doughnuts on a string...have to eat it with your hands behind your back.

I just have to laugh at this picture! Look at that look on Connors face! too funny!
The spread...you know parties are all about the food!!

Oreo Truffles

I love, LOVE making these things. They are so easy and taste amazing. You can make them for any occasion and do whatever...just look at Bakerella:)
Oreo Truffles

1 pkg Oreo cookies

1 (8 oz.) pkg. cream cheese

Chocolate (milk, white, vanilla, dark, Andes mints (which happen to by my favorite)...whatever works)

Mix Oreos and cream cheese in a mixer until well combined. Roll into a ball...I use my baller, so I'm not messy, put on a cookie sheet lined with Parchment paper. Add a sucker stick if you want. Put in freezer until set.

Melt chocolate according to directions and dip the truffle in, let it drip a bit, and put back on the parchment paper. Put back in the freezer until set up. Put in bags and tie a ribbon around them and pass them out and let people think you spent all day in the kitchen:)

Trunk-or-Treat

We went with our friends, the Lancasters, to their trunk-or-treat in Lewisville last Friday night. The kids had a blast and got a load of candy! I do have to wonder about the people who go to trunk-or-treats who tell your kids..."you have already been around once, you only get one candy"...but then their kid has gone around like 10 times AND they give you one jawbreaker. Whats up with that??? My kids caught on real fast and just skipped her. So...here are my cuties: Noah is a Ninja, Caden is Anikan Skywalker and Connor was a frog.
Hannah and Caden
More treats please!!
This is what my sweet little Connor did...slept. How cute is he!
My boys on Halloween day. So what is up with Hobby Lobby shirts. I pre-washed the t-shirts that the boys are wearing and it shrunk all right...at the sleeves! Look how short Noah's shirt is! I guess I will never buy a shirt there again! They are $2 for a reason!

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

This stuff is Crazy Good. It is such a yummy concoction that you just have to eat more to figure out what it reminds you of. Ben thinks it is Frosted Animal Cookies. I just like the sweet and salty mixture. Either way...it is good. I have already made it several times this Halloween and I plan on making more for all the holidays coming up. You could easily substitute M&M's for candy corn or whatever...be creative;)

Candy Corn Cookie Bark

from: RecipeGirl.com

14-16 whole Oreos, broken up

1 1/2 c. mini pretzels, broken into pieces

1 lb. white chocolate (chocolate wafers or almond bark)

1 c. candy corn

brown and orange colored sprinkles

Place waxed paper on large cookie sheet.Spread cookies, pretzels and about 3/4 cup of the candy corn into a 9x13 inch rectangle on the waxed paper.

Place chocolate in glass measuring cup and heat in microwave for about 1 1/2 minutes. Stir and then microwave for another 30 seconds until melted and smooth.

Drizzle melted chocolate immediately over cookie mixture, spreading with spatula (if needed) to coat evenly. Top with reserved candy corn and colored sprinkles. Work quickly before chocolate hardens.

Place into refrigerator until firm. Remove and gently break apart into small pieces for serving. Store in airtight container.

Yield: about 2 dozen pieces.

Character Parade

On Oct. 30 Caden got to dress up like a favorite character from a book. We happened to have an Anakin Skywalker book and costume...so BAM! instant costume. However Caden kept saying he can't dress up as a Star Wars character. What?? Anyway, we had a breast plate, whipped that over the Anikan costume and BAM! Prince Caspian from Narnia. Pretty good for the night before and being so last minute. Oh well. It worked:) All the kids got to go through the halls and have a little parade. Here are some of the pics:)

Caden and his best friend, Christian.

Noah and Maddie (Christian's little sister)...how cute are they?
Check out the cute shirts I made the boys...literally minutes before I had to be up at the school...

Ok, this was so funny. Maddie had this little doll and they were showing it to Connor and he just freaked out! He was just smiling, loving and kissing and talking up a storm to this little doll...he was so mad when we took it away! There were people stopping and watching him as he was doing this...so cute.

Me and my boys. When I look at them...I can't help but notice how different they are! In every way! Love you boys:)

Ham and Potato Soup

This is such a yummy potato soup! I love it! My kids devoured it...so it has to be good...right? It is great with some cheese sprinkled on top. This came from Allrecipes.com

Ham and Potato Soup

3 1/2 c. peeled and diced potatoes

1/3 c. diced celery or carrots

1/3 c. finely chopped onion

3/4 c. diced cooked ham

3 1/4 c. water

2 TBS chicken bouillon granules or 3 cubes

1/2 tsp. salt, or to taste

1/2 - 1 tsp. pepper, or to taste

5 TBS butter

5 TBS flour

2 c. milk

Combine the potatoes, celery or carrots, onion, ham and water in a stockpot. Bring to a boil, then cook over medium heat until potatoes are tender, about 10 to 15 minutes. Stir in the chicken bouillon, salt and pepper.

In a separate saucepan, melt butter over medium-low heat. Whisk in flour with a fork, and cook, stirring constantly until thick, about 1 minute. Slowly stir in milk as not to allow lumps to form until all of the milk has been added. Continue stirring over medium-low heat until thick, 4 to 5 minutes.

Stir the milk mixture into the stockpot, and cook soup until heated through. Top with cheese and serve immediately.

Let the Messies Begin!

Connor is now 4 months old!! We just had his 4 month check up and she gave the okay to start him on solids! So, we thought we would test him out on rice cereal.

Getting a little excited for whats coming...
Testing it out...a little funny texture...not quite sure...

Happy face...I think we might have some success:) Yeah for us!!

Here are his stats for 4 months:

Weight: 13.8 lbs. (25%)

Height: 25" (50%)

Head: 16" (15%)

He's just a little one still. He is the best baby I have had yet! He only cries when he is hungry or needs a diaper change. He is still a thumb sucker, he is getting close to rolling over...he gets to his side and his arm gets in the way. He is TOTALLY sleeping through the night...I put him down at 9pm and he wakes up anywhere between 6-9am. Then he eats and takes his morning nap. I have no complaints:) He is at the point now where he is bored with his bouncy chair and the swing...we had to whip out the next set of toys.

It is crazy how much you have to rotate toys and clothes around with babies!!!

Pumpkin Patch!

Halloween just wouldn't be the same if we didn't go to the Flower Mound Pumpkin Patch. We have gone every year since Caden was a baby. Love the tradition!! So this year we went with my ward. We had a blast! Couldn't ask for more perfect weather! There's tons of pics, so sit back and enjoy my cutie pies! All I have to say is it is IMPOSSIBLE to get 3 boys to smile and look at the camera at the same time. I pretty much gave up on Connor:)

I love this picture!


Check out this tree! It is all engraved!
As we were driving home from the Pumpkin Patch we pulled over and got to see the practice for the air show that was going to happen the next day. The boys were totally glued to the sky...I was also, which is why I pulled over;)

This show was very cool...besides, I didn't have to pay the $20 bucks for parking! I got a free show!

Come on Barbie, Let's Go Party...Take 2

The day after the Chuck E. Cheese Birthday was the Family birthday. This party had much more work involved and I had so much fun putting it together!

Here is the banner I made...got the idea off of Polkadots & Pirates.
The cake. I loved making this! Fondant isn't something I have really ever played with. I have made one cake with it, so I was a bit nervous. I think I will forever make cakes with fondant. Loved it! You can hide your mistakes so easily!
A close up of the top...yes, I used feathers and some pink glitter balls and the Barbie head was off of the invites that Whitney made.

The treat table was outside...I couldn't put the banner outside because it was so windy and the cake had to stay inside or else it would be destroyed. On the right I put cute little votive candle holders on there filled with milk and then a cookie on top...I didn't put those out till right before. For those of you who want to know what is on the table:

I made paper cones and filled them with Crunch 'n Munch,

Chocolate covered Pretzels

Pink and White Marshmallows

Circus Cookies

Strawberry Whoppers

cookies and milk

strawberry gummies

Oreo truffles (one bag of oreos and one 8oz. pkg. of cream cheese...mix together, freeze, dip in milk chocolate, freeze and then you can drizzle pink chocolate on them)

good and plenty
This is just a funny that Dr. Brown wanted me to post on my blog...we love the fake flowers in her planters;)

Thanks for letting me help with the party Dr. Brown...I hope you liked everything!

Come on Barbie, Let's Go Party!

This is the first birthday party for Samantha, this one was at Chuck E. Cheese:

These are the cupcake toppers I made...and Whitney designed the cute logos...check her out if you need some, I'm sure she would gladly do them for you:)
These are the cute shirts and leggings Samantha wore for her big day...she looked darling!
Of course every girl needs to wear a tutu...
The goody bags...I needed something fun to put them in so I grabbed a bucket out of my pantry and spray painted it with chalk board paint and voila...
The cute tags Whitney designed for me...
The cupcakes: White cake with Strawberry Goodness injected in each of them with some amazing Buttercream Frosting and sparkly sprinkles on top.

Happy Birthday Samantha! Hope you had a fabulous day!

Where Did You Go Now???

So this month has been a complete BLUR. Since my last post it has been incredibly crazy busy here. The second week of October I got the nasty flu, then Ben got it the next day...we were both sick for about a week. Nasty stuff. Glad that's over! The worst part was having to wear a mask so my sweet baby wouldn't get sick! So glad he didn't!

Then I got a client, my Dentist...Dr. Misty Brown...to do her darling daughter, Samantha, birthday party! So much fun. The theme was Barbie. It was nice to get my girl on and do really girly things rather than Army or Pirates. Thankfully my sister-in-law, Whitney was able to help me and do the invites and cupcake toppers. She's amazing! I've been busy getting everything all together and doing/making: 1 tutu, 2 t-shirts, leggings, cupcake toppers, b-day banner, cupcakes, b-day cake, oreo truffles, treat tables, goody bags and tags, etc...But...I got it all done! It all went great and I had a blast doing it all! I think I have decided to go to the Party business rather than decorating homes, I have had so much fun doing this.

So...with all that being said, there are going to be several postings coming up now that everything is done and I can breathe again:) Hope you like everything!!

Cinnamon Rolls

Over Conference weekend it been a Gillis tradition to make Cinnamon Rolls! I did the unthinkable and didn't use the standard recipe, which is absolutely amazing. I needed one this weekend that was an overnight one, one that I could make at night and put in the oven in the morning. I used this one from Alton Brown, and it was way good. Tasted similar to our traditional one. So, if I need an overnight one, I will use Alton's, if not I will always stick to the Gillis ones. I"m going to post both for you and let you decide;)

Overnight Cinnamon Rolls

by Alton Brown

• 4 large egg yolks, room temperature
• 1 large whole egg, room temperature
• 2 ounces sugar, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 ounces unsalted butter, melted, approximately 6 tablespoons
• 6 ounces buttermilk, room temperature
• 20 ounces all-purpose flour, approximately 4 cups, plus additional for dusting
• 1 package instant dry yeast, approximately 2 1/4 teaspoons
• 1 1/4 teaspoons kosher salt
• Vegetable oil or cooking spray

Filling:

• 8 ounces light brown sugar, approximately 1 cup packed
• 1 tablespoon ground cinnamon
• Pinch salt
• 3/4-ounce unsalted butter, melted, approximately 1 1/2 tablespoons

Icing:

• 2 1/2 ounces cream cheese, softened, approximately 1/4 cup
• 3 tablespoons milk
• 5 1/2 ounces powdered sugar, approximately 1 1/2 cups

Directions

For the dough: in the bowl of a stand mixer with the whisk attachment, whisk the egg yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, and buttermilk. Add approximately 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; whisk until moistened and combined. Remove the whisk attachment and replace with a dough hook. Add all but 3/4 cup of the remaining flour and knead on low speed for 5 minutes. Check the consistency of the dough, add more flour if necessary; the dough should feel soft and moist but not sticky. Knead on low speed 5 minutes more or until the dough clears the sides of the bowl. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface; knead by hand about 30 seconds. Lightly oil a large bowl. Transfer the dough to the bowl, lightly oil the top of the dough, cover and let double in volume, 2 to 2 1/2 hours.

Combine the brown sugar, cinnamon and salt in a medium bowl. Mix until well incorporated. Set aside until ready to use.

Butter a 9 by 13-inch glass baking dish. Turn the dough out onto a lightly floured work surface. Gently shape the dough into a rectangle with the long side nearest you. Roll into an 18 by 12-inch rectangle. Brush the dough with the 3/4-ounce of melted butter, leaving 1/2-inch border along the top edge. Sprinkle the filling mixture over the dough, leaving a 3/4-inch border along the top edge; gently press the filling into the dough. Beginning with the long edge nearest you, roll the dough into a tight cylinder. Firmly pinch the seam to seal and roll the cylinder seam side down. Very gently squeeze the cylinder to create even thickness. Using a serrated knife, slice the cylinder into 1 1/2-inch rolls; yielding 12 rolls. Arrange rolls cut side down in the baking dish; cover tightly with plastic wrap and store in the refrigerator overnight or up to 16 hours.

Remove the rolls from the refrigerator and place in an oven that is turned off. Fill a shallow pan 2/3-full of boiling water and set on the rack below the rolls. Close the oven door and let the rolls rise until they look slightly puffy; approximately 30 minutes. Remove the rolls and the shallow pan of water from the oven.

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

When the oven is ready, place the rolls on the middle rack and bake until golden brown, or until the internal temperature reaches 190 degrees F on an instant-read thermometer, approximately 30 minutes.

While the rolls are cooling slightly, make the icing by whisking the cream cheese in the bowl of a stand mixer until creamy. Add the milk and whisk until combined. Sift in the powdered sugar, and whisk until smooth. Spread over the rolls and serve immediately.