Crock Pot Tuesday

What's for dinner at your house?  Today is Crock pot Tuesday and I'm making white chicken chili adapted from Tablespoon.com.

I start with 1 1/2 pounds uncooked chicken breast cut into bite size pieces.  The chicken here has been marinated first in a garlic & herb bottled marinade (optional).

Then add one 15 ounce can of drained and rinsed white or great northern beans.

Then add two 11 ounce cans mexicorn.  The original recipe calls for adding the cans undrained but I like my chili on the thicker side so I add one drained and one undrained.

Then add one 4.5 ounce can undrained green chilies .

Then add chicken broth.  The original recipe calls for 32 ounces but again, I like my chili on the thicker side so I add just enough to cover, about 8-10 ounces.

Depending on how small the chicken pieces, cook on low 2-4 hours or on high 1-2 hours.



30 minutes before fully cooked microwave one 8 ounce block of cream cheese for 60 seconds to melt. Add to slow cooker and stir well.  If you prefer a creamer consistency, use 2 blocks.

Serve with you favorite garnishes.  We like sour cream, shredded cheese and crushed tortilla chips (hint of lime are my favorite).

We love this recipe, especially on rainy days like today.  What's your favorite rainy day meal?

• 1 1/2 pounds uncooked chicken breast
• 1 15 ounce can white or great northern beans
• 1 10 ounce can diced tomatoes with green chilies
• 2 11 ounce cans mexicorn
• 1 4.5 ounce can green chilies
• 32 ounces chicken broth
• 2 t salt
• 1/2 t pepper
• 12 t cumin
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 8 ounces cream cheese

Manic Monday

OK so here it goes, my first "Manic Monday" post.  Did a lot of research and scoured many a blog and read 1,000 how to articles, now it's time to get down to business.

I have decided to start by giving myself a half hour a day for decluttering until my house is free from the clutter beast and set daily goals for specific things I want to accomplish like getting a grip on the paper monster.  Got some great tips from Zen Habits, a couple of my favorites were:

Baby steps are important. Sure devoting 30 minutes a day to such a monumental task may seem like putting a band-aid on an aortic tear, but it reminded me that every little bit gets you closer to your goal and with 3 little ones, sometimes 5 minutes may be all you have to devote to any one specific task in a day.  The important thing is to do a little something each day.

Designate a spot for incoming papers.  Boy, this is essential for me.   I live in a pretty rural area and our mailboxes are not at the end of our driveway or next to the front door as they were when I was growing up. So, instead of just reaching outside my front door for my mail I have to drive to the entrance of my development to where the mailboxes are to retrieve my mail.  After baby number two this became increasingly difficult and I was visiting my mailbox so infrequently that my mail carrier started holding my mail hostage at the post office.  Luckily for me, there is a kind lady from my church who lives right by the mailboxes and goes there every day.  She took pity on me and was kind enough to offer to pick up my mail for me and give it to me when she sees me at church.  Unfortunately these piles of mail end up being piles on my couch or any flat surface that I can reach first upon entering the door boys and diaper bag in hand.  My designated spot is a work in progress, it is currently a basket on a table by the door and it will soon have a nice covered waste paper bin underneath it so I can trash the junk as soon as I enter and it will also have a hanging sorter above so I can sort the mail instantly into mini manageable categories.

I have also decided to instill the penicillin effect for all decluttered areas. This is a method mentioned on Organized Home,  Basically once you have cleared an area, let's say the kitchen table, that area is now inoculated with penicillin and no matter how cluttered the other surfaces in the kitchen may get, the kitchen table remains clutter free!  The goal is that eventually all the inoculated surfaces will join together to create one clutter free house.  This is ingenious!  This has been my never ending battle, I spend an entire morning clearing an area only to find that the next day it looks exactly the way it did before.  Talk about exasperating!  Today is day 2 on the kitchen table, still clutter free!  Woo hoo!

Do you have trouble with clutter?  What methods do you use to conquer the clutter beast in your home?  Would love to hear from you.

On this Mother's Day...

Mother,
You've given me two things
One is roots
The other's wings

- Anonymous

Happy Mother's Day!  Thought I would make myself look all smart by sharing the origins of the holiday and how it is celebrated around the world but after I bored myself nearly to tears, I found this great site all about Mother's Day. http://www.mothersdaycentral.com/about-mothersday/history/ Crafts, poems, gift ideas, you name it, it's on there!  I love this site, infinite possibilities will continue to visit again and again.

The basic sentiment is that mother's should be celebrated everyday. And I say this, not because I am a mother, but as a mother, I have really come to recognize all that a mother is and does.  And by celebrating I don't mean that you should shower her with gifts everyday (although that sounds really nice) but take a minute to say, "Thanks!", or "I love you!" or even "I really appreciated that!", but take a minute to squeeze her tight and say, "I don't know where I would be without you!".  All too soon our mothers leave this earth, and we are left behind without her.  Be sure to say all you would say before that day.  I love you mom, thank you for all you have done and do each and everyday.  I really appreciate you and I don't know where I would be without you!

Finally, a Beginning...

Welcome to Mami Thyme.  I guess I should start by a telling you a little about myself. I am a mother of 3, 3 boys (I know, right!?! And no, we won’t be trying for a girl.), all under the age of 4. I am a woman of faith with strong liberal (Conservative friends: I hope you’ll still love me) views.

My hope for Mami Thyme is that it will be a blog about finding the humor in this thing called life with some recipes and stories mixed in. As it evolves, I hope that each day you will return to find something new and something of value.

I, like most stay at home mommies, find that my days are filled with serving meals, then cleaning up and a lot of entertaining the kids and finding things to keep them entertained, which leaves very little time for deep cleaning and organization. Manic Mondays are going to be all about that, ORGANIZATION.  Anything that I find that works for me, I will gladly share with all of you!  Tuesday through Thursday are still a work in progress, my plan is share general tidbits, recipes, gardening tips, craft ideas, and oh so much more!  Friday will be readers choice.  Friday posts will be up to you, you choose the topic and we will discuss.  Saturday posts will deal with doing something fun, either a fun place to visit or a great idea I come across that made me a hero is my boys' eyes.  Sunday will be Soul Sunday, a day of rest and relaxation.

Like I said, Mami Thyme is evolving, and I hope that you, my friends, will share your comments and opinions and guide it along the way.