Things that get high kicks from me

Like all moms, I am constantly searching for things that make my life easier amidst all the chaos. Out of that comes my obsession with any and all appliances. I admit that I am an appliance snob, but nothing makes me giddier than finding something that cuts my time doing housework or cooking. As mom there a few things that I swear by: my Dustbuster, my Dyson, my Shark and my crockpot. All of these things help me spend less time cleaning or cooking and give me more time to do things with the boys or relax when they're asleep.

And, now I will add a good washing machine to my list. Why you ask? This is why...

Do you see that? A $32 water bill. Our average bill is between $80-85 a month. This is our first water bill with the new Energy efficient washing machine (Whirlpool Cabrio). Thats a $50 difference from last month to this month. LOVE. If this pans out, than could mean an additional $600 a year. That deserves a high kick if I do say so.

Ok, so back the crockpot, my friend, Jill, came up with this Chicken and Wild Rice Soup that rocks my world! Besides being low cal and low fat, it is SIMPLE and that is a plus. Really it's so good that I thought I'd do a shout out here as well as on my recipe site. Look below...

You know you want some.

Ok, so here's the recipe:

1.5 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped carrot
1 cup chopped celery
3 cans RF cream of chicken soup
4 cups FF chicken broth
1 boxes long grain & wild rice mix with seasoning


Place chicken on bottom of crock pot. Add veggies, rice and seasoning packet from rice. Pour liquids over the top, cook on low 6-8 hours. Shred the chicken and stir well. Makes 12 cups.

Nutrition Info per serving:
Calories: 144
Fat: 3.14
Fiber: 0.9

If you like it and want more recipes from Jill, just take a look to the right under Blogs and find Culinary Creations by Jill. :D High kicks, Jill!

Spinach & Sausage Pasta Bake

Among other things, I like to cook and try new recipes. I recently discovered this Southern Living recipe and have altered it a little to my tastes. You can certainly lighten this one up by using turkey sausage, light/lf cream cheese and whole wheat pasta.

Ingredients

1 lb box of uncooked rigatoni

3/4 cup finely chopped onion

1 (10 oz) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed

1-1/2 lbs mild Italian sausage

1 (28-oz.) can Italian-style diced tomatoes, lightly drained

2 (8-oz.) containers chive-and-onion cream cheese

3/4 cups shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation

1. Prepare rigatoni according to package directions. Brown and crumble Italian sausage in large frying pan sprayed with non-stick spray.

2. After sausage cooks, spray pan with non-stick spray and sauté onions until translucent. Mix hot sausage with cream cheese while onions cook.

3. Drain chopped spinach well, pressing between layers of paper towels.

4. Add spinach and onions to sausage and cheese mixture. Mix in tomatoes.

5. Spoon mixture into baking dish, and sprinkle evenly with shredded mozzarella cheese.

6. Bake, covered, at 375° for 30 minutes; uncover and bake 15 more minutes or until bubbly.