Menu Plan Monday

Taco Soup
Chili Verde
Italian Beef Sandwiches
Build your own salad
Pork chops, squash, salad
Dinner @ Jeremy’s company party
Paninis

My friend Meg shared this recipe with me.
Taco Soup
1 lb. ground beef
1 can Rotel
1.5 cups frozen corn
1.5 cups frozen green beans
1 can pinto beans
1 can chili beans
1 packet ranch dressing mix
1 packet taco seasoning
Brown the meat and add taco seasoning to it. Combine all ingredients in a pot or crock pot. Basically cook till hot. You can heat on the stove for a quicker meal. Oh, with the canned ingredients, I used the whole can, juices and all. Add water until it reaches a consistency you are happy with.

Italian Beef Sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 boneless sirloin tip roast (about 4lbs), halved
2 envelopes Italian salad dressing mix (use 3 if you want spicy)
2 cups water
1 jar (16oz) mild pepper rings, with juice (You can use hot if you want, but it's already spicy this way.)
Hoagie Buns
Mozzarella cheese, optional

Directions:
Place roast in slow cooker. Combine the salad dressing mix & water; pour over roast. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours or until the meat is tender & falls apart.
Remove meat; shred with a fork and return to slow cooker. Add pepper rings; heat through.
Ready to serve!

A step we added was putting mozzarella cheese on the roll and sticking it in the toaster oven to toast the bun & melt the cheese. This also helps keep the bread from getting soggy from all the juices.

Second grade

As you can see…I am horrible at keeping up with the blog. Before Facebook came around, I was great about keeping a blog. Now, it’s just easier to write a short update or quickly upload a photo of the kids from my phone. If you aren’t on Facebook, you should be, and find me, so that you can see the pictures and read the updates on the kids that I randomly post.

Kaylin started 2nd grade in August. SECOND GRADE! She is basically half way through her elementary school years! How in the world did this happen?? My baby girl is growing up entirely too fast! Her teacher is a long time family friend, so this school year has been a favorite so far. Kaylin’s teacher is my mom’s friend, Kay’s daughter. Follow? Ms. H and I also went to middle school and high school together. Our backyards shared a corner before my parents moved. It’s awesome that she & her family are family friends, but beyond that, she is just an awesome teacher! She is great about communicating. She emails both Jeremy and I frequently. She asked us all at Meet the Teacher night if it was ok for her to email us, and warned us that the emails would be frequent. At the time, I thought we would get an email here and there, but we get 1-3 emails from her a week. While that might sound overwhelming, messages don’t always make it home in a timely manner, so having the teacher email updates is a blessing. I feel like I am much more up to date with what is going on at school than a lot of the other parents in other classes do, thanks to Ms. H and her emails.

Kaylin and Ms. H on the first day of school.

Kaylin with her group.

Menu Plan Monday

 

Mexican Chicken Bake and green salad
Shrimp Scampi over angel hair and zucchini fries
Red Beans & rice with cornbread & fruit
Maple Apple Pork Tenderloin, steamed broccoli, and brown rice
Hashbrown Breakfast Casserole and warm cinnamon apples

Shrimp Scampi & Pasta
1 T minced garlic
2 t olive oil
1 t oregano
½ t salt
¼ t pepper
1 ½ lbs fresh shrimp, peeled
1/3 c white cooking wine
1 T corn starch
6 c cooked pasta
Sauté garlic in olive oil for 1 min over med heat. Add shrimp, oregano, salt & pepper and sauté 4 min. Reduce heat to simmer. Combine wine, cornstarch and add to shrimp. Simmer until sauce thickens. Divide shrimp and sauce into 6 portions and serve each over 1 c pasta.

Maple Apple Pork Tenderloin
1.7 lb pork tenderloin
1 green apple, diced
¼ c chopped walnuts
1/3 c maple syrup
Bake tenderloin as directed. In a small sprayed skillet sauté diced apple for 5 - 6 min on medium temp. Add walnuts & syrup and heat 3 min more. Slice pork into 6 servings and pour
sauce evenly over pork.

Red Beans & Rice
2 c dried red beans, soak over night
¾ c uncooked brown rice
4 c water
2 t salt
1 T ground cumin
1 large onion, cut into chunks
Place all ingredients in crock pot. Cook 6 –8 hours on low or until onions are tender. *Note: red beans need to be brought to a boil before being cooked in a crock pot. Research red bean toxin if you want to know more about this.

Mexican Chicken Bake
1 ½ lbs boneless/skinless chicken breast
15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 ½ c Lowfat sour cream
1 t cumin
¼ t pepper
4 oz can chopped green chilies
6 small corn tortillas – cut into 2 inch strips
1 c shredded 2 % Mexican blend cheese
Boil chicken for 10 min. Chop chicken and combine w/beans, sour cream, cumin, pepper, and chilies. Place ½ of tortilla strips into the bottom of dish and cover with ½ chicken mixture. Top with remaining tortillas and remaining chicken mixture; sprinkle 1 c cheese on top and bake 30 min @ 350.

Hash Brown Breakfast Casserole
6 servings @ 7 pts each
4 c Shredded Hash Browns
8 oz lean diced ham
½ c diced onions
1 c shredded 2 % cheddar cheese
1 c RF Bisquick
2 c FF milk
1 c FF egg sub
Spread hash browns into the bottom of a sprayed 9 x 13 baking dish. Sprinkle ham, onions, and cheese on top. Combine Bisquick, milk, & egg sub; slowly pour over potato mixture. Bake uncovered for 45 min @ 375.

Menu Plan…Thursday?

My friend Jenn just wrote about menu planning, which made me realize I have severely fallen off the menu planning wagon. I hate cooking in the summer…especially when the temps reach the 100’s like they have this past week. Summer is time for salads, sandwiches and lots and lots of grilling at our house. Ok, and eating out.

Part of the reason I used to post my menus here was if I wrote it out, somehow, it helped to hold me accountable. I really need to get back into that, if only for myself. It might give other people some recipe ideas as well in the process, but this is almost entirely for me!

Tuesday night we had grilled pork chops, grilled corn on the cob & salads. For this, we simply put salt, pepper & Emeril’s essence on pork cutlets and grilled them. I wanted something sweet & savory, so I mixed spicy ground mustard and brown sugar as a glaze for mine.

Also planned this week:

Great Aunt Mary’s Casserole – corn tortillas, chili, tomato sauce & cheese. This is a very simple & tasty dish. While the chili is heating up on the stove, I stick the corn tortillas in the oven to get warm & hopefully a slight crisp to them. When the chili is warm throughout, I layer 6 corn tortillas, half of the chili, drizzle half of the tomato sauce (I use a small 8 oz. can) and sprinkle a handful of cheese, continue with one more layer ending with the cheese. Serve with a salad! In the fall and winter, I use leftover chili if we have it on hand. If we don’t have leftover chili, I use canned.

Foil packet chicken – This can be a mixture of many things! This week my plan is 3 boneless skinless chicken breasts, taco seasoning, 3 small red potatoes, 1 onion sliced, 6 tablespoons of salsa, 3/4 cup shredded mexican style cheese, 3 tablespoons of sour cream for topping. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lay out 3 large sheets of foil. Slice each potato & onion thinly, and lay out one potato and some onion slices on each sheet of foil. Shake chicken in a bag with taco seasoning, and place on top of potato & onion slices. Top each piece of chicken with 2 tablespoons of salsa then 1/4 cup cheese. Bring up foil sides and double fold and roll down, do the same to the ends. Place in a baking dish large enough to fit them all. Bake 30 to 35 minutes, until chicken is cooked through. Let stand 5 minutes, then vent foil packet before opening. Serve with a dollop of sour cream.

Hamburgers – I think we all have our preferred method for these! However, before the end of summer, I do want to try several of these recipes.

Jalapeno Popper Burger

Mozzarella-Stuffed Bruschetta Turkey Burgers with Balsamic Glaze

Apricot Glazed Turkey Burgers Stuffed with Goat Cheese

Seriously, you NEED to go check those links out. Kristin makes those burgers look and sound sooooo very yummy!

Wordless Wednesday

Sunday Fun Day!

We’ve had a relaxing and packed full of fun summer, so far. Here are some pictures from our Sundays. We spend every Sunday (Fun Day!) over at the in-law’s house with family & friends…swimming, barbecuing and just enjoying everyone’s company. It’s a great way to spend the summer!

Jonathan playing washers at the in-law’s house. Okay, so we let him cheat a little by getting close. Isn’t this a great action shot?

Floating in the pool. I obviously need to go float some more! Wish I had Kaylin’s skin tone!

Uncle Justin tosses Kaylin around the pool. She loves all the attention from her uncle & his friends! And I’m pretty sure they love giving the kids all their attention, too. Aunt Kayla’s boyfriend, David, will come over there during his lunch break from work just to see & play with the kids! These boys/young men are great with the kids!

Uncle Justin, Kaylin, Jeremy, Randy (father-in-law) & Justin’s friend Laura. Yeah, can you tell who Kaylin gets her skin tone from?

Jeremy & Aunt Rae, who came down from Missouri to visit this weekend.

Our Summer Fun!

Once again, I’m creating our summer fun list. A LOT, if not all, of these are repeats from previous years, but it’s how we spend our summers! Our lists from 2008 & 2009.

1. Go to the movies
2. Go to a water park (already have 2 trips planned!)
3. Go to a museum
4. Have an ice cream sundae night
5. Pick berries @ Duck Creek
6. Make fresh lemonade and strawberry lemonade (with fresh fruit)
7. Get sno-cones
8. Run through the sprinklers
9. Watch fireworks
10. Have a root beer/coke float night
11. Have a tea party
12. Visit a farmer's market
13. Swim! Lots and lots of swimming!
14. Watch a movie on the lawn by the pool (put on by our HOA)
15. Jump on the trampoline with the sprinkler on
16. Get frozen yogurt 
17. Make milkshakes
18. Go bowling
19. Build blanket forts on rainy days
20. Go to the park
21. Wash the cars with daddy
22. Make s’mores
23. Run in the fountains
24. Visit Rita's Ice
25. Take a ride on the TRE
26. Play in the rain on a rainy day (if no thunder/lightning)
27. Make popsicles
28. Make homemade ice cream sandwiches
29. Go to the library
30. Have a pillow fight
31. Have an indoor picnic 
32. Have play dates with friends
33. Blow bubbles
34. Pick peaches @ Red River
35. Watch fireworks at Lake Grapevine
36. Pick something each day (that the kids are home) from The Busy Book to do for fun (have both The Children’s Busy Book and The Preschooler’s Busy Book)

1st grade awards

Kaylin received 3 awards at her school’s end of year awards ceremony. Music Achievement, 100 book club, and Athletic Achievement.

So proud of sissy!

Kaylin receiving 2 of her awards. The 3rd was at a different ceremony, and I have yet to download those pictures off the camera.

Jonathan’s Mother’s Day Out end of year program

Jonathan’s Mother’s Day Out program has come to an end for this school year. They always do an end of the year program, where the 4/5 year olds that are moving on to Kindergarten graduate, all of the kids sing, and we get a book full of their work & pictures throughout the year (my favorite part!) You might remember when Kaylin graduated.

Cheese!

But I wanna go sit with Mimi!

1st grade music performance & zoo field trip

The 1st graders at Kaylin’s school put on a music performance…back in April. One of the songs they sang was called Lucy Locket Lost Her Pocket, and Kaylin was “Lucy” for the purpose of the song. Basically, she skipped across the stage with a coin purse, dropped it on the ground, another girl came behind her and “found” it and gave it back to her. I don’t know that it was even 2 minutes long, and the picture of her skipping across the stage is a blur of red. So, here is a picture I do have, where you can actually see Kaylin. She’s the one in the red shirt, on the left hand side.

And a few weeks later, the 1st graders took their field trip. This year, it was to the Fort Worth Zoo, and I was one of the parent volunteers.

This trip was a lot more fun than our normal trips to the zoo, as they had an educational presentation before we walked around the zoo.

A baby alligator – they explained the differences between alligators and crocodiles, what they eat, etc. With each animal that was brought out a child was selected from the group and they got to sit behind that curtain and ask yes or no questions to try and guess the animal.

An Opossum. We were told that there are possums and Opossums, the differences and that possums live in Australia, etc.

Kaylin in front of the elephants.

 

Conversations with Kaylin

Tonight in the car, Kaylin and I had a conversation that I knew I had to write down somewhere. I completely soaked every bit of this up, because I know this is short lived, and she’ll only believe this stuff for the next year, or maybe 2, if I’m lucky.

I’ll start with the back story and why this conversation started…she lost her other front tooth yesterday at school. She brought it home in a cute little treasure chest called a “tooth saver.” She placed the tooth under her pillow, for The Tooth Fairy….and then The Tooth Fairy didn’t come last night. Yeah. Parenting FAIL. I felt bad, she was upset, and crying, so I told her we’d go out for a treat after Daddy got home from work, just us girls. She picked Yogurt Story.

So, on the way home from Yogurt Story we’re talking about the Tooth Fairy…
Kaylin: She probably lives in a tooth shaped house

Me: Wouldn’t that give her identity away though? I mean, her neighbors would obviously know someone living in a tooth shaped house is the tooth fairy. So, where does the Easter Bunny live then?

Kaylin: In a meadow and yeah the bugs, birds, and rodents know he’s the Easter Bunny. And Santa lives in The North Pole…

Me: And the penguins and polar bears know he’s Santa?

Kaylin: The penguins, yeah, but polar bears live in a different arctic. They would eat the penguins if they lived together.
 
So, she knows that polar bears eat penguins, but apparently, when it comes to where Santa lives. Everyone lives happily every after and Santa makes special food chain related living arrangements. Which, shouldn’t surprise me. I mean, he IS Santa!

My chili recipe

My friend Kristi asked me for my chili recipe, and I decided I'll just share it here. These are all approximate, because I never really measure the spices and such when I'm making it. If you like a chili that packs heat, this is not the chili for you. Of course, you could always add more chili powder, red pepper flakes, etc. to your liking to up the heat factor.

15 oz canned dark kidney beans
15 oz canned light kidney beans
15 oz canned black beans
8 oz canned tomato sauce
2 - 14 oz cans diced tomatoes
¼ teaspoon lime juice
1 ½ teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 ½ teaspoons cocoa powder
¼ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon ground black pepper
pinch sugar
1 tablespoon chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
½ tablespoon ground cumin
1 cube beef bouillon
½ cup onions, diced, cooked
1 bell pepper of any color, diced
zucchini, diced (Jeremy doesn't like when I add this, so this isn't *always* in there)
2 garlic cloves, minced
¼ teaspoon garlic salt
1 pound extra lean ground beef

Brown ground beef, add to slow cooker.

Sauté onions, peppers, and garlic and then add to slow cooker. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cook on low as long as possible.

Menu Plan Monday

I’m sorry if you don’t enjoy reading our menu plan for the week. I do this for me, because it’s better than wasting paper every week, and if I don’t write it down somewhere I’ll never remember what I planned!
Leftovers
Greek Couscous (plan is to throw some plain grilled chicken in there, sub cucumbers for the tomatoes and make this a one-dish meal)
Cinco de Mayo Feast - Southwest Chicken Wraps, salad w/ranch-salsa dressing, queso, chips, maybe even some margaritas!!
Chef’s Salad
Barbecue Chicken, baked beans, salad

Menu Plan Monday

• Whole Wheat pancakes, eggs, fruit
• Leftovers & Girl’s Night Out
• Baked Potatoes & salad
• Build your own taco bar
• Beef tips in mushroom sauce(crockpot) & broccoli
• Pasta salad
• Sandwiches

I’ve found myself not wanting to be at the stove or cook things in the oven since it’s warming up. My usual solution is meals on the grill, however, we’re out of propane, and on the off chance that we don’t get around to refilling it I figured I’d go ahead and make other plans. I always try to plan breakfast for dinner at least 1 night a week. The kids absolutely love it, and it’s a nice change of pace for us. We’re big “brinner” fans at this house!

Beef Tips in Mushroom Sauce Crock Pot Recipe

Ingredients:
2 pounds lean chuck – cut in 1 – 3/4 inch pieces
1 can 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 can Diet Sprite or 7up

*Feel free to bulk this up with any zero point vegetables that you choose!

Directions:
Put meat in crock pot. Pour soup & onion soup mix over meat. Add Diet Sprite/7up. Cook in crock pot all day on low (or high for at least 4 hours). Turn off and let sit for 30 minutes before serving. Serve over rice or noodles. (extra points)

Makes 8 servings.
Each serving = 6 Weight Watchers Points

Nothing better than fresh baked bread

Last summer (maybe the one before that, even) my mom brought home a loaf of fresh baked bread, baked by Great Harvest Flower Mound, who participates in their neighborhood’s farmer’s market. I don’t even remember what kind of bread it was, but I do remember how tasty it was! I immediately stuck 2 pieces in the toaster and buttered one and added peanut butter to the other. Oh, my! This was soooo tasty, I threw another in the toaster. Faster forward to earlier this year, when I started reading Kath’s blog. She is always enjoying Great Harvest breads since her husband, Matt, works there and they are in the process of opening their own. I had to have Great Harvest, again!
While we live about 30 minutes from Flower Mound, it’s not too far from Jonathan’s Mother’s Day Out. I decided I needed to pick up a loaf when I was out that way. Since all of their breads are made the day of, they offer different specialty breads each day. I picked up a Whole Grain Goodness loaf and holy moly! best. bread. I. have. ever. had! I have been craving it since then. Only problem? They switched the day they have Whole Grain Goodness to Mondays. Jonathan does not go to MDO on Mondays, and as much as I love this bread, and need more, I am not willing to drive 1 hour, round trip, for a loaf of bread. I’d rather wait until I plan on being out that way, for one reason or another, on a Monday. Of course, I could always just try a new one, one that they do bake on a day that Jonathan goes to MDO. But today, today, I just couldn’t take it any longer. I started searching for something I could bake myself. I have a bread machine, which makes it easy on me by doing all the kneading and waits for it to rise, then beeps to let me know I can take it out, place it in the loaf pan, and bake it in the oven. Or, I have the option of baking it in the machine, but then the loaf has a hole in the bottom, where the bread machine paddle is since it mixes and “kneads” it in the machine as well.
I decided on this Oat N Honey recipe, that I altered – I used half honey/half molasses, 2 cups whole wheat and only 1 cup all purpose flour and the addition of 1 tablespoon of flax seeds. I also used regular oats and not quick cooking oats, because that’s what I have, and I did the buttermilk trick where you add milk to 1 tablespoon of lemon juice or vinegar because I don’t just keep buttermilk on hand. I also sprinkled some oatmeal and flax seeds on the top. I baked it at 350 for 30 minutes, rather than in my machine. It’s not as dense, and it doesn’t have the crunch that whole grain goodness has, but it is still super tasty, and still healthy.

Kids say the darndest things!

Last night, we were watching Jamie Oliver’s Food Revolution, and Kaylin said something or asked me a question…when I answered her she said, “How come you know so much that I don’t?? I’ve been living for 7 1/2 years!!!!” Apparently, that’s a LONG time!

This morning the following conversation took place with Jonathan while going potty:

Jonathan: I have a penis!

Me: Yes, yes you do.

Jonathan: Daddy have a penis too! Sissy don’t have a penis. Sissy only have a butt. (obviously we haven’t explained what the girl body parts are called) *pause* A BUTTHEAD!

Spring Break

Kaylin is on Spring Break right now and we’ve had quiet the vacation!
It started last Saturday, leaving the house at 5:30am for Tennessee. We spent 2 nights at Grandma & Grandpa’s house (Jeremy’s mom & step-dad) and the kids had a blast playing with their cousins. Jacob is 4 and Nicholas is 2. The boys are all 9-10 months apart from each other, so I have a feeling they will only have more fun the older they get! We actually didn’t get any pictures from this leg of the trip. I will try to remember on our way back home on Sunday.
Next stop, Mama Lorraine’s house in Winchester, Virginia. Again, we stopped for 2 nights. Mama Lorraine is 83 years old, we HAD to get the kids out of the house to release some energy. We found a park near the Shenandoah University campus, complete with a creek, a groundhog, and some ducks.




After Mama Lorraine’s house, we headed out for Washington DC. Jeremy, and obviously, the kids, had never been. Jeremy and Kaylin were really looking forward to this part of our vacation. One of Kaylin’s favorite movies is Night at the Museum Battle of the Smithsonian.
Washington Monument
The Capitol
The back of The White House


View of The Capitol and Washington Monument and the Reflecting Pool in front of Lincoln Memorial
Me & the kids in front of Lincoln Memorial

A pretty sunset and the Washington Monument as we made the trek back to the metro station to ride back to our hotel.
There are a LOT more pictures in our Picasa album, hopefully also on  Facebook once we get home. I’ve had issues trying to upload them to Facebook through these hotel internet connections.