Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Tackle it Tuesday/Wordless Wednesday--Lucas turns 2!!

Tackle It Tuesday Meme

(I decided to use these as my Wordless Wednesday entry as well.)

I have been working on making a video for my little one. He is 2 years old today!! I can hardly believe it!! Turns out, I've got so many favorite photos, I'll be making two videos. I really had hoped to have them both completed already, but I was gone all day on Monday. So, here is the first one and I hope to post the other one later today!!


"Amazing" by Janelle

Updated---here is the second video...


"Somewhere Over the Rainbow" by Israel Kamakawiwo'ole


Head on over to 5 minutes for Mom for more Tackle it Tuesday fun!!

For more Wordless Wednesday's, go here or here!

Monday, February 25, 2008

Menu Plan Monday...


Ahhhh. A new week!! Hopefully I can get back on track this week!! Last week I didn't even post a menu--that is so unlike me!! However, I got food poisoning and was very sick. Food did NOT sound good, even once I was feeling a little better, I didn't want to plan what we would eat. Now, I'm better and back to planning!

So, here are a few updates from the last couple of weeks on new things we tried.

The swiss steak turned out pretty good!! I was too lazy to remove the meat and veggies at the end and add flour to thicken the sauce, but it was still very good. I served it with noodles, but I think that since I didn't thicken the sauce, it would have been great with brown rice. We'll have it again, for sure! (Sorry, I didn't get a picture of it.)

The almond chicken dijon and macaroni and cheese also turned out pretty good. Unfortunately for this meal, I got sick the day after I made it (not from it) and it just didn't sound good anymore. Good thing Logan and hubby were happy to eat the leftovers!!



I have already mentioned that I made and we loved Nicole's rice. Well, last week I also made up some of the enchiladas that she has posted with the rice recipe. They are SUPER yummy!!! I made two pans, so we are having them again this week!! You have to try them!! As I said before about the rice, I use one 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes in place of the tomato sauce and I just sprinkle in some ground cumin, as I don't have the seeds. YUM!!


Now---on to this week!

*=new recipe

Monday--??--->I have a doctor's appointment in the AM, then we will pick hubby up from work and have several things to do. May just pick something up while we are out

Tuesday--cheese enchiladas, rice, beans--->Lucas turns 2!!! Happy Birthday sweet boy!! (check back on Tuesday for the videos I'm working on for his birthday!!)

Wednesday--pecan chicken, brown rice, steamed veggies

Thursday--Indian tacos*

Friday--Philly cheese steaks, tater tots (for the boys), salad



For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

Rootin, tootin Cowboys!! (WW)











For more Wordless Wednesday's, go here or here!

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Yum, yum, yum, yum.......

Tackle It Tuesday Meme


"Yum, yum, yum, yum". That is what Logan says that the shredder sounds like. You know, I think he is right. A bit like Cookie Monster!! Anyway, I finished up some shredding that I've been working on for a few days. I was really trying to get it all done so I could put it out with the recycling on Monday night. I'm happy to report that I made it!! Now, this was ONLY what needed to be shredded in my computer desk (my basket in there was over-flowing). I didn't get a before shot, but I'm sure you can imagine my pile based on the picture below!!I really hope to keep up with it this time!! Now to work on the bag that is in the basement.


Now I need to go here and opt-out so that I'll stop getting all those credit card offers. I had no idea buying a house would make me get so many more offers!!

Next up on my to-do list--planning my menu. I typically have it up with MPM (Menu Plan Monday), but I got food poisoning and am just now feeling a bit better. I didn't even want to think about food!!

Head on over to 5 minutes for Mom for more Tackle it Tuesday fun!!

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Weebles and Tadoodles....

Lucas loves Weebles. However, he has not learned how to gently touch them to make them wobble. He only knows to throw them and happily watches them wobble. He even yells, "Weeble" as he throws them down!!

For Christmas, we bought him some Tadoodles. I finally got them out for him to use just a few days ago. I had Logan making a card and thought Lucas would enjoy using his new markers. However, I found them to have a serious design flaw. Lucas thought they were Weebles. Can you guess what he wanted to do with his markers?? You'd be right if you guessed throw them!! Lucas especially loved that we had 6 "Weebles" in their own car!!


Here is Lucas using his Tadoodles....

Here he is showing off his artwork...

And here is where the real fun begins.....

"Weeble!!!"

Oooooohhhhh. Look how well they wobble!!

Here he is when Momma took his new toy away....

And here was my lousy attempt to distract him with a REAL Weeble....


I think we may end up ditching the Tadoodles and giving their car to the Weebles!!

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Valentine's Day treat....

Here is mine and Logan's art project for the day. I helped Logan a little, but he mostly did his himself.



We cheated and used one of these chocolate cake kits. Super easy!! Looking at their site, I see they have plenty of other cute kits, too!!

Happy Valentine's Day!!


I hadn't originally planned to do anything special today. However, last night I stopped at the grocery store to get a few things and decided I'd get something for the boys. I looked at the Valentine's candy and it was pretty picked over. I didn't really see anything I wanted to get them. Then, I saw these....



I decided that since they were milk chocolate (not semi-sweet), they'd be perfect bite-sized treats for the boys. Even better was the fact that they were on sale for 75 CENTS!! My, those things are regular over $4!! I won't tell you how many I bought...LOL!! So much for using up some of my baking supplies last weekend!!

So, I had all these little candies, but how was I going to package them. I had originally planned on putting them in foil muffin cups and then just putting them in a ziploc bag. However, my husband came up with a better idea. We were both trying to think if we had any small containers, when he remembered that we had lots of little metal tins. We purchase tea from Adagio (super yummy tea there, by the way--thanks Erica and Tina!!) and they send their samples in these awesome little tins. Problem was, we had been saving them, not sure what we'd use them for. Well, we found something last night!! They made perfect containers for the chocolates and we decorated them with stickers for the boys!! I think they will be super excited!!

Wednesday, February 13, 2008

Table Dancer (WW)...

I left the room for a moment and this is what I returned to....



Uh---You caught me!!


By the way--he was watching Sesame Street. He LOVES Elmo!!

For more Wordless Wednesday's, go here or here!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Menu Plan Monday...


I can't believe it is Monday already. The weekend went by WAY too fast!! Last week I pretty much used only things we had on hand, aside from some fresh produce, and we are continuing that this week. Last week I made everything on the plan!!

Last week we tried the pretzel crusted chicken with cheddar mustard sauce. I really, really liked it! It does sound a bit strange with the onion and the sliced pickle (I used dill relish), but it was very, very good--and I typically don't like raw onion. I found that the blender worked really well for grinding up the pretzels. I used this mustard and used 3 T. instead of 2. I think it made the cheese sauce better. This will be a repeat in our house!!


*=new recipe
Monday--Swiss steak*, noodles, steamed Normandy veggies

Tuesday--almond chicken dijon*, macaroni and cheese with tomatoes* (just adding a can of drained diced tomatoes to it), green beans, garlic bread

Wednesday--burgers, salad, sweet potato fries

Thursday--pulled pork/steak tostadas (pork for me, steak for hubby--->I have corn tortillas to use up), rice and beans

Friday--Italian chicken, cheesy smashed potatoes*, salad

So, my shopping list for this week is very small--lettuce, tomatoes, avocados, and sour cream.


For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Wednesday, February 6, 2008

One last hurrah (WW)...

I pulled this out for its new owners to pick up and Lucas just had to get in it!!


For more Wordless Wednesday's, go here or here!

Monday, February 4, 2008

A clean pantry and Menu Plan Monday....




Sunday I spent a few hours cleaning out my pantry. It looks WAY, WAY better. It had been a while since I last cleaned it. And, it just so happens that I think I may have Laura beat with my choc. chips, nuts, etc... pile. What do you think?? The bin on the left has only choc. chips, baking chocolate squares, powdered sugar in it. The one on the right is nuts, rasins, etc...




Well, I didn't get to all of the things on my plan last week. I ended up with a nasty cold, so I am pleased that I actually cooked 4 days last week!! I did try the lentil salad, but I bought some super tiny red lentils and they cooked up WAY faster than I thought they would. Then I couldn't get them to drain well, so I messed the salad up. It tasted good, but since I didn't drain the lentils well, it was pretty liquidy. I will try it again with normal lentils!!

We also tried a new recipe that I had not planned. I made some rice that I found on Nicole's blog. I made a couple of changes, as I had to use what I had on hand. Instead of tomato sauce, I used 14.5 oz. diced tomatoes. Also, instead of cumin seed, I used several dashes of ground cumin. This rice was soooo super yummy!! I had intended to do tacos, but we ended up with more of a tostada because I was out of taco shells and didn't know it. I just fried up some corn tortillas. We put the rice and beans on the tostada. It was super, super yummy!!


We also had the continental beef (from this cookbook). It was also very good. I'll post the recipe below.


I am cooking with what we have on hand this week. Since I wasn't feeling well (and still am not 100%), I stayed home on Sunday when I typically do my shopping.

*=new recipe
Monday--pretzel crusted chicken with cheddar mustard sauce* (saw it on Donna's menu), salad, cous cous

Tuesday--crock pot beef stew*, rolls, salad

Wednesday--Kung Pao Chicken, steamed veggies, rice, lumpia

Thursday--spaghetti with sausage, salad

Friday--blt sandwiches, chips, salad



Continental Beef (Since it was my first time to have this, I just made it on serving day.)

6T butter (might want to use 4 if you omit mushrooms)
1 c. minced onion
1 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced (optional--I omitted)
2.5 lbs. beef chuck, cut into cubes (may also substitute other beef suitable for stewing, i.e. beef stew, round steak--I used round steak)
8 oz. can tomato sauce
2 t. Worcestershire sauce
1 T. granulated sugar
2 t. paprika
2 t. salt
1/8 t. pepper
2 cloves garlic, minced

Serving Day:
*1 cup sour cream (optional--I used)
2 cups rice or 16 oz. buttered noodles (I used egg noodles)

Cooking Day Instructions:
Melt 2 T. butter in large pot over low heat. Add onion and mushrooms and brown lightly. Remove from pan (I just did the onion and meat at the same time). Add more butter (1-2 T.) to pan and melt; add beef in 2 or 3 batches and brown. (You may need to turn heat up slightly to brown meat.) Put beef, mushrooms, and onions back into pan.

Combine tomato sauce, Worcestershire sauce, sugar, paprika, salt, pepper, and garlic. Pour suace over meat. Cover and cook slowly over low heat for 2.5 hours or until meat is tender (it took about 1.5 hours for mine). Stir occasionally. (Recipe may also be prepared in crockpot for 8-10 hours on low, until beef is tender.) Cool meat mixture. Freeze in freezer bag.

Serving Day Instructions:
Thaw meat completely and warm in sauce pan until heated through. Do not allow beef mixture to boil when heating. Serve over rice or hot buttered noodles.
*Variation using sour cream: Just before serving, add sour cream to beef mixture. Stir until smooth and heated through. Do not boil.



For more menu plan Monday fun, head on over to Laura's at I'm an Organizing Junkie!