You know that sound you hear when the TV is unplugged, the batteries in your son's jumperoo have died, the dogs are outside, and your husband is at WalMart. What's that called again? Oh yeah, NOTHING.
This NEVER happens in our house. Ever. The TV is constantly on. I can't actually remember the last time we have been home & it wasn't on, except for when we're sleeping.
Well, now Eli has decided something needed to make noise while he was jumping. So he's singing & hitting his horse like he's expecting it to catch on & start making noise again. I'm considering never changing the batteries, but that would be mean. Eli likes his music. But Momma likes silence...
Cloth diapers are still AMAZING. I still pretty much love them. Except Eli's room smells like butt. Nasty, stinky, poopy & pee soaked butt. I have to figure out a better way to handle the cloth diaper storage until I can make it to the city to buy the fancy bag that I can't remember the name of right now. I also need to buy some more inserts, or diapers, because 10 is not enough. I'm doing laundry every night. Luke & my mom (she watches Eli when I'm at work) don't really like the cloth. But I'm hoping they'll warm up to them.
I made a pretty great, EASY dinner. You should go check it out right now. Well, after you've finished reading this post, if you've even made it this far. I do get kind of wordy. Anyway, it was Quick & Easy Beef Burritos. Luke loved them & it took about 30 minutes total to make. I'm even determined to cook dinner EVERY night for the next 6 days. We actually went to the grocery store & bought only food to be cooked, and a chocolate cake. I couldn't resist the cake. This is either going to turn out really good & we will have saved money, or we will end up eating out every night & all the fresh food I bought will go bad.
Luke's back, so I'm being summoned to the living room to help him hang up the TV. I decided I wanted to rearrange. If only I'd known it was so hard to move a TV that had been mounted to the wall.
Showing posts with label My Cooking Challenge. Show all posts
Showing posts with label My Cooking Challenge. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 6, 2011
Monday, March 28, 2011
I am a TERRIBLE blogger...
but I have every intention to get better. It has been 10 days since my last post & I am DETERMINED to do better. I have been keeping up with My Cooking Challenge. Here are some of the meals I made last week:
Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin, which was pretty good. It was a little spicier than we typically like, but still good.
Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers & Homemade Chips. I got a little creative with this. (These measurements are approximate. I never measure ingredients when I'm not following a recipe.)
Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers
Mix 1 pound of hamburger meat with 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, 2 tbsp crushed red pepper, & about 1/4 packet of dry Ranch dip mix. Set aside about 1/4 of the mixture. Form into patties with a well in the center of each. Stuff with shredded cheese (I used monterey jack & cheddar) & bacon bits. Cover each well with the mixture that was set aside, pinching it at the edged to seal. Cook in a skillet on the stove or the grill.
Homemade Chips
Wash & slice about 5 small potatoes, season them with crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, & seasoned salt. Fry in butter or oil until they are brown & crunchy.
Worcestershire & Soy Sauce Chicken with Rice
In a skillet add 2-3 chicken breasts with Worcestershire & soy sauce (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet). Cook thoroughly.
Cook rice in a separately. (We used Minute rice).
Sautee 1 cup mushrooms in soy sauce & Worcestershire sauce. Add to the rice. We also topped the rice with a little bit of shredded swiss cheese.
I am terrible at writing recipes. I apologize. Maybe I will eventually get better at that too!
I know I made some other things last week, I just can't think of them right now. I will add them if I remember.
I also found several things for my wonderful hubby to work on. I'm sure he loves me having an extra day off. I decided it is finally time for us to work on our flowerbed. We moved into our house in October of 2009, & didn't get any further than pulling our the ugly bushes & trying to kill the monkey grass. We lined part of the flowerbed with keystone blocks (courtesy of my mom), but now we need to buy some to finish it out.
We also decided to build our goofy outdoor dog a pen. Currently he has free range of the backyard. But with Eli getting closer & closer to an age where he can play outside, we need a way to keep him from chewing up all the outside toys.
Then we will be rearranging the living room. This doesn't sound like a big task, until you consider our TV is mounted on the wall. There is no way I can take it down. So I'm waiting for Luke to have a little time after work.
Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin, which was pretty good. It was a little spicier than we typically like, but still good.
Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers & Homemade Chips. I got a little creative with this. (These measurements are approximate. I never measure ingredients when I'm not following a recipe.)
Stuffed Bacon Cheeseburgers
Mix 1 pound of hamburger meat with 1/4 cup of bread crumbs, 2 tbsp crushed red pepper, & about 1/4 packet of dry Ranch dip mix. Set aside about 1/4 of the mixture. Form into patties with a well in the center of each. Stuff with shredded cheese (I used monterey jack & cheddar) & bacon bits. Cover each well with the mixture that was set aside, pinching it at the edged to seal. Cook in a skillet on the stove or the grill.
Homemade Chips
Wash & slice about 5 small potatoes, season them with crushed red pepper, salt, pepper, & seasoned salt. Fry in butter or oil until they are brown & crunchy.
Worcestershire & Soy Sauce Chicken with Rice
In a skillet add 2-3 chicken breasts with Worcestershire & soy sauce (enough to cover the bottom of the skillet). Cook thoroughly.
Cook rice in a separately. (We used Minute rice).
Sautee 1 cup mushrooms in soy sauce & Worcestershire sauce. Add to the rice. We also topped the rice with a little bit of shredded swiss cheese.
I am terrible at writing recipes. I apologize. Maybe I will eventually get better at that too!
I know I made some other things last week, I just can't think of them right now. I will add them if I remember.
I also found several things for my wonderful hubby to work on. I'm sure he loves me having an extra day off. I decided it is finally time for us to work on our flowerbed. We moved into our house in October of 2009, & didn't get any further than pulling our the ugly bushes & trying to kill the monkey grass. We lined part of the flowerbed with keystone blocks (courtesy of my mom), but now we need to buy some to finish it out.
We also decided to build our goofy outdoor dog a pen. Currently he has free range of the backyard. But with Eli getting closer & closer to an age where he can play outside, we need a way to keep him from chewing up all the outside toys.
Then we will be rearranging the living room. This doesn't sound like a big task, until you consider our TV is mounted on the wall. There is no way I can take it down. So I'm waiting for Luke to have a little time after work.
Friday, March 18, 2011
I've been a little MIA...
This week has seemed so busy. I really haven't gotten much in particular done, I have just felt so overwhelmed. I even got to stay home with Eli yesterday afternoon & didn't get anything besides playing & cuddling time in. But that's okay, playing with my baby is WAY more important than anything else. I love him so much!
I did make another meal on Wednesday. It was tacos, which I always make, but I tried a new recipe. I wasn't a big fan of them & Luke said it was more like sloppy joes on tortillas. It called for a can of tomato soup, chili powder, & garlic. I ended up adding some salsa in my attempt to make it less sloppy joe like, but it didn't really work. At least they were edible.
Tonight I am going to be making another pork loin dish. (We went to Sam's a couple weeks ago & bought a giant pork loin, cut it up in 1lb sections, & froze it. So I will be making a lot of pork loin meals until it's gone.) I can't remember the name right now. But I know it calls for Tabasco sauce & brown sugar, so it should be interesting.
We went to the city Wednesday after Luke got off work to buy him some new pants. He used to work in a paint factory, so all of his work clothes were covered in paint, & before that he did road construction, so all those clothes were covered in grease & mud stains. But now, he finally has a job where he needs to look decent. He only had one pair of "fancy pants" or "going to town pants" as he liked to call them, so he was in a pretty bad need of some. I love seeing him come home in his boots, jeans, & pearl snaps shirts. It reminds me of when we first met <3
Anyway, while we were in the city, I finally bought Eli a carrier. He absolutely LOVES it. This kid has had Mommy trained since day 1. But recently, he has noticed how 'trained' I am. When I am home, he demands I hold him at all times, which I do anyway unless I'm trying to clean. Clean, who am I kidding, my house looks like an episode of Horders right now. Okay, well maybe not THAT bad. But now with his new carrier, I just strap him to the front of me & go about doing what ever I want with him giggling the whole time. We also bought him an activity gym. Why I hadn't bought one sooner? I have no idea. But it makes him so happy. He has been doing tummy time for a long time, but we've always just used blankets & random toys. But not now, he's moved up in the world. You should see the say he grins when I lay him down under the octopus toy. Its adorable.
One of our friends, Mike, brought his kids, Brayden (4) & Aubrey (7 1/2 mo), over yesterday afternoon. Eli & Aubrey had a blast. But I think we may have a little trouble on our hands. Eli had his arm wrapped around her & she kept giving him kisses. We will have to keep an eye on those two.
I did make another meal on Wednesday. It was tacos, which I always make, but I tried a new recipe. I wasn't a big fan of them & Luke said it was more like sloppy joes on tortillas. It called for a can of tomato soup, chili powder, & garlic. I ended up adding some salsa in my attempt to make it less sloppy joe like, but it didn't really work. At least they were edible.
Tonight I am going to be making another pork loin dish. (We went to Sam's a couple weeks ago & bought a giant pork loin, cut it up in 1lb sections, & froze it. So I will be making a lot of pork loin meals until it's gone.) I can't remember the name right now. But I know it calls for Tabasco sauce & brown sugar, so it should be interesting.
We went to the city Wednesday after Luke got off work to buy him some new pants. He used to work in a paint factory, so all of his work clothes were covered in paint, & before that he did road construction, so all those clothes were covered in grease & mud stains. But now, he finally has a job where he needs to look decent. He only had one pair of "fancy pants" or "going to town pants" as he liked to call them, so he was in a pretty bad need of some. I love seeing him come home in his boots, jeans, & pearl snaps shirts. It reminds me of when we first met <3
Anyway, while we were in the city, I finally bought Eli a carrier. He absolutely LOVES it. This kid has had Mommy trained since day 1. But recently, he has noticed how 'trained' I am. When I am home, he demands I hold him at all times, which I do anyway unless I'm trying to clean. Clean, who am I kidding, my house looks like an episode of Horders right now. Okay, well maybe not THAT bad. But now with his new carrier, I just strap him to the front of me & go about doing what ever I want with him giggling the whole time. We also bought him an activity gym. Why I hadn't bought one sooner? I have no idea. But it makes him so happy. He has been doing tummy time for a long time, but we've always just used blankets & random toys. But not now, he's moved up in the world. You should see the say he grins when I lay him down under the octopus toy. Its adorable.
One of our friends, Mike, brought his kids, Brayden (4) & Aubrey (7 1/2 mo), over yesterday afternoon. Eli & Aubrey had a blast. But I think we may have a little trouble on our hands. Eli had his arm wrapped around her & she kept giving him kisses. We will have to keep an eye on those two.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
My Husband Ate a Turkey Burger!
This may not seem like a big deal to you, but if you knew my husband, you would understand. You see, Luke is the type of guy that only eats food that once mooed. He's the guy who orders a triple bacon cheeseburger everywhere we go. But last night he ate & actually ENJOYED a turkey burger.
In accordance with My Cooking Challenge, I was determined to make a dinner that was a little healthier than we usually eat. I picked Turkey Burgers with Sauteed Mushrooms & Onions on Whole Wheat English Muffins. The whole wheat english muffins were a stretch too. He usually only eats white bread. I made a few small alterations to the recipe that made it more unhealthy, but it was still much healthier than a greasy cheeseburger with fries! I added a slice of swiss cheese to each burger & added a splash of worcestershire sauce & soy sauce to the onions & mushrooms while sauteing them to add a little more flavor.
It was a very successful dinner. Luke even asked me to make them again. Now it's time to pick a recipe for tonight!
In accordance with My Cooking Challenge, I was determined to make a dinner that was a little healthier than we usually eat. I picked Turkey Burgers with Sauteed Mushrooms & Onions on Whole Wheat English Muffins. The whole wheat english muffins were a stretch too. He usually only eats white bread. I made a few small alterations to the recipe that made it more unhealthy, but it was still much healthier than a greasy cheeseburger with fries! I added a slice of swiss cheese to each burger & added a splash of worcestershire sauce & soy sauce to the onions & mushrooms while sauteing them to add a little more flavor.
It was a very successful dinner. Luke even asked me to make them again. Now it's time to pick a recipe for tonight!
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Finally Success!
Yesterday wash such a good day. We had some beautiful weather so I took Eli & our little dogs for a long walk around the neighborhood. Eli had so much fun.
After our walk, I got caught up on a little cleaning & then finished editing all of Addysan's newborn pictures & making flyer/business cards for one of Luke's friends. Now today I can start working on Addy's one month & finish up Eli's four month pictures.
I'm so excited about next week when I start my new work schedule so I can have an extra day to spend with Eli & working on crafty things.
And I FINALLY made a successful dinner! I made Tangy Glazed Pork Loin with Garlic Potatoes. Luke loved it! I even liked it & I don't usually like pork! My hubby liked it so much that he ate the leftovers for breakfast, & he never eats leftovers.
Lets hope this is just the start of several good recipes to come!
After our walk, I got caught up on a little cleaning & then finished editing all of Addysan's newborn pictures & making flyer/business cards for one of Luke's friends. Now today I can start working on Addy's one month & finish up Eli's four month pictures.
I'm so excited about next week when I start my new work schedule so I can have an extra day to spend with Eli & working on crafty things.
And I FINALLY made a successful dinner! I made Tangy Glazed Pork Loin with Garlic Potatoes. Luke loved it! I even liked it & I don't usually like pork! My hubby liked it so much that he ate the leftovers for breakfast, & he never eats leftovers.
Lets hope this is just the start of several good recipes to come!
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Wednesday, March 9, 2011
Day 1 was AWFUL!
In accordance with my new personal challenge I cooked dinner last night. It was terrible. Almost the most disgusting thing I have ever made (only to be trumped by enchiladas I made last week & mistakenly used 2 year old sauce).
I got out my cookbooks & after thumbing through them I found a recipe I thought Luke might like. It was a cheesy garlic chicken bake, just the sort of thing he always devours. Not this time. After he took a big bite he got this confused look, finished the bite, & 'tested the water' by asking what I thought. So I took a bite. I assume my response was very clear by the look on my face, because he immediately stood up & asked what I wanted from McDonalds.
I started checking my ingredients to see what I had done wrong, but had no such luck. It appeared everything was done correctly. That recipe just sucked. Needless to say I am NOT posting it because I would hate for anyone else to waste time making it!
I'll be trying again tonight. Wish me luck!
I got out my cookbooks & after thumbing through them I found a recipe I thought Luke might like. It was a cheesy garlic chicken bake, just the sort of thing he always devours. Not this time. After he took a big bite he got this confused look, finished the bite, & 'tested the water' by asking what I thought. So I took a bite. I assume my response was very clear by the look on my face, because he immediately stood up & asked what I wanted from McDonalds.
I started checking my ingredients to see what I had done wrong, but had no such luck. It appeared everything was done correctly. That recipe just sucked. Needless to say I am NOT posting it because I would hate for anyone else to waste time making it!
I'll be trying again tonight. Wish me luck!
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.7
Tuesday, March 8, 2011
No More Excuses!
In an effort to become a 'better' wife & mother, I am going to start cooking more often. I have always enjoyed cooking, but have recently become too lazy to make anything that required more than turning on the oven or browning some hamburger meat. Not only am I going to start cooking more often, I will be trying new recipes (if you have a favorite please do tell!).
I will cook a meal a minimum of 4 days a week for 1 month. This excludes pre-made frozen meals (which are usually gross anyway) & ready to make meals like hamburger helper.
I will NOT use an old recipe of mine at LEAST 2 of those days.
I will make at LEAST 2 of those meals healthy & low in fat (which will be very hard because my hubby refuses to eat anything healthy, so I will have to be creative!).
I will also post each new recipe I try (I will even try to work in a few pictures, but I can't promise anything, I still haven't added pictures of my oh-so-adorable little boy).
Since I married my husband a short 19 months ago (to the day), I have gained 50lbs. Yes that's right FIFTY pounds, NOT including my pregnancy weight because I've ALREADY lost almost all of it. I attribute a huge part of my weight gain to my post wedding laziness. Not only did I stop working out everyday, I also started eating just like my hubby, which meant greasy hamburgers, frozen pizza, & way too much fast food. The problem with this is I don't do the physical labor he does everyday, so he can stay the same or even lose a pound or two, while I gain 5.
Please feel free to send me any recipes you may have! I would LOVE to try them!
I will cook a meal a minimum of 4 days a week for 1 month. This excludes pre-made frozen meals (which are usually gross anyway) & ready to make meals like hamburger helper.
I will NOT use an old recipe of mine at LEAST 2 of those days.
I will make at LEAST 2 of those meals healthy & low in fat (which will be very hard because my hubby refuses to eat anything healthy, so I will have to be creative!).
I will also post each new recipe I try (I will even try to work in a few pictures, but I can't promise anything, I still haven't added pictures of my oh-so-adorable little boy).
Since I married my husband a short 19 months ago (to the day), I have gained 50lbs. Yes that's right FIFTY pounds, NOT including my pregnancy weight because I've ALREADY lost almost all of it. I attribute a huge part of my weight gain to my post wedding laziness. Not only did I stop working out everyday, I also started eating just like my hubby, which meant greasy hamburgers, frozen pizza, & way too much fast food. The problem with this is I don't do the physical labor he does everyday, so he can stay the same or even lose a pound or two, while I gain 5.
Please feel free to send me any recipes you may have! I would LOVE to try them!
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