BREAKFAST BURRITOS!!

This idea came from a pancake mix that I had in the pantry that I needed to use quickly as the expiration date had passed a few days ago.  I found these cute little shake and pours at Brookshires for BOGO for a penny sale (you know it's my favorite!).  I can also wash them out and save them for pretend cooking as RL gets older!

The burritos are just made of sausage, eggs, and cheese.  Make sure to season your eggs well with salt and pepper.  I also like to add a little milk as well.  We love salsa with burritos even breakfast themed!

Results:

1) D rated it an 8.  He really wasn't feeling the idea when I presented it, but the reality is that he doesn't have a choice, unless he wants to prepare something for himself.  He was pleased with the results.

2) RL was interested in the pancakes and eggs.  She gagged on the strawberries. :)

3)  I thought it was excellent and stopped at one so I could bring one to work the next day!

**These are GREAT frozen.  Make extra and wrap them in foil and place in a zip lock bag.  They can be heated up straight from the freezer in the oven with the foil or remove foil, wrap in a paper towel and heat in the microwave.  It is so easy for a quick lunch!!

I received a big package today!! My learning tower I ordered for RL.  I am so anxious to see if she likes it!

http://www.littlepartners.com/

RL loves to be in the kitchen with me and is very interested in everything I do.  I thought this would be a great learning tool for her.  From a developmental stand point (sometimes I forget child development was my educational background based on the rapid amount of mommy mistakes I make on a daily basis)....as I was saying...from a developmental stand point, the opportunities are endless.  Being able to work in the kitchen with mom is great for independence learning and confidence building!!

Let's see how many meltdowns take place before the finished product emerges!

SPECIAL TIME.....SPECIAL PEOPLE

I am definately going to get back to posting some recipes SOON!  I have some coming up this week!!  I have been less creative lately and embarrassed by my cooking performances. :)

I was able to spend some amazing time with my absolute best friend in the world.  I am extremely blessed to have this friendship for the last 15 years.  God intentionally placed her in my life to laugh with, cry with, vent with, encourage with, and listen to every single thing I want to talk about!! And who else would make my little pumpkin head.....literally, a pumpkin head!!!

Now...you may wonder who this mystery best friend may be.  Why wouldn't this wonderful friend be a follower? Shouldn't she have been the first one? Yes she should have!!  Just sayin.  I bookmarked my blog to the homepage of her Ipad.  Let's see how long it takes her to be a follower.  The countdown begins now............

I will post some non-creative 7's (scored by D) in case you are looking for any boring quick meals.

Grilled Ham and cheese (it really wasn't black in person), sweet potato, and broccoli.

 Sauteed shrimp over steamed fresh rice with okra.  I posted the shrimp recipe a couple of weeks back.  I LOVE this shrimp.

And a little side note about the Bachelor Women Tell All.  (Monday nights = D at Vball = trash TV).  These women need to chill out and move on.  Do you think that you are so perfect that you have the right to tear down someone else?  It is a display of immaturity and self-centeredness, IMO.  Someone needs some Jesus in their life.  :) I could go on, but I won't.  I want to, but I won't.

NOTHING SPECIAL

No new or interesting meals to report, so I will post a couple that are not anything special but may spring some ideas.  Chili dogs!!!  We very very rarely have hot dogs.  Honestly, I don't think RL has ever had one? However, I picked some up at a sale a few weeks ago so I incorporated them into a rotation.  I made some chili for the crockpot in the morning to simmer all day.  The up side of this is that it literally took me 10 minutes after work to get it ready.  The down side is browning meat and mixing chili at 5 AM in the morning.  D was extremely confused and I am pretty sure that for a split second he thought I had COMPLETELY lost my mind.  I do that sometimes. Loose my mind that is. It's part of my charm.

 Clearly it is important to add a healty factor to the meal.  Carrots did the trick.  Bag of baby carrots, steamed in the microwave with a zip lock steamer bag.  Add a litte brown sugar for the adults.

There are many great things about living in Louisiana. Humidity and frizzy hair is NOT one of them, Mardi Gras IS one of them.  I have never really participated in many festivities, but I think the concept of throwing colorful beads off of "floating" trailors is fascinating.  RL thinks beads are fascinating.  Doesn't a daddy/daughter dress up party melt your heart??

 RL really doesn't have a bald spot as pictured above.  Her curls are just misplaced. :)


Next up....Zatarans Jumbalya.  Always on sale at brookshires and always coupons.  Same with the sausage. Super easy. Super fast.

And thats all for now!! Yay for a new follower.  Welcome, friend.

CHICKEN TACOS!!

Well hello my 7 followers.  It's Monday night which means D plays Vball and mama and RL have a girls night drinking smoothies and watching trash TV..ie..the bachelor.  Before you judge, I did provide RL with a well rounded complete meal, not just the smoothie.  Smoothies are one of her favorites though....we like to sit on the floor and practice with the spoon going in the bowl and then into her mouth.  Practicing this on the floor helps control the spoon slinging the smoothie across the room.  I learned from experience.

So lets catch up and discuss the lucky dinner that D so generously awarded the big TEN.  The variations are endless. I chose based on what I had available (and what I needed to use up).

 Frozen chicken in the crockpot with chicken broth.  I did high for 6 hours since they were frozen.  It only takes 4 if they are defrosted.

 Shred with a fork.  It should be super easy.

 Sautee some pepper and onions.  I used "I cant believe its not butter" (there is $1.25 coupon on coupons.com fyi) and Natures Own (obsessed much?)

 Add shredded chicken and black beans.  RL really likes beans so I try to add them in when I can.  My intention was to season with taco seasoning, but I didn't have any so I used Fajita seasoning and added a little water so that it would coat all of the chicken and give it a little sauce.  I also added a tablespoon of cumin.

 I then remembered that I had some velveeta cheese that I needed to use, so rotel sounded GREAT!!

 Just throw in the microwave and keep adding time until it is melted.  It took mine about 7 minutes.

Add some shredded cheese, because you simply can NEVER have enough.

 Now here is when it really gets tricky.  :) When we REALLY want to indulge ourselves, I make double tacos.  Soft taco....rotel......crunchy taco.  How can this NOT be unbelievable.  Really....how can it not?

Thats it!!! Make it your own and you will love it!  Totally a weeknight meal and can be cooked on low for as long as you are at work!

Results

1) D gives it a 10!! He wanted to make sure it was noted that 10s are not given lightly.  It is a serious achievement. There were no suggestions.

2) RL gives the chicken, tortilla, and black beans a 10.

3) It was soooo good.  I think I needed a little bit more of the fajita or taco seasoning.  I also think it would be great to make a double batch and freeze!!

Need a cute kid fix? RL is rockin an ear infection right now so today is not the day for her, but this weekend she got to visit her cousin!!

So much fun!!

BASIL PORK CHOPS!!

Okay...so I decided I will backtrack on some recipes at a later date.  Now, I just want to move forward.  Moving forward equals some FANTASTIC pork chops!  I found this recipe a while ago from allrecipes.com,  maybe? I am not a huge pork fan, but I absolutely adore this version of chops. 

Here are the ingredients:

I really tried hard to arrange things nicely.  I moved things around several times.  I still failed.

Pork chops (the thinner the better in my opinion)

3/4 cup brown sugar

6 shakes of garlic powder

6 shakes of salt/natures own

3 tablespoons basil

3 tablespoons chili powder

EVOO (extra virgin olive oil or whaterver you have)

Mix all the dry ingredients in a dish and then coat with a couple of pours of your EVOO.  This allows the seasons to stick to the meat.

  

 Once I coat them and place them on the plate, I will add a couple of shakes of chili powder and a couple of shakes of basil.  I really get excited at this point.  I canNOT tell you how much I love these pork chops.  Remember....I dont even like pork!!

Cook on medium heat for about 5 minutes on each side. They are also fantastic grilled, which was the original intention, however, the grill randomly has a hole in the bottom?  I don't know how it got there? Is that normal? I must look into this. Carrying on, either grilled or on a skillet it doesnt take long at all. (especially if they are thin)

I also wanted some grilled zuchinni.  Have you ever tried it? Soooo good!  Marinate in Italian dressing and season with salt/Natures Own.  Let sit as long as you can.

Since our grill took the night off I had to put the zuchinni in a skillet.  Never attempted this before, but it worked.  Not as good as the grill, but it works.  Place each piece in the skillet and pour in a little extra dressing.  Med heat for about 10 minutes. 

 Serve pork chops over rice, shredded parm over the zuchinni, steam some baby carrots and sprinkle a little brown sugar. 

Dinner is served....

RESULTS:

1) RL says the dinner strike is OVER! She ate everything off her high chair and then some more from mom and dads plates.  She is getting spectacular at using a big person fork, have a mentioned she is GENIUS!!

2) D gave it "right around a 9".  It has been a staple for a while.  Side note - He actually awarded a TEN this weekend.  Can't wait to post!

3) For me it is a ten for EVA!

This is super easy to accomplish within 30 minutes....20 really.  As mama was cooking it up, RL was getting her nails did.....

On to the next day....

PLAYING CATCH UP

I have three days to catch up on, so lets get rolling...

Sunday is splurge day which means D can eat mulitple helpings of dinner.  It is important to prepare a meal that deserves this special attention!

I won't spend alot of time on my spaghetti sauce creation since most people have their own way of making it and typically aren't looking for anything new.

I'll tell you what I throw in:

Hunts Spaghetti Sauce ($1)
Italian Seasoning
Natures Own
Minced Garlic
Garlic Powder
Crushed Red Pepper
Sugar
Onions
Butter

Overall, it's a sweet and spicy flavor which I love!

Monday night is D's volleyball night, so RL and I spent some quality time together.  We had a yellow/orange themed party night.  Don't give me too much credit. It was completely by accident.   Her ever changing choices of food continues as she would ONLY touch the corn on her highchair.  However, she was VERY interested in the smoothie I was drinking. 

 So, I put some in a bowl and gave her a spoon....

Who needs a spoon...

This kid cracks me up!!

***Bronchitis occupying RL's little chest has slowed the household down...I have a couple of more meals to share that I will post soon!**

FIRST FAMILY VACATION

Yay for a successful trip with a 13 month old!!  We had such a good time visiting friends and family in Dallas this weekend and returned home with no major malfunctions! 

I did however make some rookie mom mistakes:

 - like forgeting a jacket for my child in 30 degree weather - smooth move mom!!

-  forgetting to get a gift for the birthday party I was attending - luckily Dallas has an insane amount of shopping opportunities

-  not packing for the husband which means he forgets all important items (socks/underwear/ect) - thats not really a mistake....more of an example of dependency

......I'm sure there is more, but before I award myself with a big fat L on my forehead....I'll move on.

We got to celebrate Elise's 1st birthday! The party set up was ADORABLE!! My friend Jenn made most of the decor and she self-admitedly went a little overboard! However, this basically explains the origin of our friendship.  Overboard could be my middle name.....so well done, my friend Jenn!  I envy you, applaud you, and will probably copy most of your ideas in the future! :)

 We also got to visit the fish and shark infested Aquarium!!  In addition to RL's first trip, D and I had never been to a sea of wonder, therefore, amazement was shared among all.  RL has no fears so she explored everything and pranced all over the glass covered shark dwellings.

 She even touched a "Chocolate Chip Starfish".  Coolest named sea creature I have ever met (considering I have met so many)

All in all, a great little vacay.  I will leave you with this following EXTREMELY important  information...pins and needles?

Something I realized this weekend...

I have the ability to leave the house in a complete shambled state before going out of town (extremely important, right? Turn around now before it gets too heavy for you!).  I have always had a rule that the house must be pefectly straight before leaving for two or more days.  How good does it feel to come home to a clean house?  Its kind of like a little piece of extended vacation.

For this trip, it just didn't happen.  The last 28 minutes before hitting the road was spent trying to locate one itty bitty brown shoe.  Either the dog or the husband had hidden it under the couch cushion.  There just wasn't time to straighten the now even more destroyed living areas.  My heart pounded as I closed the door behind me and I battled a borderline panic attack for a good 2 hours of the trip.

Then I returned. Walked through the door frame and discovered that it was much messier than I even remembered.  And....I lived...