Weekend Fun

A little rain here and there didn't damper our weekend fun that's for sure! And fun we had! Friday Daddy stayed home with the girls and I went out for some much needed sister time with my sister Haley, even if it was only for a couple of hours for dinner it was nice to get out and catch up with her. Saturday was our fun day, we had over some friends and their kiddos for a day of pool fun as you will see from the pictures we had a lot of fun I don't know who had more fun the adults or the kids! 

 Jay & Luke

 Callie, Jaylee, & Lucas

Riding the waves!

 The girls even got a game of beer pong in!

The little ones, Payton, Alexis & Ella

Me & my girl

 Snack Time! The kids loved this dip, it was so easy and one I will defiantly make again! 

Here's the recipie if your looking for a quick and easy dip the kids will love!

Funfetti Dip

3 TBSP of funfetti cake mix

2 TBSP plain yogurt

1 TBSP cool whip

Mix cake mix and yogurt until smooth, fold in cool whip. Refrigerate until chilled. Serve with animal crackers

 The kids loved swimming in the rain!

 The guys

Thank you to our wonderful friends and family for making it such a great day!

We ended our weekend with another day in the pool, trying to soak in every bit of summer and the girls had try to out their new bathing suits they picked out:)

 Lex was so excited about her's she thought it was like a dress with the skirt and ariel was a plus too!

 I love the suit Jaylee picked she now wants to make a shirt like it so we may have to venture into tie dying sometime soon:)

Well we're off to Cleveland for round 5 on Tuesday morning so say an extra prayer for another good round:)

Bacon Wrapped Meatloaf

So here's the recipe as promised:) It is so simple I just kinda threw it together real quick, and it worked, great flavor and a different spin on the plain old meatloaf.

1 lb pound ground beef

1 package of McCormick meatloaf mix

onion 

ketchup

bacon

Mix together the meat following the regular directions on the meatloaf mix, I added chopped onion for texture. Shape into a loaf on a sheet pan and cover lengthwise with bacon until the whole loaf is covered. Glaze the whole thing with a layer of ketchup. Bake according to mix directions I believe it was 350 for 50-60 min.So there you have it pretty easy and oh so good!

We are starting out another weekend with these crappy colds, I have a sore throat, Jaylee still has a cough and runny nose, and Lex has a really nasty cough and low grade fever. Jeramey is the only one not effected yet, hopefully it stays that way! The only plans we have is furniture shopping for Jeramey to pick out his recliner and for me to pick out our leather furniture, which I am so excited about! Leather will be so much nicer and kid friendly not to mention I love the look of them:)

And the other plan is Jeramey's taco feast with the family Sunday night! My parents are coming back from Cancun tomorrow night so we are all getting together here on Sunday to see them! Feels like they've been gone for weeks, we miss them!! So another low key weekend on the agenda here, hopefully by Monday we are all healthy and these colds are gone!

Have a great weekend!!

Zucchini Fries

If you like Zucchini you will love these! I made them the other weekend and they where a hit! I bet they would be even better deep fried which I will try next time! Enjoy

 Baked Zucchini Fries


About 1 lb. zucchini
1/2 c. Italian-seasoned panko bread crumbs
1/4 c. grated Parmesan cheese (the crumbly stuff, not shreds)
2 eggs

Preheat oven to 425. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray with non-stick cooking spray. Set aside.

Combine bread crumbs and Parmesan cheese. Set aside.

Whisk 2 eggs together in a shallow pie plate and set aside.

Cut the ends off the zucchini and then cut the zucchini in half so you have two short, stubby pieces. Set one piece on its end and cut it in half lengthwise. Cut that half in half, making 2 planks. Repeat with the remaining halves (so you'll get 16 planks per zucchini).

Stack 2 planks on top of each other and cut into strips. Thicker strips will yield "meatier" fries with more zucchini flavor while thin strips will be crispy and taste virtually nothing like zucchini. When all the fries are cut, blot the pieces with a paper towel.

Working with a small handful at a time, dip the zucchini sticks in the egg, shake them to remove any excess, and then roll them in about 2-3 tablespoons of bread crumbs at a time, adding more as needed; you just don't want to work with all the bread crumbs at once because they'll soak up moisture from the egg and won't stick to the zucchini. Place the coated strips on the prepared baking sheet and repeat until all the zucchini strips have been coated.

Bake for 10-12 minutes in the prepared oven then remove from oven, flip the fries, and bake for another 10-12 minutes or until the zucchini is not soggy and the coating is crisp and golden brown. Serve immediately with Pizza Sauce or Buttermilk Ranch Dressing. Serves 6-8 as a side dish.

Stromboli & 5 Minute Marinara

I made this last night for supper, we needed something quick and easy and this was defiantly that! I loved this, Jeramey & the girls did as well. If you are a pizza fan this one is a must try. And the sauce was really good too, so easy and it made plenty, I froze half of it for later use. Back to the Stromboli, you could seriously use anything you would like, veggies, different meats what ever you like on your pizza would work perfect for this.I'm thinking next time I make this it will be a weekend thing where everyone gets to make their own and fill it with whatever they want. This would also be a perfect party food too!

 Stromboli
1 – 16 ounce loaf frozen bread dough thawed.
¼ lb. Thinly sliced ham
¼ lb. Sliced hard salami
pepperoni
½ teaspoon dried basil – divided
½ teaspoon dried oregano – divided
3 ounces sliced provolone cheese
1 cup (4 ounces) shredded mozzarella cheese
2 Tablespoons butter or margarine melted

Place bread dough on lightly greased baking sheet.  Pat into a 15 x 10” rectangle.  Arrange ham slices lengthwise down center; place salami & pepperoni on top.  Sprinkle with ¼ teaspoon basil and ¼ teaspoon oregano.  Arrange provolone cheese over herbs and top with shredded mozzarella cheese.  Sprinkle with remaining herbs.  Moisten all edges of dough with water; bring each long edge of dough to center. Press edges together securely to seal.  Seal ends.

Brush dough with 1 Tablespoon butter;  and carefully invert so that the seam side is down.  Brush top with remaining butter.  Bake at 375 degrees for 20-22 minutes or until browned.

Remove from oven and place on a cutting board.  Cut horizontally into slices with a serrated (bread) knife.


5 Minute Marinara
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
3 cloves garlic crushed
1 32-ounce can chunky-style crushed tomatoes
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon Italian dried seasoning
1 teaspoon each of oregano, basil, garlic salt and garlic powder

Add the olive oil to a medium sized saucepan over medium heat. Add the garlic saute' until garlic sizzles,  then stir in the crushed tomatoes. Season the sauce with salt, pepper,oregano,basil,garlic salt, powder and Italian seasoning. Cook for five minutes until heated through.

Snow & Chicken Taco Soup

Last night after Jeramey & I got done working we bundled the girls up and headed outside to let them play in the snow for a little bit. Jaylee was loving it of course, Lex was a little more reserved this time for some reason.

 Lex did eventually put down the sippy cup but not the paci of course!

 After about a million times going down the slide we headed in and warmed up with this new soup recipe for supper, it was really good  similar to regular taco soup. Jaylee loved it she ended up eating 2 big bowls! I guess this will be one I will have to make again:)



Chicken Taco Soup

2-3 Chicken Breast
Onion
2-3 Cloves of Garlic
3 Tbs. Butter
2 Chicken bouillon cubes
1 C. hot water
1/2 tsp. Ground Cumin

In a skillet brown chicken with butter, onion and garlic
After the chicken is cooked shred with 2 forks
In a soup pot heat the water, chicken bouillon and cumin, simmer until dissolved.

2 Cups of milk
1/4 cup salsa
1 can of petite diced tomato's with juice
2 Tbs. of taco seasoning
1 packet of sazon(mexican seasoning)
Add all remaining ingredients and chicken to the water mixture and heat on low stirring often until heated through.

Garnish with sour cream, tortilla chips, cheese and tomato. These are a must!
This will serve about 4 people.

Hot Chocolate

So the other week I had won my first giveaway ( I never win anything so I was so excited!) it was from Megan @ http://www.megasimple.blogspot.com/ and I had won Hot Chocolate from a local place called stella leona. I love anything chocolate so I was excited to try this, and I was not let down! Oh my this was thee.best.hot.chocolate EVER!! Oh it was so good! I know this will be something I will have to go get more of it was that good! And browsing their website they have a lot of other yummy treats that have me intrigued, so a trip over there is in the near future and I mean very near future! Thanks for my newest addiction Megan:)

Cheeseburger Soup

Cheeseburger Soup

1/2 pound ground beef

3/4 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup shredded carrots

3/4 cup diced celery

1 teaspoon dried basil

1 teaspoon dried parsley flakes

4 tablespoons butter, divided

3 cups chicken broth

4 cups diced peeled potatoes (1-3/4 pounds)

1/4 cup all-purpose flour

2 cups (8 ounces) process cheese (Velveeta)

1-1/2 cups milk

3/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/4 cup sour cream

Directions

In a 3-qt. saucepan, brown beef; drain and set aside.

 In the same saucepan, sauté onion, carrots, celery, basil and parsley in 1 tablespoon butter until vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. 

Add broth, potatoes and beef; bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.

Meanwhile, in a small skillet, melt remaining butter. Add flour; cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to soup; bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.

 Add cheese, milk, salt and pepper; cook and stir until cheese melts. Remove from the heat; blend in sour cream. 

This was really good, I will defiantly be making this more as is continues to get colder out. 

Random Friday!

Ya'll are going to get a little bit of everything today! A Recipe, Room Rearranging, A Report on my sister & More Free Cards! So are you all ready? Here we go;)


This recipe is one I have wanted to try for ever and finally did the other night, and I'm so glad I did! If you like the shells of taco bells chalupas you will love this! Although probably not that good for you considering they are deep fried but it was so worth it!

Navajo Tacos

12 Rhodes Texas™ Rolls, thawed & risen (the equivalent of 18 regular Rhodes dinner rolls)

vegetable oil for frying-I used our deep fryer

1/2 pound ground beef

4 green onions, finely chopped

1/2 cup picante sauce or salsa

1 clove garlic, minced

2 cups canned pinto beans-I used refried beans

 cheddar cheese

1 cup shredded lettuce

2 medium tomatoes, chopped

1 medium onion, chopped

sour cream, if desired

Flatten each roll to a 6-inch circle. Fry in vegetable oil at 375°F until golden brown, turning over once (about 30 seconds). Drain on paper towels. 

Fry ground beef, drain off fat. Add onion and fry until onions are clear.

Add salsa, minced garlic and beans; heat through. Do not over cook.

Spoon desired amount over warm fried dough. Top with grated cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, and green onion. If desired, add more salsa and sour cream.

ENJOY!

Room rearranging, of course you knew that was coming soon right? I haven't moved it around in a while so it was time. And with Christmas decorating on the list the next week or two I needed to free up the front window where the tree will go. So this is the arrangement we have now, all ready for the tree;)

I also moved all the toys into the room we made into a playroom for the girls, we had some in there and some out in the living room so it just made more sense to have all the toys in one room. The girls are loving it! And so am I, less mess for me to clean up!

Now about the cards I posted about the other day. I received my code for the 50 free cards in my email yesterday! So of course I couldn't wait and went ahead and made our cards. I took the easy way out and used our family pictures that I took a couple of weeks ago, so now we don't have to mess with trying to get a good one for a Christmas Card (which made for a VERY happy husband!) I LOVE them I can't wait to get them!  But what I love most is how much that little blog post and a couple of codes saved me! I ended up getting 55 cards for free! Here's how:

I used my code from blogging about it which was for 50 free cards

Then I used this code :   TRYFIVE  and got 5 more free cards

So that is a total of 55 cards which totaled up to be $131.45!  The card I chose was 2.39 each. That I got for FREE!!!

Also if you are ordering anything else when you order the free cards that is 30.00 or more  you can also use this code:  SHIP30 and get free shipping also!

Which I did order other things so I ended up getting them shipped for free!

So it is well worth a little blog post to score $131.45 in free cards! Hope you all take advantage of that deal!

My sister Makenzie had her first appointment with a neurosurgeon yesterday. They said that she will defiantly need to have surgery so that has tentatively been scheduled for Monday November 29th. So if you would continue to keep her in your prayers that would be greatly appreciated.


Hope you all have a wonderful weekend!