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Tuesday, April 22, 2014

On the Table Tuesday

Hey there! How was your Easter? Ours was just lovely, really! We took an awesome bike ride with the kiddos on Friday, did an egg hunt and other festivities at church Saturday morning, went to Easter services Saturday evening, took it easy Sunday morning and made Resurrection Rolls, played a fun game, watched the girls wash my car, and joined some friends and let the kids swim until they were a nice shade of blue and covered in chill bumps. All good things must come to an end, huh?

Our family shared time together during Holy Week reading through some scriptures each day and discussing the symbols that led to Jesus' crucifixion and glorious resurrection. Treasures. I just love our Easter Heartfelt banner. Click the link and check it out. We also love our Advent banner from Heartfelt.

Well, now for the food....

Monday- We had hot dog croissants. Our sweet friend, Angie made these while we were at the beach last summer, and I remembered them when I had an extra can of croissants from the Resurrection Rolls. I bought some dogs, wrapped them in cheese, and then wrapped them in the croissant rolls, and baked those babies. They are so good. Dip them in your favorite condiment. I served them alongside some sliced apples and strawberries.

Tuesday- TACO TUESDAY! Whoo Hoo! It's my lucky day. We had fish leftover from last week, so I repeated the fish tacos from last week. Nothing like bringing a little happy to your day with fish tacos!

Cilantro and lime...two of my favorite combos. I hope the cilantro I planted will take off so I won't have to buy it at the store anymore. Not that it's that expensive (2/$.88 at the K-Roger), but picking your own is so much more fun!

I found another fish taco recipe I thought I would give a shot tonight. I gave the chiptole sauce a shot, which was pretty good, but stuck with my tried and true Cilantro and Lime Fish Tacos from Closet Cooking. Y'all, I'm transported to the white sandy beaches of somewhere wonderful when I've had that crema sauce. I could eat it right out of the bowl with a spoon. MMMMM mm mmmm!

Wednesday- We're going to give the Chicken with 40 Cloves of Garlic recipe a shot. There were rave reviews, and I have chicken and garlic. It was calling my name. I'm serving it over pasta. 

Thursday- Coconut Rice and Black Beans. How could I go wrong with that combo? I've made this recipe before, and I lurve it. So creamy and gooood!

Friday- YOYO- We'll be at a Zumbathon to benefit Emma's Hugs. If you're local, join us at Cedar Bayou Grace United Methodist Church at 7 p.m. Bring your $10 donation and a bunch of friends and get cray-to-the-zay with us! 

Saturday- not sure yet. Luke has a choir festival all day. It might be pizza night.

Sunday- probably cold cuts or BLTs. Luke has his last soccer game of the season. Hope they win.

And because I know you want to see my little darlings hunt for eggs, here they are...


Kelvin made them close their eyes. I think every one of them cheated!

It's all about winning for Luke. We finally made him stop so the girls could find some. 

How'd she get to be so big?

I was waiting for the swing to break so I could laugh. Is that bad? ;)

Such a sweet sister. Carleigh passed over quite a few so Cora could find them. I love her!


Counting the loot  findings!

Have a great week!


I'm Linking to the Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday. Click the link for more menu plans.

Tuesday, April 15, 2014

Menu for the week

Well hello there! Hope you had a lovely weekend and made it through your Monday and Tuesday. It's time to menu plan for the rest of the week. Here's what's on our table this week...

Monday- Bean and cheese quesadillas. I used the leftover taco soup I made last week (sans meat) and blended the beans to make what looked like refried beans. I spread the beans on a tortilla, topped with cheese, and added another tortilla on top. Cook these in a skillet or on a griddle until tortillas are crisp on each side and the cheese is melted.

Tuesday- was going to be fish tacos, but I'm moving them further down in the week. Tonight is tomato basil soup and grilled cheese sandwiches. The weather completely freaked out around here, and it feels like fall instead of spring. Soup sounds good to me. The link to the soup is from way back when my littles were a lot littler. ;) Carleigh is six, so that means Luke is four. Emma was not enjoying the pumpkin patch very much, and Cora was still in the womb. My how things have changed.

Wednesday- Breakfast Bowls  I still have some potatoes and sausage leftover from the other night, so we will add some eggs and cheese to the mix and call it supper!

Thursday- 10 Minute Fish tacos--10 minutes!?! That's what I'm talkin' about! I love fish tacos. And lime. And cilantro.

Friday- YOYO

Saturday- hamburgers. I love the Teriyaki Turkey Burgers I discovered from Sasha at Lemonade Makin' Mama, but I think we will go a little more traditional and break out some bacon and jalapenos this time. Oh, baby!

Sunday- Easter brunch including Resurrection Rolls and Baked Egg, Tomato and Bacon Cups. I looked through my archives today to find a post about Resurrection Rolls but couldn't find one. I can't believe I haven't posted about them before. That's just terrible. They are so neat and are an exciting (and yummy) way to celebrate the resurrection on Easter Sunday. Check out my Easter board on Pinterest for a link to the rolls and some other really neat Easter ideas. I think I will talk Kelvin into cooking a brisket or some crawfish or something for later in the day.

So, do you have any fun traditions for Easter? I would love to hear about them. Share them in the comments below. I hope you have a great week. Hope to hop back on here a couple of more times this week. I have so many neat things to share. We'll see. I also have Easter parties and other stuff that has to be completed...like painting. Those walls aren't painting themselves. Painters deserve every penny. That's some hard work!

Toodles!

I'm Linking to the Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday. Click the link for more menu plans.

Saturday, April 12, 2014

Friday night fun

After reading Tara's post a while back about making a list at the beginning of the year of families to invite over for dinner and get to know a little better, Kelvin and I thought it sounded like a good idea for us to try. We made our list, and last night one of the families on our list joined us for dinner. We had a great time of fellowship and enjoyed the evening around the fire pit after dinner.  (One of my favorite things in the world.) Kelvin and I kept the menu simple and cooked the same yummy sandwiches from last week, heated some delicious Alexia rosemary fries, and whipped up some AMAZING dessert, which was a good choice for a busy Friday. I also bought a few ripe avocados and mashed them up, added some salt and a squeeze of lime and put it out with some corn chips for an easy appetizer. Of course, I forgot to take pictures, but I do have a few of my little chef helping me make the Best Ever Homemade Brownies we served for dessert.

She is a ham bone, y'all! 


I'm not sure what we have working with the arm, but she's cute!

Can't very well go wrong with these ingredients, huh?

And here's what remained this morning 

Sooooo, we all had some for dessert after breakfast...


because it's Saturday...and we can. ;)

A couple of things I noted for the brownies in parenthesis

1 stick butter (room temperature)

4 eggs
1 cup sugar
1 can Hershey’s syrup (or 1 1/2 cups from the Hershey's bottle if you can't find the can)
1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup plus 1 T. flour
1/2 cup chopped nuts, optional (I put walnuts on half of the pan. YUM!)
1/2 tsp. baking powder
1/4 tsp. salt

Have a good Saturday. xo






Tuesday, April 8, 2014

On the Table

It's Tuesday! Time for this week's menu plan. Last week was the first week in a very long time that I actually made everything on the menu plan. I think I can say hands down the black and blue steak sandwiches were our favorite! Kelvin and I loved them so much that we made them again for lunch on Sunday after licking the plates on Saturday evening. :) The curried chicken and coconut rice turned out great too. I threw it all together before we left for Luke's concert that evening, and popped in the oven. Have you ever used the cook timer function on your oven? You might not realize you even have that function. I ignored the extra buttons on my oven for a long time, but y'all, that function is AWESOME! You set how long you want the dish to cook, set the temp, set the starting time, and then go, and the oven does the work for you. Suh-weet! SO, when we got home from the concert, dinner was ready. Love that.

Carleigh looked at our menu plan for this week and said I picked a winner. She like every day. Love that too. :) Here it is...

Monday- pizza and salad...because some days you just need to throw a frozen pizza or two in the oven, for cryin' out loud. ;) We had salad to go with it and some yogurt for dessert. Everybody was happy. I like happy.



Tuesday- Quesadillas- the options are limitless. Just toss whatever you like between two tortillas with some cheese and cook in a skillet or quesadilla maker until the tortillas are browned and the cheese is melted. Cut and top with salsa, sour cream, and guacamole or whatever your heart desires.

Wednesday- Cheeseburger wraps. The kids are tickled pink about these. It's the little things, y'all. I'll probably cut up some fruit to serve alongside the wraps, and maybe some Kettle Salt and Pepper chips too.

Thursday- Taco Soup There are meellion and one different recipes for taco soup. Taco soup is one of those things that you can add or take away according to your liking. I LOVE soup. I wish my family liked it as much.

Friday- Dinner with friends. I think we're going to grill some steak and make the black and blue steak sandwiches again. :) They were a WINNER! I'll be searching Pinterest for a good appetizer and dessert. Feel free to leave suggestions in the comments below. 

Saturday- YOYO (you're on your own)

Sunday- Sausage and potatoes this is a favorite...it's quick and easy and good. I like to add carrots too.

Today, a friend of mine came over for our therapy session lunch. I'm so thankful for my friends. I made black bean and tuna salad. Last week before I went to the store, the pantry and refrigerator were both pretty bare. It was lunch time, and I was assessing my options. There was a can of tuna and a can of black beans in the pantry. I Googled "black beans and tuna" and the recipe above popped up. It has become my favorite new quick meal. There are endless possibilities! You could serve it over mixed greens like I did, or in a pita pocket, or in a wrap or just eat it right out of the bowl! I left out the onions, because I didn't have any, but more importantly, because unlike my little man, Luke, I'm not a big fan of raw onions. I also added chopped jalapenos instead of green chilies. It's a good thing!

source

So, what's on your menu this week? Do you have a favorite throw-down recipe you like to make for guests? Click on the comment section below and do tell!

Have a great week!

I'm Linking to the Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday. Click the link for more menu plans.

Friday, April 4, 2014

Friday Favorites

It's Friday!! Whoo Hoo! One of my favorite things is a before and after. Don't you just love a good before and after? I could look at them all day. I think it gives me hope. I have done a little work in our kitchen lately.
Here are a couple of befores...

I wish I could find pics of how it looked when we moved in. The cabinets were oak, there was wallpaper everywhere, the counter tops were white Formica (I'm too messy a cook for white Formica!), and the floor was shiny tile. Let's just say it wasn't my style. So, I took down the wallpaper, had someone texture, I painted it a warm golden color, and a few years later, we put in the granite counter tops, stone back splash, and laminate floors.
You'll notice the cabinet hanging over the bar. I can't tell you how many time I hit my head on it! 

 I begged Kelvin to take out the hanging cabinet, but he thought we should keep it. Being the good wife that I am, I didn't take a sledge hammer to it. I waited and waited and waited some more, and finally this past fall, the stars aligned, the heavens opened, and the cabinet came down! I was so excited!! I didn't even care about the large hole in my ceiling that was there for a week or so or the raw wood that was there for a wee bit longer than a week or so (more like a few months, but who's counting!)


 I just didn't understand the lighting in the kitchen...a huge box recessed fluorescent light...WHY?! Can't tell you how much I hated that light. I rarely turned it on. I would rather have worked in the dark.

 I LOVE the recessed lights! LOVE them! And with the hanging cabinet gone, the kitchen looks SO much bigger. My head hurts a lot less too. I also painted. I'm going for a coastal look and chose Sherwin Williams' Sea Salt. I really like it...so calming. I need calm.
The color looks a little bit different depending upon the light. It's really a great color. I can't wait to finish the rest of the first floor with it.

Oh, I almost forgot! After taking out the hanging cabinet, we were left with that raw wood. I bought some chalk paint at a new little shop here in town, and was thrilled with the results. I can't wait to paint something else with it. :)



 So, what do ya think? I have other plans for the chandy in the breakfast area. I want to replace it with something like this...

source

and put some bamboo shades in the windows. I wish money grew on trees, but mine are bare. 
Patience is a virtue, right?

So, that's my favorite before and after right now. What about you?

Have a great weekend!



Thursday's post on Friday

Well, shocker, I didn't get my post out yesterday! Grr! I had every intention, and then I crashed (like couldn't hold my eyes open any more and had to lie down. I'm not sleeping well during the night, and I think it's messing up my days. :/) Yesterday was going to be "Throwback Thursday." I've been looking at some old photos and can't believe how much the kids have changed, so I thought I would post some old photos for your viewing pleasure.

First up, Luke....

This little doll face is my burly 10 year old!! Luke was barely two in this picture. They were having their end-of-school "party" in the 18 month class at preschool. He's wearing a Kelly's Kids outfit that matched one that Carleigh had. (sigh) His sweet baby soft hair had finally come in, and he was munching down on some special treats. 

This was his first year to play soccer. He was four. He is still playing and loves it more everyday. He's an awesome goalie!



This was a couple of years ago in second grade. His class did a "wax museum" project, and he was Alexander Graham Bell. He had specific criteria for the research, then had to write a little monologue to say when "museum guests" passed by. He was SO cute!


Here's the man a couple of months ago. He turned 10 on February 7. Ugh! I'm feeling so old. He can't decide who he wants to play professional soccer for...I think it's between the US, Mexico, or Brasil. He's wearing a Brasil jersey in his birthday photo. He loves to read, I think mostly for the AR points, but I don't care. His head is always in a book. He also thinks card tricks are cool right now, and he is constantly learning a new one from YouTube videos. 



Here are a couple of the girls. I'll highlight Carleigh next time. :)


These were taken a few years ago on a Colorado vacation. They are so precious!


Wednesday, April 2, 2014

Cora's 5th birthday in review

I can.not.be.LIEVE. our youngest is now FIVE!! That's just plain crazy! To celebrate, we had a small PJs and Popcorn Party, but not without having to narrow it down first. The whole month before, there were no less than five themes she wanted...all at the same time. A Dora/Little Mermaid/Camp-Out/Sleepover/the Frozen Movie "with popcorn" Party would have been exhausting, to say the least! So, we worked at a compromise. She ended up really wanting Little Mermaid and a sleepover. I knew the sleepover was out of the question, so I suggested to her I bring mermaid cookies to her preschool on her birthday, and then we have a PJs and Popcorn Party and invite her friends over to eat pizza, cupcakes, and popcorn, and watch Frozen in their pjs and then go home. She went for it! :) So, that's what we did. Amanda made the cutest mermaid and seahorse cookies which her school friends thought were AWESOME, and then the next night we had a little party.




Click here for the link to free download for the cupcake wrappers :)

What's that you say? Why yes, the kitchen walls are a different color. Stayed tuned for more photos!

Decorations make everything fun!


BFFs

Cool chick in shades

Best buddy

That girl loves her Grammy!


Cora started asking for a big girl bike a while back. She let us know she was too big for her current bike (actually a HUGE tricycle). This is her first outing on the bike. Before we got home, she was asking when we could remove the training wheels!

We have slowed way down on birthday parties the past few years. They can just become so over-the-top so very quickly. This one was fun and simple. We didn't try to squeeze in a craft or anything fancy. We ate pizza and cupcakes. Cora opened gifts. We threw some pillows on the floor and popped in the movie, and I popped popcorn. The kids watched the movie for 5.3 minutes, and then they ran upstairs to play in Cora's room but made sure they caught the "Let it Go" scene and then came and went as they pleased. That's the way to watch a movie! ;) She had a ball! I think the PJs and Popcorn Party is my favorite.

Tuesday, April 1, 2014

This week's menu

Updated with new links...

Hello there! Hope you had a good weekend and got through your Monday without too much of a struggle. I loved our menu last week. I'm sorry I forgot to post it. My favorite day was "Pizza, popcorn, and cupcake" night! Cora turned 5, and we had a couple of her close friends over for a little birthday celebration. It was so fun!

Here's what's on our table this week...

Monday- Burgers and Tots

Tuesday- Taco Cupcakes (healthier version) aka Wonton Tacos at our casa. Make sure and adjust the ingredients to your liking. For instance, I don't buy "fat free" because that usually means there is a chemical replacing the fat. I'm not using ground turkey; rather ground elk. Our family LOVES these. I always say I need to make a double batch. Maybe I'll remember tonight.

Wednesday- The Best Sloppy Joes' Ever well, according to the author of the recipe anyway. I'll let you know how they rate at our house. Let me know if you cook them and what your crew thinks too!

Thursday- One Pot Creamy Chicken Pasta I've never made this one, but it sure sounds good.

Friday- YOYO

Saturday- Black and Blue Steak Sandwich I can't wait for this one. I think it will be deeeelicious!

Sunday- Curried Chicken with Coconut Rice I'm making my kids (and Kelvin) step out of the box on this one, but I think they will thank me. (fingers crossed!)

I used a new-to-me feature on Ziplist for the recipe links this time. Hope it works for ya. I think I've mentioned here before how much I love Ziplist, but it's worth mentioning again. It's the best thing since sliced bread when it comes to saving recipes you find online, making shopping lists you can link to your smart phone and calendar, planning menus, sharing shopping lists, and on and on and on. Check it out at www.Ziplist.com. I wish I were getting paid to tell you about all the goodness that is their site, BUT I'm not. I just really like it.

Well, have a great week. I'll be back to share a couple of things tomorrow and the next day and the next (that is if everything works as planned and I don't forget or get sidetracked, which is always a possibility.) I know...crazy, huh? What's gotten in to me?

I leave you with this cuteness

These are the darling cupcakes from Cora's party...thank you, Amanda! I found the popcorn wrappers on Pinterest...fuh-ree printable, baby! Whoo Hoo! You can download them from this sweet lady's blog.

I'm Linking to the Organizing Junkie's Menu Planning Monday I always get excited when I see her menu plan pop up in my inbox. :) I usually find a couple of recipes to incorporate.
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