We had to try on her tutu that Auntie Tiff made as soon as we opened it! She seemed a little more comfortable with this one than her birthday tutu.

Ella got barrettes in her stocking. It was wishful thinking on my part. Someday she’ll have enough hair. This was our first attempt.

We had this for dinner tonight and while Stu and I were discussing whether or not it was actually “Mexican” food (I say it has to be because there’s salsa in it, ha ha) he said, “I think this is just quick food for every-day people.” And he’s right too! I’ve used this as a “fall back” meal on quite a few occasions when I have that “what’s for dinner” panic! It’s good, it’s fast (less than 30 min), and it’s pretty cheap too, so how can you go wrong there?? I usually make it sans onion and green pepper simply because I’m often too lazy to chop those when I’m scrambling for a quick dinner. It’s fine without, though I’m sure they do add to the flavor.

I have to tell you that I use this recipe on our “Meatless Monday” sometimes and rather than using ground beef, I use pinto beans. It works fabulous and my guys don’t even miss the meat because all of the flavor is still there! Try it and see. You might be surprised!

Oh, and Qade declared that this is his FAVORITE meal, so it’s gotta be good!

Cornbread Hamburger Pie:

1 lb ground beef
1 med onion, chopped
1 medium green pepper, chopped
1 can condensed tomato soup, undiluted
1/4 c salsa
2 T ketchup (I don’t use this EVER)
1 T steak sauce optional (I used A-1 the first time I made this and it was revolting, just sayin’ but it’s in the original recipe so I’ll leave it up to your adventurous side to try it or not, but you have been warned! Ha ha!)
1 package (8.5 oz) corn bread/muffin mix (Otherwise known as Jiffy, and sells for $.50 at WalMart)

In a 10” ovenproof skillet, cook the beef, onion and green pepper over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the soup, salsa, ketchup and steak sauce if desired. Prepare corn bread batter according to package directions; let stand for 2 min. Spoon over beef mixture. Bake at 400* for 15 min or until lightly browned. 4-6 servings.

One day even though it was wet and ickyish outside, the boys NEEDED to go out! They chose for their amusement to pull out their camp chairs and watch the gutter drip! Ha! This totally cracked me up, and of course I had to take some photos. Funny funny boys!

There’s lots of pictures in this post so I’m going to hide most of it, just click here to read/see the rest.

Qade is cautious about new experiences. He wasn’t very interested in participating in all of the group fun, but he did enjoy climbing and exploring on his own during their free time.

Myles went back and forth between participating and observing during group time, but was quite the little monkey when turned loose during free play. Not that there’s a big surprise there! Ha! Stuart commented that our kids do most of this gymnastics stuff in our living room just with not as soft landing spots.

Helen is quite the acrobat and one of the most bendable children I’ve ever met!

I mean, look at this “dance” move!

The boys got more involved when the balls and the bubbles came out.

Love how he totally missed the ball with this high kick, and the Michael Jordan tongue is hilarious too!

It was a fun time! I’ve often wished there was something like this for Myles to participate in since he’s such a monkey-boy, but it’s true that he does most of these things on the trees and logs around our home. Just without the music and the buddies and instructor. The boys had fun, and I was happy to see them loosen up a bit toward the end at least. They let the instructor give them hand sanitizer and a stamp, so that’s progress. Ha ha! Thanks Auntie Joy for letting us tag along on your gym day! Maybe we’ll get to do it again sometime!!

And for whatever reason, I was under the impression that Stu wasn’t a huge fan of Stroganoff, so I was a little hesitant to try this dish the first time. Imagine my excitement when he told me it was great! I was happy he liked it of course, but mostly happy for me because I could make it without feeling guilty for ‘forcing’ him to eat something he doesn’t care that much for. Ha ha!!

This is a delicious dish! And it’s so easy to “toss” together which gives it even more brownie points in my book! The lads have gone back and forth over whether they think it’s “yucky” or “my favorite meal” based on what mood they happen to be in when dinner rolls around. But since it’s not unanimously complained against, I’ll count it as successful!

Try this one, you’ll love it! Num, num!

Mushroom ‘n Steak Stroganoff

2 T AP flour
1/2 t. garlic powder
1/2 t. pepper
1/4 t. paprika
1 3/4 lb beef steak cut into strips (I don’t bother to get the exact “cut” of steak the recipe recommends because I buy what’s on sale, but it does say top round steak, if you’re interested)
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup (I use “cream of something” of course)
1/2 c. water
1/4 c. onion soup mix
2 jars/cans (4.5 oz) sliced mushrooms, drained
1/2 c. sour cream
Fresh parsley, optional

in a large resealable bag, combine the flour, garlic powder, pepper, and paprika. Add beef strips and shake to coat. Transfer to slow cooker (they say 3 qt, if you need to know)
Combine the soup, water and soup mix; poor over beef. Cover and cook on low for 6-7 hours (mine is always done before this) or until the meat is tender
Stir in the mushrooms, sour cream and parsley if desired. Cover and cook 15 minutes more or until sauce is thickened.
Serve with noodles if desired. (Or rice, it works well too!)
That’s all folks! It makes for a great meal with some easy veggie sides. Ella even loved some of the noodles w/ a little sauce on them when we ate this last! Yummy!

The recipe calls for Oat bran which I don’t have. It does say you can omit it though, so the first time I did. The batter was really runny and I had a hard time chasing it all over the griddle. Hmmm… They still tasted pretty good and with a little bit of REAL Maple syrup (yes, I know it’s technically cheating, but I prefer “natural” sweeteners to the fake chemical stuff. I don’t believe the chemicals can possibly be good for you so I’ll take a slightly slower weight loss *sigh* if I have to, ha)

Anyway, I ate these 2 mornings in a row and on the second morning I used a couple tablespoons of ground flaxseed that I happened to have in the fridge. I also beat the eggs and cream cheese with a beater instead of a fork. So whether it was the beater, or the flaxseed I don’t know, but the batter “held” together better and it turned out much more like pancakes than crepes.

I like these a lot. They have a “custardy” egg flavor, but it’s really good! And it’s a change from my typical scrambled or boiled eggs. A nice change. So if you’re trying to cut out carbs or even cut down, which I highly suggest after my low-carb experiences, give these a try one morning. I got 5 little pancakes out of this recipe. Nice breakfast!

Low Carb Pancakes and Waffles:
(makes 4 pancakes)
1/4 C low fat cream cheese
2 eggs
2 Tb oat bran (you can leave this out if you need pure protein)
1/4 tsp vanilla
1/4 tsp cinnamon (the first time I left this out, and used it the second. I like them with!)
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 Tb or less of sweetener (I didn’t use any sweetener at all but I did use maple syrup so take your pick)

1. Heat your griddle over medium heat, or preheat your waffle iron. In a small glass bowl, microwave your cream cheese until soft, about 20-30 seconds. Beat with a fork. Add eggs, one at a time, beating until completely mixed in. Add your remaining ingredients and mix them in with your fork. Pour your batter onto your griddle or waffle iron and cook as you would normal pancakes!

Still, I liked it. One day when we were first married, I thought I’d let my new hubby in on this great lunch tradition. He was very nice about it and slurped up his green soup without complaining. However, I have been unable, since that time, to ever get him near a bite of split-pea soup again. Ha ha ha! I guess it scarred him for life.

I wish he’d try this homemade version though because it’s a MILLION times better than any can of condensed stuff you could ever buy! I found this recipe off of thehillbillyhousewife website, and didn’t think that it would be all that at first. I’ve tried other of her recipes, and while the frugal concept behind a lot of them is good, there just isn’t much else to say of lentil and dumpling stew…. really.

But I’m glad I gave this one a try because it’s become one of my new staples. I make a big pot on a Monday and then I have split-pea soup to eat the rest of the week for lunch. And yes, it’ll fill you right up without a bunch of fat and calories that you don’t need. Plus, I don’t have to worry about anyone else eating it all up since me and Ella seem to be the only ones who like the soup. Though I have to admit I haven’t tried it on the boys recently. Perhaps I should give it another go.

Simple Split-Pea Soup

2 T veg oil (I just eyeball it, but don’t usually use this much)
1 T minced garlic OR 1 t. dry
1 large onion, chopped
1 1/2 t salt (I find that this isn’t “enough” salt and I add a dash of salt and pepper to each bowl I eat, but I’d rather put it in later than over salt it to begin with)
2 c. dry split peas
6 c. water
I also add chopped celery and carrots. I like the flavor and the color!

In a large pot heat veg oil. Sauté onion and garlic (and celery and carrots). Add water, salt and split peas. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to med-low, cover and simmer for about 2 hours.

It ends up being thick and hearty. The peas fall apart in a great way, and it’s almost like a stew rather than soup. If you like peas at all, you’ll like this soup. It’s extremely frugal, and it’s simple and yummy, though I know not everyone will be wild about split-peas. Ha ha!

I so totally flopped on my diet last week. And it was obvious since I didn’t lose any more weight. Oh well. Today is a new day…

My downfall was dairy. I told you I was trying to cut back on it since I’ve read in more than one place, that dairy can actually be a diet saboteur. I don’t know why since it ranks low on the GI, but whatever, I’m not a scientist. I do however now know that I can’t deprive myself of it for long. I’m too much of a yogurt, cheese and sour cream lover! Not sour cream by itself, mind you, but in dishes, and dips, yum!

Anyway, I made it to Wednesday very reluctantly last week. I don’t know why it is but whenever I do the “low carb” thing I just never feel full. I’m starving all the time, it’s weird. But Wednesday came and I just caved in when I saw the crock of homemade yogurt in the fridge. *sigh* My new favorite thing in the whole wide world is homemade plain yogurt with a dollop of real maple syrup on top. Just bliss!!!! Ahhhhhh!!!

And homemade yogurt is so much better than the kind you get in the store! It really is SO simple to make it! You’ve got to give it a try!! I’ve been making it for over a year now, and I love to do it! It’s so cheap compared to what you pay to have your not-as-good-yogurt brought to you in those little cartons. It’s way better for you as well since you get to control how much, if any sweeteners go into your yogurt. Good for your munchkins cause you can make it from whole milk which is more nutritious.

Have I convinced you yet?? You need to make some yogurt! You can read how I did it the first time HERE.

Anyway, it’s a new day, and a new week, and I’m slugging away at the diet again, only this time I’m allowing myself to have some dairy again. I just can’t do both. Carbs or dairy… I think I’ll stick with dairy for now.

MMMMMMOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO