Monday, August 31, 2009

Menu Plan Monday

Photobucket


Monday: Hearty Salisbury Steak, Egg Noodles, Veggie (never made last week, check out that post to find recipe)

Tuesday: Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole (never made last week, check out that post to find link)

Wednesday: WW Crockpot Chicken Tacos

Thursday: Casserole with Black-Eyed Peas

Friday: Slow Cooker BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwiches, Oh Boy Salad

Saturday: Grilled Chicken, Baked Potato, Veggie

Sunday: Weight Watchers Mac and Cheese

For more Menu's check out Organizing Junkie


Pin It!

Sunday, August 30, 2009

New Additions

After the loss of our elderly cat Callie, we decided to add some new companions to our house.

INTRODUCING......

MOXIE....she is full of spunk, charm, love, a touch of aggressiveness (in a good way) and go get em spirit. We definitely feel she is the more dominant of the two.





and...

WILLOW...she has beautiful green eyes with sea green centers. She also has such wispy soft hair.




The kids had a good time playing with them.



They had such a good time, that I don't think the cats knew what hit them....they zonked out for a mid evening nap and slept a long time.



Pin It!

Friday, August 28, 2009

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup



I found this recipe on Recipezaar. I changed it to suit my Weight Watcher needs and for a cup it turned out (by my calculations) to be 2 points per cup...not bad. Instead of using regular Italian Sausage I used Turkey Italian Sausage...4 links, even though it came in pack of 5.

Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup

Ingredients
1 lb Italian sausage (I used Turkey Italian Sausage, 4 links casings removed)
1 medium onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
2 carrots, peeled/ diced
2 small zucchini, diced
1 green pepper, diced
1/2 cup dry white wine
5 cups chicken broth

1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes, in tomato puree
1 teaspoon dried basil, crumbled
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
salt
freshly ground pepper
1/2 cup uncooked orzo pasta (rice-shaped pasta)
2/3 cup freshly grated parmesan cheese

Directions
1 Use bulk sausage or remove the casings from the sausage and discard.

2 Brown the sausage in a heavy Dutch oven or large saucepan, mashing it with the back of a spoon until the meat is no longer pink and has rendered most of its fat.

3 Spoon out most of the fat from the cooked sausage and discard.

4 Add the onions and garlic and cook, stirring,until soft but not browned.

5 Add carrots, zucchini, pepper, wine, chicken broth, tomatoes, basil, and oregano and bring to a boil.

6 When the soup in boiling, add the orzo and cook for 20 minutes.

7 Season to taste with salt and pepper.

8 Serve in heavy soup bowls.

9 If desired, sprinkle Parmesan cheese over each serving.

10 To prepare in advance: Like most hearty soups, this tastes best if it is cooled, refrigerated overnight, then reheated to serve.

11 It may also be frozen.


To see more great recipes visit Grocery Cart Challenge here


Pin It!

Tuesday, August 25, 2009

Outdoor Wednesday



These guys are all over the place echoing summer's song through the trees. It's a sound I love so much this time of year. One little guy had just shed the shell next to him. My son must have gone out and gotten like ten of the shells from the trees and ground. I find they are quite cute little bugs with their green wings and big black eyes. The wings are so delicate looking. God's creations....so amazing!!!










For more Outdoor Wednesday visit A Southern Daydreamer here

Pin It!

Menu Plan Monday

Photobucket

Monday: Meatless Hopping John

Tuesday: Family Favorite Cheeseburger Pasta

Wednesday: Broccoli and Ham Dinner

Can of 98% fat free cream of mushroom soup
8 oz jar low sodium fat free cheese spread
1 c skim milk
1 c instant rice, uncooked
1 rib celery, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
3 cups cooked ham, cubed
16 oz pkg frozen broccoli cuts, thawed and drained

Mix first six ingredients together in a crock, stir in ham. Cover. Cook on low 3-4 hours. One hour before serving time, stir in broccoli.

Thursday: Italian Sausage Vegetable Soup (made with Italian Turkey Sausage)

Friday: Brown Rice and Lentil Casserole

Saturday: Hearty Salisbury Steaks, Egg Noodles, Veggie

1/4 c egg substitute
1 medium onion finely chopped
1/2 cup crushed saltines (about 15 crackers)
1/2 tsp pepper
1 lb lean ground beef
1 TB canola oil
1 envelope red. sodium onion soup mix
2 TB all purpose flour
2 cups water

Combine first four ingredients, crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into five patties. In a large skillet cook patties in oil over medium heat for 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned. Remove patties and keep warm; drain drippings

In a small bowl combine soup mix, flour, water; stir into skillet. Bring to boil. Return patties to skillet. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 5-7 minutes or until meat is no longer pink.

Sunday: Juicy Chicken, mashed potatoes, corn on the cob
http://allrecipes.com/Recipe/Juicy-Roasted-Chicken/Detail.aspx

Made these as well:

Mandarin Orange Cake

Blueberry Pie

Might try these breakfast recipes:

Blueberry Overnight Coffeecake

Peanut Butter Oatmeal

For more Menu's check out Organizing Junkie




Pin It!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

Jack's First Birthday










Today was Jack's first birthday. Last year after dealing with a hard last month, the doctor decided to deliver Jack one month early. His heart rate kept dropping during monitoring and after being admitted a few times for extended monitoring, they decided to do an amnio and make sure that his lungs were mature and they induced my labor. My labor was only 3-4 hours long and then I was able to finally hold my little guy. Even though he was one month early, he still weighed 7 pounds 6 ounces. He has been such a blessing to our family. I am excited to see his first year mark, but at the same time sad because it goes by so fast. I am looking forward to seeing how he progresses in the next year. Happy Birthday my little Jacky baby!

Pin It!

Sunday, August 2, 2009

HAPPY BLOGOVERSARY TO ME

I just realized that today is the anniversary of me starting to blog. Lots of stuff has happened since then. If you would like to see my first blog post, it is HERE

My little guy turns one this week. Kinda excited for that. He has not been feeling well and so I hope he has a good day for his birthday.

Isn't this a great picture. We got this to help out with the baby and keep him more content....have I said before that he can be hard to handle. As much of a blessing as he is and as much as he brings joy to this family, the past year has been kind of rough with him and I am hoping the next year brings easier times for him and us as well.



Pin It!