One of my favorite things about being a parent

One of my favorite things about being a parent is witnessing the wonder and awe of my kids as they experience things for the 1st time. DS #1 lost his 1st tooth yesterday and the PRICELESS look on his face this morning as he ran from his room with his note from the Tooth Fairy and his silver dollar is one I'll never forget. He was just glowing with excitement. I LOVE that. It makes me want to do so many things with my kids just so I can witness that look. I do not understand the people out there who think that telling your kids about Santa, the Easter Bunny and Tooth Fairy is lying to them and they don't "believe" in lying to their kids. I don't consider the latter lying, I consider it fostering a fantasy. It's fun to think that such magic exists in the world today and I'm so glad that I can be here to witness my kids as they experience that magic.

Here are a couple of pics of DS#1 and his missing tooth:

Recipe of the Day

Sausage Casserole

1 bag of frozen hashbrowns

1 can cream corn

1 can whole kernel corn

1 can of Cream of Chicken soup

1 pkg of Polish sausage

8 oz sour cream

Cheddar cheese, grated as much as you like!

Combine all ingredients in a big baking dish. Bake at 350 for 1 hour.

**My recipe calls for smoked sausage, but the Polish sausage has a better flavor. AND I semi-drain my whole kernel corn, ya need some of the liquid but not all of it.**

Strawberry Cake

1 box white cake mix 3 tablespoons flour

3-ounce package strawberry gelatin

1 small (10-ounce) package frozen strawberries

1 cup vegetable oil

4 eggs

1/2 cup cold water Fresh strawberries for garnish

Thaw strawberries and reserve liquid for icing. Combine cake mix, flour and gelatin. Add oil. Beat in eggs. Add water and strawberries. Mix well. Pour batter into one 10-inch Bundt cake pan, two 9-inch round cake pans or three 8-inch round cake pans, which have been greased and floured. Bake in 350-degree oven for 40 to 50 minutes. Ice and top with fresh strawberries.

Testing notes: We used canola oil and chose Betty Crocker's Super Moist white cake mix. With the sugar in both the gelatin and cake mix, we opted for Giant Eagle's "lite" frozen strawberries, which are simply strawberries with no sugar added. This, claims the box, earns you 66 percent fewer calories than regular frozen strawberries. Though you'll find no fresh strawberries from the East Coast this time of year, your grocery's produce department should be carrying fresh berries from one or more different California farms.

Simple Strawberry Icing:

2 tablespoons butter

2 to 3 tablespoons strawberry juice

1 cup powdered sugar

Melt butter and add strawberry juice. Mix in powdered sugar until the desired consistency for either drizzling or spreading. Testing notes: We recommend doubling the icing recipe if you plan on glazing the cake, although you will have a bit left over. We iced ours leaving the cake on the same wire rack it cooled on and placing the rack over the sink. We then poured the icing onto the cake from a glass measuring cup with a spout, letting the excess drip off into the sink for easy clean-up.

No cheese, just whine

Waaaaaah: Got to Costco, loaded up the cart with things we needed for the camping trip only to realize I had no way to pay for it because if you read a couple of posts ago, I've forgotten my friggen PIN number for my debit card. Soooooooo....I'm now the proud holder of an American Express card that can be used, conveniently so, at Costco. Friggen bastards.

Waaaaaah: Leaving Costco and it's raining, no it's not raining, it's a friggen downpour and I HAVE to get home because DH is leaving for work in 15 min. So...I make a dash for it and slip because of my GD shoes. Of course I screamed a bad word all.the.way.down and of course there was an audience of about 20 people waiting in the covered area because they had the time to wait the extra 10min. til the rain stopped. Of course I twisted my ankle and of course I work the next two days. If that wasn't bad enough, when I limped out of my car to get gas at the Costco gas station, which also conveniently accepts American Express, I was approaching the pump and a HUGE drop, no bucket of water falls at the exact moment and hits me in the face. I again entertained about 4 people with my antics and some guy approached me about going on tour for the USO. Turns out he witnessed me falling at the entrance of Costco. Nice.

Waaaaah: My 3 year old has PMS. Everything and I mean EVERYTHING is a tragedy. He goes from laughing to full blown tantrum in 30 seconds. There aren't enough naughty corners in this house to fix this Super Nanny so every time the spank fest starts, I'll think of JoJo's unapproving face!

Recipe of the Day

This is soooo good! Make sure to use the juice to make gravy, it's the BEST part!

To Die For Crockpot Roast

1 beef roast, any kind (I used boneless chuck)

1 pkg. dried brown gravy

1 pkg. dried Italian salad dressing mix

1 pkg. dried ranch dressing mix

½ cup water

Place beef roast in crockpot. Mix together the dried mixes in a bowl

and sprinkle over the roast. Pour the water around the roast.

Cook on low for 7 – 9 hours

NILLA APPLE CRISP

8 cups thinly sliced peeled Granny Smith apples (about 2 large/2 lbs)

½ cup firmly packed brown sugar, divided

2 tsp ground cinnamon, divided

1/3 cup old-fashioned or quick-cooking oats

¼ cup cold margarine

25 Reduced Fat Nilla Wafers, crushed (about 1 cup crumbs)

1 ½ cups thawed Cool Whip Lite Whipped Topping

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Toss apples with ¼ cup of the brown sugar and 1 tsp of the cinnamon.

Spoon into 8- or 9-inch square baking dish.

Combine oats, the remaining ¼ cup brown sugar and 1 tsp cinnamon in medium bowl.

Cut in margarine with pastry blender or two knives, until mixture resembles coarse crumbs. Add wafer crumbs; mix well.

Spread crumb mixture evenly over apples.

Bake 30 to 35 minutes or until apples are tender. Serve warm or cooled.

Top with whipped topping.Makes 12 servings, ½ cup each.

My new toy

So my new toy is set to arrive in a few days. Here it is:




If you have some yummy pressure cooker recipes, send 'em my way!!!


We also got the boys this a few weeks ago



they LOVE it! It's nice to be able to get them outside without hearing "I'm bored" all day.

**If you're having a hard time seeing the pics, hit Ctrl F5 and that should fix it.**

Recipe of the Day

CROCKPOT ENCHILADAS

1-1/2 lbs boneless/skinless chicken breast or tenders
1 can Rotel Mexican style tomatoes
1-2 tbs taco seasoning
1 8 oz brick cream use (I use low fat)
Flour tortillas
Cut up chicken breast into chunks if not using tenders. Put in crockpot with the can of Rotel and 1-2 tbs of the taco seasoning. Cook on high 3-3/12 hours, until tender. Drain about 1/2 cup of juice off. Add cream cheese that has been cut up into chunks. Cook on low for thirty minutes until melted and stir together. Cool a bit and shred the chicken mixture with two forks.
Now you can either put the mixture into tortillas and serve at the table as is

OR:
Fill the tortillas with equal amounts of mixture and roll up (I can fit 8 of them in a 9 x 13 pan) and top with this:
1 cup sour cream
1 Liptons cream of chicken soup mix (in the box)
1 cup hot water
Whisk this all together and pour over top of enchiladas in pan. Sprinkle with shredded cheese (Mexican style or cheddar are good) and cook on 350 for thirty minutes.

Easy Berry Cobbler

2 bags frozen Berries (I prefer Blackberries)

1 Yellow Cake mix

1 cube butter (1/2 cup)

Preheat oven to 350In a 13x9 pan, spread frozen berries evenly.

Sprinkle dry cake mix over berries.

Melt butter and pour on top of the berries and cake mix.

Bake at 350 degrees for 50 minutes.

Is anyone else as miserable as me? and misc. musings

What is going on with my allergies? I'm usually very bad in spring and fall but never in the middle of summer like this. I have a sore throat, nasty cough and feel the drainage draining down my throat. Yuck. Poor L, he's just as miserable as me.

So what's the secret to finding a good pillow? I've been searching for a long time and I've been through so many and I have yet to find a good one. The last one I got was one of the memory foam ones. It started out good, but I'm finding now that I'm waking up with the same neck aches and stiffness as before. I've decided I need a firm pillow but all the ones I've seen, are not really firm. Sigh....I just want a good nights sleep!

Hey! RUN to your video store because Reno 911:Miami is out today! This show is freakin' hysterical! It's shown on Comedy Central so check it out if you haven't already.

We're going camping this weekend for 4 days. This will be the 1st trip of the season for us w/the camper. I'm looking forward to it but what a pain to re-stock everything that we had to remove from last season. I'm happy to say that we didn't have any critters infest the camper during the winter months though. Lots of people have problem w/mice getting in and tearing shit up. Thank goodness we didn't have an issue. DH also hung mothballs in old stockings around too and it really did do a great job of keeping the spiders from nesting too. Good tips if you have a trailer! I'll post pics of the boys when we get back.

So I just ordered a new digital camera with the garage sale profits I made. DH simply cannot understand why I need a point and shoot camera when I have big momma camera (my Canon Rebel) but I've explained to him a MILLION times that while big momma is the bomb, it isn't practical to take to some places like camping, amusement parks, work, the park, etc. Anyway, I hope it gets here in time for our trip. I look forward to playing around with it.

Every year I forget just how much time spring and summer classes take because they're on a shorter time frame as far as semesters go. I have a paper due every week with this poetry class. I'm beginning to have a hard time finding the time to complete my assignments especially with everything that is going on the next couple of weeks. I can't imagine how much writing I'm going to have to do for Philosophy next semester.

Oh I found the COOLEST site! I'm using it to complete a project for my Poetry class but as soon as I get some time, I'm gonna do some stuff for the boys with it. I LOVE when I find stuff like this! http://www.ourstory.com/

We got our Disney "A very merry Christmas party" tickets in the mail yesterday. I cannot believe how excited I am to go to Disney in December! I just cannot wait to share that experience with the boys. Just thinking about how much fun they're going to have there makes me smile. I totally remember going there when I was little and riding the Dumbo ride. I even have pics of me on the ride. I'll have to make sure to take pics of the boys in a similar way so I can have both of our pics side by side. How cool is that? L is just dumbfounded to think that I was there when I was a little girl and that it still exists alllllllllllll these years later for him and O to visit. LOL!! He kills me....makes me feel old...but kills me just the same. They're also sooooo excited to see their Grandpa and Grandma when we're down there. The old man lives in Clearwater and is planning to make the trek to WDW to see us while we're there. I have to be honest and admit that I'm less than thrilled that they want to stay with us in the trailer while they're there. It's gonna be close quarters plus if Disney catches wind, they'll charge us extra. I'm certainly not absorbing that cost, better warn the old man now so he's prepared to pay. He's on a fixed income you know ( insert the biggest rolling eye, sarcastic smiley here).

I'm done now...peace out!

Recipe of the Day

Dijon Style Pork Tenderloin

Ingredients:

4 Tbsp. honey
2 Tbsp. cider vinegar
2 Tbsp. brown sugar
1 Tbsp. Dijon style mustard
½ tsp. paprika
1 pound pork tenderloin

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Combine all ingredients except pork tenderloin
3. Coat tenderloin well with sauce
4. Roast at 375 degrees for 20-30 minutes, basting occasionally until meat thermometer registers 160 degrees.
5. Slice thinly to serve.
Serving Size/points:

This makes 4 servings. Each serving is 5 points.

Garlic Smashed Crockpot Potatoes

3 lbs small red potatoes

5 cloves garlic, minced

2 Tbs olive oil

1 tsp salt

½ cup water

½ cup cream cheese with onions and chives

½ cup milk

1. Halve or quarter potatoes to make even sizes. Place potatoes in a 4-6 quart slow cooker. Add garlic, oil, salt and water and mix to coat. Cover crockpot and cook on high for 3 1/2 to 4 1/2 hours, until potatoes are tender.

2 .Mash potatoes roughly with a fork. Stir in cream cheese until blended, then add enough milk for desired consistency.

You can serve this right away, or cover and hold it in the slow cooker for up to 2 hours on low.

I'm FREAKING Fuming!

I'm so mad right now.

We took DH's car in to get the brakes done at a shop that came recommended because they were "honest" and I wouldn't get bent over the Matco tool box if you KWIM. We told them yesterday that we wanted them to call us before they did anything so that we could decided whether or not we wanted the work done.(ie: if they were even thinking of screwing me by trying to tack on a million other things that were "wrong" too, I'd tell them to K.M.A) The guy agreed to do so. We tell them that we don't need the car that day, we can wait until Saturday no problem. So, here is saturday at 4pm and we have received no call. I ask DH about it. I suggest that he call them to see what is up. (do you see a pattern here? I get called controlling but he does nothing unless "prompted" to do it) He calls and the guys says that they already did the brakes and they'll call us back with the price. Oh, and a wheel bearing needs to be replaced. Ummmm, what-the-everloving-F*&$? You DID the GD brakes????? You were supposed to CALL 1ST!!!! So now I'm uber pissed (oh please, had I known that it was gonna get better, I'd have saved my breath for the good shit) and tell DH that he needs to bitch about them NOT calling us 1st! Then they call back with the price.

$190.00.

WHAT THE FUCK!?!?!?!?!?!? ARE YOU KIDDING ME??????????? FOR FREAKING BREAK PADS????????????????? DO YOU HAVE ROYALTY THAT PUTS THEM ON? PRINCE HARRY AND WILLIAM MOONLIGHTING AT THE MOBIL GAS STATION DOING BRAKES ON WEEKENDS? WHAT THE HELL AM I PAYING FOR?

I'm furious. Beyond furious. Had those bastards called like they were supposed to, I'd have said no thanks and picked up my car. So I say to DH, you NEED to tell them that it's BS that they didn't call when they were supposed to and you want a DETAILED list of the charges that totalled $190. He won't. I guarantee it. Oh and tell them they rest assured they WON'T be doing the wheel bearing. My old man is coming into town next month and he'll be talking DH through doing it. Screw it. I'm trying realllllly hard not to call Mobil. Reallllly hard. Hard, so hard. Hard, hard, hard...........it hurts to sit down now.

Recipe of the Day

OMG this was soooooo good! It made the ham sooooo tender too!

Spiced Ham Steak

1 1/3 cups pineapple juice
1 teaspoon butter or margarine, melted (I omitted this)
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon paprika
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 teaspoon brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon ground mustard
8 ounces 2 inch thick ham steak

DIRECTIONS
In a 2-cup measuring cup, combine the juice, butter, cloves, paprika, garlic, sugar and mustard; mix well. Pour 2/3 cup marinade into a large resealable plastic bag; cover and refrigerate remaining marinade. Add ham to the bag. Seal bag and turn to coat; refrigerate for at least 3 hours or overnight.
Drain and discard marinade. Grill ham, uncovered, over medium heat for 4-6 minutes on each side or until meat is glazed and heated through, basting occasionally with reserved marinade.


This is AMAZING! It doesn't sound like much but trust me, it's delicious!

Sunday's best fruit salad

1 (20 ounce) can pineapple chunks, juice reserved
2 apples, peeled and cored
1 (21 ounce) can peach pie filling
2 bananas, peeled and diced
3 kiwis
1 pint strawberries


DIRECTIONS
In a small bowl, toss the chopped apples in reserved pineapple juice. Allow to sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
In a large salad bowl, combine the peach pie filling and pineapple chunks.
Remove apples from pineapple juice and add to pie filling and pineapple mixture. Add chopped bananas to reserved pineapple juice and let sit for 5 to 10 minutes.
Peel and slice kiwi and 1/2 of strawberries. Chop the other 1/2 of strawberries and set aside.
Remove bananas from pineapple juice and add to pie filling mixture. Add chopped strawberries; toss together.
Arrange kiwi slices around the edge of the serving bowl and alternate with strawberry slices. Chill and serve.