Monday, July 27, 2009

Menu Plan Monday- My First One


Monday~ Pork loin in the slow cooker with potatoes and carrots

Tuesday~ Chicken and tomatoes ooey gooey goodness with broccoli and crash potatoes

Wednesday~ Hot dog's, macaroni and cheese and pea's

Thursday~ It's our Anniversary, Lasagna with cheesy garlic bread

Friday~ Pizza and Movies

Saturday~ Leftover Night

Sunday~ Taco's with all the fixins

Friday, July 24, 2009

Homemade Ranch Dressing


2 cloves of garlic
1/8 to 1/4 teaspoon kosher salt (use less table salt)
1 cup mayonnaise (Duke's or Hellman’s preferred)
1/2 cup sour cream
1/4 to 1/2 cup buttermilk or regular milk, to taste
1/4 cup chopped flat leaf parsley
1 to 2 tablespoons chopped fresh chives
1 to 2 teaspoons chopped fresh dill, more if desired
1/4 teaspoon of pepper, more if desired

Optional ingredients:
cayenne pepper
worcestershire sauce
hot sauce

Directions: With a fork, make a paste with garlic and salt. Mix all other ingredients, adding optional ingredients as you wish, tasting frequently and adjusting seasonings as needed. Chill for a couple of hours before serving, thin with milk or buttermilk if desired.

Thursday, July 23, 2009

Dinner at our House Tonight



This is one of my favorites, it is so yummy!

Recipe:
1 lb. of pasta (I love cavatapi or penne)
1 jar of Ragu Robusto
2 large cans of petite diced tomatoes
1 lb. ground beef
1 green pepper
1 onion
4 or 5 garlic cloves chopped
1 bag of frozen corn or 2 cans
salt and pepper to taste


Cook pasta till al dente or a little undercooked, then drain (see note below). Add ground beef to a skillet, chop onion and greenpepper, add to the ground beef. Cook until ground beef is browned. Drain fat, add cans of tomatoes and Ragu Robusto. Add garlic, salt and pepper to taste. Mix all the ingredients and cook on low about 20-30 minutes. You can top with cheddar cheese, cottage cheese or sour cream, it's so good!

Note, you want the noodles a little undercooked because they continue to cook after everything is combined, if not the noodles get mushy.

Yummy Jello Cake





My boy's are not big into cake at all, especially Cody but as I type they are making the most yummy of noises in the dining room with their cake and milk. We made this cake when we woke up and it is delicious! I rarely make dessert so when I do, it's a special treat!

RECIPE:
Bake a cake according to directions, yellow or white.

Make Jello according to directions.

When the cake is done poke holes in the cake with a fork, a lot. Then add the Jello over top of the cake. Let it sit at least 3 hours to set up. Add whipped cream or Cool Whip, I added yellow food coloring to the Cool Whip. Instant summer cake that is light and oh so yummy!

Try this and Enjoy!
Stephenie

Wednesday, July 22, 2009

Cody's Newest Obsession


So, the family has been listening to this song that goes a little like, "I dud my key into a side of a split off awaked to the other side seeeeat." Yes, we've been curious what our Cody was singing. So Troy and I did some investigating, we asked Austin finally who seemed to completely understand Cody, "yeah Mommy, he's singing a song from on demand." "hmmm", I thought so I investigated, he's been singing this song for weeks, after many questions we figured it out. It's none other than Carrie Underwood singing Before He Cheats. Umm Yeah, Cody has a crush on Carrie Underwood. He's got good taste and I can see Troy in the other room, Daddy's proud! Oh and big brother Austin, has a picture of Miss Carrie in his bedroom, he's crushing too!

Take Care!
Stephenie

Tuesday, July 21, 2009

For Dinner at Our Home Tonight



So tonight for supper, this is what I made. The recipe actually comes from my church cookbook that I have grown to love especially with the economy the way that it is I am rarely making my expensive meals I so enjoy making, I make them, they are now saved for those special occasions.

Here is what you'll need for this delicious recipe.

1/2 c. onion chopped
4 cloves garlic or to your liking
1 tsp. coriander
salt and pepper to taste
2 T. butter (I do not have margarine but I suppose it could be used here)
3 T. all purpose flour
8 oz sour cream
2 c. chicken stock (I have reserved from soups and stews I make) you could use stock
1 jalapeno diced up no seeds
2 cups monterey jack cheese shredded
2 cups chicken, cooked and shredded
8-12 flour tortillas

Preheat oven to 350. In a medium saucepan cook onion, garlic, jalapenos, and coriander until onion is tender. Still flour in to the sour cream and add to the pan. Add chicken stock to the pan. Cook until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat and stir in half of the cheese.

Filling: Stir 1/2c of the sauce from above into the chicken.

Fill each tortilla with the filling (about a tablespoon and a half) then roll it up. Put seams side down into the baking dish. Pour remaining sauce over top of the tortillas. Bake for 35 minutes, covered. Sprinkle with remaining cheese and cook uncovered for 3-5 minutes uncovered under the broiler (be careful, watch out for it!)

Delicious and cheap! Try it out, so simple and yummy. Make some really good guacamole to go along with it.

Thanks ya'll and I hope you try this, Troy LOVED it and the boy's did too!

Hugs!
Stephenie

Monday, July 20, 2009

Our Family's New Blog


Hello. I begin to write this and I have no readers. Oh well, I hope to invite my family and friends so that they may know what is going on in my family's beautiful world. There are four of us, Troy, or as the boy's call him Daddy, then there is me, Stephenie or Mommy. Austin just turned 8 last week and will be entering third grade next month and last but not least is Cody, he's 3 and full of fire!

My boy's are my entire world, I don't know how I lived without them. I always knew I wanted to have kid's early. I always knew I wanted to be a mommy, since I was a little girl and played with my doll's. I wanted to grow up with them, I was 24 when I had Austin and I'm so happy I did.

Every moment with them is amazing! Each day they teach me something about how I should handle life, strange that my boy's can do that. I've learned to appreciate the small things and not take anything for granted. They have made me a better person, I just hope to show them that.

Here is a picture from this passed weekend. The boy's were playing with the neighbors and I caught them, Austin and Cody were being so cute to one another, I love this picture! They are so beautiful.

I'll end here, take care and more to come!

God Bless You!
Stephenie