It Ain't Food Network, But They Eat It....Tuesday!

Meatball Alphabet Soup
Makes 6 servings

This is a recipe that I found YEARS ago in a Family Fun Magazine.  I typed it out here for you but then realized I could probably find it on their website.  So I searched for Family Fun, which apparently has changed to Spoonful.com.  But I did search and find the recipe.  The amount of pasta on the website listed more than what I had on my recipe card, but Stephen did say when we were eating that it needed more.  So either I wrote it down wrong or others thought the same and they modified the recipe.  Anyway, I am making the change here too, and listing the recipe in case they should take it off the site.

For Meatballs:
1/2 cup dried breadcrumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, grated
2 Tbsp. onion, minced
1 garlic clove, minced
2 tsp. dried basil
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 lb. ground beef

For the Soup:
2 Tbsp. olive oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 celery rib, finely chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
5 cups chicken stock
1 cup crushed can tomatoes in puree
1 tsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. salt
 pepper to taste
2 cups dry  ABC pasta

To make the meatballs:
Combine bread crumbs, cheese, garlic, onion, herbs and spices in large mixing bowl.  Mix in egg with fork then add ground beef.  Shape into 1 inch balls (4 dozen).  Add oil to skillet and brown meatballs for 8-10 minutes.

For soup:
Heat oil  in saucepan.  Add onion, celery and garlic.  Cook for 8-10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add chicken stock, tomatoes and spices.  Simmer over low heat then add pasta.  Simmer until pasta is cooked.  Add meatballs and cook for 3 more minutes.  

Enjoy!
Sara

It Ain't Food Network, But They Eat It....Tuesday!

Brown Bean Casserole
2 cans pintos
1 can cream of mushroom soup (I use the cream of something from pinterest)
1 can Ro-Tel
1 lb. ground beef
small onion
garlic powder (didn't measure!)
2 boxes of Jiffy cornbread mix (I only use 1 box)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.
Brown ground beef with onion.  Drain.  In a large bowl, combine the meat mixture with everything else EXCEPT the cornbread mixture.  Pour into prepared 9x13 pan. Mix Jiffy mix according to package directions.  Pour over the bean mixture and then bake for 45 minutes.  Done!

All of my family eats this.  The 6 year old takes the leftovers in his thermos the next day if there is anything left!

Enjoy!
Sara

My Facebook Year in Review

I just noticed that on Facebook they have added on the sidebar my "Year in Review" so I clicked and started looking.  Most of it was conversations with the boys that I had completely forgotten about, already!  They got me tickled and I thought I would post them here for you to enjoy and so when I do forget I can look back and read them!


Feb. 19, 2013
Conversations with Bryson....
Bryson woke up at 6am and I could hear him whining in his bed. Stephen went to go check on him. He brought him into our room and set him on the edge of the bed. When Bryson said he was gonna throw up, Stephen grabbed him ran him to the toilet just in time. Bryson turns around and looks at me.....

"I love you mommy."

It's no secret who is his favorite parent  I don't even have to do anything. hahaha!


March 11, 2013
Conversations with Bryson.....
Bryson has learned that it annoys his dad when he calls him by his first name. So what does he do? Calls him by his first name.

Yesterday afternoon.....Stephen walks in from the backyard....
Bryson: "How's the weather outside....Steve?" 
Looks at me, covers his mouth and giggles.....
Stephen: "It's good....Bryce." 
Bryson: "What???"

Tonight....bathtub filling with water but Bryson is in his room....
Stephen: "Bryson! Get.in.the.tub.now!!!"
Bryson: "I'm getting my underwear....STEVE!!!"

Cracks me up every time.

March 15, 2013
Conversations with Blaine.....at Brayden's baseball game.....

Blaine: "Mom.....I have 2 balls stuck in my pants."
Me: "Are you kidding me????? We are in public, Blaine. Quit being gross."
Blaine: "No, seriously. I have baseballs stuck in my back pockets and I can't get them out." 

He turns around and sticks his rear end out at me, and yes, there is a baseball stuck in each back pocket of his SLIM jeans. Meaning SLIM pockets. I look back and all the parents and other family members behind us are dying laughing. Apparently he was sitting with them when he did this and they had all been trying to get them out.
So he goes to the bathroom to pull his pants down so he will have some slack in the fabric....

Blaine: "I think the man in the bathroom thought something was wrong in there. I was grunting and pushing and came out with a baseball!"

Me rolling my eyes: "Just get in the car."

August 16, 2013
Conversations with Bryson...

Bryson: "You will never ground me mom, will you?"
Me: "I'm sure I will at some point in your life. Just look at Blaine."
Bryson: "Oh...YEAH! He is like the most groundedest person in our family!!!"
Me: "Yes, Bryson, yes he is."


August 24, 2013
Conversations with Bryson...
Bryson wanted us to take him junkin' this morning...

Bryson: "Mom, can I go outside and play while you finish getting ready?"
Me: "Are you ready to go?"
Bryson: "Yes!"
Me: "Did you brush your teeth?"
Bryson: Huffs and rolls eyes...."No, but can I just use mouth wash? I'm not planning on smiling much today."
Me: "You might want to smile next week but you're gonna look funny when you do it because you won't have teeth."

Sara

Happy Birthday Week to Me!!!

Hello All!
This week is my birthday week!  I thought I would share it with my readers.  Go to my shop blog for more info.  Not a follower of my shop blog?  What are you waiting for then???  Happy Shopping!

Sara

First Day of School 2013

The boys started back to school again this past Monday.  Everyone is doing well so far and enjoying it, as much as school can be enjoyed. 

                                                                Bryson is in 1st grade!

                                                               Blaine is in 7th grade!

                                                             Brayden is in 10th grade!

 They are all exactly 1 foot apart....Bryson is 3'10", Blaine is 4'10" and Brayden is 5'10".  I love how they are all stair steps in this picture.  Brayden forgot his shoes at his dad's house so we were waiting for him to bring them when I was taking their pictures.

Bryson wanted to get a silly picture.  And this is what happens when you ask a 15 year old for a silly picture!  I hope everyone else's first week of school is going great!

Sara

Days of the Week

I have tried to get my boys, for years now, to lay out their clothes the night before so they can sleep an extra 15 or so minutes in the morning.  And so they aren't stopping me from getting things done to help them dig through the dryer or iron something at the last minute.  Bryson is the worst with this.  Last year he would lay out an outfit, only to change his mind the next morning and us go through the above listed scenario.  And then what he would decide on looked totally ridiculous and didn't even come close to matching.

There were even days where I wrote letters to his teacher apologizing for how ridiculous he looked and made sure she understood I didn't not dress him like that!  

And let me just add that this ended up in arguments and tears every morning.  And me yelling.  Which gets me in a bad mood!  So I saw on Pinterest (don't you just love Pinterest?!?) a site to print off the days of the week on door hangers.  I went to the site and then found out you had to pay now for the download.  Which I didn't mind doing since it was someone else's work.  But then I read through it and you had to use a certain type of paper.  Then I thought that one through a second.  I then realized that these would not last very long.  That is, if Bryson would even go for this.  So honestly, I didn't even want to spend THAT much money on it.

I then remembered the foam door hangers that the boys had made one year at VBS and thought that would be a good starting point.  I went to Hobby Lobby and got a pack of 10 door hangers, a pack of big letters and a pack of small letters.  They just happened to be 50% off.  Score!

 I decided to put the letter in which the day started, at the top of the hanger.  Then I put the day of the week in smaller letters.  This will also help him in reading and learning how to spell the days of the week.  Then I remembered my MIL had given him  two containers of animals, one jungle container and one farm container. 

So I thought, "Hey!  I can let him decorate with the animals that start with that letter!"

NO.

There were no monkeys.  There were no turtles.  What animal starts with "W" anyway?  Okay, a whale, but those aren't in the jungle or on a farm.  This fun craft we could do together was quickly going down hill and very quickly making a big mess all over the kitchen table 30 minutes before the big boys would start swarming for dinner like vultures.  

We ended up forgetting the decorating with animals that start with the same letter and just did the days of the week.  I know....how boring.

And it was probably gonna be the biggest waste of time.  Saturday night I helped him match up 7 outfits that he could wear over the first week of school.  I hung the shirts on hangers and then the pants on pant hangers behind the shirts.  Then I put his days of the week door hangers over each set.  And guess what!?!  It's the 4th day of school and Bryson is still wearing the outfits that he picked out last Saturday night!  I hope this lasts because it sure is helping us get to school on time.  And I'm not having to worry about the laundry as much.  Now it can wait a few days if we aren't home!  

Here is the link to the pin that I found on Pinterest, in case anyone is interested in printing them off that way!

Sara  

Conversations With Bryson

Conversations with Bryson...

Bryson: "You will never ground me mom, will you?"
Me: "I'm sure I will at some point in your life. Just look at Blaine."
Bryson: "Oh...YEAH! He is like the most groundedest person in our family!!!"
Me: "Yes, Bryson, yes he is."