Junk Food Saturday

Normally I try to have the family eat healthy.  I mean not ultra-super-extreme healthy, but I try to keep excess sugar and fat out of our every day diet.  Well, today is the exception.  I had some leftover Velveeta cheese so I bought a can of Rotel and a bag of tortilla chips.  For lunch, we'll dine on cheese dip. After lunch, Malachi and I are going to make chocolate chip cookies.  I don't think I'll restrict their cookie consumption as much as I normally do.  Just for today ;-)  And then for dinner, I have homemade, turkey sloppy joe's in the crock pot.  This isn't quite so unhealthy, but I think I'll serve tater tots as a side.  Enjoy it kiddos because as you know days like today doesn't come very often!    

Yummy Dinner

My body must feel that it is Summer time.  I have had major cravings for some BBQ.  When I say craving, I mean, "keep-you-up-at-night-with-your-mouth-watering" craving.  I have never attempted to make BBQ because I've been blessed with my dad and brother-in-law, Matt, having the ability to make out-of- this-world BBQ. Since I didn't know when I would be able to partake of their cooking, I decided that I would attempt to make something BBQ-y to curb my craving.

Armed with my crock pot, I set out on my first adventure.  I found a recipe online that received a 5/5 stars rating so I thought that might be a good start.  Because it was a new recipe, I couldn't bring myself to spend so much money on a piece of brisket.  Instead, I made it with boneless, skinless, chicken breasts which costs less than 1/2 of the price of the beef.  (James and I have discovered that it has been probably close to a year since we have bought beef...we've been substituting beef with turkey or chicken.  Now I'm a beef kind of girl but I can honestly say that I really haven't missed it.)  There was a spice that I was out of and didn't feel like going back to the store so I just substituted.

The kiddos can be a little picky when it comes to new recipes, but they devoured the chicken and I have to say, I scarfed down my 2 sandwiches as well.  I splurged a little and bought onion buns.  I LOVE me some onion buns (I think I'm the only one in the house that does...yay, more for me!)  Ahh, this craving has now been taken care.  Maybe my next craving should be chocolate cheesecake ;-)

Slow Cooker BBQ Brisket (or chicken)
5 1/2 lb meat
1 3/4 C BBQ sauce (any kind)
2 T brown sugar
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
2 tsp black pepper
1 tsp garlic salt
1/2 tsp onion powder (didn't have...used creole seasoning)
1/2 tsp dry mustard

Combine ingredients and coat meat with it.  Marinate overnight.  Place in crockpot and cook on low for 9-10 hours.
Enjoy! 

And That's Gross

The world of discovery can also be a world of pure disgustingness (no, that is not a real word, but it is ever so fitting).  The kiddos were eating a meat and cheese sandwich for lunch and had juice to drink.  Malachi got the brilliant idea that he should dunk his sandwich into his juice and then eat it.  Fortunately for me, I was in another room, but poor James witnessed it.  He said he about threw up watching him.  After today, I don't think he has any leverage telling me something I cook tastes gross.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Minus the Peanut Butter and Bread

Little Miss Samara is going through the phase of not wanting to eat the peanut butter side of her PB&J.  I remember this with the boys, but this time, Mommy and Daddy have wised up.  Or so we thought.  She had been only eating the bread with jelly on it and leaving the wholesome peanut butter side on her plate.  Today, James decided we would try a new technique.  He put peanut butter on both sides of the sandwich and then a layer of jelly on top of the PB.  This way she would be forced to eat at least some of the peanut butter. Haha, the joke is on us. She licked the jelly right off and left the rest of the sandwich.  Here's to hoping this phase doesn't last long!

Dinner Time Fun at the Dinkelberries

So tonight I tried a new recipe.  It's always an iffy situation because Isaiah already has it in his mind that he doesn't like anything new.  The dinner had green peppers and black olives so I was prepared for a little battle.  I was pleasantly surprised, though!

We started the meal off by both Isaiah and Samara praying.  Malachi ate a green pepper by itself and said he didn't like it.  I told him to try eating it with some cheese and meat because he wouldn't be able to really taste it.  He tried it and it was a success!  Isaiah was brave and ate both a green pepper and black olive alone.  He said that he loved them.  Yay!

While I was getting seconds for one of the boys, James drank from my glass (which is not unusual).  Samara started lecturing him to "not eat Mommy's drink, undastand (understand)!"  A little while later, I was back in the kitchen getting some animal crackers for Samara when I hear again, "don't eat Mommy's drink".  James was cracking up because right before she said that, she told him to drink my drink.  But when he did, she immediately told on him.  I thought we girls had each other's back!

While we were still laughing about James getting in trouble for drinking out of my glass, Samara started coughing and each time she coughed, a toot came out.  We were rolling!!!

The meal ended by Isaiah saying that when he wears his suit jacket (his ringbearer suit) he is going to marry me so I can be "Isaiah's princess".  Sounds like a perfect plan to me =)

Beef Nacho Casserole 
Ingredients

• 2  tablespoons  olive oil
• 1/2  pound  pre-sliced sweet peppers (about 1/2-inch-wide strips)  (I used green peppers)
• 1  pound  lean ground beef  (I used turkey instead)
• 1/2  teaspoon  garlic salt
• 2  tubes (10 ounces each)  refrigerated pizza dough
• 1  jar (16 ounces)  medium-hot salsa
• 3  cups  shredded taco-cheese blend
• 1  can (2.2 ounces)  sliced black olives, drained (about 1/4 cup)
• 3  large  scallions, trimmed and sliced

Directions

1. Heat oven to 375°. Coat 13 x 9 x 2-inch baking dish with nonstick cooking spray.

2. In large skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add peppers, ground beef and garlic salt; cook, stirring to break up clumps of beef, until the peppers are soft and beef is no longer pink, about 5 minutes. Drain off any excess fat from skillet.

3. Remove pizza dough from tubes. Cut the dough crosswise into 1/2-inch-wide slices, then cut each slice into quarters.

4. In large bowl, toss together dough pieces and salsa. Add cooked meat mixture, 2 cups of the taco-cheese blend and olives. Scrape mixture into baking dish. Sprinkle the remaining 1 cup taco-cheese blend over the top.

5. Bake at 375° for 30 minutes. Sprinkle scallions evenly over the top. Bake an additional 5 minutes.