• Recipes

    Bruschetta with Tomatoes and Spinach

    April 20, 2015 - By 

    The other night I was craving something fresh and I had an Italian loaf that needed to be consumed. I also had some grape tomatoes and spinach on hand. Bruschetta came to mind. It was one of those weekends where my guys were camping, so I was home alone, which means I can eat whatever I want without complaint. Servings: 6 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 10 minutes Ingredients: Italian loaf olive oil Roma (diced) or Grape tomatoes (cut in half or in fourths) fresh spinach leaves (finely chopped) Parmesan Directions: 1. Preheat oven to °375. 2. Cut bread…

  • Beef - Dinner - Mexican - Recipes

    Taco Soup {Crockpot}

    April 18, 2015 - By 

    I am always trying to figure out easy Mexican dishes, as well as meals that can be made quickly or in the crockpot. This recipe fits the bill for all 3 of those requests. I make this in the crockpot, but you could easily put this in a pot and cook on medium-high for 30 minutes or so and it would be just as good. Servings: 6 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 4 hours Ingredients: 2 pounds ground beef, browned 1/2 cup taco seasoning 1-1/2 cups beef broth or water 1 can chili beans, drained and rinsed 1 can…

  • Life

    Alex’s Arrow of Light Ceremony

    April 17, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday Last Friday night was big night in the life of our family for 2 reasons. It was the Arrow of Light Ceremony and for those who are not familiar with Scouts, Arrow of Light Ceremony is the highest award you can receive as a Cub Scout, so it’s kind of like the Eagle Scout for Boy Scouts. Alex earned his Arrow of Light Friday night. This was a big deal for 2 reasons, 1st being after receiving the Arrow of Light it is then time to move on to Boy Scouts and secondly, our family as been a…

  • Life

    Katniss

    April 10, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday {Katniss, the Kat Cat} Today, I thought I’d update you on the newest member of our family. Our Cat, Katniss, fits right in. If you missed all the drama we had with her after adopting her, you can read about that here. I’m glad to say that things are normal now. Katniss has fit in quite nicely. For the first few months, we were scared to let her out at all, for fear she would run away. Then, there came a day that I was sick and tired of having to deal with the litter box, so out…

  • Beef - Dinner - Mexican - Pork - Recipes

    Chorizo Empanadas

    April 8, 2015 - By 

    Happy National Empanada Day! Celebrate by trying these easy Chorizo Empanadas. Servings: 6 Prep Time: 20 minutes Cooking Time: 35 minutes Ingredients: 1/2 lb. ground beef 1/2 lb. Chorizo 1 onion, chopped (1/2 cup) 1/2 tsp. chili powder 1 can (14 1/2 oz) diced tomatoes with mild green chiles, well drained 1 box refrigerated pie crusts 1/2 cup shredded Monterey Jack cheese Egg Wash: 1 beaten egg with 2 tbs. of milk Dip 1/2 of Greek yogurt or sour cream 1/2 of cheddar cheese 2 tbs. Green Chilies

  • Chicken - Dinner - Recipes

    Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole

    April 7, 2015 - By 

    My family loves the Poppy Seed Chicken recipe that I make and I’ve been trying to think of a spin off of that. I decided that Jalapeno Popper Chicken Casserole could be made similarly. I love both of these recipes because they are both great make-ahead/freeze-ahead meals. Servings: 8 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: Mixture 2 lbs. boneless chicken breast; cooked and finely chopped, shredded or chopped to bite sized 1 (4 oz.) can of jalapenos or 2-3 fresh jalapenos (cleaned, de-veined, and diced) 1/2 cup diced onion 1 (8 oz.) package cream cheese, softened 1/2…

  • Memories of the Month - Taking time to document the important memories from January.
    Life

    Memories of the Month {3.2015}

    March 31, 2015 - By 

    This month I was happy about: Rob and Drew getting to go to Florida for Spring Training, while Alex and I hang at home for Spring Break. This year I’m going to rate the books & movies. Here’s my rating system: ♥ ♥ = Love it! A must read/see! ♥ = Really good! Highly recommend. ✓ ✓ = Good, not great ✓ = Not much to talk about X = Awful. Total waste of time Movies I watched were: White Water ♥ – This movie was filed just down the street in our neighboring town of Opelika. Here’s the book…

  • Travel

    Spring Training 2015

    March 30, 2015 - By 

    A few weeks ago, Rob and Drew spent a few days down in the Tampa area visiting with his Gramma and going to Spring Training games. Below I’ve outlined the 4 stadiums with a few pictures from each venue.   Atlanta Braves Champion Stadium located at the ESPN World of Sports at Disney Spring Training home of the Braves from 1998-2019 (see this post for new Braves Spring Training Stadium in Venice) Capacity: 9,500 Lake Buena Vista, FL Things to know… Restaurants and village around ballpark Free parking in the small lots around the park Ballpark food selection was good…

  • Life

    Eagle Project Proposal

    March 27, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday {Eagle Project Proposal} Drew wrote his plan for Eagle Project Proposal and he before the board last week. So exciting! This is one of the first steps in completing the Eagle Scout Project. Now he has to write the Project Plan and then assemble groups of people to carry out the plan. He is doing his project at Alex’s Elementary School. He is working with the P.E. teacher, who was his P.E. Teacher coming through elementary school and he really likes him and finds him easy to work with. I’ll write more about his plan later. Here he…

  • Life

    Spring Break {Flashback}

    March 27, 2015 - By 

    Flashback Friday{Spring Break} I didn’t have much to share about the family this week, which is just crazy. This was Spring Break and Rob and Drew were gone much of the week, I was thinking back to the Spring Breaks of the past. I scrolled through the pictures and found a few and decided to make this little collage. 1999 – Here’s Rob and Drew (14 months) somewhere in Florida. We were with Rob’s Gramma and Granpa staying in a condo they had rented while they looked for places to live. They were getting ready to move from Atlanta to…

  • Mexican Stuffed Shells
    Beef - Dinner - Mexican - Recipes

    Mexican Stuffed Shells

    March 23, 2015 - By 

    Servings: 6 Prep Time: 25 min. Cooking Time: 25 min. Ingredients 24 uncooked jumbo pasta shells 1 lb. lean ground beef 1 large can of enchilada sauce 2 tbs. taco seasoning 1 cup of finely chopped onion 1 can (8 oz.) fire-roasted diced tomatoes 1 cup frozen corn 1/2 cup canned black beans, rinsed and drained 1 cup shredded reduced-fat Mexican cheese blend or cheddar cheese TOPPINGS: 8 tablespoons reduced-fat sour cream 8 tablespoons salsa 1/4 cup sliced ripe olives 1/4 cup sliced green onions Directions 1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. 2. Cook pasta shells according to package directions;…

  • Chicken - Dinner - Recipes

    Unfried Chicken

    March 22, 2015 - By 

    I’m always looking for easy ways to make yummy food a little healthier. I recently watched an episode of Trisha Yearwood on Food Network and decided to give it a try with a couple differences. If you’re kids need something to dip this in, you whip up some Fat-Free Honey Mustard Sauce or Chick-fil-A Honey Roasted BBQ Sauce. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 25 minutes Ingredients: 1 cup milk 1 tbs. hot sauce (Tabasco) 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts 1 1/2 cups Panko breadcrumbs 1/2 cup powdered Parmesan 1/2 tsp. cayenne pepper 1/4 tsp. paprika 1 lemon…

  • Life

    Blue & Gold Banquet

    March 20, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday {Blue & Gold Banquet} Last week was the annual Cub Scout Blue & Gold Banquet. It was our last one, since Alex is moving up to Boy Scouts in a few weeks. This years them was camping in the outdoors. The decorating committee did a great job decorating with tents, sleeping bags, lanterns, fake fire, and even Christmas trees to help really fill it in. The tables were numbered with yellow ‘tents.’ They also made little table decorations that looked like a camp fire surrounded by rocks. Inside of each one they put one of those plastic, battery…

  • Oatmeal Cookies {Soft & Chewy}
    Cookies - Recipes

    Oatmeal Cookies {Soft & Chewy}

    March 18, 2015 - By 

    The other night I had an itch to bake. I knew that Oatmeal Cookie Day was coming up, so I decided to make some! After making them, I had to look up and see what day in March it was. I was chagrined to find out there appears to be 2 different dates; one being today March 18 and the other bring April 30. I decided to post today, because it’s earlier. I love the way these Oatmeal cookies turned out. They are soft and chewy, but not so much that they become crumbly. Love that about good cookies! Servings:…

  • Recipes

    Fat Free Honey Mustard Sauce

    March 16, 2015 - By 

    Often we think our chicken sandwiches or chicken fingers are to die for without the sauce. However, this sauce add another amazing layer of flavor that makes it totally worth the few minutes it takes to make. Servings: 4 Prep Time: 5 minutes Cooking Time: 0 minutes Ingredients: 2 tsp. dijon mustard 2 tbs. honey 1 tbs. fat-free mayonnaise 1 tsp. vinegar Directions: Mix together this ingredients and chill before serving. Fat Free Honey Mustard Sauce   Print Prep time 5 mins Total time 5 mins   Author: Lysha @ A Camera & A Cookbook Serves: 4 Ingredients 2 tsp.…

  • Life

    Alex’s 11th Birthday Party

    March 13, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday {Alex’s 11th Birthday Party} Alex turned 11 last Saturday. Here he is on his birthday, long hair and all. Being that he’s the 2nd child, it seems as though we fail to allow him to do many of the things we let Drew do at the same age. We have really started to make sure he is not slighted from all the opportunities that kids should be allowed. It just happens that his birthday usually falls the weekend of the Cub Scout Blue & Gold banquet so for many years that was always our excuse. This year the…

  • Travel

    Fort Myers River District

    March 10, 2015 - By 

    After eating a lovely dinner at Capone’s, we went back to the hotel as the kids were itching to swim in the pool. We stayed at Hotel Indigo, which located in the beautiful River District of Fort Myers. The pool is on the roof of the hotel, and Rob and I enjoyed looking around, as there are some great views from there. The pools are clean and safe for the kids because of the Two Brothers Luxury Pool Service that maintains them. The pool closed at dark so the kids got out of the pool, got dressed, and then we…

  • Mini Breakfast Pies
    Pork - Recipes

    Mini Breakfast Pies

    March 9, 2015 - By 

    Looking for an easy breakfast that you can take on the go? I love these Mini Breakfast Pies. They’re are easy and can easily be made, refrigerated in a ziplock bag, and warmed up every morning. Prep Time: 10 Minutes Cook Time: 20 Minutes Servings: 12 Ingredients 1 pound breakfast sausage, shredded ham, or shredded bacon (or combination) 1 small minced onion 1 (12 ounce) can refrigerated crescent roll dough 6 eggs, beaten 1 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese salt & pepper Directions: 1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). 2. In a large, deep skillet over…

  • Life

    Alex’s 11th Birthday

    March 6, 2015 - By 

    Family Friday {Alex’s 11th Birthday} Tomorrow is my lil’ one’s birthday. I know I say it all the time, but time if flying by. He’s no longer little, but still sometimes sweet…sometimes!

  • Beef - Dinner

    Shepherd’s Pie

    March 4, 2015 - By 

    It’s about that time to pull out all those Irish meals to enjoy on St. Patrick’s Day. One of my all time favorites over the last few years has been Shepherd’s Pie. It’s so easy and such a great comfort food. Perfect for those still chili nights! Servings: Prep Time: 15 minutes Cooking Time: 20 minutes Ingredients: 2-3 cups of mashed potatoes 1 large egg yolk 1/2 cup cream, for a lighter version substitute vegetable or chicken broth Salt and freshly ground black pepper 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil, 1 turn of the pan 1 3/4 pounds ground beef or…