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…
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…
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…
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…
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;…
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…
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…
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:…
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.…
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…
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…
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…
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!
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…
Looking for an easy soup? This Spicy Sausage and Potato Soup is cooked in the crockpot and will be ready to eat when you get home from work. Servings: 8 Prep Time: 10 minutes Cooking Time: 6-8 hours Ingredients: 1 diced onion 1 cup diced celery 1 tbs. minced garlic 1/2 tsp. hot red pepper flakes 1 tsp. dried basil 1 tsp. dried oregano 1 large can of pureed tomatoes 1 can fire roasted tomatoes 1 small can of green chilies 5 links hot Italian Sausage 8 cups chicken stock 4-5 large potatoes; diced Directions: 1. Remove sausage from the…
How many of you knew it was Peanut Butter Lover’s Day? Well, this year I’ve following along with National Food Days just as a fun way to bring new ideas in to my menu. When I saw that it’s Peanut Butter Lover’s Day, I couldn’t help but write a post for it. I gathered 25 of the yummiest recipes that have the beloved Peanut Butter as one of the ingredients. Give these amazing blogs a shout out! Peanut Butter Cheesecake Brownie Bars Peanut Butter Lover M&M cookies Peanut Butter Chocolate Macarons Peanut Butter Fudge Peanut Butter Marshmallow Brownie Cups Peanut…