I tried a new recipe this week :: Stuffed Peppers.
While it took a lot longer than I anticipated to make, the end result was worth it.
It was beyond yummy! And leftovers the next day for lunch was great too! I will definitely make this again, and I hope to try to make one new recipe a week (as long as time permits). My cookbook? The Internet! There are SO many great recipes out there. Where to begin?
For last night's dinner, I wanted to use leftovers + whatever we had in the house/fridge/cupboard. The items I absolutely I wanted to use, was leftover already cooked lasagna noodles, and ground beef.
For our family, I used about 1 pound of ground beef. Then I browned the meat and cooked it until it's no longer pink, then added in onions and continued to cook and stir.
In the meantime, if you don't already have noodles ready (like I did last night), cook 1 box of elbow macaroni (or any macaroni of your choice) until it's the way you like it (my family likes it softer than al dente) and drain it well.
Add 1 (15oz) can of stewed tomatoes to the ground beef and onions, and stir. Add 1 (15 oz) can of mixed vegetables, (if you choose, I decided to not put any in last night) cover and cook for 6-8 minutes.
Mix 2 Tbsp flour in 1 cup water, and get all the lumps out. Add it to the hamburger mixture and stir until mixture is thickened. Add 1 can of cream of mushroom (or cream of celery is what I used last night, as I'm not a fan of mushroom) and stir it in good. Add the pasta to the mixture, and heat it all together. (Since I already had the pasta cooked from a few days ago, I heated the pasta in the microwave in a bowl and the mixed in the meat into the bowl and mixed it all together.
All together, I think it took me half an hour to prepare everything. The longest was waiting for the liquids to evaporate.
The boys had no interest in eating it. Mack doesn't eat sauce to begin with on pasta (he's an oil & Parmesan kind of boy). Sean had no interest in eating it - but did taste it. He said he wasn't in the mood. I absolutely enjoyed it - and it was WAY better than boxed Hamburger Helper from the store. Jamie really liked it too. He even had seconds! I was very impressed with it. I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch today! Yum!
I've been meaning to show you what's been going on in our garden lately, but time just keeps running away from me. So, here you have it. We turned this (above) into this (below):
We used Romaine lettuce & cherry tomatoes from the garden to make falafel (in a pita).
Shockingly, both boys gobbled it up.
There's been some more red.
And lots of green. From our zucchini loot we made:
Grilled Zucchini on the BBQ for dinner.
Two zucchini breads (one with chocolate chips & one without).
Some purée for Quentin.
And even more to freeze.
Zucchini purée after frozen.
Quentin was eager to try the zucchini!
Sean's been a huge helper in the garden this summer.
It's so nice to share it with him.
How's your garden growing?
A little update on Wyatt. While I haven't touched it in a few days, (been hectic around here), there has been some progress before then. I'm on the 2nd side of it now, so more than 50% of it is done. I will get it done soon, I'm sure of it. Things should calm down around here soon. (Who am I kidding, calm in a house with 3 sons?!)
Sean helped me bake 3 apple cakes on Friday.
One we kept for our house and 2 we brought to the BBQ we had on Saturday.
I also make Oreo Truffle Cake Pops. I basically altered this recipe for Oreo Truffles, substituting Chocolate Bark for Pastilles that I got at Bulk Barn. I also added in a Wilton lollipop stick and called it an Oreo Cake Pop. I made them for our BBQ we had (with friends) on Saturday. They were a trial run for a party we have upcoming. I wasn't sure about them (as I was up extremely late on Friday night working on them) but they were a HUGE hit. So I'm thinking I might just have to make them again for the other event we have. (Details to follow soon). I have to admit, they were really really tasty. Though, I wish I could find a lollipop stand (like this one) for the next time I need to display Cake Pops. Even Mackenzie, my chocoholic kept coming back to the Cake Pop container and sticking his hand in for more. After the first few times we had to tell him it was enough!
This week Quentin turned 19 weeks old (Tuesday, April 12th)
Sean turned 223 weeks old (Tuesday, April 12th)
and Mackenzie 147 weeks old (today, Thurs, April 14th)
This week, we've played with bubbles.
We've attended our final mini session music class (and tried on the famous spider hat that I have pictures of both Sean & Mackenzie wearing from when they took this class too).
There were times with friends, and quiet time with naps.
(Mackie finally went back to daycare on Wednesday once he was fever free).
We saw more friends, and even went for an hour & a half walk today.
Sean helped me make 112 meatballs (double recipe) for our guests coming for Passover next week. Sean made me promise that I'd wait for him to come home from school to make them, so I did. He was an awesome helper. He's really quite good at rolling meatballs.
Happiness is....
♥ No longer having to go back to the Children's Hospital for follow-ups. We were cleared yesterday from having to go back to see Respirology and we're also weaning Quentin off the Zantac. Quentin's also 12 lbs 1.5 oz now (he gained over half a pound last week, my little piggy!)
♥ Finding a handbag you thought you no longer had.
♥ Having healthy snacks a friend.
♥ Baking with my son.
♥ The Habs winning Game 1 of the 1st round of the playoffs tonight.
♥ Spring Cleaning.
♥ Catching up on some magazine reading.
♥ Being almost done the book I'm currently reading.
♥ De-cluttering my home. (Will be updating my De-Clutter Blog in the next few days, I've been keeping a list).
♥ Seeing the numbers drop on the scale each week.
♥ Pulling out my beloved wardrobe. Bye-bye everything maternity. Hello clothes!
♥ Bedtime cuddles.
♥ Bedtime stories.
♥ A clean house!
♥ My son telling me I'm the best chef.
♥ Finally having the strength to let go of baby clothes and donate them to someone else who can use them, love them & cherish them as I did.
Today's Link Love:
- Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards points: BKKJSJHSWMZWPGB
- 50 free Pampers Gifts to Grow Points: happybdaypamprs (Valid today only)!
- This person's home library is so cheerful!
- This retro wristband pincushion tutorial.
- This stuffed animal tutorial is adorable.
- Booster Seat Cushion tutorial.
Sean is 212 weeks old today.
I finally got the Tag Reader software downloaded onto my laptop, and we got the audio for Sean's 2 Tag Books he got for his birthday. What a neat toy. They never had such neat learning tools when I was a kid. It's amazing what technology has brought us.
Mack is my silly monkey.
He likes being silly and he likes having his picture taken.
He also likes "reviewing" the photos of himself on my camera.
Quentin has been more alert lately and I've been trying to stimulate him more with toys, and shapes and colors. Tonight, we played in front of a mirror for a bit. He was too funny "cooing" at himself.
I turn 30 this year (yikes!) and hubby and I started talking about my party. He won't do it as a surprise because he wants to make sure that everyone I would want there is indeed invited, so he will host something for me, but I have to help him out. I love planning/organizing... it's going to be fun. I just need to find somewhere to have it, etc. Oh, all the details are going to be so much fun (and that's why he married me, as I'm the planner/organizer). Glad he put me in charge. I still have time, my 30th is not until June. I actually am not really ready yet to think about my 30th. I even have my mother already in discussion with me about Quentin's 1st birthday. Are you kidding? He's only 8 weeks old! He was just born... but I guess there is a point, as my grandmother wants to be there, so if I make it a tad earlier than he actual birthday, then my grandmother is willing to go to Florida a week later than usual, (she goes for the winter) so she can be at Quentin's 1st birthday. I think I can handle that... but discussing it now? In January? For November? I'm not ready yet. It's a little too early.
Tonight for dinner I made a pot roast. I kind of winged it today, making it my own recipe. It actually came out quite good. I was impressed. I simply used ingredients we had in the house. I've made many pot roasts in my life, and now I know what works and what doesn't as far as ingredients. I had picked up 2 pot roast meat the other day from the grocery store. It was on sale for a ridiculously cheap price. Thinking about it now, I should have picked up more (to freeze). I have one more frozen in the freezer for next week or the week after - depending on how soon we feel we want to eat it again. I love my slow cooker. Toss in your ingredients, and 6-8 hours later (depending on your recipe) dinner is ready. Some days, it is just perfect. Whomever invented the slow cooker, rocks, in my opinion.
This morning started off with a cheese omelet (the first one I've ever made myself & I did a pretty darn good job if I do say so myself - even Jamie was impressed!) with eggs from my sister-in-law's chickens. (She has a couple of chickens and a rooster at her house in the country). It was delicious.
Quentin's been spending his day today in the swing I picked up for parts but ended up not needing them. We are making use of this swing in the kitchen, which he'll use while we're eating meals, etc. (Or if I need somewhere to put him down while I am making his bottle, or cooking/baking, etc). This swing is not as fancy as our original swing (that I picked up when Sean was born) but it does the trick.
This afternoon I got a call from the Electrolux repair technician from the place I brought my vacuum cleaner to. Not only is my nozzle attachment brush finished (which is why it wasn't picking up stuff), the motor needed replacing and it needed a good cleaning/maintenance as well as a new filter. The cost? 140$? At first I was like "What?! I could buy a brand new machine for that price!?" - thinking that in my head. But then I realized... Electrolux's sell brand new for between 2000-3000$. The shop I brought mine to, sells them 2nd hand for 400-800$ depending on the model/year/condition, etc. The new machines that are out there, do NOT compared to my machine. Electrolux's rock. So I told the guy to go ahead. He assured me it would be working like brand new, and it would serve me for many many many more years. That sounds very good to me.
Jamie went to go take out Sean's new helmet (that I exchanged yesterday) out of the box, and guess what? It was defective, in the same manner the original one we exchanged it for yesterday. Someone had returned it and they must have put it back on the shelf. One of the snaps came off, just like ours had. We were livid. Then we went to go take Mack's new helmet out of the box, which we bought a few weeks ago, and at first glance it seems fine. Jamie snaps the grill onto the helmet, and takes it off, and what do you know? The snap comes loose. 3 defective helmets!? From Bauer nonetheless? What a piss off! Anyhow, I have no idea if other companies sell Jr. size helmets, but I will be returning the Bauer ones, and hoping to find something before the boys start their skating lesson (which is coming up).
As of late afternoon I was solo parenting. Jamie had tickets to the Habs game tonight and went with one of his best friends. It's been a challenging evening, but alas, all 3 kids are currently sleeping. I've been taking care of stuff on my to do list, like wrapping gifts for upcoming birthday parties, laundry (cuz it's never ending), organizing in the kitchen (well, started to anyhow, will hopefully finish the rest tomorrow). I've also even gotten to add to my de-clutter list, but will post about that tomorrow, I'm too tired now.
So... what do you do when you're alone with 3 kids? Well... I tried to keep busy. (Keeping busy is KEY! or they go bananas... well my kids anyhow...)
We made words with the Scrabble letter Cheeze-it's that Bea sent over.
Sean found crackers to spell his name (and then later Mack's too)
He's so proud he can spell both their names.
Then we worked on some puzzles, until the pieces ended up all over the kitchen floor....
And then the boys decided that it would be fun to clean the floor. Uhm, okay? Do I fire my cleaning lady? Just kidding. No, but seriously, they thought it was a fun game. Who was I to complain?
In between all these games, and scrabble word finding, and floor cleaning there was a ton of "he's touching my puzzle pieces", "he's touching my chair", "he's hurting me"... fun. The joy of boys. The joy of being push over mommy (when daddy is bad cop daddy). It's been a challenging night. But I managed to feed them dinner (ordered the kids a pizza, to discover I ordered from a 2 for 1 place, and only Sean ate a slice and a half. Not sure what I'm going to do with almost 2 small pizzas, as Jamie & I are on a diet and Mack is not a fan of pizza. Sean's going to be eating pizza for the entire week? Oy.
I'm trying to figure out, how to manage all 3 kids at the same time. At one point I had Sean asking for something, Mack whining about something else, and Quentin screaming his lungs out in his swing because he just woke up and wanted to eat. I really wish sometimes that I had 8 arms/hands. Wouldn't that be sweet. Then I could get everyone what they needed and everyone would be happy. At.the.same.time.
ps - I updated my sidebar on my blog. Check it out --> (I updated the book I'm currently reading (when I have the time to read), the audio book I'm about to start and added a button for you to access my project 365 if you'd like to see what's going on over there).
pps- I told someone today I was going to knit an entire cowl tonight (pattern :: my own design). Yeah, that didn't happen. I didn't get a second to knit a stitch today. Maybe tomorrow.
ppss - I also told someone else I was going to take a relaxing bubble bath and enjoy a glass of red wine while doing so tonight once all 3 kids were in bed. You guessed it... that didn't happen either. Maybe tomorrow night.
Quentin is 3 weeks old today.
Today for dinner I prepared a recipe (Chicken Cannelloni) from Jessica Seinfeld's new cookbook, Double Delicious. The only change I made was that I used broccoli puree instead of cauliflower puree inside (so you see green). When I saw the price of cauliflower at 4$ for one, and then next to it saw broccoli for .97 cents, I made the decision to substitute the vegetable. I used whole wheat lasagna noodles and low fat ricotta cheese (as the recipe calls for), and made this delicious healthy meal for my family. Kids - not so impress. Hubby - asked to make it again. I was inspired to make something from her cookbook after watching the episode of Oprah that she was on. She's such a cutie (Jessica Seinfeld) and really funny too. I guess she has to be - married to Jerry after all!
So many things I want to do - but I am not going to brave them the week of Xmas. But then again, do I really want to brave them the week of Boxing Week Sales? My to-do list keeps getting things added to it - but hey, life goes on. I'll see what I can get done, and keep my sanity in check. It's not even Xmas stuff that I have to do, but I don't really want to get stuck shoving my way through last minute shoppers, and fight for parking. Ah, yes, parking. The fight for that this time of the year.
What is something Mommy always says to you? Can you pick this up please.
What makes Mommy happy? When I behave.
What makes Mommy sad? When I don't behave.
How does Mommy make you laugh? When she does something funny.
What was Mommy like as a child? Small like me.
How old is Mommy? 25.
How tall is Mommy? Tall like this (lifts arms into air).
What is Mommy's favorite thing to watch on TV? Big Brother.
What does Mommy do when you're not around? Work.
What is Mommy really good at? Going on your computer.
What is Mommy not very good at? Hockey.
What does Mommy do for her job? Go on your computer.
What is Mommy's favorite food? Everything. But also strawberries because I like strawberries.
What makes you proud of Mommy? She does a good job cleaning up.
If mommy were a cartoon, who would she be? Hockey Player one.
What do you and Mommy do together? We be together, I love you.
How are you and Mommy the same? We have matching skin.
How are you and Mommy different? You really need to teach me to drive a car.
How do you know Mommy loves you? We be together.
What does Mommy like most about Daddy? Because we love daddy.
Where is Mommy's favourite place to go? Sewing class or to knitting.
This kid cracks me up. I can't believe he's turning 4 in a week.
Today I was snowed in, and my hubby had my car (not that I can drive right now anyhow (yet)) and I convinced my mom to pick me up before going to pick up the boys from daycare. I wanted to bring Quentin to the daycare, as Sean & Mack's teachers have been asking about him. I couldn't believe that we got all 3 of them in the back of my mom's car. A little bit of a tight fit but we managed. I had to grab a photo of the 3 of them lined up in the car.
Today I made Shepard's Pie for dinner. I actually did not follow any recipe at all. I had never made it myself, and Jamie just basically told me the way he makes it - and I altered it a bit. It was quite easy actually. I think the only thing that was a tad hard was mashing the potatoes because of my Csection. I guess the motion of actually mashing them made me a bit sore. It turned out delicious, and now we have leftovers! I was begged last night to make it again. I don't think I'll make it too often though, because potatoes are rather fattening to eat. Jamie and I agreed that as soon as my Cesection is healed and I am cleared from the doctor, that we will start getting back into shape together. (I like this plan). (New Years Resolution!?)
I am really starting to feel like my old self. I'm talking pre-pregnancy, pre-miscarriage self. I feel like I was not myself this entire pregnancy, whether it was the hormones, or what, I don't know. But I'm really starting to feel better. I know the last few weeks of my pregnancy I couldn't concentrate on much either. I find my concentration and my patience now are much better than they were just a week ago.
Quentin has been an awesome baby so far (knock on wood). He's a really good sleeper (can I say he's quite boring and all he does is sleep right now?) and barely cries. He'll only cry when he's absolutely starving. Though, most of the times, it's me waking him up to feed, because he's on a strict feeding schedule due to his weight.
Knitting time!? Haven't really had any time since getting home from the hospital. Reading time? Yeah, not really either. I have watched some TV though (while feeding Quentin) but if it's at night, I tend to pass out while watching TV. He's really only getting up twice at night (11pm feeding - I'm still up usually, 2 am and 5 am are the 2 key hours in the middle of the night we're up eating). I try to go to bed after his 11 pm feeding, to get in a few extra hours, though I've always been a night owl, so this has been a tad hard.
\
