Homemade Hamburger Helper

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!

Spaghetti Squash

Last week I made spaghetti squash for the first time. It was a spaghetti squash from our garden this summer. We only got 2 squash this year, once Sean took to school for his class vegetable soup and this one was all mine! (Jamie & the kids won't eat spaghetti squash - well maybe Quentin would... I will let him try it next time I make some). First I halved it. (That was quite the job too - until I found the right knife).

Then I brushed olive oil around the sides and sprinkled on pepper & salt for taste. I then flipped them over (cut side down) and baked it at 350°F for 45 minutes.

Once it came out of the oven, I scooped out the seeds (you can do this before you bake it as well - it's up to you).

And I then scooped out all the spaghetti squash. I was unsure at first, but it was pretty fun actually.

And voila - a huge bowl of spaghetti squash!

Topped it off with some spaghetti sauce, some Parmesan, had a friend over for lunch, and the entire thing was gobbled up! It's super light on the calories, and extremely tasty. I will definitely be making this again!

3.5.11

Today after the boys had their skating lessons, we checked out Jukebox.

The boys really enjoyed it there, and I had a fantastic grilled chicken breast salad.
I was even able to "make it" myself. It was so good.
We definitely will eat there again.

When we got home, we set out to paint.

We received a dinosaur skeleton from my friend Eugenie, and the boys decided they wanted to paint it. I picked up some acrylic paint, and some paint brushes and I let the boys go wild on it. It definitely killed a few hours this afternoon.

This evening Jamie and I watched the movie The Fighter. Not my usual style movie, but it was good nonetheless. While I watched the movie, I worked a bit more on organizing my stash on Ravelry. I've been double checking what yarns are already listed, and what isn't yet listed and listed in, providing it's already photographed. I'm getting there. And once it goes back into my yarn room, I then have it organized as best as possibly by weight.

Today's Link Love:
- This pleated bag tutorial.
- I love this space.
- I love this chick's office space.
- I love this blog post on simplifying email. I like that she talks about it being okay to delete emails. I do try myself to respond to every email that requires a response to (especially since people are taking the time to email me, but sometimes, things don't need a response, or I just don't have the time with 3 kids ages 4 and younger). Though, questions that are asked, or emails that need responding to... I do get to them.. it might just be eventually though. I'm working on catching up.

Don't forget that by commenting, you will be entered into my giveaway for a copy of Arranged by Catherine McKenzie. The contest runs until March 16, 2011, and I will draw a winner that evening when I blog. All you have to do is comment on any post this blog.

1.25.11 :: 212 weeks & 8 weeks

Quentin is 8 weeks old today.

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.

1.24.11

Loving my new little bird.

Hate that the dryer "ate" one of Mack's sweaters.
It's good for garbage, the zipper broke.

Love Picadillo in the new Weight Watchers Cookbook that I picked up at Costco recently. With a side of vegetables. It was really good, and very healthy. Jamie said it was very different. He'd eat it again, just not every week, type of thing. I'm not doing weight watchers myself, but the recipes are healthy, so I figured why not. Picadillo, a chicken dish, had the right amount of Granny Smith apple and cinnamon, just to my liking.

The boys and their bedtime buddies. Mack sleeps with Bunny & Brobee (from Yo Gabba Gabba). Sean sleeps with his Nunu (not pictured here) and rotates between some or all of those stuffed animals in the pile behind him. It's usually a zoo in his bed - his choice. Whatever keeps them in bed and asleep, I don't mind.

It's -25°C (-13°F) right now, which according to the weather network "feels like -32°C (-25.6°F)". This weather should be illegal. Even our furnace can’t keep up to heat the house (which is normal). We have it set for 73°F (22.7°C) and it’s at 64°F (17.7°C) forcing itself to work. BRRRRRRRRR.

Today’s Link Love:
- Love this receipt organizer tutorial.
- Love this image.
- Wearing a pair of glasses I haven’t worn in a while.
- Love this ring.
- I wish I had a girl. I love this fairy dress.
- My conversation with Mackenzie (no link, but love anyhow):
Robyn: "Why are you so cute?"
Mack: "I'm not cute, I'm Mackenzie".

1.20.11 :: 135 weeks old

Mack is 135 weeks old today.

There are always lots of hugs around our house. Morning hugs goodbye when Mack & Sean leave to go to daycare for the day.

And night time before bed sandwich hugs.

SPECS:
Pattern: A Neck Warmer for Coreen by Me! (My Ravelry Link)
For: Myself
Yarn:1 skein (82 yards) of Debbie Bliss Cashmerino Superchunky
Needles: US 11 - 8.0 mm
Size: 5.5" x 23.5"
Timeline: January 11, 2011 - January 18, 2011. It never takes me this long to knit this neck warmer, but life with a newborn kept me busy.
Modifications: Knit pattern as written.
Notes: I've already knit 3 of these neck warmers as gifts. It was finally time to knit one for me.

Finally got around to hanging a few things in the house today. A few of those items were in Quentin's room.

One of which, is this awesome felt Quentin name that my aunt made for Quentin, I believe, for Chanukah 2010. It's his name on a Habs hockey stick, in the Habs colors. It's pretty awesome. (And the dog hanging on the wall is a pretty neat diaper stacker - though that was hung a while ago on the wall).

Talk about routine... Kids like routine. Jamie had sat down with Mackenzie a while ago and told him that he was a big boy and big boys don't cry at daycare drop off. The next morning, Mackenzie stopped crying at daycare drop off. It's been a few weeks now, and today I took the kids to daycare for the first time since having Quentin/the end of my pregnancy. Out of routine, and Mackenzie starts to cry at daycare drop off. Oh, I hope this isn't starting up again. Shows how much routine is important in kids.

The reason I took the kids to daycare this morning was because Jamie said that he doesn't mind taking the kids to daycare in the morning, unless there is a morning where I am leaving at about the same time, then he'd appreciate me taking them, since he takes my car to take them (car seats are in my car) and it would be silly for him to come back to get his car when I'm leaving anyhow with my car (makes sense). Well, this morning I was leaving to take Quentin to the CLSC to get him weighed. I was worried because the last 2 weeks from December 28th to January 13th, Quentin had only gained 15 grams per day (on estimate). Normal weight gain for a newborn is between 20-25 grams per day, so I wanted to make sure there was a gain in the last week of at least that. Well, in the last week Quentin's gained approximately 31 grams a day. He's now 7 lbs 4.4 oz. (3300 grams or 3.30 kg) - finally over the 7 lbs mark. Time to officially retire those 5 lbs sleepers and take out the 7 lbs sleepers (he's still swimming in newborn sleepers). Next week we see our doctor, so hopefully he'll keep on track for the weight gain.

After we got home, a friend came by for a bit, to meet Quentin, which was nice. I spent the afternoon backing up my home office computer as the power supply keeps shutting down my computer. I am having Jamie bring it into work next week to fix it, and upgrade a few things, as it started running slow. Backing up my hard drive is a huge job, as I have over 161 Gigs of photos backed up from 2007 until today. I don't want to lose any of those... so I'll be backing it up again after the initial back-up. Working in the computer industry and seeing people come in with fried computers and losing their kids' baby photos or their wedding files, etc.. I don't want to take the chance of losing my files. So my advice to you guys - BACK UP your files! I never dump my memory card off my camera until I've made sure that it's backed up - twice (in 2 different places).

It's -11C out there, and bitter. I hate winter. I hate that once my toes are numb (from the cold), they're like that for the rest of the day. And my skin? My hands are so bad in the winter, no matter how many time I moisturize. I'm longing for spring.

I made dinner in the slow cooker today - a rib recipe. It was fantastic. I made some alterations to the recipe, which completely altered it all together, but it is definitely something that I would make again. I've been looking at things like sodium (trying to make sure anything I cook with has under 500mg of sodium (anything above that is really bad for you), but sometimes it's super hard when a recipe calls for a soup base and the sodium is REALLY high in it - I tend to alter the recipe a bit, to find something with a lower sodium count.

This is how I use the internet - check out Project 365.

1.13.11 :: 134 weeks old

Mackenzie is 134 weeks old today.

I took Quentin to the CLSC this morning to get weighed, as I was concerned about his eating as of lately. He's been only drinking about 1 oz at a time and then passing out for 2-3 hours, waking up and only drinking about another ounce, before sleeping again for 2-3, sometimes even 4 hours. I was right, he was only gaining on average about 15 grams per day, when he should be gaining 20-25 grams per day. He's now 6 lbs 12 oz (3080 grams or 3.08kg) at 6 weeks old 2 days. Two weeks ago, on Dec 28th, he was 6 lbs 5 oz. (2860 grams or 2.86 kg). And the week before that from Monday, Dec 20th (weighed by the CLSC) to Tues, Dec 28th (weighed by his doctor at his 4 week check-up) , he had gained in those 8 days 45 grams per day. It really cut in a 3rd his weight gain from 45 g to 15 g. Though, I can't force him to eat more than he wants to, or he spits it ALL up. When he's done, he shuts his gums and that's it. He's not letting any more food in. I'm hoping this slow weight gain is just his own curve, but we'll find out in about another 2 weeks when he has his 2 month check-up.

After leaving the clinic, I ran to my 6 week postpartum appointment. My incision is healing nicely and I was cleared to work out/exercise. I'll probably still start light on the exercise, but I plan to make a routine for myself, something that will work. I was supposed to have one test done today, but I unfortunately couldn't so I have to run back to her in 2 weeks to do it. And then I'll be free of doctor appointments from there for 1 year. Everyone at the doctor's office couldn't get over how small he was!

As I arrived to the doctor's office trying to undo Quentin's Bundle Me to not let him overheat, one of the side zippers got stuck. I tried for a while to get the zipper free, but it just wasn't going anywhere. At least it got stuck at the most closed point, and luckily the other side opens and has it's own zipper, so I am able to open it. It's the same side that I had the zipper replaced back in October 2008. Anyhow, after my doctor's appointment, I went to pick up Jamie and while at the office, my dad happened to be there (family business) so I had my dad take a look at it. He used vice grips to try to get the zipper free, but he ended up breaking the zipper slider in half.

Jamie's car was at the dealership today, so he needed my car for work. Since I hadn't actually been to the new store we opened in November, I decided to go with him to check it out, since his trip today was going to be a quick one. First we went to our original store, where I was working until I started my maternity leave, and then we went to the new store. The new store is really nice, I like it.

While Jamie did some work, Quentin napped & I got to knit on a new project I started.
I'm on a chunky yarn kick right now.

Quentin also enjoyed checking out daddy's new office.

After we left, I dropped Jamie back off at his car (which was then ready) and went to get a car was for my car. There was a long line up today (it was a nice day to get a car wash apparently) and I worked even more on the neck warmer during the 30-40 minute wait I had for the car wash.

View from inside the car wash.

Almost clean.

After the car wash, I ran across the street to drop off some dry cleaning and I asked the woman there (who happens to also be a seamstress) if she could fix my bundle me. She told me she'd be able to pry off the broken slider and put on a new one. I told her I couldn't leave the bundle me with her as Quentin needs it for outside, so I'm stopping by there tomorrow and she said it would take a maximum of 15 minutes to fix. I'm quite happy.

Tonight I prepared a healthy meal, some protein, brown rice (starch), and lots of veggies. I try not to eat meat & starch together after 5pm, but we had an early enough dinner today and I've been so good all week, that I allowed myself to have some rice. Tomorrow is weigh in, so we'll see how the diet is going. Hopefully I've lost a bit more.

I leave you tonight with a link to Quentin and his new best friend on Project 365.

1.10.11

Quentin got a new toy today (a gift certificate purchase).
He needed something for his bounce chair,
as I can't figure out what happened to the old toys.
I think they are really cute.

He likes them too. He was whacking the duck for a bit. Not sure if he realizes what he was doing, but the duck made noise when he did it, so he continued to do it for a bit. I don't think at 6 weeks old their eye sight is still not 100% in focus, but I'm trying to stimulate him young, hopefully it will be good.

Tonight we had Blue Marlin steaks for dinner. I've never had this kind of fish before, and let me tell you, it was absolutely freakin' delicious. It was sooo tasty. I absolutely loved the texture of it as well. I definitely plan to have it again. We didn't even do anything fancy to it - just a little garlic powder, a little onion powder and some Montreal Steak Spice. We steamed some green beans and carrots, and voila... dinner! I'm seriously dreaming about the next time I can make it again (without making my household annoyed that I'm serving the same thing again). Monday nights are fish night for dinner now in our house. I started a chart, so that I don't have to panic at 5pm "what's for dinner" and I know what groceries we need for upcoming meals, etc. I'm trying to be more organized this year, and this was one of the places where I wanted to be on top of, so that we waste less money on ordering in, and we are eating healthier as well. (I'm also already dreaming of my vegetable garden and what I want to plant where, come spring).

Someone please tell me they know of a pattern (on Ravelry?) for finger gloves that the index finger "flips" off. My mother uses her index finger to use her iphone and wants a pair of gloves that will keep the rest of her fingers warm, but that she can use her iphone while walking her dog. (My parents have a beautiful fawn Great Dane named Bosco). There are patterns for mittens where the thumb flips off for texting, but I need mittens where the index finger tip is removable.

Also - does anyone know where I can find a pattern for an Android tablet with the dimensions of: 0.48" x 7.5" x 4.75". It's smaller than the ipad, and I know there is are several cozies designed out there for the ipad (like this awesome one for example). Maybe I'll have to design one myself, but I wanted to know if anyone knew of one that was already designed?

Tonight we tried out our new popcorn maker (which we got for Christmas from my sister-in-law). The boys enjoyed watching the popcorn popping as it was being made. Mack was actually in hysterics laughing. (It's amazing what amuses little kids!)

Today's Link Love:
-Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards Point: BKJZN-DXNMM-SMPGB.
- A really funny photo of Quentin on Project 365. (Look at those cheeks!)
- This game looks really neat. I can't wait for my kids to be older so we can play games like this as a family. I definitely plan to implement family game night once a week once the boys are all older.

1.8.11

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.

10.15.10

This morning I made some more pumpkin spice smoothie. It is sooo delicious (if you like that kind of flavoring). I've only recently been big on pumpkin. I swear, I caught myself singing "there's a party in my tummy... so yummy... so yummy..." (Anyone with kids would probably get this reference).

Here is this morning's progress update on Magnificent Mantle.
Almost done! And lookin' mighty fine...

Yarn diet 2010 is officially over. 9 months, 1 week and 6 days. January 1st - Oct 15th, 2010. I was going to break it this upcoming weekend at Rhinebeck 2010, however with my pregnancy complications I cannot be there this year (had a room reserved and everything but had to sell it (since it was a pre-paid room)). So I decided that I would still break my yarn diet now and treat myself to stuff I've been eying over the almost 10 months. Above, is all from the Etsy Seller Viola and you have, Viola Sock in Controversy, Viola sock in Dark Thistle, and Viola Merino Fingering in North Sea. Yum! (Tara was my enabler on this purchase). I FEEL FREE!!!!!!!!!!!

Dinner tonight was pot luck with some friends that we've been trying to get together with for a year now. We only realized tonight that it had been a year (we've had plans re-arranged twice since the beginning of summer). We were in charge of the actual meal, and I made a pot roast. I almost had a heart attack this afternoon for about a good half hour when we had a power failure. I totally thought dinner was ruined for sure. We were 6 of us, and I had 2 slow cookers going (ours had the same meal as my parents slow cooker, except in my parents slow cooker I made it with onions, as one of our friends who came tonight doesn't eat onions). It was really delicious. It was great to see our friends (and meet one new boyfriend of one of the girls) and catch up.

Today I leave you with this video:

Saw it on someone's blog and just love it.