Advice Welcome

Ok, I found this old metal tray at a consignment store and can't decide what to do with it.

Yes, those are Star Wars trading cards. I found those at the flea market for $5! So you know I had to get them for the nephews!

Anyway, I have seen so many repainted and they look fabulous! I can decide if I should paint the trays white, teal, red, teal...etc. What do you think? I also kind of like the strange, old wicker print on the top but I may be being a dork.

Source: fellowcreatives.com via Hannah on Pinterest

Source: google.com via Eva on Pinterest

Source: inspirationfordecoration.blogspot.com via Eva on Pinterest

This on isn't a tray but I kind of like the color.

Source: etsy.com via Eva on Pinterest

What's a girl to do?

How Do You Forget to Eat Lunch?

Yesterday was our first full day back at home and I'm still exhausted!

Thank you for the kind comments yesterday, and yes, my sister and I were both in the ER over the weekend with our loves.

Yesterday we took Sweet P to visit her sister cousin and it was so great to see them smile, laugh and and hug.

I feel so helpless when the people I love are hurt and I can't take the hurt away.

So what do I do? I cook. Even though it's such a small thing, I feel like I'm helping in some way and it keeps me busy and my mind off worrying.

While the husband is recovering, he's supposed to eat bland food. So I hit the kitchen while they were napping. I made oatmeal for breakfast, hummus and black bean hummus for snacks, boiled 2 chickens and made chicken salad for lunch, chicken-artichoke-gnocchi to take to the hospital and homemade chicken noodle soup for dinner. I made enough of everything for my family and enough to share with my sister and my brother (in-law) so they could have a little home-cooked goodness at the hospital.

I was so wrapped up in the day that I forgot to make myself lunch. Have you ever done that!? Trust me, I don't do it often. I like food. It was about 3:30 and we we on our way to visit my niece when I realized I hadn't had lunch.

Sheesh. 

Anyway, I took 2 pictures today. One of oatmeal - don't ask why because I don't know.



The other was the chicken noodle soup.



It was so good. I saw some noodles on P-dub's recipe for noodle soup (I didn't use her recipe, just the noodles.) They are Reames frozen noodles and they are amazing. They really taste like homemade.

So here's my recipe I concocted for the soup.

I used 6 cups of chicken broth from one of the chickens I boiled. I had pulled all the meat off the chicken and chopped and shredded it, added it to the broth with sea salt, 3 tablespoons of parsley flakes, a teaspoon of thyme and fresh ground pepper. After it came to a boil, I added the frozen noodles, 5 chopped carrots and a chopped onion. Then I let it simmer for 25 minutes. Then I added a mixture of 1 cup of milk with 1/3 cup of flour and another cup of milk. Then I let it simmer for another 15 minutes while I gave Sweet P a bath. Then just salt and pepper to taste.

After all that, I called it a night and watched a little tv. Today I plan on relaxing.

You Can Live Without It

What a whirlwind of a weekend we've had. There were plans of getting so many things checked off our to-do list. We got some finished Friday night but then it happened.

Pain.
Severe pain.
Not mine, the husbands.

He spent Friday night up walking around the house until finally Saturday morning I took him to the ER.

Sweet P came with us and boy was she a trooper. I found the best way to keep her entertained in a small hospital room where she can't crawl around, was by giving her snacks. She got lots of snacks. But she still had her moments.

After hours of tests and xrays and lots of blood taken we found out he had appendicitis. So, he went into surgery that day and now he is doing great - with one less organ.

Turns out you don't really need an appendix.

Homemade Hummus

One of my husband's favorite snacks is hummus. I like it a lot too. The only problem is it seems so expensive for just a little tub.

A couple of years ago I started making my own. It's so easy it stupid.

You just need a few ingredients and a food processor.

Tahini is on the list of ingredients. It's a sesame paste and comes in a tall, glass jar. It can be kind of expensive but it makes a TON of hummus and will pay for itself. I use this recipe.

We like it with vegetables: carrot sticks, cucumber, onion and sliced peppers. I also like it with wheat crackers or tortilla chips but obviously it's much healthier with veggies.

Another option on hummus is black bean hummus. I use the same recipe but instead of 2 can of chickpeas I use two cans of black beans. It's a pretty good alternative and reminds me of a snack we had in Jamaica...



And, just because it's Friday I'm leaving you with two sweet pics: my sweet p and some chocolate chip cookies.

 

Have a great weekend!

Embrace the Camera - Just hanging out

Hello Thursday and hello embracing time. After her afternoon nap, Sweet P was ready to go, go, go!

I managed to get her to sit still for a few seconds to get a picture with her.

I think she's making her "I see the camera fake smile" but she's pretty cute!

Now it's your turn. Go over to Emily's blog and link up!

Coupon - Why Yes

Do you remember my previous post about Sonic's new premium hot dogs?

Well, imagine my excitement when I got this coupon in the mail!

I can now say, sadly, that I have tried all four of their new hot dogs.

The last two on the list were the All-American dog. (not my fave)

And the chili cheese dog. (pretty good but not as good as the chicago dog)

And the best part of the chili cheese dog is having tots to dip in the stuff the falls out!

Okay, now back to healthy eating.

Oh wait, after these are gone. Thanks dad!

Which makes me think of a saying from one of my favorite shows, Biggest Loser...

I added the donut part, obviously!

Happy Hump Day!

His Last Year in the 20s

Over the weekend my husband celebrated his 29th birthday. There was a lot of fishing, some hunting, a lot of eating and a lot of driving.

Day 1: He went turkey hunting in Kansas. He calls the turkeys in and video tapes the hunts. [He makes fun of me for taking pictures of food, I make fun of him for recording his hunts.] Anyway, when he got home he wanted to show me the video of the hunt and realized the camera was still in Kansas! So, unplanned road trip back to Kansas to find the camera. Luckily, we found it on the side of a dirt road, a little dinged up from falling off the bed of the truck, but still working!

Day 2: He went fishing in the morning so I went flea market shopping! I'll show you some of my awesome finds later. That evening we went over to my grandpa's where the nephews insisted he have a birthday hat. With careful instruction of what had to be included by the oldest boy, I made him a hat out of a paper bag, it said happy birthday and had the numbers on top.

There were so many instructions from the oldest boy that it had me convinced birthday hats were a big deal at their house - not so. They just wanted to see their uncle in a goofy hat!

Good stuff people.

Day 3: Time for our fishing trip. We went to the same place we went a year ago when I was largely pregnant. But, it was completely dry. The lake was down over 3 feet. Nuts!

We found some water and decided to wade across a little stretch. I started sinking immediately.

I had mud almost up to my knees! It was tough getting out and the mud tried to eat my shoes but I managed to pull them out!

Speaking of TOMs, did you know today is a day without shoes? Check it out here.

After all the mud, a nice slip and slide by me when I chased after my hat that blew away, we finally found some fish!

We had a blast and by the end of the day I was a stinky mess. It was so weird just being me and the husband, without Sweet P (nana and pappy babysat her all day for us) we kept talking about her and how much we missed her. But, it was also so much fun to just be us again.

I will also add that lake fishing is much more enjoyable when you're not over 6 months pregnant!

Homemade Pizza Balls

We had a blast this weekend celebrating the husband's birthday. More on that tomorrow.

But for today, I'm sharing my new favorite fun food. Pizza balls.

I saw this recipe first on pinterest and decided to try my own versions.

I did the basic pepperoni and cheese and then I did a Joe Momma's inspired one based off of one of my favorite pizzas: Nathan's Unlikely Marriage. And while we're on the subject of Joe Momma's, if you're local, go there. Their pizza is delicious and it's kid friendly!

Instead of making my own pizza dough, I stopped by a nearby pizza shop, The Pie Hole, and got a couple of dough balls. Yep, they will sell you just dough. For only $3!

So the fun began!

Just pull some dough off and make little balls then roll them out. Put a little pizza sauce in the middle.

Then top with mozzarella cheese (I used 2 cups for like 24 balls) and some chopped up pepperoni (about 3 oz). Then pull the sides up to enclose the filling and pinch together like a bierock.

Put them on a cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees until golden. While they're baking, make some garlic butter. Melt 2 tablespoons of butter and stir in a minced garlic clove. When the balls are done baking, brush the tops with the garlic butter!



After the pepperoni balls were finished baking I started on the "Nathan's Ball." It was my and my husband's favorite.

Here's the pizza description from Joe Momma's: Buffalo ranch sauce, Buffalo chicken, breakfast bacon, roma tomatoes, diced jalapeno peppers, cheddar cheese sprinkles and is topped with a ranch swirl.

Here's how I made my version. 

I grabbed some leftover boiled chicken from the freezer (about 1 chicken breast), shredded it and dumped a little buffalo sauce on it (about 1/2 cup). Then I crumbled up some cooked bacon (about 4 slices) and diced a few jalapeno peppers. I also mixed a little buffalo sauce and ranch dressing for the sauce (equal parts, probably about 1/4 cup each) and used about 2 cups of cheddar cheese.

After I rolled out the dough, I put a little buffalo ranch sauce, followed by shredded cheddar cheese, then bacon and some of the chicken and jalapenos.

I rolled it up and baked it.



Not bad if I do say so myself!

Seriously folks, the possibilities are endless with these things. Canadian bacon and pineapple, sausage, or even using alfredo sauce and making a white pizza roll. I'm going to have to try that!

These would make great party treats. If you have older kids I think they would have a blast making their own pizzas! The husband said they are a MUST for the next super bowl party.

Happy Birthday

to the husband!

We will be celebrating with food, family and fishing. Can't go wrong there!

And, our little dog, Duncan's birthday is today too!

Happy birthday little Dunc.

He got some donut holes for his birthday.

I Get It

A lot.

What do I get?


"You remind me of Amy Poeler. Has anyone ever told you that?"

Yes. And I don't mind. She's pretty funny in my book.

I was actually called Amy this past week and it kind of cracked me up!

So, happy random Friday. And, because nana checks this blog for pictures of her Sweet P, I will end with this, a P in a croc.