life with WE

Philosophical Phriday flashback question...

What was your favorite Halloween costume?

For me, it was the year I was in seventh grade and my mom ran out of ideas.  So the best thing she could come up with was to dress me as a garbage bag.  Yeah, that's right.  Like the California Raisins costumes, but different.  She loaded me with wadded up newspapers and had stuff sticking out of the top and various spots on the bag.  We wrote "Keep America Beautiful, Don't Litter" on a piece of paper, which she stuck to the bag of me.  And then, then folks, the icing on the cake?  It was the sock hat on my head, to which she sewed a wrapper and a banana peel.  Yep, that's right.

What about you?  Was it some costume you'd always wanted?  Did you make it or buy it?  How old were you?

5 dinners 1 bag, update 3, meal 3

See how I just breezed past number 2?  You remember - I had to skip it.  HAD TO.

But, I got back on the bandwagon yesterday and made Easy Slow-Cooker Beef Stew.  Here's the lowdown...

Ingredients:
1 cup fat free reduced sodium beef broth
1/4 cup Kraft Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
1/4 cup Kraft Original Barbecue Sauce
1 tsp dried oregano leaves
1 lb boneless beef chuck for stew cut into 1 1/4 inch cubes
1 lb red potatoes, quartered
4 large carrots cut into 1 inch thick slices
1 large onion cut into chunks (forgot the onion)
2 slices Oscar Meyer bacon, chopped (remember I bought store brand bacon)
3 tbsp flour
3 tbsp water

Directions:
MIX broth, dressing, barbecue sauce and oregano in slow cooker.  Add all remaining ingredients except flour and water; toss to coat.  Cover with lid.  Cook on low for 8 to 9 hours (or high for 4 to 5 hours).

TRANSFER meat and veggies to serving bowl with slotted spoon, cover with foil. Set aside.

MIX flour and water until well blended.  Stir into juices in slow cooker; cover.  Cook on high for 15 minutes or until sauce is lightly thickened.  Spoon over meat and veggies.

What says the House of WE?

• as predicted - Elaine wasn't having it.  None of it.  She ate butter bread and pears.
• Warren ate the meat and dug that.  Then onto butter bread and mandarin oranges.
• I thought it was good, but to be honest, I'm not into stew.  I would have rather cooked it all separate - slow cooked the beef, mashed the taters, and steamed the carrots.  Also, I hate to waste bacon that could clearly be eaten! 
• Mike LOVED IT.  As I knew he would.  He could eat it once a week.  Um yeah, I offered once a year.
• Mike and I both agreed that the dressing and bbq sauce seemed unnecessary. In the past when I've made chuck roast we do the whole can o' beef broth and toss in a pack of Lipton Onion Soup mix.  Fabulous!  Clearly though - an inexpensive healthy dinner and it reminded me to make roast more often.

And also?  Think we'll be skipping to the frozen pizza tomorrow night since it's Halloween and we'll need to get bustin out the door to trick or treat. 

Oh and I made pumpkin seeds.  Not good.  The internet said I didn't need to dry them before roasting them.  Liars liars pants on fire.

Um yeah - bag dinner #2 got bagged. But only temporarily.

So today should be an update on meal 2 out of the bag. BUT guess what?  It's not.

And why Jenny?  Why would you do that to us while we sit here with baited breath waiting to hear how #2 turned out?

Well, I'll tell you.  I'm lazy and had a bad day yesterday, that's why!  And my kids were playing outside and suddenly it was 6 pm and we had parent teacher conferences at 7 and I was all "aack did not defrost the chicken" and Mike was all "fine we can go out but it must be cheap" and then voila, we were at Moe's.

It was our first time at Moe's.  And um yeah, we like Chipotle better.

So today - back on course.  Meal 3 is a slow cooker for 9 hours.  And I generally will eat anything that is falling apart after 9 hours of cooking even if I don't like it.  I'm not sure if my kids will though.

Warren is off of school today and tomorrow, which will make for an interesting turn of events here I'm sure.  I plan on making sugar cookies with WE and babysittee and giving them to the neighbor kids later.  E and I made the dough and turned it orange yesterday.  Who knew I had all the things in my pantry and fridge for Betty Crocker sugar cookies?  You do know this will all end in a mess of flour with me angry and my kids fighting and babysittee saying "no mamma no mamma no mamma" don't you?  Because I HONESTLY DO KNOW THAT, but I'll do it anyway. 

I'm a glutton for punishment.

5 dinners 1 bag, update 2, meal 1!

So last night was the first meal, Spaghetti with Zesty Bolognese.  Here's the recipe:

Ingredients:
1 small onion, chopped
1/4 cup Kraft Light Zesty Italian Reduced Fat Dressing
1 lb extra lean ground beef
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes, undrained (I bought ones seasoned with basil and oregano, and that was a smart choice on my part)
2 tbsp Philadelphia neufchatel cheese
12 oz spaghetti, uncooked
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:

COOK onions in dressing in large skillet on medium heat.  Increase heat to medium-high.  Add meat; cook, stirring frequently until browned.  Stir in tomato sauce and tomatoes.  Bring to boil.  Reduce heat to medium-low; simmer 15 minutes.  Removed from heat.  Stir in Neufchatel cheese until well blended.

MEANWHILE, cook pasta as directed on package.

SPOON sauce over pasta, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

So, what'd we think?

Well, Elaine didn't eat much of it.  But that is no surprise because she doesn't like anything to do with hamburger meat.  Mike and I were excited to finally have pasta with meat.  We liked it!  We'll make it again!  Warren loved it and had two big plates full.  Sa-weet.  I did serve it with a salad, as I thought we needed something else to go with it.   Half a bag of that pre-washed romaine, some grape tomatoes, carrots and cheese.  Fabulous!

Tonight's meal I am not quite as excited about - Cheese Chicken and Veggie Mac.  It involves mac and cheese and a bag of frozen mixed vegetables (which I am the the only one who likes those).  However, this meal will be followed by parent -teacher conferences where we will likely discuss my smart sensitive son and sing his praises! 

And - It's the Great Pumpkin Charlie Brown - on TV last night - LOVE IT!

Five Dinners, One Bag, Update 1

Okay, so today begins my Kraft 'Five Dinners One Bag' challenge.  As you may remember, I get an email from the Kraft website (as well as receive The Food and Family magazine) on a regular basis.  The recent email touted that five simple and smart dinners could be had in one shopping bag.  The recipes and shopping list were provided.

Sunday, I took the list and hit the grocery store.  I had to get more things that we were out of, so I'll itemize the list and the price I paid below - sparing you the whole receipt.  But I have to say that I was surprised and very pleased to find the list laid out in the order of my store!  Anywho, without further adieu...

1 head garlic ($.45)
1 lb red potatoes (two pound bag - $2.99, so half = 1.50)
1 bag carrots ($.89)
1 lb extra lean ground beef ($4.36)
1 lb beef chuck for stew ($4.85)
1 1/2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts (3 lb bag of breasts - $8.21, so half = 4.10)
1 pkg Oscar Meyer bacon (did not get Oscar Meyer, it wasn't on sale.  $3.29)
1 tub Philadelphia Neufchatel Cheese - 1/3 less fat ($2.19)
1 bottle Kraft Light Zesty Reduced Fat Dressing ($2.00)
1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce ($.89)
1 can (14 1/2 oz) fat-free reduced sodium beef broth ($1.00)
1 bottle Kraft Original Barbecue sauce ($1.38)
1 canister Kraft Grated Parmesan cheese (already had this)
1 pkg spaghetti (whole wheat $2.50)
1 can (14 oz) diced tomatoes ($1.00)
1 pkg Kraft Macaroni & Cheese dinner (did you know they make this in whole grain? $.89)
1 pkg frozen mixed vegetables ($1.68)
1 DiGiorno Harvest Wheat Rising Crust Pizza - Four Cheese (I could not find this pizza, and DiGiornos weren't on sale, so I bought a generic Schnucks pizza $4.00)

Total price for this one bag of groceries (without tax) = $36.97, which is an average of $7.40 per meal!  But, will it suck or will it be good?

The items I should (and do) already have on hand are: black pepper, fat-free milk, onions, garlic powder, dried oregano, dried basil, butter and flour.

This evening, we'll be making meal one - spaghetti bolognese.  Now I've never made my own sauce, but I have high hopes the kids will eat this, as spaghetti is a staple around these parts.  I'll share the recipe and results tomorrow.

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In other news, a game of Trouble with your two kids and husband can last well over an hour and involve one kid crying and the other lying on you nonstop because she's tired.  True story.

Falling in love with Autumn

For some, it's the sound of waves crashing on the beach.  For others, it's snow in the mountains or a babbling bro. ok.  For me, it's fall.  The fabulous sights and sounds of fall.

Yesterday, Sunday,  was a breezy day - about 65 degrees.  Wearing a light jacket, as the sun hit me, I felt the warmth but was not hot.  The wind blew my hair in and out of my eyes while the sun highlighted the leaves on the ground and still in the trees.  And as the wind blew, and rustled those leaves, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.  Autumn filled my spirit and brought peace to my soul.  The air seems cleaner, refreshing, invigorating.  The trees are a symphony of sounds as are the leaves crunching under my feet and the ones swirling on the driveway, patio and sidewalk.  I can't get enough of the beauty of the leaves and the trees - the deep rich colors of red, orange, brown and yellow - all of those warm harvest colors.  I want to drink a glass of warm apple cider complete with cinnamon stick while I drink in all the sights, smells and sounds of Autumn.

Fall is what does it for me.  It's my heaven on earth.

Don't get me wrong, I love those other sights and sounds - beaches, snow and whatnot.  But Fall, Autumn - call it what you will - is what moves me.  If there was a place to live where it was fall all the time - I'd move in a heartbeat.  Somehow the leaves would fall, but the trees would have more to drop and the colors would always peak and never fade.

I love Autumn.  Can't get enough of it.

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In other news, I've purchased the items for the One Bag Five Dinners challenge.  I had other things in my cart, so I'll share the list and total price with you tomorrow as well as our review of our first meal.

Bad Dreams

It seems as if bad dreams come in phases around here.  They seem to be days in a row, and with Warren, there is generally something going on in that brain of his that he can't come to terms with.  As far as Elaine - who knows?  She does that screaming and tossing around in the night and is only half awake when you try to comfort her.  We basically ignore her until she makes it to our room.  That's when you know it's real.

Also, the trek down the hall - so VERY FAMILIAR.  Which is hilarious to me, because I was a scaredy cat bad dreamer myself.  And it took every ounce of my courage to get out of bed and run across the hall at top speed my feet barely touching the floor in order to reach my parents bed and get the much needed protection from the boogeyman.  At our house, you can hear the feet moving fast, followed by tripping over the giant dog on the floor as they round their way to my side of the bed.  ALWAYS my side of the bed.

I bring this up because W had a bad dream last night/early this morning.  And I know it'll be the first of a few before we solve this problem/issue - whatever it is.  He's reached this age where I never know if he wants to talk, if he wants my affection, or if he'd rather just work it out on his own.  I suppose I'll just follow his lead and press for more details when he's primed for talking.  Meanwhile, I'll be sleeping with one eye open, waiting.  And I'll give Truman a heads up that he's about to be tripped over several times in a row.

three bits of nothing

Have you ever tried to make up for a week/month/several months worth of non-working out by doing a full force workout one day?

Because, yeah, I did that yesterday.  And can I just say "OWWWWWWWWW" today?  I need to stretch or something.

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Do you get the Kraft free magazine?  It's called Kraft Food and Family.  If you aren't getting it, you totally should - go to Kraft.com and sign up.  I get it, and it's full of kid-friendly and relatively few ingredient dinners and desserts.  I've not been disappointed by things I've made from that magazine.  I also get their email that comes out on some sort of a regular basis.

Yesterday's email proclaimed "Five Dinners from One Bag"!  I read over it.  There are five meals to be had from one shopping bag.  It comes with a shopping list, the things you should already have on hand and recipes.  Granted the last day is frozen pizza, but still - five meals from one bag?  Do you believe it can happen?

We are so broke (as I know many are) that I am going to try it next week.  So stay tuned for that excitement - I know you can barely wait!

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Also - Warren is impressed with his parents shoe tying abilities.  "How do you and daddy tie shoes without even looking the whole time?  Have you been doing it for like 20 years?"

Something like that.  I tell you - I have MAD SHOE TYIN SKILLZ.

A preview into the future

Yesterday my neighbor had a conversation with me that I'm almost positive will be the first of many.

Neighbor (N): Um yeah.  Apparently our kids were kissing yesterday.  On the lips.

Me: Elaine?  And Neighbor Boy (NB)?

N: Yeah.  So we had a talk with NB last night that kisses are for family and you can hug your friends and hold their hands, but that's about it.

Me: If I had to guess, I'd say Elaine bullied him into it.

N (laughing): Well, that's what NB said, but I wasn't sure if I believed him.

Me: Oh, believe him.  She tells Benny to kiss her all the time and he won't.  She finally found someone to fall for it.

I forgot about it, but when it was bedtime and we were doing kisses and hugs it seemed like a good time to bring it up.

Me: Elaine, I heard about you and NB kissing. 

E: Yeah.

Mike, trying to control laughter

Me: Well, let's not do that anymore.  You can only kiss us or aunts or uncles or grandparents.

Mike (as we're leaving the room): My daughter, the hussy.

No paper towels update

No Paper Towels - Day 6

It's been different, but easier than I thought.  The main issue I have to contend with is that I reach to that area anytime something spills, or someone gets hurt, or someone needs a frozen gogurt.  Yeah - about that last line -
#1 - I hope other people besides me lose their shit when someone spills.  Because I go insane.  Freaking insane.
#2 - People get hurt around here an awful lot.  But I have plenty of rags and those work just as well for the scraped up knees and the ripped pants - do the kids NOT know we are in a recession and can't be buying pants nonstop?
#3 - Elaine eats about three or four frozen gogurts a day.  Dude, this is the best think Chris B EVER taught me.  It's healthy, it's easy and it makes Elaine feel as if she's getting an ice cream.  However, she needs a paper towel wrapped around it because it's "too cold to hold".  So viola - rags to the rescue again.

So, no paper towels = okay.  And I used a lot of them.  I'm now thinking of going napkin free when this runs out and using our cloth napkins.  What are we saving those for anyway?  I have the water efficient high capacity washer and you know I'm doing laundry on a regular basis.

Stay tuned - crazy girl goes eco friendly will surely continue.  (By the by, she'll still be driving an SUV - that things' paid off and has new tires and a new wheel hub kit which = investment.)