A Mommy Confession

I really and truly am loving the ages and stages Blake and Brady are in.  One part of why I'm loving this stage is the insatiable quest for knowledge.  Both of them are constantly wanting to learn and soak in everything around them like the sponges that they are.  However, I have to confess... sometimes?  It can wear.me.out!  Here is a little preview into our day as we drive in the car.  


Blake:  He's for some reason taken an interest in road signs.  He finds it necessary to point out every single sign he sees.  And I mean EVERY SINGLE SIGN.
"There's a blue sign with an H on it!  That means hospital!" "There is an orange sign.  That means construction!" "There's another orange sign!  That means construction again Momma!!"  "There's a yellow sign.  That means be careful!"  
You get the gist.  I never really realized just how many road signs there are out there.  But let me tell you...there are A LOT!


Brady:  Brady is in a phase where he asks, "What's that?" as he points to something.  He asks this over and over allllll day long.  In the car or out of the car.  He even does it for stuff he already knows just to be cute (because he is).  And if I ignore him, because for the love of god how many times can I tell him that thing on his shirt is a button, he will say "Momma, momma, momma, momma, momma, momma momma, maaaaa maaaaaa!"  And when I finally say, "What Brady?" He says, "What's that?!" (while pointing to his button)

So between the sign pointer outer and the constant what's that, I have to say I've never appreciated the rare times I find myself in the car alone more.   But, wanna know something else?  It's those times, in the silence, that I miss their sweet voices and laughter more than ever.  

Brothers

My heart is just a million times full these days.  I live for their smiles.  Such precious boys.  I love that they love each other and are best of friends.  Oh, how I pray that never changes. 

TACO TIME (Recipe)

You need these tacos in your life.  You're welcome in advance.  They call for shrimp, which was a special treat in our house, however, you could definitely substitute for chicken if shrimp isn't your thing.  The recipe is a two parter, but still super easy.  There is the marinade for the shrimp and then the recipe for the corn and black bean salsa.  

Ingredients for the Shrimp:
Chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped.  (1-2 peppers depending on the level of spicy you like)
1 Tbsp Olive Oil
1 tsp. Cumin
1 Tbsp. Brown Sugar
*1 lime, both the juice and zest
*2 Tbsp. Cilantro chopped
1 lb. shrimp, peeled and deveined (I used frozen shrimp, thawed, as a short cut)

Ingredients for Corn and Black Bean Salsa:
3 Tbsp. Balsamic Vinegar
1 Tbsp. Olive Oil
1/2 tsp. Salt
1/2 tsp. White Sugar
1/2 tsp. Black Pepper
1/2 tsp. Cumin
*2 Tbsp. Chopped Cilantro
1 (15 oz.) can Black Beans, rinsed and drained
1 (15 oz.) can Corn, drained
1 Red Bell Pepper, diced
1 Jalapeno, seeded and diced
*2 Green onions, diced


Steps for Shrimp:
In a bowl combine all the ingredients WITHOUT the shrimp.  Let the marinade set for about 20 minutes.  Add the shrimp and toss and let marinade for about another 20 minutes.  


Steps for Salsa:
While the shrimp is marinading you can prepare the salsa.  In a small bowl mix the balsamic vinegar, olive oil, salt, sugar, pepper and cumin and mix together.  Set aside.  In a larger bowl, combine the cilantro, black beans, corn, bell pepper, jalapeno and onion.  Pour the liquid over the mixture and toss.


Back to the shrimp!  Pull out a handy dandy George Foreman Grill (what I used) or use your actual big boy grill and grill the shrimp until done.  It doesn't take long, just 4-6 minutes. 


I HIGHLY recommend using the tortillas from Kroger they make fresh in store.  They are just hands down the best.  Whichever ones you use, warm and load up with the salsa and shrimp.  Brad and I are always living dangerously so we added sour cream, shredded cheese and some guacamole I whipped up as well.  OMG, this is delish.  Another meal with compliments galore from Bradley.  


*There were only a few things I changed up.  Brad and I are not cilantro fans so we admitted from ours completely.  The lime flavor in the marinade was really good, but we both feel it could have used more, so next time I will be using 2 limes instead of just 1.  And lastly, I forgot to get green onions from the store so I threw in a little diced white onion.  
And there was the corn/black bean salsa left over which I kept in the fridge and used as a snack with tortilla chips.  YUM!
Again, you're welcome. 

BOO!

The boys were super into Halloween this year. They love all the decorations everywhere and all the fun that goes into the day. I had a completely different idea for the boys' costumes, but I experienced a bad seller on Etsy and so we had to scramble at the last second for something else. We hunted and hunted, but Blake kept saying he only wanted to be a ghost. So we went the incredibly easy and inexpensive route and got a white sheet and cut holes for his eyes. Easiest costume ever and he was the happiest little boy ever. And we recycled an old costume of Blake's for Brady (poor 2nd child) and Brady went as a pirate. The boys said trick-or-treat and thank you at each house and were the cutest and sweetest little ghost and pirate I ever saw.

Recipe Sharing

My bestie Kristen and I have been recipe swapping for awhile now to help each other avoid making the same dishes over and over again. Its easy to get into a rut with what we make for dinner. Its just easier to make what you know, but it gets BORING! This recipe sharing also happened to coincide with stumbling upon Pinterest (a time sucking website!). I have "pinned" probably over 100 recipes now of stuff that just looks A-mazing. I started the habit of recipe planning for a weeks worth of meals and each week I try to include one recipe I've never made. A lot of those are coming off the Pinterest board. And I even make up a little "menu" for the week and post it in the kitchen. Brad LOVES this. Tonight was one of our favorites that I tried from Pinterest and it was so good that I wanted to share with more than just one friend, I wanted to share with all my friends and family! I can not tell you how many compliments Brad threw my way for this meal. He was in food heaven. It will most definitely enter our dinner rotation and was super easy as well, which gets a big thumbs up in my book! So probably once a week I'll post a new recipe that we find yummy. Maybe it will help you get out of your food rut. And maybe it will inspire you to either post recipes in my comments, post on your blog or email me, that way there will be even more new ideas flowing!

This week's recipe... PHILLY CHEESESTEAK SLOPPY JOES. I swear to you, these things taste exactly like a "real" cheesesteak you'd order at a restaurant.


*adapted from a Rachel Ray recipe
Ingredients
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground beef
1 softball-sized onion, chopped*
1 greed pepper, chopped
2 tablespoons steak sauce (A1)
1 cup beef stock
salt and pepper to taste
Kaiser Rolls or other sturdy roll
1 tablespoon butter*
1 tablespoon flour
1 cup milk
1 cup provolone, shredded*

In large skillet over medium-high heat add the oil and brown the ground beef, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion and green pepper and cook another 3-4 minutes until the vegetables start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

Split open rolls and toast and set aside.

While the meat is cooking, melt the better in a medium size pot over medium high heat. Stir in the flour and cook about 1 minute. Whisk in milk, bring up to a bubble and let thicken, about 2 minutes. Turn off heat and stir in cheese.

To serve, place a scoopful of the meat mixture onto bottom of roll, top with cheese sauce, replace bun top, and voila!

*I made a few slight changes. It called for a softball sized onion and I chopped it all up and as I was putting into the pot it looked like entirely too much onion so I probably only ended up using half. I would recommend using one entire small size onion and a small size bell pepper, but use your personal preference.
Also, I toasted the buns face down on the oven rack at 350 degrees for 2-3 minutes and put a little butter on them when they came out because I'm crazy like that. And lastly, in the cheese sauce I may have used closer to 1 1/2 cups shredded cheese because, again, I'm crazy. I am also lazy, so I used a package of pre-shredded Italian style cheese instead of grating my own provolone. But still turned out scrumptious.

ENJOY!