Menu Plan Monday- September 13

Monday- Angel Hair Pasta with Meat Sauce and garlic bread

Meat Sauce recipe- this is a "throw together" that I do, the amounts listed below can be adjusted to your liking- there is nothing accurate about this recipe :) :

- 1lb ground beef

- 2cans diced tomatoes, italian style

- 1 can crushed tomatoes

- 1-2 cans stewed tomatoes

- 1can tomato paste

- jar of chopped garlic

- italian seasoning

- dried basil

- parmesan cheese

-optional, white onion- chopped

1.In a large pan, ground the beef (onions and garlic can be added if you choose).

2. In a large stockpot, add all cans of tomatoes, 1/2 can of tomato paste, two spoonfuls of chopped garlic (remember, this is not an absolute measure- add what you want- we love garlic :) ), about 2 tsp of italian seasoning and basil.  Stir together on medium-high heat. 

3. Once tomato mixture is warm add as much parmesan cheese as you choose (I usually add two-three spoonfuls to begin. 

4.  Drain beef and add to the tomato mixture. 

5. Let sauce come to a slight boil, then turn temp down to a simmer. 

6.  Stir the sauce occasionally, adding whatever you think it needs :)- parmesan cheese, basil, garlic, even salt and pepper.  I sometimes will add a little bit of premade spaghetti sauce if I have it on hand. 

7. Let simmer on the stove as long as you have time for; the longer the better.  I strive for about 3-4 hours, but if I have more time I will use it. 

8. Serve over angel hair pasta.  (Or if you're like me, you may just like to eat it on it's own, with a little garlic bread. :) ). 

Tuesday- Mexican Corn Chowder with Southwest tossed salad


Chowder recipe:
This is an easy soup that you can cook slowly in the crockpot or can simmer it on the stove for a couple hours (I opt for the crockpot option). 


2 1/2 cups chopped, cooked chicken
14 oz. Mexican Corn (drained)
10 3/4oz. Creme of Potato Soup
1 can Rotel
1 can sweet corn, optional (if you really like corn)
4 oz. green chilies, diced (undrained)
1 envelope taco seasoning
2 cans chicken broth
8 oz. FF sour cream
8 oz. Velveeta, cubed


Cook first 8 ingredients.  Just before serving, temper sour cream by stirring well into one cup of the soup then put mixture back into the pot.  Add cheese and stir until melted.  Top with hot sauce or a dollop of sour cream, if you choose. 


Wednesday- Buffalo Blue Cheese Chicken Burgers with brocoli and sweet potato fries
* I will use the Birdseye Steamfresh brocoli and McCain's Sweet Potato Fries 


Thursday- Leftovers 


Friday- Pecan Crusted Pork Tenderloin with Red Onion Marmalade and Roasted Sweet Potatoes 

Going to the Chapel

...and their gonna get married!!


How refeshing it is to see- two people truly meant for one another.  Alana and Brad are a shining example of what it means to "find true love".

They cook together.

They seek adventure together. 

They love their friends and have friendships that will last a lifetime.

They love their family deeply and would do anything to see them smile.

Seven years in the making.  Seven years of long distance relationships.  Seven years of visits across the country, spanning from the Deep South to the Altantic Coast, to have as little as 24 hours together, in the same place.  Seven years of endless phone calls that would last hours just to "hear about your day".  Seven years of building a foundation on trust, strength, pride for one another, and most importantly love.  Seven years of love for eachother that was unyielding, no matter the obstacle that was placed in front of them as a couple.  God was by them all along, guiding them here, to this very moment.  The moment they finally get to call one another husband and wife! 

We love you Lansie and Brad and cannot wait to hear those special words, "I now pronounce you Husband and Wife!"  You are meant to be and we are so incredibly happy for you! XOXO!!!!

Menu Plan Monday- Week of 9/6

Monday- Crabcakes on mixed greens with baked sweet potatoes

To make crabcakes:

- 8-12 oz of imitation crabmeat, pre-cooked

- 2 eggs 

- 2 slices of toast 

- 1/4 tsp Franks hot sauce

- 1/4 tsp black pepper

- 2 tablespoons lowfat sour cream

1. Add all together in a large mixing bowl.  

2. Form into patties, to whatever size you desire

3. Chill in refrigerator for one hour.  

4. With medium-high heat up 1 tablespoon of olive oil.  Pan fry both sides of crabcakes until brown, about 6-8 minutes each side.  

5. Serve over mixed greens with lemon slices and a lemon dressing.  

Tuesday- Sloppy Joes with grilled corn on the cob and fresh assorted fresh veggies

Wednesday- Poppyseed Chicken with green beans and french bread loaf

To make Poppyseed Chicken (a "staple" in the house for quick, easy, and "comfort"- we are not talking low fat here, that is for sure. :) ):  

- 5-7 chicken breats, cooked and cut into lare pieces (I usually only use 3-4)

- 1 8oz. container of lowfat sour cream (not that the lowfat will make a difference- ha!)

- 1 can of low fat cream of chicken soup

- 1 can of  low fat cream of mushroom soup

- Ritz Crackers, crushed (I usually use about one sleeve)

- Poppy Seeds

- 1 stick (yes 1 whole stick) of butter, melted

1. Add sour cream, poppy seeds, and two cans of soup to prepared chicken into a greased 9x13 casserole dish.

2. Refrigerate dish until ready to bake (about an hour). 

3. Top chicken mixture with 1/2 the Ritz Crackers and another tsp or so of poppy seeds.

4. Drizzle butter over the top.

5. Bake 15-25 minutes at 300 degrees. 

6.  Add the remainder of Ritz Crackers (if so desire) to the top of the chicken before serving. 

7. Freeze any leftovers you may have. 

8. Strap on your running shoes and run at least a 1/2 marathon to work off this meal! :)

Thursday, Friday, and Saturday- WEDDING TIME- Auntie Lansie and Uncle Brad are getting married in Bloomington, Indiana so we will be there to celebrate this BIG event!  We love you Lansie and Brad!!!

                                    

Super Saturday

For many this Labor Day weekend, Saturday was all about the kickoff to college football, but for The Robertsons it was all about F-U-N (not that football isn't fun- I don't want any hate mail flooding my inbox! :) ).  If you happen to have read my previous post, B and I were committed to providing our Little Ms with a weekend just for them; one full of plenty of excitment.  You also may know (from "Family Game Night") I am constantly in search of things to do around Atlanta that would prove to be entertaining for the girls.  In my search earlier last week, I happened upon Callaway Gardens' 12th Annual Hot Air Balloon Festival.  Well, you know I jumped all over this- I have always wanted to take the hour and a half drive to Callaway Gardens and since my childhood, I have been in awe of hot air balloons.  After sharing this seemingly perfect event with B, we decided this is how we would spend our Saturday.  


At 5:00 a.m. we loaded the girls into the car in the hopes of making it to the gardens' entrance in time to see the hot air balloons lift off (which was to take place around 7:00).  In my "plan", the girls would sleep the whole ride there so they would not be tired for the big day ahead of them.  Well, you know what happens to plans when kids are involved...instead the girls spent this hour and a half eagerly anticipating our arrival to "Cawaway Gardens"- Miaese. :) 

We did manage to pull through the gates around our proposed ETA, only to find out that the hot air balloons were not going to be able to lift off due to weather conditions (apparently the wind was blowing in the wrong direction).  Nonetheless, a couple of the balloons made an effort to tether themselves to the ground, so all their disappointed onlookers could get a glimpse of these beauties in the sky. 

Hot air balloons were not the only "hot" thing going on at the gardens this weekend- there was plenty of fun for the girls to find themselves in. 


We walked through a car show where Mia found lots of "Annie cars" or "Miss Hannigan cars" (no denying she is my daughter- a lover of the movie Annie, just like her mommy :)).  We then made our way to the first of the variety of activities we undertook this day: 

Shuffleboard- our first time!!  And my, oh my, did they both LOVE it!

I think Mia found her new favorite pastime! 

Anywhere her sister is, Macie is happy! 

And, in Macie fashion...reinvented how things are to be done...

It was waay more fun!

We then headed down to the beach.  I think we've all missed having the sand in our toes...

...and building sand castles...

...and of course, racing around in the sand. 

Once we brushed our tooties off, had a little snack break, it was off to play some miniature golf- another first for both girls. 

Mia learned the "How-Tos" of Put-Put from Dad as Macie listened with eager ears. 

Macie cheered on her sis as she got the ball in the hole. 

As the girls played, I marveled in the simplicity and calmness of this moment.  I loved watching as Mia many times opted to pick up the ball to get it towards the hole, instead of hitting it time and time again (that's my girl), and as Macie chose to throw the ball instead of use "some stick" to hit it (what fun is that anyway?!).  My girls were having a great time and I was relishing in this uncomplicated, carefree moment of time while cheering on the best darn miniture golfers I have EVER seen :).

Macie led us to our next stop...

The train! 

This train may not have gone anywhere, but that didn't seem to bother these little ones.  

Mia even took a crack at being a condutor!  She rang her bell as she shouted back to her passengers, "Where would you like to go?"  Our reply, "To the North Pole to see Santa!".  Her rebuttle, "We're going to Daddy's work!"  And off we went, on Mia's train, all the way to Daddy's work...it took us "4 minutes, which is a short time" (words spoken by our precious conductor).  

After a long journey to Daddy's work, we made our way to the beach pavillion for a yummy lunch, a little cat nap for our youngest adventure seeker, and face painting (or arm painting rather, but who's being techincal)?!  

Mia had been waiting all morning for this booth to open...

so when it did, you can rest assured, we were first in line!

Both Mia and Macie were very proud of their designs! 

Our final adventure of the day was to head out on the lake for a little paddleboating!

In every sense of the word, it was a SUPER FUN Saturday, one that was filled with many "firsts" for our little smunchers.  The memories made today were many, and as much as I enjoy a good game a college football, I end my day confident- and in love- with the decision we made to spend it at Callaway Gardens!   

     

Family Game Night

Every week I innundate my friends Google and Bing with "things to do this weekend with kids in Atlanta" in the hopes of finding new and fun adventures for the girls.  My search came up with very little "fun" for Friday night, but both B and I had agreed this Labor Day weekend we wanted to fill it up with plenty of "family fun".  So we came up with the idea to hold our first-ever Family Game Night!  We shared with the girls during dinner time on Thursday that tomorrow we would be bowling at our Family Game Night- to which both concepts were initially foreign to them.  That did not stop Mia from instantly letting out her celebratory squeal and Macie joining in. ("Anything that Mia finds exciting, must be exciting!").  After a bit of explaination and LOTS of anticipation, Family Game Night was upon us. 

Mia learned how to hold a bowling ball. 

Macie tried her hand at rolling the ball towards the pins

 (although she much preferred throwing it. :) ).

They both loved putting the pins back on the mat, right on over the numbers

 (which Mia also liked telling us what the number was as she put the pin on top of it :)). 

There were many-a-high fives that were handed out for a job well done!

It's pretty safe to say that both Little Ms thoroughly enjoyed their first experience with Family Game Night.  In fact, when Mia was going to bed that night, she very sweetly told Daddy, "That was the best Family Game Night I have ever had!".  It is also fairly conclusive that this will become a tradition around The Robertsons, whether or not there are "things to do this weekend in Atlanta with kids"....

These faces say it all...

 

And who could deny them a little family fun?!

School Days

This past Friday morning Mia Louise had her Preschool Open House!  We were all very eager to meet her teachers, Miss Cameron and Miss Kathyn, and have the chance to mingle with some of Mia's classmates.  She couldn't have been more excited- as many of you know, the girl LOVES school! 

When the morning arrived, she popped right out of bed, bopped her way downstairs to find me, only to share with much enthusiasm, "Today I get to go to my new SCHOOL!".  The hours were ticking by at snail's pace, for Mia's liking anyway.

She played with her little sis to pass the time.

Finally it was time to hit the road! 

We found room 117 and Mia was in her glory!  She walked into her new classroom timidly but with a big 'ol smile on her face.  She did a quick "once over", observing all the neatly decorated walls, the interactive calendar (she loves calendars- who knows where she gets that from! :) ), and the various center areas.  She then walked over to a table that had her name on it!  This is where she found her school bag, a magnet for our car (loved this!), along with her blue folder, and a special treat from her teachers.  We spent the remainder of the half hour speaking with her teachers, meeting a couple new friends, and relishing in this very important moment in our little girl's educational journey.  

As many of the parents in Mia's class were surely thinking on this special day, I stood there, watching as she purused her classroom, met her teachers, and sat at her table, "Where has the time gone?  How in the world is my baby girl going to school 4 days a week?  It seems like only yesterday I was swaddling her in my arms."

   Look at you now...

Mommy, Daddy, and Macie are very proud of you, Mia Louise!  We can't wait to hear about all the exciting adventures that will soon be taking place at your new school!  We love you so very much, Mia Weezie!! XO!

Menu Plan Monday- Week of 8/29

The recipes from last week were pretty much a "bust" and I don't know what it was but the shrimp smell from the Shrimp and Grits lingered in the house, I swear, for the rest of the week (gross!).  The chicken with parmesan noodles and the meatloaf we will "redo" but as for the others- I am thinking no way.  The recipes came from a cooking magazine that I think I will be tossing out :).  This week I decided to try some new recipes yet again, but this time sticking to places I have found yummy successes in the past.  We will see how they turn out and what our "food critics" have to say!

Monday- Pizza Roll Up Burritos

Tuesday- Black Bean and Rice Tostadas with Corn Casserole

Wednesday- Amazing Chicken  with Green Beans and Garlic and Herb Couscous

Thursday- Leftovers

Friday- Out to dinner (date night)

Saturday- Cranberry and Blue Cheese Salad with Grilled Chicken and French Bread