Taco Seasoning

Thanks to Ruby, many taco seasonings are even off limits because they contain soy. However, this is a good thing since I've been wanting to find a homemade seasoning anyhow - and I did! This one is a little spicier than the packets we normally would buy, but its delicious and is now what we will use anytime we need taco seasoning. I hope you enjoy it too!

I'll include the measurements for a single serving as well as the measurements if you want to put together a large amount and store it for future use.

INGREDIENTS

SINGLE SERVING

1 Tbl chili powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp onion powder
1/8 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
1/4 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp paprika
1 1/2 tsp cumin
1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp white pepper

1 tsp corn starch

BULK

3/4 C chili powder
1 Tbl garlic powder
1 Tbl onion powder
1/2 Tbl crushed red pepper flakes
1 Tbl oregano
2 Tbl paprika
1/4 C + 2 Tbl cumin

2 Tbl salt
2 Tbl white pepper

1/4 C corn starch

DIRECTIONS

Mix all ingredients together. Use 3 Tbl and 2/3 cup of water for each pound of browned meat.

Trouble is brewing

And while she's not QUITE crawling, she still is able to move around. I see babyproofing happening REALLY soon.

Ruby starts cereal

The "A-Ha" Moment

I had a break-through moment today, filled with a feeling I NEVER thought I would have. My husband and I ran to the supermarket this afternoon to pick up a few things he needed. As we were standing in the check-out line, I asked him if he had any cash. He said yes (which alone is amazing since we NEVER carry cash either) and asked why. I stated I wanted to purchase a lottery ticket (one of my 101 goals, just because), so he gave me the money and we went to purchase the tickets. On the drive home, we talked about what would and would not change in our lives if we won. I think after taxes we would end up with about 4 million, which is a big amount of course, but we don't expect it to let us live lavishly the rest of our lives without working. While we were discussing this, the thought came to me that even though I could now sufficiently be a stay at home mom, I'm actually excited about the thought of teaching math and I would still want to go forward with it. What!?!?! I must be crazy, right? I've always been the person who said if I ever won, I would quit my job and be done. And if I were still at TI, that is exactly how I would be thinking. But now, while I am looking into the testing for certification and realizing I have quite a bit of catching up and studying to do, I'm excited about it. I WANT to do it. Sure, I haven't started yet so I don't know for sure this is THE path, but just being able to say this is something I WANT to do even if I don't HAVE to is HUGE. Like, really, amazingly, freakishly huge for me.

And so, while I still hope my numbers hit, I know even if they don't, I still won something with that $2.00 we spent on those tickets. Just another indicator that things DO happen for a reason.

Snickerdoodle popcorn

I was looking for a sweet snack using what I have around the house and came across this recipe - and yummy! My husband said between this (crack corn as we call it now) and the pretzel recipe, we should sell this stuff. I hope to find some more popcorn recipes as well, so be on the lookout!

INGREDIENTS

1 bag microwave popcorn, popped
8 Tbls butter
1/3 C sugar
1 Tbl cinnamon

DIRECTIONS

Put butter, sugar, and cinnamon in the microwave for a minute. Stir and microwave another 30 seconds. Stir well again. Pour mixture over popcorn to coat well and bake for 10 minutes at 200 degrees, stir, and bake another 10 minutes. Enjoy!

Just too cute for words

Slow Cooker Cranberry Pork Roast

First off, I apologize for the lack of food pictures lately - they just have not been turning out well! I'll work on my photography skills so we can start getting better images again.

Next - I love my slow cooker! LOVE!!! I've been trying to find more and more recipes to make in it and this one is definitely a keeper! I was hoping this was going to taste as wonderful as it sounded and smelled, but I think it came out even better. I served it with a Sausage, Cranberry, Apple Stuffing (I still need to tweak the recipe before I post it) and homemade cranberry sauce - my husband and I both cleaned our plates! Luckily, we have enough to each have another full serving and I can't wait. The smell reminds me of the holidays, and I love the holidays, but this is so super simple to put together. I hope you enjoy it as much as we did!

INGREDIENTS

1 (3 lb) Boneless pork loin roast
1/2 tsp Salt
1/4 tsp pepper
1 (16 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 C honey
1 tsp Orange zest
1/8 tsp ground cloves
1/8 tsp ground nutmeg

DIRECTIONS

Place pork roast in slow cooker and season with salt and pepper.

Combine all remaining ingredients well and pour over roast. Cook on low for about 4-5 hours. Remove roast and allow to set for about 10 minutes for the juices to redistribute. Slice and serve, topping with the cranberry cooking liquid.

Grandma's Banana Bread

Yet again, we have another banana recipe, because, if you remember, I do love bananas! Anyhow, I got this recipe from my mother-in-law, who is the bestest mother-in-law in the world. She makes banana and pumpkin bread just for me (she leaves the nuts out since I'm not a fan of nuts in my breads), and they are FABULOUS! We are both excited to think about Ruby getting older and enjoying all the baked goods we both make, as well as all 3 of us being able to bake together - we can't wait for the cookie cutter time!

This is the best, most moist, quick, and easy banana bread recipe and I see many loaves of this in my future.

INGREDIENTS

3 banana's, mashed
1/2 C butter, softened
1 C Sugar
2 eggs
1 3/4 C Flour
1/2 tsp Salt

1/2 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Baking Soda
1/2 C nuts - if you want them, I don't

DIRECTIONS

Cream together bananas, butter, sugar, and eggs. Add flour, salt, baking powder, and baking soda - mix well. Add nuts if you want. Pour into a greased bread pan and bake about an hour at 300 degrees. (Mine took about 70 minutes)

Enjoy!

I made it!

My husband's cousin was having a baby shower for her second daughter and trying to figure out what to get her was pretty difficult. I wanted to get her something special as well as something useful, and since she had stuff that she used for her two year old daughter, what can you do? After a little research and a recharge of my creative genes, I decided to do a diaper cake and a homemade baby book (using a template I received from another friend). A little frustration, some fishing line, new black ink, and a quick shopping trip - this is what we ended up with (no images of the baby book, sorry!). All in all, I was pretty impressed with how it turned out and hope to have a chance to make more in the future, I hadn't realized how much I missed the creative activities!

It all started with this card. The little girl's room is going to be a safari type theme, so what better than an animal? And for a little girl, how cute is the pink and green giraffe?

Looking for more items in the same color scheme, I found a green bottle that just happen to be the same brand they had registered for. And then there is the rattle - this is actually one of Ruby's favorite toys right now since she can grasp it quite easily, although she is in the stage of hitting herself in the head with everything, but she doesn't seem to mind.

The hardest part was finding something to put on top. I ALMOST did a big bow but figured, how is that useful? Instead, I got lucky enough to find this little bath towel that not only had a giraffe, but also matched the color scheme - score!

Anyhow, I think this was quite the success and I am proud of it.

A Black and White Montage