Cooking Away on a Monday

 This weekend I sat down and planned out several meals that I can cook in the next couple of weeks so that I don't get into a dinner rut! Today I made 2 meatloaves....

 Ingredients are:

1lb ground beef
1lb ground turkey
1 packet onion soup mix
1/2 c ketchup
2 eggs
1c oatmeal
salt/pepper
splash of worcestershire sauce

I also added a minced zucchini and 1c of minced carrots to be sneaky! You bake at 350 for 1hr then let cool for about 10 minutes before slicing. The flavor was great (hubby didn't like it b/c he could SEE the veggies....) topped with a little more ketchup and we have tons of leftovers. I froze one of the loaves to eat later!

It was also time for me to make a batch of the Lazzaro spaghetti sauce! It is a bit labor intensive but oh so worth it! I always make a double batch so that I have plenty of leftovers to eat and freeze. I can make so many things with it including pasta, pizza, lasagna, baked pasta, goulash...YUM.

Over the years I have added my own little twist to the traditional recipe--after frying my tomato paste I deglaze the pan with some wine, pour that into the sauce, then saute the garlic in the same skillet. It adds such a great flavor!

My one pitiful basil plant made it thru the harsh summer and drought and I have been able to enjoy fresh basil in several dishes along the way. With the cold nights we have been having I knew it was time to finish harvesting what I could from it!

I was able to cut probably 2c of basil leaves that I washed and spun dry. They sat in the fridge for a couple days but today I finally got around to making a big batch of pesto!

It may not look like much but it smelled (and tasted) delicious and it made enough for 3 big pasta dishes. I will freeze this b/c I already have some {store bought} pesto in the fridge to use up. I didn't do anything fancy with it--it is just basil, garlic, nuts, salt, parm, and olive oil.

This is just one of many things that my mumsy and I have in common--our love of cooking! We share recipes all the time, cook at each other's houses, and share leftovers. We each put our own spin on certain things and can truly appreciate how much hard work goes into cooking a homemade meal all the time--not many people do!

In my eternal quest to be frugal, I like to try making things from scratch especially if it is cost-efficient and not too hard. For example, for the last couple of months I have been making my own loaves of bread b/c I know exactly what ingredients are in it and each loaf only costs maybe a quarter. Plus it smells so good! I also make my own chicken broth and it costs nothing to make b/c it is using a chicken carcass that would normally get thrown out!

That's it for now, thanks for reading! Next post will be about our Halloween adventures!

Storybook Forest

This was 3 days ago, but better late than never right? Thursday evening me and Brad met some friends in Edmond at Lake Arcadia's Storybook Forest for a fun Halloween time! All the kids were wearing their costumes. It is a non-scary trail with scenes from fairy tales (Three Little Pigs, Hansel and Gretel, etc.) set up and people handing out candy. After the trail we went on a hayride, then roasted wieners and marshmallows and drank hot chocolate before heading home. Nick has had the flu for a week so he did not get out in the cold!

 (The little girl here is my friend's daughter Soniyah and the hat is one that I made!)

 --Lady that lives in a shoe--

 --Little piggie with a brick house--

 --Witch's house from Hansel and Gretel--

 --Peter Rabbit (Brad was scared of him)--

 --Little red riding hood (with the big bad wolf in bed)--

 Temp tattoo of a pumpkin he got on his hand.

We had a great time and he got compliments on his costume! I made the costume out of a hoodie from the thrift store, sweatpants from store, felt ears, fabric stuffed tail, and a white boa! Total cost was around $5 and he is the cutest darn skunk you have ever seen!

We can't wait for Wednesday! We will have friends over and get our annual jack-o-lantern pizza from Papa Murphy's, then all dress up and go trick-or-treating until bedtime!

Life Lately

With the colder weather comes crocheting! My favorite time of the year. I have recently gotten several orders for hats, scarves, and other such things that I enjoy making. Here are some of them....

 I am trying out some new patterns I found in preparation for my two craft shows in December (the same week!!).

One recent evening my mom and I were on my back patio when lo and behold this little creature came creeping down the stairs from my upstairs balcony...

It was quite adorable and Nick proceeded to feed it some cat food--which it loved! It was pretty cute and it must live close to or in my backyard because we have seen it several times.

The weather has been very pleasant lately and we have made an effort to get outside and enjoy it! The days are still warm in the 70s and 80s but the nights are starting to get chilly. Brad loves to get outside and ride his bike, push his mower, and go for walks! That boy is full of energy.

It just BLOWS my mind that in 10 short months my baby boy will be starting school. Our lives will be filled with PTA meetings, open house, report cards, school lunches, holiday breaks, and homework for the next 14+ years! Wow.

Halloween will be here in just a couple short weeks and I have almost all of the trimmings for Brads costume. He is going to be a simple skunk and I am going to be a punk rocker! The last few years we have had a lot of fun with our tradition of pizza and trick-or-treating.

Speaking of holidays, I am getting close to being DONE with my Christmas shopping! As always I pick up things throughout the year, and I also recently put in an order with ABC Distributing that should be coming in soon. With the addition of some homemade gifts and treats that will be all of it! It is so nice to have it done early and not have to worry about shopping in the middle of the holiday rush with all of the other wait-till-the-last-minuters. Bring it on!

Day Out With Thomas

 First let me show you my first-of-many autumn nails design:

It is metallic copper with a ling of black dots. I have several dark colors (grey, purple, navy) that I have been itching to use after summer was over. We had a cold front move in that brought our temps down to the 40s-50s so now it really feels like fall!

Yesterday afternoon we took Brad to go see the "real" Thomas the train. He loves the show and all things Thomas. I love the show because it is based on stories written by a Reverend and teaches good morals :) The tickets were on the expensive side but Brad had a good time and it was his first train ride!

 

 He was very scared of Sir Topham Hatt....

There were tons of other kids there and he had fun watching everyone and seeing a real train. Some day soon we will take him on our Amtrak for a longer ride.