Monday, January 30, 2012

February Photo a Day



I decided after coming across this on Pinterest, that I am going to do this. It is such a cool idea. Keep an eye out for my pics!

Friday, January 27, 2012

Pinterest Meal a Week: Pizza Casserole

This week I am making Pizza Casserole.



This recipe is originally from For Mamas
I really hope this turns out as good as it looks!

Pinterest Meal a Week: Special Edition

So I am a little behind since I started my new job. This past week I did an extra Pinterest meal and a Pinterest desert since Paul's Birthday was on the 22nd. I made Crock Pot Meatloaf and Mountain Dew Cupcakes.



Easy Meatloaf
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
2 slices day-old bread, cubed
1/4 cup finely chopped onion
2 tablespoons finely chopped green pepper
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1/4 cup ketchup
8 medium carrots, cut into 1-inch chunks (I just use baby carrots)
8 small red potatoes

In a bowl, beat egg and milk. Stir in the bread cubes, onion, green pepper, salt and pepper. Add beef and mix well. Shape into a round loaf.

Place in a 5-qt slow cooker. Spread ketchup on top of loaf. Arrange carrots around loaf. Peel a strip around the center of each potato; place potatoes over carrots.

Cover and cook on high for 1 hour. Reduce heat to low; cover and cook 7-8 hours longer or until no pink remains in the meat and the vegetables are tender.

Yield: 4 servings

Source: Taste of Home’s Slow Cooker Classics
Retrieved this from Organizing Junkie





Mountain Dew Cupcakes
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
2 cups sugar
4 large eggs
3/4 cup Mountain Dew
1/4 cup of lemon and lime juice (juice from 1 lemon and 1 lime)
zest from 1 lemon and 2 limes (separate into 2 piles, one for butter cream)
1 1/2 teaspoons lemon extract
2-3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1-1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Beat butter on medium for 30 seconds.
2. Add sugar and lemon, lime zest. Beat on medium-high until light and fluffy.
3. Add eggs one at a time, Scrape sides of bowl in between additions
4. Whisk together flour, baking powder, and salt in a bowl. Add to mixer bowl. Turn on low for 5 seconds.
5. Add the Mountain Dew, lemon/lime juice, and lemon extract . Mix to combine.
5. Scoop into cupcake papers about two-thirds full.
6. Bake for 18-20 minutes until a cake tester comes out clean.


Mountain Dew Buttercream
1 cup butter (2 sticks)
4-5 cups powdered sugar
2 tablespoons Mountain Dew
Juices from half of 1 lemon and half of 1 lime.
Lemon and lime zest (rest of zest from cupcake recipe. Or zest from half of 1 lemon and 1 whole lime)
1 teaspoon lemon extract
neon green food coloring (yellow and blue if you dont have green)

1. Sift powdered sugar into a bowl or onto parchment
2. Beat butter at medium-high speed until creamy
3. Add half of the sugar, turn mixer on low for 5 seconds.
4. Add the Mountain Dew, zest, and lemon extract . Beat until combined.
5. Add food coloring to the desired color.
6. Gradually add remaining sugar until you get to the consistency and sweetness you like.













I chose to make cream cheese frosting instead of butter cream frosting. Once I had my cream cheese frosting, I added all the ingredients above that gave the citrus flavor and color to the icing. Next time I will need to make the icing a little thicker but it was still very good!










These recipes are going to be added as keepers for sure!



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Sunday, January 22, 2012

RELG-2001-5 World Religions Reflection: Beliefs

Beliefs
I have grown up in a religious family. First I was brought up in the Southern Baptist Church, then my parents got divorced and I was brought up in the Catholic Church. As I have gotten older and explored life on my own, I have made my own decision on my religious beliefs. I am a Christian. I attend a nondenominational Church. I teach my children about the Bible and how it is written. The things that made me not follow a denomination was that sometimes they make up their own rules on what is right and what is wrong. I think that sometimes, the Bible is misinterpreted or the information that suits the denomination is followed and the rest is not.
In my beliefs, I do have a conception of Ultimate Reality. I believe in Heaven and Hell. My children are taught about Heaven and Hell also. We believe that the good souls go to Heaven and the bad souls go to Hell. We do not describe these places to our children, because we really do not know what they look like. It is not for us to assume.
My self and my family go to Church every Sunday. Most of the time, when there are special services, we attend them. My children attend Sunday school so they are taught about the stories in the Bible on their level. I do not think children should be taught on the same level as the adults. It is too much information for them to understand. They need to be taught a way that helps them understand and relates the stories to them. We believe that Jesus died on the Cross to save us from our sins. We use the Cross symbol to worship and remember this.
We follow one and only one Body of Sacred Writings. The Bible is the only book that we follow. What is written in the Bible is how it is. It is not the right of anyone to change the words written in there. Having a different religion is one thing, but if you use the Bible but you take from it what you want and disregard the rest, that is wrong.
I believe that when the body dies, that the human mind and spirit survives and goes to Heaven. I think that our physical body is just a vessel to take our spirit through this current world. One thing that was brought up to me lately by my mother was how “Old Souls” come about. She said that she read somewhere that our souls are sent to the physical bodies to learn a lesson. If they do not learn all that they need to learn before the body dies, then they are sent back to finish their lesson. I can see how that could be possible. My four year old is one that we classify as an “Old Soul”. He seems to have knowledge of things way beyond his age. I am very open-minded to learn new things and beliefs, as long as they do not go against the words of the Bible.
My view of Survival after Death is very simple and straight forward. All souls are saved and sent to Heaven. Jesus died to save us from our sins, so no matter what we do, we are forgiven. There is however one sin that will never be forgiven. Blasphemy is the only unforgivable sin. To me, blasphemy is speaking, writing or thinking of God or any religious artifact in a negative manner.
My beliefs of Moral Good are to follow the 10 Commandments. The King James Version of these Commandments is: 1)Thou shalt have no other gods before me. 2) Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of anything. 3) Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain. 4) Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 5) Honour thy father and thy mother. 6) Thou shalt not kill. 7) Thou shalt not commit adultery. 8) Thou shalt not steal. 9) Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbour. And 10) Thou shalt not covet thy neighbour. Those are the rules that have been set forth for us to follow in the Bible and that is what my family lives by.
Finally, my view on who has Religious Authority is also very straight forward. There is only one person that has Religious Authority. That person is my Lord and Savior. He has ALL Religious Authority. I believe that he has helpers to spread the word and help us understand. When it comes down to it though, he is the only one that has a say of how things go.
References
Laws, G. T. (2012). The Ten Commandments Listed. Retrieved January 22, 2012, from Gods Ten Laws: http://godstenlaws.com/ten-commandments/index.html

Friday, January 20, 2012

Pinterest Crafts: Universe in a Jar

Grayson loves learning about the stars and universe. He also is afraid of the dark. So, what better project for us to do then a Universe in a Jar.



All you need is a mason jar or any type of clear jar. I happened to get a mason jar at Goodwill for 77 cents. You also need glow in the dark paint.


All you do is put lots of dots all over the jar and let it dry. It did several runs until Grayson felt that the jar had enough stars in it.


I tried getting a picture of the jar in the dark, but it just was not happening.

Week 3 outcome for Pinterest meal a week.

This week I made White Chicken Enchiladas. I saw the picture on Pinterest and got the recipe from Joyful Momma's Kitchen.



Chicken enchiladas with green chili sour cream sauce
10 soft taco shells
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken
2 cups shredded Monterey Jack cheese
3 Tbsp. butter
3 Tbsp. flour
2 cups chicken broth
1 cup sour cream
1 (4 oz) can diced green chillies


1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 9x13 pan
2. Mix chicken and 1 cup cheese. Roll up in tortillas and place in pan.
3. In a sauce pan, melt butter, stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broth and whisk until smooth. Heat over medium heat until thick and bubbly.
4. Stir in sour cream and chilies. Do not bring to boil, you don't want curdled sour cream.
5. Pour over enchiladas and top with remaining cheese.
6. Bake 22 min and then under high broil for 3 min to brown the cheese.







We loved these! We could not stop eating them. This will be added to my book of good recipes.

Kroger Comforts BzzCampaign



I am a BzzAgent. With that, I get to try samples out and let everyone know how they are. For this campaign, I get to try out Kroger Comforts brand. The Comforts brand offers the selections that many other name brands carry. We have tried the diapers for Levi. He has very sensitive skin, and so far of all the diapers that we have tried, these are the only ones that do not irritate his skin. There is formula, which we have tried also. It is much cheaper then the other brands, but it is just as good. Levi also has reflux and we used Comforts sensitive stomach formula and he did pretty well on it. They also have wipes and many other items like feeding tools. We will be trying out the wipes for free so soon I will let you know what I think of them. They are also priced very reasonably. Visit ComfortsForBaby.com for more information on this brand. You can also "Like" Comforts at facebook.com/ComfortsForBaby. If you use Twitter you can also follow them at twitter.com/ComfortsForBaby

Also, I currently have some coupons for 20% off on any ONE Comforts Diaper, Formula or Wipe, any variety. If you are interested in trying them out, let me know and I will give you a coupon.