Frozen Breakfast Burritos

I must say that I get so discouraged when my sweet hubby goes to work without eating breakfast, and then on many days he works right through lunch. I know this is so not healthy, but I don't have the time to get up and fix a good breakfast every morning. I needed something that we could grab-and-go. Of course we are trying to eat cleaner and eat less preservatives, so I tried out this recipe that I found here on the Pretty Providence blog for frozen breakfast burritos.


 
They turned out pretty good and they are simple to make and re-heat. The best part is that they are fairly inexpensive and make a ton in a super quick time so you can make a whole month's worth in one morning. They definitely meet the grab-and-go requirement.


 

Try them out and let me know what you think.

Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread

My husband is about the pickiest eater on the planet, so I am always on the hunt for those recipes that make him go back for seconds and ask for me to make it again. Those are the recipes I print and add to the notebook!

I found this recipe on Pinterest for Buffalo Chicken Garbage Bread and it sounded like something Joe would love. I, on the other hand, don't like that "buffalo" flavor and made this particular recipe just to appease the hubby.

 

I have to let you in on a little secret...this was stinkin' delicious!!! I even went back for seconds! Serve it with some blue cheese or ranch (like we did) and you have the perfect party bread or husband-bread as I would call it :0) This recipe was immediately printed for it's own special little place in the recipe notebook.

Hot Cinnamon Apples

If you are in the mood for a super simple sweet treat, these hot cinnamon apples are perfect!  They taste yummy on their own, but would be just as delicious poured over some homemade vanilla ice cream too!

 

Ingredients:

• 2 large apples, peeled and diced
• 1/4c sugar
• 1/2 t cinnamon

 

 

Toss apples in a small bowl with cinnamon and sugar.  Cover and Microwave for 1 1/2 minutes.  Stir to combine well.  Serve and enjoy!

Saucy Orange Pork Chops

I will admit that I am always on the hunt for pork chop recipes that I will actually eat.  I am not a fan of pork chops but I know that their white meat is healthier than eating red meat everyday.  And even though I would be fine with just eating a meal of veggies, the hubs thinks that we absolutely MUST have meat at dinner.  So when I came across this recipe I thought it sounded yummy.  I like anything with a citrus flavor.  I must say that they lived up to my thoughts.  So tender, juicy, and full of flavor!


Ingredients:

• 1 lb boneless pork loin chops
• 1/4 t salt
• 1/4 t pepper 
• 1 1/2 T oil – divided
• 1/2 medium onion, diced
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 1/3 c orange juice
• 1/2 c BBQ sauce (a mild flavor)

Season pork chops with salt and pepper.  Heat 1T oil in skillet; brown chops 1 – 2 minutes per side and transfer to a plate.

 

Add remaining oil to skillet.  Add the onion and cook 3 – 4 minutes until soft.  Stir in garlic and cook for 30 seconds.  Add orange juice and cook until most of the liquid evaporates (about 1 minute).

 

Stir in BBQ sauce and return pork chops to the pan, turning the meat to coat it.  Transfer meat and sauce to an oven safe dish (you can just use your pan if it is oven-safe).  Bake at 400 for 6 – 10 minutes or until meat thermometer registers 145 degrees.

Dogs Need Nutrition Too

I have mentioned a few times on here that Joe and I are working towards a healthier, cleaner way of eating.  I didn’t want you to think that I would leave my precious pups out of that plan too. 

When my sweet precious dog Senna started having seizures I began to do research on why this may be happening to her.  My research kept leading me back to pet food – how it is processed, what ingredients are in the food, and what is being left out of their food.  What I found was extremely disturbing!  I won’t get into all the details of what I found out, but I will tell you that Senna only ate homemade human-grade food for the final few months of her life! 

I will also say that the idea that one pet food provides all the nutrition an animal will ever need for its entire life is a dangerous myth.  Think about it, today, the diets of cats and dogs are a far cry from the variable meat-based diets that their ancestors ate.   If I had the money and time, I would still feed holistic, human-grade, mommy-prepared food to both of my puppies.  Instead I feed high-quality, research based dry dog food to my babies, and supplement with natural treats that will help them get the variety and nutrients that they need to be healthy.

** Please note that I do NOT recommend feeling human foods to your pets until you have done a considerable amount of research!  There are many human foods that are dangerous for dogs to eat in certain quantities (ie. chocolate, onions, grapes, raisons, etc.). Please check before you feed anything to your pets to make sure it is safe for them. **

So now that you heard my soap box about pet food, go out and do some research for yourself.  You may be very surprised at what you find!  On that note, I wanted to share a couple of pictures of my sweet girls getting a healthy afternoon snack. :0)



All I have to do is toss an apple out on the porch or in the living room and my girls are in heaven!

Willow won’t look at me for fear I may take her precious apple :0).



Harley is so precious how she holds her apple with her front paws and takes her time to enjoy every bite. (She is still eyeballing me to make sure I don’t steal a bite :0)

Blueberry Sausage Pancake Roll-Ups

Joe helped me make the yummiest breakfast for dinner!  It was so delicious and looks super fancy :0).  I am usually not a fan of breakfast for dinner, but this was so good that I was even excited to take left-overs for lunch the next day (and it tasted just as good the next day).  The only thing I didn’t like about the meal was that it was a little time consuming to make, especially for one person to do all on their own.  I do have to say that we had blueberry syrup and that really made the meal a little piece of perfection!

Ingredients:

• 16 oz pork sausage
• 1 box blueberry muffin mix
• 1 3/4 cup milk
• 1/4 c vegetable oil
• 1 egg
• 3/4 cup sour cream – divided
• Blueberry or Maple Syrup

Cook sausage;  crumble, drain, and set aside. 



Meanwhile, rinse and drain blueberries from the muffin package.  Combine muffin mix, milk, vegetable oil, and egg.  Stir until smooth.  Fold blueberries into your batter.



Coat a skillet with cooking spray;  heat skillet.  Pour 1/4 cup of batter into hot pan and quickly tilt pan so batter covers the bottom of the pan.  Turn pancake when the top is covered with bubbles and edges are slightly dry.



Remove to a dish and repeat with all of your batter.  Spoon 2 T sausage and 1 T sour cream down the center of each pancake. 

 

Roll up and place in a baking dish.  Bake at 400 for 10 minutes.  Serve with syrup and Enjoy!

Guest Post – Yard Advice Please

Today my sweet hubby is here to do his first guest post! :0)  Be kind to him because he has a few more guest posts planned this summer for some pretty amazing projects he is working on and I want him to come back :0)!!  Without further ado….”

After a year of our house being vacant, before we bought it, the yard needed a little work.  Early this spring I threw out some pre emergent/weed killer.  It actually did a great job.  I cut the bermuda grass real short the first couple of cuts, then decided to raise the height of the push-mower.  Of course we are always in a drought, and are severely lacking in H2O. 

The grass still remained crunchy and bare in spots, so my wifey agreed to let me buy some weed and feed.  I chose to go with Scott’s weed and feed turfbuilder.  Of course I followed the directions.  This stuff really promoted growth and made the grass a really thick, luscious, deep green.  However, it boosted the crabgrass on the other side also.  It wasn’t much of a weed killer.  The lime was the cheapest investment in the yard, about three dollars, and also seemed to help with color. 
Don’t let her know, but my wife gets mad when I talk about the lines in the yard!!! It is all about the lines!!!! I alternate every other week which direction or pattern to cut the grass, this keeps the grass from “leaning” or becoming accustomed to that direction.

The only problem I have are a few spots I think “burned” due to the Nitrogen in the weed and feed.  Or it could have been Willow pee??:O  Any advice on how to fix these spots? Time will tell…

Thanks,
Joe

Herb Garden Update

Back in March I made this Window Herb Garden that I saw on Pinterest.  I was absolutely  in LOVE with it when we hung it, and many of you left me some sweet compliments about how much you loved it too.

 

Well, I wanted to give you some updates on how it is going before you go creating one of your own.

Here is a recent picture of my window herb garden (2 months after hanging it).

So let me tell you what I have learned. :0) 

1.  DON’T choose an herb that grows long and wild – like my Mint.  It has started bumping me in the head while I wash dishes.

2.  DON’T choose an herb that you will use for almost every meal!  Save those to grow in large groups in an outside herb garden.  We have used so much of our basil that it looks almost gone, and pitiful.



3.  DO choose plants that grow slowly and are used less frequently in your family’s meals. It seems like the Oregano (on top) was a perfect choice for us. 



4.  DO hang your window herb garden low enough so you don’t have to beg your husband to water it for you. :0)  I use my faucet sprayer that pulls out to water them.  The clear mason jars make it perfect for me to see if the soil is moist enough.

5.  Also, DO invest in a good pair of herb cutting scissors like the ones below (I am hoping for some for my birthday ;0).

One Pan Chili Pie

This was a yummy weeknight treat.  I love anything along the lines of Tex-Mex flavor and this recipe hit the spot.  The best part was that it only took one small mixing bowl and a skillet to complete the meal – less dirty dishes always gets two thumbs up from me!

Ingredients:

• 1/2 lb ground round beef
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 t salt
• 1/2 t chili powder
• 1/4 cup ketchup
• 1/2 of 8 oz pkg frozen corn, thawed
• 1 pkg cornbread mix (1 egg, 1/3 cup milk)

Combine beef, onion, salt, chili powder and ketchup in ovenproof skillet;  cook until brown; drain.  Push meat to edge of skillet and add thawed corn in the center;  spread meat back over the corn.

Prepare cornbread mix as directed on package;  pour evenly over meat and corn.

Bake at 425 for 20 – 25 minutes or until corn bread layer is done.  Removed from the oven; let stand 5 minutes before cutting and serving with a pie cutter.

Tip:  If you don’t have an ovenproof skillet, protect your plastic handle with aluminum foil before you put the skillet in the oven.

My Sweet Girls

So even though I want to try my best to stick to DIY, home improvement, and recipes, I do love my puppies and I do write this blog for my family and friends so I have to pop in with a doggy post every now and then.

 

Here is a short history on my past with dog ownership.  I rescued my last two dogs (a German shepherd, and a lab mix) and they both had issues of their own.  They fought (bad!) and one was aggressive while the other was overly nervous.  One ended up having seizures (which caused me TONS of stress) and one ended up having to be put down because of her aggressiveness (one of the darkest days and hardest decisions of our lives!)

My husband and I both LOVE dogs.  Yes, they can cause a little stress now and then, especially for someone who is so OCD about the house being clean and orderly, but the joy and unconditional love they bring me is what makes it so I wouldn’t trade them for a million bucks!

Joe and I at Horizon Labrador Farms with a 1 week old Willow.

Joe and I with a 7 week old Harley.

So when some very unfortunate events left us dog-less the summer before last, we began researching and looking for the perfect pup.  I had always wanted a chocolate lab and after tons of research it turned out that a lab would fit our family perfectly.  Then this past fall we took in a lab-Australian shepherd mix that we are madly in love with.

The pups with my sweet 4 year old nephew.

 

Harley and her new friend, boxer-mastiff mix puppy, Tux.

 

Willow and her new friend, Doberman Pincher,  Destiny.

I just had to add this one of Destiny and Willow because I think it looks like they are singing and I love it! :0)

  

The best part about these two pups is that I can take them anywhere! (which I couldn’t do with my other two)  They are wonderful with people, love everyone (especially children), and even get along with other dogs. 

It is so nice to have good, sweet dogs!!