NEVER QUIT

And now for a guest post from one of my amazing friends, Laurie.

My favorite veteran is my grandfather. Every time I see him I am privileged to hear a new story from his days in the service. Most of the stories are from the Korean War. My grandfather is a master storyteller, each glimpse into the past is told with precise details. Think about that! My 88-year-old grandfather can recall details from over 60 years ago. This is exceptional not only because his mind is sharp at the tender age of 88, but because the events that took place in war had such a stark impact on him they are recalled vividly in his memory.

 I'm fortunate my grandfather is able to talk to me about the war. Some of the details of war are so gruesome and painful the men and women who so bravely fought on the front lines or cared for the wounded can't bring themselves to speak of what transpired, what they felt or what they saw. I don't blame them.

 I am thankful to all those who have served this country and who are currently serving. It is a call of duty I'm not sure I could answer without tremendous fear slithering through every platelet of my blood. Let's not forget about the families who endure the worrying, the deployments, the loss and everything else I can't begin to comprehend.

 I read a book that changed my life, Marcus Luttrell's “The Lone Survivor”. Marcus Luttrell was the lone survivor of a mission in Afghanistan. His mantra: Never Quit. It's a powerful story about never giving up, and I do mean powerful. His fallen teammates kept firing away at the enemy while their own bodies were drilled with gunshot wounds. Luttrell fell off a mountain and forced his injured body to crawl, alone in enemy territory to save his life. This book moved me to become a greater supporter of our troops. For more about Marcus Luttrell visit the Lone Survivor Foundation. Do you like heroes?

 I've recently discovered Todd Love. Todd is a war hero who lost both legs and an arm in Afghanistan. By the way, he completes Spartan Races and Stadium Climbs. Yes, you read that correctly, he has one limb and completes physical challenges that are challenging for people who have all their appendages. The next time you think you can't do something, remember this extraordinary veteran. Our veterans can teach us so many lessons. They can give us inner strength we didn’t know we had. You can honor a veteran every day by taking advantage of the things you take for granted.

 I often use the stories of our veterans to motivate myself when I’m struggling with working out. Remember the physical and mental sacrifices of our veterans … ...next time your alarm goes off so you can get up to work out and you think you're too tired ...next time you're a half mile into your run and want to throw in the towel ...next time you don't think you have ten more reps left ...next time you think you think you'll never be fast enough or strong enough Remember what our soldiers have endured, what they thought was not possible and then ask yourself again: Do you have the energy to get up? - Yes! Can you make it one more mile? - Yes! Do you have ten more reps? - Yes! Will you be fast enough and strong enough? - Yes! How can you be sure? It's easy - NEVER QUIT!

Slooooow Cooked Honey Balsamic Pulled Pork:

Oh yessss, baby, Git in ma bellaaay.

Pefectly sweet and tangy. Mostly "clean" eating approved (darn you Worcestershire sauce!!!) and best of all? You basically toss it all into the crock pot in the morning and you are as good as done! Think of all the things you could do while you're not standing there cooking?!? Read a book! Paint your nails! Take a bubble bath! Watch a movie- uninterrupted! 

Awww snap, wait. I'm a mom. None of that is happening. Mine is more like this: Stop the toddler from chewing on her book. Scrub the nail polish off of my toddler's face and legs (I swear this kid has a stash of my nail polish hidden somewhere). UGH Scrub the bath tub while dreeeaming of taking a nice, hot, candle lit bubble bath... dreaming cuz I still don't comfortably fit into our tiny ass tub. Maaaaybe I can turn on a movie after all the kids go to bed, tho. And just maaaaaybe I'll make it more than halfway through before I crash out asleep. lol

Back to dinner!

You will need:

1 (2-3 pound) shoulder pork roast
salt and pepper
1/4 cup honey
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar

1 cup low sodium beef broth
  1 Tbsp Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp minced garlic
1 tsp Mrs Dash extra spicy seasoning

• Spray slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray. Season all sides of the roast and plop it into the slow cooker. Now I'm sure you already know this, but I don't want anyone telling me that I didn't tell them this. hehehe So, go wash your hands. Seriously. We don't want you getting raw pork juices all over everything, right? 
• Drizzle the honey all over the top of the roast. Coat that baby well. Toss the minced garlic right on top.
•  In a separate bowl, mix together beef broth, Balsamic vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, and Mrs Dash. Pour over the top of the roast. 
• Cover and cook on low for at least 8 hours. You could cook it on high for 5-6 hours but in my experience, the meat just doesn't get as "fall apart tender" after cooking it on high.
• Pull the meat apart a bit with 2 forks or a pair of tongs, toss it around in the juices a bit, and then serve that bad boy UP!

That is it, my friends. Minimal work and ohhh so damn yummy!

Happy Monday!!!

Yup, you read that right, I said HAPPY Monday.

Why do we dread Mondays so much? I mean, I get that it means our weekend is over and it's time to get back to the grind, but we tend to give Mondays too much power. Do I like having to wake up early and get back into the swing of weekday chaos? Uhhhh, no. I'm crazy but not that crazy.

But, to me, Monday is a day to get my shit together. It's the first day of the new week and it's ripe with opportunity to start over and hit the week like a rock star! Let's stop the Monday dread and learn to embrace it! Who's ready to ROCK the hell out of today??

We Interrupt Your Yard Work...

...For a moment of FUN.

Seriously, after raking up the leaves at my Mother In Law's House today, and seeing this HUGE pile of leaves just sitting there staring at us, how could we not stop to have a little fun?

I've got a Confession for ya... and I can't believe I'm admitting this, but, this was BOTH of my daughters' first times leaf jumping. Right? At 10 and 2 they had never ever jumped in piles of leaves before. How awful is that? We just never had any trees around our house so the opportunity never arose. 

But I think it's safe to say that after all the fun they had, we're going to have to rake up the leaves for my Mother in Law more often. :)

Some People Just Suck.

If you follow me at all, you'll know I'm usually really positive. But my bitch button was pressed a little bit ago. I dedicate this picture to man I'm about to tell you about.

I was at the gas station putting gas in my truck. A car pulled in next to me and I notice the driver, a male probably in his early 30's, glaring at me as he pulls in. I figure I'm just imagining things. He doesn't know me so surely he has no problem with me. He's probably just having a bad day.

 Until he gets out of his car, shakes his head, and says "FAT ASS" as he walks by. Oh haaaaail no. For real? I said "excuse me? I'm not sure I heard you correctly." To which he repeats "fat ass" with venom in his voice and daggers for eyes.

 ****bitch switch alert!! Bitch switch alert!!!*** shit! My kids are in the truck. Abort mission! Abort mission! *insert forced smile here* I replied "That's what I thought you said, darlin'. I've got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that I'm working on my fat ass issue. The bad news? Nothing short of Divine intervention and a miracle is gonna cure your awful case of ugly on the inside. God bless you."

I got in the truck and took some deep calming breaths so I wouldn't cry in front of my kiddies. I asked my daughter if she heard anything. She didn't. Thank God.

 

But it's really got me thinking and it enraged me to my core. Who the HELL are YOU to judge others? What gives people the idea that they have the right to open their mouths and criticize how others look? Yes, we have freedom of speech but that is not to be confused with the right to be an ASSHOLE. You do NOT have the right to express HATE to other people. You don't like the way someone looks? Whether you think they are too fat, too skinny, not pretty enough, you don't line their tattoos, piercings, WHATEVER. That's fine. You have the right to THINK whatever you want. But if you have nothing nice to say, you should KEEP YOUR MOUTH SHUT. That man is LUCKY my kids were in the truck. Otherwise he might be on his way to the hospital right now and I'd be on my way to jail. Smdh

Ok, I'm done. Negative out. Back to positive.

Fooooood!!!

I was SO hungry (more like hangry) after skating tonight that by the time I got home, there was no pause to look for a fork. I dove into my dinner of chicken with mashed potatoes with my hands. Lmao Gotta refuel, right?

Oh yessss. That just happened.

Confessions of a Stay At Home Mama

     Sometimes, more often than not actually, I feel like a total failure. A failure as a mom, a failure as a wife, a failure on my weight loss journey. The list goes on and on. 

     I feel like since I'm home all day that my house should be much cleaner. And I try. Lord knows I try. But it seems that at this stage in life, with a teenager, a Pre teen, and a toddler in my house, it just can't happen workout me losing every shred of sanity that I have left. And many people are quick to point out that I have 2 children that are more than old enough to help out. And you have a point there. But between their crazy school workload, and sports, sometimes it's just not worth the fight. The only time I get to clean without my little tornados coming behind me and tearing apart my progress, is after they have all gone to bed. I feel like I've failed in providing my family adequate space to come together as a family. Tonight, my youngest kiddies ate dinner on the kitchen floor while I stood at the counter eating, because my mom was at the table in the dining room doing her school work and didn't want to be disturbed. And I didn't feel like it was my place to ask her to move. What kind of mom lets her children eat on the kitchen floor? Me, I guess. 

     Normally I wake up extra early to make breakfast for the hubby before he goes off to work for the day. But lately, between my insomnia acting up and staying up too late, 5:00 am has come and gone with me still in bed, pulling the covers over my head. Our bedroom is also trashed, which really sucks because the bedroom is supposed to be a couples sanctuary. Ours is most definitely not. 

     And don't even get me started on my weight loss journey. Some days come and go and I realize while cooking dinner that I haven't eaten yet. Or haven't eaten enough. Which, as I'm well aware of, is awful for my metabolism. Most weeks as of late, paychecks have been pretty low, meaning that I can't afford the clean foods that I should be buying. I rarely have the energy to get in my workouts. (Thank God for quick circuit workouts, cuz that's about all I have in me to do.) 

     I just have to keep reminding myself that I'm doing the best that I can do under the circumstances that I'm in. That no matter how much I do, or don't do, I love my family. And that is what is most important, right? 

Adventures In Roller Derby

Psssst... Can I tell you a secret?

Come closer...

A little closer...

For as long as I can remember, I've loved roller derby. In fact, like many others, I loved it so much that I wanted to be a roller derby girl myself. *insert sad violin music here* Sadly, I never knew there were local teams. And by the time I found some that were fairly local, I had already had kiddies, was quite a bit older, and was overweight. *ok, you can stop the music now*

Last year, I found a very local team and was SO excited. I was determined that I was going to join. But there was a little voice inside my head. You know that voice, the one that tells you that you can't do something. That you won't be good enough. The one that plays out all the what if's in your head trying to discourage you? Yup, That's the one. It kept telling me that now was not the time. I needed to lose weight first. So I didn't do it.

But recently, I was in contact with one of the awesome broads from the team and she asked if I was still interested in joining.. HELL YES, I AM!! But once again, that stupid little voice started in on me again. But this time, I ignored it. I just knew if I kept waiting til I lost the weight, it would never happen. And hell, this could be an amazing form of exercise to help with losing the weight, too. So, I checked out a practice and just knew that this was for me.

 Tonight was my very first practice. Mind you, I have not been on skates in a good 17 years, and never as a... ummm... big girl. I was terrified. Not of falling, but of failing. Of not being able to do this. But I laced up and got out there anyways. I was super slow (seriously, so slow that in the entire practice I only completed 2 whole laps, while hugging the wall.) I stumbled A LOT, but only fell once. It was a pretty awesome fall, tho. My feet flew out from under me and up up up they went, and down down down I went. I basically belly flopped but on my back. And that was the one fall I was most terrified of taking. But as soon as I fell, I was so relieved to get it out of the way that I burst into laughter before exclaiming "Now how the hell do I get back up?!?"  I got back up and went again.

And with that, Syd Vicious, #10, of the Vindicated Vixens was born.

This is definitely going to take a lot of time, a lot of patience, and a lot of determination, but I will do this! And I'll be writing about my progress along the way. Here goes nothing!

Together We Stand

 
      When I was younger, I never understood how so many people of the older generations would say that they remember exactly where they were and what they were doing at the moment when President Kennedy was shot... That is, until that day.

Struggling to wake up early?

I sure was! I am very much a night owl, and have been for as long as I can remember. As a teen, I'd stay up till the wee hours of the morning, drawing, writing, listening to music, and sneaking the phone into my room so I could talk to my boyfriend all night. Lol Needless to say, this stuck with me over the years.

As an adult, wife, and mama, the struggle remained. Only now, I *couldn't* sleep, so I busied myself til the wee hours of the morning, baking, cleaning, doing laundry, feeding babies.... etc. Or just sitting there doing nothing but enjoying the silence, because let's face it, with a 15 year old, 10 year old, 2 year old, and 4 dogs in my house silence is GOLDEN. Unless they're awake, then someone is doing something they shouldn't be doing. Anyways, each night, I'd:

Confessions Of A Stay At Home Mama #4:

When I make peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, I still draw hearts in the peanut butter before I put the two pieces of bread together. I do this for my 2 year old, my 10 year old, my 15 year old, and my hubby. They never know it's there, (probably a good thing, because I'm sure my teen would think I'm lame... oh wait, he already does! We're clear, folks. Bahaha) but I know it's there. It's just my little way of sending a bit of extra love along with them.

It's ok, you can laugh at me now.

Negative "Encouragement"

Leave it at home. Or better yet, don't use it at all!

Sitting at my daughter's soccer game this afternoon, above the noise of the game, my ears were bombarded by yelling. Not by kids, but by their parents.

"YEEEAH!! That's it!! Way to GO!"

"GREAT JOB! There ya go!"

"Ohhhh, that's ok! Good try!"

I'll be honest, I'm not much of a yeller at my kiddies' games. I support them with my presence there. I'll clap of course, and when they look my way, I'll give a thumbs up and a smile. But the above are things I love to hear coming from other parents. It's positive encouragement and it is a wonderful thing.

But more and more, what I've been hearing, (especially today) are things like this:

"Stay on your side!!!" (To his own son) "Hey Ref! Maybe you should show him the line so he doesn't screw it up again!"

"Are you BLIND? You could've had that! " (another guy to his own son)

"Oh come on! If you would've kicked it HARDER you would've made a goal. Ugggghhh!! Get your head in the game!" (A woman to her own daughter)

"Stop being a baby and GET AGGRESSIVE!!!" (A woman to her own daughter. This is same mom that was screaming at her young son that he was playing with his friend too aggressive just moments ago. And then she smacked him in front of everyone. He was just being a little boy. But that's a whole nother story)

How does this help our children? What does this teach them?? As far as I'm concerned,

Confessions Of A Stay At Home Mama #3

Even tho I am a stay at home mama and housewife, I STILL don't get everything done.

It seems to be a common misconception that just because you stay at home, that means that your house should always be immaculate. But mine isn't. And as long as I have kids in the house, it probably never will be. Now, I have friends who are able to pull this off, and seriously, my hat goes off to them. But I've never been able to pull that off. Such is life. And I'm OK with that.

The dishes piled up in my sink are a reminder that my husband and kiddies and I have nice full bellies. The ever growing piles of laundry are evidence that we are far more blessed than we probably even realize. The toys scattered all over the floor are evidence that FUN was had. These messes are evidence that we don't just STAY here, we LIVE here. We laugh here. We cry here. And we make messes here.

Since I'm being so honest here, I will say that sometimes I struggle with the mess.  Not so much the mess, more so the fact that everyone just assumes it's my job to clean it all up. Cuz ya know, I'm mom and that makes me the Keeper of Messes. It's not fair! Woe is me!! NOT! It's so easy to get a grumpy attitude because it's all left for me to do, but ya know what? Each mundane task is an opportunity to BLESS my family. Each meal I cook, serve, and clean up... Each load of laundry that I wash, dry, fold, and put away.... these are all labors of LOVE. And nothing says I love you like having a drawer full of clean underoos. You can take that to the bank.

And while I may still grumble sometimes because I'm tired or sick and the house is trashed and the cleaning fairies have long since deserted me, I still catch myself smiling. I smile because these tasks are just one of the many ways of expressing my love and gratitude for all that I have. For all I have been blessed with. And I truly am thankful.

So keep those dishes coming.

Wait, can we at least get a dishwasher first, tho?

Confessions of a Stay At Home Mama #2

Bad: Last night, I went to sleep in the clothes I had worn all day.
Worse: I'm on my way to bed and have absolutely no intention of changing them. Worst: I really don't care.

September Photo A Day Challenge

It's been a while since I've put together a photo a day challenge, so I figured it was time. I'd love for you to join in on the fun and be a part of this challenge with me.

I try to incorporate workout photo prompts and healthy eating photo prompts into my challenges, because I feel that it gives me an extra little push to get in a workout or to be more conscious of what I'm eating.

If you want to join in, and you use instagram, feel free to add me! My instagram name is:  @ryanann_livelaughlovelose
And be sure to tag your photo with #LLLLphotoaday

Just a side note, the photo prompts don't have to be taken so literally. For instance, "Smile" could be a picture of you smiling, a picture of someone else smiling, or even just a picture of something that makes you smile. Think outside the box!

I do hope you'll join me!

Love and light! ♡

Color Vibe 2014

My 10 year old daughter and I completed our very first 5K this weekend. We did the Color Vibe Run and I cannot even begin to tell you how much fun this was!

It was a bit long for Lucy as she rarely has the opportunity to randomly take a 3.1 mile stroll, but it was an awesome life lesson for her. One mile in and

Would YOU let this man near your ear with these tools?

I didn't have much choice.

I had an earring STUCK in my ear. I tried for 2 days to get the back off and couldn't get it. I think the cheapie earring back somehow rusted on. WTH?? Don't ask me how, because

Confessions Of A Stay At Home Mama

CONFESSIONS OF A STAY AT HOME MAMA: #1: Sometimes after the kiddies have all gone to bed, I go outside... and sit in my truck... in front of my house... without ever driving anywhere... JUST so I can say that I got out of the house.

That may officially make me lame. But it's ok. I own it. Hmmm... on second thought... Shhhhh... let's just keep this our little secret, Mmmkay?

Weight Loss Journey Ramblings

Ready or not, it's confession time.

Hi, I'm Ryan Ann and I've been slacking.

I have been struggling something fierce with staying on track with my weight loss/getting fit journey.

Really, it all comes down to one thing: I've been lying to myself. Now, I'm honest with everyone else, why the HELL would I lie to myself? That just boggles my mind!) The reality tho, is that I've been closing my eyes and ignoring the true extent of my slacking for a while now. I got tired of "working so hard and getting no results." What a load of CRAP!!! Helloooo? Being honest with myself and looking back, if I had been TRULY working my ass off I would not be where I am right now. Talk about a DUH moment!

Whether I choose to acknowledge that extra two servings at dinner, (or that handful of chocolate chips I snuck while baking cookies for the kiddies, or the snack cake I shoved into my pie hole while making everyone's lunches for tomorrow) or not, my body counts every nibble, lick, and bite.

What kills me is that in doing so, I've thrown away so much of the progress that I had made. If only the weight came off as quickly and easily as it came on, right? But I am not going to beat myself up over this! It happened, I've acknowledged it, and now I'm moving forward!

So, that's it! There are no more excuses. It's time to get this DONE once and for all. It's NOW or never. There's a new sheriff in town and she's going to KICK the ever loving IIIISH out of the rest of this year. Mark my words, by next Summer, I WILL be at my absolute fittest, come hell or high water. Don't believe me? Just you watch!

Eggs in Peppers. ' Nuff said.

Sometimes I just want a quick and easy breakfast. But that doesn't mean that I want to fill my body with junk. It just means that I have to think a bit outside of the box. Enter eggs in peppers.

No, I didn't come up with this myself, it's been done for years, but man I sure wish I had. Either way, it is delicious!

There's not much of a recipe, it's one of those things that I change up depending on what I have a taste for. But I'll give you the basics.

Meditation

Some days just seem especially long and trying. I don't know about you, but for me, those days usually go something like this: my teenage son won't stop arguing with me, the my teen son and my 10 year old daughter won't stop fighting, my toddler has been nonstop shrieking because... well.. because she can, one of the dogs puked and two of the other dogs are fighting over who gets to eat said puke, my house is destroyed... Ohhhh, it's also 5:00 pm and I haven't figured dinner out yet.

*insert SCREEEEEEAM here*

These are the days I like to grab my 10 year old,  find a quiet spot, and take just a few minutes to meditate. It really helps re-ground and center me. I also love that you can do this anywhere. Which means that after that long day, when I'm sitting at soccer practice, I can totally chill in my truck for a bit and sneak in a little meditation, too. Mommy gets calmer and believe me, that makes everybody happier.
Do you meditate? Pop on over to my Facebook page and tell me your favorite method(s)!

Salsa Chicken Stuffed Peppers

I have been craving Stuffed Peppers, like nobody's business lately. The thing is, I'm really not a fan of them. Cravings?? Before you ask, no, I'm not pregnant. Lol So I started thinking up ways I could tweak them to better appeal to my tastebuds. I must say, I'm pretty freaking excited with how delicious they turned out. You should totally give them a try. And then you should let me know what you think! :)

 What you need:
☆ 3 bell peppers, color of your choice, sliced in half and de-seeded
☆ 1 cup of cooked quinoa
☆ 1 can of organic black beans, rinsed and drained
☆ 8 oz of organic salsa
☆ 1  1/2 cups leftover salsa chicken

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F.

2. Combine your quinoa, salsa chicken, salsa, and black beans. Mix very well.

3. Place peppers in a baking dish and fill each pepper half with chicken mixture.

4. Cover baking dish with foil and cook for 30 to 35 minutes or until peppers have reached desired tenderness.

Top with a little cheese, if you'd like, and wolf those bad boys down! :)

Bison Sweet Potato Chili

Say hello to my little friend:

Bison Sweet Potato Chili. 

There are almost no words for this one... A hint of spicy, a hint of sweet... It is good enough that I have been making this and eating it weekly, and it is Summer time here.

Truly, if I could marry a meal, this would be it. 

 MmmmHmmm. That good.

Awwww yeeeeah. Shit just got real. Let's dive right in.

Here's what you need:

• 1/2 Tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil 
• 1 lb pound ground bison 
• 1 lb 90-93% lean ground beef
• 1 diced onion 
• 2 bell peppers, chopped  
• 1 lb sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into small cubes 
• 1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes, not drained 
• 1.5 cups beef stock 
• 1.5 Tbsp fresh garlic, minced 
• 1 Tbsp brown sugar (optional) 
• 1 Tbsp chili powder 
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp sea salt 
• 1/2 tsp black pepper

1. Cook ground meats thoroughly in large pot, until no longer pink. Add onion and  peppers and cook 3 minutes.
2. Add all other ingredients and stir well.  
3. Cover and reduce heat to low or a slight simmer. Cook 45 minutes or until sweet potatoes are tender enough to stick a fork through. Taste test and add more seasoning to taste, if needed.  Serve and enjoy!

NOTE: If you like your chili a bit thicker, go ahead and thicken it up a bit with some cornstarch and cold water. 😉

Crock Pot Salsa Chicken

It doesn't get any easier than this one, folks. For real, you could have this thrown together in your crock pot faster than you can call for take out. Tho you need to plan ahead for it to cook for a couple hours after that. But seriously, the crock pot does all the cooking for you. Try it. Tryyyy iiiiit. You will not be disappointed!

You will need:

• 4 chicken breasts
• 1 1/2 jars of organic salsa
• 1/2 Tbsp chili powder *optional- If you used a spicy salsa, you may not need this. 

That's it! Say whaaaaaat?

Throw the chicken into the crock pot. Pour 1 1/2 jars of salsa on top. Mix it around a bit, cover up and set on low for 6 to 8 hours. When it's finished cooking, shred the chicken. You can also top with a little shredded cheese. DELISH!

**Picture is coming soon**

The choice is yours and yours alone...

Each and every morning when you roll over and open your eyes, you have 2 choices. You can go back to sleep and continue dreaming your dreams, or you can rub the sleep from your eyes, put your feet on the floor, GET UP, and chase your dreams. No one is going to go catch your dreams and place them in front of you wrapped with a pretty bow. YOU HAVE TO MAKE THEM HAPPEN! No matter what today throws at you, MAKE today GREAT. The choice is always yours. Love and light, my friends!

Come on baby, light my fire..

 FINALLY!!! The weather is improving enough that we were able to break out the fire pit for our very first bonfire of the year. It was sooo freaking nice to be able to just sit back and chill with a couple good friends and enjoy the fresh air without fr-fr-fr-freeeeezing.

I have a bit of a thing for fire. Don't worry, not in a sick and twisted kind of way or anything. I just love kicking back watching the flames leap and dance around. It's absolutely mesmerizing. I mean, come on! Look at those flames! I can only hope that the weather stays nice enough to make this a regular weekend thing again.

How do I love thee, sweet apron?

Let me count the ways. 

• You're cute
• You're pink
• You have cupcakes all over you that my toddler likes to pretend to pick off and eat
• You keep my clothes clean from the inevitable mess I make while cooking and baking
• You cover up my "trouble" spots quite nicely
• You transport me back to the 50's every time I put you on. And I seriously love all things 50's. Like, for reals.

In all seriousness, I truly love wearing an apron. I could be so incredibly UNmotivated, but the second I throw on my apron, I'm ready to get down to business. I'm not quite sure why, it's kinda like it signals to my brain "listen up you bitchin' broad. There's stuff that needs to be done, so quit yer slackin and let's DOOOO THIS!!"

I'm sure it helps that my sweet apron totally matches my SAHweeeet shoes, too. No kidding. Check it out.

Ohhhh how I love thee, sweet apron. Now if only you could learn to wash yourself.

Homemade Ricotta Gnocchi

Gnocchi are small dumplings usually made from potato, semolina, or flour, most often served with a sauce. I just like to call them little bites of deliciousness. The process of making gnocchi is sooo super simple, you'll wonder why you haven't made them before. Give them a try and see if you don't start calling them little bites of deliciousness, too!

You will need:

• 1) 8oz container of ricotta cheese
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 Tbsp parsley flakes
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 cup all purpose flour (plus another cup or two in case you need to add more along the way)

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, add the ricotta, eggs, parm, garlic powder, parsley, and salt. Stir until mixed very well. Stir in the cup of flour, adding more flour along the way as needed to make a soft dough.
2. Divide the dough into 4 or 5 sections. Roll each section of dough into 1/2 inch thick ropes on a well floured surface.
3. Cut each rope into pieces that are about an inch long. Continue doing this until all pieces have been cut. (This can take a little while, so it's best to keep the already cut pieces in the fridge)
4. Bring a large pot of salted water to a boil. When the water is ready, drop about a handful or two of dough pieces into the water and immediately give them a stir so they don't stick to the bottom of the pot. These only take a minute or two to cook, so once they float to the top of the water, give them about another 30 seconds to a minute and remove them from the pot to a strainer. Repeat this step until all of your gnocchi have been cooked.

Now you can serve them fried up in a little butter and sprinkled with parmesan, or you can serve in a tomato sauce. If you're not especially worried about watching your carbs, this is great paired with a nice warm loaf of fresh baked bread.

 

These freeze wonderfully, too. Just lay them out in a single layer on a cookie sheet and freeze for 20 minutes or so. Then remove them and store them in a ziploc baggie. I try to always keep a bag or two in the freezer for a quick meal on a hectic night. 

This is a fantastic meal to get the kiddies in the kitchen and cooking with you. My 22 month old LOVES helping mix up doughs and mashing sweet potatoes for my sweet potato gnocchi. I'll post that gem of a recipe another day, but here is my sweetie pie, mashing away.

Wordless Wednesday

That is quite enough, Old Man Winter!

Like, seriously, can't you go shack up with Mama Nature already? Maybe you need a reminder of what warmth is. I'm sure she can remind you. I hear she is a very beautiful lady. Go out on a date with her, have a few drinks, (really, I'll pick up the tab) take her back to your place and snuggle up on the couch watching movies. Who knows, if you play your cards right, you just might get lucky! I've definitely had enough of this snow and cold and ICK. Let's just move on, ok? Please??

 

This snow seems to be never ending!

And I think I'm starting to lose my mind. I swear I keep seeing faces on my van. It's making eyes at me because it's cold and lonely.

Oh well, at least everything looks pretty!

Wordless Wednesday

Wordless Wednesday

There's a party in my tummy!

So yummy! So yummy!! Okaaaaay, perhaps I've been watching too much Yo Gabba Gabba with my youngest kiddie. Enough of that! But you know what I can't get enough of? 

This, right here:

Oh yesssss. Deep Dish Sloppy Joe Pie (or Casserole) from Emily Bites. Looks utterly fattening and delicious, but only one of those is correct. The delicious part! You can find the recipe here. The only thing I did different was I used homemade pizza dough using white whole wheat flour and I also used extra lean ground turkey instead of the ground beef and I cooked it in a round baking dish. Next time, I think I will try to use some balsamic vinegar instead of the red wine vinegar, but it was still really really yummy! You have GOT to give this a try!

Ohhhh you heavenly piece of deliciousness, you! Deep Dish Cookie Pie, that's MUCH healthier.

Ohhhh Chocolate Covered Katie, you've done it again! This Deep Dish Cookie Pie turned out deeelicious! And I'll let you in on a little secret... They are made with garbanzo beans! Whaaaaaaat?? I know, right? Much healthier, (they DO contain sugar) but they taste JUST like a thick and chewy chocolate chip cookie. 

The Mr, my mama, and my kiddies LOVED this. My son said "Ok mom, more black bean brownie stuff, right?" I said "Nope! I promise you there is not a single black bean in these!" Theeen after he ate it I told him "No black beans. Just 2 cans of garbanzo beans." BAHAHAHA And he still wanted seconds. (I said no. I mean, after all, these bad boys are all mine  are quite thick and filling.)

Hellooooo there, beautiful! I topped them with a scoop of vanilla ice cream and believe it or not, I actually liked it better without the ice cream! I cannot urge you enough to go check out Katie's site. The recipe for the Deep Dish Cookie Pie is here. You DO NEED either a good quality food processor or a very high powered blender like the Vitamix. (This batter even gave my Vitamix a run for it's money!)

Out of this woooorld Apple Pie Waffles

Who says you can't have apple pie for breakfast? These waffles are the real deal. They taste like a nice warm slice of apple pie but are so much healthier. My kiddies ate this without the apples, as my oldest doesn't like apples and my middle kiddle doesn't like apples when they are cooked up. Weirdos, I tell you! ;) 

But the Mr, my mama, and myself enjoyed it with the apples, and let me tell you they were freaking fantastic! Just look at all this yummy goodness!

Does it GET any better than that? I think not! Well, I mean, unless you add a scoop of vanilla ice cream on top.. Or maybe Vanilla Greek Frozen Yogurt... Oooooh, I see this being made for dessert in our very near future! *smile*

• 5 gala apples, peeled and cored, all sliced except for one
• 1 tsp butter
• 2 Tbsp brown sugar (divided into 1 Tbsp and 1 Tbsp)
• 1/2 tsp apple pie spice (divided into 1/4 tsp and 1/4 tsp)
• 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
• 1/2 cup all purpose flour
• 1 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1/8 tsp salt
• 2/3 cup skim milk
• 1 egg
• 2 tsp coconut or olive oil

1.  Melt butter in large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add 4 of the sliced apples that have been sliced and combine with with 1 Tbsp of sugar and 1/4 tsp of the apple pie spice.
2. Cover and cook about 5 minutes until apples are tender. Uncover and cook 3 minutes until most of the liquid evaporates. Set aside.
3. Spray waffle iron and heat. Combine both of the flours, baking powder, baking soda, salt, remaining 1 Tbsp sugar, and the other 1/4 tsp of apple pie spice in large bowl.
4. Whisk milk, egg, and oil together in small bowl. Stir milk mixture into flour mixture and stir just until combined.
5. Shred the last apple and add to the batter. Mix well.
6. Pour some batter onto your waffle iron and cook until done. Serve with cooked apple mixture on top. Yummo!

Ohhhhhhhhh yeeeeeeeah.

Sometimes it's a "suck your spit for dinner" kind of night. But not tonight.

So, we all had a really late lunch today, and everyone was nice and full. When 5:45 rolled around and everyone was talking about how full they still were, I thought I had gotten off the hook for dinner. WHEEEEEE!!!! My mind soared. What was I going to do with that extra hour or two? I could blog... No! I could take a bath and paint my nails... Noooo! I could do nothing at all. Just sit on my ass and enjoy some "mommy is watching TV so please Shhhhh" time. 

7:00 rolled around and it started. The dreaded question "what's for dinner" started getting thrown at me like rocks. Wait... what? It's 7:00. Are you serious?? Siiiigh. Now, I'm not gonna lie. The tired broad in me secretly wanted to say "you want dinner this late? Ok, suck your spit", but, the nice mommy in me got to work and whipped up a VERY quick, tasty, AND way delicious batch of "pizza" soup.(Tho in all honesty, it almost tastes more like a lasagna soup, but if you remember from my previous post about Skillet Lasagna, you'll know I love my lasagna. So that's quite alright with me.)

Crisis averted and there was  absolutely no sucking of spit involved and everyone is happy.

 

• 1 (16 oz) pack of extra lean ground turkey 
• a few slices of turkey pepperoni, diced
• 28 oz of tomato sauce 
• 1 can of Italian style diced tomatoes
• a handful of spinach, chopped up
• 2 cups of water 
• 2 tsp of Italian seasoning
• 1 tsp garlic, minced
• 1 bay leaf
• 1/2 cup whole wheat elbow macaroni noodles
• reduced fat shredded mozzarella cheese to top with

1.  In a large pot, brown your ground turkey with the minced garlic. Toss in your diced pepperoni.
2. Add the tomato sauce, diced tomatoes, spinach, water, Italian seasoning, and bay leaf. Bring to a low boil.
3. Add the noodles, stir, and let simmer for about 15 minutes or just until the noodles are done.
4. Serve it up with some shredded mozzarella on top.

Tell me that's not delish!