My husband injured his leg at work this week (a re-injury to be exact). Please keep him in prayer for a quick recovery, his job requires him to walk a lot and climb stairs daily.
Hope y'all had a blessed Sunday!
April 26, 2009
Techie Troubles and a Prayer Request
This has been kind of a crazy week for us computer wise. Our computer got a virus last week so it has been in the shop all week. We were so blessed that a friend loaned us a laptop to use in the meantime until we pick ours up this week. Meanwhile, I packed my camera to take along with us in our diaper bag today and my 2 year old's sippy cup leaked all over the camera case. Needless to say, the camera no longer works! It will probably be a while before I'm able to get another. But again, praise God, before I got this camera I gave my 7 year old my old one and she I can borrow it any time (thank you baby!).
My husband injured his leg at work this week (a re-injury to be exact). Please keep him in prayer for a quick recovery, his job requires him to walk a lot and climb stairs daily.
Hope y'all had a blessed Sunday!
My husband injured his leg at work this week (a re-injury to be exact). Please keep him in prayer for a quick recovery, his job requires him to walk a lot and climb stairs daily.
Hope y'all had a blessed Sunday!
Big Batch Italian Meatballs
I love to make up big batches of meatballs and freeze them. They are great for a quick spaghetti dinner, to put into BBQ sauce in the crock pot for lunch or in Italian sauce for sub sandwiches or to serve over polenta. We also like them over rice with gravy with green beans on the side. This is a recipe I adapted from The Joy of Cooking, it is so good! You can mix and match these meatballs with just about anything and you can change the spices up to suite your tastes. If you are making a casserole that calls for ground beef, you can thaw a few of these and break them up and viola! you have a great meat filling for your casserole. Whatever you do, don't skip the lemon juice, it takes them over the top! Not only are these good but it's a very frugal recipe because you can make 3 - 4 meals for 6 people with this one recipe.
Big Batch Italian Meatballs
4 lb. ground beef
4 cloves garlic
2 cup chopped parsley (or 3 Tbsp. dried parsley)
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 medium onions
3 stalks celery
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
olive oil
In a food processor, process onions, garlic and celery until very well minced and liquidy. Drain the liquid, set aside.
In a large bowl, add ground beef, processed vegetables, parsley, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, vinegar, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix well with your hands or use a stand mixer to blend.
Pinch off small amounts of meat (about 2 or 3 Tbsp.) with your fingers and form into balls. Brown in olive oil in batches in a skillet then put on a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Drain on paper towels. Serve or add to gravy or pasta sauce then serve. Or allow to cool and freeze in meal size portions in Ziploc bags.
Reheat in oven, microwave or crock pot. No need to thaw before reheating!
Big Batch Italian Meatballs
4 lb. ground beef
4 cloves garlic
2 cup chopped parsley (or 3 Tbsp. dried parsley)
2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
3 medium onions
3 stalks celery
2 cups fresh breadcrumbs
4 large eggs, lightly beaten
2 tablespoons red wine vinegar
juice of half a lemon
1/2 cup tablespoons tomato paste
1 Tbsp. plus 1 tsp. teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 teaspoons oregano
olive oil
In a food processor, process onions, garlic and celery until very well minced and liquidy. Drain the liquid, set aside.
In a large bowl, add ground beef, processed vegetables, parsley, Parmesan cheese, bread crumbs, vinegar, lemon juice, tomato paste, salt, pepper and oregano. Mix well with your hands or use a stand mixer to blend.
Pinch off small amounts of meat (about 2 or 3 Tbsp.) with your fingers and form into balls. Brown in olive oil in batches in a skillet then put on a cookie sheet or shallow baking pan. Bake for 12 - 15 minutes at 375 degrees. Drain on paper towels. Serve or add to gravy or pasta sauce then serve. Or allow to cool and freeze in meal size portions in Ziploc bags.
Reheat in oven, microwave or crock pot. No need to thaw before reheating!
April 24, 2009
Too cute!!
My baby girl just loves her hair! Just listen to her sing with her daddy about her hair do...
April 22, 2009
Weight Loss Helps
As I said before, when we first decided as a family to start eating healthy, weight loss was not one of my main goals. Sure, it would be great if some of my old clothes would fit again, but most of all I wanted to FEEL healthy.
Now that we are a few months into our plan, I am starting to realize that weight loss might just be the key to our goal. I have lost 12 lbs. since we started and I am amazed at the difference in how I feel. I sleep better (which is a huge deal for me), have less allergy problems and I have a lot more energy. I used to always doze off in the afternoons during my kids play time, not I am up and around doing any and everything that needs to be done. Talk about being more productive!
About two weeks ago (at the 10 lbs. lost mark) I realized that I was still down 10 lbs. after a few weeks and was not losing any more. I made a couple changes which already has me down two more pounds.
First of all, I (once again) added Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to my daily eating plan. I used to eat this every day but once I ran out, I honestly just forgot about buying it again. I didn't realize how much better it makes me feel when I take this until I stopped.
I use the coconut oil like butter on toast or pancakes at breakfast or mix it into a smoothie or stir it into hot tea. It gives me this amazingly satisfied and full feeling and I have no hunger again until lunch. I try to take about 2 Tbsp. a day but the optimum amount is supposed to be 3 Tbsp. (from what I read). I give this to my 9 year old too which really helps with the tummy problems she experiences. It tastes great! You can also use it in place of butter or oil in cooking or baking and it is shelf stable for months so no need to worry about refrigeration. If you haven't tried this I would highly suggest reading more about it and giving it a try.
The second thing I have done is to add exercise back into my weekly schedule. Right now, as I get my muscles back into shape, I am exercising 3 times a week, but I plan to make it a daily habit once my legs stop aching so much. I use a Gazelle Glider or go walking with the girls.
Finally, I have kept a very sharp eye on my portion size and drink lots of water. Eating less really does make a difference for me and more water seems to stave off my hunger longer as well. My goal is to lose another 28 lbs. I've put a ticker up in the left sidebar here to keep accountable to that goal.
Now that we are a few months into our plan, I am starting to realize that weight loss might just be the key to our goal. I have lost 12 lbs. since we started and I am amazed at the difference in how I feel. I sleep better (which is a huge deal for me), have less allergy problems and I have a lot more energy. I used to always doze off in the afternoons during my kids play time, not I am up and around doing any and everything that needs to be done. Talk about being more productive!
About two weeks ago (at the 10 lbs. lost mark) I realized that I was still down 10 lbs. after a few weeks and was not losing any more. I made a couple changes which already has me down two more pounds.
First of all, I (once again) added Extra Virgin Coconut Oil to my daily eating plan. I used to eat this every day but once I ran out, I honestly just forgot about buying it again. I didn't realize how much better it makes me feel when I take this until I stopped.
I use the coconut oil like butter on toast or pancakes at breakfast or mix it into a smoothie or stir it into hot tea. It gives me this amazingly satisfied and full feeling and I have no hunger again until lunch. I try to take about 2 Tbsp. a day but the optimum amount is supposed to be 3 Tbsp. (from what I read). I give this to my 9 year old too which really helps with the tummy problems she experiences. It tastes great! You can also use it in place of butter or oil in cooking or baking and it is shelf stable for months so no need to worry about refrigeration. If you haven't tried this I would highly suggest reading more about it and giving it a try.
The second thing I have done is to add exercise back into my weekly schedule. Right now, as I get my muscles back into shape, I am exercising 3 times a week, but I plan to make it a daily habit once my legs stop aching so much. I use a Gazelle Glider or go walking with the girls.
Finally, I have kept a very sharp eye on my portion size and drink lots of water. Eating less really does make a difference for me and more water seems to stave off my hunger longer as well. My goal is to lose another 28 lbs. I've put a ticker up in the left sidebar here to keep accountable to that goal.
April 21, 2009
Training Up A Child
Train up a child in the way he should go: and when he is old, he will not depart from it. Proverbs 22:6
Today I thought it would be a good idea to take a break from the books and do some real life skills training. It's amazing how much we try to "teach" our kids through books, etc. but often they can forget these lessons. Actual "training" can fall by the way-side when life gets busy and we just want to get things done. Don't get me wrong, books are very important. But I often think of all the things I had to learn as an adult that I wish I would have been trained to do as a child.
Today along with a few book related activities for school (Bible study, phonics, handwriting and science reading), we did some practical things. My oldest two girls baked a batch of cookies. That was a great lesson in math as well as planning and cleaning up after yourself. We also began a project of making aprons for the girls. Not only did this include math but also use of what you have (we used scrap fabric), research ( I found the pattern on-line), patience (sewing takes a while, no instant results here) and creativity (choosing and matching fabrics, etc.). Later on we are going to make some meatballs for dinner as well as a bunch to freeze. What better way to teach planning ahead, frugality and cooking?
What kinds of things do you do to train your children? I would love to hear!
Today I thought it would be a good idea to take a break from the books and do some real life skills training. It's amazing how much we try to "teach" our kids through books, etc. but often they can forget these lessons. Actual "training" can fall by the way-side when life gets busy and we just want to get things done. Don't get me wrong, books are very important. But I often think of all the things I had to learn as an adult that I wish I would have been trained to do as a child.
Today along with a few book related activities for school (Bible study, phonics, handwriting and science reading), we did some practical things. My oldest two girls baked a batch of cookies. That was a great lesson in math as well as planning and cleaning up after yourself. We also began a project of making aprons for the girls. Not only did this include math but also use of what you have (we used scrap fabric), research ( I found the pattern on-line), patience (sewing takes a while, no instant results here) and creativity (choosing and matching fabrics, etc.). Later on we are going to make some meatballs for dinner as well as a bunch to freeze. What better way to teach planning ahead, frugality and cooking?
What kinds of things do you do to train your children? I would love to hear!
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