Turning into a 50's wife/mom

        So, as promised(via my personal Facebook page), I am posting a recipe today. Chili to be exact! It is to go along with my new apron that I won from PBKW Aprons' Facebook page. I love it! It is absolutely adorable. Now all I need is an amazing 50's/vintage style dress, some heels, and a martini to go along with it! hehe I could totally be a 50's wife/mom if only I had the right attire. Hmmm, something to talk the Hubs into perhaps? I think yes. =)

        Be sure to go check out either PBKW Aprons' Facebook page or her etsy page(linked above). She has adorable aprons. And she can do just about whatever theme/color combo you want! I told her "Patriotic and blue" and got this! I was so excited to get it in the mail yesterday.

Anywho, here it is. My adorable apron.

 

And now, what you've all been waiting for....the recipe! I originally got the recipe from my wonderful Dad. I'm not sure where he got it or if he came up with it all on his own. Knowing that man, you just never know hehe. I am going to post it here but it can also be found on my recipe's page HERE.

 

        It is seriously delicious. Don't let the appearance fool you. I thought that it looked like spaghetti sauce after it was finished. But one bite and we were all hooked! It even won the chili cookoff that the Hubs' shop had a year or two ago! It is to die for with some cheese and sour cream on top. Mmmm, I might just have to make it again soon! Good thing the weather is starting to turn cooler so that recipes like this will be made more often. Enjoy =)

 

 



 

No-Bean Chili

**Sorry, no picture at the moment**

****Thanks Dad for the recipe =) ****

3 lbs Ground meat lean
2 cloves garlic minced
1 tsp black pepper
2 tablespoons cumin
1 tsp ginger
1 tablespoon red pepper flakes
1 small can of tomato paste
1/2 cup boiling water
1 large tomato diced
4 ounce can of V8 juice
1 cup of onion diced
1 tablespoon salt
3 tablespoons chili powder
1 tablespoon paprika
1 tablespoon dried mustard
1 tsp dried oregano
1 large can tomato sauce
1/2 can of beer(or water)
1 jalapeno
4 tablespoons olive oil

Cook meat in a large pot and chop it with spoon or spatula until it is completely broken up. You don't want big chunks. Drain and remove. Saute onion and garlic in the left over oil from the meat. Add all of the spices. Pour in enough olive oil to make the mixture wet. Cook for about 4-5 minutes on med low heat to get the spices roasted. Add beef, all wet ingredients, and the whole jalapeno. Cover and bring to a simmer for about 1 hour. Chili will be thick at first. After 45 minute to an hour you can add more beer if it needs more liquid. Remove jalapeno before serving.

You can also add a little Valinteno's hot sauce to bring up the heat. Don't use Frank, Tobasco or Louisianna hot sauce. Those have too much vinegar.

NOTE: I mix all the spices together in a small bowl before putting it into the pot. That way it can all go in at once instead of having to measure each one out and worrying about any of it burning. I also cut slits in the jalapeno before putting it in to get more flavor and heat from it instead of adding hot sauce.

Weight Loss Wednesday - Part Deux

        So, the long weekend ended up not being good for my workouts. Who wants to workout when you could be spending time with your Hubs? Yeah, me either. So I didn't. But, I did do some Turbo Jam one day and I tried to do whatever I could to get moving. I was quite sore after the Turbo Jam. My new favorite workout is doing squats with Gabriel. I hold him on my chest(his knees bent and at my underarms so that he is actually sitting on my chest) and doing slow controlled squats. He thinks it's hilarious and gives big goober smiles and laughs the whole time.

        We also ate out more than we should have this weekend. But I tried my best not to over indulge. Except for the Coldstone Hubs stopped and let me get hehe. Of course I had to take advantage of that! I also tried the detox water and it tastes pretty good. If nothing else it has gotten me to drink more water and it's not just plain water. Hopefully this week will be better workout wise. I, again, am going to try and exercise during naptime. I also need Gabriel to be asleep or at least calm and not fussing. Otherwise, I don't get much of a workout trying to tend to him. But, here are my stats for this week. No picture because I didn't lose hardly anything. But hopefully a couple of Wednesdays from now I will be able to post one. =)

                   Weight: 194lbs (Down 1 lb from last week)

                   Measurements:
                               Neck: 13 1/2in
                              Arms: 12in
                              Chest: 42 1/2in  (Down 2in from last week)
                              Waist: 40 1/2in  (Down 1in from last week)
                                Hips: 46 1/2in
                            Thighs: 24in


        I think that my measurements are proof that weight lose isn't everything. And I think that is something everybody should keep in mind when trying to lose weight, get in shape, whatever. Just because you don't lose weight or you gain a few pounds doesn't mean that you aren't losing something. And it doesn't mean you aren't getting into shape.

        Please check back next week to see if I have better luck with exercise and if anything changes!

Where did my cleaning fairy go?

        Well folks, it's another Manic Mommy Monday! Don't forget to check out the other blogs listed below. And if you want to link your blog up and join in on the MMM fun, please go here.

        I really need to find my cleaning fairy. My house is a mess! But, I've been working on it all day after a nice laid back weekend with the Hubs. He got a 4 day weekend. It was quite nice. Today we decided to go eat lunch and then go to the park. He even stopped on the way home and let me get some Coldstone! Mmmm, cake batter ice cream. It was quite tasty. Now, back to cleaning. Nothing exciting, I know. But hey, I'd rather have nothing exciting than be busy in a bad way. It almost always(yeah, I know, oxymoron) seems to be that when something exciting or new happens it's something medically related and bad. Or at least that's how it is with my family. So, I'd rather just keep it calm unless it's a planned out good that is going to be happening. =)

        Check back next week for the next round of MMM to see what all the mommies are up to! =)

Weekly Review #4

Well folks, it's another beautiful Saturday. Which means it's time for another review! What's in store for today? Well, I'm glad you asked...

1. Goulash(My delicious version and my husband's slop lol)
2. Lactation Cookies

Yep, it's a short one this week. But that's alright. Perhaps we will have some more interesting things for next week! Both of the recipes for today can be found at my "Recipes" page. =)

 

        1) Goulash. Yep, that's it. The picture above is my husband's "slop" as I call it. He calls it Goulash. I make this whenever I make regular Goulash. His looks absolutely disgusting if I do say so myself. So, I'm not going to give an actual review of that hehe. But, the regular, real, Goulash is delicious! It is so super easy to make and doesn't take but a few minutes to throw together. Heck, I don't even actually have this recipe written down! And Daniel absolutely loved it. I thought I was going to go crazy from him saying "bite" every two seconds hehe. I highly recommend trying it at least once.

        2) Lactation cookies. I got this recipe from a friend(not sure where she found it) and it is amazing. It tastes so good. You would never guess it had yeast or anything like that in it. I don't really "need" help with my supply. But I don't want to have a sudden loss from working out and have to work my way back up. So, I thought I'd make these and make them part of my snack. Oh darn, whatever shall I do?! I'm so mistreated hehe. Sure, it takes a little time because you are making cookies from scratch. But it is SO worth it. I had about 4 or 5 after they came out of the oven and within an hour or so of eating the first one, I could feel that I was a little fuller than usual. I'm not sure if it was just a placebo effect or if it was the cookies doing their job. But either way, I am calling it a win. And I will definitely be making them again! Oh, and it makes a bunch if you make them on the smaller side. I used a small ice cream scoop and now I have a gallon size bag full and some sitting in a tub as well!

 

Weight Loss Wednesday

       Welcome to my first Weight Loss Wednesday. From now on, on ever Wednesday, I will post weight loss related things. Like different healthy foods, exercises, etc. I will also post my current stats. IE: each Wednesday I will weigh myself, measure myself, and take a picture for every 10 lbs I lose. I have also created a "page" for these posts. It can be found at the top of the blog next to my "About Me" and "Recipes" pages. The links will be there for each Wednesday's posting that way they can be easier to locate later on.

        So here is my first WLW. Enjoy. Because I may not hehe.

**These are my more current pictures. I haven't changed much(if at all) from the 4 weeks one**

**EDIT** Weight: 195 Sorry, forgot to put this on here on Wednesday =)

        Measurements:

                 Neck: 13 1/2in

                 Arms: 12 1/2in

                 Chest: 44in

                 Waist: 41 1/2in

                   Hips: 46 1/2in

               Thighs: 24in

        Phew, I survived that hehe. Okay, my workout for this week will be my Turbo Jam videos. The original Turbo Jam, not the Turbo Jam Fire or whatever it is now. I am going to try and do it either during the boys' nap time or when everybody else is getting ready for bed at night. If I don't do that then I will at least try to do some push-ups, sit ups, and jumping jacks. And whatever else I can think of to get moving and get my heart rate up.

        I'm not going to include it in my workouts because I am not technically doing anything. But breast feeding burns about 500 calories. So that is always an added bonus. Not only am I providing for my son but I get to sit there and do nothing and still burn that many calories. Win? Why yes I think so! hehe

        My recommended "healthy food" is Overnight Oats. I have shared the link/recipe for them before on my Weekly Review. I think it was my first Weekly Review. I may also try a detox drink. This Zero Calorie Detox Drink is super easy to make and is only a few ingredients. Plus, I really need to drink more water and hopefully this will help since it is flavored.

      Please check back in every Wednesday and see how I'm doing. Of course there will be bumps in the road. The usual highs and lows that go along with weight loss. But I am hoping that having this will help me push through and do it. I need to. Not only for my own health but for my boys. They need to learn healthy eating habits(though I swear Daniel is already a rabbit with all the fruits and veggies he eats lol) and to be active.

       

       

Manic Mommy Monday

        It's Manic Mommy Monday time again folks!  This is number 2 for me. Don't forget to go check out the others or even post about your own here.

 

 

        Well, last night we moved Gabriel into his own room. I wasn't quite ready. Still not sure if I am. But the Hubs is so we tried. It didn't go too bad. He nurse around 8:30, had a bath then laid down with us, then went into his bassinett in his room around 10:30ish. Laying in bed I could see his bassinett perfectly which was nice. He slept until about 1am and wanted to eat. Then he slept until about 4, came in bed with us, ate again around 5, and then we slept until about 9. So, again, not too bad.

 

        Hopefully he will start to sleep longer once we can get him into the crib. Going to have to see if Daniel's toddler bed mattress will fit in the crib. Daniel is currently using the crib mattress because it is waterproof, the toddler mattress is fabric. If it doesn't fit then we will most likely have to buy another mattress.

 

        Another reason for moving him into his own room was because the bedroom got rearranged yesterday. I only sort of helped. I was messing around looking at geneology stuff(the Hubs and I are both addicted now!) and then the Hubs came downstairs and told me he had started rearranging. I then went to help hehe. I had to see what had been done. It actually doesn't look too bad. We are hoping to get our computers into our bedroom to get them away from the animal hair. The cats aren't allowed in the bedrooms and the dog is only allowed in there at night. My poor computer went out a couple weeks ago and we think it was because it got overheated from the hair. We also need to open them up and clean them out more often.

 

        Well, that is all from this Manic Mommy for today! Enjoy your week everyone!

 

 

 



 

 

 

 

 



Weekly Review 3

 

        Okay, for this Weekly Review I only have one picture. Sad day. hehe The rest got eaten before I could remember to get a picture in. But here is a listing of what you can look forward to...

1. Lazy Day Casserole
2. Cucumber Salad
3. Pan Roasted Chicken with Lemon-Garlic Green Beans
4. Parmesan Crusted Chicken
5.  Homemade Bread 

 

 

 

1.    Lazy Day Casserole. It was absolutely delicious! I added two different kinds of sausage because I didn't think the 4 sausages(cut in half) looked like enough. And unless you like the flavor of licorice I suggest leaving out the fennel. You couldn't taste it unless you bit into it, but it was quite a surprise when we bit into what we thought was a piece of onion and it turned out to be fennel hehe. It took a little time but was definitely worth it. In fact, not only will we be having this on a regular basis, but I am going to start doing my veggies for pot roast this way!

2.    Cucumber Salad (pictured with the Lazy Day Casserole) was extremely easy to make and very tasty. Daniel absolutely loved it. We will definitely be making this one in the future. Nice and light and healthy. I used dried dill so I added a little more than the recipe called for.

3.    Pan Roasted Chicken w/ Lemon-Garlic Green Beans is such a long name but such an easy delicious dinner. I have made it twice and we liked it both times. The second time was better because I didn't use as much lemon as the recipe calls for. If you really like lemon then try it out with what it calls for. But I think just using the juice of 1 lemon was more than enough. And we might even try it without the lemon next time. Nice and healthy and super fast to put together.

4.    Parmesan Crusted Chicken was so deliciously simple. I already keep all of the ingredients in my fridge/pantry. I don't even need the recipe after having made it a couple of times. I just throw the stuff together. I make a little more than what is called for of the topping. But that is just my preferrence. You could easily put less if you wanted.

**Bread about to be cooked**

**Bread after cooking and about to be devoured!**

5.    I made homemade bread last night and it turned out amazing. I didn't get the recipe from Pinterest, I got it from a friend. The recipe can be found on my "Recipe" page. It made 2 loaves and I think we will start making this instead of buying bread from the store. It was super easy to put together and I didn't need a bread machine! If you love bread you have to try this out at least once.