Getting your kids to eat what you cook!
Big day around here!
Birthday boy is 6 years old today.
Can’t believe it!
How did we get from here.
To here?
And what a ride it’s been!
So to the funniest…
sweetest…
most unique individual I’ve ever come across
I hope you have the most amazing birthday yet.
Love you baby boy!
Happy birthday, Brady!!!
I love pulled pork.
Not only is it delicious…
But it’s cheap…
And I can use it for days!!!
Perfect for a summertime BBQ!
Check out the three meals I got out of my $11.94 pork shoulder!
First one…
Pulled Pork Sangies
Serves: 10 Prep time: 15 minutes + 1 day Cook time: 6 hours
For the dry rub:
3 T paprika
1 T garlic powder
3 T brown sugar
1 T dry mustard
3 T coarse salt
1 t liquid smoke
1 t dried oregano
¼ cup olive oil
For the Sandwiches:
1 (5 to 7 pound) pork roast, preferably shoulder or Boston butt
2 T prepared mustard
2 packages Hawaiian bread rolls
2 cups BBQ sauce
In a food processor combine the paprika, garlic power, brown sugar, dry mustard, salt, liquid smoke, and oregano. Turn in the processor on and add in your olive oil until you have a nice paste.
Rub your pork butt with the prepared mustard then slather on your spice mixture. Be sure to massage it in well and get it into all the nooks and crannies. Let in marinate in the fridge for as long as possible, at least 1 hour or up to overnight.
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.
Place the marinated pork in a roasting rack and roast at 300 degrees until an instant read thermometer reads 170 degrees F, about 6 hours, when the pork just easily falls apart.
Pull the pork into small pieces and serve on a Hawaiian buns with BBQ sauce and cole slaw. MMMMmmmm! So good!
My lawn has exploded…
Exploded with dandelions…
And I couldn’t be more excited.
They may be seen as weeds…
But they’re actually delish!
I love to pair them up with a pasta.
Then my aunt mentioned her quick go to pasta was with turkey bacon and peas….
Hmmm, sounds like a match made in heaven!
This is a delicious and quick dish that’s good for you and tastes great!
The boys loved the sweetness of the peas and I love the smoky turkey bacon and whole wheat pasta.
Make a big batch and keep it in the fridge…
Makes a great quick lunch with a salad!
Super easy…
Super quick…
Super delicious!
WHAT YOU NEED:
1 box whole wheat pasta (I like fusilli)
1 t extra virgin olive oil
4 slices organic turkey bacon (We use Applewood Farms)
2 cloves garlic, chopped
1 cup english peas (you could use frozen, I had fresh on hand)
1 bunch dandelion greens
S&P
1 cup of pasta water (if necessary)
parmesan cheese
WHAT TO DO:
Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Season with salt. Add your pasta and cook to al dente according to package instructions. When you have about 2 minutes left to cook grab a cup of the cooking water and set aside.
While the pasta cooks, heat a large saucepan over medium high heat. Add in your olive oil and then toss in your bacon. Cook til crisp, about 7-8 minutes. Toss in your garlic and let cook for another minute. Add in peas and dandelion greens, and season with S&P. Let the sauce simmer for a few minutes and then add in your pasta water.
Drain your pasta and toss in the sauce. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmesan cheese and serve.
YUM!!!
Oh I’m so excited.
I joined a club…
An awesome club.
I’m a joiner…
What can I say.
Today is my first reveal as a full fledged member of
And this month I got assigned to pick a recipe to try from the wonderful
And there was so much to choose from!
I finally settled on a true crowd pleaser.
And even with my recipe OCD I hardly changed a thing!
Check out these baked taquitos that pretty much brought the house down!
Carries Sweet Life Chicken Bacon and Ranch Taquitos
Preheat oven to 425 degrees.
Cover a large baking sheet with aluminum foil and spray lightly with cooking spray.
Brown your bacon in a large skillet until crispy. Remove bacon and set aside.
Toss in diced jalapeno and scallions into your bacon drippings and quickly saute until slightly soft. Remove from drippings…be sure to keep the grease!
In a large bowl, mix together cream cheese, chicken, bacon, cheese, jalapeno and green onions.
Fold in your ranch mix.
Mix well.
Spoon 2-3 tablespoons of the chicken mixture into a tortilla and roll it up.
Place taquito seam-side down on the baking sheet. Repeat until you are out of chicken.
Brush tops of taquitos with the reserved bacon drippings and sprinkle with kosher salt.
Place pan in oven and bake for 15-20 minutes. Be sure to keep an eye on them in case you have to run upstairs to say hand out time outs to 3 year olds who hit their brothers in the face with a Wii remote…just saying.
Serve these bad boys up with ranch dressing or salsa!
Delish!
Thanks Carrie…these are going into permanent rotation!
My family loves tacos.
Let me repeat that…
MY. FAMILY. LOVES. TACOS.
Seriously, they’d eat them every day if they could.
Sometimes I don’t feel like a regular taco.
Enter my girl, Tiffanee at One Crazy Cookie.
She came up with a new spin on our Fitz Family Taco Night.
The boys had a blast making this one.
And eating it too!
Taco Pie = $ 10.72
Family of 4 = $2.68 per person
Taco Pie
1 lb ground beef $2.49
¾ of a large onion, diced $.50
taco mix $.88
Meat Filling:
Brown 1 pound of hamburger with 1/2 cup chopped onions, drain. Add 1 packet of taco seasoning mix and 3/4 cup water, simmer while you make the crust.
1 can refried beans (optional) $1.29
Taco Crust
2 cups flour $.50
2 1/2 teaspoons yeast (or 1 packet) $.34
1 Tablespoon sugar $.30
2 teaspoons finely chopped onion (optional) (from above)
3/4 teaspoon salt $.05
2/3 cup warm water
2 Tablespoons oil $.15
1/2 cup crushed corn tortilla chips $.20
Toppings:
shredded cheddar cheese $1.94
shredded lettuce $.79
chopped tomatoes $.52
sour cream $.25
Preheat Oven to 375 degrees.
In a medium bowl, combine 1 cup flour, yeast, sugar, salt and onion. Mix well. Add warm water and oil to the flour mixture. Mix by hand until smooth. Stir in chips and enough remaing flour to make a stiff dough. (I used 2 cups). Spread into a well greased pie pan, forming a rim around the edge. Cover and let rise in a warm place for 10 minutes.
If desired spread 1 can of refried beans on the bottom.
Spread taco meat over top of beans.
Sprinkle with some shredded cheese about 1/2 cup.
Bake at 375 degrees for 30-35 minutes until the edge is crisp and light golden brown.
Sprinkle with cheese, lettuce, tomatoes and serve with some sour cream.
Meaty Morsel: Let the kids help you make the pie crust. Kids love getting their hands into mixes and dough while baking. Also you can let them spread out the refried beans and sprinkle the cheese. Let them get creative with their toppings. It’s a great opportunity to get them to try new foods.
I had some jarred jalapenos in the fridge that I added to mine…I like it spicy!
3/4 c light corn syrup
1/4 c butter
2 t cold water
2 1/2 c confectioners’ sugar
1 c marshmallows
5 quarts plain popped popcorn
1 cup shelled peanuts
WHAT TO DO:
Heat a large saucepan over medium heat.
Add in the corn syrup, butter, cold water, sugar and marshmallows.
Heat and stir until the mixture comes to a boil.
Meanwhile in a large bowl, combine your popcorn and peanuts.
Carefully combine the hot mixture with the popcorn, get each and every kernal and peanut.
To make this easier you can rub some vegetable oil on your hands.
Shape the coated popcorn into balls before it cools.
Wrap with cellophane or plastic wrap and store at room temperature.
What’s your favorite snack at the ball park?
For the record, this is not my picture. It’s is courtesy of Amazon. My camera decided to lose the pictures I took of our popcorn balls, so sadly this will have to do. Maybe you can make some and send them to me?
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