Our family loves Mexican food! Sadly, there is a severe shortage of Mexican restaurants in Lancaster County, PA (go figure!) so we make it at home quite often. I love how versatile it can be…soft tacos, hard tacos, dips, casseroles, burritos, nachos, enchiladas…. Ok, time to get ahold of my Mexican loving self. Side note; Mexican restaurants are one of the things we are most looking forward to in our next hometown!
So, I wanted to make a kid friendly Mexican meal that was also meatless. We used a combo of black and refried pinto beans on some new, cool, “Fiesta Flats” I found in the grocery store. They are flat-ish like a tostada, but curved up on the edges to keep your toppings in place. So cool! (It’s the little things in life, people.)
I warmed the corn shells (Fiesta Flats) in the oven on 350* for about 10 minutes and then my trusty sidekick Brady helped me load up our “Taco Boats.” You can use any combo of ingredients that you like, but here’s what we used…
Refried pinto beans
Black Beans
Guacamole
Sour Cream
Lettuce
Salsa
Shredded Cheddar Cheese
Black Olives
Some corn, diced onion, or tomatoes would be great on these as well!
Ingredients (Not the bananas!!)
Um, no, I wasn’t about to eat guac straight from the bowl.
I’m always looking for ways to sneak veggies into our diet, and I can’t think of a better way to do that than with CHEESE! This was a recipe I adapted from Better Homes and Gardens. Their recipe called for making your own white sauce…and well, that sounded hard. So, I used my handy dandy jarred Alfredo sauce that I got on BOGO, and it was delish! While Brady was a big “help” cooking this meal, I did do a little prep before he came in the kitchen. I boiled a family sized package of cheese tortellini, drained them, and set them aside to cool off. I also did a quick saute on some asparagus, squash and mushrooms and let them cool off a bit. Here’s how the rest of the recipe went down…
Ingredients:
1 large pkg. of cheese tortellini
1 jar of Alfredo sauce
1 yellow squash
1 small bunch of asparagus
pint of grape tomatoes
1 cup of mushrooms
1 pkg. mozzarella cheese
After preparing the tortellini, and sauteing all veggies (not tomatoes) set them aside to cool off. Then layer as follows- Tortellini, half of alfredo sauce, sautéed veggies, tomatoes, other half of alfredo sauce, and top with mozzerella cheese. Then bake at 350* for approximately 30 minutes (or until it’s bubbly on top.)
**Note: I let the pasta and veggies cool off because I had little toddler hands putting this meal together. If I were making this by myself, I would not have needed to let them cool before assembling the dish.
Even though this was packed with veggies, when you eat it, all you can think is, Mmmmm….cheese….
March Madness is upon us and we are loving cheering on our Gators!!! Sweet 16, GATOR NATION! I thought I’d share this “Keep Calm and Chomp On” printable Chris made for me a while back. It’s perfect to print and frame for basketball or football season! (Or baseball, or track and field, or swimming…you get the point, Gators!) Just click on the “KEEP CALM” link below the image to save or print the PDF file. Go Gators!
Happy St. Patrick’s Day! I set out to make some green smoothies with Brady today. We love smoothies around here, but I’ve never attempted a green one. They always kind of weirded me out to be honest, but I have been assured that they are super tasty! I had a big bag of spinach in my fridge so I thought, why not give it a try for a little St. Patty’s treat?!
Well…we made our smoothie. It tasted yummy. Brady had fun. BUT, it didn’t turn out green!! What did we do wrong?? I’m guessing we put in too many blueberries, but I assure you, there was tons of spinach in this thing. The good news was that you really cannot taste the spinach in the smoothie. How exciting that you can sneak in so much veggie goodness into something that tastes like dessert! Thankfully, Brady was not disappointed that his smoothie did not turn out the green color I had promised him. He drank the whole thing and it was a success…but not green.
Here’s how we made our “not green” smoothies.
Ingredients:
1 Banana
1 cup ice
1 cup juice (we used orange pineapple)
1/2 cup frozen blueberries
1 cup strawberries
1 container of blueberry greek yogurt
Half a bag of fresh spinach leaves
Brady threw all the ingredients in the blender and then had the all important job of pushing the button to blend away!!!
Even though our smoothies weren’t green, we had plenty St. Patty’s day fun today!
Creative juices were flowing in the Smith house last night! I’ve been searching for some sort of a cute, printable, gift tag that could be used to attach to a welcome basket for guests who stay in our guest room. I thought it would be fun to have a little something waiting for guests when they come to visit and I wanted a little tag to decorate it with that would match the colors of my guest room. Sadly, Pinterest failed me and I could not find exactly what I wanted. SOOO, my artsy hubby gave me a quick Adobe Illustrator tutorial and helped me make my own! We made one version with Gator colors to match our guest room in 8×10 that could be framed and another version that was 5×7 that could be printed, and cut apart to attach to a gift basket. Then we made both in another green and brown color scheme. I thought I’d share in case anyone else was interested in using these. Just click on the link below the version you like and print!
SO much going on this month and next!!! I’m currently sitting in my living room , with a glass of wine, Pandora playing, the fireplace on, and pretending like I have nothing else to do but blog. Meanwhile, my house is a mess, my hubby is out of town for work, and, oh yeah, we’re moving to North Carolina next month!
When Chris first mentioned the idea of putting his application in for a North Carolina (Raleigh area) sales position that opened up in his company, I was like, oh sure, right, you’re kidding… Then, the more we talked about what a great opportunity it would be to explore another new area of the country, get closer to family, and add a new experience to his resume, the more the adventurous (crazy) part of my brain got on board! Chris has always dreamed of living in North Carolina- to him, it’s the perfect place to live. After a super quick road trip with the kids to check out the Raleigh area, I was smitten too. Ever since we made the decision to “go” for the NC job, everything has fallen into place in a very God-orchestrated, whirlwind kind of way.
We listed our PA home last Thursday and it sold Saturday…to a young couple buying their first place- she’s a teacher! {LOVE!} They fell in love with the house that we fell in love with just less than 2 years ago. Now we have started the search for our next home in North Carolina. We plan on renting for a while until we can decide where exactly we want to be long-term and can find our forever home!
In the mean time, we are busy getting ready for lots of visitors. My mom will be coming up in a few weeks to help me with the boys, packing, and planning Nolan’s first birthday. Our besties, Jill and Andy, are coming up for a visit soon after that. Then, our brother and sister-in-law and niece are coming for a weekend. Everyone thinks they are coming to sight see and visit, but secretly I’ve got long hours of packing boxes planned for them. HAHA!
In April we’ll be celebrating our sweet lil’ Bubba’s first birthday. Holy moly. What a year it’s been! Nolan is the best thing that has happened to us in our short time in Pennsylvania, and while we have made some amazing memories and life-long friends, he’ll always be the my favorite part of our stint in the Northeast. Best. Souvenir. Ever.
In addition to party planning, packing, and visitors, we plan on using the rest of our time in PA re-visiting some our favorite spots in Lititz, eating at our favorite local restaurants, and spending time with our friends. When we first moved to Lititz I took Brady to a free trial Gymboree class. Not only did we end up joining Gymboree and having an absolute blast in the classes, but more importantly, I met another mom who graciously invited me to be a part of her weekly playgroup. I’m forever grateful for that chance meeting that turned into my weekly outlet that connected me to other mommies and gave Brady his first real group of friends! We sincerely hope we will keep in touch with these wonderful families that have been such a support to us during our short time in Pennsylvania.
Brady’s little friends!
Wish us luck in this new venture. We know it’ll be a crazy couple of months to pick up everything and start all over again, but it feels so right! Our kids are still young, so if we are ever going to get the chance to start a new life and see a new part of the country, this is the time to take it!
Today we cooked up a healthy snack! Toddler world is consumed with constant demands for something…mostly snacks. Recently I’ve been in search for high fiber snacks for B to help with some of his tummy issues. I came across a recipe for Roasted Chick Peas and thought I’d tweak it and make it with Brady. These came out super crunchy and flavorful much like peanuts. Brady has always loved chick peas (garbanzo beans) whenever we get them at a salad bar so I knew he’d love these. Here’s how this super easy recipe came together.
Ingredients
1 can of garbanzo beans
1/4 teaspoon of:
seasoned salt
cumin
garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon of sugar
about 1/4 cup Olive oil to coat beans
We simply rinsed, drained, and dried the beans. Then we tossed them in olive oil and the seasonings. Brady spread the beans out on a pan and I roasted them at 425* for about 30-40 minutes (giving them a toss every 15 minutes or so.) They should be golden brown and slightly crunchy. If you want, you can also toss the warm chick peas in a little more salt and sugar for some extra flavor when they come out of the oven!
These little treats come out nice and nutty and are the perfect sweet and salty snack!
Today’s meal was less about my kid cooking, and more about my kids eating something new. I’ve made veggie lo mein quite a bit, but I added a little different flavor this time around. I’ve noticed that Nolan prefers his food with lots of flavor (who can blame him?) It seems as though the more spice or seasonings in a meal, the better for him. When I first gave him squash I was afraid he wouldn’t like it because I had cooked it with garlic and onions and then quickly realized he loved it WAY more than plain squash. So, today we made veggie lo mein with lots of garlic and ground ginger. It was so fun to see Nolan’s faces as he took bites with different textures and flavors! Here’s how this quick and easy meal came together…
Ingredients:
Onion
Garlic
Broccoli Slaw
Green and Yellow Squash
Mushrooms
Whole Wheat Spaghetti
2 tsp. Ground Ginger
2 Tbs. Soy Sauce
I sauteed all the veggies together in olive oil adding each one in order of what takes the longest to cook…(onions, squash, garlic, slaw, mushrooms.) Once the noodles were cooked I tossed them in with the veggies and continued to cook for a few more minutes, adding the ginger and soy sauce. SO easy! And way healthier than anything you could get from take-out!
I usually serve this meal with a veggie egg roll. “Chungs” brand is the best frozen egg roll ever!! It makes for a good scooper when you get to the bottom of the bowl.
My little guys are pretty adventurous eaters but don’t always eat their vegetables like I’d like them to, so this is an easy way to sneak a ton of veggies into what looks like a bowl of spaghetti!
February is always a quick month, but it feels like it’s really flying by this time around. Although I never like to wish time away, I’m certainly ready for Spring to hurry up and get here! There have been a ton of snow days this winter and it’s really made me (and my fellow Northerner mom friends) get creative with how we entertain our little ones. I must say, I totally underestimated how brutal winter can be up North. As Floridians we have a tendency to think we get it because we have our occasional cold day here and there, even getting frost on our windows every once in a while…but it’s a totally different thing when you have 4-5 months in a row where you must wear a jacket everywhere you go, have to put hats on little ones, and drag wet slushy snow into your house every single day. Even though I lived in Ohio until I was 9, the “up North” lifestyle is a whole different ball game as an adult, especially an adult with two kids!
Because sometimes cabin fever sets in and you just don’t know what else to do with your kid…
The world’s cutest little men!!!
Anywaaaaaays, we’ve embraced our chilly life this month and have had some really fun times! Despite the fact we’ve missed several days of pre-school because of the snow storms, we have managed to get out and have some fun play dates with our friends. A few days before Valentine’s Day we hosted a play group for our kiddos to exchange Valentine’s cards. Unfortunately cold and flu season kept some of the little ones from being able to come, but the other kids still had a good time eating snacks, playing with balloons, and chasing each other around the house.
Brady’s Mickey themed Valentine’s for his friends.
Some of our Valentine’s playdate treats- notice the little pretzel snatcher!
We got a bunch of snow the day before Valentine’s Day, so thankfully my smart hubby thought ahead and brought me a little Valentines snack (and flowers) earlier in the week…just in case we were snowed in and he couldn’t give me anything on the actual day. I know Valentine’s day is supposedly a made up Hallmark holiday, but I still love it! Flowers, candy, candles, cards…I’m a fan of all that stuff!
Pink Champagne and Raspberry Truffle. OMG.
In an effort to get a change of scenery, we tagged along with Chris for a 4 day trip to Buffalo, NY. He had to work, so me and the boys did a little sight-seeing on our own and just had some fun trying new restaurants and playing in the hotel pool. We were determined to see Niagara Falls and it did not disappoint! It was every bit as magnificent as I would have imagined even covered in snow and ice, but dang, was it cold! Side note…we told Brady we were taking him to a big waterfall. He was all excited until we got there and realized it was not what he had expected. Apparently he remembered the small waterfall in the bass tank at Bass Pro Shop and was super annoyed that Niagara wasn’t as cool. You just never know what a toddler is thinking!
Just love that Chris was rocking my super girly backpack in these pics!
We also made a point to go to BOTH of the famous wing spots in Buffalo- Duff’s and Anchor Bar. Anchor Bar claims to be the “Original” and definitely has a cooler atmosphere, but I gotta give Duff’s the award for best wings. They were SO DELICIOUS! And I’m sure Duff’s is so honored to have won the “Our Blessed Adventures Favorite Chicken Wing Contest.”
The boys and I also managed to make our way to the Aquarium of Niagara. It was terrible weather to drive in. Like, my mom and my husband would have had a heart attack if they’d have seen how icy and snowy the bridge was that I drove over! But, totally worth it because we saw a Sea Lion show! Still questioning my judgement on that one…
You know you’re desperate for a break from your normal day to day life when you’re willing to do a 6 hour road trip with two kids to Buffalo…in February! Buuuut, it was really fun and we came back feeling happy to be home and grateful for safe travels. I’ll leave you with a short video taken on our way back. The kids were surprisingly good (they slept a lot on the trip home) but when things got a little crazy I busted out the bubbles for entertainment (the Gymboree brand are the best!) I just love Nolan’s little giggles in this clip!
Who doesn’t like breakfast for dinner? I was trying to think of a way to mix up the normal breakfast for dinner routine and also keep it meatless for Meatless Monday PLUS have it be something Brady would enjoy helping me cook…Breakfast Pizza! It’s super simple and came out delish! (For the record, this would be great for a brunch and a meat version would be fantastic with crumbled bacon or sausage.)
Ingredients:
Refrigerated Pizza Dough
Scrambled Eggs (6-8 eggs)
2 cups of Shredded Mozzerella
About a half a container of Chive Cream Cheese
Chopped veggies to top
We started by squishing our dough out on a pan…Brady really enjoyed this part. I scrambled up my eggs while my pizza dough was “pre-baking” for about 5 minutes. I left the eggs just a little softer than I normally like them because they will firm up a bit in the oven. After the pizza crust was pre-baked I spread out some of the softened cream cheese for the “sauce.” I then spread out the scrambled eggs. Brady helped me put on the cheese and veggies on top of the eggs. I then baked the pizza at 400* for about 15 minutes (or until the crust looks golden brown.)
I loved how B and N were playing with fake produce as we waited for our Veggie Breakfast pizzas to bake!
It was hot, gooey, and tasty! We used Brady’s favorite veggies (tomatoes and green and red peppers) so he loved it and it was soft enough for Nolan to gobble up as well. Feel free to use any veggies you like if you give this recipe a try- onions and mushrooms would be yummy!
our blessed adventures 