Easy as 1-2-3!

Homemade salsa is easy as it gets! And it is VERY cheap to make when you have an abundance of tomatoes, jalapenos, bell peppers and cilantro in your garden :) (Lucky me, huh?) Start by boiling the tomatoes for 15 seconds, then put them in an ice bath to stop the cooking, the skin should slide right off. While this is going on I heat up some oil in a pot and suttee some onion, garlic, bell pepper (green, red, yellow... whatever color you have will work) Let them cook until the onions are golden (if you use yellow onions). I add in lots of spices (or they have pre-made spice packages that are very yummy) and my diced tomatoes and let that all simmer together for about 20 minutes. Remove the pot from the heat and let it rest before storing in the fridge. You can either leave it chunky or toss it and a blender if you like a thinner salsa. So good and sooo easy!

Aren't these pictures even delish! Happy Friday!

Sunday Funday

This past Sunday we went to the Chiefs game with my family. We had gotten tickets through my mom's work, $25 a ticket (not bad at all!). So we trucked it out there around 10 got in a little tailgating and then headed in to watch the Chiefs kick the Jaguars butts!

Pictures of the fam :) Grace & Sammie + their 2 boys sat behind us. So I got to chat with the too!

Great Sunday! :)

Pumpkin Patch...

We went out to a pumpkin patch on Saturday.... let me tell you.... it was not everything we thought it would be. We were a little disappointed because none of these attractions were as grand as we had hoped. But hey, it was a perfect activity for a Saturday afternoon with our little man.

Me just being silly.... practicing just in case I ever have to milk a cow?

Aunt Bef being silly with her new friend :)

Aunt Bef and uncle Tev went with us!

The 3 of us being silly :)

My little man loves a good slide :)

Look at PJ's whole body sticking out the side.... he did not get the memo apparently.

Now don't get me wrong, we will for sure go to a pumpkin patch annually from now on, if i can convince PJ. But maybe we will try a new one each year. Plus when Brody hits 3 it will be game on for all this fun stuff! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend!

What's for dinner?

There is no better feeling then knowing fresh lettuce is right out your back door! I have decided lettuce is my new fall plant. I had seeds leftover from the spring that I sprinkled around in late August. Let me tell you the lettuce has taken off! It is a beautiful green, delicious and in plenty. We went and looked at houses after work so i knew that i would have to whip together a quick dinner when we got home. Fresh lettuce with a tuna salad atop, and a thinly sliced radish, also from my garden. Delicious, quick and healthy..... Yes please!

Fresh burpee lettuce from the garden!

Radishes, dirt still fresh from the garden :)

And the final product.... Delicious! Am I spoiled or what!? Happy dinning :)

Growing up....

I can not believe it.... my baby boy is almost 1. In 2 weeks and 1 day we will celebrate the day that Brody Michael Ragan was born. 5:02 PM 8 pounds 2 ounces, 21.5 inches long. Most undoubtedly the best day of my life.

This little baby boy is almost walking, he is talking, he gives "mooches" and hugs. No one prepares you for how fast it goes or the bittersweet taste of the first birthday. We are so blessed to have such a wonderful, healthy, happy baby boy! But wait, hes not a baby anymore!

He is our little man now! On a lighter note we have picked out a theme for the party, invitations are going in the mail today, the cake is ordered. Now all we have to do is make sure we get 2 good naps in that day so the birthday boy is in good spirits!

Favorite Day

I LOVE Saturdays! Literally my favorite day. I always make turkey bacon, eggs and toast for breakfast. I always clean the house while bubs takes his morning nap. I usually spend an hour in the kitchen while he is napping as well. This morning I made salsa from tomatoes and jalapenos from my dads garden. (WAY spicy!) Doing some laundry while Bubs takes his second nap. We had leftover homemade potato soup for lunch (PJ's recipe) SO GOOD! And now I am watching the top chef just desserts from this past Wednesday. Do you notice a theme of food here? lol I am thinking about trying this mini chocolate chip cookies recipe from Two Peas and Their Pod. We are just having an at home family day :) Grilling some chicken for dinner tonight and of course.... The Ohio State game at 7 this evening. What do you have going for your Saturday?

What's for dinner?

In the past few months I have had such a great time experimenting with new recipes. I have been so busy though, so I have not able to post any pics of them during the process but here are a few of the new ones I have tried.

Vegetable curry adapted from The Way The Cookie Crumbles - cauliflower, chickpeas, carrots,onion & tomato (served with pan-seared pork chop) This is one of my new favorite recipes. The day after I blended up the leftover veggie curry mixed in some sauteed chicken and served over rice. PJ even liked it! :)

Taco Pie adapted from Simple Daily Recipes -I added a lot of extra cumin, hot sauce and ground red pepper

Chicken Parmesan from Me - Super easy and delish! I used an old baguette to make the breading for the chicken. No food waste in this house!

Coconut Lime Cheesecake from Our Best Bites. Forgot the toasted coconut to top the cheesecake, but this one is def a keeper!

Homemade pizza with thin crust from Brown Eyed Baker (my favorite crust recipe so far!)

Chicken Alfredo Pasta from allrecipes.com (so rich but so good!)

Broccoli cheddar soup adapted from Annie's Eats. This was one of my best soups so far! I added a few potatoes for PJ, it was GREAT! I totally recommend this one :)

I have had a lot of fun playing with recipes lately! Hopefully I will get my homemade spaghetti sauce up soon! Have some fun in you kitchen this weekend.

Busy Bee

I feel like I have been extremely busy as of late! There are several new things going on in life right now. First, I have been given more "duties" at work which is keeping me MUCH busier throughout the day! Second, we are in the process of getting our application in for a house loan! (we are waiting on one more thing to come through before we can submit all of our paperwork) Which leads me to third, look for houses! We are on a tight budget but want a specific area, waldo/brookside of course! So this makes it a little daunting. We looked at a 5 houses last night, most of which needed some TLC, cosmetic only.(PJ and I are not contractors here) And Fourth, just the every week activities we have going on! Tuesday with Grace, Wednesday Beth and I made dinner for mom's cast (she is directing the musical), Last night we looked at houses and here we are at Friday! Man life goes fast. Not to mention my son is a little less then 3 weeks away from turning one! And I have not even sent out the invitations yet!!! I seriously have a lot of catch up to play this weekend :) So that's been my week in a nutshell. Hopefully I will have more time to get on and post this weekend. I have a bunch of recipe pics I want to share so stay tuned! :)

Menu Planning....

So most of the blogs I follow these days have a post designated to a menu plan for the week. While I think it is great in theory, for me it would never get fully executed for the whole week. I like to play it a little by ear, but have a general idea of what I will be making for the week. So I decided that maybe I would do a drafted menu plan for the week. To be honest before I fall asleep Sunday night I like to recap what I purchased at the grocery store and what I already have to start coming up with. I take inspiration and recipes from many of the food blogs I read :) I follow the recipes loosely using what I have in the house. Obviously I don't make anything too fancy, just good family cooking :) So here it is! Or at least what I think it will be :)

Monday Night - Pork Chops with asparagus
Tuesday Night - Chicken Cauliflower Curry - Last time I used this recipe for Veggie Curry. I used up the leftover veggie curry (blended it into a thick sauce) added that to some quick cooked chicken and it was DELISH!
Wednesday Night - Possible ladies night with a few gals from work? If not homemade pepperoni pizza.
Thursday Night - Sauteed Shrimp & Asparagus with pasta
Friday - Turkey Burgers with home fries.

Great Day

Today was such a wonderful day! In fact I would say it was the best day I have had in the past few weeks. I worked this morning, until 11. Our daycare provider had doctors appointments this afternoon so I picked up the Bubs around 11:30. We got home and played for about 30 minutes and then it was time for a bottle and nap 2 of the day for the Bubs. He slept until about 2. While he slept I made a recipe I had wanted to try for a long time, Spaghetti sauce from homegrown tomatoes! I have always wanted to try this but never really found the time I guess. There will be a post on this soon! When the bubs woke up he was a little clingy so we cuddled for about 30 minuets, until he was ready to start playing with his toys. PJ got home around 3:20 and we have all been just hanging out at home for the evening. Me and Brods made a quick run to the store. He got comfy in his usual seat, the little seat near the handle of the cart.... but that was not going to work this time. About 30 seconds in he started whaling. So of course I gave in and took him out. Well he wanted to push the cart so somehow I held him while he pushed the cart. I had to hold him on one hip, while he clung to the handle with the his kung fu grip. I am not kidding you this child is strong, and so determined (I wonder where he gets that from, ughhum :). If I were to have tried to remove his hands from that cart, first of all it would have taken me a good 30 seconds to pry his little hands off and second, I would have not heard the end of it... Literally he would have cried the entire way.... So yes, Brody -1 , Mommy -0... I need to work on this :)

Came home made spaghetti squash to go with the sauce and also made garlic knots (Annie's Eats). Brody ate dinner & and PJ bathed him while I wrapped up dinner.

We ate, it was SOOOO good, and here I am with a full tummy and a big smile :) I hope your Thursday was as wonderful as ours!

Hard Work

So we all know the perfect story tale romance.... Things do not happen like that! lol I mean in the beginning its all butterflies, kisses, sweet grins etc.... and it was like that. But then comes the hard work. Don't get me wrong, I love my man, but its not always easy.
I think we hit our first bump in the road, we changed the flat and then started down our path again.... yes I am comparing my relationship to tires :) I don't really know what else to say... life's not always easy or fun, but I know at the end of it I will be able to look at PJ and know how blessed I am. Our relationship grows stronger every day. Some days are great and beautiful, and some days are overcast and dreary. I know at the end of each and everyday I lay my head next to my partner in life and my best friend.
I guess, when reflecting on my blog I realized 99% of the time I write about all the good stuff and the fun stuff. Well here is that 1% and look at us, we made it through. I am very blessed to have such a wonderful little fam :)

Game day

Its Saturday which means there will be football on all day in this house! We are having a few friends over to enjoy the Saturday :) Lots of food to be made! Ribs, roast on the smoker, cream cheese corn dip, pasta salad and homemade fries.... don't mind if I do! Oh and I can not forget to mention how much I am loving this perfect fall weather! Go Bucks!!!