A Day with Andrew…

 

Hello everyone!  It’s been a week since my last post and I apologize.  Life has been pretty busy that’s it hard to post regularly.  I’m here now and I’m ready to share some awesome stuff!

This weekend my husband, Wayne announces to me that he thinks we need an upgrade with our cellphones.  I’ve been using the same cellphone for awhile.  The only thing my phone can do is be a regular phone and take pictures.  I don’t have texting, internet, or anything.  Just a simple cellphone.

See…it’s not so bad.  Whenever I need to call someone, it is very reliable.  I haven’t complained about it and it looks pretty.  Well, now I have to say goodbye to my cellphone because Wayne went out and got me a Blackberry Curve…

Wayne told me I can be a part of the fast growing technology of cellphones/Blackberry, whatever.  He told me that I can check my emails, use the internet, go on Facebook, take pictures, etc.  He was more excited for me than I was for myself!  lol  He quickly took a hold of my Blackberry and programed everything that I need.  I’ve always wondered what the big deal about Blackberry was.  I would watch all those cellphone commercials and not get what the commercial is selling.  Wayne told me that people at his work call Blackberry “Crackberry” because it is very addicting!  After a couple of days of having it, I can see why!  I’m constantly checking my emails because every time I get an email, the red light in the corner flashes on and off.  I can be anywhere in the house and I can quickly go on Facebook without my laptop.  Blackberry is very convenient and handy!  I don’t know if that’s a good thing or not, but right now I’m enjoying using it!

 

So, today was a day that all the kids were in school and I only had Andrew with me.  Andrew and I decided to make chocolate chip banana muffins from Canadian Living.  http://www.canadianliving.com/food/banana_chocolate_chip_muffins.php

Andrew’s first job was to line the muffin tray with baking cups.

 

He only filled half of the trays because he was too excited to start baking. 

Here’s Andrew pouring the flour into the bowl.  While I was taking his picture, I was telling him to pour it very slow into the bowl.

Next ingredient is brown sugar…

After the brown sugar, we added the baking powder, baking soda, and salt.  Here’s Andrew slowly stirring the ingredients together.

The last time Andrew tried helping me with baking, he made a big mess stirring dry ingredients.  Half of the mixture went onto the floor because he was trying to be a big boy and stir quickly.  This time he stirred very slow and he held onto the bowl as he was stirring.  Good boy!!!

Next was mashing the bananas.  For some reason, Andrew didn’t want to mash the bananas and he made me do it.  He took the masher from me when he seen I pretty much had the bananas mashed.

Next was all the wet ingredients…

Andrew again…stirring very slowwwwllllyyy….

Then combine wet and dry ingredients…

Finally Andrew’s most favourite part of baking…the chocolate chips!!!

Of course, Andrew didn’t pour all the chocolate chips and he left some in the cup because some were for him to eat!

After Andrew had his “share” of chocolate chips, he finished filling the muffin tray with baking cups.

And here is Andrew’s hard work…

I apologize for the lighting, my camera needs a serious upgrade!  Probably more than my cellphone lol!

I just have to share my baby’s first preschool pictures.  Yesterday, Andrew came home with his school pictures and it is definitely unique.

The day Andrew had his pictures taken, he was not in a good mood!  He cried when it was his turn to take his picture.  As you can see his face is all red and blotchy.  Awww…my poor poor baby!

 

Today I was rummaging through my closet when I stumbled upon a Pampered Chef 13 inch round baking stone.  The baking stone was given to my husband and I on our wedding day, eleven years ago!  I cannot believe I have let it sit in our closet for that long.  In fact, I tried selling it at a garage sale for $5!  No takers!

I decided to use my baking stone and make pizzas!

I used the baking stone to make a veggie pizza complete with mushrooms, peppers, tomatoes, red onion, cilantro, and garlic.

I also made a cheese pizza because that’s all the boys will eat!

Doesn’t that look awesome!

My veggie pizza was so good that I had three pieces and it was worth every bite!

Anyways, that’s all I have for now.  I’ll catch you later!

Sunday Supper...

Today is Sunday and that means that it is our turn to have everyone over for some family time with a meal.  Every weekend on the Winter side, someone takes a turn to cook a meal for the whole family.  I enjoy getting together with the family because it's an opportunity for me to have adult conversations, the kids get to play with their cousins, and just enjoy each other's company.

So, this post will be about what I served for the Winter family.  I started Saturday night and ended meal preparations by Sunday afternoon.  Anyone who cooks a meal for a large family knows that it takes a lot of time and planning.  Nothing is done for you.  My husband cannot understand why it takes me so long to get a meal going, but I like to do more than just cook a meal.  I plan for appetitizers, salads, the meal itself, and dessert.  Also, while I'm getting the meal ready, I'm also cleaning up after my husband and kids.  It takes a lot of time!

Anyways, here is what I served for Sunday's meal.   For appetitizer, I decided to make a Spinach Dip.  I love Spinach Dip because it's colorful, tasty, and it is great with anything!

Spinach Dip Recipe:

1 cup of sour cream

1 cup of whipped salad dressing (Miracle Whip)

1 package of thawed frozen cut spinach

3 green onions cut

1 package of Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix

Pumpernickel Bread

Squeeze excess water from spinach and place in a large bowl.  Add sour cream, salad dressing, green onions, and Knorr's Vegetable Soup Mix.  Blend everything together and place in fridge overnight.

Cut a large circle on the top of the pumpernickel bread and scoop out the insides and place around the bread.  Once the bread is hollowed, pour the spinach dip inside the bread bowl.  Add any veggies or crackers to the dip and serve!

I decided to make two salads with supper.  A garden salad and a Black Bean and Corn Salad.  I'm loving black bean and corn salad.  Unfortunately, I was the only person that ate it.  Actually I think my inlaws had some.  I think a successful dish is when people come back for seconds.  No one came back for seconds of the Black Bean and Corn Salad.  Oh well, their loss because that means more for me!

Black Bean and Corn Salad:

1 can of black beans (washed and drained)

1 can of corn (washed and drained)

1 small red onion chopped

2 tbsp of chopped cilantro

1 tbsp of cumin

2 tbsp of olive oil

juice of a lime

Combine all ingrediants in a bowl.  Mix and refridgerate for an hour before serving.





Now that I have the appy and the salads, you're probably thinking what did I make to go along with the wonderous foods!  Well in my previous posts, I mentioned that we purchased a side of beef.   The side of beef that we got had a lot of roasts (sirloin, round, rump, etc.)  Last night was the first night that I made a roast from the side of beef.  I pulled out a round roast from our freezer.  Popped it in oven at 275 degrees and cooked it for seven hours.  I usually add a pouch of Lipton Onion Soup Mix and mushrooms to the roast.  It makes a fabulous gravy!

When we were at Costco the other day, I seen a brownie mix on sale.  Costco has had this mix for awhile and I always eyed it and wondered if it was any good.  Well, the mix was on sale when we went and I picked it up.

It was a pretty easy mix.  All I had to do was add water, cooking oil and a couple of eggs.  Mix it and put it in the oven for fifty minutes.

Here's the finished product:

The brownies turned out pretty good!  It was moist  and chocolatety.  Everyone got a thick piece with vanilla ice cream.  I was going to take more pictures of my Sunday meal and have a better presentation, but I was timid doing it in front of the family.  They were giving me weird looks when I was taking my camera and postioning my food.  I quickly put a stop to it because I don't want to be looked at as the black sheep of the family!  LOL 

Anyways, that's it for now.  I have children to tend to and it's almost their bedtime which means "mommy time" in front of the tv...









Sinfully bad things...

Hello everyone!  Now that we've had our third blast of snow storms in three weeks and the temperatures are now below zero with snow everywhere...winter is officially here to stay.  I'm not taking to the cold weather that well.  For some reason the last few days have been unbearable and I'm already dreading the next few months of winter.  In fact, I am predicting that this winter will be a long one.  I bet we won't see anything green until May! 

Even though I haven't really been enjoying the bitterly cold weather, my children have been keeping themselves happy and occupied.

I'm not too sure what Andrew is doing in these pictures.  He took two highlighters and put them together.  I think he's using them as a hockey stick!  I don't know if you can see, but the tv has a hockey game on and I'm pretty sure he's pretending to play hockey.  This year he's in Learn to Play Hockey and he's having a blast!  I'm so proud of my baby because he just learned to stand on skates this past summer and now he's actually gliding on the ice.  Next practice, I'm hoping to get some pictures of the kids at their hockey practices and games.

My mother in law has been busy going through her Christmas decorations.  She's decided to give away some of her Christmas decor because she doesn't plan to put much of it up anymore.  One of the things she gave me was a Mr. and Mrs. Claus that moves around and has glowing candle.  The kids love it and will sit and watch Mr. and Mrs. Claus for hours.

I wish I took better pictures of the Mr. and Mrs.  I didn't really give them a good spot.  The kids wanted to have them out and I needed time to decide where Mr. and Mrs. should be.  I was pressured to put them somewhere so I put them by the tv!  Not a really good place, but I shall find them a better home sometime this week!  I promise!

Well, we all know that cold weather means warm things!  One of our favourite warm thing to have during the cold winter months is having hot chocolate! 

Again, excuse the picture!  I wanted to take a good picture of the hot chocolate with marshmallows, but Daniel attacked the cup while I was getting my camera.  He couldn't wait and wanted his hot chocolate right away.  You would think that a ten year old would have more patience than his little brothers, but obviously not! 

Despite the cold weather, we ventured into town today to go to Costco!  Saturdays, bitter cold weather, and Christmas shopping at Costco is not my most favourite thing to do!  I absolutely hate shopping at Costco on Saturdays especially in the cold with Christmas right around the corner.  Costco on the weekends is nuts and crazy and people are just RUDE!  My brother hates it and feels that Costco treats people like a herd of cattle! lol  I have to agree, but you can't ignore the many wonderful items and sample areas that Costco provides.   While we were at Costco, I found my most beloved treat!  Costco only sells this item during the holidays and as soon as I saw it, I immediately grabbed it!

Behold the most glorious treat ever!

SINBAD'S Baklava...."Sin" and "Bad" together makes really good baklava!  I'm in heaven....I these delightful syrupy pastries!  Once I have a bite of these wonderful morsals, all my worries just floats away...to heaven...

I'm just going to post the many pictures I took of the baklava and show you why I love these things!

And here's the piece that I just had to eat...

I love Baklava!   I just wish it wasn't so fattening!  lol  Oh well, this kind of stuff happens once a year and I'm planning to enjoy every bite! 

Anyways, that's all I have for now.  We're taking the kids to see the 3 D movie "Megamind" or "Mastermind".  I can't remember what's it called.  All I know it's another Dreamworks movie, so you know it will be a good one!  See you later...