Monday Manifest On Thursday

My Grocery Lists For This Week
Target:

• organic milk
• almond milk
• organic chicken broth
• nutella
• juice 
• applesauce
• soup carckers
• syrup
• nutella
• cake flour
• tin foil
• dish soap

Trader Joes:

• parmesan cheese
• bananas
• very berry cherry frozen berry mix
• frozen blueberries
• chicken sausage
• organic yogurt
• string cheese
• cereal
• valencia peanut butter with toasted flaxseed

Whole Foods:

• organic honeycrisp apples
• oranges
• lemon juice
• lime juice
• kale
• celery
• brussel sprouts 
• organic sweet potatoes
• bell peppers
• onions
• organic carrots
• organic boneless skinless chicken breast
• whole wheat pita bread
• organic cage free eggs
• organic butter
• ground flaxseed
• corn tortillas

boys + girls

Boys

Girls

I Heart Faces- Winter Wonderland

This week on I Heart Faces the theme is winter wonderland.  We had a "big" snow last week, so I bundled up the kids and headed outside at 7:45 am, we lasted until 8:00 am.  I did get this cute shot of my girl eating the snow.  

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Hash

Recently I was able to purchase a Le Creuset 7 1/4 quart dutch oven.  I think I am in LOVE,  within the first two weeks of I have used the pot six times.  The latest meal I made was so good and so easy.  I thought about making a hash type dish.  I was talking to my friend Cary about it and she said, "Silver Dollar City has the most amazing hash that they cook in a five foot long skillet and stir it with a paddle."  Then I asked Josh if he would eat hash, and he goes on to say, "Silver Dollar City has the most amazing hash that they cook in a five foot long skillet and stir it with an oar."  From there I googled Silver Dollar City hash, and found a recipe that sounded good.  The recipe I am posting on here is exactly what I used.  This is a great dish because you can take liberties with recipe, add more veggies use a different protein etc.  Taking photos this time of year in my kitchen is terrible, so I don't have many.  

Ingredients:   

• 1 large sweet potato
• 2 small white potatoes (I used yukon gold) 
• 2 green bell peppers
• 1 white onion
• 1 bunch of scallions
• 2 T olive oil
• smoked sausage (optional)
• spicy Italian sausage (optional)
• pepper to taste
• kosher salt to taste
• season salt to taste

1. Cut sweet potato, white potatoes, bell peppers, onion into cubes.  Try to cut them to as close as the same size as possible because this make everything cook at the same time.
2. Cut up sausage into bite size pieces.  Cook in a separate skillet and then set aside on a paper towel to soak up the grease.  
3. Heat dutch oven or  large skillet with 2 T of olive oil.  When oil is shimmering add veggies.  Stir them continuously and cook for about 20-25 minutes. 
4. If veggies begin to stick pour a little liquid in the pan.  Water, chicken broth, white wine, etc.
5. When veggies taste close to done mix in sausage.  Cook another 5-10 minutes.
6. Then mix in scallions and serve. 

Prepped veggies.

My beautiful dutch oven.

What was left after dinner.

I think I need to head to Silver Dollar City and pay homage to this great dish.

Red Ruby Swippers

I have to admit blogworld, I am feeling very out of the habit of blogging.  I feel like my a need to write some profound blog post with all the thoughts rolling around in my head as of late, but honestly I feel frozen.  

So to get back in the saddle I am going to show you Sonya as Dorothy.  

Sonya has been very into the Wizard of Oz.  I was a little hesitant to show her the movie because she gets scared very easily.  She hides her eyes at the parts where she is scared, and asks a lot of questions to make sure she understands what is going on.  There was one day where I was talking to her and did and she did entire mash up of Wizard of Oz and Star Wars.  She said the "Wica Wits of da Wist" and her "boys" would go with Darth Vader and the stormtroopers.  Then Dorothy, the Straw Guy, the Sliver Guy (her favorite because he is handsome), and the Lion would all ride in the Millennium Falcon.  I can't remember the rest of the story, but I was impressed on how she separated the characters into good and evil.  Anyway, for Christmas I got Sonya a pair of red ruby slippers from Target, and she loved them.

  She also received a blue and white checked dress from my aunt and uncle.  It is actually a really nice dress from a fancy children's boutique in Lake Forest IL, but it is not really my style of clothes for her.  The dress is also tad small, and the definitely won't fit in the spring when it is supposed to worn.  So it became a part of our dress up clothes, and she wears it when she watches Wizard of Oz. 

I asked her to pose, here is what she gave me.

Here is another pose.

  

I love how one second she can be so into movie to where you can't even get her attention,

and the next minute she is spinning in circles.

Here is a little face time.

Bare with me blogworld as I get back at it.

2011 To Do List

Sorry for the lack of posting blogworld, I am sure all five of you that read this blog have missed me like crazy.  Basically the holidays got crazy and I didn't take a ton photos because the light has been terrible inside our house.  If you read my blog on a regular basis, you know my photos generally do most of the talking.  Anyway life has slowed down a bit, so I will be back on a more regular basis.  

First things first, I know I am few days late but 

 rather than having New Year's Resolutions, I have chosen to have a 2011 To Do List. 

1. Establish a relationship with a primary care physician and get a full physical. 
2. Go to the dentist and get my teeth cleaned.  (I missed my appt in Oct. and never rescheduled.)
3. Go the dermatologist.  
4. Get my eyes checked.
5. Do 50 in 52.  More on this later.
6. Move my body more.  C2-5K
7. Be intentional with my kids, not just entertain them.
8. Make it the beach.
9. Get in front of the camera.

I am not a good goal setter, so I went with things that were very attainable.

I plan to keep you all posted the progress of this list.  

Here's to a great 2011.

I Heart Faces- The Face

This week on I Heart Faces the theme is "the face."  

I took this photo on Mother's Day last Spring. 

It is of my mother in law, grandmother in law, and sister in law.  

Since then Fae, my grandmother in law, has gone home to the Lord.  

I love that I was able to capture three generations of women in my husband's family.

Can you see the resemblance?

 Check out all of the other great entries by clicking the button above.