meatloaf

Meat Loaf
1 pounds ground beef
1 pound ground pork
1 c. fresh Italian style bread crumbs
1/4 cup fresh parsley, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, finely minced
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 large green bell pepper, chopped
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon kosher salt (or less, to taste)
1/2 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 8 oz can tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
3 tbsp. Balsamic vinegar
3 tbsp. brown sugar
2 tbsp. Dijon mustard
2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1/4 c. Parmesan, grated (optional)
In a small bowl, combine tomato sauce, ketchup, Balsamic vinegar, brown sugar, Dijon mustard, Worcestershire sauce
In a large bowl, combine beef, bread crumbs, onions, green bell pepper, parsley, chopped garlic, egg, seasonings, 3/4 cup of tomato mixture, and optionally, Parmesan cheese.
Form into loaf. Place into shallow 7 by 10 in. pan or bread loaf tin, lightly oiled. Pour remaining liquid over meat loaf to coat.
Bake in a 350°F oven for one hour and 15 minutes, basting occasionally with ketchup or your favorite barbecue sauce.
This recipe made 3 loafs, so I froze one pan of the raw mixture to use later, if the mixture seems to liquidly, you can add oats or more bread crumbs.
Serve with potatoes and a salad.

Dinner 4

BACON AND CHEESE QUICHE
HOME FRIED POTATOES
Bacon and Cheese Quiche Ingredients:


1 9-inch pie crust, unbaked
1 Tablespoon butter
6 bacon slices, crumbled
1/2 pound sausage cooked and crumbled.
1 bag Italian blend shredded cheese (or mozzarella cheese)
4 eggs
2 cup heavy cream
¾ teaspoon salt
(I only had a 1 cup of heavy cream so to make up the other cup I mixed 1/3 cup melted butter with 3/4 cup milk)
Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 425 degrees F. Spread crust into pie plate or quiche plate. I used my 8x8 pyrex pan
2. Spread crust with butter. Sprinkle bacon, sausage and cheese on crust.
3. Beat eggs with rest of ingredients. Pour into crust.
4. Bake 15 minutes. Turn down to 325 degrees and bake 40 more min. Let stand 10 minutes.
(after reading online i should have put a tin foil "crown" around edges of crust so that way they wouldn't toast or burn)

Home Fried Potatoes Ingredients:


4 red potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 onion, chopped
1 green bell pepper, seeded and chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon salt
¾ teaspoon paprika
¼ teaspoon ground black pepper
¼ cup chopped fresh parsley
Directions:

1. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium high heat.
2. Add onion and green pepper. Cook, stirring often, until soft (about 5 minutes).
3. Transfer to a plate and set aside.
4. Pour remaining 2 tablespoons of oil into the skillet and turn heat to medium-high.
5. Add potato slices salt, paprika and black pepper. I also had a Cajun seasoning so I added a little for some heat.
6. Cook, stirring occasionally, until potatoes are browned.
7. Stir in the onions, green peppers and parsley and cook for another minute.

Benjamin

He is my handsome boy, sitting in the bumbo eating a banana out of the masher thing.

Dinner 3

 PIZZA

Ingredients:

1 lb. ground sausage
1 jar pizza sauce
1 tubes refrigerator pizza crust
1 ½ cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
Pepperoni slices
1 small can pre sliced olives with jalapeños 

Directions:

1. Brown the sausage in a skillet and drain.
2. Stir pizza sauce into browned hamburger and simmer until heated through.
3. Roll out pizza dough on a cookie sheet, Top with toppings
4. Bake 425 for 10 minutes

we also had another green salad to go with the dinner, I saved some of the cooked sausage to go in another meal, feel free to add or remove what ever toppings you like.

play group

So I joined on online play group, with stay at home mom with kids about my kids age, we first meet at chick fil-a for breakfast then we went to Barnes and noble for a reading group. They also organized a play group to meet at the children's museum, so the kids and I went, I didn't recognize any one so i hung out whit the kids, i tried talking to some ladies with there kids, but that failed miserably, plus they pissed me off once Abby handed a lady a toy to give to her crying baby and the lady tosses it behind her, grrr

I was only able to catch a few shots, they did really good we were there for about 3 hours. 

until nap time hit her hard, I have no idea why she was crying she was just standing there then wham the ugly cry came out.

Dinner 2

HONEY PECAN PORK CHOPS

BAKED SWEET POTATOES

Feta and tomato salad.

Honey Pecan Pork Chops:

1 ¼ pounds boneless pork loin, pounded thin

½ cup all-purpose flour for coating

salt and pepper to taste

2 Tablespoons butter

¼ cup honey

¼ cup chopped pecans

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish, mix together flour, salt and pepper. Dredge pork cutlets in the flour mixture.

2. In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chops, and brown both sides. Transfer to a warm plate.

3. I used a can of sweet potatoes dump into sauce pan add butter brown sugar and the 1/4 cup nuts, heat to boiling.

4. Mix honey and pecans into the pan drippings. Heat through, stirring constantly.

5. Pour sauce over cutlets. Serve with sweet potatoes and salad

super easy and very good!

cookies

Today the kids and I went to the base library they had a reading time form 9:30 to 10:00. we sang some songs and read a really cute book http://www.amazon.com/Mommy-Do-You-Love-Me/dp/0763634700

Abby was shy and didn't really participate but she smiled the whole time, but when we sung wheels on the bus she knew that song and the actions so she was excited!

After that we all went to a play group in this sound proof kid room filled with toys, dress up and books. it was from 10-11. Ben was super tired and fussy but soon the other little girls noticed him it would ham it up and smile and coo and hide.

We got home and laid Ben down, Abby was just sitting with her toys not doing anything but zoning i think all these play groups have worn her out, i was able to lay her down at 11:30 and she napped all the way till 2:00. I went in my room and read my new book I cant put down http://www.amazon.com/Safe-Haven-Nicholas-Sparks/dp/044654759X i even fell asleep it was heaven! 

After nap we all got up and Abby and I made some sugar cookies, I love cooking with her and she loves it too, I hope this is a child hood memory she always remembers is us in the kitchen making things.

Here are some pictures of her and I making cookies.