Texas Enchilladas

Texas Enchiladas are a super simple, down home, savory southwest treat, that is always a hit in our house. The origins, Who knows, it's one of those so and so's cousin's cousin, twice removed, 2nd wife's, grandmothers, brother.... kinda recipes. All I know is that this is one of those dishes from Michael's childhood that is comfort to his heart. This is what he chose for his birthday dinner.


Texas Enchiladas:

20-25 tortillas Corn or Flour
2 cans Chili
2 Cups Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Step one: Minimal Ingredients.

Place 1/8c. of chili down middle of Tortilla, sprinkle with shredded cheese

(if you are using corn tortillas, make sure to soften then in a little warm oil to prevent cracking)
Place in a greased 9x13, seam side down
(you will regret it if you forget to spray the pan, it will take you more time to clean the pan than it did to make the enchiladas)

Pour any remaining chili down the middle and sprinkle top with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes.. Chili will be bubbly and Cheese will be melted.

Top with sour cream, guacamole, or your favorite salsa.

Yep, that's it... hey I never claimed to be a gourmet cook. I know I could add some fresh ingredients, spend a little more time, adding this and that. But it is YUMMY just the way it is!!!

Menu Plan Monday.

Monday: Michael's Birthday!!!

B: Monkey Bread

L: Turkey Dogs, Chips, Apples

Dinner: Texas Enchiladas, Beans & Rice (recipe and pics later tonight)

Tuesday:

B:Cereal

L: PB&J or leftovers, fruit, popcorn

D: Mom's night out, Boys are on their own (which probably means cereal)

Wednesday - Awana's

B:Yogurt

L:Cheese Quesadillas, beans, small salad

D: Peach Chicken, Grilled Peaches, and Spinach strawberry salad

Thursday:

B:Yogurt & Granola

L:Ham & Cheese, Pretzels, and Veggie Dippers

D: Herb Grilled Chicken, ratatouille, Salad

Friday: Pizza Movie Night

B:Eggs & Toast

L:Grilled Chicken Salad(using LO Chicken), Crackers

D:Pizza Log, fruit salad, Popcorn

Saturday: Church Night!

B: Breakfast Bake

L:Ham & Cheese, Fruit salad, chips

D:Turkey Loaf, Beans, Salad

Sunday: AT SCHLITTERBAHN WHOOHOO!!!

B: Granola Bars in the car

L:Chicken Nuggets, canned fruit, crackers, cookies

D: Out!

Monday:Labor Day (Posting in advance b/c I'll be taking that day off too :)

B: More Monkey Bread

L:Hot dogs, Mac n cheese, fruit

D: Chicken Kabobs, Watermelon, homemade cookies

A little of this, a pinch of that, and topped with an extra helping of Memories.

Not long ago my cousin and I were chatting and she mentioned Grandma's Spaghetti and meat meat. Oh my, just the mention of that made me smile and made my mouth water! Every summer my cousins would come in a stay at my grandparents house for a week or so and we lived next door, which meant I stayed at grandmas house too. And every summer Grandma would make her wonderful, delicious, spaghetti!!! I have thought about that so many times but would have never attempted to make her spaghetti myself; I knew it would be too much preparation, all day in the kitchen, and I could never taste like Grandma's. She had magical pots and pans. But for whatever the reason, that conversation inspired me to make GRANDMA'S MAGICAL SPAGHETTI AND MEAT. The next morning I called her up, and with a slight bit of hesitancy asked her for the recipe. She giggled at me and rattled of 5 ingredients. 5 INGREDIENTS. Of course, I rushed to the grocery store and made it that very night. And low and behold it did taste like Grandma's!! My husband loves it, my kids love it, but I think I love it more. Nothing can top summers at Grandma's kitchen table with two of my sweetest cousins and our grandparents, laughing at our mud pies and fun in the pool; and eating Spaghetti and meat with cornbread on the side. Or Cornbread with spaghetti and meat on top if you are my Grandad!
I'm sure you will read this recipe and maybe even try it, but I know you will never appreciate this meal as I do. It is comfort to my soul! Thank you Grandma for making my childhood and my boys childhood so special!


Grandma's Spaghetti and Meat (exactly as she wrote it on a recipe card for me)

1 1/2 c. Small Elbow Macaroni
1/2 lb Hamburger meat
1/2 tsp. Salt
1 tsp Sugar
1 46oz can of tomato juice

Cook Macaroni in enough water to be loose. While it's cooking brown meat loose or in small balls. Drain off water on macaroni and add tomato juice, meat, salt & sugar. Heat to a boil. Very good with Cornbread or butter and crackers.

Please share some of your Comfort food and the reason it is so special to you!

Happy Birthday B!!

Well as of yesterday my baby is officially 2 years old!!!! I can't even believe it! We had a wonderful day of Honoring our Birthday boy!

Brennan, you bring so much life into our home. There is never a boring moment with you around:) We are so blessed that God chose us to be your parents. Brennan, we love you so much!!! ~Mommy and Daddy

Sweet Brennan and his "Melmo Cake" it's lopsided, the icing is crazy and yes there are areas that have no icing at all... However Brennan was elated !! I love the shear joy of birthdays, washes away all concerns of the appearence of the cake. :) Sweet B with his sweet treat! I know in these pictures that it may appear that Brennan is not as joyful as before, however that assuption would be the wrong. Everytime he sees the "red eye reduction" light come on he gives this cheese look. I guess it his BIGGEST smile. haha... Michael and I were rolling at him yesterday which didn't help... but it was so funny. Below: All my boys! Arent they handsome!!Apparently Cade had been coaching Brennan in his best Picture smile... Brennan and his loot!!! He loved the pots and pans, which is no surprise. He is my biggest helper in the kitchen, and I use the term helper, very loosely, but I love it just the same!! :) But today he has not let the red bear at the bottom of the pic out of his sight. It is called a Sing a ma jig, and if you havn't seen one you must! They are halarious, and Brennan loves his new bear!

Fall is in the air... Wait no it's not!

Recently so many things around me have just not felt quite right... and today it hit me what was wrong... It's still summer, and I'm ready to gear up for fall. I'm ready for big crisp apples, warm pumpkin pie, squash bisque (recipe coming soon), and cooler days(even if it is only like 5 degrees). But most of all.. I'm ready for school supplies, and more fun days with the brothers. Which brings me to the next chapter of our life... William is starting Kindergarten this year!

We have officially decided that we are going to be homeschooling! I am excited to start school, but since we have the luxury of starting when we please, we are going to enjoy the rest of our summer, and start the very end of August. Pictures of our curriculum and school room are coming soon, there are still a few things to finish up. And just so you know... I love school supplies, so you might even get some more pictures of markers, spirals, and freshly sharpened pencils. Simply because I'm a nerd!

Hope you all have a great start of school, I know it's coming up entirely to fast! May God watch after everyone on this upcoming school year and I pray we will all go into the world and be beacons of light for Christ!

William's ABC's

One of the most rewarding things for me as a mother is to watch my children learn and see the wonder of their little minds at work. Today, William's camera got new batteries today and he needed a photography assignment so I asked him to take a picture of something in our house for each letter of the alphabet and come up with a sentence using each word. So while the younger two slept he took pictures of ABC's in our house. All ABC pics and sentences are William originals. Enjoy!

A is for "Apples are healthy."

B is for Baby "Babies are so sweet and so silly"

C is for car "Cars are for getting places faster"



D is for duck "Ducks are very noisy animals. Except for these ducks; they are police"

E is for elephant "Elephants are very strong animals. They can hold a tree with their trunk. They are very good animals."
F is for farm "Farms are where farmers work, they make food from animals. They plant corn and all kinds of stuff. They make milk with their cows so you can eat more cereal all the time."

G is for G-man "G-man is a superhero who is learning to fly" H is for Heman "Heman is very strong, but he can't fly. He is a superhero and I took and picture of him. This is my daddy's Heman, but now it is mine, because he is a daddy now. "

I is for Indian "Indians are wild people. They hunt animals. They are very nice people. They live in the forest, very far away from Corpus Christi."

J is for Jumping Jacks "Jumping Jacks can keep you very healthy. They are very fun stuff."

K is for Koala Bear "Brennan painted this Koala Bear. Koala bears live in Australia. They are very good climbers."

L is for leg "Legs are for running, they are very useful."

M if for Mommy "Mommy is very nice. She cleans the floor."

N is for Nap "Naps keep you running faster and faster."

O is for Octopus "Octopuses live in the sea. They are very very dangerous."

P is for popcorn "Popcorn is salty and good."

R is for run "Running is very healthy."

S is for Snake "Snakes are reptiles. God made reptiles."

T is for Top (of our house) "This top is called a roof. Roofs keep you dry when it is raining at your house. It also helps keep your toys not wet. Very helpful, huh?"

U is for Umbrella "Umbrellas keep you dry from the rain."

V is for Verse "Verses are in the Bible. They are very important things. Verses teach us about God."

W is for William "I am a crazy nut about video games."

X is for Xray, but the picture got deleted... oops.




Y is for Yoda "Yoda is from star wars. He is very fast and he can kill droids. He has a light saber and the force."

Z is for zipper "Zippers are on pants and shorts. They help you from other people from seeing your underwear."

Bakin' my Bacon

We love bacon!! I don't even care that it isn't healthy for me... I think you can add bacon to almost any dish and make it better! But I'm sure we can all agree the worst thing about bacon is the greasy mess you have all over you kitchen when you fry it. Well, it doesn't have to be that way... Many of you have probably already been doing this, but my new favorite way to cook bacon is in the oven! That's right, just Bake your Bacon!

A 400 degree oven(no preheat necessary), foil lined baking sheet, and 20minutes... makes for a perfect slice of bacon. Without any splattering, grease burns, or standing over the stove... How can you not love it!

Tips: You can overlap the bacon slightly when laying it out. When the edges of bacon are a deep golden brown your bacon is done. Approximately 20min. but as you experiment with it you can adjust the time to your bacon preferences. Before you bake your bacon you can also sprinkle brown sugar over the top for extra yummy sweetness, or dredge in flour or cornmeal for a crispy battered taste.

Happy Bakin' :)