What's Cooking Wednesday - Cheeseburger Pasta

I am ALWAYS looking for new family friendly recipes. Between Evan, Will and Nicole there are always "picky eater" discussions going on at our table. One of my favorite blogs to read for family friendly recipes is Sweetnicks. She posted this recipe last week & I knew we had to try it. I totally forgot to take a picture but you can mosey over to her blog to check out the great picture she took of it (and look around at the tons of other recipes she has there too!).

Family-Friendly Cheeseburger Pasta
from Sweetnicks (originally from Taste of Home's Healthy Cooking Magazine)

Note - The version at Sweetnicks feeds 4. It seemed to small for our family of 4 1/2 so I doubled it. The amounts below are "doubled" b/c that's how I made it.

3 cups uncooked whole wheat penne pasta (I used Catelli Smart instead of whole wheat)
1 - 1 1/2 lbs lean ground beef
1/4 cup finely chopped onions
1 28oz can of diced tomatoes
4 Tbsp dill pickle relish
4 Tbsp prepared mustard (I used dijon)
4 Tbsp ketchup
2 tsp steak seasoning
1/2 tsp seasoning salt
1 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese (orig recipe calls for reduced fat but I didn't have it)

Cook pasta according to the package direction. While it's cooking, brown ground beef and onions in a large skillet until the meat is no longer pink. Drain well. Drain pasta & add it to the meat mixture.

Add the tomatoes, relish, mustard, ketchup, steak seasoning and seasoning salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

Sprinkle with cheese. Remove from heat, cover and let stand until cheese melts. Serve.

Recipe Notes: This REALLY tastes like a cheeseburger. The mustard and the pickle relish are KEY to this taste so don't leave them out. Everyone gave it two thumbs up except Evan. He changed his mind, though, because he ate two helpings of leftovers tonight. Go figure!

Don't forget to head over to Shan's to see what else is cooking this Wednesday! Make sure to check it out this week b/c it's her Christmas Cookie Roundup post. Yum!

Kuchle Photos 2009

My friend Erin (who writes the blog When I Get a Sec) and her husband took some family photos for us a couple of weeks back. I was so excited to see how they turned out! I think they did an awesome job. Below are a few of my favorites. (If you live in Calgary, check out their website here) As soon as I had the CD, I went online to Tiny Prints to order our photo Christmas cards. Cross your fingers that they get here super fast so that I can get them out in time for everyone to receive them before Christmas!




Every year I plan to get our pictures done earlier so that I can have our cards done earlier but it never happens!

So what kind of cards are you sending out this year? Do you do photo cards, regular cards, no cards???? I must admit that I LOVE receiving cards so I send out cards every year!

Out On the Town...

So this will have to do for a blog post! I'm watching Theo Fleury speak at an ISA event.

Since this is such a sketchy post, I will tell you about a great giveaway. Go visit www.bibliofreakblog.com and sign up for the great Kindle giveaway.

I promise to post pics from our Christmas photo shoot tomorrow!

Searching for Santa

Christmas is fast approaching and I wanted to get Evan's picture made with Santa. We will be away next weekend so I figured I should go ahead and TRY to get it done this weekend before the mall crowds get totally out of hand. Dewey, Will and Nicole had ringette and Dewey's band rehearsal so Evan and I were on our own.

Whenever trying to do anything with Evan, it's a tossup between trying to fit things in before nap (and risk him falling asleep in the car) or wait until after nap (when he can wake up REALLY cranky). I decided to go with option 1. We got up, had a pancake breakfast and got Dewey in the kids off to their practices. Then Evan and I got ready & headed out. There was lots of eye rubbing going on but Evan was adamant that "Evan not tired, mama. Evan had a good sleep." I knew he was lying but oh well.

We headed to Cross Iron Mills mall. It's definitely the easiest mall for us to get to these days. I knew that Santa was supposed to be at Bass Pro Shops. I just hoped that he wasn't wearing camo! When we got there the line wasn't too long & Evan seemed pretty okay with talking to Santa.

Unfortunately he would NOT smile. No way Jose! (yes, this is a picture of the picture. I don't have a scanner set up so it was the best I could do.)

After that we checked out the fish.

Checked out the big Christmas tree with DRUMS!

Onion Rings....part food, part toy

Ate a hamburger & onion rings. Yum! Notice we sat at the little tables. My knees were up under my chin.

As we headed back to the car we ran into a roving band of carolers and this guy. Notice the live Nutcracker in the top of the tree. He would be really still and then move to startle people. Evan thought he was really funny!



Evan even got to ride in Lightening McQueen before we left! I'm impressed that these rides are only a loonie. Most places have upped the prices.


Unfortunately, Evan was WAY past due for a nap by the time we left. He was one unhappy camper. He cried & thrashed about when I tried to put him in the carseat which resulted in a bumped head. When we got home he didn't want to nap and screamed in his crib for at least half an hour. Thankfully he finally went to sleep. When he woke up, though, his mood wasn't much better & he needed lots of mommy cuddles. Here he is vegging on the couch trying to get in a better mood.

Another great Evan & Mommy day (even with the crying). I just wonder if it's worth it to try for another Santa picture.

Christmas Time is Here...

happiness and cheer,
fun for all
that children call
their favorite time of year.

Snowflakes in the air,
carols everywhere,
olden times
and ancient rhymes
and love and dreams to share.

Sleigh bells in the air;
beauty every where;
yuletide
by the fireside
and joyful memories there.

Christmas time is here;
we'll be drawing near;
oh that we
could always see
such spirit through the year,

from Charlie Brown Christmas

I can't think of the Charlie Brown Christmas special without thinking of that song & I can't think of that song without smiling.

We decorated for Christmas today. Now we're all really ready for Christmas to get here. Only another month!

Will & Dewey got the blowup snowmen ready & started stringing lights on the house (not done yet...it got too dark)

Nicole decorated the tree while Evan ran amok.

He did get to help a little.

Our Precious Moments Nativity Scene

Our pretty Christmas tree!

Have you decorated yet???

Don't forget to go register for my giveaway. Tomorrow is the last day. I'll draw tomorrow night.

Happy Friday!

Here's some short videos of Evan. I went into video withdrawal because I left the camera that does video at Shawna's house at Halloween. Now I have to make up for lost time!

Here's a video of Evan playing trains. He does a really cute "Wooo Wooo" train noise!


Here's a video of his embarrassed fake sneeze. Anytime I ask him to do something he's too shy to do he does this fake sneeze routine. He's such a goof!



Don't forget to sign up for my giveaway before Sunday night!

My 500th Post & a Giveaway

I am sooooo excited that this is my 500th post! I passed 1000 tweets on Twitter a while back but that was easy because a tweet is only 148 characters....a post is much more. Often I rack my brain for what to post and then I write and rewrite until it's at least mostly right. It's definitely a labor of love for me.

I started this blog back in 2006 because I had been in Calgary for almost 2 years and I missed the US and all my friends like crazy. I did an okay job of keeping in touch with everyone through email & phone calls but I always had that "Darn, I forgot to tell them....." feeling. I stumbled upon blogging and the rest is history.

I hope that you enjoy reading about our day to day lives, looking at the pictures and maybe making a recipe or two. I really appreciate everyone who visits (especially those of you who comment....thanks!).

Now for the giveaway. Christmas is barreling toward us at top speed. I'm not ready....are you? I'm always looking for new things to make for friends and new ways to make the season bright. I came across The Complete Christmas Book by Canadian Living. It's a beautiful book full of recipes, crafts, decorating ideas, etc. I only bought the copy to give away and I'm already kicking myself for not buying myself one at the same time. Can we say a trip to Chapters is in my future!



Now for the rules to enter the giveaway:

1. You must leave me a comment about your favorite Holiday activity on my main blog site (not Facebook & not Everything Mom).
2. You can get an extra entry if you Follow Me Using Google (see left side of my blog)
   
3. You can get an extra entry if you follow me on Twitter (Merry120).
4. You can get an extra entry if you Tweet or Post about this giveaway.

If you want "credit" for Items 2, 3 or 4, then leave me a comment for each one to let me know that you did them. I will pick a winner (by random number generator) on Sunday night. Please leave me contact info (email) so that I can contact you.

Good Luck! Open to US and Canada residents only.

What's Cooking Wednesday - Italian Sausage Baked Pasta

You HAVE to make this! Both Will and Nicole gave it two thumbs up and they are tres picky! It makes a lot so you can split it and freeze half. I made the whole thing and we had tons of leftovers. Some of the leftovers went home with Nana & Papa Don & they loved it too.

Long story short....make this recipe!

Italian Sausage Baked Pasta as adapted from Recipes from the Cookie Jar

1 package Mild Italian Turkey Sausage (6 links) (~1 to 1 1/2 lbs)
1 large onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 large red pepper, chopped
1 jar (798 mL) of your favorite jarred pasta sauce
3/4 cup chili sauce (in the ketchup dept)
1 tsp each basil & oregano
500g of penne pasta
2 1/2 cups grated mozzarella cheese
1 cup grated parmesan cheese

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Put a large pot of water on to boil. Cook pasta according to package directions. Make sauce below as it's cooking.

Squeeze the sausage out of the casings and brown meat in a skillet. Remove the meat and set aside on a plate. There should be little grease in the pan. If there's lots (i.e. if you use regular sausage) drain all but 1 Tbsp off. Brown the onions, garlic and bell pepper until softened. Add the pasta sauce, chili sauce, basil and oregano. Bring the sauce to a bubble. Return the sausage to the pan and simmer covered for about 15 minutes. Make sure the sausage is cooked through.

Drain Pasta well.

In a large bowl, mix together pasta, sauce and half of the mozzarella cheese. Spoon into a 11X 14 baking dish and sprinkle remaining cheeses over top. Cover with aluminum foil spritzed with cooking spray so that the cheese won't stick. Bake for 30 minutes. Remove foil for the last 5 minutes so that the cheese gets browned.
Recipe Notes: Two big thumbs up from everyone. Yum! Turkey sausage works really well with this recipe and makes it healthier.

Don't forget to head over to Shan's to see what else is cooking this Wednesday.

Dealing with Disappointment

Dewey and I have been batting around the idea of moving to a new house/neighborhood.  We’ve been looking for a long time and we have found lots of houses that one of us likes.  Very few houses have suited both of us.  Along the way we often questioned (Dewey more than me) why we were moving.  Our current house is quite nice though I think it lacks “soul”, our neighborhood is nice though we don’t know many people and our commute is about standard for Calgary.  The one big minus is that there is no school and there are no plans to build one anytime soon (plans are outlined through 2012 with no mention of our neighborhood).  This means that Evan will most likely travel to school by bus and unless things change, that bus ride will be approximately an hour.  I hate the idea of my little guy having to ride a bus that far.  Of course I am imagining him as he is now riding the bus.  One hopes that he will be a bit bigger and more mature at 6 (there is a Kindergarten in our neighborhood so this would be a Grade 1 issue).

 

With the issues at work (layoffs) and the general “meh” feeling in the economy, it led us to question our need to move even more.  Do we really want to be taking on more bills?  Will we be able to travel?  Will we be able to cover unforeseen expenses (tires, home repairs, etc)?  On and on and on.  Finally last night we pulled the pin and decided that we aren’t going to buy a house anytime soon.  The decision made me very sad on one hand but brought some relief on the other.   Money stresses went back to barely blipping on the radar.  I started contemplating a winter holiday to somewhere warm….this would not have happened before.

 

So….am I disappointed that we won’t be moving?   Yes….definitely!

Do I realize that we are extremely blessed to have the house we have, the jobs we have, our health, etc?  Hell yes!

 

It’s all about dealing with the highs and lows and taking lemons and making lemonade.

 

Now to find a place with a beach where they can make lemonade for me!  J

Positively Wonderful Posts

I often do Linky Love but then I leave you to your own devices to figure out why I like the blog so much. In this post, I'm linking to a few of my favorite posts that have come across my Google Reader account. I have an ever growing list of blogs that I read. It's one of my favorite times of the day! Hope you enjoy them as much as do!

First up.... Take Comfort in a Muffin by Peabody! Her posts always make me hungry!

Traveling for the holidays? Help your little tyke get ready for the trip by making The Holiday Travel Craft from No Time for Flashcards! Such a cute idea! Oh and have you heard....she's expecting bambino #2!

Remember our friends the Breens? They went to Disney with us. They recently moved to New Zealand and my friend Jenn took up blogging. I think she has found her gift because her blog is HILARIOUS! It might be because she's deathly afraid of birds, or because they bought a new house that has a few...um...issues or it may be that she's just freaking hilarious! Her latest post likens buying a house in New Zealand to getting a mail order bride.

And last, but definitely not least, there's Shan and her wonderful girls Abby and Maya. I feel like I've known them all my life and they live right down the street when in reality I've never met any of them. This post about the life lessons kids sometimes have to learn will show you why I feel that way!