Mil Spouse Fill In

1.A word that always makes me laugh is ice cream. I used to babysit a little girl that called it, "asscream". Whenever I hear that word I think of Kenzie telling my Mom all about "asscream"!


2.If you looked in my refrigerator right now, the oldest thin you'd find would be red wine. S and I don't drink ever but a recipe this past summer called for red wine so I bought a bottle and used 1/4c, I think, and the rest is just hanging out in the fridge....I really should just throw it away. 

3.If I were written about in the newspaper today, on the front page, the headline say Woman Still Working on Her Degree

4.The last movie I saw (in the theatre) was um....still thinking....yeah still thinking....honestly I can't remember, that is BAD! S deployed for a good portion of this year and I guess we just haven't made it to the theater. I want to see Contagion but haven't done it yet. 

5.The best thing that happened to me in the last few weeks was S & I got a new, to us, truck. My current truck is an older vehicle that was starting to need some serious maintenance. This new truck is truly a blessing we will be forever thankful for. 


Head over to Wife of a Sailor to check out all of the other Mil Spouse blogs!

Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork

I adapted this recipe from Pioneer Woman but put my own little twist on it. I love Pulled Pork recipes because they are so versatile. This recipe was so easy to make and turned out really tasty too!
Ingredient list:
20 oz bottle of Diet Dr. Pepper
4lb Pork Shoulder Roast
1 c. Ketchup
1/4c. Brown Sugar
3 T. Worchestshire Sauce
1 onion (chopped)
Garlic Powder
1 T. Molasses

Instructions:
Mix all ingredients except Dr. Pepper and Roast together in pan and bring to boil. Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes. Stirring occasionally. Place onions in the bottom of the crockpot, place roast in the crock pot on top of onions. Add Dr. Pepper and then pour sauce over roast. Cook on high heat for 3-4 hours then cook on low heat until roast easily shreds.

I served this on buns and on nachos. It makes a lot of meat. We have made several meals out of the roast and even have some to put in the freezer. This is a great recipe for potlucks and get togethers too.

PBS Keeping Kids Fit 5k Run

This past Saturday S, H, and I participated in the 2nd Annual PBS Keeping Kids Fit 5k run. It was so much fun. S and I are not seasoned runners by any means but we can run at a nice slow pace. H got to see Elmo so he was happy of course. We participated in last year's run too but this year we felt much more prepared. We actually knew the route this year and I was in much better shape this year. We shaved 4 minutes off our time too which I was pretty proud of, I know it wasn't much but I haven't been on a solid run training schedule for while. S and I took turns pushing H in his jogging stroller and H talked to everyone we passed and everyone that passed us. I had never really pushed the stroller while running but didn't do half bad.
We are not morning people so I will admit that getting up at 5am to go run wasn't exactly the most exciting thing in the world but I take pride in the fact that I actually did get up and run. It is so easy, for me at least, to make excuses when it comes to things I am not completely comfortable with. I think that this run will become a family tradition that we will look forward to each year. Next year I am hoping to shave a few more minutes off our run time!

Menu 10/10 through 10/16

As you can see this week we have Monday night football game as well as a Sunday night football game. So we will be spending two nights at Buffalo Wild Wings this week. I am again sharing all of our meals because I find myself referring to my blog whenever I am trying to remember what I had intended for us to eat. :) This week am trying a new recipe, which I will share Tuesday, that actually will cover several meals. I can't wait to try it! 

Monday

                B: Toaster Strudel/Oatmeal

                L: BLT’s with chips

                D: BDubs

Tuesday

                B: Eggs with Bacon

                L: Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork Sandwich with veggies and chips

                D: Turkey Salads

Wednesday

                B: Oatmeal

                L: Beef Stew

                D: Pulled Pork Sandwich/Tuna Salad

Thursday

                B: Eggs with Bacon

                L: Pulled Pork Nachos with black beans and corn

                D: PB&J/Turkey Salad

Friday

                B: Oatmeal

                L: Beef Stew

                D: Tacos

Saturday

                B: Pancakes

                L: Turkey Sandwiches, Chips and Fruit

                D: Frozen Pizza

Sunday

                B: Cinnamon Rolls

                L: Tacos

                D: Bdubs

October Obsessions

Mrs. Duh over at The Misadventures of Mrs. Duh has been sharing her monthly obsessions for a few months now and I thought it would be fun to join her. So I am going to try and start sharing the things I am currently loving each month.

Avon's Solutions skin care line is something I am just loving right now. I have pretty normal skin but it tends to get a little dry and I have discovered that this line does the trick for me!

We are a football family and I am obsessing about the current NFL season. Bear Down Bears! S and I are involved in a fantasy football league this year too and so far we are winning our division. It has been quite a bit of fun. Our Bears aren't doing so great yet but I am confident that they will turn it around and have a great season.

Who isn't obsessing about Starbuck's Pumpkin Spice Latte? I am not a coffee drinker or a Starbucks drinker and had never tried the Pumpkin Spice Latte until a few weeks ago but I must say I am loving it. I can't believe I had been missing out on this yummy treat. I do try to limit myself to only one every few weeks because it has a lot of calories for a drink.

Well these are my current obsessions, stop back next month to find out what my next obsessions are! :)

Comfort Foods

As I mentioned it has finally started to cool down around here. I am loving it. This entire week has been cloudy, rainy, and cool. I know I am not a Las Vegas local because most of the locals I know are complaining. 300 plus days of sun can get kind of old, at least for this Midwestern girl.

Enough about the weather, my question for is what are some of your favorite comfort foods. When the weather starts to cool I always am taken back to my childhood and all the yummy foods my Mom used to prepare for us. Some of my favorites include:

Grandpa's Chili (I plan to add that to our menu very soon!)

Potato Soup

Grammy's Apple Crisp

Mom's Pumpkin Roll

Mom's Banana Nut Bread

Mom's Zucchini Bread

I promise to share these recipes with you over the next few weeks and maybe even add a few new comfort foods to the list! Please share some of your comfort foods with me. I love this time of year and all the yummy foods that come with it!

Potato Soup

This is one of my family's favorite comfort food dishes. Living in Las Vegas it is obviously not a dish we have unless it is fall or winter. Today was a perfect day for Potato Soup, chilly, rainy, and cloudy (one of my favorite kind of days). This isn't the healthiest recipe you will ever find but boy is it good!

It serves quite a bit too.

What you will need:

3 1/2lbs of potatoes skins removed and chopped into bite size pieces boiled until soft

1/2 c. butter

1/2 c. flour

7 c. milk

10 slices bacon , cooked and crumbled

1 1/2 c. Colby Jack Cheese

1 c. sour cream

Salt and Pepper to taste

What to do:

In a large stock pot over low heat melt the butter. Once the butter is melted stir in flour until smooth. Add milk slowly stirring constantly until the sauce has thickened. Add potatoes continue stirring until soup starts to bubble. Reduce heat; simmer for 10 minutes stirring occasionally. Add remaining ingredients and stir until the cheese has melted.

Not a hard recipe to prepare and great tasting leftover too!

Cook Book Review:Healthy Meals for Less

I have decided to do a cookbook review here on Voyage d'un jeune chef I love to try new cookbooks out but hate buying something and not loving the recipes in it. I hope to share my thoughts and experience to help you find cookbooks that you and your family will love. I would like to review as many cookbooks as possible but I hope to start out reviewing once a month at least.
Today I am going to review, Jonni McCoy's Healthy Meals for Less.

This is one of my go-to cookbooks for so many reasons but I especially like that it provides me with nutrition information for every recipe as well as serving size and an estimated cost per serving! The book is also full of kitchen tips that give me the opportunity to learn new tricks while preparing my family's meals.

The recipes are categorized in easy to find sections that include: Appetizers, Beverages, Soups, Vegetables and Side Dishes, Main Dishes, Vegetarian Dishes, Turkey Dishes (who doesn't have leftover turkey after Thanksgiving?), Slow Cooking, Breads and Muffins, Sauces and Dressings, Mixes, and Desserts and Snacks. The book also offers food storage information, measuring abbreviations, food equivalency charts, and the always helpful emergency substitutions!

Now I haven't tried all of the recipes in this book but for the most part my entire family has loved anything I have prepared out of this book. My personal favorite section is the slow cooking section. I love recipes that I can forget about while they cook especially when my week gets hectic.

The recipes come with a detailed ingredients list and easy to follow directions. Some also include side dish tips. Some of my favorite Healthy Meals for Less include: Chef Miserly Beefy Mac (Lots of servings and tastes great!), S's Favorite Blackened Fish, Black Bean Chili, Veggie Spaghetti Sauce, and Mexican Seasoning mix( I will never go back to store bought taco seasoning!).

Jonni McCoy has out done herself with this cookbook. Not only are the recipes healthy but they are cheap too! Check it out for yourself....Healthy Meals for Less.

Basket Round Up 10/1

You know those weeks when it seems like you are just always behind or running late? Well that has been my week. I am taking a full course load of classes for my accounting degree, running my AVON business, and caring for H our busy 2 1/2 year old. I thought I had gotten this week's basket posted but I guess I didn't get that done. Anyway without any further time wasting here is this weeks Bountiful Basket .

*Excuse the messy table it was a hectic morning

This week's basket included: onions, beets, broccoli, lettuce, peppers, potatoes, melon, mangoes, bananas, plums, and grapes. All of the items in my basket are organic. Bountiful Baskets also offers a conventional basket for just $15.

Visit Bountiful Baskets to find out how to get involved!

Menu 10/3 through 10/9

I forgot to post this earlier....
Monday: Burritos from Chipotle
Tuesday: Tomato Pasta with veggies and garlic bread
Wednesday: Potato Soup
Thursday: Comfort Meatballs with mashed potatoes and veggies
Friday: Potato Soup/Tacos
Saturday: Leftovers/Comfort Meatballs with mashed potatoes and veggies
Sunday: BLT's with chips and fruit/Frozen Pizza

This week as you can tell is all about comfort food. Fall is my favorite time of year and we are just starting to maybe see signs of fall here in Nevada. I miss the midwestern falls I grew up with so I am making a lot of comfort food to make up for it.