And The Winner Is...

ME!

That's right. I won the chili cook-off. My chili may now be referred to as "Award Winning."

The recipe is so simple:

1lb of ground beef
1 onion finely chopped (I almost pureed mine in the food processor)
1 can of Rotel tomatoes (tomatoes with chilis)
1 can of chili beans (or Ranch Style Beans)
1 can of tomato paste
Spices: Chili Powder, garlic powder, pepper (cayenne and black), salt, onion powder to taste.

Cook the meat and onion until cooked through. Add everything else. Simmer for several hours (I use my crock pot) If you need more liquid use a chicken or beef stock. You can also cook it the night before, refrigerate overnight (it helps everything fuse together) and then heat over low for dinner the next day.

Yep, simple and a winner!

Hello? Testing...one...two...three

I know I've been a bit absent. Again, I'm going to blame stress and pregnancy. Ugh, so much!

I've been trying to start cleaning up the house again. Some days we (me and Franklin) have good days and I can get quite a bit done. Some days it's like the world is upside down. I get tired and nauseated and Franklin seems to live to get into stuff he shouldn't.

In other news: I'm doing a chili cookoff at Stefan's squadron. It's really low key but kind of exciting. We went to Whole Foods so I could get premium ingredients! I'll let you know how it goes.

We're definitely having a homebirth! I have a midwife and everything. It's a little weird to do "doctor's visits" in your home.

I'm also doing a cooking challenge for July that I'll post about later!

Don't Give Up On Me.

I hired my midwife so you'll get regular baby updates soon!

I'm planning a big JULY Meal Challenge. Be ready for that!

If I weren't nauseated all.the.time. I'd definitely be posting more. We ate out a lot the end of last month just because I felt so exhausted all the time.

So yeah, don't give up on me!

How To: Break Some Rules?

I came across this on FoxNews. It's a brief article on How To Conceal and Office Romance.

Is this innocent advice? I mean, the article itself states that "...sometimes emotions — and hormones — get the best of you" and "While an office romance is a very common occurrence and not quite as taboo as it once was..."  


But aren't most office romances, I don't know, against the rules? The first sentence even says it: While most people don’t find a problem with letting their co-workers know about the love blossoming between the cubicle walls, the fine print of many company contracts says a little something about office romances. Usually, this fine print is a warning of some kind, so it’s often a good idea to conceal your passionate office romp.

 Is it weird that I'm a bit bothered by this?

19th Meal MAYhem

We're back!

Tonight's dinner is one I got from the label of the Tomato Sauce Can! It's called Lasagna Sausage Rolls. (Sorry in advance for poor photo quality...I'm using my cell phone)

You need:
- Italian sausage (sweet or spicy is your choice)
- Lasagna noodles
- Either 2 cans of tomato sauce OR one tomato sauce and one can of tomatoes
- Italian seasoning of some kind...I used oregano
- Cheese if you want

Cook the noodles to package directions.

Cook the sausage. Now, you can slice them in half and cook them like that or cook them whole...just make sure you have a noodle for each piece of sausage.

After draining the noodles and pulling the cooked sausage out (and draining the pan) let everything cool enough to handle.

Now, wrap a noodle around each link and place it back in the pan.

Cover it with your tomato products.

Heat everything through and serve!

And if you're serving a 13 month old make sure you have a rag handy!

"I've seen worse"

This comment really bothers me. Maybe I'm a prude, but when I saw these news articles I was bothered.

Yes, the woman isn't "showing anything" and I'm sure you've "seen worse" but is that really a good standard of measurement? Should we really be able to look at a totally naked woman on display and say, "Well, at least her private bits are covered" or "At least she's not having sex"?

I know that there are plenty of people that will say, "Nudity is natural" and "Look at art! Nudity is in art!" Well, if you do your research, there's also PORNOGRAPHY in "art." There was violence and murder in "art." Are those things also to be universally accepted and celebrated?

As long as people keep making excuses companies will continue to push the envelope! If we let them get away with this what will be next? A little more breast? A little more of her rear? Maybe her laying flat while covering her "private bits" with her hands? Just a little bit more at a time. I'm sure we've all heard the "frog in the water" story. If you want to cook a frog there's a specific way to do it. If you drop the frog into boiling water it will jump right out every time. However, if you put it in while the water is cool and THEN start the heat the frog won't realize it's boiling until it's too late. My dear readers, we are that frog!

You can sell lotion in a tank top and shorts. You can sell lotion using a close-up of hands or feet. You can sell lotion using a woman in a pretty dress in a field of flowers. You can sell lotion using a picture of a mom in an apron washing dishes. There are all sorts of images that would sell lotion without using nudity!!


Prude:

–noun

a person who is excessively proper or modest in speech, conduct, dress, etc.

 I didn't used to be a prude...but I guess I am now...

Uplifting Needed

I needed some uplifting...

“Those who sow in tears Shall reap in joy. He who continually goes forth weeping, Bearing seed for sowing, Shall doubtless come again with rejoicing, Bringing his sheaves with him.” (Psalms 126:5-6 NKJV)

Proverbs 17:17
A friend loves at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. (NIV)  

Joshua 1:9

This is my command—be

 strong and courageous! Do not be afraid or discouraged. For the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

 

Dearest Readers...

I'm sorry I haven't been keeping up with my Meal MAYhem stuff. I do have good excuses!

Thursday my son was fairly sick. He had a fever and needed me all day. Dinner was thrown together before I had to hold him again. Ditto on Friday...and we had guests. Saturday we were doing errands and we had guests again. Sunday was our family day.

Saturday is also the day I found out I'M PREGNANT AGAIN!!!!!!!!

The exhaustion set in FAST. It's like the second I found out I was pregnant my body started the symptoms.

I'll try to get back into things!

12th Meal MAYhem

Another throw together meal I made up! Sausage and Potato

You'll need:
- potatoes (one if it's just you)
- link sausage (amount depends on how much you like sausage)
- onion finely chopped if you want
- any other veggies you want to add
- salt (lightly)
- pepper (black, white, OR cayenne)
- garlic powder

Basically, you chop everything up and cook in a pan. Cook the potatoes first (VERY LITTLE OIL) if you buy your sausage pre-cooked. Season everything to taste (be careful with the spicy because it will sneak up on you!)

Potatoes. Secret: If you cook with a lid it cooks better because the heat gets trapped and cooks on both sides!

 Sausage added. 

 Very important!!! DRAIN IT! The sausage will leech a lot of fat.

 See? BLECH!

I dont' do it but I bet this would be great with cheese on top...

11th Meal MAYhem

Tonight's Dinner: Chicken Fried Steak (yes, Dani, another meal with "fried" in it! lol)

I didn't get this one to work like I usually can....but it was good nonetheless.

First you cut potatoes into chunks and put them in water to boil. They're ready when you can spear them with a fork (soft).

Normally my steaks don't look as...dead. ALL of my breading stuck to the pan and came off. 

I promised I'd teach you gravy.  

 Step one is to drain off pretty much all of the oil/grease. Then, carefully sprinkle flour in the pan. The amount of flour you use depends on how much gravy you want. Stir it up.

 I add chicken stock (homemade of course) and stir it up. I also added a splash of milk. 

 Just keep stirring and adding flour or broth until you get the consistency you want.

If your gravy is a huge failure the first few times just keep trying. It takes PRACTICE.

I added butter and milk to the potatoes.