What's for dinner {September 2018}

Happy Friday Sweet Reader Friends! 

I don't know about you, but I am so thankful it's Friday.  It has been such a busy, week mixed in with some exciting things and some fun things.  I know that I am not the only one who is dealing with a crazy fall.  Between soccer practices and all the things that fill up a calendar finding time to make dinner or even have dinner as a family can be a challenge.  Who's with me? 

Two to three nights a week, I'm pretty sure that out of 4 of us, we eat at 3 different times!  It can cause any meal plan a little bit of stress and sometimes it might just be easier to get take out, but I hope that this post can bring you a bit of inspiration to your meal plan. 

Since, I took a little bit of a break over the summer with these posts, some of these will be some repeats because they are just that good and that easy!  So, here's what we ate in September:

Grilled Chicken, Chopped Salad, and Grilled Potatoes

This dinner was a clean out the fridge kind of night.  So I marinated some chicken breasts I had in the freezer with this recipe and grilled them.  They were so tasty!  The potatoes I sliced were tossed in olive oil and seasoned with some salt and pepper and tossed on the grill!  And that salad was the Mediterranean chopped salad from the grocery store.  It's my Ethan's favorite!  (also doing a happy dance that my son eats salad!).

Pulled Pork Picnic Salad

I mentioned earlier that we've been spending a lot of dinner time at the soccer field.  And since, we've been eating a lot of Whole 30 based foods, this one is my favorite go-to!  In face, I'm going to make it tonight for dinner!  All it is is some chopped romaine lettuce, tomato wedges, thinly sliced onions and some pulled pork, tossed in with this dump ranch.  The Pulled Pork, I get from Costco.  It comes in 2 pack that is pre-cooked.  All you have to do is stick it in the crockpot on low and cook for a few hours to warm it up.  Easy Peasy! 

BBQ Pork Stuffed Sweet Potatoes

That same Pork that I made in the salad above lasts more than one night!  Score for two meals in one!  We just tossed the leftovers in some BBQ sauce (Sweet Baby Rays is our favorite, but not Whole 30), Stuffed it in a baked sweet potato and drizzled some of that dump ranch over the top.  So delicious and so easy! 

Sheet Pan Sausage and Veggies

There are so many of these floating around Pinterest like this one.  It's my favorite quick dinner recipe and it's whole 30 when we use Aidells Apple Chicken Sausage. . . so win!  Also. . . pretty much everyone eats this and so yeah.  Complete win!  Plus, roasted veggies are a great way to win your kids over to veggies because they taste so good! 

Steak and Sweet Potato Bowls

So, this recipe just makes me drool just thinking about it!  The combo of the dressing and roasted sweet potatoes and steak just make me all hungry!  These bowls are amazing.  In fact, you need this on your meal plan this month!  This one is pretty easy because you can make them ahead of time and eat the bowls while you are watching your kids practice soccer or eat it as a family and feel good about the deliciousness that you are feeding them!  Also, my husband does NOT do avocados and still likes this without the drizzle or sliced avocados.  So, it's still a win if there is someone who is anti avocados. 
You can find this recipe here.


And that's it for this post for September's What's for Dinner.  If you need any more quick and easy recipes check out this post.

Do you have any recipes that need to be on our menu?  Put a link to your favorite recipe in the comments so we can try it this month. . . I am in a rut. . . it happens! 

Have a great weekend! 

Our favorite chili

 It's October and it's starting to feel like fall!  My windows are open and the sky is painted with the most beautiful fluffy clouds leftover from last night's rainfall.  That rain was the best!  We haven't had rain in months and it was so welcomed around here!  Waking up to rain is the best!  So, when I was menu planning for this week, thinking about easy, hearty meals for my tween on soccer nights, I knew that chili was just what we needed! 

I mean, doesn't chili just scream fall food?  It does in this house, because that's about as close to comfort food as I get.  It made this recipe right after I picked up the kids from school, let it simmer on the stove, fed Ethan and packed up some for me to eat while I watched him play.  I was able to turn off the stove and it was still warm for Jon to eat when he got home from work.  By the time practice had finished, it was cool enough to throw in a container and save for the next two nights.  Last night, we finished off the last of it and it was still just as delicious as the first night. . . I love it when that happens. 

Here. . . let me inundate you with pictures of delicious chili.

See you are drooling.  Unless of course you don't eat meat, then you should hop over to this recipe, because it's one of our favorites too and is vegetarian! But, if you are a meat lover and love a good, hearty chili I highly recommend this one.  It's based off the Deen Brothers Tailgate Chili and they had a good teacher.  So, keep scrolling and make this for the weekend and then go visit a pumpkin patch because it's October and that just sounds like something you should do.

 Our Favorite Chili
adapted from the Deen Brothers 

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 lb ground pork
1 onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped
3 TBS Chili
2 tsp dried oregano
1 1/2 tsp cumin
2 cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 can kidney beans, rinsed and drained
1 28oz can diced tomatoes
1 15 oz can tomato sauce
1/2 bag of frozen sweet corn (I use Trader Joes frozen grilled corn)

Serve with sliced avocados, shredded cheese, green onions, sour cream, corn bread, corn chips, etc. 

Directions:
Heat up a large pot or dutch oven.  Brown ground beef and pork over medium heat.  Once it's nice and crumbled and brown, add in onion, garlic, and pepper.  Add in seasonings and let simmer for a few minutes.  Then add the beans, tomatoes and corn.  Continue cooking on medium for about 30 minutes and then keep on low until you are ready to serve. 

on "Ten things to tell you"

This blog is one of my happy places. I started it back when Ethan was a year and a half as a way to give myself a "job" that wasn't the same as being a mom.  Over the years, I've gotten braver about what I've shared and with the addition of instagram, blogging has changed.  I love it.  It's much more interactive and personal.  One of my favorite posts are the Connection Time posts because I get to share with you what's happening currently in my life. . . my loves, my likes, my mundane.  It's like we are sharing conversation over a cup of coffee.  When, Laura Tremaine (formally the woman behind the blog Hollywood Housewife), posted a challenge on her Instagram feed I knew that I wanted to join in.  Her desire for the challenge was to get people talking, perhaps go deep, and maybe have a bit of fun.  I jumped right in. and some of them were really hard. 

All ten days of the challenge are scattered around my IG feed, but I wanted to take some time and put them all down in one spot.  Maybe even continue the conversation over here (so feel free to comment!).  Here are the ten prompts and my answers. 

I grew up. . . 
I grew up in two different states.  The first seven years were in Wyoming, where it snows on Easter Sunday and at recess we played in the snow.  Following my first grade year, we moved to California, where I kind of fell in love with the beach!  We spent summers driving back and forth and sometimes braved black ice and horrible winds to visit family at Christmas.  My mom made sure we hit every national landmark between here and there during my childhood and I am so thankful!  Those road trips taught me so much more than I learned in the classroom and gave me a crazy love of traveling and adventure.  Now I love passing that adventure on to my kids. 

Someone who has influenced you . . . 
I could pick authors that I have read or even my mom, but really, in this season of life that I'm in, it's my husband.  This guy challenges me to be brave, to take time for me, and to grow in God's Word.  He encourages me, works out with me, and reminds me to say no things every now and then.  He likes to play devil's advocate and make me really think and I couldn't imagine a better husband and influence!

Something that has changed my worldview . . . 
This one really made me think long and hard.  Seriously, these prompts were not as easy as I thought!  I mentioned earlier that my mom instilled in me a love for traveling.  As my husband and I raise our boys, we are loving how much they love adventure and want to be involved in where we head to next.  I am so thankful, these two are not content thinking the world is just here, in the town we live in. . . even thought we live in such a diverse place!  They get to see God's amazing and creative creation, experience places in our nation's history, and experience the cultures of the places we visit.   It is our hope that they grow up knowing they are not in the center of the world and love the vast diversity of the world we live in. 

Something that I'm strangely good at . . . 
Tetris.  I am absolutely horrible at video games, but when it comes to Tetris I pretty much rock at it!  Also, I'm really good at packing a car, which my husband claims is because of my Tetris skills. 

A defining moment in my life . . . 
Honestly, I think it was in high school when I finally let go of all my anger and hurts and finally decided to forgive.  I grew up going to church and had a relationship with God since I was little, but I was holding on to so much anger (red hair + anger = crazy temper!).  Once I did that my temper improved and now it comes so natural to forgive and let go.  Lesson learned.  Let God have your grudges, forgive people who hurt you (doesn't mean you have to be best friends. . . just forgive) and let God handle the rest!  He's got you covered! 

Something I recently discovered and I can't 
stop talking about . . . 
Last spring, I tried Oatly oat milk with my latte and it was love at first sip!  This milk allergy gal just swooned a few weeks ago when Whole Foods started selling it and then almost cried when I went back to get more and they were all out for who knows how long.  I kind of cry over food.  It happens.  But this stuff is amazing and get's the best froth for a good latte.  We love it so much that when we used the Oatly Oatfinder to decide what coffee shop we were going to try out.  We've baked with it and we had great results!  This stuff is great. . . especially if you can't have milk!

Something that I am struggling with right now . . . 
Honestly, this is a constant battle.  I want to create so much and finding time to do that is hard.  It fuels me and it's kind of why I started this blog.  Some days, the creating is minimal because life just sort of happens (kids, laundry, soccer practice, and other things).  Other days, I squeeze it in, either with little projects or some huge sewing projects and I'm left feeling giddy.  I am working hard at setting aside time several times a week just to slow down and create.  It does my heart so much good! 

My magical reset button . . . 
I love this because sometimes my attitude downright stinks, I'm having a crummy day, or I'm just exhausted.  First off all, the salty beach air and cool breeze reset me instantly. . . but I can't always do that (it's a 3 hour drive!).  So, coffee and or delicious food and time to myself always do the trick.  Usually my funky attitude issues come because I am not taking care of myself.  So grabbing a coffee, wandering Target, or having a lunch break with a good book will usually do the trick!

I have mixed feelings about. . . 
This one was really hard.  In fact, I don't even think that I answered it over on instagram (oops!).  But because I;m here and it won't be ten things if I don't answer.  So, I have mixed feelings about change.  I like it and hate it all at once.  It's both exciting and scary all at the same time.  I fight it and forge head into it all at the same time. 

In 3 months ask me about. . . 
if I am still writing (not just on the blog). I've been trying some new things and working on being brave.  And it's hard.  Also, ask me if I've finished any projects. . . I really need to finish some stuff!


So there you have it. . . 10 things to tell you.  I'm so glad I did this challenge because it really made me think and I hope that it gives you a glimpse of me and my reality outside the blog and Instagram world. 

Connection Time {September 2018}

Welcome to the first Connection Time Post of the fall!  

I didn't do a connection time post over the summer because let's face it, we were busy summer-ing over here as I am sure many of you were also.  But now, school has been back for 6ish weeks and things like Bible Study and soccer have started so I kind of feel like we are getting into a groove.  So, since it has been awhile, I thought I would start of off and explain what these posts are and why I do them.

Today, I had lunch with a sweet friend and we sat at a little table outside eating the most delicious food and talking about life.  It is one of my favorite things and it's one of the things I wish I could capture on this blog.  But, unfortunately, when you come visit you read the post you want to read and move on to check your social media account or head down a rabbit hole of other posts.  It is my goal each month to set aside a post where we stop and take time to connect.  I tell you a little bit of what's happening, keeping it completely real, and then I use some prompts that I fill out and then you can fill out in the comments.  This is a great way to establish community and realness on this site.

This had been a whirlwind week, but filled with some pretty cool things.

• I feel like just yesterday September started.  But, it's almost over and I am now left with a 10 year old!  I have a 10 year old!  He's a pretty great kid and I am loving the tween years so far, so I think 10 is going to be pretty awesome. 
•  I bought pumpkin scented soaps.  I am obsessed with Mrs. Meyers cleaning products, so when the pumpkin ones came I grabbed them (quite possibly in July!) and I just pulled them out.  It may be in the 90's here, but I am going to clean to the smell of pumpkin! 
• We hit the beach with the family over Labor Day.  I love the beach and it just fills me up!  

 And here are the prompts.  First, I will answer them and then at the end there will be the same prompts all ready to copy and paste in the comments.  You can do one or as many as you want.  I love to hear from you. 

Outside my window the sun in shining and I don't think there is a cloud in sight!  It really is a beautiful day! It's still too early for leaves to be changing here, so I am going to live vicariously through those east coast instagrammers that I follow.  ha ha!  But, we have this apple tree just outside the backyard and the apples are perfect right now!  I think there will be some apple-y treats made really soon!

I am thinking that this weekend is going to be fun!  We made the decision that birthday's from 10 years old and on would be a "choose your own adventure" of sorts.  Ethan got to pick it out and this weekend we are headed to our local USL soccer team's game!  We bought him a jersey and he is ready!  Also, I am not really sure what happened, but the hubby has turned me into a crazy soccer lover! 

From the kitchen not much is happening now, but I have to make cookies tonight and get the first stage of sourdough going so we can have some delicious sourdough with our pasta tomorrow night.  It's also a soccer night, so I have been posting what I'm doing for nights like this when we all eat at different times.

I am wearing my favorite jeans and a t-shirt.  I bought these shoes last weekend and they are the best! 

I am creating SO MANY THINGS RIGHT NOW! I hope to get some sewing done this weekend because it just needs to get done.  I've been doing lots of digital stuff and last night I found time to make some cards with watercolors!  So much fun!  I also have a few house projects coming up!

I am going on an adventure soon!  My parents are heading home from being in Wyoming all summer and so we are meeting them in the Grand Canyon and we can't wait!  Adventures fill me up so much and I love that we are fitting this one in! 

I am reading so many things right now!  The Scorceror's Stone, Discerning the Voice of God, by Priscilla Shirer, Grace not Perfection, by Emily Ley, 100 Days to Brave by Annie Downs.  Is there are rule for how many books you can read at once?

I am hoping for some things.  I have been working on being brave this summer and well. . . we shall see how it turns out. It is so scary and crazy all at the same time! 

I am hearing the quiet of the house.  My kids are at school and it's just so quiet here! While I can't wait for them to get home each day, I really do savor the quiet moments when it's just me. 

Around the House Fall decor is making an appearance, cookies are on the counter ready to take to Weston's class (His long term sub is leaving and another one is starting), multiple lego creations are scattered around, and there is currently a pile of the kids t-shirts just waiting for me to hang up. 

One of my favorite things are the Foodstirs Chocolate Mug Cakes.  I just love them!  They come in these individual pouches and all you have to do is pour in your favorite mug, add water, stir and zap for a minute.  Instant chocolate cake. . . and it's so good and has great texture.  We keep them for after the kids go to bed for a little treat.. I've been really impressed with the whole Foodstirs brand.  They use good, quality ingredients and everything is amazing!

A few plans for the week soccer games and sewing. . . but not a the same time!  Ooh, and coffee with a sweet friend! 

What I am listening to the Hawk Nelson Diamond album and the The Next Right Thing Podcast.  

Now, it's your turn!  Grab your coffee and let's connect! You don't have to do them all! I can't wait to hear from you! You can even private message me if you don't want to make it public.  

Outside my window
I am thinking
From the kitchen
I am wearing
I am creating
I am going
I am reading
I am hoping
I am hearing
Around the House
One of my favorite things
A few plans for the week
What I am listening to 

Famous Blueberry Muffins, I think

 I will be honest with you.  I had grand plans for this week things just did not go as planned.  I'm okay with that. My plans usually go the opposite. Sometimes you pick your kids up from school and they have a temperature and sore throat and you cancel plans and spend the week cuddling with your kiddo takes top priority.  I'm cool with that.  The things that I needed to do could wait.  Today, that same kid marched back to school ready to be reunited with his friends and I am playing a crazy game of catch-up.  In light of the crazy week, I thought we needed something yummy to welcome the weekend. 

I found this recipe on accident because my husband came home needed muffins for the next week, I had just bought the most beautiful blueberries for super cheap.  I really didn't want to go the store to get yogurt, or a lemon to make my usual recipe, so I scoured the internet world (aka pinterest) for a muffin recipe that looked scrumptious and didn't have a bunch of ingredients that was going to require leaving the house.

The first thing that caught my attention was that it was found the New York Times.  Amazing recipes get featured in the NY Times, so this recipe had to be good, right?  Guess what?  It did not disappoint! These were so moist and so quickly gobbled down that I have no idea how long they would have actually lasted in the fridge.  The recipe says they hold up really well. . . we just didn't' get to test that out because they were THAT good!   According to the article, there was a lot of dispute among New Yorker's about who had the best Blueberry Muffin recipe and this one did not come from the Ritz, like people assumed had the best.  Apparently, there used to be a department store called Jordan Marsh. I am a West Coast gal and haven't heard of this store, but this recipe is claimed to be theirs and it is delicious!  So if you are in the mood for some carbs and have some fresh blueberries laying around, I highly recommend this one.  It's definitely on my make again and again list. You should make these this weekend. 

Famous Jordan Marsh Blueberry Muffins
from New York Times

Ingredients:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cups sugar
2 eggs
1 tsp vanilla extract
2 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup milk
2 cups blueberries, washed and drained
3 tsp. sugar

Directions:
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees.  In your favorite mixing bowl, cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Add the eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Add the vanilla.  Slowly add dry ingredients, alternating with some of your milk. Don't over mix.  Pat dry the blueberries and add them to the batter. Fold gently in.  Line you muffin tin with liners and fill 3/4 full with muffins.  Sprinkle with sugar and toss in oven for 30ish minutes.

Let cool for about 30 minutes.  Store uncovered to prevent humidity causing soggy muffins.  

No Sew Table Bench Cushion Tutorial

 Last week we had a spurt of some cooler temperatures and while it was just a teaser of the cooler temps coming (it's back into the hundreds this week), it is making us spend more time playing outside (we don't have a pool and aren't really feeling the desire to move or build a pool and loose our yard).  We noticed that the bench Jon build a few years ago that sits at our table, was starting to get a little sticky.  Wood. . . sap. . . kind of a downside.  The towel we put there temporarily just wasn't that pretty to the eyes and I wasn't finding anything that really worked in that space.  So, I decided to get creative and make my own. 

When we found our table a few years ago, we only were able to find 4 of the metal chairs that I had wanted.  It worked out because they stay fairly shaded and cool.  Metal chairs plus hot summer sun. . . not pleasant.  So we I mean Jon built a bench for me to go in that space and I love it.  I always wanted to put a cushion on top, but never found one that fit or looked good in the spot. So, when it started seeping sap this year, we knew we had to do something so I gathered all sorts of JoAnns coupons and went shopping. 

I found some a roll of outdoor foam that was on sale for 50% off (happy dance!) and found some outdoor fabric that matched our outdoor patio couch and chair cushions.  I already had a bunch of glue sticks and so I headed home and got to work. 

 First, I cut the foam on the bench.  It wasn't perfectly straight (shh. . . it's our little secret!).  Then I placed it on my fabric (right side down) and cut it down to how much I would need. Any extra in the end, I trimmed at the end.  Better to have too much at first then not enough and having to rebuy the fabric. 

 Squirt glue on 6 inch segments over the edge and start bring up your fabric and pressing down.  Making sure it's pulled tight and cool.  Move on to the next 6 inch section repeating the same thing until you are finished with the side.  Hot glue doesn't take long to cool and get hard, so you want to make sure you are gluing the fabric to the foam at it's highest temp so it will stay secure.  Fabric (and pretty much everything else) doesn't stick one the glue starts to cool and harden.

When you get to the corners, pretend like you are wrapping a gift and fold the fabric in and then bring up. 

 The last is glue the last long piece all the way across the foam to where you first started gluing.  You want it to overlap.  Keep following the 6inch maximum glue line and pull your fabric tight and secure in the glue.  Trip the edges so you don't have any sticking out and it looks clean.  Then go stick on the bench and enjoy your new cushion.  Also, pat yourself on the back!  You did it! 

I love this fabric so much!  Our rug on the other side is navy blue and white chevron, so the nautical ropes are a good match.  I also love the contrast with the dark brown stain of our table and bench!  It's also a lot more comfy to sit on too! 

You can find the fabric and foam at JoAnns craft stores. 
Our table top fire pit is seriously the best thing! You can find it here.

Summer Stem Wrap Up

 Well we made it to Labor Day Weekend, finished 3 weeks of school and we finished our Summer Stem Challenge before the end of summer!  I call that a win!  So, what better way to celebrate than to do a quick wrap up on what we did. 

I'll be honest with you.  I had great intentions and pinned so many activities and we only got to 6, which was my goal.  I like to do these summer challenges because it gives the kids and I kind of a direction to head as we decide what we are going to do on our stay home days.  We are serious homebodies during the summer and when we aren't traveling, we hide out in our home and do our thing.  It's pretty great.  So, I loved this little opportunity to challenge myself as well as my kiddos. 

Some of you may be wondering, what the heck is STEM anyway?  Well, STEM stands for Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math.  All of those things. . . not so much my strong point (I am more of a sentence diagramming, book reading, in the kitchen baking kind of gal.  But, it really wasn't that hard to throw this activities together for my kids (and sometimes their friends!).  The reality is all 4 of those subjects are really fun to study and most often than not, our kids are doing it on their own, so why not provide them an opportunity to expand their horizons and explore their curiosity a little.

Here are the 6 projects and the links to get to their post pages with all the how to's and what not's that I wrote regarding each activity.  

Foil Boat Experiment

Pom Pom Catapults

 Balloon Race Cars

Microscope Fun

Toothpick Building

Crystal Garden

I think that one of my favorite things about this project was not only watching the excitement in my kids eyes when they did something amazing or saw something magical, but also watching my friends have their own fun doing STEM. 

If you are curious about adding some more STEM into your kids play time, some of my favorite STEM tools (some might call them toys, but really, they are tools to aid in your child's imagination.  You never know what they might discover or build) are right here:

Legos - start with a box of classic pieces and let your child just build with no directions.  It's amazing what they come up with.  This book is also really cool!  Both my boys have it and the things they've been able to make are really neat!

Magnatiles - These are just the coolest!  Sometimes they get made into structures that house their hot wheel cars or even race tracks.  Other times they just make magnificent buildings or monuments.  

Snap Circuits - My nephews introduced us to these and they keep my kids so busy.  We even bought them for another nephew and he just thought they were the coolest!  Each kit comes with directions for a bunch of different ways to place circuits and make them do different things, like light a light bulb or make a fan spin. 

TEGU blocks - I've had my eye on these for awhile, but they rarely go on sale (super sad face!).  Weston got to play with them on our vacation trip and we fell in love!  They are fun colored wooden blocks in different sizes that are magnetic. 

KEVA blocks - These blocks are just simple, thin wooden blocks that are all the same size.  They have a lot of different challenges to build things out of them. 

And really, letting your kids just be kids and allowing them to explore their curiosity is the key.  We don't really give them much time for this is our super structured lives and it is so much fun just letting them discover this really amazing world we live in on their own.  I listed just a few of my favorites and their a lot of other products out there.  Maybe you have a favorite. . . I'd love to hear from you! Who knows, maybe your idea will end up under the Christmas tree this year!  

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend!