Sloppy Joe Squares

1 lb ground beef
onion, to taste
salt, pepper, chili powder, & garlic,to taste
2 tbsp flour
1/2 tsp Worcestershire
3/4 c Ketchup
a good squirt brown sugar BBQ sauce
1 1/4 c water
2 pkg crescent rolls
grated or sliced mozza

Cook beef, onions and spices until beef is no longer pink. Add flour, water, ketchup, BBQ sauce and Worcestershire. Simmer 15- 20 min. Line a 9x13 pan with 1 pkg crescent rolls and bake 5 min at 350F. Spread beef mixture over crescent rolls and then spread cheese over beef. Top with 2nd pkg of rolls, making sure dough touches edge of pan. Bake again until browned, about 15 min.

I didn't have any brown sugar BBQ sauce so I just used what I had and added a handful of brown sugar. I also used the Kraft Tex-mex already grated cheese instead of mozza. For an easier clean up I sprayed the pan with Pam.

I think if you just fried the beef and added a can of Manwich it would be just as tasty!

Is anyone out there?

I'm just curious if anyone really does read this??? Sometimes I wonder if Cath and Jen are the only ones? Oh well, it's still a good place to post pictures I guess? I wonder if I can post this with only using question marks? Maybe I should stop now while I'm ahead?

Okay yeah it's official I'm crazy - I'm laughing to myself about doing a whole paragraph with only questions. . . shaking my head but still laughing. Yep I'm a loser!

Tagged

Since I was tagged by Catherine and also because I'm a loser baby and don't have anything more exciting to do or report on here. . .here we go again! time to learn a little more about me ... and you! please feel free to play along and let me know if you do.

1. 8 tv shows i watch:
ER
Cold Case
law & order
law & order: svu
Ellen
say yes to the dress
Jon and Kate plus 8
what not to wear

2. 8 favourite restaurants: (listed in no particular order)
Mcdonald's
Chili's
Arby's
Doan's
the keg
Applebees
Wendy's
Opa's

3. 8 things that happened yesterday: (yesterday being november 21st)
slept in!!
watched tv
walked Sasha(if I did it twice does it count as 2 items?)
started reading Edgar Sawtelle
talked on the phone with my mommy
talked on the phone with Jen
went to the consignment store
went to Wal-mart

4. 8 things i’m looking forward to:
a clean house (pretty sure it will never happen!)
a snow storm (call me crazy but I love to sit inside and watch the snow fall)
a bath
reading Edgar Sawtelle
being happy
going back to school
Kellan talking (pretty sure I'll regret ever saying this)


5. 8 things on my wish list:
Happiness
more energy/to be less tired
all the books by all the authors I love
the time to read all the books by all the authors I love
go back to school
a maid!
remote car starter

6. 8 things i love:
listening to Kellan laugh
bath & body works hand soap and lotion and lip stuff
my dog
my bed
reading
my pillow
being in water
peppermint ice cream


7. 8 things i can’t stand:
bad drivers (even though I occasionally am one)
children screaming/crying (although since I've had a child I've become alot more tolerant of this)
smoking, especially in front of children
dishwater left in the sink
hair in my face
taking out the garbage
mean people
feeling dispensable

8. 8 people i am tagging:
Jen
Sarah
Kelsey
Holly
Ericka M.
Erika I.

Yep it's official I'm a loser. I can't even think of 8 people to tag. Also having a hard time thinking of things I'm looking forward to and my wish list. I want to put Christmas and my Birthday that I'm looking forward to but history has shown that getting excited about them just provides me with disappointment.

Fresh Apple Cake

I think I must be setting a new record for myself - it hasn't even been a week since I posted last! Tried this recipe from and it was sooo tasty! It came out of the oven around ten last night and was all gone by about 6 this evening. Yes we are pigs! OINK OINK!

Fresh Apple Cake
2 eggs
2 cups sugar
1/2 cup butter or oleo
2 cups flour
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon nutmeg
1/2 cup pecans, chopped
4 cups apples, cubed
Cut apples in cubes, sprinkle with lemon juice to keep from discoloring and mix with 1 cup sugar to make liquid for cake. Set aside.
Cream eggs, butter and remaining sugar.
Add dry ingredients, and pecans.
Add the cubed apple mixture.
Bake in greased floured bundt pan at 350 degrees approximately 1 hour (longer if necessary) until done or inserted toothpick comes out clean.
May be eaten warm, or cooled and served with ice cream, if desired.

Gratitude

Silent gratitude isn't much use to anyone. ~G.B. Stern

God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say "thank you?" ~William A. Ward

I saw this on someone else’s blog and decided that even if I never ended up posting it on my own blog it would be a good thing to think about, write down and then hopefully share. I encourage anyone reading to at least think of 10 things that you are thankful for. This past weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving and you’d think that it would be real easy for me to think of 10 things that I’m thankful for but here it is almost a week later and I’m still working on my list. I’m hoping that once I actually get started it will just flow. Here they are in no particular order.

1. My dog, Sasha – I know I’m a little bit biased but I really think she is an awesome dog! If I’m having a bad day she can calm me down by letting me pet her or doing something silly and making me laugh. Plus if I didn’t have her I’d probably get absolutely no exercise and would rarely leave the house.


2. My son, Kellan – Again I know I’m a little bit biased but I’m his mom I’m supposed to think he’s wonderful! He’s silly and smart and (usually) quite a joy to be around.


3. My husband, Scott – Some days he makes me so angry but then there’s other days that he makes me wonder at his thoughtfulness. He is my very bestest friend.



4. My computer – I know it seems strange but I am grateful for the opportunities I get to connect with both old and new friends via the internet. Just think – without the computer you would not be reading this!

5. My friends – Both my online friends and the friends that I get to see in real life are awesome. They both provide much support and I can only hope that I return that favor.

6. My Pankhurst family – I posted on Facebook a while back about my sisters being awesome and I know that they must have learned it from my parents. I know that I can ask anything of them and they will do what they can to help.


7. My Shaw family – It is amazing to me that my in-law family can be so loving and such a great example. I learn so much from them. They also will do what they can to help.


8. My car – Eddie Veder the Endeavor is my dream car and there are not words to express how grateful I am to finally have a car that I can trust to get me where I want and need to go.

9. Canada – I am grateful to live in a country where freedom is the norm. I can say pretty much what I want without any fear.

10. And last but certainly not least is my faith – Without faith I don’t think I would bother getting out of bed in the morning. I know that God watches over me and keeps me safe. Every tomorrow has two handles. We can take hold of it by the handle of anxiety, or by the handle of faith. ~Author Unknown

Oatmeal Chip Cookies

Since several people requested the recipe for the cinnamon chip cookies via Facebook I thought the easiest way to share would be to post it on here. Thank you Dianne for the recipe - hope you don't kill me for sharing your family secrets! Our family favorite is to make these with butterscotch chips but when I used the cinnamon chips they were a hit this weekend. For those of you in Canada - you can only purchase cinnamon chips in the US, I've never seen them up here.

Dee's Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cookies

Preheat oven to 350 F

Ingredients:
2 c. margarine
1 cup white sugar
1 cup brown sugar (packed or loose your choice)
1 tbsp Vanilla
5 eggs
2 1/4 tsp salt
2 1/4 tsp Baking Powder
2 1/4 tsp Baking soda
3 cups flour
3 cups oatmeal
2 regular size packages of chocolate chips (any flavor combination you like even peanut butter, butterscotch or toffee bits)
*to make this a chocolate chocolate chip cookie recipe add in 3 tbsps heaping of cocoa YUMMY**

Directions:

Cream shortening and sugars together until smooth then add the vanilla and eggs and combine until no longer clumpy.
Add in the salt, baking powder, and baking soda (and cocoa if desired) and mix well.
Add flour oatmeal and chocolate chips. Mix until all ingredients are combined.
Spoon drops onto a cookie sheet. Will make tons of cookies if smaller drops but they are also very good in large cookies.
Bake 12-15 minutes or until golden brown around the edges. Cool 2 minutes before removing from the pan and enjoy.

Fun in Southern Alberta

Lots of fun stories to share this post. Had the opportunity to go down to Cardston and Grandpa sit while my parents went on a week long Alaskan cruise. My two sisters (Holly & Ada) and Holly’s dog Koona joined Kellan, Scott, Sasha and I. I think a fun time was had by all – even Grandpa!

Kellan loved to crawl up on Grandpa’s lap whenever he was sitting at the table and the two would tap their fingers on the top of the table. Also Kellan loved to steal Grandpa’s walker and go for a run with it and ram into things. Thank goodness he didn’t break anything!

We went into Lethbridge and had a fun picnic with some of our friends who live down in the area. It was perfect weather but there were way too many bees! I think they enjoyed our lunch more than we did!

I think the most fun for Holly, Ada and myself was going down to Great Falls, Montana which is about three hours south of Cardston. I was so excited – I kept shaking Holly to make sure she didn’t fall asleep on the way down, would’ve shaken Ada but she was driving. We got some awesome deals and had fun shopping together, by the time we left Great Falls all of us had sore feet. We did get a little freaked out when a man in the restaurant we were having lunch in came up and asked how we were enjoying shopping and then commented on how he had just been up in Lethbridge a couple weeks back. It took us about 10 minutes to figure out how he knew we were from Canada – Holly was wearing a Lethbridge Community College t-shirt. Ada and Holly and bought some Aleve which isn’t available up here and at the border they had to “surrender” it because the reason it isn’t available is because it’s a controlled substance! Whoops!

Another fun thing we did was Holly and Ada and I went into Lethbridge and Holly and I got our hair done by Lisa Sherlock (Holly’s sister-in-law). I love my new hair and it was great fun to just hang out with the girls and not have to worry about Kellan!

Mom and Dad came home late Wednesday night and we were lucky enough to spend the day as a family on Thursday and then have a family breakfast before Holly and Ada left on Friday. It was too bad that we couldn’t spend more time together with Mom and Dad but hopefully we’ll get the chance soon!

This recipe came out of a cook book that is put out by the Shelton family which are Scott’s grandma’s family. This recipe was put in the cookbook by Kaylene Wells, who I don’t know but it’s a really good recipe!

Crock Pot Italian Chicken
3 lbs boneless skinless chicken breast
1 pkg Dry Italian dressing mix
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms, drained
8 oz fat free yogurt or sour cream

Put chicken in crock-pot. Mix Italian dressing, soup and mushrooms. Cook on low 6-8 hours. Add sour cream and serve over rice or noodles.

My version goes something like this. . .
Approx 10 chicken thighs
1 pkg Dry Italian dressing mix
1 can reduced fat cream of mushroom soup
1 can mushrooms
1 scoop no fat sour cream

Brown chicken in oil in large pot. Drain. Mix Italian dressing, soup, and mushrooms in same pot. Add chicken and stir until chicken is all coated. Turn burner to low and cook until chicken is done, approx 1 hour. Add sour cream and serve over rice, noodles or potatoes.

John Deere Rocks!

This post is especially for my sister, Holly and brother in law, Ryan. When we were up in Grande Prairie visiting Holly and I went to Peace Farm Equipment a.k.a. the John Deere place where Ryan works and went shopping. Holly got Ada a cool new hoodie for her birthday
and we also found this really cool tractor/book toy for Kellan which he loves! It's a tractor that has wheels that move and it also opens up into a book. It's one of his new favorite toys!

Pork Souvlaki

Pork Souvlaki

1 1/2 lbs boneless pork loin or pork tenderloins
• 1/4 cup lemon juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, smashed
• 1 tablespoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 3/4 cup prepared tzatziki, sauce (make your own - recipe in'zaar)
• 6 greek style pita breads
Directions
Trim and cut pork into 1 inch cubes.
In large bowl, whisk together lemon juice, oil, garlic, oregano, salt and pepper.
Add pork and stir to coat.
Marinate for 10 minutes (make ahead: cover and refrigerate for up to 24 hours).
Evenly thread pork onto skewers; place on foil lined baking sheet.
Brush with marinade.
Broil 6 inches away from heat, turning halfway through, until just a hint of pink remains inside, about 12 minutes.
Spread tzatziki over each pita.
Remove pork from skewers and place on pitas; fold over.

I had Scott BBQ the skewers since it was too hot to turn the oven on and they were delicious! I served the skewers seperate from the tzatziki and pitas. I also served Greek Salad which I think rounded out the meal nicely.

Happy Canada Day!

So for Canada Day (July 1st) Kellan and I met up with our friends, Erika and Kristine and Hannah to watch the Silly Summer Parade on Whyte Ave. I was pretty disappointed that there were no marching bands and that the parade was so short. I think the parade was only about 25 minutes max. My favorite thing had to have been either the "Scarlet Hat Lady" who had a red bra stuffed with purple feathers on her head or the Carribean dancers. The Brazilian drummers were pretty neat too. There weren't any bagpipes though and that's one of my faves. Oh well Kell had fun trying to steal the guy next to us slurpee and was generally pretty well behaved. I don't know that the parade even really phased him except that he couldn't run across the street like we had been letting him before the parade started.

A fave new recipe

Since I always have trouble thinking of stuff to post I decided to start adding recipes. I don't know why I have such a hard time thinking of stuff - oh yeah probably because my life is kinda boring. I like it boring though so I guess that's okay.

Here's one that my online friend Steph shared that I LOVE! It's from the Kraft Canada website (http://www.kraftcanada.com/EN/ ) which I use all the time. OK I lied I had to go to the US Kraft site to find this recipe.

Chinese Take-out Lemon Chicken
1 Tbsp. oil
1 lb. boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips
1 pkg. (6 oz.) snow peas (about 2 cups), trimmed
1 small red pepper, cut into strips
1 pkg. (4-serving size) JELL-O Brand Lemon Flavor Gelatin
1 Tbsp. cornstarch
1/2 cup chicken broth
2 Tbsp. KRAFT Zesty Italian Dressing
2 cloves garlic, minced

HEAT oil in large skillet on medium-high heat. Add chicken; cook 4 min. or until cooked through, stirring occasionally. Add snow peas and peppers; cook and stir 2 min.

MIX dry gelatin mix and cornstarch in small bowl. Add broth, dressing and garlic; stir until gelatin is dissolved. Add to skillet. Reduce heat to medium; cook 3 min. or until sauce is thickened, stirring frequently.

SERVE over hot cooked rice, if desired.

Kraft Kitchens Tips
Substitute 2 pkg. (6 oz. each) OSCAR MAYER Grilled Chicken Breast Strips for the cooked fresh chicken strips. Heat oil in skillet as directed. Add chicken breast strips, snow peas and peppers; cook 3 to 5 min. or until chicken is heated through and vegetables are crisp-tender, stirring frequently. Continue as directed.
Jazz It Up
Add 1-1/2 tsp. minced fresh gingerroot or 3/4 tsp. ground ginger along with the broth, dressing and garlic.

I've made this recipe with pork and it's really good! Also I used frozen veg instead of fresh since that's what I had on hand and I used Light Zesty Italian. I just added the frozen veg and stir-fried them after cooking the meat. Haven't tried light Jello because Scott says aspartame tastes funny.

I'm a Copycat

My sister in law, Sarah posted one of these questionnaires on her blog spot and I thought I’d steal the idea!

1.. WERE YOU NAMED AFTER ANYONE? Selina after great aunt but they changed the spelling
2. WHEN WAS THE LAST TIME YOU CRIED? Can’t remember
3. DO YOU LIKE YOUR HANDWRITING? Sometimes
4. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE LUNCH MEAT? It’s gross but I really do like bologna. Corned beef is what I usually get though.

5. DO YOU HAVE KIDS? Yes

6. IF YOU WERE ANOTHER PERSON WOULD YOU BE FRIENDS WITH YOU? heck yeah

7. DO YOU USE SARCASM A LOT? heck yeah

8. DO YOU STILL HAVE YOUR TONSILS? Yep

9. WOULD YOU BUNGEE JUMP? No way jose!

10. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE CEREAL? honey nut cheerios or the occasional Golden Grahams

11. DO YOU UNTIE YOUR SHOES WHEN YOU TAKE THEM OFF? Not if I don’t have to.
12. DO YOU THINK YOU ARE STRONG?Not really
13. WHAT IS YOUR FAVOURITE ICE CREAM? Smarties or Peach
14. WHAT IS THE FIRST THING YOU NOTICE ABOUT PEOPLE? Smile
15. RED OR PINK? Red

16. WHAT IS THE LEAST FAVORITE THING ABOUT YOURSELF? Do I have to pick one?

17. WHO DO YOU MISS THE MOST? having a clean house and time.

18. DO YOU WANT EVERYONE TO SEND THIS BACK TO YOU? Of course

19. WHAT COLOUR PANTS AND SHOES ARE YOU WEARING? Scrub pants and no shoes
20. WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU ATE? Taco ships and salsa
21. WHAT ARE YOU LISTENING TO RIGHT NOW? Tv
22. IF YOU WERE A CRAYON, WHAT COLOUR WOULD YOU BE? Green

23. FAVOURITE SMELLS? baking

24. WHO WAS THE LAST PERSON YOU TALKED TO ON THE PHONE? The guy at Fountain Tire

25. DO YOU LIKE THE PERSON WHO SENT THIS TO YOU? Yes!

26. FAVOURITE SPORTS TO WATCH? curling

27. HAIR COLOUR? brunette but I’m thinking of adding some funky red highlights

28. EYE COLOUR? Hazel

29. DO YOU WEAR CONTACTS? No

30. FAVOURITE FOOD? Taco salad – I could eat it every day!
31. SCARY MOVIES OR HAPPY ENDINGS? Happy endings of course.

32. LAST MOVIE YOU WATCHED? Can’t remember – was going to watch Circle of Friends but decided to go to bed instead.
33. WHAT COLOUR SHIRT ARE YOU WEARING? Blueish with butterflies

34. SUMMER OR WINTER? Winter
35. HUGS OR KISSES? hugs from everyone! kisses from Kellan

36. FAVOURITE DESSERT? Carrot cake with cream cheese icing and vanilla ice cream
37. MOST LIKELY TO RESPOND? Everyone I hope!

38. LEAST LIKELY TO RESPOND? I'll be optimistic and say everyone will respond.

39. WHAT BOOK ARE YOU READING NOW? none, just finished Eat Pray Love by Elizabeth Gilbert

40. WHAT IS ON YOUR MOUSE PAD? No mouse pad
41. WHAT DID YOU WATCH ON T.V. LAST NIGHT? Started to watch My Name is Earl but got side tracked
42. FAVOURITE MUSIC? Country but I’ll listen to anything once.

43. ROLLING STONES OR BEATLES? Beatles! rolling stones are to crusty and immoral, bad combo
44. WHAT IS THE FURTHEST YOU HAVE BEEN FROM HOME? Halifac, NS or Tijuana Mexico
45. DO YOU HAVE A SPECIAL TALENT? Not that I’m aware of
46. WHERE WERE YOU BORN? Lethbridge, AB

Kellan had his first ambulance ride last week. We may have over reacted a bit BUT I would do it again that way. I think he got into see a doctor way faster than if we had just walked in. Plus last year when he had RSV and we drove him into the hospital one of the nurses said we should have just called an ambulance. He had been feeling yucky, read coughing, runny nose and just not his generally happy self for a few days and then last Monday (April 24) he started having a hard time breathing so we called the ambulance and they took him to the Stollery Children’s Hospital at the UofA Hospital. The fire truck was at our house within 5 minutes of calling 911 and within 20 minutes we were en route to the hospital. The firemen and EMT/paramedics were awesome! I think that’s part of the reason I would call again. So we only had to wait about an hour and a half to see the doctor who told us that Kellan had croup. He ordered a dose of an oral steroid and we were on our way home. Kellan has been slowly getting better but he still has quite the snotty nose which is now EVERYWHERE! I’m afraid that he may have inherited my bad sinuses or he’s still teething – either way I’m ready for the snotfest to end!

So here are a few of the first first birthday pics from this weekend. Most of Scott's family was in town so we decided to celebrate a few weeks early. We just ate and then hung out and then ate some cake (that I made). Kell didn't seem too sure about why we were all standing around singing to him but once he realized that he wasn't going to get into trouble for playing in the cake he had a lot of fun!

So these are just a few of our many pictures from Christmas. We went up to Grande Prairie and had an awesome time hanging out with our families. We were able to spend time with both the Shaw side and the Pankhurst side. I think Kellan really enjoyed sharing his new toys with his cousin Sophie.