My little Mehndi artist

In true form today, Aiden pulled out all the stops. For reasons unknown, his hearts desire was to gain full access to Sissy's nail polish. Aiden will go to great lengths to get what he wants.

We have a lock on the exterior of Nadine's bedroom door, and with good reason. Aiden loves to get into her polish, glitter, and make-up. He has stained carpet, bedding, and several pieces of her white furniture with his shenanigans.

Today all the stars lined up for dear Aiden. Sissy went to a friends to play, and left her door unlocked. Mommy decided to take 5 to check her Fb whilst Aiden was playing well independantly in his bedroom.

Apparently Aiden decided to test the door and to his delight it was unlocked. What three year old thinks to recheck doors that are normally locked? This child!

So, he dumped her hamper to use it as a step ladder. Once he gained access to the top shelf of the closet it was like stealing candy from a baby.

He climbed the make shift ladder, grabbed the tote, plopped down on her bed, painted a little Mehndi art on his chest, belly, and yes folks...even his penis. He also got some on her white dresser, her bedding, and his clothing. All in a span of about 5 minutes folks!

This kid will, without a doubt, give me gray hair before my 35th!

Do you see the green and blue caboodle on the top shelf? The little tote that we keep the nail polish, polish remover, and the like was by that tote to ensure it was "out of the babies reach.". It's at least 7 feet up. I can barely reach the shelf on foot. On a side note...I am well aware my daughter has too many shoes, for those who took note, Thank you very much! *sigh*

12/01/09

Today is day 1 of my "Try something new" challenge that was posted on http://indianapolis.momslikeme.com by KatieD1. Today's something new is trying out a new blog! I plan to blog all the crazy fiascos that my kids get into, and since I love taking photos I hope to add some to that on occasion as well.

On our family blog I post about all the fun stuff we do as a family, as well as my personal life experiences...so why not have a blog for all the not-so-positive, often times hilarious, stuff we encounter as parents!

I hope you enjoy the randomness that is my four children, ages 3 to almost 13!!!

Easy No-Boil Lasagna

It may seem silly to have a need to post the recipe for Lasagna. I am sharing this for a few reasons. 1. I had never heard of no boil lasagna noodles until the spring of 2009. Great time saving product! Also, there are people out there who have never made lasagne because they thought it was complicated. Lastly, because this is a simple recipe and who doesn't need to simplify things once in a while?

Ingredients:


1 (15-16 oz) container ricotta Cheese
1/2 c. Shredded Parmesan cheese
1lb Mozzerella
2 Eggs
2 (26 oz) jars Pasta sauce
1 lb Box No boil Lasagna noodles
1 lb lean ground beef, cooked and drained. (sometimes I add in 1/2 a tube of sausage)
4 c. Shredded mozzarella cheese

Preparation:


1. Preheat oven to 350. Spray 9 X 13 baking dish w/non stick cooking spray.

2. In a bowl, combine Ricotta, Parm cheese and eggs. Mix well

Brown Ground chuck (Or whatever meat you choose) and season to taste (I used salt, cracked pepper, onion powder, and garlic powder) and drain

Layer 1 cup of pasta sauce on the bottom of the greased 9 x 13 baking dish.

Lay 4 noodles overlapping in the middle.

Top with 1/3 the ricotta cheese mixture

Top with 1/2 of the seasoned, drained meat

Top with 1 cup of shredded cheese

Layer 2 is just noodles, ricotta cheese mixture, mozerella and sauce

Layer 3 (top) is just like layer 1 (noodles, 1/3 ricotta mixture, remaining meat, remaining sauce, and cheese)
 

Bake at 350 for 45 mins or until cheese is bubbly!

Apple crisp

This is a simple, easy and inexpenxive dessert. I serve it with Vanilla bean ice cream. You can make it ahead in the morning and refridgerate it as well.

Ingredients:

5 cups sliced apples
1 cup flour
1 cup sugar
1 TSP cinnamon
1/4 cup chilled stick butter



Directions:

Peel and core 5 cups of apples

Thinly slice the peeled apples

Mix sugar, flour,add 1 TSP cinnamon, cut in 1/4 c. of butter until it looks like coarse crumbs.

Place sliced apples in a buttered baking dish, and sprinkle mix on top of the sliced apples

Taco Bowls

I got the idea for these at the Garden & Patio show back in 1997. A vendor was serving "Traveling Tacos" and they were tastey so I decided to make them at home. This is a super easy and quick alternative to regular tacos. You can sub the beef for ground chicken, shredded chicken, or even ground turkey.

Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Beef (or whatever meat you prefer)
1 can refried beans
1 Taco seasoning packet
1 bag of corn chips
1-2 tomatos (diced)
1/2 head of lettuce (chopped)
1 lb shredded Cheese (Mexi blend is good, but you can use whatever you like)
Sour cream if desired as a topping
Guacamole if desired as a topping


Directions:

Brown 1 lb of ground beef with Taco seasoning packet by directions on packet, drain.

Add 1 can refried beans to the meat

Chop lettuce

Dice tomatos. I LOVE my Vidalia chopper. It's one of the few "As seen on TV" products that actually works!

Shred cheese (If you don't buy the pre-shredded bagged kind that I normally use)

Assemble taco bowls (Chips, meat mixture, cheese, lettuce, and tomatos. Top with whatever you lie! (Sour cream, Guac, Pico, salsa)

Beef Enchiladas

This is one of my faves. I love it because it is so forgiving! You can really substitute anything in this and it's always good! Use whatever meat you prefer, beans, veggies, etc. I really don't think you can go wrong with anything wrapped in a corn tortilla and topped with sauce ;)

(Beef enchiladas served with Spanish rice and Guac. salad)

Ingredients:

1lb lean ground beef
Pkt of taco seasoning
1 can refried beans
1 can black beans (Frijoles Negros)
1 can Rotel Cliantro Lime tomatos (if desired)
1 package of corn tortillas
1 can of enchilada sauce (I use red myself, but green is good too)



Directions:

Brown 1lb lean ground beef w/taco seasonings according to directions on the pkt.

Add 1 can of refried beans to the meat mixture

Add 1 can of black beans (frijoles negros) to the meat mixture

Clean up the OJ that the 3 y/o spilled because he couldn't wait for a can of frijoles negros to drain before mommy got his drink. Grrrr...

Warm the corn tortillas to make them soft. Do it in a skillet and burn your fingers 30 times...or nuke 'em in the micro for 10 seconds each one at a time (nuke, stuff, roll, repeat). I prefer to nuke 'em. Ole!

Pour enough enchilada sauce to cover the bottom of your baking dish with a thin layer of enchi sauce. This keeps the enchiladas from sticking to the pan :)

Pour meat & bean mixture onto the center of the warm tortilla. Top with shredded cheese and roll it up like a burrito. This isn't rocket science people ;P

Line the enchiladas up as you roll them. See how thin the layer of enchilada sauce is after being spread out? Use too much and you will have soggy fall apart enchiladas ;P

Top the enchiladas with shredded cheese, and sometimes I use Rotel cilantro and lime diced tomatos on top too.

Bake at 375 for 20-30 mins. until bubby. You can make these ahead and refridgerate until baked. Extend baking time to 30-45 mins for refridgerated enchiladas. These freeze well too!

Tatertot casserole

This one is easy to make, with little prep time, but it does take an hour to cook! Meat? Good! Potatos? Good! Serve with a side of veggies and it's dinner time!


Ingredients:

1 lb Ground Turkey
2 lb bag of frozen tater tots
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can of cream of chicken soup
1 can of 2% milk (1 can of evaporated milk for a richer flavor)
paprika
1/2 lb shredded colby jack (if desired.)

Directions:

1. Brown the ground turkey, Season to taste, and drain. (I used onion powder, garlic powder, salt & pepper)

2. Layer the turkey in a 9X13 baking dish

3. Top the turkey layer with the 2 lb. bag of frozen tots.

4. Mix both cans of soup with 1 can of milk, and pour onto the dish, covering all tots.

5. Top with a light sprinkle of paprika, and 1/2 lb of shredded cheese if you'd like.

6. Bake at 350 for 1 hour and let set 15 minutes before serving.

Mexican Lasagna

This is a very simple version of this dish, because I have kids with sensory issues when it comes to food, so we try to keep the textures simple! You can also add things like peppers, black olives, mexi-corn, whole balck beans, pico de gallo, diced tomatos, etc. to suit your taste. I often add a dollop of sour cream to the top of mine, although no one else in the house will...except maybe Aiden. He'll eat anything!


 
Ingredients:

1 lb. ground meat
1 can refried beans (I used the Meijer organics Black mean and pepper style)
1 can enchilada sauce
1 lb of shredded cheese (colby jack, Mexican blend, or whatever you prefer)
1 package of small corn tortillas
1 pkt. Taco seasoning

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and spray a 9 X 13 baking dish with non-stick cooking spray or prefered greasing method.

2. Cut 12 tortillas in half. Lay 2 whole tortillas in the center of the 9 X 13 pan, and line the outside edges with 6 halves per layer.

3. brown ground meat with taco seasoning and can of beans.

4. Layer 1/3 can of enchilada sauce to lightly coat all tortilas. Spread 1/3 of meat & bean mixture on top of the enchi sauce. Top with 1/3 lb. (approx 1 1/3 cups) of shredded cheese.

5. Repeat layering twice more just the same as before :)

6. Cover tightly with foil and bake 45min, or until hot and bubbly.

Let stand covered 15 minutes before serving.

You can also freeze this!