Goal #11: Try 75 new recipes (73-75/75) plus a few extra!

I have finally come to the end of this goal. It was a fun journey and I'll keep posting new recipes that I really like. I'm glad my family puts up with my experimenting with different foods. I can't stand to eat the same things week after week. 


Grilled Bruschetta Chicken
Strawberry Mojito
Chicken and Broccoli "Stir Fry" in the Crock Pot
Rustic Tuscan Sausage Soup

Goal #51: Climb to the top of a lighthouse

Haha, yeah... Since I moved to the suburbs of Chicago there aren't really any lighthouses to climb. There is one out on Lake Michigan but we don't go out there, as a family. It's too far to drive and my kids just aren't of the age where I can trust we will have a decent time without having to turn around and come home after an hour. When we were in NC in April our friends got married right next to a lighthouse but I don't think it was open to climb. 


Yesterday I took Ryan to a local farm that has a butterfly house, walking trails, and a grain silo. Yes, I climbed to the top of the 4 story grain silo that has been converted into an observation tower. I'm going to count this as my lighthouse climb. Ryan climbed, by himself, all the way up and then all the way back down. I carried Lucas. It was a really nice view at the top!

Goal #11: Try 75 new recipes (66-73/75)

I've been busy planning for Lucas' 1st Birthday. I can't believe that he's almost one. It's crazy how fast the time has passed since I had him.


I miss this day.

But I'm glad I get to enjoy this day.

He sure is a sweet boy! He's got a little fiestyness about him though. He's starting to fight back when Ryan pesters him. Ryan's got a few bite marks on his arm. Lucas is paying him back....for everything! I felt bad for Lucas in the beginning but now I'm starting to feel bad for Ryan. Ryan always says "Lucas is borrowing me!" (bothering me) 

Lucas started walking last Sunday after he had a trip to the hospital for breathing difficulty on Friday and Saturday. He's so funny. He'll act like he's getting psyched up to walk and then he'll sit down. But then other times he'll take off like he forgot how scared he was. He's good at standing still and balancing and was even dancing and trying to jump last night while standing alone. Ryan likes to show Lucas how to walk by going across the room, holding his arms out as if to balance and slowing coming toward me. He needs attention too ;)

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I've also started some seeds to plant in the teeny garden on the side of our house. We are planting 3 different types of lettuce, broccoli, and tomatoes. I didn't know until recently, when the weather warmed up, that we have an herb garden out in our landscaping. There is a TON of oregano. Apparently that spreads out. We also have chives and curly parsley that I'll probably replace with flat leaf. There is also something else that I haven't identified. I can't tell if it's just another plant in the landscaping or an herb. It smells like an herb anyway. I want to add mint, rosemary, thyme, basil and some garlic. 

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I'm so close to finishing my goal of trying 75 new recipes. If you have any yummy ideas leave me a comment below. 

11. Try 75 new recipes (66-73/75)


Banana Cake (This is wonderful! It tastes like banana bread and is super easy. It gets better as the days go by, that is, if you don't eat it all the first day!)
Baked Chicken and Spinach Flautas
Hamburger Buns (I will try these again but I wasn't a fan of how dense they were. All the reviews on the recipe were good. I must have done something wrong)
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (Stroganoff is always a hit with me!)
Single Lady (Vegan) Cupcake (I didn't frost it, I just put a few Craisins on top before baking. I think they would be fluffier if I had whisked the batter instead of just stirring it.)
Philly Cheesesteak Sloppy Joes (We liked these and I served them on the homemade hamburger buns above)
Creamy Chicken Pockets (I added mixed vegetables. I had so much filling left over that I froze it and made them again another night.)
Sloppy Joe Biscuit Cups (less vinegar and a little less cooking time - I don't think the thermostat in my oven is right)

Mom's Banana Bread!

I had some very ripe bananas on the counter this weekend and instead of making green smoothies I thought I'd make some banana bread. I haven't made Mom's recipe in a long time. I tried that "healthier" version a little while ago but forgot to put in the applesauce.

So here it is. I've added a few things to her recipe.

3 VERY ripe bananas (you don't want them black but with a sufficient amount of spots. The riper the sweeter.)
1 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter or shortening (I use butter, softened)
2 eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla
pinch of salt
2 cups flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
dash of nutmeg
chopped pecans (optional, but they make it soooooo much better!)

Mash bananas. Cream butter and sugar with an electric mixer. Add eggs and vanilla, mix. In a separate bowl, combine four, salt, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg. Pour wet ingredients into dry and stir. Fold in pecans. Grease a loaf pan with shortening or spray with Pam. Bake on 325-400 for 50 minutes to 1 hour.

The bake time and temp all depends on your oven. I had to bake it at 350 for 30 minutes then turned it down to 325 for 40 minutes. If it looks like the top is getting too brown and there is a lot of time left, turn it down or cover with foil so the top stops browning.

Also, do not over mix when you combine wet and dry ingredients. Over mixing will make the bread tough! When mixing I stir until almost all the flour is combined and that's when I fold in the pecans. You don't want to beat the tar out of it and then stir in the pecans. Just like muffins, you barely want it mixed.

After 1 hour, poke in a toothpick. If it comes out clean, take it out. If batter is still sticking to the toothpick put it back in for a few minutes at a time. Oh, and don't leave your oven door open! You'll let out all the hot! Take the pan out really fast and close the door to test then put it back in.

Now, for the best part. I swear, this is the best part! If you've never had banana bread with a glaze on it you aren't living.

1/2 cup powdered sugar
1 1/4 teaspoon lemon juice
(sometimes I add a splash of vanilla)

Stir together until smooth and pour over warm bread before cutting.

ENJOY!! I grew up on this stuff. I know it looks like a lot of butter and sugar but, go on, try it!

Goal #11: Try 75 new recipes (61-65/75)

All of these found on Pinterest! I really do love finding recipes on that site!

Crock Pot Orange Chicken (I've had better homemade that wasn't made in the crock pot)
Baked Asparagus (This was pretty good!)
Slow Cooker Beef Stroganoff (I'm a big fan of stroganoff, this was a 7)
Dried Strawberries (Yeah, 2 hours at 210 - not even close to being dry. I think I had them in there for over 4 hours and they were still not dry. No pepper)
Grilled Mediterranean Chicken Packs (I used capers instead of the olives and baked instead of grilled. Tasty)

I've been busy!

I like to think that spring is fast approaching here. It's still pretty cold. This weekend was nice though! I've been trying to get all my spring cleaning done while it's still cold because once it warms up I'm breaking out! I'm tired of being inside. We went from being outside 9 months out of the year and 3 inside when it's cold to 9 months inside and 3 outside. That's an exaggeration but, it is cold most of the year. Boo!!!

Anyway, here's some new recipes I've tried. Mostly thanks to Pinterest - which I love! Follow me!

11. Try 75 new recipes (49-60/75)
Roasted Chicken and Potatoes (this was another one of those McCormick's Recipe Inspiration Cards. The chicken was really good. I didn't add all the paprika because Ryan was eating it.)

Banana Bread third recipe down (no sugar, no oil. I forgot to add the applesauce! It still had good flavor but was super tough. Woops!!!)

Greek Chicken (Thanks Betta!)

Greek Style Quinoa (I made up this recipe - add ingredients to your taste - Cooked Quinoa, 1/2 cucumber, sliced, 1 small can black olives, 1 chopped tomato, 1/4 red onion diced, +/-1 tsp. Italian Seasoning, 1/4 tsp. garlic powder, salt & pepper, 1/3 cup Feta cheese, 1 T. olive oil, 1 T. balsamic vinegar)

Smashed White Bean and Avocado Club Wow! So good! Glad I had this all to myself :)

Cheesy Chicken and Rice Casserole (excellent!! very, very cheesy)

Rigatoni with Tomato-Ricotta Sauce (it was missing something. a little disappointed with the lack of flavor but Ryan ate it.)

Oatmeal Cookies (Dairy, Oil and *refined sugar Free, no flour)
Recipe: 1.5 cups of oats 2-3 super ripened bananas 1 cup of unsweetened applesauce handful of craisins to taste cinnamon (I used 1 tsp) Pretty much just throw everything together, mix it up pretty well, throw it on a baking sheet at 350 for about 35 minutes and then go to town!

Carrot, Tuna & Avocado Salad Delicious, healthy! I used Herb & Garlic tuna in the pouch since I couldn't find Italian Tuna. Never heard of it...

Frozen Yogurt Bites (just drop yogurt onto wax paper and freeze - I used soy vanilla yogurt and Ryan and Lucas LOVE these!)

Taco Pasta This was really good. All the sour cream and cream cheese kind of drowned out the taco seasoning but Ryan ate it and Lucas did too! He was sucking the sauce off the pasta.

French Dip Crescents Yummy, easy. Can't complain! Another hit with Ryan. I'm beginning to think he'll eat just about anything.

13. Visit my sister in Texas
A few weeks ago I flew with both boys, by myself, to Texas to see my sister and her family. I know, I'm crazy. The flights weren't really that bad. The kids didn't sleep and Lucas wanted to just be down crawling around which I was absolutely NOT going to let him do. The Benadryl didn't work. #$#%$!!!

Ryan was so excited for getting some new toys for the plane ride.

Crazy boy!

Ryan took this picture.

And this one.

This one.

That one too. 

The crew at the airport. Welcome to Austin!

I got all the kids Valentine's Day shirts (since we arrived on V-Day). Ryan's said "Most Eligible Bachelor", Lucas' said "This Guy is a Ladies' Man" and Ethan's said "Handsome Little Devil".

We played at the mall...

Built a Bear for Ethan's 1st Birthday

Made it just past intermission at Sesame Street Live

 We celebrated Ethan's 1st Birthday!!

I didn't think they were going to be able to take this cake away! Darryl even let him smear it on his face. He's a good sport!

We had a great time. This kids played, they fought like brother and sister at times. They also had their sweet moments.

(Sorry that one's blurry!)

Ryan was sad to leave and when we got home he kept asking where Amaryl went. I wish we lived closer so they could see each other more often.

6. Read 50 books (13/50)
I read "The Hunger Games" trilogy and it sure was a page turner! It was pretty violent for a teen book I thought. I'm not sure if Ryan was a teenager right now if I'd let him read it. I can't wait to see the movie. I hope it doesn't disappoint. 

29. No TV for a week
Jimmy took Ryan to Florida with him last week which gave me a lot of quiet time. I just had Lucas so I decided to tackle two of my most dreaded goals. No TV and no Electronics for a weekend. Turning off the TV was not so hard. I listed to a lot of Pandora though!

35. No electronics for a weekend (phones, internet, tv...)
Pandora....until the weekend came. What was I thinking? This goal was really hard for me. I felt like I was having withdrawals. I use the iPod a lot and having it turned off and put away was tough. Aside from a few quick texts and a couple of phone calls from Jimmy I didn't use any electronics. Glad that's over... It was nice to unplug and have a lot of quiet time but I'm so used to the kids running around, the radio on, the tv on, some noise, that I found myself quite bored and since the book I was reading was on the Kindle App I couldn't read that one.

Here are a few more pics I wanted to share.

While Ryan was in Florida he did a lot of swimming. Jimmy said that he would "swim" around by himself with the life vest on. I'm so glad he wasn't scared! He is however, scared of toys floating in the pool and the bath tub. He's scared something will happen to the toys (like they will go down the drain). I hope this phase passes soon.

Ryan also had his first dentist appointment. He was so excited. I know, weird kid right? He was as good as you can get in the dentist chair. He has even asked to go back a few times. I know this makes his Gigi proud (she's a hygienist).

11. Try 75 new recipes (38-48/75)

Since it's been awhile since I have blogged I'm just going to post the links to each of the recipes below.

Doughnut Muffins: SO GOOOD!!! I think I ate 10 of the 12 that it made.
Chicken and Cheese Lasagna Rolls: Easy and delicious
Magleby's Rolls: Tasty! Again, I ate most of them ;)
Crumb Coated Cube Steaks: So, so. I've had better.
Chicken Marsala: This was alright. Too time consuming for the end product (you can get the seasoning card in the spice aisle at the grocery store)
Beet Chips: These would've been better had I used a food dehydrator or deep fried them! The flavor was good I just couldn't get them crisp enough.
Nutella No-Bake Cookies: Wow! Ryan and I really liked these. I took them to a MNO and the ladies that tried them liked them!
Asian Sesame Salmon: I messed this up. Overcooked it. Too dry. Ryan ate a good bit of it though.(again, you can get this seasoning card at the grocery store)
Stuffed Sweet Potatoes: I liked this. I think Jimmy would've rather eaten something else. 367 calories! 
Chicken Gyros: Time consuming. I cut the chicken up before I put it in the marinate and I wish I had left it whole and grilled it.
Quinoa Tabboulleh Salad: I've had better taboulleh but this was good with the quinoa