Skillet Stuffed Peppers

Last night not only did we have football practice but I wanted to try a new recipe. So I did both.



As a child I remember my parents making Stuffed Peppers. I am pretty sure I was "forced" to eat the peppers, and I know as a teen I refused. But oh my I was missing out. The dinner was great. And I of course"forced" my children to eat the peppers. I also told Mathew who was giving a pretty good fight that "it was just like pasta sauce with rice not noodles". So after cutting up the peppers and mixing them with the filling he gobbled dinner down! Annabelle has no problem trying out new things and was very proud that she didn't need her pepper cut up! Jacob is just refusing to eat altogether these days. I think molars can be to blame.....

Here is where I got the idea to do stuffed peppers (4 for a $1), and here is where I got the skillet version. Here is my take on the 25 min belly stuffer.

1lb ground beef browned*

2 peppers

1 can tomato sauce

2 cups cooked rice

onion- I used maybe a 1/4 cup

basil -remembering I do not measure my spices

sugar

salt

Brown beef and add onion, as the beef cooks, boil the water add salt. While water boils cook rice. Place peppers in water for 5-6 minutes. After time, set them on a cutting board. Finish the meat, and drain*. Add 1/2 can of tomato sauce, 1/2 of cooked rice, sugar, and basil to the skillet combining them with the meat. Slice the peppers in half and clean out seeds, place the halves in the skillet and "stuff" in the mix leaving some meat mix for the remaining sauce and rice. Add the remaining rice and sauce, mix well. Saute for 5 mins. Serve.

I served the adults the pepper slice with extra mix. The children shared a pepper slice diced mixed in with the meat mix.

* I have been using turkey to save a little cash lately, and have become accustom to the taste. As I was browning the beef, I could not believe the amount of grease. So the next time I make this I will use ground turkey.

My Yard Sale

Ok to be honest it is really a 10-12 item sale!! But they are things we really want to get rid of before the move (we still do not know where or when).

So here is my sign, I made 4 to go up on the 2 main streets that surround our cul-de-sac. I didn't feel like doing anything too fancy. Plus it is a Post Wide Sale so I figured I'd leave the dates off, and I can reuse them, to have to spend .38 for another piece of poster board, is just silly!

I do realize all of my readers do not live in NC or near Ft. Bragg. But we have a motor and head board and other odds and ends. I'm sure I'll have more for the next one, but I figured I'd hold off on going through clothes till it gets a bit cooler!

Oh but the real cool plus side of me getting things ready (tonight) for the sale tomorrow, was I found a bin full of boy clothes 3-9 months. Landon is set for the winter!!! I mean I found it at just the right time. He would have gotten new clothes pretty soon. That bin happened before the mass labeling happened! So everything is labeled now (post-it note and scotch tape) and stacked. I would love a label machine! I just don't see that in the card for know. I mean I just got the electric pencil sharpener I would hate to spoil myself for the yr!!! I stacked everything because here in a few weeks Lance will be going off to training for about 30 days and we figure we'll park his Jeep in the garage, to save outside space for the kiddos to get the last of the bike ridding in before they go on a truck, or the side walk chalk, which (if you know me well is asphalt chalk to me) I can't stand on the actual sidewalks.

I also had to make a run to wal-mart tonight to get smaller bills. Because while I was working away at the garage cleaning, stacking, sorting (sale, trash, keep, donate) and throwing away toys lots of broken toys we have keep from move to move, not anymore!! I forgot to go by the bank!! Its a good thing we keep change in the house too!

So I am off to bed to get a good nights sleep before a few long hours of dealing tomorrow, and it might be in the rain too. Darn.

Lance and Rachel, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob and Landon

Zucchini Bolognese

This recipe is good to use up extra Zucchini. I had some from our grilled zucchini and squash Sunday night.

Here is my take on this recipe.

I did not measure my ingredients (its more fun this way)! No really this one didn't need to be specific. So:

Pasta (I used Thin Spaghetti)

Tomato Sauce

Onions-diced

Zucchini-diced

Squash-diced

Green Peppers-diced

Olive Oil

Red Pepper Flakes

Salt and Pepper to taste

Meat (I used ground Turkey)

Make pasta as usual.(Bolognese takes a bit longer than pasta cook time).

Mix diced veggies in bowl, add oil to skillet, add veggie and saute on mid-high heat, add red pepper flakes.

Add meat, and salt/pepper to taste cook till browned (drain if needed), pour sauce in skillet, mix till wanted temp. Add pasta.

Mine looks thick here because I used the thin sauce for the children's plates, plus all the good meat and veggies they never knew were in there!!! And I made Lance's plate before I remembered to take a picture!

Top with desired goodies. Lances used parmesan cheese and I used shredded cheddar!

Enjoy,

Rachel and Lance, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob, and Landon

The recipes on blogs oh my!!!

I have never been one to cook let alone bake. But as I look through blog after blog I'm finding it can be much easier than I thought.

This is one of my favorite blogs for recipes Real Mom Kitchen. I had never heard of flour less cookies. I hate to make anymore mess than needed throughout the day and flour is one of those not needed adventures. Here is her flour less cookies recipe!

Or these "made from scratch" OK not really, cake mix cookies, from a different blog! These are the ones I'm trying out today (except I'm doing yellow butter cake mix with chocolate chips!) This is an easy way to use up cake mixes before they expire (because mold can then grow in the mixes, same as expired pancake mixes, FYI)!

And here is something Lance and I did for Sunday dinner. And just to warn you, I do not have picture taking skills, so if the picture is blurry it is not your eyes or the computer, lol!







We had cheeseburgers and then I bought some zucchini and yellow squash to grill. I "marinated" the zucchini and squash in oil, salt and thyme. (next time I will try Italian dressing like Kayln from Kayln's Kitchen suggested, ours didn't have very much flavor.


Rachel and Lance, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob, and Landon

Happy Birthday Jacob

Today Jacob Douglas Borman turned 3 .

He has been very excited all day. He had a birthday breakfast complete with pancakes and eggs! And he got to help Dad make his cake. He also went to the store with me and picked out his own frosting, chocolate (ya, for me)! He has gotten present through out the week from family! So here's to one of our boys.


Happy Birthday Jacob!!!

(last sept)

Love Dad, Mom, Annabelle, Mathew and Landon

Go Panthers Go!

I know everyone is thinking oh my, what happened. No I am still a DOLPHINS FAN! Flag football starts this Sat! And the Panthers are Annabelle and Mathew's team! I volunteered ( by lack of motivation from others) to do the team banner. Now if everyone remembers correctly I was a football manager every yr in high school and the 1 yr of college. I choose to do a banner that the team could run through (tear) during opening ceremonies. I will then make another one for the last game. There is no place to hang a sign for each week. I'm not sure if all the other parents are on board, but I think the children will really enjoy it! So here is the poster/banner/paper that will just go in the trash sun!!

The names will be added tomorrow, I had to get the official list tonight! Who knows if it tears right down the middle like I hope (I'm going to poke little holes in the middle to make for an easy tear) I might be able to reuse if for the last game!

I promise to have pictures, and maybe a video soon!

Rachel and Lance, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob, and Landon

I go SEW.... crazy when the hubby is away

So Lance is in the field for a week or so, and I can get the children in bed by 8pm. So then I have many hours of nothing, because I can not go to bed before 11pm. Really I strive off of 6hrs of sleep! So I invited an old friend to come out and play! And this is what happened when we got together!I have made 2 baby blankies (they are pretty small and mainly for chewing, or baby dolls). And a burpie! Although, I need to fix my tension on my machine (which I will have to google since the instruction book is MIA). You would be surprised what is on the internet, it had been so long, I also had to goggle "how to thread a bobbin". I know please don't judge me on my poor memory. Again please do not judge the stitching, I haven't actually used the machine since Annabelle was born, so I am learning old tricks! But I am so excited!. I also finished Annabelle's curtain. She was excited for it, mom made the boys one when she visited and Annabelle has been asking ever since! I really need to get started on my quilting again (once I get the machine fixed)! I am also working on my hand stitching with a christmas table runner!

I also talked to a great friend of mine tonight, some of you may know her. I call her Jana!! I was almost convinced to post the pictures without words, but I was too afraid of that outcome!

Rachel and Lance, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob, and Landon

My Joys!

I love just about everything in my life. I mean I could do without the pee on the bathroom floor, the hair in the vacuum, and the grime in the garbage disposal. But for the most part I do love everything! Here are so of my joys in no particular order!!

gerber daisies
sports
the smell of my husbands deodorant
Mathew's smile
my 15 mins of quite before I wake the children on school days
HOT summers
sweet tea
Annabelle's hair
reality tv (i know it is just horrible)
Jacob's eyes
reading with my children
the BEACH
cool mornings
Landon's cuddle
the color orange
Wal-Mart (give me everything in one place and i'll take it)
FAMILY and FRIENDS

the smell of fresh laundry (folding and putting away not so much)
camping
falling asleep in my husband arms

Just a few to make me smile today. Lance has left for the field for a few days.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PAPA !!!!!!

Rachel and Lance, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob, and Landon

Lifes about a Beach!!!

Now that we are all feeling a little better, other than Mathew's weird "breakout" rash on the left side of his face after football practice last night. And Annabelle's half day of school because of a slight fever, we are all up to par!!

To help with my healing I think of the BEACH. Living in Kansas for MOST of my life we never got to the BEACH. I think I remember a trip once, on our way back from living in Italy, to a beach somewhere near Pennsylvania or Virgina. Mom you'll have to help my memory on that one.

Last year 2008 we moved to Ft. Bragg, NC! Fun, yes I know! I was EXCITED. I was of course going to miss family and friends but I was ready for the HEAT, less snow and the BEACH!!! But we had to wait a few weeks to get to the beach nonetheless I wouldn't have done it any different. We went to Myrtle Beach, Sc. I thought, "Great this is the beach capitol of the East Coast" (which I know a lot will disagree, but like I said this is the first time I will remember the BEACH!) The best part was that some of my family was able to visit and join us. Papa and Mom, Zach, Jessie and even Austin. We missed you Debbie, Tina and thier families.

(Pop's in the back to the left, you see him, come on I know you see him!)

Look at that water. Jessie hates water (we"fought" with that dollar store inter tube and got her in without a pop!)

And look at the sand ah the sand! Don't look at the guy he's my brother and that would be just WRONG.

Another PLUS was that we camped, that's right folks no hotels for the Light-Borman families. Instead of hundreds on hotels (for 2 nights, 3 hotel rooms would have been $600.) we spent $102 dollars (2 campsights $28 a day each) at Myrtle Beach State Park. Woo Hoo!!!!!

Well I think the Lights might have cheated a bit with the RV!! Just joking... Jacob cheated too since he slept in the RV as well!!

Here is a photo of that RV!!! It was Great to have!!!!!!!!

And then we found Carolina Beach, NC. It is closer to home, less crowed, and just as clean! That is were we venture to on weekends when we want to get out of the city and see the BEACH!

Another day another time I'll share pictures from there.

Rachel and Lance, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob and Landon

The Sick House part II

Just a quickie on hump day!

So all of the children have over come their colds without the fear of H1N1 breakout in the Borman house! But to our surprise Lance now has a cold, I am still fighting mine too. So lack of sleep with the children during there restless coughs and sniffles in the night, and now on to ours. As soon as 1 of us gets to sleep the other has an "attack" and we are both up again, fun fun! So in a few days I hope to have more exciting news other than snot and mucus!

Lance and Rachel, Annabelle, Mathew, Jacob, and Landon