Three New Recipes

So I'm trying to figure out how to have a menu on here and have recipes under a section, but I am having a difficult time with that.  If you know how to do this and can help a sister out, please do!!

Since January is coming to an end I have 3 more recipes to share from this past month's menu plan that we really enjoyed and plan to have again and again!  I will also try to remember to start taking pics of the food before we eat it, but I just can't seem to right now!


If you like breakfast for supper then this next recipe is really good and super easy!

Easy Egg and Sausage Puff

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. loose sausage
• 6 eggs
• 1 cup all-purpose baking mix
• 1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
• 2 cups milk
• ¼ tsp. dry mustard (optional)

Directions:

• Brown sausage in non-stick skillet. Break up chunks of meat as it cooks. Drain.
• Meanwhile, spray interior of slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray.
• Mix all ingredients in slow cooker.
• Cover and cook on High 1 hour. Turn to Low and cook 1-1 ½ hours, or until the dish is fully cooked in the center.

Makes 6 serving.
Prep Time: 10-15 minutes
Cooking Time: 2-2 ½ hrs
Ideal slow cooker size: 2 to 4 qt.
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Love the crock pot like me?!  Try this one:

Slow Cooker Pizza

Ingredients:

• 12. oz. of sturdy noodles (fettuccine worked great)
• 1 ½ lb. ground bf
• 32 oz. jar spaghetti sauce, any flavor
• 16 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
• 6-8 oz. pepperoni

Directions:

• Cook noodles per directions on package and drain.
• Brown the beef while the noodles are cooking and then drain off drippings.
• Grease the inside of your slow cooker.
• Pour in ¼ of the spaghetti sauce and then follow with ½ of the noodles and ½ of the browned ground beef. Top with 1/3 of the shredded cheese and ½ of the pepperoni.
• Repeat the layers, beginning with ½ of the sauce, then a layer of the rest of the noodles, a layer of the rest of the ground beef, ½ the cheese and the rest of the pepperoni.
• Finish by topping with the rest of the spaghetti sauce and then the rest of the cheese.*
• Cover and cook on Low for 2-3 hours, making sure it’s heating completely through and cheese has melted.

*You can add many other toppings such as sliced mushrooms, chopped onions, black olives, and/or green peppers to one or more of the layers!

Prep time: 30 min.
Cooking time: 2-3 hrs.
Slow cooker size: 4 qt.
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No, I really LOVE the crock pot!  I promise we didn't eat all crock pot recipes in one week!!

Easy London Broil

Ingredients:

• 3 tablespoons flour
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon sweet paprika
• 1 1/2 pounds London broil
• small jar (4 to 6 ounces) of mushrooms, drained (opt.)
• 1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
• 1 can condensed tomato soup
• 1 pkg dry onion soup mix

Preparation:

• Mix together flour, ground black pepper, and paprika
• Rub London broil with mixture then put in crockpot.
• In a bowl, combine mushrooms, cream of mushroom soup, tomato soup, and onion soup mix.
• Pour the soup mixture over the meat.
• Cover and cook on LOW for 8 to 10 hours, or HIGH for 4 to 5 hours.

This recipe is easy and great over either mashed potatoes or rice b/c the soup mixture makes a great gravy.
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So, yes, I do love some crock pot recipes!  They make life easier even when you are at home.  I think it'll help once the baby is here b/c I'll be able to prepare supper when I get the chance (like while she's sleeping) and then just turn it on and let it cook away.

Hope you enjoy!

Walk this Way, Stroll this Way...

It's time to introduce you to our stroller, the Baby Jogger City Select!  Here she is in all her beauty:

 She can sit up and forward or...

 She can recline facing forward or...

 She can sit up while facing you or... well if you had all the pieces, she could do 16 different tricks!  You can see them all here!  I have to be honest, she wasn't my original pick, but I didnt' know a lot about this stroller.  My sis in law saw somebody walking with their children in this stroller and loved it b/c you can attach two seats and have them facing each other, you, or forward.  You just have to buy a second seat attachment if you have two children, which she is about to have.  So, yes, we ordered the same stroller and both in red!  I intend for this to be my only stroller as you can jog with it, attach a car seat to it, and so on.  It pushes like a dream and you can even push with one hand.  It's just plain awesome and I'm very pleased with it... I just can't wait until we can push Abby Ruth around in it!

Now I know some of you just looked it up and think I'm crazy for spending so much money... well the truth is, I didn't.  We found out about a deal on Amazon where they were selling it for $280... originally about $500.  Since it wasn't straight from amazon, there was about $20 shipping added.  This was still cheaper than any other place that we could find.  But wait, I'm not done saving money yet!  If you know about Swagbucks, you know it too is awesome!  If you don't know about it, keep reading!  I use Swagbucks as a search engine and had saved up $40 worth of Amazon giftcards that I applied towards this stroller, making it now $260.  I know some of you still think "$260 for a stroller?!" but had we gotten the travel system and jogging stroller, it would have been as much if not more and the resale on this stroller is great!  Also, remember that I said one of my goals was to pray about decisions... well I had been.  I was actually asking God to show me if the other stroller that I wanted was the right one but then when we saw this, I felt led to it.  And I have had a total peace about it since purchasing it!

I know that a few of you are still thinking, "Wait, tell me more about how to earn amazon giftcards with swagbucks!"  Well, it's quite simple.  Just click here and fill out the form.  Then use it as your search engine and earn points as you search.  It takes 450 points to get a $5 amazon giftcard... I can usually earn one of these in about 20-25 days easy.  My sis has started and is putting hers towards Christmas of next year.  It's awesome with saving some money!  My sis in law had $70 worth to use on her stroller and we both plan to use them again if we have to buy more pieces for it ourselves.

I have only one problem with our stroller, and honestly, it's not my problem - it's Tucker's.  He is scared to death of it... growled at it and wouldn't walk past it.  I told him he'd better get over that if he wanted to walk with us this spring! 

Lastly, this is for my mother, as only a few of you will understand... are you happy mama?  This is the trash pile and yes, that is my beloved blanket that is forever old (like 50+ years old I do believe).  This blanket was the perfect thickness and weight, but it's old and raggedy and takes up too much space.  Abby Ruth, if this isn't love I don't know what is!  Mama, I won't embarass you anymore by traveling with this blanket!

My Week In GA

This past week I got to travel down to GA with my mother in law to visit my sister in law and her family.  I had a great time and learned soooo much from Mollie.  It's great to have ppl you can go to who have already gone through the baby thing and are still are!  It was also perfect timing to go last week b/c on Monday William called saying he felt really sick and ended up having to go to the doctor.  While I did miss him, I sure didn't want to be sick and pregnant!

Mollie and I got a lot accomplished while we were there.  First, Mollie helped me cover my cushions for the glider I bought on craigslist.  My helping me, I mean she did 95% of it herself!  I did watch however and learned a few tips from her.  I don't have a great before picture b/c the glider has been in William's shop since we got it.  This picture is the cushion beforehand and you can see where it is ripped.  This is my fault b/c I put it in my washer when it called for a front loader instead.  The twisting back and forth during the wash caused it to rip... but that's okay b/c I really like the brown better!

The next thing I learned while I was there was how to applique, which I was super excited about and can't wait to do more.  My first was this elephant and then we both made whales for our girls to wear while we are at the beach!

We also got to do a little bit of shopping and hit up a few thrift stores.  I got Abby Ruth a few pieces of clothing from one at some very good prices.  Right now she has more used clothing than new, but that is okay with me!  If we were to buy her all new clothing, I'd have to work and we both rather me be home with her and wear cheap and gently used than brand new clothes she'll wear a couple times!

It was also nice to just spend time with everybody and see my nephew, Grayson.  He was very cute and quickly learned to say "Abby" but we think he thinks that's me!  haha.  He'll figure it out very soon though!  Below you'll see him walking around in Mimi's shoes!

Here we are at 26 and 27 weeks... once again, Mollie had to wear black and therefore I look huge and she looks hardly pregnant!  The angle didn't really help either... the next pic I will make sure she's closer to the camera and turned more!  haha, oh well!

In my next blog I'm going to tell you about one other very exciting thing we did, which is ordering our strollers, matching of course!  For those who aren't moms or moms to be yet, it may be hard to understand the excitement over a stroller, but hopefully I can help!  I'm hoping it comes today and maybe you can have a real picture of it!!!

The furniture gets a facelift!

This past week William has been working on giving some old furniture a new look!  This dresser and nightstand were in his room when he was younger and were handed down to him when he bought the house.  The tops have been in pretty rough shape and needed fixing up for a while... I'm so glad it's finally done!  William did a fantastic job! 

I didn't remember to take before pictures so this is all I have of the dresser beforehand.  The mirrow is taken off b/c it's becoming a changing table.

The dresser afterwards:

The nightstand afterwards:

I am suppose to make sure that you know that William picked out these handles and knobs and I actually didn't like them at first.  I guess they reminded me of some outdated bathroom or something, but then they started growing on me and now, well, I LOVE them!  Great job Willie!

I did debate taking the handles back after they were $40 all together, but when you consider the furniture was free, that and the cost of paint is worth the makeover!

I also want you to know that as soon as William had the last handle on, he announced, "Alright, it's ready for the blog!"  He knows me too well!!! 

Two of my Favorite Recipes

I mentioned that I wanted to share some recipes on here that we enjoy.  I like reading blogs that have great and easy recipes that I can try.  One of my goals for the year is to plan out monthly menus (mostly the main dish) and then at the end of the month I want to keep record of what we really like and didn't.  I even write in my cookbooks for future reference.  This year though I want to type up the recipes I really liked and share them on here and have them on file for others and myself.  Hopefully this will help me to build up a portfolio of recipes to refer to each month.

I want to start off with two of our favorites around the Trammell house.

This first recipe, baked spaghetti,  is always a huge hit and great for preparing and taking to others.  It can be made ahead and then frozen.  I often add some extra meat, noodles, and another can of consomme to make extra and then freeze 1/2 for a later date.  It makes a lot, so you may want to split it beforehand!

Baked Spaghetti:
Ingredients:

-8 oz. vermicelli or thin spaghetti noddles
-2-3 C. grated sharp cheddar cheese
-1 can tomato soup
- ¼ tsp. red pepper
-1 ½ tsp. salt
-2 lbs. ground beef
-1 can bf consommé
-1 large onion, chopped
-1 ½ T. Worcestershire sauce
- ½ tsp. black pepper

Directions:
Cook spaghetti noodles and drain. Brown meat in a skillet and drain off grease. Mix noodles and meat with all other ingredients and bake in a 9x13 in. pan at 375 degrees for 45 minutes.



The second recipe, crock pot taco soup, is a favorite of ours during the colder months... although we'd probably eat it anytime.  I have seen William eat this for lunch and then again for supper, all after eating it the day before!  And he is not a huge fan of leftovers!  It also makes a lot, so I normally freeze about 4 servings to eat at a later date.  I serve it with some cheese, sour cream, and tortilla chips.

Taco Soups with Pinto Beans

Ingredients:
• 1 lb. ground bf
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 3 14oz cans pinto beans
• 14oz can tomatoes with chilies
• 14 ½ oz can chopped tomatoes
• 15 oz can tomato sauce
• 1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix
• 1 pkg taco seasoning
• 15 ¼ oz can corn, drained

Directions:
1. Brown beef and onions in skillet. Drain
2. Combine all ingredients in slow cooker.
3. Cover. Cook on Low 4 hrs or until ingredients are heated through.
Makes 10-12 servings and freezes great!


Let me know if you try either of these and how you like them!  I know that you will!

Crafts for the Baby's Room!

On Monday I started a few crafts for Abby Ruth's room and just put the finishing touches on them today.  This is what we have so far:

I got the idea for this burlap wreath from this site.  I loved how it turned out!  I found the fabric in a pack a four at AC Moore and all of the pieces matched perfectly to the room!  I haven't decided if it's going in the room or on her door yet.

This isn't the best picture, but I found this idea here.  I used the same fabric from the wreath and found this little bird at Michael's.  I have it hanging from the ceiling in the corner for now but it may get moved later.

On a side note, we were down to the bottom of the bag of dog food so I just poured it into Tucker's bowl... well most landed inside, the rest is what you see below:

Give Tucker approx. 5 (if even) minutes and this is what you are left with:   

This is why I never mop... haha, totally kidding, I mop... every now and then at least!

Snow Day

I enjoyed our snow day yesterday very much.  It's nice having William home from work to spend the day with.  However he did have to prime and paint some furniture b/c he just can't sit still for too long!  We did however take Tucker on a walk down to the park and met our friends Allison and Jon there for a bit.  Some others were tubing and sledding and were nice enough to offer their tubes to us.  I decided it probably wasn't best for me to try and enjoyed watching everybody else.

Above:  Jon pushing Allison down the hill

Later that day while William was painting, I started on some crafts for Abby Ruth's room which still need a thing or two done to them before I will post a pic... but I have very pleased with them so far.  I suffered a horrible hot glue burn on one of my fingers though!

Other than that, William and I just hung out and I tried out Just Dance 2 - it was fun.  I didn't over do it seeing as I'm 24 weeks pregnant!  I can't get William to play with me though :(. 

Today he decided he would go into work even though I was not thrilled about this.  I know he's safely there now but he still has a meeting to get to this afternoon. 

Nusery update and a few other pics

Here is the first glimpse of the pink that we have in Abby Ruth's room.  William was such a hard worker and good sport about painting the room and got it done very quickly.  And take note... once again no blue tape!  I don't know how he does it, but I'm glad he does!!  

Below you will see the pink walls and the newly painted bed frame that was black.  It looked so beautiful and then after adding the mattress and pillows, the headboard is almost gone!  But it still looks good and goes with the vintage theme I'm aiming for.  We had to keep a full bed in here b/c our room is the only other room that has a bed!  The colorful quilt was made for me by my great grandmother and I really wanted to use in the room but it's not in good enough shape to cover the whole bed.  I need to buy some pillow cases... had to just grab pillows off our bed for the pic.  The small pillows came from my grandmother's house and need to be dry cleaned and restuffed. 

Below is a pic of the quilt on the big bed and the quilt that goes with the cribbing.  It's such a light blue that it's almost white...  I plan to use a few different blues that range b/t these two throughout the room.

Here is William priming the dresser that will become the changing table.  I will show more before and after pics when the room is complete!

 Here are a few other pics that have nothing to do with the baby's room!  First, my sis with her dog, Buddy... his eyes look a tad mean but it was just the light.  It was actually really cute!

Here is our current baby, Tucker with his duck. 

And... this is what it's like to be poor: 

Actually, William was just wanting these to eat but I won't complain b/c they are super cheap!!  haha.

Will be back with some snow pics soon!

New Year's Aspirations

I rarely, if ever, make a New Year's Resolution... I know myself well enough to know I most likely won't follow through.  I have however come up with a few "aspirations" for the new year and one actual goal that I plan to see through.

For starters, my New's Years Resolution is to pray about any decisions before making them.  I mentioned that the Duggar's book was encouraging in this aspect and it really made me reflect on whether I do this as much as a should.  Looking back I can see areas in which I should have done more praying/listening to God than I did.  I was conficted about this just yesterday while shopping.  I found Just Dance 2 on sale for $30 and I hadn't bought anything "fun" with my Christmas money thus far (however I am excited to get my steam mop, but in no way is that a "fun" gift!).  After getting it I started thinking that I hadn't really asked the Lord to show me how to spend this money and just b/c it was a gift doesn't mean it isn't still His money.  So as of now, the game is sitting in my house unwrapped until I either have a peace about keeping it or feel the need to return it.  I know this might sound silly, but it is something i have been conficted about lately.  A big part of me looks foward to seeing how God will answer prayers about when it's time to buy a new house or car and even the small things.  And I will share His answers with you when the times(s) come!

My other goals for this year include:

1)  Planning a month's worth of meals at the end of each previous month.  I love not having to think about what I'm going to cook for supper that night and knowing I have the ingredients I need already.  It will also help to save more money - I hope!  It also helps if William is cooking and he can pick something that is on the list... ;)

2)  This may be TMI, but to breastfeed/pump for a year.  This is something I have started praying about b/c I really want to do it, both for the health reasons and budget reasons.

3)  Be more thrifty.  This includes cutting the cable this month, learning more about local thrift stores, consignment sales, etc..., and depending on God to provide the things we need.  I also want to learn how to better use my sewing machine and be able to say I made some of my daughter's clothing... or at least added something to it!

4)  To blog more often.  I want to do more sharing things like recipes or projects b/c I know I like it when others share an easy and cheap recipe/project that I can do.  I also know that come the end of April we won't be short of pictures to share with you :).  I know I'll be busy, but I think it will be so neat for Abby Ruth and other children we have to look back and read their mom's blog.  I'd love to read a journal or such from my mom of when she was awaiting our arrivals and afterwards.  Therefore, I need to be printing or making a book of my blog... I have this fear of it disappearing into space! 

I think that is it for now!

I Heart the Duggars!

    I really wanted to take a moment to write a review on the book:  The Duggars:  20 and Counting.  It's been a while since I've written a book review... graded quite a few in the past few years though!  Before you read any further, I highly suggest that you take a moment to read more about the Duggars yourself and learn why it is they do things they way that they do.  Many (I used to be one) want to automatically judge them for having so many children, when this is something they totally turned over to the Lord... so in reality, we are then judging His decisions. I'm not going to write out their background on here, but it's very interesting.  You can find it here:  http://www.duggarfamily.com/.
    This book probably falls in the my top 5 favorite books now.  It was so very encouraging, somewhat conficting at times, but overall, an easy read.  As William and I are entering into parenthood, I knew that Michelle Duggar's parenting style was one I was interested in b/c... well, have you seen how well they behave?!  Now some of you are thinking, yea but they are kinda wierd... do you ever stop to think that those ppl we typically think are "weird" b/c they dress plainly, have higher morals, don't wear makeup, etc... are maybe closer to what God requires of us than we are?!  William and I have talked about it and we think that they are probably the ones who are actually doing it right... not us.  Though the book was not all about parenting, she did share some helpful tips that I plan to try with my own children. 
    For us entering into parenthood means living a lifestyle that I never really experienced... the frugal life.  I didn't grow up rich, but I was blessed to have more than I needed.  As for now, we'll be doing good to have what we need with us being on one income and adding another human being to that. Being a stay at home mom is what I have always wanted and it's what I know w/out doubt God has led us to at this time.  When starting this book, I was anxious to find out just how the Duggars could afford everything... remember they haven't had this show forever.  At one point they had their first 5 children in a 900 sq. ft house, which is 200 sq ft smaller than ours and that blows my mind!  As Americans we have a hard time understanding why they would do this.  The Duggars follow the Bible as closely as possible and shared the verse Romans 13:8 which says, "Let no debt remain outstanding, except the continuing debt to love one another, for whoever loves others has fulfilled the law."  They do not believe in having debt, which is something William and I feel strongly about although we do have a house payment.  It has made me second think that though.  Living in a nation where having the newest technology, a new car, a bigger house, etc is a must it can be hard to live the lifestyle we think God has led us to.  In all honestly, I'm thankful we are at a place in our life where we don't have money to buy w/e we want b/c we are learning to depend on God more and more.
    What I loved reading about most in the book were the instances in which they prayed about something and waiting to see how God would provide... and guess what - He ALWAYS did.  They share about times where they didn't pray about something before doing it and often it backfired on them.  It was really neat to hear how God provided and many of the instances most of us would have borrowed the money to pay for something and they didn't.  You wouldn't believe the prices they could things at b/c they just kept praying and offering a low amount.  This was very encouraging to me, esp. when I wonder how we are going to pay for all this baby stuff, doc visits, and so on.  Already I have seen God at work in our lives by providing things for us for Abby Ruth.  Sometimes I do start to get scared and have to remind myself that God wants me at home and He'll make sure that everything is taken care of.

Sorry this was so long winded... I hope some of you made it this far but I won't be surprised if many don't.  This book also led me to my New Year's Resolution... which I will share next time! 

Who would have thought when we dressed as the Duggars (and won) two years ago that I'd be reading their book now!?!  haha!