Cheyanne's Birthday

Cheyanne just turned 8 and she wanted to decorate her own cake.
 I think it looks great and she had a lot of fun creating it. You can not go wrong with marshmallows, M&M's, Skittles and Gummies.
Happy Birthday, Sunshine  !!!

Another Make Ahead Dinner

 I am really cooking today !

CHEESEBURGER NOODLE CASSEROLE
WW Community board
8 servings
7pts

Ingredients:
1 lb. ground beef
8 oz. spaghetti or pasta noodles
one 14.5 oz. can peeled, diced tomatoes
1 packet dry onion soup mix
1 cup sour cream (low fat)
1/2 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. garlic powder
salt, pepper to taste
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Preheat oven to 350.

In a large skillet over medium high heat, saute ground beef 5 minutes or until browned; drain excess fat. Prepare spaghetti according to pkg. directions; drain water.

In a 2 qt. casserole, combine ground beef cooked spaghetti, tomatoes, onion soup mix, sour cream, basil, garlic powder, salt, pepper to taste. Mix together well.

Cover dish, bake in preheated oven 15 minutes. Top with cheese, bake, uncovered, 15 more minutes.



 This looked so good, I can not wait to Wednesday to eat it.



 

A Make Ahead Dinner

Now that I work work about 50 hours a week (if I am lucky), I love preparing meals on Sunday to have later in the week. It is cheaper and healthier than fast food.

One of the meals I like to make is Weight Watcher's Shepard Pie. What is also great about this recipe is the kids love chopping the vegetables and cooking the meat. 

Weight Watcher's Shepard's Pie

2 large potatoes, peeled and cut into 2-inch pieces (es)
1/4 cup nonfat sour cream
1 tablespoon reduced-calorie margarine
1/8 teaspoon table salt
2 teaspoons olive oil
1 cup onion (chopped)
2 medium carrots (diced)
2 medium celery ribs, diced
1 lb uncooked ground turkey breast
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon fresh rosemary, chopped or 1 teaspoon dried rosemary
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
2 cups canned chicken broth or 2 cups beef broth

Directions:

1     Preheat oven to 400ºF.
2     Place potatoes in a large saucepan and pour in enough water to cover potatoes. Set pan over high heat and bring to a boil; reduce heat to medium and simmer 10 minutes, until potatoes are fork-tender. Drain potatoes, transfer to a large bowl and add sour cream and margarine; mash until smooth, season to taste with salt and set aside.
3     Meanwhile, heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion, carrots and celery; cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Add turkey and cook until browned, breaking up the meat as it cooks, about 5 minutes. Add flour, rosemary, thyme, salt and pepper; stir to coat. Add broth and bring to a simmer; simmer until mixture thickens, about 3 minutes.
4     Transfer turkey mixture to a 9-inch, deep-dish pie plate. Spread mashed potatoes over top and using the back of a spoon, make decorative swirls over the top. Bake until potatoes are golden, about 30 minutes. Slice into 6 pieces and serve.

 

I keep the potatoes and meat mixture separate until I am ready to bake it.

Easter Morning

 We got up early enough to make it to the sunrise service. What smiles for 6:00 am.

 Then our Easter egg hunt.

Now we have the rest of the day to spend with some great friends and eat some yummy food !!!!

Dying Easter Eggs

Nothing fancy this year just a Paas kit, vinegar and boiled eggs.  We still love dying Easter Eggs.

Yummy Orange Cake

 This Saturday morning Colton, Chey and I decided to try a new recipe I found.  Really easy!!!


 Ingredients:
1 Box (15.25 oz) White Cake Mix
6 oz non-fat Greek Yogurt
1 cup orange juice
freshly grated orange zest, optional
powdered sugar for garnish optional
Instead of powdered sugar I served it with fresh strawberries and Cool Whip.

The cake has the constancy of a pound cake.

 In a large mixing bowl combine the first 4 ingredients. Pour batter in a 8x8 in greased pan. Bakeat 350 degrees for 30-33 minutes.

 The kids did a great job making it and had fun too.

 Then we started on a Shepard's Pie. I love cooking with my kids at this age !!!!

The Color Run- Winston Salem 2013

 Beth and I decided to do the The Color Run this year.
It was a blast.

I had to get my nails ready !!

Beth and I at the beginning of the run. All white and clean.

 After the run there was a color party.

Here we are after the run !

We had a lot of fun, I already want to do it again next year !!!This is a great run to start with if you have never done a 5K. No pressure, all fun !!!!!