Hamburgers with a twist

I know I said I would not be blogging until I lost those few pesky pounds. However, I made a recipe that I can't wait to share with you!

I have been trying to find ways to add more veggies in with our meals. I've gone as far as steaming and pureeing carrots to put in our meatballs! I made the cheddar cheese broccoli soup a while back and it called for grated zucchini. I thought how fabulous would that be in a hamburger! Oh yes I did. Here is my new go to recipe for hamburgers.

2 pounds of hamburger
handful of grated carrots (I bought them like that)
1 zucchini, grated
salt/pepper
garlic (i use powder, but would have used fresh if I had it on hand)
1 tsp group cumin (I didn't measure I just did a small handful)
1/4 onion, grated

Put all into a bowl and dig in. Yes, get your hands dirty and get it all mixed together. This made 11 good size hamburgers for us. We made 5 for lunch today and froze 6. This would be another PERFECT freezer meal to make. Way easy!

One thing I want to say if you aren't a fan of carrots be very careful. There were obviously some spots that had more carrot taste then others. Also you can see the carrots, so if your kids don't like them I suggest pureeing them so its not as noticeable! We couldn't even really tell there was zucchini or onion in it. I'd say major success! Hope you all try it! :)

See you soon...

For those of you who know me, know I have been working towards training for a 5k. I REALLY want to be able to do one and run the whole time. I have also been working towards losing this last bit of pregnancy fat. I often find myself distracted from working out. Mostly due to the fact that I like my facebook and other blogs I read. I can always find an online way to procrastinate and most times skip my workouts.

That being said. I am not going to be online until I get to the next set of 10's. I have been stuck at this same weight for almost a year, so until I can get this kick started and lose those pesky 6 pounds I am not going to be blogging, face-booking, or emailing! Yikes!

That is going to be difficult for me! I love me some Internet. However, I feel it is necessary to cut out the things that I love doing for motivation! I will be completely honest and hope that I am back by April 30th! That's a little over two weeks. We shall see! Until then, I hope you all will check out the blogs that I have been following over on the left!

Recipe Crazy?!

I have gone recipe crazy. I realize I have been posting more about cooking then couponing lately, but I'm more interested in cooking right now! :) I still am couponing just not as freakishly as I have been.

This week I have tried several recipes. Here is one I did today that doesn't really have a name, but here it is.

Pizza on Bread

1 loaf of french bread
tomato sauce (I used ragu)
garlic powder/oregano
Mozzarella cheese
Pizza toppings of your choice

Cut french bread into slices and lay out on a baking sheet.
Add tomato sauce, seasonings, mozz. cheese and pizza topping.
Bake in the oven on 375 for 15-20 minutes or until golden brown.

These were great, but I didn't take a picture b/c I burned them :( I forgot about them in the oven! They were still good though! Kids loved them and I'm sure I will be making them again soon! Perfect for that leftover fresh bread!

Cheddar Cheese Soup with Broccoli? I think so!

If you all haven't been to good cheap eats you need to check it out. She is a mom of 5 babes and is always finding way to eat frugally. I use A LOT of her recipes including the pizza dough!

So a couple days ago I found this recipe for Broccoli and Cheese soup. Now I'm not a huge broccoli fan, but I have been LOVING the cheesy broccoli lately so I thought I would give it a try. Today for lunch we had this with some Parmesan bread-sticks from Safeway. Yes, next time I will make my own bread-sticks! :)

Photo from Cheapeats.com

Chicken Stir Fry

This recipe is a little take of Beef Cilantro and Chicken Stir fry. First you take chicken and cube it and cook it.

Remove chicken from pan and spray with non stick spray. Then add 1 onion and 1 bell pepper. Saute until brown and caramelized.

When onions and peppers are cooked add back in the chicken. Mix together. Add soy sauce and lime juice. Simmer for 5 minutes.


What would stir fry be without rice?! I used brown rice, trying to be a little healthier! :)
This recipe turned out amazing. My kids loved it (minus the onions and green things ;) Even Jeff liked it. I didn't use an exact recipe I just eyeball everything. I did use about a pound in a half of chicken. This fed our family of four and we had left overs for lunch the next day. The kids of course had PB and J because that is their favorite meal. So this could feed 6 people. ENJOY! :)

Snickerdoodle Muffins???

(Photo from Miss. Jen)

I have heard of snicker-doodle cookies, but MUFFINS?! Jen over at Miss. Jen's Kitchen Adventures has an amazing recipe up for snicker-doodle muffins! I can't wait to try these out!

Have you missed me???

Today I finally write. I have been wanting to test out new recipes and putting them on here for you however, they have not be great and my cooking has been boring. The couple I tried turned out awful and then I got mad so I resorted to some oldies, but goodies for a while. However, I am back with a couple GREAT recipes! Which will be posted later!

I have somewhat of a book review today! I am reading "What Every Mom Needs" by Elisa Morgan and Carol Kuykendall. I have the new updated version. This book although I'm not far through it is definitely keeping my attention. It talks mostly about the crazy life of a mom. There is always that tug of war between your children and "who am I."

Every mom needs to know they are a great mom. I have recently struggled with the fact that I not only am a stay at home mom, but I work 2 part time jobs in the evening so our children do not have to go to daycare. I have thought twice about writing this most many times. I am not writing this to offend working or stay at home mom's.

I was out with my mom one day and someone said to me, "so what do you do?" I responded I just stay at home with the kids. Mostly because I didn't want to go into I work here sometimes and here other times. I didn't want to explain. My mother turns to me and says "and that is the most important job you could have." It somewhat hit me that it IS the most important job I have. I was almost ashamed at the fact that I hadn't accomplished anything since high school besides having kids. Then when my mom said that, something inside of me was snapped back into place. Being a mom is the most important job and I should be PROUD to be a stay at home mom.

I realize many of my friends or family members cannot or choose to not stay at home with their kids. I definitely give props to those moms because how crazy and hard is it to keep up with everything on TOP of your "other" job. I recently read a post about things NOT to ask stay at home mom's because it is offensive. I was in shock how right on it was. Also how many times I've been asked SEVERAL of those questions.

Another personal story was when I was getting coffee before working one morning (husband was on break so I was the worker that day ;) ) Anyway this lady says to me "well at least you have something to do, we wouldn't want you to get bored." I was so incredibly shocked I just stared at her. Then in a not so polite matter I said Excuse me? What do you think I do all day? Sit on my butt and eat chocolate. Yes, I realize that was rude, but I may not get up and get dressed up to go to work, but I DO work. I raise 2 amazing kids and my day is includes being a Doctor, nurse, mediator, maid, cook, milk machine, need meter and many many more jobs.

It's a choice and one I would make all over again. I am incredibly blessed to have a husband who prefers for me to stay home with our kids. I may not be working outside the home, or have a "real" career. However, to me, staying home with our kids is the best job I could have and I'm truly blessed to be able to do so. So next time you see a stay at home mom or working mom, give them credit. There's more to life then a job!

So, if you struggle with "who am I" you definitely need to read "What Every Mom Needs."