Monday, June 29, 2009

Crockpot Tuesday

I did a meatloaf recipe a while ago here. it was good, but could have been better. Last week I shared the breakfast recipe we had for Father's Day morning. Today, here's the new and improved meatloaf recipe from Father's Day dinner.
New & Improved Meatloaf
2lbs ground beef
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup catsup, separated
1-6oz box of chicken stuffing
salt & pepper to taste
1/2 tsp garlic, minced or powder
1/2 a packet of Italian seasoning mix-the type you can use to make salad dressing
Mix all ingredients together and form into ball. I think it's best to be sure that it's really well mixed so that it's not too dense. Drop the mixture into the crock pot and pour the remaining 1/4 cup over top of formed meatloaf. Heat on High for 2 hours.
The only thing I added since the last time I did this recipe was the half packet of Italian seasoning...but it really made a big difference. Also, I really like to let the uncooked mixture sit in the fridge for a couple hours-or overnight even. The flavors really mix great that way! I also really love that it only takes 2 hours to cook. I think that's the best part of all. Anyway, adding the additional seasoning really added so much flavor so this is how I'll do it from now on.
My dad is a great judge of meatloaf and he was loving it! He said that he was going to use this recipe for his meatloaf from now and I think that's a pretty huge compliment. :)
Happy Father's Day Dad & Jeffrey. You guys are so awesome that I spelled it out for you in ketchup. yup, i did that.

Thursday, June 25, 2009

Friday's Dose of Brilliance


I stumbled upon Renee's blog via Katy's blog a while back. Renee posted about a great personality test she found and took--courtesy of the super smart Carl Jung. Her results seem acurate to her and I have to say that mine were spot on as well. When I was in school, all my psych courses had loads of these tests and I love them.
The test is somewhat lengthy - especially when compared to the "which twilight hotty are you?" that I typically take on facebook. There are 7o-something questions but they are pretty easy to answer...considering they are about yourself! It took me less than 5 minutes so you should do it too! And then comment and tell me if your results are right too!!


Here's mine and a bit of info:

ESFJ - "the guardian" or "the provider"
very expressed extravert
slightly expressed sensing personality
moderately expressed feeling personality
moderately expressed judging personality

Here are more details which you may or may not be interested in reading...if you know me well, let me know if you think it fits :)

Providers take it upon themselves to insure the health and welfare of those in their care, but they are also the most sociable of all the Guardians, and thus are the great nurturers of social institutions such as schools, churches, social clubs, and civic groups. Providers are very likely more than ten percent of the population, and this is fortunate for the rest of us, because friendly social service is a key to their nature. Wherever they go, Providers happily give their time and energy to make sure that the needs of others are met, and that social functions are a success.

Highly cooperative themselves, Providers are skilled in maintaining teamwork among their helpers, and are also tireless in their attention to the details of furnishing goods and services. They make excellent chairpersons in charge of dances, banquets, class reunions, charity fund-raisers, and the like. They are without peer as masters of ceremonies, able to speak publicly with ease and confidence. And they are outstanding hosts or hostesses, knowing everyone by name, and seemingly aware of what everyone's been doing. Providers love to entertain, and are always concerned about the needs of their guests, wanting to make sure that all are involved and provided for.

Friendly, outgoing, neighborly - in a word, Providers are gregarious, so much so that they can become restless when isolated from people. They love to talk with others, and will often strike up a conversation with strangers and chat pleasantly about any topic that comes to mind. Friendships matter a great deal to Providers, and their conversations with friends often touch on good times from years past. Family traditions are also sacred to them, and they carefully observe birthdays and anniversaries. In addition, Providers show a delightful fascination with news of their friends and neighbors. If we wish to know what's been going on in the local community, school, or church, they're happy to fill us in on all the details.

Providers are extremely sensitive to the feelings of others, which makes them perhaps the most sympathetic of all the types, but which also leaves them somewhat self-conscious, that is, highly sensitive to what others think of them. Loving and affectionate themselves, they need to be loved in return. In fact, Providers can be crushed by personal criticism, and are happiest when given ample appreciation both for themselves personally and for the tireless service they give to others.

Wednesday, June 24, 2009

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Here are a few random pics from the last week. I'll get fathers day pics posted next week.

working on his puzzle

this was taken mid-scolding

Monday, June 22, 2009

Crockpot Tuesday-Fathers Day Part 1

There was a whole lotta crock pottin' going on this Father's Day at the Barnes hood. My dad and Corliss came over for breakfast in the morning and I made a yummy breakfast casserole. It was a hit! Next Tuesday I'll show what we had for dinner that night.


Spicy Breakfast Casserole

1lb bag frozen hashbrowns
12 eggs - yeah, 12
1 cup water (sub for milk for richer taste)
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 c shredded cheese
1lb ham steak
8oz can green chilis

Cut up ham into small cubes. Whisk eggs, salt, pepper and milk together and set aside. Spray crockpot with nonstick cooking spray. Pour 1/2 of the hashbrown into bottom of cooker, spread evenly. Sprinkle 1/2 of cheese next. Dump ham and chilis in next, followed by another layer of hashbrowns and cheese. Pour egg/salt/pepper/milk mixture over top. Cook on HI for 2 hours.

I found a recipe for a breakfast casserole somewhere and wanted to spice it up. My dad and I have always been big fans of chilis and I know that Jeffrey and Corliss like it too. I decided to add ham and green chilis for flavor and spice and subbed milk for the water for richness. You can always do more cheese, or even different types of cheese to mix it up if you want to. My dad was thinking that swapping the ham for chorizo would be good too and I agree. We topped it with some salsa and enjoyed!

The recipe says this yields 8 generous servings. After the 4 of us ate, we had quite a bit left over. For dinner tonight, Jeff and I put some of it in tortillas and it was good too.

Breakfast was complete with bacon and yummy cinnamon rolls--and several mimosas. Not exactly a healthy breakfast, but Father's day comes only once a year!

Wednesday, June 17, 2009

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

I almost forgot this week...too busy at work which was where I typically did my best blog work. :)


jeffrey and i got to a game this week. it's really pathetic how often we get to games considering having season tickets. shameful!

connor learned how to use the laser pointer to play with the kitties. this was lots of fun until my dad pointed out that he could hurt his eyes. total buzzkill.

pulling elmo-and his chair-in the wagon

oops. since i didn't actually see it happen we'll give him the benefit of the doubt and assume the elmo fell and was not pushed out of the wagon.

And counting!


Decade: a period of ten years. The word is derived from the late Latin decas, from Greek decas, from deca.
It's official...as of today Jeffrey and I have been together a decade. Neither of us actually realized it until a few minutes ago but that's ok. :) I'm such a wierdo - when people ask how long we've been together I say 10 years. We've been married for 5, but I feel like we put in some good time before that so we say ten. dumb, right?

well, 10 years ago today Jeffrey's parents went out of town. Jeff had a party at their house and I was there. We'd worked together for about a year or so and flirted mercilessly. Not adult flirting, but like children - we'd push each other around and be pretty snotty to each other. Anyway, the night of the party we were drinking lots and Jeffrey was making screwdrivers. so grownup, right? He tried to give me another one and I said 'no, i've got to go home tonight'. being the gentleman, he replied "if you have another one, you can just stay here". Well, the rest is history.

Thanks vodka :)

Tuesday, June 16, 2009

Not you fat Jesus


So, Jeffrey and I rarely go and see movies anymore...but we've both been looking forward to The Hangover since we saw a trailer a couple months ago. Saw it, loved it, saw it again. I'm not really into buying movies either, but this one I want to own for sure. I mean, we've been to the movies maybe 4 times so far this year and half of those times were to see this freakin movie.
Plus, Bradley Cooper...love.
He plays a creeper really well, but I loved him in some super cheesy made for tv movie with Jason Priestley...something that was kinda like The Bachelor - with awkward rose ceremonies and all.

Crockpot Tuesday

we've had a frozen package of those lil' smokies in our freezer forever so we pulled them out today for dinner. Since cocktail wieners (both funny words-two points) aren't really enough for an entire meal we added some baked beans to the crock and some cole slaw and fries on the side.



1 lb lil' smokies
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c catsup
1 c bbq sauce
1 can baked beans

Mix brown sugar, catsup and bbq sauce together well and pour into sprayed crock pot. Pour lil smokies in and mix around. Cook for 2 hours. I added the baked beans about halfway through cooking. The brown sugar/catsup/bbq mixture had great flavor and so did the sauce from the beans. We'll certainly do this again this summer, since this felt like a real summer-like meal.

These were really yummy. Most recipes I find for meatballs, cocktail wieners, etc include grape jelly. This sounds great and I'm sure I'll try it but we didn't have any jelly - grape or otherwise - and I wasn't going to go out to the store just for jelly!!

Saturday, June 13, 2009

This just happened - Part II

L: Do you know where my green shirt is?
J: The one you used to wear backwards?
L: It's my only green shirt, so we can probably just call it the Green Shirt now. :(

we could probably make this a regular featured posting!!

Hope everyone is having a great weekend. Connor is staying the night with Aunt Sarah. We're about to go see Jill and baby Brody, then to the Dbacks game and to see The Hangover again.

Friday, June 12, 2009

Friday's Dose of Brilliance


STFU, Parents - I am so guilty of this and I know it. Something happened when Connor was born and it's like I felt the need to have 95% of my convos dedicated to him. Sorry, but it could be worse. I feel like I keep a somewhat healthy balance of friends/husband/family/connor time, really I do. Well, the people on STFU, Parents do NOT. Since I can't really describe it any better, here's the description from the site: You used to be fun. Now you have a baby. If you're being driven crazy by your friends' baby updates every time you check your status feed, please feel free to contribute to this blog.

**this blog is totally dedicated to Jill :) She and Ben welcomed their son Brody Thursday morning at about 6am. Congrats Smith Fam!!**

Thursday, June 11, 2009

Friday's Dose of Brilliance


Maybe you shouldn't buy that. we're in a recession, yes it's true--i know it's shocking. 150 more people were let go from my former employer a couple weeks ago. so scary. This site showcases a bunch of ridiculous items that are far, far too expensive to even consider purchasing--especially now! They are like the dumb items you see in Sky Mall, except a bajillion more dollars. The one pictured above allows you to shower while still laying down. it also serves as a place to keep your far too expensive exotic fish aparently. awesome.

Wednesday, June 10, 2009

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

Here are a few photos for Nearly Wordless Wednesday. The first three are during Carly's wedding dress search. Lucky girl - she found her dress in the very first store we went to!! It's beautiful and classy and fun and looks amazing. I of course, will not be posting pictures of it though!! I'm 110% positive that Bobby doesn't read my blog but just in case... :)

The last few are just some random pics of Connor over the past week. Happy Wednesday!

brielle and her nona
carly and brielle in between dresses

brielle trying on veils for me since Carly isn't really into it

someone discovered where they keep the mickey junk in the disney store...

connor and his own camera (erin, he's wearing your shirt!!)

and this one just kills me. makeup in hand...yet with his baseball glove between his feet. sadly zoey ended up with powder all over her shaved little body. poor kitties.

Sunday, June 7, 2009

Crockpot Tuesday


Spicy Honey Chicken

2 chicken breasts
2 Tbsp honey
2 Tbsp melted butter/marg
2 tsp Mustard-any type is fine
2 tsp Curry, though I used Cumin as I didn't have curry on hand
s&p to taste

Spray crockpot with cooking spray and place chicken in bottom. Mix all other ingredients well and pour mixture over chicken. Cook on Hi for 3 hours or Low for 5-6 hours. I also dumped some frozen veggies in during the last 90 minutes of cooking for an easy side dish. If you like your veggies more crisp, wait until the last 60 minutes or so.
This was good. The chicken had lots of spice to it. spice like cumin, not spice like hot. I really couldn't taste the honey so i'd probably add another Tbsp next time for contrast. the chicken was really tender and the veggies took on lots of the flavor of the mix too so that was good. This was a hit.

Thursday, June 4, 2009

Friday's Dose of Brilliance


Lisa & Weston - Lisa, one of my sorority sisters from ASU and her husband started this blog earlier this year. After trying to have a child for several years and 5 lost pregnancies, they decided that they were meant to adopt. They did their research and found a company they trust to aide them in bringing home their child. The site is their way to try and get the word out about their desire to adopt. Their story is amazing, inspirational, heartbreaking and completely positive all at the same time. If you know anyone considering adoption please pass the info along...or better yet just pass it along to anyone-you never know :)

Their Blog - start at the beginning here

ok, i've spent the last 45 minutes reading and crying so i'm going to wrap this up now. Please visit their sites and please spread their word.

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Nearly Wordless Wednesday

playing around with his dbacks hat
note connor's 1st pair of Chuck T's. I heart them.

this cheesy pic is here simply to show off all his little chompers...he has all of them but the molars:)

he took this pic himself...myspace here i come.

connor and daddy playing legos

enjoying some cake/staining his shirt at Tyler's 2rd bday party

we went swimming at my SIL's house Sunday to celebrate late mothers day/jeffrey's bday/stephanie's bday/my MIL's bday

happy jacob. he doesn't swim yet so he was content on his swim chair. we did convince him to jump in the pool twice though so that's great.

connor swimming to daddy

my SIL megan and Jacob

Tuesday, June 2, 2009

Crockpot Tuesday

we love bbq. it's so yummy. what we don't love is standing outside and drowning in sweat over the grill when it's...let me check...104 at 5 o'clock at night. i hate you summer.

we got some ribs several weeks ago and froze them. jeffrey wanted plain ribs with bbq sauce but i told him that 'my public'...all 4 of you...deserve more than ribs with bbq sauce. you're welcome. here's a rub that I found and amended just a bit to only include the ingredients i had on hand. I make up a pretty large batch of the rub and then just store it until next time. I've used it on chicken too and I think it'd be good on just about anything. enjoy:)

Spicy Rub Ribs

2 lbs pork shoulder ribs-though anything is fine
bbq sauce-enough to fully cover ribs

rub ingredients:
4 tsp brown sugar
3 tsp salt
3 tsp chili powder
3 tsp paprika
3 tsp garlic salt
3 tsp black pepper
1 tsp thyme
1/2 tsp cumin

I prep the night before when I can so i sprinkled the mixture on the ribs and put them in a sealed tupperware in the fridge. This helps them marinate and makes the morning really simple for us. When you're ready to start cooking, spray crockpot with nonstick stuff and dump ribs in. Pour enough bbq sauce in to fully cover the ribs. If your crock tends to burn with just bbq sauced as the liquid you can mix in a can of tomato paste if you want. Cook for 4-6 hours. The meat should just fall right off the bone. awesome.

fyi - original rub recipe also calls for taragon, mustard powder, rosemary, cayenne and lemon pepper but i didn't have those and wasn't going to go get them. You can add more cumin or chili powder if you like it really spicy or more brown sugar if you like them sweeter. And use as much or as little of the rub as you like on your ribs. Totally personal preference here folks.