Dr. Pepper Pork Chops

I forgot to mention this a few posts ago, but I have officially hit the 500 post mark! This is post number 504, so I am a little late. Happy Belated 500th blog posts to me! :)

Ok. Now onto the reason for my 504th post.

Dr. Pepper pork chops.

Yes. You read correctly. I am about to share with you my mother in law's recipe for Dr. Pepper pork chops. It is SUPER easy and oh so yummy. Lets dive in, shall we?




You need a whopping three ingredients. Pork chops, ketchup and Dr. Pepper (duh). Easy peasy.





Place your pork chops in a skillet. And make sure to coat it with cooking spray first. You don't want them to stick!

(Side note: Normally I would be able to get 4-6 pork chops in the skillet. But Daniel was in charge of the meat on grocery night and got the wrong one. So I was stuck with these whoppers. They tasted fabulous, but just bigger than what I was used to.)





Lightly sear the chops until they turn white, then flip them over and sear the other side.





See? Nice and pretty. :)





Now, take one cup of ketchup...





and one cup of Dr. Pepper...





and combine them together in a bowl.




Then pour the mixture over the seared pork chops.





Don't be afraid. Drown the pork chops in this stuff. It is definitely worth it.





Now, cover your skillet and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour. I usually let them simmer for closer to an hour. I really like it when the meat just falls apart on your fork.

And that is it folks! I would have one last picture showing you the finished product, but my husband and son inhaled these things as soon as they were done. So here I am with no picture. Its a rough life I live.



Dr. Pepper Pork Chops

4-6 chops
1 cup ketchup
1 cup Dr. Pepper

Spray skillet
Salt and pepper chops
Lightly sear chops just till white in skillet
Combine ketchup and Dr Pepper and pour over chops.
Simmer about 45min. - 1 hr.
Serve immediately and enjoy!

It's The Little Things

I went outside today and found these little babies basking in the sun.





Quite a few of these bunches were starting to peek out at me. I was very happy to see them!





I am not 100% sure why I was happy to see these random berries, but I am guessing it has something to do with the hope of warmer weather. Not too warm though. 60's and 70's would be nice.

Ah yes. I feel some of my sanity coming back already. Outdoor fun, here we come!

Gung-Gung

Does everyone remember Zachariah's giraffe blanket? Well, I call it a giraffe blanket. Zachariah named it "gung-gung". I have no clue how that name came into existence, but sure enough that is what he calls it. A while back I just thought that he could not pronounce the word giraffe, but turns out that was not the issue. In fact, we were in a store the other day and we saw a giraffe blanket almost exactly like "gung-gung". It was just a little furrier and had brighter colors. Zachariah looked at it and said "Look, giraffe!". Then he picked up "gung-gung" and hugged it. He didn't even consider the two things similar!

And just in case you are wondering, he is just as attached to it as ever.




He honestly believe that he considers "gung-gung" his friend. He will include that giraffe blanket in everything that he does. Coloring, reading, watching the Christmas train, watching tv, playing with Daddy (he even makes Daniel "talk" for "gung-gung". It is HILARIOUS.) In the picture above he is showing "gung-gung" the squirrels outside. How cute is that?




I am going to cry when the day comes where Zachariah doesn't need "gung-gung". That and his paci are about the only things that constantly remind me of his baby days. *tear*


And yes, I am aware that I have the cutest kid on the face of the earth. Thanks for the reminder though. :)

The Vaccine Book: Intro

As you may know, I have been reading The Vaccine Book and I have decided to do a 12 post series (one on each vaccine). This post will serve as the official "introduction post" where I will share the preface of the book, my thoughts/opinions on vaccines and a little background info about Zachariah and his vaccine history.

First thing's second. I do not think vaccines are horrible. I think that vaccines play a useful role in eliminating some diseases from our population and making sure others don't get out of hand. I do think that to many vaccines are given to children at too young of an age. I do think that parents need to be more informed about what is being injected into their children. That is why I am reading this book and sharing my finds. :)

Zachariah was on a regular vaccine schedule. He got four shots every other month for the first year or so of his life. Right before he turned 15 months Daniel and I decided to stop having him vaccinated. Not forever, just for the time being. I wanted to do my research before he got the MMR. That vaccine gave me a bad gut feeling. And if I have learned only one thing from motherhood it's this: always go with your gut. So, that's what I did. He has not been vaccinated since. I am not closed to more vaccines, but as long as Zachariah is not in daycare/school I am not overly concerned with them.

Anyway. That is where I currently stand on vaccines. My opinion may change completely by the end of this book, but for now, those are my thoughts. Ok! Enough of my babbling. Onto the book!


The Vaccine Book was written by Dr. Sears in 2007. This was (and might still be) the first ever open minded guide to childhood vaccinations. He simply lays out the information and lets parents form their opinion about vaccines. How nice is that?

Here is a little excerpt from the preface of the book.

"Doctors, myself included, learn a lot about diseases in medical school, but we learn very
little about vaccines, other than the fact that the FDA and pharmaceutical companies do
extensive research on vaccines to make sure they are safe and effective. We don't review
the research ourselves. We never learn what goes into making vaccines or how their safety
is studied. We trust and take it for granted that the proper researchers are doing their jobs.
So, when patients want a little more information about shots, all we can really say as
doctors is that the diseases are bad and the shots are good. "

Doctor Sears spent thirteen years doing research and learning everything everything he could about vaccines and the diseases they are designed to prevent. He says, "Even though vaccines are important, you as a parent are still entitled to know what you are giving your child. You have a responsibility (and a desire) to make informed health care decisions for your family."

I am so pumped about this book. After the first chapter I knew I was going to love it. I've been looking for something like this. And luckily for you, I have decided to document all of my findings. :)

Stay tuned later this week for chapter one!

Yogurt Cereal Bars

Last week I found a recipe for yogurt cereal bars. It looked easy enough, and didn't require a lot of weird ingredients, so I decided to give it a try. Just in case they turned out to be yummy (and they did), I took pictures of the whole process so I could share them with you guys! Aren't I considerate? :)



For the crust, you will need flour, butter (or margarine), brown sugar, corn flakes and cinnamon.




In a medium sized mixing bowl, combine 2 cups of corn flakes, 3/4 cup of flour, 1/4 cup of brown sugar, and 1/2 teaspoon of cinnamon. (You wont need to do anything serious here. I just stirred it around with a fork. And feel free to mash the corn flakes so there aren't a lot of huge chunks.)




Once that is combined, cut in 1/2 cup of butter (or margarine) until coarse crumbs start to form.




After you finish cutting the butter in, press half of the mixture into the bottom of a (greased) 8 inch square pan. Make sure to firmly press the mixture in. You need to show this sucker who is boss.




Ok, after you have the "crust" in the pan, start on your filling. You will need flour, flavored yogurt (I prefer organic) and one egg.




In a separate mixing bowl, stir together one egg, 2 tablespoons of flour and 1 cup of yogurt. I choose strawberry yogurt, but you can also do peach, banana, blueberry... whatever you prefer. Just make sure it is nice and fruity!




Poor the yogurt mixture on top of your firmly pressed crust (yes, I am stressing the firmly pressed crust for a reason) and spread it out nice and evenly. Isn't it pretty? I think so. I love me some strawberry flavored food!




Ok, now take the other half of your cereal mixture and sprinkle the rest of it on top of the yogurt. There should be just enough to cover all of the yogurt. Pop it into your oven (that is preheated to 350) for 30 minutes or until golden brown.

I'm not going to lie, the smell that fills your kitchen will be very deceiving. It doesn't smell like you are cooking anything that is remotely close to being healthy. My husband walked in and I am pretty sure he was expecting to find cookies in the oven.




Mmmmm. See how nice and golden brown it is? This is when its ready to be taken out of the oven. It took just about 30 minutes. Probably a few minutes more, but it was close.




My only beef with the recipe was I didn't feel there was enough crust. See how the crust on the bottom was very thin? I think next time I may try make a wee bit more. But I will have to try and see if I can successfully do that without messing up the recipe too badly. :)




Let them cool for a while. You want the pan to no longer be hot to the touch. Then when the are cooled, cut into bars! I froze about half of them so they wouldn't spoil in the fridge, but I think you are good with keeping them in an airtight container for about 5 days.

These are GREAT for kids. Z eats one almost every day. He LOVES them. And you can make them even healthier by adding some wheat germ or flax seed to the yogurt mixture!


Here is the recipe without all of my ramblings and pictures. Enjoy!



YOGURT CEREAL BARS

2 cups corn flakes
3/4 flour
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2cup butter or margarine
1 cup flavored yogurt (banana/strawberry etc..)
1 egg slightly beaten
2 tablespoons flour

Preheat oven to 350F


Combine cereal, 3/4 cup flour, sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Cut in butter or margarine until coarse crumbs form.
Press half of the mixture firmly into the bottom of a greased 8inch square pan.
Mix yogurt, egg and 2 tablespoons flour in another small bowl.
Spread over cereal mixture in pan and then sprinkle the remaining cereal mixture on top
Bake for 30 minutes or until golden brown; cut into bars when cooled.

A few random things...

I had the best intentions of getting a recipe post up yesterday, but I have been having some issues with the pictures. I should have it up sometime in the very near future though. I am actually hoping to do a recipe post once a week. I have said that before, and it ends up being more like once every other month... but I am actually getting better about taking pictures while I cook. So hopefully I can keep this going.

I have three books I am reading right now. I have never floated between this many books at one time before. I am more of a read-one-book-at-a-time kind of girl, but for some reason I have started three dang books. And by golly, I plan to finish them all in a timely manner too! One of the books I am reading is The Vaccine Book. It is a great un-biased book about the different types of vaccines that are administered to babies/children. I am thinking about doing a blog post for each vaccine that I read about (12 total). I am only on vaccine number two, but it is really interesting and I think that everyone should be more informed about what is being injected into our kids (both good AND bad). Anyway, would anyone actually WANT to read about the vaccine stuff, or is that something you would skip over?




Zachariah and I have been getting on each others nerves lately. I don't really know what to do about it, so I am just dealing. But we have really been pushing each others buttons here recently. I blame the cabin fever. And my mood swings. But for now we will just pretend I am a perfectly patient non-moody mommy. So lets blame the cabin fever. :)

Daniel went to bed before me last night. Since he is an insomniac, that almost NEVER happens. But the night before last Daniel didn't sleep AT ALL. Not a wink. So he was very tired and fell asleep sometime before 9:30. I'm not gonna lie. I really hate it when he falls asleep before I do. I HATE having to lock up the house. I am convinced that I will either forget something or that as I am locking up someone will kick in the door and kill me.

Yes, I realize that I may need some therapy. Leave me alone, I cant help that I watch to much TV! Well, I guess I can. But still.

Alrighty. I think I have done enough damage for now. If you are still reading... well, I'm sorry. :)

Yay For Pixar!

We try to have a designated "family movie night" once a week. Usually we let Zachariah pick the movie, which is cute the first and second time, but by the third time it is a bit old. We learned pretty quickly that there are only two movies that he "picks". Happy Feet and The Emperors New Groove. Both are GREAT movies, but seeing them week after week gets really old. The thing is, he likes to watch other movies, but when going through the process of choosing a movie, its like his brain just focuses in on those two.

So we started picking the movie without asking his opinion. So far it has worked wonderfully! Last week we watched Cars and this week we watched Toy Story 2! Saturday was very exciting for all of us. You see, Zachariah has never seen any of the Toy Story movies before. We tried to get him to watch the first one a few months ago, but he was just not into it. So we were pleased as punch when he ended up LOVING this one!

In fact, this kid didn't move a muscle during the whole entire movie!



Except to hop off the ottoman (his preferred seat) and move it closer (And by closer I mean directly in front of) to the TV.




And then he moved because he didn't think he was close enough. Obviously kneeling gets you much closer to Woody and Buzz Lightyear.

And he did get up to gallop around like Bullseye for a little bit.

Ok. So I fibbed. He moved a muscle or two. But he did remarkably well for a toddler. And if we can get through a movie without Zachariah begging for Happy Feet, then it is considered a success!


*sigh*
I love movie nights.

Doodle Pro

It is 1:45 PM and I am still in my PJ's. We have obviously had a very lazy day today. And it seems like a lazy day is just what the doctor ordered. It gave me a little time to refuel my patience. :)

Since I spent most of the morning sitting on the couch like a bum, Zachariah brought his Doodle Pro out to the living room and asked me to draw. He has a new found fascination with tracing his hands... so naturally we spent most of our time doing just that.




Here he is patiently waiting for me to finish taking a picture so I can trace "bofe hands". A few seconds after I took this picture he actually picked up the pen and handed it to me. His patience obviously ran out.

Like mother, like son.




Look at his cute little hands!



By the way... if your toddler doesn't have one of these, you may want to go to your local toy store and purchase one immediately. Best. Toy. Ever.




And then, because I was still taking pictures, he tried to do it himself. What a cute kid. :)



Hope everyone is having a happy Monday!

A Picture

My son has been driving me absolutely batty today. I am sure it has something to do with the fact that I am in a funk and my patience is pretty much non existent right now. Or maybe its because its FREEZING outside and we are both suffering from a severe case of cabin fever. Or maybe its because I am not in the mood to be creative, therefore leaving us with nothing but his same ol toys and the TV to entertain us during this time of avoiding the cold. Regardless of the reason, he has been driving me batty.

Now I will post a picture of my adorable child. I took this two days ago. When he wasn't making me want to lock myself in the bathroom for hours on end. I am hoping that if I post this I will remember how cute he was acting then. And I am also hoping that posting this will help me ignore the fact that he is throwing blocks all over the living room. Because, quite frankly, I don't feel like dealing with it.





Here's to hoping that tomorrow brings an extra dose of patience!

Love Them

My siblings and I were in the same town... at the same time... for three whole days.





I love when that happens. :)

Lemon Bars

Over the past couple years I have really enjoyed learning how to cook. It's not an exact science, and I am able to tweak recipes to my liking. I have become a bit more confident in my cooking, and I love it. But baking? Baking is something I am not confident doing. I am not the world's worst baker, but it often intimidates me. With most of this stuff, if you make a mistake it could completely ruin the end product. If I spend a butt load of time carefully measuring out ingredients only to find in the end that it is useless... I would have a high number of mental and emotional breakdowns. And no one needs to be put through THAT.

The long and short of it is, if the recipes aren't simple then I tend to have a panic attack. When baking I need very, very simple ingredients and instructions.

That is why I did a happy dance when I found Bakerella's recipe for lemon bars. They are so amazingly simple to make! And they taste fantastic too. It's a win-win-win.

Anyway. Being the nice person that I am, I have decided to share with you this fabulous recipe.(Complete with pictures too!)

Your welcome.


Lets start with the crust. You will need butter, flour and confectioners sugar. Told you it was simple.




Whisk together 1 3/4 cup flour and 2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar. Add 1 cup cold butter.

Then cut in the butter until the mixture is blended and crumbly. I used the back of a fork to work the butter into the flour. (Just as a warning, this will take a little bit of arm power. Do not be alarmed.)

When the mixture gets crumbly, pour it into your greased and floured pan and press firmly into the bottom. Bake for about 20 minutes at 350 degrees.




While the crust is baking go ahead and make the filling. Gather together some flour, sugar, baking powder, lemon juice and eggs. See? More easy ingredients!




Slightly beat the four eggs and set aside. In another large bowl, add 1 1/2 cups of sugar, 1/4 cup flour, 1 tsp baking powder, 4 slightly beaten eggs and 1/2 cup lemon juice.




Stir that together real good, and when you are done pour it onto the piping hot crust that just came out of the oven. (The liquid mixture may be a little lumpy. No cause for alarm.)




After you pour the mixture onto the crust, pop it into the oven for 20-25 minutes. (The picture above was taken BEFORE I put it in the oven the second time. Your lemon bars should not look this liquidy. Just thought that should be noted.)

When the bars are done, cool them completely then sprinkle with confectioners sugar and refrigerate. When you are ready to serve them, use a sharp knife and cut them into bars!



These are absolutely delish and sooo easy to make. Give it a try! All of your loved ones will thank you. Well, except the diabetic ones. They may curse you for sending them into a sugar coma. But the rest? They will love ya.

Lemon Bars

Crust:
1 cup butter
1 3/4 cup flour
2/3 cup confectioner’s sugar (plus more for dusting)

Topping:
1 1/2 cup plain sugar
1/4 cup flour
1 tsp baking powder
4 eggs, slightly beaten
1/2 cup lemon juice

Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Grease and flour a 9 X 13 pan

To make crust:

• In a medium bowl, whisk together flour and confectioner’s sugar
• Cut in butter until combined and crumbly.
• Press mixture into bottom of pan.
• Bake for 20 minutes or until golden.

To make topping:

• While crust is baking, prepare topping.
• In a larger bowl, add sugar, flour, and baking powder.
• Then add slightly beaten eggs and lemon juice.
• Mix well and pour on top of warm baked crust.
• Bake for 20-25 minutes.
• When cool, dust with confectioner’s sugar and refrigerate.
• Cut into bars and enjoy them cold!

Big News

First things first. I want to thank all of you for voting in the poll and commenting about Zachariah's hair! I was really having trouble deciding what to do, but you guys have helped me out a good bit. I have decided to trim the back a little and hope that it gets thicker with time. I am wanting to trim it this week and if I really on the ball I will show you some before and after pictures. :)

Now, onto the real reason for this post. I have news. BIG news.

Are you ready for it?

Zachariah spent his first night away from home this past weekend.

(No, not THAT kind of news! Sheesh.)



Yep. Its true. Friday night he packed a bag and drove himself to Mimi and Poppie's house. Well, I packed the bag and Daniel drove, but you get the idea. I was a bundle of nerves but Daniel took me to see Avatar in 3D, so my mind was a bit distracted for a while. :)




This was a big step for me. In all of his two years of life, my baby has NEVER spent the night away from home. But Mimi and Poppie were itching to have him over, so we figured we might as well try.



And good thing we did! Because Zachariah had a blast. Seriously. He talked about spending the night over there for two days after the fact. And he cried when we picked him up. Oddly enough, I loved that he didn't want to leave. It made me feel good that he had that much fun. It will definitely make it easier to leave him the next time. Heck, I have already started planning the next sleep over! :)



Oh, and he picked out a cute little suitcase for his "overnight bag". He LOVES that thing. He pushes his suitcase all over the house. Its adorable. But what else is new. Everything my kid does is adorable.





So all in all, this slumber party was a great success. And surprisingly enough, I didn't shed a single tear that night. Well, I think I did during Avatar. But if we don't count the movie theater, no tears were shed. :)

Hair

I want you to take a nice long look at Zachariah's hair...


Take note of the weird front swipe going on and the flippy thing that it does in back.



And in case you need it, here is a better view of the back...





and a better view of the front...


Its a mess. Its actually coming close to the mullet stage.

*shudder*

Part of me wants to cut it, but the other part really wants to let it grow out. I have always wanted a little boy with longer hair, I just don't know if he has the right hair for that. I think it is too thin . Does that make any sense?


So what should I do? Should I go ahead and cut it or should I let it grow through the possible mullet stage? Did your kid have to go through a mullet stage before his/her hair got to be a "cool" length? I desperately need some other opinions.

For those of you that are to lazy to leave comments, here is a poll. But I would love some actual feedback in the comment section too. Don't be shy. :)

Tip Top

Due to the whole holiday thing, we have been crazy busy around here. But I wanted to stop in and say a quick hello and make sure I didn't lose any of my readers. I mean, I only have a handful of people that read about my exciting life, so losing even one of you would be pretty detrimental.

I didn't lose any of you did I?

*chirp*

*chirp*



Anyway. Later I will explain about our Christmas festivities and all of the loot that Zachariah ended up with, but for now I want to show you my favorite stocking stuffer ever.


Meet Tip Top. Well, that is what the Ty company named him. Zachariah calls him "New Iraffe". Regardless, this adorable little giraffe was in Zachariah's stocking Christmas morning and I love love love him! Right now he lives in the play room and living room, but I am hoping that Zachariah will allow him into his bedroom sometime soon.


I hope everyone had a great Christmas!!

From Our Family To Yours

Merry Christmas everyone!

Traditions

Zachariah is just now at the age where he can "get into" Christmas. He is very excited about Christmas trees, ornaments, decorations, presents, "no-fakes" (snow flakes) and Christmas lights. He is loving this whole Christmas thing so far!

We started a new tradition this year, and I hope that we will keep it around for a while. As Zachariah gets older it will get more fun for him, but I think he had a fair amount of fun this year. Especially considering his lack of nap and uber amount of crankiness. (I will spare you the details)

Wanna know what we did??


We painted Christmas cookies! It was super fun and A LOT easier to clean up than sprinkles.



In case you are interested in the icing/glaze recipe...

Stir together 1 cup powdered sugar, 1 tablespoon corn syrup, 2 tablespoons water, and a splash {1/2 teaspoon, maybe} of almond extract, or whatever flavoring you desire. Divide the mixture into smaller containers and stir in 2-3 drops of food coloring per container making each a different color.








The best part about painting cookies is being able to eat them!




These are the finished cookies! Only two of Zachariah's cookies actually made it to the "finished plate" alive. The rest were a little decapitated...


Can you tell that he favored the color green? I think this holiday tradition gets two sugary thumbs up from our little toddler. :)


Happy Christmas Eve Eve everyone!