We all need a good girlfriend......

I recently connected again with a girlfriend from high school. It's been fun getting caught up with each other again--chatting about our "real life" adventures since school. She has a daughter that's a few years older than my kiddo. They get along great. She homeschools,too! How cool is that? It's shown me that even happily married,busy moms need girlfriends too. I think we've chatted on the phone lately more than we ever did years ago. I was quiet and kind of reserved back then. I've really enjoyed connecting with her again. We have a few projects in the works. Don't worry,I'll keep everyone updated.

Same old.....Same old.........

There hasn't been much excitement going on in my kitchen lately-it's been a scattered mix of the same old suppers--spaghetti,baked fish,salmon croquettes,chili and I've been utilizing leftovers lately when I didn't want to cook a full meal.I did serve the chili in tostada cups this week and the guys seemed to like it-I guess that counts as something new doesn't it? I am a little excited about something "foodish" though. (Is that a word?) I like tuna fish,but had to stop eating it a few years ago because it "hurt" me. I have very bad reflux and tuna fish-even the cans packed in water didn't agree with me. I could eat tuna steaks but not the tuna packed in the little cans. Well,I have been craving it lately so I decided to try it again. I'm on a different medication for my reflux issues than I was back then. I was thrilled after I was able to eat my first tuna-salad sandwich in years! Now my pantry is packed with tuna. Did you know they make marinated tuna now? I love the yellowfin tuna marinated in garlic and olive oil. OH MAN! They have jalapeno and sun-dried tomatoes too,but I can't eat those. I'm perfectly happy with my other little plain old tuna! I've found that I prefer white albacore to the "regular" canned tuna. I don't use mayo,so I usually put in a couple of TBS of salad dressing (usually caesar or italian oil)and either eat as a salad with lettuce,in a flaxseed wrap, or my newest find kangaroo pockets-which are basicly mini pita shells. I'm so excited that I can have tuna again! It's the little things in life that make me happy!

Angry Birds Birthday...............

Wednesday was a special nephew's birthday. He loves to play video games and phone games.He introduced my son to several Iphone/Ipod games--among them Angry Birds.
I was looking online and saw several ways people had made Angry Birds cakes.I couldn't resist.I thought for sure I'd be able to find little angry bird toys to use as toppers for the cake at WM (they're supposed to have everything aren't they?)--NOT!!! I ended up having to go to Toys R Us to find what I needed. I think it turned out cute.

Hamburger Soup

Hamburger soup was discussed on a message board I frequent,so I thought I would make some for the guys to eat on a few days.And bonus points to me because I can get out of cooking tomorrow!

1lb or more of ground meat (I used turkey)
bag of frozen mixed veggies
bag of frozen corn kernels
1/3 bag of elbow macaroni noodles
1/2 bag frozen diced onion
salt/pepper/seasonings
**stock or water for cooking the soup


In a large skillet,brown the meat until it is cooked--while meat cooking in a large
stockpot,add in enough water or stock to fill the pot about 2/3 full--add in both bags of frozen veggies, 1/2 of the bag of diced onion, and the macaroni noodles--Season with salt/pepper/or any of your favorite seasonings for soup--once the meat is fully cooked,drain well--add to the stock pot and bring to a good boil--turn down to a medium simmer and cook until the noodles are done.

**This is one of those "dump" recipes I like--where you can add in whatever you have in your fridge or whatever veggies you have on hand-if you don't have frozen you can of course use fresh or canned. I didn't really measure anything,I just added until it looked like soup and cooked. EASY!