Dallas, TX blogger - parenting, cooking, gardening, DIY-ing, crafting, and life with three boys!
I am in love with Mexican food. TRUE Mexican food. Not Tex Mex. Mexican food that is authentic and delicious, and prepared with love. So know that I don’t take lightly the art of preparing Mexican food. This Mexican Cauliflower Rice may seem like blasphemy, but stay with me. I make my Instant Pot Mexican Rice at least twice a month, sometimes more often. My boys love it and it is so, so good and EASY.View Post
Casseroles are not just for church potlucks anymore! I love casseroles because they can be a great side dish or a whole meal rolled into one. Casseroles are also great for hiding vegetables in a delicious dish, using leftovers, or for busy week night dinners. They usually can be prepared ahead of time and sometimes frozen for future meals. There is no limit to what you can make a casserole out of! I try to use real food ingredients so the casserole is not just a big dish of junk. For instance, I try to use homemade cream of mushroom soup if the recipe calls for it, which is pretty simple to make and keep on hand. Any of these casseroles would look elegant served in a beautiful casserole dish.View Post
This post has been sponsored by Tom Thumb. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
Shopping with three inquisitive boys who can help me look for products is pretty fun. THEY are fun to be with. And I just discovered the SHOP, PLAY, WIN!® Collect & Win Game featuring MONOPOLY at Tom Thumb, and this has brought a new level of fun to our family shopping trips.
I play the MONOPOLY Collect & Win game at my local Tom Thumb, but you can Shop, Play, Win! at any of the Albertsons Companies stores like Albertsons, Safeway, ACME Markets, Jewel-Osco, Vons, Pavilions, Randalls, Shaw’s, Star Market, Carrs/Safeway, United Supermarkets, Amigos, Albertsons Market and Market Street stores. Go to your local store to pick up a game board, purchase participating products while there to collect tickets and then visit www.ShopPlayWin.com or download the app to get started on the online game.
The MONOPOLY Collect & Win Game allows me to play while my kids enjoy looking for qualifying products on our shopping list. Their favorite breakfast and breakfast-for-dinner food item, Aunt Jemima pancake mix, was right by my favorite, Quaker Oats, in the breakfast aisle. We also grabbed some Kraft shredded mozzarella cheese and Prego traditional sauce for dinner, along with a few other grocery items. Then, we received a game board and playing pieces at the register, to put on the board when we got home.
I have a few ideas to make shopping fun for the whole family. If I am organized, I will hand each of the three boys a list of things that we need. Their job is to look for them and cross them off as we find each product. The 5 year old needs a little more assistance as he is not fully reading yet, but his brothers are there to help. When given a task, they usually work together and the outcome is pretty great. Another idea is to have the kids draw the shopping list for him or each other, but that is for a day when we have LOTS of time!
Once all of the game pieces are affixed to the game board, we can hop online or on the Shop, Play, Win App (which you can easily download here) to enter or scan the online codes and see what we won. There are so many ways to win, and it is all from shopping for things that are already on our list. Throw in the savings that we get from using our free Tom Thumb loyalty card and Just for U deals and it really does add up to many big wins.
And guess what? My kids are actually eager to go shopping at Tom Thumb again so we can get more game tickets and see what kind of fun prizes that we might win. There are MANY things to be won, like Shutterfly and Starbucks items, gas or grocery rewards, and of course the big prizes! I also received a money saving coupon, which I can get excited about!
I encourage you to play the MONOPOLY Collect & Win Game at Tom Thumb. It really is a fun way to make grocery shopping even more exciting! And come back and tell me what you win! Visit www.ShopPlayWin.com to get started, and start collecting tickets in-store.
This post is sponsored by BabbleBoxx.com. All opinions are mine.
With a house full of males, you can bet that our family will be in front of the TV this coming Sunday, watching the big game! It is always a great night filled with football, fun, and lots of yummy food! Figuring out what to feed the family and any visitors we may have is always tricky, and I have gotten stressed about it in the past. If you can relate, read on! The best football game food is easy and delicious. You can impress everyone and barely lift a finger!View Post
Ben and I are doing Whole 30 and let me just say…I’m so thankful for my Air Fryer and Instant Pot, more than I ever have been. It may seem obvious, but cooking real food can be super time consuming! I love using the Air Fryer for roasted potatoes and bacon, topped with spinach and tomatoes or fresh salsa. SO GOOD! So what are some other good Whole 30 Air Fryer recipes? I have made a go to source to help you out in your Whole 30 journey! It can be a delicious journey if you have your trusty air fryer with you! And if you love your Instant Pot as much as I do and want a yummy way to make an apple side dish, try my Instant Pot Cinnamon Apples, but leave out any sugar. Trust me, they’re so sweet without it!View Post
The reviewer has been compensated in the form of a Best Buy Gift Card and/or received the product/service at a reduced price or for free.
If you are having any installation issues, whether it be you are too busy to install them or the instructions are leaving you baffled, save yourself some time and stress and call Geek Squad Total Tech Support!
So the time has come and you are asked to bring Valentine’s Day cupcakes to your child’s class party or event. Maybe you tried to sign up for plates and napkins, but you were too late. (ha!) So what do you do when you want a cute, easy cupcake recipe for Valentine’s Day? This is it! View Post
Thank you Allstate for sponsoring this post. I chose to write this post because doing good in local communities is at Allstate’s core.
Our boys are ages 5, 8, and 10 and while some days they frustrate me, most days they make me proud. I am constantly amazed at what they are thinking and doing at their ages. When I heard that one of my kids stood up to others bullying a friend at lunch? Amazed. Would I have done that at his age? Most likely not. When my kids tell me their ideas of how they want to help others, I think how I am pretty certain at their age I was only concerned with myself. And it is not just my kids, it’s across the board. No kid is perfect, and we should not pressure them to be perfect, but it is inspiring to me, as an adult, to see the genuine love and kindness in kids’ hearts these days.
If you don’t believe me, check out this video to see how these kids, inspired by Allstate, are making an impact in their community. Allstate’s dedication to the communities where they live and work is core to who they are and it shows in this video.
This post has been sponsored by Del Monte®. All thoughts and opinions are my own.
January means a lot of things for different people; but for our family, it means basketball! All three of our boys are playing basketball this season. Ben and I are assistant coaches, so it is getting BUSY! View Post
The nights are becoming cooler and that means it’s soup season! I have made a collection of hearty and filling soups, chowders, and stews made with real food! No condensed soups, processed foods (that you can’t omit or substitute,) just real, delicious food ingredients. If you stumble upon a recipe made with canned condensed soup, there is always a way to make it homemade. Try this recipe for homemade cream of mushroom soup!
Easy Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup
Chicken Peanut Stew with Sweet Potato
Awesomely Fantastic Homemade Chicken Soup
Black Bean Soup in Cumin-Dusted Bread Bowls
Slow Cooker Chicken Parmesan Soup
Chicken, Sweet Potato, and Kale Soup
Green Posole with Shredded Chicken
Romanian Meatball Soup with Rice
Low Carb Turkey Soup with Zucchini Noodles
Instant Pot Turkey Wild Rice Soup
Thai Turkey Cold Busting Hot and Sour Egg Drop Soup
Instant Pot Loaded Potato Soup
Spicy Corn and Sweet Potato Chowder
Southwest Chowder with Cornbread Dumplings
Simple Corn and Clam Chowder
Paleo Moqueca Brazilian Fish Stew In The Slow Cooker
Creamy Cauliflower & Crab Soup
Zucchini and Yellow Squash Soup with Rosemary and Parmesan
What is your favorite cold weather recipe?
