Monthly Archives: July 2013

July 23, 2013 · 3:42 pm

8 Pinterest Dinner Recipes I’ve Actually Tried–Healthy and Family-Friendly

Pinterest has become my go-to for new recipes, but so many of them are tagged with “this is the best recipe I’ve ever tried!”

They can’t all be the best, can they?

Now that I’ve tried a few of these “best ever” recipes, I can honestly say, no, they can’t.

But some of them were good. Really good.

To help you navigate the labyrinth (and genius) that is Pinterest, here are some of those yummy recipes that I’ve actually tried and what I (and my family) thought of them.

These recipes are healthy and family-friendly. Sorry this list is a little heavy on the Mexican food side– my family loves Mexican & Tex-Mex so I’m always looking for good recipes in that category.

Sweet Hawaiian Crockpot Chicken

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 3/5 stars. I made this using half of the chicken it called for so I halved the other ingredients, too. I was super-busy that day, so I started it in the crock-pot late and it didn’t get to cook for 5-6 hours. The chicken was done, but it probably would have been even better if I had let it cook all day. My fault. The chicken was good. Plenty sweet– you could actually cut back a tad on the brown sugar. I served it over rice with a pineapple rings and a green veggie on the side.

Smothered Chicken

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 5/5 stars. This was yummy. I left off the mushrooms for my husband and oldest son and kept them for myself and my middle son. We all agreed that this one could stay on our menu rotation.

Tomato-Corn Biscuit Pie

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 4/5 stars. I loved this recipe. It was light and delicious– perfect for a summer meal. However, the biscuit was a little thick. I almost wonder if this recipe wouldn’t work with something more buttery, like crescent rolls. I’m going to try that next time. There will definitely be a next time.

Bada-Bean-Bada-Boom Meal

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 4/5 stars. This was a fun way to get my boys to eat tuna without realizing it. It’s so much like a Tex-Mex dip that I served it with tortilla chips for dipping and a small green salad on the side. My boys also loved saying the name of this meal. 🙂

Ravioli with Salsa Black Bean Sauce

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 3/5 stars. This one was SPICY. Next time I’ll need to cut back on the chili powder and cumin and definitely not add the red pepper flakes I threw in for fun. (Duh.) The next time I make this, I’m sure it will get 5/5 stars.

Oven Baked Chimichangas

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 3/5 stars. I had never cooked with chipotle chiles in adobo sauce before, so I put in the entire can. I almost killed my children. Yeah– it was that spicy. Even after I tried to cool it by mixing in some sour cream and adding some grilled corn, it was eye-watering hot. My 4 year-old drank 3 cups of milk and 2 glasses of water after only a few bites. (How was I to know? The can was tiny!) Next time I’ll use just a bit or I’ll substitute with a can of tomatoes & green chiles. With toned down heat, this recipe could be deeeee-lish.

Healthy Baked Salmon Nuggets

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 5/5 stars. My husband and I don’t care for seafood, so it’s a wonder that my boys seem to really like it. I tried this specifically for my oldest who loves salmon, and I enjoyed these, too! They are a super-yummy and healthy substitute for store-bought fish sticks or chicken nuggets. Give these a try for sure.

Quinoa Black Bean Burgers

Recipe HERE.

Pin HERE.

Hale Household Review— 5/5 stars. This recipe was DELICIOUS. Add a little ranch dressing on top or some salsa and mmmmmm… everyone in the house enjoyed these.

I hope you enjoy these recipes. To check out what else I’m pinning, be sure to click on the Pinterest icon on the right side of the blog and follow me!

Share with me: Got any delicious and healthy family favorites you care to share?

1 Comment

Filed under Cool Stuff I Recommend, Family, Just For Fun, Uncategorized

Tagged as dinner, family, family-friendly, pinterest, recipes

July 12, 2013 · 2:44 pm

One Word for 2013– The 6 Months Check-Up

Commit.

That’s my word for 2013.

The year is going by quickly– over half gone already. If you’re like me, you find that hard to believe. Something about becoming a parent, or perhaps just growing older, causes time to fly.

So it’s time to evaluate how the word commit has influenced me so far.

I chose the word with the intention of using it to force me to change certain behaviors, adapt to new behaviors, and make me stronger both physically and mentally.

Some of the commitments I made for 2013–

I’ve committed to seeking God with every part of my life. Not that I wasn’t doing this before, but I will thread Jesus into every fiber of my being so tightly that when others look at me, especially my children, they see that my life is nothing without Christ. I am nothing without Him. I’m only held together by Him.

My children are eager to learn scripture and read Bible stories. They love talking to, and about, Jesus. This is not of my doing, but I hope it’s partly because we’ve set that example in our home.

I’ve committed to exercise and health. I will lose all this baby weight, and I will be healthier than I’ve ever been in my life.

Because I’m eating healthier, my entire family is eating healthier. We’re not perfect (I refuse to give up chocolate), but I’m thankful that my family appreciates some healthy foods. My boys watch me exercise and I encourage them to join in. Their little bodies being a temple and all– I want them to establish healthy routines early.

I’ve committed to service and teaching. I will serve when God asks.

God has opened several doors for me in this area. Not only am I now teaching Sunday school, I will soon be leading a Bible study and re-launching the Women’s Ministry at my church. Big things are happening.

I’ve committed to writing. I will carve out time to write new material. I will be more active in the writing community than I’ve been in the past year.

Because I’ve spent the first half of this year either being pregnant or caring for a newborn (he’s three months old already!), I haven’t gotten very far on this one. I have story ideas popping in my head all the time, but I haven’t been able to establish a routine that allows me good writing time– yet. School starts back soon so my oldest 2 will get back to their normal routine and the baby will adapt to our routine. I’m looking forward to carving some writing time in there somewhere. I’m committed to it.

What has inspired me most about this word for 2013 is that along with it comes determination. I can’t “commit” to this word without directing that I will do certain things. It has forced me to do exactly what I’d hoped– change behaviors, make new behaviors routine, and seek out opportunities.

I can’t wait to see what the rest of this year brings.

Share with me: What is your word for 2013? How has it affected your life so far this year? (It’s not too late to choose a word if you don’t already have one!)

1 Comment

Filed under Parenting, The Christian Walk, Writing

Tagged as 2013, bible, Christ, commit, health, one word, parenting, spirituality

July 2, 2013 · 8:24 pm

Lessons I Want My Children to Learn: Patriotism

This post originally ran last year, but I think it’s appropriate as we celebrate our nation’s birthday this week.

Happy Independence Day, y’all! I hope you have a safe and fun weekend. Please pray for our troops who defend our freedoms, and for their families who support them from home!

Do you know the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day? Other than one is in May and one is in November, I mean. 🙂

When I was teaching high school history, I always made it a point to teach the origins behind these important days.

Memorial Day, as the name suggests, is the US national holiday in which we remember and honor those who have fallen in service to our great nation.

It began during the Civil War as Decoration Day, when women would decorate the graves of the fallen soldiers with flowers and other mementos. As the years went on and the US was involved in more wars, the holiday adapted and in the late 1960’s, was officially assigned to the last Monday in May when the nation would remember all service members who had died in any war in our nation’s history.

Veteran’s Day, as the name suggests, honors all active and retired veterans of all wars in our history. This date came about from Armistice Day of WWI, (November 11, 1918, 11 am) when an armistice (cease-fire) was declared, eventually leading to the end of the war in 1919.

As time goes on, it seems that the reasons behind Memorial Day, July 4th, and Veteran’s Day have become somewhat mashed together and given Americans a reason to have a day off of work and a cookout.

I’m okay with that. I love cookouts. I love the American tradition of hotdogs and hamburgers by the pool. It’s fun. It’s America.

I’m even mostly okay with the confusion between Memorial Day and Veteran’s Day, because both honor those who have served.

I am not okay with the general public not knowing the history behind our Independence Day celebrations of July 4th. You might be surprised how many people do not have a basic understanding of this momentous day. Yeah, it’s actually different from the other two, but I’ll save that history for another post.

One of the lessons I want to instill into my children is patriotism.

I don’t believe enough people in America actually appreciate America anymore. Somewhere along the way, we’ve lost our understanding of exactly what it means to be free. We’ve lost our sense of duty–we’ve lost our sense of honor.

There was a time when young men stood up, eager to serve. Most of the teens I taught were petrified of serving in the military– the idea was laughable.

Several times I had to combat the idea that serving in the military was only for “stupid” people who couldn’t get into college.

“Do stupid people win wars?” I’d ask.

As a military brat, I have to admit, it was difficult for me to keep my cool in the classroom when this subject came up–more often than I’d like to acknowledge. (I’d like to believe people are smarter than to think the military is only for “dummies”, but alas, many are not.)

I was raised in a military home, with a tradition of military service and the idea that serving our nation was honorable, desirable, and respected.

Although my husband is not military, I want my children to grow up with this same belief.

My husband actually teaches middle school, which is another position to be greatly respected. 🙂 He definitely serves his nation, folks.

My son’s great-grandfathers served in WWII. Their grandfather (my dad) served in Desert Storm. Their uncle (my brother) is currently serving his country.

The idea that standing up for the values that America was built on, what our forefathers believed in when they drafted the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution, is something to be admired.

While politics seem to continue to make a mess of the values that bore this nation, I want my sons to have an understanding of where we’ve come from, our history, our traditions, and what it really means to be an American.

I want them to believe that America is great. I want them to know it. I want them to be proud of all those who came before us, establishing this great nation. I want them to be proud to be an American.

So yes, we will be cooking out hamburgers and making s’mores this 4th of July.

But we’ll also be talking about what it means to serve our country. We’ll talk about military service, an option that will be their choice someday, and we will talk about how even at their young ages, we can pray for our leaders, pray for our nation, and pray for those who have served, are serving, and for the families who love them.

Share with me: What’s your favorite thing about being an American?