Family, Adventures, and Gadgets Collide

Are you a creature of habit? I certainly am, especially when it comes to cooking dinner. {Of course, I'm more in the habit of picking up dinner!} When I do cook dinner, I typically cook the same meals or at least use similar ingredients in most of my recipes. Rotel and Cream of Chicken soup are staples in my pantry! =) Well tonight, I crawled out of my shell and tried something new. As my husband and daughter were headed out the door for soccer practice {Yes, my husband's awesome like that! He'll take Kailey to practice so that I can get things done at home.}, my daughter says "Mom, can you make spaghetti for dinner?" Now, spaghetti is one of my daughter's FAVORITE foods; however, it is NOT anywhere near my list of favorites. But remember, this is a time when I was feeling bold and was willing to experiment. So, I called my parents and invited them over for dinner to test out my experiment. I just wouldn't be satisfied with feedback from my husband and...

I'm so excited, and I just can't hide it! I cooked something new and my family liked it! Oh yeah!!! ... Do you want to know what I cooked? It's probably something you've cooked numerous times. I, however, am guilty of cooking the same things over and over again. Actually, if I'm really being honest, I hardly cook. In fact my family eats out or gets take-out on a regular basis. Sad isn't?! Would you think better of me if I told you that I'm working on changing this horrible dining out habit? I'm setting a goal for myself: My goal is that my family eats FROM home (not just AT home) a minimum of three (3) nights per week.  So far this week, we had take-out on Monday, ate at a friend's house last night, and FROM home tonight. I think I can count last night's meal at the friend's house as eating from home, don't you? Yep. So that means, I just need to cook something up tomorrow night and I've met my goal for the first week. =) All ri...

Jen over at Balancing Beauty and Bedlam is hosting a Mister Linky's Tasty Tuesday recipe exchange. So I thought I'd join in on the fun and share a recipe. You should join in on the fun too and link up with one of your favorite recipes. One of my favorite desserts to eat make is a Sopapilla Cheesecake. I first tasted this melt-in-your mouth dessert when I first started teaching about nine years ago, but unfortunately I missed out on the recipe. Then, lucky for me, one of my current co-workers and dear friends made the same delectable dessert and brought it to, you guessed it, a teacher's luncheon. Don't worry she shared her recipe! I'm just spreading the love! Sopapilla Cheesecake: INGREDIENTS: 2 bricks of cream cheese, 2 cans crescent rolls, 1 cup sugar, 1 tsp. vanilla, 1 stick melted butter, sugar & cinnamon to sprinkle DIRECTIONS: Preheat oven to 350 and grease 9x13 baking dish. Spread one can of crescent rolls across the bottom of the pan. I like...