Recipe: Tamale Pie

With the arrival of Fall weather, I have been making a few crock-pot meals lately. I found this recipe from the Crock-Pot Girls website and thought I would share. It's simple and so yummy!

1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped (1/2 cup)
2 cups red kidney beans (from 19-oz can), drained, rinsed
1 can (10 ounces) enchilada sauce
1 pouch (6.5 ounces) cornbread & muffin mix
1/3 cup milk
2 tablespoons margarine or butter, melted
1 egg
1/2 cup shredded Colby-Monterey Jack cheese (2 ounces)
1 can (4.5 ounces) chopped green chiles, undrained
1/4 cup sour cream
4 medium green onions, chopped (1/4 cup)

1.In nonstick skillet, cook beef and onion over medium heat about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until beef is brown; drain. Stir in beans and enchilada sauce.
2.Place beef mixture in 3 1/2- to 4 1/2-quart slow cooker. In medium bowl, stir cornbread mix, milk, margarine and egg just until moistened (batter will be lumpy). Stir cheese and chiles into batter. Spoon over beef mixture in slow cooker.
3.Cover and cook on low heat setting 5 to 6 hours or until toothpick inserted in center of cornbread comes out clean. Serve with sour cream and green onions.

Here are a few of the ingredients you need.

The filling.

Ready to go in the oven.

Check out this website for more yummy crock-pot ideas!

Xoxo,
Tanna

Fall Party

We had a Fall get-together with some of our closest friends this past weekend. We roasted hot dogs and s'mores and played a few games. I remembered last minute that the girls could dress up if they wanted to so I had to dig through their dress-up box to see what I could find.

Finlee was a cowgirl.

And Jaelyn was Snow White.

I guess I better get to sewing on their real Halloween costumes!

Xoxo,

Tanna

Oh, Jaelyn

Jaelyn has such a fun personality! She is still making us laugh with all she has to say. Here are a few funny things she has said lately:

• Jaelyn has recently started to try to do headstands. She figured it out one day and has constantly been doing them on our couch. She was showing me how to do one the other day and said, "I've been working on this for years." She must of thought it took her a really long time to learn how to do a headstand!

• Jaelyn is in a stage where she thinks she has to have everything. She was recently telling me she wanted Baby Alive. When you feed this baby a bottle, it pees and when you feed it baby food, it poops. Jaelyn was trying to explain this to me so she said, "I can give it a bottle and it will go to the bathroom and then when I feed it baby food it will have diarhea!", as if that was a selling factor for me to get her a Baby Alive. That's all I need is another baby that poops! :)

• I was baking the other day and was telling Jaelyn how much I was going to love the blueberry scones that I had just baked. She then told me, "I know you love, love, love it, mom, but sometimes love hurts!" I had no idea that loving blueberry scones could hurt. She is quite the character!

Xoxo,

Tanna

Three Months!

Chaseton, you are three months old today!

October 7th, 2011

How are you already three months old? 

You have grown so much!

At your last check-up, you weighed just over 12 lbs and I'm sure you have grown since then!

You wear size 1 diapers (which you have almost outgrown) and size 0-3 month clothes!

And here's what you're up to:

We have been spending a lot of one-on-one time lately and I love just being with you. You are such a good, cute baby!

I decided to give cloth diapers a try with you and we love them so far! You have been in them off and on for just over a month. We're trying to build our stash so you can wear just cloth diapers until you're potty trained.

You are loving this playmat. You love to hit at the toys and watch yourself in the mirror. You smile and talk so much when you are playing on it. (Thanks Grammy!)

• You started rolling over (from your back to your tummy) this month.
• You love to suck on your hands and thumb.
• I think you are teething. You are drooling everywhere and are constantly chewing on your hands.
• You smile often. All I have to say to you is, "SMILE", and you will.
• You still love your swing.
• You sleep SO well at night. I put you to sleep just before 10pm and you usually don't wake up until 6am or later. That also means you don't sleep much during the day.
• You love to nurse! I've tried giving you a bottle and you think its a shame that I would ever give you a bottle. You want the real deal!
• We have so many nicknames for you. Chaser-bug, Chaser, Brother Bear, Chaseton Boy, Chasey..the list goes on and on!
• Your sisters love to be in your face. They talk to you, kiss you, and play with your arms. You will be on tough boy!
• You are so, so loved.

I love you, sweet boy!

Xoxo,

Tanna

Photography

One of my favorite hobbies is photography. I just love to capture a moment in a picture. I really enjoy just taking photos of my kids but occasionally I will take them of other loved ones as well. Lately, I've been able to take many, many photos so I wanted to share.

Here's Matt's sister, Michaela. She's a senior this year and asked me to take her senior pictures. These are just a few of what we have so far.

I really cannot believe she's a senior. She also happens to be one of my very best friends.

Next are Nicholas and Ava. I love these kids like they're my own. They are two of few that I love taking photos of. They melt my heart with their smiles and what they have to say.

I'm so glad I have an outlet, like photography, that I enjoy.

Xoxo,

Tanna

Interview with Jaelyn and Finlee

In July, I did this interview with Jaelyn. I told myself I wanted to continue to interview her every-so-often so I can see how she grows and changes as a person. I decided to do it with Jaelyn and Finlee this time around.  I did add a few questions to our interview from last time but for the most part, Jaelyn's answers were the same.

 

What is your name? Jaelyn

How old are you? Four

What is your favorite color? Purple

Who is your best friend? Brogan and Isaias

(Brogan and Isaias go to our church and Jaelyn went to preschool with them.)

What is your favorite animal? A giraffe

(She loves to visit the giraffes at the zoo!)

What do you want to be when you grow-up? A mom, not a doctor.

What is your favorite movie? Nemo (Finding Nemo)

What is your favorite book? Tinkerbell

What makes you happy? Silly giggles

What makes you sad? Mean things and spankings. (Uh-o.. :))

What is your favorite food to eat? Chicken and rice and noodles.

 

What is your favorite snack? Chocolate. Chocolate pudding too.

 

What is your favorite cartoon? Thumbelina

What is your favorite song to sing? ABCs

What games do you like to play? Tag

 

What is your favorite thing about school? Eating with pudding and goldfish.

 

What is your favorite thing about church? Playing.

 

And here's Finlee's interview:

 

What is your name? Umm...ME!

How old are you? Six. (She's two. :))

What is your favorite color? Pink

Who is your best friend? Yeah, Guy. Guy,  yeah.

(Finlee calls her Auntie Michaela, "Guy" because it sounds like "Kay".)

What is your favorite animal? Umm...horsies. No, ducks.

(Finlee loves animals!)

What do you want to be when you grow-up? Ummm..doctor.

 

(Finlee says "umm" a lot and also copies what her sister says.)

What is your favorite movie? My baby show. (Also known as Baby Boost.)

What is your favorite book? Bear. (I have no idea.)

What makes you happy? Happy and you know it.

 (She means the song, "If you're happy and you know it."

What makes you sad? When Mommy's sad. (Aw, bless her heart.)

What is your favorite food to eat? Snacks.

What is your favorite snack? Fishies. (Goldfish crackers.)

What is your favorite cartoon? Elmo

What is your favorite song to sing? Jesus Loves Me

What games do you like to play? Babies (Finlee loves baby dolls.)

What is your favorite thing about church? Playing.

 

Finlee didn't quite know all of the answers to the questions and I had to prompt her a little bit. She lost interest quite a bit too and I had to get her back on track. :)

 

Xoxo,
Tanna

Like Father, Like Son

I came across this quote on a blog today:

For the most part, this quote is so true. Lately, I find myself mentioning to Matt how much he is like his dad or I am like my mom. I believe many people take after their parents. I'm so glad that my children, especially Chaseton, have Matt as a role model and I would be so proud if Chaseton turned out to be just like his dad.

He atleast has Matt's looks going for him because all I ever hear is

how much he looks like his dad and it really is true. :)

Chaseton keeping his eye on daddy.

And for as much football as we watch in this house,

I'm pretty sure Chaseton will share Matt's love of sports too.

I just finished reading the book Courageous and it talks a lot about the vital roles that fathers play in their children's lives. It really reminded me how blessed I am to have Matt, not only as a husband, but as a daddy to my children. He cares about the example he is setting for his children, works hard to provide a good life for them, and loves them more than life itself. I hope he knows how thankful and proud I am of him for striving to be a good example for his children to look up to.

Xoxo,

Tanna