Adventures of a Military Family of 8: October 2010

Foodie Friday: Homemade Sloppy Joes recipe

Aricka has been nominated for Best Foodie Blog of the Year!!!!!!!

If you agree, which you should!! ;) go on and vote for her, voters are also eligible for a prize!
http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/504857
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With Halloween this weekend I wanted to share my recipe for Sloppy Joes. This was a Halloween favorite as a child and I made them every year for my kids to eat before Trick or Treating. You remember as a child eating Sloppy Joes. My mom made them out of a can of Manwich. She would serve them open face over toasted buns. You had to eat them with a fork and butter knife. To this day I love them. I can taste them, smell them. Something so simple yet so fulfilling. My mom was not that into cooking. Yet there are a handful of dishes that I loved. She made chicken fried steak that any southerner would love and liver and onions (yes I said liver) that to this day I miss. It is amazing that I miss the simplest dishes. A can of Sloppy Joe sauce and I am back in my mommas kitchen. (don't worry she doesn't know Mr Internet so she has no idea I am talking about her )

Being the control freak I am, you won't see a can of Manwich in my kitchen. I like to control my spices and prevent my brats from eating preservatives. I can't keep them from eating chips and food with the main ingredient being crap but I can ensure that whatever I cook will be completely homemade. So I make as much as I can with seasonings I make myself. You'd be surprised-you have all the spices. And you might as well use them since they are in your cupboard. I get satisfaction when I use all the spice in a jar. I like that I used them rather than them going stale. Plus it is cheaper in the long run! Most of the spices in those spice packets are flour mixed with spices you already have. The real kicker are the ingredients you can't pronounce. Then they charge you over a buck for it! Save your buck and open your spice cupboard. OK off my soapbox!

I've changed my mothers Sloppy Joes. I don't exactly know how it happened. I always serve with homemade coleslaw. My coleslaw that I serve as a side dish is not traditional. It has pineapple and sunflower kernels. It's killer. But The Fireman was not feeling it with Sloppy Joes. He complained. Yes it happens. His coleslaw ended on his sloppy Joe (on purpose) and the extra goodies were not wanted. So I took note and made my Simple Coleslaw (you'll remember it from my Pulled Pork recipe) and once again The Fireman was a happy customer. Only the adults pile the coleslaw on the Sloppy Joes. The kids are fussier. One won't touch it and the other wants it as a side dish. At any rate you will want to prepare the coleslaw first so it can marry in the fridge while you cook the Sloppy Joes.

Sloppy Joes
1 pound hamburger (or whatever your grocer packages)
1 small onion diced
1 large clove garlic minced
1 TB red pepper flakes (just do it!!!)
3/4 to 1 cup ketchup (yes ketchup!!)
1/2 tsp garlic powder
1/2 tsp cumin
Salt and pepper
2 TB Yellow mustard (yes mustard)
1 TB brown sugar
2 TB Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

Brown hamburger, onion and garlic over medium heat.

Add all the other ingredients. Mix well. Taste. No this is important. My family likes it a little spicy and this is where I add more cayenne. Lower heat to low and let simmer ten minutes.
Serve on toasted buns piled high with coleslaw.

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Tag, you're it! Tuesdays mean NEW list!...

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My Daughter, a verbally abusive teacher, and my sanity...

This is how I was before all of this mess

My Daughter came to me several weeks ago after school, she was crying and said she needed to talk, thinking the worst thoughts in the world I called my husband into the living room with us. She told us that her Teacher has been screaming at them and calling them names since the beginning of the School year, which for my kids was in July (year round school). When I asked her what things, she said the Teacher called them "stupid" and "animals" and "dumb" amongst other things, and that she was so tired of being called those things, that the Teacher also screams at them for everything, always so angry.

The Mom in me wanted to run to the School and pay her a visit, how dare a Teacher, a person of trust, treat my child that way!?!? Furious, hurt, upset, and felling every other emotion in the world, I eventually calmed down and just cried with my daughter, I couldn't believe that I had put her in that place, that I had forced her so many days to go to School without even having the slightest idea of the hell she was going through! I felt like the worst mother in the world. The next day came and I sent her to school, I told her not to worry that I was going to go speak with the principal (another woman who has not helped kids with bullying issues).

The next day I was lost, I didn't know what to do, do I show up to her class? Do I go to the Principal who ignores the fact that kids get bullied at school? do I go to the District and complain? I just was lost, cried all morning. Then my daughter called me from school, asked me if I could go pick her up early from school, she hadn't hung up the phone when I was already in the office (we live around the corner). She told me that a substitute that they had complained too, had left the video camera on from the laptop, and was able to catch the teacher screaming at the kids and calling them names. She took the video straight to the district and filed a complaint. My Daughter cried with such relief, I cried with such anger! The Principal never showed her face to a few parents that were looking for answers, instead on Monday there was a substitute teacher, a wonderful very young girl who all of the kids loved. after 2 weeks, it was her time to go and the kids literally cried, they even made a petition for the principal to keep the substitute. She gave them a new substitute teacher for the time being. Right before the Fall break on the last week of Sept., I went to speak to the School Psychologist and asked her what I should do, she said that she thought the Principal had agreed to let the Teacher come back after Fall break, but that I as a parent could and should appeal the decision. None of the other teachers in that School wanted her back. It is a very small school, with 12 classrooms, but very close with the students.

Wednesday my Daughter came home from school and she asked to talk, she told me that she had cried today at school and that she needed to tell me why. She said the Principal went inside of their class and told the kids that they had to talk to the abusive Teacher one at a time alone with her, and made them take turns. WHAT!?!? The Principal MADE my Daughter go alone to a room with the Teacher who has verbally and mentally been abusing her?!?! SOMEONE HOLD ME BACK!!!
She said the Teacher told her she was returning on Monday. No apology, no answers, nothing, so after the talk my Daughter went and cried to the Principal, to which she told my Daughter "calm down Kiera" WTH?!?!?!?
I am at a loss, because though I do believe of giving people second chances, it suddenly wasn't the same, it's my daughter being verbally and mentally abused by a Teacher, who by the way, the Principal said "The only reason "Teacher" was acting that way was because she was going through a divorce so we gave her a leave of absence and she will be back on Monday"
another WHAT!?!? So the excuse for her behavior was that she was going through a divorce?

Now the secretary spoke to me on Thursday, gave me a packet, told me I have the right to complain and appeal to the district if I don't want that Teacher to come back. All of a sudden so many questions came to my mind...

Do I flat out appeal this stupid decision and never let that woman near my daughter again?!?!
Do I teach my daughter that people make mistakes and that we should give a second chance?
Do I beat the Teacher with a water balloon?
Do I put my Daughter in a bubble and never let her out?!?!
What if later she has a worst fight with her ex and something even worst happens to the kids?

What would you do?

This is how I feel now about my cubs after all of this...

Foodie Friday: Chicken Enchiladas recipe YUM!

Aricka has been nominated for Best Foodie Blog of the Year!!!!!!!

We eat a lot of Mexican food in this house. Now there are a ton of really good Mexican restaurants here. They are practically on every corner yet I still cook it every chance I can.

Enchiladas are a little time consuming and somewhat messy (especially with a camera in one hand) but cheap and feeds an army! I can get two nights out of one tray of enchiladas. Add some Spanish rice and re-fried beans and you will be competing with the corner restaurant! (or so I keep telling my pocket book) Now there are some shortcuts, tonight, I am using the leftover meat from The whole chicken made for tacos (I froze it) and I am using can sauce. I have made the sauce home made. It is by far better home made but time is an issue so the can will have to do tonight! If you don't have chicken handy, take three chicken breast and bake them with salt, pepper and a little olive oil in a 350 degree oven for about 25 minutes or until cooked. Even better, go buy a rotisserie chicken from the grocery store or Costco! I personally like to freeze leftovers for this purpose. But that's another blog post entirely!

Chicken Enchiladas

Meat from one rotisserie chicken or equivalent
1 cup sour cream
1 cup Cheddar cheese plus
3 cups Cheddar cheese
1 SM can of ortega green chilis diced undrained
1 extra lg can green enchilada sauce
9-12 flour tortillas (depends how full you stuff them)

In a medium size bowl mix chicken meat, 2 cup cheese, (in my case it's two handfuls) green chilis and sour cream. Mix well. This mixture will melt down into a creamy sauce!

Now here's where the sloppy part starts!
Pour enough sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 pan to cover the bottom.
Pour 1 cup of sauce in a pie plate. Take a tortilla and place in the pie plate. Flip over to sauce both sides. This is important to my family...they do not like dry enchiladas. Note: I skip the pie plate and just do it in the baking pan. You can save the dish to wash!

Add 1/2 cup meat mixture and roll up. Keep refilling sauce to moisten tortillas. Nobody likes a dry enchilada!

Repeat until the pan in full or the meat is gone.

Take remaining sauce and pour over top of enchiladas

Cover the top of the enchiladas with cheese.

Bake in a 350 degree preheated oven for 30 minutes uncovered.
Try to resist seconds.

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Tag, you're it! Great way to gain Followers... #FF

Welcome once again to

"Tag, you're it!"

We are on our 36th week!!! ;)
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Add your information to the spreadsheet , "Tag" everyone above you that you want on the list
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Check back regularly to "Tag" new friends (list is open all week)
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#PedialyteSingles to the rescue....

I had a sick little bear this weekend, and the it ran through the beginning of the School week.

Though it's terrible to see my babies sick, it's something I am very used too. All of my babies have been born prematurely, from 22-29 weeks premature, and have come with a full package of low immune system bumps in the road, so they get sick a lot.

Having Pedialyte has literally been a lifesaver in our Family many times. My babies have gotten severely dehydrated and hospitalized from different illnesses, and Pedialyte has been the only thing that they have been able to have for days at a time, to replenish their lost electrolytes. I am not trying to sound like a commercial, I am just sharing with you our Family's journeys and experiences with Pedialyte.

As the years have passed, Pedialyte has not changed much in flavor, but the way we can buy it certainly has changed, and for the better. They have gone from:

The full size bottle

singles bottles

Freeze pops

The ECO-Friendly Powder packets!!

And now the NEW Pedialyte Singles in Tetra Paks

This has been the best idea yet!

These singles have an 18 month shelf life and are small enough for little hands to grip all the way around!!

The flavors are Apple, Cherry, and Fruit Flavor! ;)

My baby spent these last few days in bed and with a bucket if you know what I mean, without giving you further descriptions, and as I have been doing for years, I only give my Children a brand that I trust, nothing less.

Now my baby is better, returning to school tomorrow and hopefully our Family will be back to normal this weekend...

This is how this California Family rolls! ;)

Want more good news?!
Abbott Nutrition has given us a link for $1.50 OFF coupon!

http://bit.ly/bEXbq4

Want to see my Whrrl story about the New Pedialyte Singles?
Here is the link: http://whrrl.com/e/h0Bo9

Follow #PedialyteSingles on Twitter for real-time talk.
The opinions and experiences are my own, Collective Bias sponsored my shop for Pedialyte Singles.

Foodie Friday: Chicken with White Wine Gravy (Pantry Meal)

Aricka has been nominated for Best Foodie Blog of the Year!!!!!!!
If you agree, which you should!! ;) go on and vote for her, voters are also eligible for a prize!
http://www.misterpoll.com/polls/504857
Don't forget to add her name on the bottom of the form for the vote to count "Shamrocks and Shenanigans"

Guess what day it is?!? It's Foodie Friday with My Dear Friend Aricka at Shamrocks and Shenanigans. For today's post she made an AWESOME Chicken with White Wine Gravy (Pantry Meal)

My cupboards are bare. It is the night before I shop and there is literally two nights of meat left in the freezer and a bunch a canned goods. The Fireman is home so I am expected to cook. This is where I pull out my Pantry meals. This one is an old one too. I took this from Gram (back when I was barely married to The Fireman) who probably took it from a Woman Day's or some sort of magazine. It has been copied to the backs of envelopes and tweaked for my family. I have to make twice the gravy. Just don't tell The Tortured Teenager that it has Cream of Chicken soup in it or she will never eat it again! She has a thing against any recipe with Cream of Anything Soup in it!

Chicken with White wine Gravy-Pantry Meal
Printer Friendly Version

1 cut up chicken (like what you would use for fried chicken but all I have is breasts)
1/2 finely chopped onions (the smaller the better for picky eaters)
1/2 to 3/4 cup white wine (make sure it's a dry wine you really would drink...I prefer to drink red but I will drink this too!)
2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
salt and pepper

Heat a skillet over medium heat. Mine are old so I added some olive oil.

Salt and pepper chicken. Add to skillet skin side down. Cook 5 minutes

turn, cook another four minutes.

Squish meat to one side of the pan (see I put mine on their sides) and add onion and cook till translucent. Aww heck, we like a little color on ours!

Add wine, carefully...drink some too! Let cook for a minute...stick your face in the fumes...don't you want to bathe in that?

Add the soup and 1/2 can of water and mix it all well. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes or until your chicken is done. Again, mine were big pieces and I do not want raw meat. I don't have a lid for this pan, so I'm about to put foil over it!

Gram used to serve over Smashed Red potatoes but I dont have that in my bare cupboards so skins on mashed potatoes will have to do!

This is The Fireman's FAVORITE chicken gravy! Why? It's canned soup and wine! But it taste like what he ate in elementary school...at school! Lucky me! I am being compared to lunch ladies in the 60's! Such is my luck!

The Tortured Teenager practically licked her plate clean. God help me if she ever reads my blog!

For my crock pot cooks, you could brown the meat pop all ingredients into the crock pot and let cook on low for 3-4 hours. You can even toss in the potatoes! This would be perfect to make before a baseball or football game! Toss in before you leave and it will be perfect when you get home.

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12 yrs married + 6 deployments + 6 kids = 2 burnt out Parents!

What describes my Husband and I? the title does, we are: 12 yrs married + 6 deployments + 6 kids = 2 burnt out Parents!

I recently entered a contest on Facebook for a trip to "paradise" ;)
Jade Mountain in St. Lucia!!!

It said to write one small paragraph describing why you need this trip, my title should say it all right?

This was my essay:
We’ve been married 12 yrs, have 6 kids, been through 6 deployments; but we’ve NEVER had a wedding, been on a honeymoon, or a vacation by ourselves. We NEED a vacation, need to renew our burnt-out selves, and it would be a perfect place to renew our Love and vows.

We ARE married ;) but we never had a wedding, he was getting ready to go on his first deployment and with him just starting in the Navy, his paychecks barely covered gas to work, LOL, I was working at the time, but it was going to rent and food. Yes, we were that struggling couple that was too much in love to care about what they didn't have ;)
Now? We have 6 kids, and a dog with an appetite for shoes lol. We never were able to afford a wedding, let alone honeymoon or even just a trip away by ourselves.

This is why I entered the contest, I figured "I can't loose what I never had" ;)

If you can, please stop by and give us a vote, no pressure ;)
The voting ends on 10/15 and you can vote once per day.

Thank you SO much ;)
Here is the link: http://apps.facebook.com/contestshq/contests/57425/voteable_entries/9199515

Thank you from all of us, because I know the kids would LOVE some time with their Grandparents while we are away ;D

Tag, you're it!!

Welcome once again to

"Tag, you're it!"

We are on our 36th week!!! ;)
a weekly meme where you can sign up ALL of your sites for NEW FOLLOWERS!

Blog, Facebook, NetworkedBlogs,

Twitter, Giveaways, Votes,
Clients to your Etsy and OpenSky Stores
and anything else you want.

For our new "Taggers" here's the link to the post with instructions: http://bit.ly/aBfRYz or:
The Rules to playing "Tag, you're it" are simple:
Add your information to the spreadsheet , "Tag" everyone above you that you want on the list
(Tag= add/follow the person and leave "Tag, you're it!" comment)
Check back regularly to "Tag" new friends (list is open all week)
"Tag" back everyone who has "Tagged" you (remember to add/follow in addition to leaving the Tag comment=Tagging back is OPTIONAL)
OR
for those of you who already know how to play, just go directly to the: sign up form

Have fun!!!

Spread the word!!!

The more players, the more "Tags" you get ;)

Remember that "Tag, you're it!" is open ALL WEEK, and a new list goes up on Tuesday's!!!
Here's the link so you can share it: http://bit.ly/94SnZ6

Our Special Family dinner...

Once a month our Family has a special backyard dinner on the grill. We light the torches on the deck, and enjoy the beautiful view of San Diego at night time. With such a large Family and all of us having different schedules, we rarely have time to sit and eat as a Family. This weekend was very hectic, so our Family's grill dinner was the perfect thing for us to enjoy each others company and have some good food.

The day was a typical San Diego sunny day, so this is what the kids did:

Everyone out of the pool and hungry so we begin to talk about our ingridients. The kids shouted for steak and corn on the cob, so off to shop we went.

I usually shop at different stores for the dinner supplies, but today's shop was all going to be done in one place, Ralphs. I know that some of you make shopping lists, and for the most part I do too, but never for our "special grill dinner" We never know what we feel like eating until that night, so we go to the store and figure it out there.

The shopping trip is always an adventure for us, just think of the amount of kids we have with us. Shopping at Ralphs is easy, it's quick, and painless, we shop mostly for the Kroger brand (which is Ralphs brand) because it's cheaper than most, and the quality and taste is great!

I put together a whrrl story so you could join us for our special Family grill night,

More check-ins at Ralphs

We enjoyed our steaks, the tri tip was SO tender!!!

The sweet corn was exactly that, sweet corn!

If you ask me, it was a great night, delicious food, and the fact that we got to spend a night together, talking, and looking at our beautiful San Diego skyline...

Smore's were the perfect ending to our night!!!

Foodie Friday: Crock Pot Roast with Gravy recipe with Shamrocks & Shenanigans

Guess what day it is?!? It's Foodie Friday with My Dear Friend Aricka at Shamrocks and Shenanigans. For today's post she made an AWESOME Crock Pot Roast with Gravy recipe!

When I was asked to do fall recipes for my buddy Adventures of a Military Family 8, I was thrilled! I have a ton of wintery recipes. Growing up the first part of my childhood in the snowy mountains, my family ate foods rich in gravy or stewed. I didn't know it at the time but my grandmother was cooking for a large army. Every meal was at least ten hungry adults. My grandmother had a way of making cheap meals taste elegant. This happens to be right up her alley. The nice thing about this meal is the crackpot does most the work. You do a little prep. It cooks slowly all afternoon and then you pile it on some mashed potatoes and add a veggie.

Now my buddy Adventures of a Military Family 8 has never made a pot roast before so I'm going to take a little extra care on some of the details. Buy a pot roast (or two if you have an extra large family) when they go on sale. You don't have to use it right away. I really like Chuck roast but this week Rump roast was on sale. Rump happens to be prettier but chuck has more flavor. Both do just fine. I find that one roast feeds about five. So that's perfect for my family of four. If you have a larger family, buy two! And definitely wait until they go on sale to the price of hamburger. If you are still a little hesitant on the size, ask your butcher. The worst they will do is make you buy too big of a roast. And I promise you won't mind that the next day! Pot roast sandwiches are fought over in my house.

Crock Pot Roast with Gravy
You will need the following ingredients for my pot roast. You probably have them all. If you use two roast, double the rest of the ingredients.

1 cup (at least) red wine
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 onion sliced
Salt, pepper and garlic powder
Oil (about 2 TB)

Season your roast up good with salt, pepper and garlic powder. Don't be stingy! This is a thick piece of meat and you really can not over season it.

Brown in a very hot pan with a TB or two of oil on all sides. You could omit this step if you are short on time but trust me, it adds flavor to the gravy!

Toss that baby into your crock pot.

Add one onion, halved and sliced or if you are lucky enough to have some in your freezer, Pearl Onions are amazing in this! They are The Fireman's absolute favorite! I just have way too much in my freezer right now to dig them out!

Now pour one cup of red wine in the pot...make sure it is something you would drink. If you dont drink red wine, ask the store for a recommendation. There are some pretty decent cheap wines out there right now. (That or I am just not that picky anymore!) I would pour myself a glass, but it is only 10:00am!!! I'm saving the rest of the bottle for dinner!

Now the easy part! Cook on low all day....
Remove the meat to a serving plate. Don't worry if it is falling apart! That means it is PERFECT!
Skim off the grease from the juices. Or don't but my spare tire is big enough...
Add one can of Cream of Mushroom Soup (shhhh!!! Hide the can after-wards! My kids have an aversion to Cream of Anything soup)

It may not look pretty...Mix well! It will come together and make the most beautiful gravy!

You won't even need to yell DINNER!

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I will post my roast when I make it ;)

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