Minty Brisket

I'm not a steak person, but I love Brisket! It's so easy because it just cooks itself. You can put it on the stove and forget about it, literally because the longer it cooks the more tender it gets.

The meat will have a minty taste, but I thought the flavors blended nicely. No, this was delish!! El said it reminded him of gum and didn't care for it. BUT, he just likes salt.

I know my recipes are vague, I'm sorry! Unless I'm baking, I don't measure anything.

Minty Brisket

Rub your beef with Garlic Powder and a little bit of Salt and Pepper. Brown a little bit of oil on both sides. Fill the pan with water til it reaches the meat half way. Bring to a boil, then let it simmer for about an hour. Then to the broth add 1 1/2 TBSP of chopped fresh chives. 2 "stalks" of fresh mint, whole; and 1 lemon, sliced. Continue to simmer for at least 2 hours til meat is fork tender.

You can leave the mint and lemon in, but I removed them to make a simple gravy. Mix equal parts flour and cold water and slowly add to boiling broth.

I wanted to serve it with this, but I couldn't make it to the store so we just had french fries. I will make these potatoes tonight with the leftovers and some asparagus cooked in garlic and olive oil. Yumm!

Success!

I made another yummy dinner. Everyone liked it.

Beef and Mushroom Sandwiches

I baked a rump roast at 325 sprinkled with olive oil, garlic powder, salt, pepper, and oregano. Just before it's done, I threw in a bunch of fresh mushrooms, sliced. If there isn't much "meat juice", add some water.

Let it sit for 15-20 minutes. Slice thin.

Slice you ciabatta rolls in half. Sprinkle both sides with mozzarella cheese. More garlic powder and oregano if you like. Broil til melted.

Add beef, mushrooms with meat juice, fresh arugula, and some picante sauce (I love the heat!)

Maddy chowed down on my sandwich, the girls just got bread and butter with slices of beef. But everyone ate without me having to prepare PB&J sandwiches...thus it was a success!

young Turdus migratorius and young Homo sapien

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We really aren't that different.
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We all have the same basic needs.
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We just want to eat!
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A Red Robin laid her nest on our porch. We counted the eggs and eagerly waited for them to hatch. All day those little birds would lift their tiny heads up out of the nest and wave them back and forth, mouths wide open in anticipation for the return of their mother. It was so cute to watch. Then we would look down and see Daisy waving her head, mouth wide open!



Daisy is already 1 month!

I caught the tooth fairy!!

Kaity's tooth had been loose for a few weeks now. Daisy's umbilical cord was hanging around for weeks also. So we were betting who would lose what first. It was close. Daisy's cord fell off yesterday. An hour later, Kaity lost her tooth.



I found the cutest website. I caught the tooth fairy.com and created that pic which downloaded right away. It's normally $9.99 but with the code Fairy-Proof it's free til the end of the year. Cute, huh?

What do you do with leftover grilled chicken?

Make some awesome Chicken Mei Fun!!

We finally got a grill! Summer dinners don't seem so bad again. Yay!

However, the girls would not touch the chicken because it had black stuff on it. So for 2 days it just sat in my fridge. That is until yesterday morning when I pulled out a box of cereal for breakfast and saw my bag of rice noodles. I checked what else I had around. The only thing I was missing was an onion. No worries, we've got chives growing in our herb garden!

It was a hit. Everyone liked it. I was very proud! It's always a defining moment when all the kids like what I made for dinner. It was soo easy too and ready in minutes.

Kelly's Chicken Mei Fun

1lb grilled chicken (Trader Joe's has delish grilled chicken for @ $5)
3 TBSP House of Tsang Classic Stir Fry sauce
1 TBSP oil
1 green pepper
1/2 cup shredded carrots
1 cup snap peas
3/4 - 1 cup chicken broth
1 package Mei fun/rice vermicelli noodles
1 TBSP chives
salt and soy sauce to taste

Saute chicken, peppers, carrots, and peas in oil and sauce. Add broth. Meanwhile cook noodles. Drain and toss. Add chives, salt, and soy sauce.

I really like the House of Tsang sauce. I used it before with beef. Just added some garlic, ginger, and peppers. We ate it over rice and it was really good too.

Maddy loves to help

When I lay Daisy down for bed, Maddy makes sure she's tucked in well... face and all. I thought she just kept moving and the blanket would slowly move up, but after I moved it down I watched Madelyn walk in, say, "UH! TT!" And covered her back up!!

When Daisy wakes up, I get her but leave behind her blanket. Probably because it's too hot and she does it need it except in the air conditioned room. But Madelyn so helpfully remembers and drags it all through the house.

Daisy's Blanket and pacifier. 6 pacifiers and by the end of the day, all of them need to be sanitized.



It's so hard to not get so frustrated, she is making extra work, but when I see pics like this, my heart just melts. It could be so much worse. I'm lucky and grateful she loves her and isn't jealous.

Double Rainbow