Tuna & Spinach Salad Made with Love
A few days ago Karlie was in charge of making the family meal. She made a super delicious meal. For my meal she put together a Tuna, Spinach & Tomato Salad. When I sat down for dinner this beauty greeted me.
I love how she displayed the tomatoes around the edges of the salad and the 1 spinach leaf on the top of the tuna fish salad mix she put together on her own. It was amazing! Thankful for a thoughtful and sweet kid who made a delicious and healthy meal.
She made tuna fish sandwiches for the rest of the family, which based on their reactions turned out really tasty as well. Thanks Karlie for a great meal! Love you kiddos!
Recipes: Octopus Spaghetti
One of the Octopus Spaghetti pieces
Our family enjoys having fun in the kitchen. We have done this recipe a few times especially when the kids are a little younger. It was one of those days when we had spaghetti on the menu, but instead I decided to alter it to make it more fun for the kids. The normal spaghetti and meatballs for dinner turned into Octopus Spaghetti which included hotdogs instead of meatballs.
It really is easy. While the noodles were still hard I stuck them through pieces of hotdogs. The hotdogs cooked while the spaghetti noodles were boiling. I added a little bit of spaghetti sauce, a side dish or two (garlic bread and / or a fresh salad are good ones) and dinner is ready. The kids love it and enjoy helping with this recipe too.
Octopus Spaghetti Recipe:
- 1 package Hotdogs
- 40 Spaghetti Noodles
- 1 jar Spaghetti Marina Sauce (store bought or homemade)
Place a pot of water on the stove and begin heating it up until boiling. While you are waiting for your water to boil cut each of the 10 hotdogs into 4 equal pieces. Put 4 dry spaghetti noodles through each piece of hotdog (this allows you to have 4 octopus arms on each side of the hotdog, therefore giving you 8 octopus arms total). It may take a couple extra spaghetti noodles because you may break a couple when poking them through the hotdogs. Once the water is boiling place the hotdogs and noodles into your pot and boil until noodles are thoroughly cooked.
While the hotdogs and noodles are cooking place your spaghetti sauce into a smaller sauce pan and heat until it is hot. Place the hotdogs and noodles on your plate first and put the spaghetti sauce on top.
Our kids think the hotdogs and noodles tastes good even without the spaghetti sauce. You can do it either way. It is a fun meal, especially for the kids.
A pile of Octopus Spaghetti on that plate.
Spaghetti marina sauce added on top of the Octopus Spaghetti
Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
I found this Chicken & Broccoli recipe at Pearls, Handcuffs, & Happy Hour. It is a great combination of chicken, vegetables, and cheese. This chicken recipe is a hit with our family. The casserole is best served over rice.
Chicken & Broccoli Casserole
- 3 Chicken Breasts, cooked & shredded
- 2 cans Cream of Chicken Soup
- 1 cup Mayonnaise
- 1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese
- 1 cup Colby & Monterrey Jack Cheese
- 1 bag frozen Broccoli pieces
- Salt & Pepper to taste
Cook chicken and shred. Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a 2 quart casserole dish. Mix all the ingredients together. Transfer into casserole dish and cook for 30 minutes or until bubbly.
Travel & Vacation: Always Something Fun to Do
Brina hanging out with Grandpa and Grandma before breakfast
We had a blast on our first full day on the ship. The girls were up early before breakfast even opened so we hung out with Grandpa and Grandma a little bit. We went swimming, ate great food, went to the Freeze Frame Show, had our first formal dinner, relaxed, attended the Once Upon A Time Show, and not long after that the kids crashed. They were sound asleep within minutes of getting back into the room, cleaned up, and into bed. Thankful for a great time with family during our time on the boat.
Where is Karlie?! Oh, there she is up in her bed reading a book! Karlie loves to read. She finished a couple chapter books while we were on the cruise.
Relaxing for a few minutes before taking off to the next activity of the day
Pizza and fruit were always a hit for lunch at Windjammers!
Reading “Tales of the Fourth Grade Nothing” to the girls while we wait for the rest of the group to get ready
Travel & Vacation: Once Upon A Time Show
Once Upon a Time Show
The first full day on the boat was packed full of fun activities from swimming, playing, Freeze Frame Ice Show, our formal dinner together, and more! After dinner we went to the Once Upon a Time Show. They re-told a lot of the traditional fairy tales from Cinderella to Snow White to Pinocchio and more. The kids were fascinated by all the action on the stage!
They even had fairies flying around!
Fascinating to watch
They even had Cinderella
Some of the outfits made me laugh!
The girls loved this show!
Once Upon a Time Show – Rapunzel
Travel & Vacation: Our First Formal Night
Karlie and Brina all dressed up for our first formal night
Earlier that day we went swimming, played, and went to the Freeze Frame Ice Show. Now it was time to get dressed up for our first formal night on the ship. The girls wore their red dresses for the first formal night on the cruise ship. They looked so cute! We took a family picture but I thought you would enjoy some of the snap shots we were able to get while waiting for our family picture. Everyone looked really nice for dinner that night.
Our little ladies
This one cracks me up…..they have obviously spotted someone they know, ha!
Brina taking a picture of Jake and I
A snap shot of Jake and I on the trip
Grandpa and Zach are ready for their picture
Karlie girl all dressed up
Nicko looking sharp
Brina, Nathan and Brandon ready for their pictures
They look thrilled
Uncle Josh looking all snazzy too
Family Recipe: Green Bean Tator Tot Casserole
My Mom is a great cook and this is one of the recipes I remember her making when I was a kid. It is a great mix of flavors and the perfect casserole to take to someone for a meal or if you want to make two and freeze one for a busy day later that month. One thing I really love about this meal is that you can use what you have on hand in your pantry or freezer (you don’t have to buy a “special” type of green beans, hashbrowns, or cheese) to make it tasty!
Green Bean Casserole
- 2 lbs Hamburger, browned
- 1 can Mushrooms (optional)
- 1 pkg Shredded Cheese (Mozzarella or Cheddar or Mix)
- 2 to 3 cans Cream of Mushroom Soup
- 1 pkg frozen Hashbrowns or Tator Tots
- 3 cans Green Beans (any style)
Brown the hamburger then add the mushroom soup and canned mushrooms. Stir and place on the bottom of a casserole dish. Then layer the green beans on top of the meat mixture. Spread the hashbrowns over the top of the green beans. Sprinkle shredded cheese over the hashbrowns. Bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes to an hour. Until cheese is golden.
Family Celebrations: Happy Birthday Skipper!
Best Buddies - A Girl and Her Dog (Brina and Skipper) The fifth member of our family is full of energy, a loyal friend, loves to play outside and adds a lot of laughter to our family…….Skipper! She is our sweet black lab who the girls absolutely adore! Our little Puddle Skipper Hayes was born on March 14, 2010 and she had fun celebrating her 1st birthday with us! It was a busy day full of a lot of activities but ended it with a little celebration for our furry family member. The girls were so excited to celebrate Skipper’s birthday.
Here are a few pictures from our fun together!
Brina and Karlie wrapping Skipper's birthday gifts! The girls wrapped Skipper’s gifts in newspaper and A LOT of tape! They even had tape on the floor when they were done (you can see a pile in between them on the carpet). They were so excited and had a blast doing the wrapping for their furry sister!
Skipper's Special Birthday Meal! The girls thought it was hilarious putting Skipper’s candle in her special meal. They thought it was funny she would rather have a special birthday meal with “bacon” then a birthday cake. The girls were worried that Skipper was going to burn her nose so she barely got close to the bowl until the candle was blown out, glad they were looking out for her. It was great watching them trying to keep her away from the candle while we sang Happy Birthday!
Skipper eating her birthday treat! The best puppy birthday meal you can ask for – Meaty and Moist, simply delicious! Plus she got to eat her special birthday treat all by herself (no one was wanting to share it with her).
The unwrapping part of the birthday celebrations was exciting and confusing for Skipper, good thing the girls were there to help! Skipper was very excited to get new bones and a toy! She immediately took one bone into the yard, then realized the other one was still on the porch so went back for that one. I really think she stayed up all night playing and eating her bones!
Happy Birthday Skipper! Hope you enjoyed your play time with the family, your feast, bones, and toy! The girls had fun picking them out, wrapping and celebrating with you!!!
Family Recipe: Bean Dip for Chips
My Aunt Michelle St. Clair brought this amazing Bean Dip to my bridal shower. We still make it on occasion when we have guests over. It has a great mix of flavors and usually by the end of the night the dish is empty. The dip tastes best with any type of Corn Chip. It can be used for a party or an appetizer to before a Mexican meal.Bean Dip for Chips
- 2 cans Refried Beans
- 1/4 cup Onion (optional)
- 16 oz Sour Cream
- 1 bottle of Oretoga Taco Sauce
- 1 package finely Grated Cheese (Cheddar)
In a 9 x 13 pan layer the above, refried beans, then onion, then sour cream, the sauce, then cheese on top. Refrigerate for at least two hours before serving with chips. Optional – you can add chopped peppers for additional color and flavor.
T.G.I. Friday’s Coupon: $5 off $15 or More
T.G.I. Friday’s Coupon – $5 off your Purchase of $15 or More
Cannot be combined with other offers, discounts or specials, including 3 Course $12.99/$16.99 menu offer, $7.99/$8.99 Petite Sirloin or Half Rack Ribs offer and any other discounted or reduced price special in participating T.G.I. Friday’s. For dine-in only. Not valid with use of Promotional Gift Card. See site for full details. G
Good through February 21, 2011! You can take your spouse out to dinner for Valentine’s Day and save a little at the same time!!!
