Wordless Wednesday

A little late because I've been gone...but it's still Wednesday! I took these while they were eating, hence the foodie faces. =)

Ravioli Bake & Enter to Win!

Easy, Cheesy, Ravioli Bake!

Iím betting youíve noticed I love to cook. More than that, I really enjoy making recipes my entire family can eat and enjoy. Iíve never been the mom who cooks two separate meals-one for the adults and one for the kids!

Finding recipes everyone can love is sometimes a challenge. One of my goals here is to share recipes my family truly enjoys-and recipes that are simple as well!

I have a new, SUPER EASY recipe for you. This honestly takes about 5 minutes to mix up, and then you bake it for 25 minutes. Serve it with a side of broccoli or some fruit, and you have a well rounded, easy, and FAST meal!

I took something I grew up loving to create my Easy, Cheese Ravioli bake.

As a kid, I loved Chef Boyardee, and I bet you did too! We still love the Chef Boyardee brand, and one of my favorite things about their products is that they are preservative free.

But have you ever thought of using Chef Boyardee as an ingredient in a fast, delicious meal? Thatís what Iíve done today!

The Recipe: Easy, Cheese Ravioli Bake

2 cans of Chef Boyardee Cheese Ravioli in Meat Sauce

1 cup (divided) of shredded Monterey jack cheese

1/2 cup ricotta cheese

4 tablespoons Italian bread crumbs

1/2 teaspoon dried basil

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Combine Chef Boyardee Cheese Ravioli with 3/4 cup shredded Monterey jack, ricotta cheese, basil and pepper.

Mix well.

Pour into a greased 8 x 8 baking dish.

Top with 1/4 cup shredded Monterey jack.

Top that with bread crumbs.

Bake at 350 for 25 minutes, or until hot and bubbly, and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

*Note - this recipe freezes well. Just combine ingredients, and pour into greased baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and tin foil. Write baking instructions on tin foil.

Itís also an easy dish to take to friends that have a new baby!

This is such a great recipe to make with your kids. And Chef Boyardee has so many other great recipes that you and your kids can enjoy making together too!

Visit their Facebook page for more great ideas.

How would you like to win free groceries for a YEAR?! Create your very own unique recipe featuring Chef Boyardee and enter Chef Boyardeeís Make It Boyardeelicious Recipe Contest from December 29, 2011 through March 11, 2012 for your chance to win free groceries for a year as well as one of ten $500 weekly cash prizes. Then visit Chef Boyardeeís Facebook page from March 26, 2012 through April 8, 2012 to vote for your favorite recipes from the ìMake It Boyardeelicious Recipe Contest.î Each day, one voter will be selected to win a $100 cash prize.

Be sure to visit the Chef Boyardee Roundup page on BlogHer.com to check out other bloggersí recipes!

Our Weekend

Wow. Some weekends are so short and others seem to last forever. And some feel like they've been both short and lasted forever. That was this weekend.

Saturday I got to spend the day with my mom which is always fun but doesn't happen often without the kids! Chris watched the boys and took them to "their" spot - a local pizza place that has mac n cheese pizza. Anytime I have a girls night or something going on, they wind up there. I've never been!

First, my mom and I went to a baby shower for my friend Elizabeth. She helped throw Brody's shower. This was part of her gift for baby Elijah:

A local shop, The Pink Lilli, made them for us. She does a great job!

After the shower, we ran a few errands and had lunch at one of my favorite local places. They have awesome tomato soup! Then we went and got our nails done together. I'm generally a pale pink shellac kinda girl, but I got this awesome dark gray last time (see here) and I loved it so much that I got it again!

Remember how I mentioned we adopted another dog? Well, anytime we pick up a dog we try to find it's home in case it was an accident and the dog just escaped. This time I was really pretty sure that it had just been dumped because of where Chris found him, but it turned out that he had escaped. The owners grandson had let him out and he ran off. So as much as we loved Aspen, we are glad he is back home with a his very loving family!

Brody has begun to try to talk much more this weekend. He's saying ball, done, Bubba (for Brayden) and book in addition to his other words. He is so proud of himself when he says something and we understand him! Ha! Brayden is a great translator - he always knows exactly what Brody is saying. It's SO cute!

And lastly, a word of warning if you car has tire pressure sensors. Three or four weeks ago my sensor went off saying my right rear tire had low pressure. I got out and looked at it, and measured it with this silver thing my brother gave me (tire gauge? I don't know what it's called). It said the tire was fine. So, meanwhile, I've completely been ignoring the warnings my car shouts at me every time I start it. Well, apparently, the sensor is actually ON the tire, so when I had my tires rotated the right rear tire became the front right tire and it actually IS low. Super low. So, just so ya know, the sensor is on the tire, and if you get a warning, just check all of your tires!

Low Fat Lunches

As a stay at home mom, I am literally home everyday. My kids don't go to MDO or KDO, and we aren't at preschool age yet, which means I'm serving up breakfast, lunch and dinner, everyday. I don't really struggle with breakfast or dinner options, but for some reason, lunch stumps me.

Now, I shouldn't admit this, but we do go to Chickfila quite often. I love their Southwest Salad and the kids love their grilled nuggets and fruit cups. And I really shouldn't admit that I'm on a first name basis with most of the lunch staff, including the manager. Nope. Not admitting it.

So, I'm hoping that you all will want to participate in this little link up idea I had. If you have a low fat lunch idea (since it seems like most of us are still in "It's January! I'm dieting!" mode) then I hope you'll link it up here. Have a picture? Even better!

So, here is my contribution. It's above, in the picture. I use a 70 calorie spinach tortilla, top it with 1T of chive spread, 2T of cheese, 4 slices of (thin!) ham and 4 slices of turkey. Total calories? 350. Not bad! And you could add a ton of veggies to this if you like - tomatoes, peppers, onions, lettuce...I'm just not a huge fan of veggies.

So, I hope that you will link up with me and share your Low Fat Lunch Ideas! And tell your friends - the more recipes, the better!

Pins that WORKED!

I have run across some seriously good pins on Pinterest lately. Ones that are just too good not to share! BTW, you can find me on Pinterest by clicking here!

First up, raise your hand if you've seen the baking soda facial floating around!

You mix 3T baking soda with 1T water and then apply it in a circular motion to your face. Let it sit for 5 minutes then rinse it off with warm water. Repeat once weekly. I did this and it was like having a microdermabrasion! My skin feels SO much softer!

(Source)

Idea #2 also uses baking soda. So, this one wasn't really a pin that I did, but the idea was inspired by a pin. The original pin used 3 or 4 chemicals and baking soda to soak and clean your grates.

What I did was sprinkle baking soda all over my stove and greats and then put a light mist of water over them. I let them sit for about 20 minutes (more is probably fine, I'm just impatient) and then used a sponge to clean them off. It worked really well!

You know I love my Apple products and when I found this tutorial with 50 tips for your iPad I read through them and pinned it. There is some really useful stuff!

(Source)

What good pins have you come across? Share the link to your pinterest page in the comments too!