Bringing it back with STUFFED BELL PEPPERS!

Well, that was a mighty fine blogless vacation. I could update the last year, but no one REALLY wants to read all that, so instead, I give you my "recipe" for Stuffed Bell Peppers :)

Because I don't measure, everything is approximate. I also try to cook as healthy as possible, so LOTS of veggies! Feel free to adjust, omit, or add to your liking.


Ingredient List:

• 6-8 green bell peppers
  
• 2 pounds ground turkey (or beef)
  
• 1 small or 1/2 large onion, chopped
• 2 carrots, washed & grated (like cheese!)
• 1 medium zucchini, peeled & grated
• 2-3 stalks celery, chopped
• Mushrooms, sliced (canned or fresh)
  
• 1 cup uncooked brown (or white) rice, cooked according to package directions
• 1 can diced tomatoes (I use the flavored onion/garlic kind)
• 1-2 small cans tomato sauce
• Italian seasoned bread crumbs
• Shredded cheddar cheese
  

- Start by throwing a LARGE pot of water on to boil, you'll need this in a bit! AND preheat the oven to 400*F. Now, cut the tops off of your peppers and scrape out all the guts. Rinse away the seeds hiding inside.

- Then, begin browning the meat with all the veggies (minus tomatoes) in a large, deep frying pan. I season with pepper, garlic salt, and a bit of creole seasoning, because I put creole seasoning in just about EVERYTHING.

- Once browned, add in the can of diced tomatoes with juice and one can of tomato sauce, sprinkle in some Italian seasoning, stir it all up and put on simmer and cover.

- By now your water should be boiling like craaazzzyyyy. So, use some tongs to add the peppers to the boiling water. Make sure to turn them sideways so that they fill up with water instead of floating around. Boil them for 5 minutes. Use the tongs to remove the peppers, being sure to dump out all of the water inside. Place in an ungreased glass baking dish.

- Back to the pepper stuffin's.. It's now time to add your rice along with 1/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs. If the mixture looks too dry for you, feel free to add a little more tomato sauce. Mix it up well and begin stuffing your peppers, giving each one a little mound right on top. Bake in the oven for 20 minutes.

-After 20 minutes, add shredded cheese to the top of each pepper with a layer of shredded cheese and a sprinkle of bread crumbs. Continue baking for 10-15 minutes, until cheese is bubbly and starts to brown.

Remove and ENJOY! These babies are amazing! If you try them, let me know what your family thought about them :)

IT'S ABOUT TIME!

More info later.. Momma is POOPED!

PERHAPS....

...we will have a baby in the next 48 hours!

:)

This is what happens...

...when a 4 year old is left unattended long enough for Momma to take a shower!...when that 4 year old doesn't drain the bath-tub after washing off all his "tattoos" and "make-up"!

Lighting of the Tree Ceremony in Baumholder

Nothing better than starting a chilly evening out than with Starbucks Caramel Apple Cider! Mmm, my favorite. Terry had his regular Caramel Macchiato, and Nathyn decided he likes Hot Chocolate the best. Oh well, their loss I say!

We started outside and watched the lighting of the tree and awaited the arrival of Santa Claus via the fire truck. I have to be completely honest too, the look of amazement and happiness on my son's face with the fat man got off the truck had me in tears. :)

We went inside the community center, picked up a few treats and freebies & Nathyn even got a Wall-E DVD. Then onto the Santa Claus like which literally lasted an hour and a half... HOLY MOLY! Terry stood in line while Nathyn and I wondered, collected candy canes and walked ballet performances of the Nutcracker and other seasonal songs.

Doesn't the little girl dead center look to be having a FANTASTIC time? :D

Nathyn was mesmorized! We spent most of the evening standing at the rope watching them dance.

Then on to Santa! I liked this picture that I took better than the one provided. :)

The snow has gotten a bit thicker since Thanksgiving. Nathyn and Terry love it.. me? Not so much!

Let the Christmas Season begin!!!

Nathyn's 1st School Pictures

Sure Start '10-'11

Gavin's 3D Ultrasounds

28 Weeks :)

32 Weeks :)
Gavin got chuuuuunky, haha. He was playing shy this day.

My next 3D ultrasound will be December 28th. I get a regular one every Tuesday, but they don't give pictures then. Boooo!

HAPPY THANKSGIVING! 2010

Happy Thanksgiving! And surprise, our first snow! How strange it was to celebrate our first BIG holiday here without and family or the familiar faces we are used to seeing! Terry and I have a schedule every Thanksgiving, and we go from house to house visiting loved ones. This year we stayed in and although I contemplated a little "chicken dinner" instead of going all out for the three of us, I decided to do it big and invite the single soldiers from the barracks to fill their bellies as well.

Good idea, right?? Yeahhhh, I thought so too, until I stood in the kitchen 30 weeks pregnant on swollen feet for 8 hours cooking non-stop! It was worth it though, I'm glad to have made people smile! :)

An excellent idea right here! I injected my bird with Tony Chachere's Creole Style Butter Marinade, smothered a bunch of butter under the skin, followed by some uncooked bacon strips and cooked in a Turkey bag. Little over 3 hours later, out popped this beautiful little thing! By far the juiciest and most flavorful turkey I've ever had & I got nothing but rave reviews!

Terry tried his hand at a new bacon and bacon cheddar stuffed mushrooms recipe and they were also a hit! I think the tray lasted a whole.... 8 minutes?! Good job, Honey!Between appetizers & dinner time, the boys got in some play time! Nathyn loves playing with the guys. It's always a show when we get a group together.Favorite part of the day?! DIG IN time!And thank you very much to the Titan Platoon for recognizing us in the December newsletter! It was our pleasure and we'd do it again given the chance!

Another Anniversary! 9 years today!

Today Terry and I have been married 4 years, and together an amazing 9! We spent the afternoon cleaning the house, organizing all the things from our baby shower and watching movies. Then when evening came we put up our Christmas tree. Perhaps this will be a new tradition..

BEFOREAFTERNathyn's way of helping. He's too silly!Our very first full size Christmas tree as a family! It's beautiful.
And this is a video I made for Terry for our anniversary. I love it, Nathyn loves it, and the look on Terry's face was priceless. Happy Anniversary my love!

OUR BABY SHOWER!

Thank you SO much to Miss Marsha for throwing me a wonderful baby shower!Unlike my first shower, this one was much more traditional. It was lovely! We played games...

Terry played with the gifts as I opened them...

There were lots of yummies from Marsha and a friend LaRee. And they had my best interest in mind when making the menu diabetic friendly! Thanks girls!

The kids had lots of fun playing with playdough while the grown-ups played our games.

I got SO many wonderful gifts. What great friends I have here!

We shared lots of laughs! :)

YAY! Turtles, my favorite! :)

Thanks again to Marsha who worked so hard while she had so much other things going on! She's truly a remarkable lady! And to all the people who came and celebrated the upcoming arrival of my newest little monster.

Family Portraits @ 29 Weeks Pregnant

LAYING ON THE BEACH

My baby doing some serious lounging! :)

Laying on his back, legs stretched out and ankles crossed. Life doesn't get any better.