Breakfast Sandwiches and Other Stuff

It's officially AUTUMN!  And I feel like I missed summer completely.  Oh well, let's gear up for the holiday season around the corner.

Since my hubby works out for an hour every morning, I want him to have some solid breakfast with his coffee.  Here are a few snapshots of my breakfast sandwich batch for freezing :::

I considered scrambling (instead of frying) the eggs before cooking... maybe next time.  Salt, pepper, and crushed red pepper - yummo!  The English muffins are just $1 at my Aldi, making these sandwiches even more cost effective.  Sharp cheddar cheese and black forest ham at the request of my hubby.  But there are so many options, of course!

Straight from the freezer, we nuke them for about 2 minutes.  Soggy bottom buns were a letdown, but it helps to put them on a paper towel when microwaving.  I suppose you could bake them in the oven, but if time crunch is a factor, it would kind of defeat the purpose of all the prep for a fast and filling breakfast.

I love making these breakfast sandwiches, but even with just two people to feed, they're gone before I know it!  Perhaps a double batch is in order...

Just a few more photos from Sydney's nursery... I can't help myself!  Her room is the only one in the house that's really put together.

If you have a nursery in the making, and your changing table is small like mine, I highly recommend a shelf just above for hand sanitizer, wipes, small basket of diaper rash cream, etc.  We picked this one up for a quarter at a yard sale and sprayed it gray.

Time hasn't allowed the spraying of these shelves (Goodwill find), but I decided to lean my canvases on the wall instead of hanging.  Still deciding if I prefer it or not.

Upcoming dinner plans include parmesan crusted tilapia with couscous, my favorite pot of chili (recipe to come), burritos and taco rice, and grilled italian chicken with veggies and garlic bread.  Here's to eating at home!


Liv ;)

A New Home Sweet Home

It's been a long, slow process, but I do believe I can finally say we are all MOVED IN!  Hallelujah, baby!

My latest craze is freezing food.  Trying to save time and money continues to be a top priority around here.  Besides, it makes me feel totally awesome!  So far, we've got corn on the cob, breakfast sandwiches, grapes, homemade baby food, bread, marinated chicken, bell peppers, jalapeno peppers, and -- next on my to-do-list -- twice baked potatoes!  Follow the links to a couple of the fabulous bloggers who inspired me.

About making homemade baby food (which, let's just say it, is just pureèd fruits and veggies):  in my experience, it is messy and time consuming.  But it does save money, especially if you can get produce on sale.  I love getting my fresh food from Aldi.  Kroger (King Soopers) has great variety and usually several organic options.  I have a friend who is using her own garden harvest to can her baby food.  Genius!  Again, time consuming.  Again, cheaper and healthier.  I'm not anti-store bought baby food, but the bulk of Sydney's meals are from my tiny kitchen, and it makes me a little proud of myself.

I've also recently been introduced to Mr. Clean's Magic Eraser.
People.
Go to the store, and get one.  It does take some elbow grease, but MAN does it pick up dirt!

Here is the finished product!  Special thanks to +Kaitlin Hillen for helping me complete my hair bow holder!

This snapshot is already a month old.  I can't keep up with this growing girl!  She's already got two teeth at almost eight months old.  

That's it for now... Thanks for following!

Liv ;)

Got Cow Juice?

When I was a kid, my dad always called milk "cow juice".  His explanation was this: squeeze oranges, get orange juice; squeeze apples, get apple juice; squeeze a cow?  Cow Juice!

So, the rep for cows' milk has become pretty damaged in recent times.  Most popularly due to the increase of hormones and antibiotics injected in cattle today.  Mass production has pros and cons, but cheaper is rarely better.  More on that by Global Healing Center.

We (Hubby, Sydney, et moi) are not allergic to dairy or lactose intolerant, but we recognize the problems with processed cows' milk.  So we are attempting a dairy purge.  Wish us luck - it isn't going to be easy!  I'm sure it will be worth it though.  As awareness grows, so do the alternative options.  Here are a few:

• ALMOND milk - This one is for the sweet tooth!  Nice and creamy with sweet accents.  You may love this one, you may hate it.  But do try it!  

• SOY milk - A hearty milk choice, a little thicker.   My favorite in a bowl of cereal!

• COCONUT milk - My favorite brand is So Delicious.  It doesn't have an overwhelming flavor, and it has a nice medium consistency.  Get a $0.55 cent off coupon on the So Delicious site!

• RICE milk - Typically pretty thin.  Probably a good choice for those used to skim or 2% (versus Vitamin D or whole milk).  Often found in a box carton, as shown here.

    
 

(Also, hemp milk and goat milk, which I've yet to try.)

Also on my dairy free grocery list: coffee creamer and ice cream!

Thanks for reading!

Liv ;)