Easy Mexican casserole.....

Oh my goodness...A post lol.....Things have been extremely busy lately with the upcoming arrival of miss madalyn and she has been keeping me on my toes so maybe life will return to normal after shes born, I wanted to share a quick easy meal I make for my hubby and kids when we are in a rush but need something filling. Hence easy mexican casserole

you will need

1 lb ground round hamburger meat
2 larger cans refried beans
1 pack of taco seasoning
1 bag of instant spanish rice
1 pack of the large flour tortillas
1 bag shredded sharp cheddar cheese
1 bag mexican taco blend shredded cheese

Toppings may vary we use:

fresh pico de gallo from the produce section
ortega original taco sauce
black olives
sour cream

First brown your meat in a large skillet add taco seasoning let simmer for 10 minutes. Then add your refried beans, In the meantime in a small saucepan make your instant spanish rice according to the package directions. In a large lasagna pan cut your tortillas into strips like lasagna noodles and lay them on the bottom. When rice is finished and beans and meat mixture are warm stir the rice into your pan with the meat mixture. Then pour this over top of your layer of tortillas, Next cut more tortilla strips to put on top and add your shredded cheese bake @ 350 until cheese is bubbling. Take out add your toppings slice and enjoy. I have made mine a day ahead and refrigerated it without adding the toppings then reheated and added my toppings the next day the flavor is phenomenal!! Hope y'all enjoy :)

time whats that?

Do you ever feel like you are constantly going, seeking that next new goal or just trying to keep up with the craziness that is your life thats me lately. sorry for the lack of posts I have sat down several times to write something and all I come up with is a blank :( Not had much time to do any crafting lately besides a little sewing here and there and trying to crochet a baby hat for the new expected arrival before march. Its a shame really i have so many ideas but by the end of the night when the house is quiet all I want to do is pass out from exhaustion. I know it has alot to do with the long hours my hubby works and me pretty much being mommy and daddy alot of the time to all 3 of our beautiful little ones plus I am on the precipice of birth so my bodies doing all sorts of fun stuff  (not) to prepare for the big day. I dont mind having most of the responsibility since when the hubby is home hes all about the kids and I... even when he could get some sleep, and the overtime is needed since he will be off for 3 weeks with me due to having a csection. But still I am trying to do it all with a smile on my face and set a good example for my little ones. I know the third trimester has alot to do with it and will be over soon, and the fact that getting the house prepped for a newborn and a hubby who (bless his heart) is not very good at multitasking with 3 bouncing little ones so I guess I am trying to say thanks for bearing with me I will try to resume posting asap and hope you are doing well :) till next time ashley

snow snow snow

Hey ya'll sorry I have been absent for a few weeks now between the holidays, preparing for our new addition and trying to maintain my sanity I have been swamped. Every feel like that crazy lady pulling her hair out? well thats been me lately, but I am a firm believer that for every moment of insanity theres a clear moment of sanity and its finally come back around and I am back :)  I have several tutorials I am excited to share with yall over the next 2 months for Easter and Valentines Day!

Todays post says it all we literally in the state of tn have been declared to be in a state of emergency over a little "fluffy stuff" as my hubby calls it. We had snow all last night and ended up getting a whopping 7 inches thats huge news for us, literally hasnt happened in like 10- 12 years. So last night I stuck my big bowl outside as the hubby watched me like I was crazy, I just calmly smiled at him and went to bed. This morning I brought the full bowl of clean fresh snow inside and we made snow cream! The kids loved it and I even convinced my northern hubby it really was safe to eat, can ya'll believe he had never had it that poor deprived man lol. Now I am going to curl up with a good book hot chocolate and my hubby hope ya'll are all doing well and winters not getting the best of you!

Thanks so MUCH Nadine!

I received my country pleasures apron swap package yesterday while I wasnt home, luckily my neighbor grabbed it for me :) I just got with her and opened it up and WOW is the only word I can say there were so many little things in it that added a thoughtful touch! Nadine made my kids each something
A crayon Roll for Megan and Hunter

 and an amazing color book for zachary made from different bits of fabric.

she even made a burp cloth for Madalyn who is currently residing in my tummy :)

 My apron is Gorgeous and very comfortable I love it

 along with all the other tuck ins

there was chocolate too but it didnt make it lol.  just wanted to say THANKS to Nadine @ Apron Valley Rd and thanks to mrs sue @ Country Pleasures for allowing me to participate in such a fun event....The kids are all being so quiet right now Megan and hunter are coloring using their new crayons and loving the crayon roll and Zacharys reading his color book We all Love our swap stuff :)

cookie press....I am in love

I was delighted on Black Friday to find a cookie press for only 10 dollars :) I have wanted one for a while but honestly have always forgotten to grab one around the holidays so this year I will be using it every chance I get it came with 13 different disks which means 13 shapes of fun :) Today's recipe is one my mother in law makes, they are my hubby's favorite Christmas cookie (seriously y'all I mean hide an extra bucket so the kids and I can have some too favorite lol )and I have now adapted them into our Christmas cookies we make yearly. These cookies are soft and delightful. Alright so lets get going to what you need

2 cups butter (which equals 4 sticks)
8 oz. cream cheese
1 cup sugar
2 t vanilla extract (or you can use almond depending on your preference or you can add 1 t of each)
4 cups all purpose flour
A few drops of green food coloring
colored sugars to decorate with.

Cream the butter and cream cheese together in a glass mixing bowl. Add the sugar after the first 2 ingredients are creamed and cream it as well. then add the extract of your choosing. Mix well. Finally add your flour in slowly while continuing to mix. lastly tint your dough by adding a few drops at a time till you get the desired green make sure its mixed well you dont want streaky dough . Chill your ingredients in the fridge for a few minutes. while this is chilling you need to find the wreath or tree disk and place it on your cookie press. roll into a cylinder shape and place in your cookie press. press these cute little cookies out about 1 inch apart from each other now is the time to add the colored sugars. bake @ 400 degrees for about 5-8 minutes until the edges are slightly brown. seal in an airtight container for about a month afterwards although if they last that long I would be shocked :)

I think winter may have forgotten its in the south this year we have had snow flurries like crazy already which is not typical southern tn weather before January at least. The hubby's wishing for a white Christmas like he had back home and I am just thankful we are alive and well to see another year. hope y'all have a wonderful week and will talk to y'all all again soon

St. Nicks Day

OK so for those of you who don't know I married a man from Wisconsin lol and sometimes our traditions vary just a tad so we try to incorporate them all basically our kids will grow up and carry them on we hope. for the past few years my hubby has been asking me when we were filling up the stockings for our little guys. I was raised with the tradition that your stockings were filled Christmas eve, but the hubby was brought up a little different....Today is December the 5th which is St. Nicks day...now honestly didn't know too much about him till I did some research. the tradition is to leave your boots (stockings) on your bedroom door and if you wake up and there is coal in them you have been naughty but if theres candy and a small gift then you know Santa Claus is coming the 24th. now at my house anything is a reason to celebrate the season. So for the first time this year we are participating in st. nicks day.I bought some Christmas candy and each of the kids a small toy under $5.00 we are decorating our stockings today and will place them on our doors tonight will be most definitely posting pics of the kids waking to their treats lol I would love to hear some traditions that you and your families do each year. traditions are a wonderful way to bridge the gap between generations. Sorry I haven't posted that cookie recipe yet all of my little ones have been sick the past few days so not much has gotten done. Have a wonderful day y'all

This months going to be a little different...

Ok so when I think of the holidays  I think of all those holiday treats that I LOVE to make so this month instead of just having recipes on thursdays I will be posting at least 2 a week on tuesday and thursday if not more :) there are so many wonderful recipes that I would love to share that make it kind of exasperating to pick out my favorites for only one time a week.  Tis the season to share right? lol Alright then todays recipe is.......

BUCKEYES　
　

　
These tasty peanut butter balls rolled in chocolate are AMAZING. Growing up I always remember going to my grandmothers the weekend before christmas eve and making these little chocolate morsels until there were tins of them were EVERYWHERE you looked. They hold such fond memories of my childhood that I am delighted to share this recipe with y'all and be able to carry on the tradition with my little ones :) And even better except for the dipping them in chocolate part the little guys will have a blast rolling them into balls without having to worry about them getting hurt which is my Favorite kind of recipe. this is what you need :

2 lbs. Peanut butter creamy or crunchy depends on what ya like
1 pound butter room temperature
3 pounds powdered sugar
2 12-ounce packages of semi-sweet chocolate chips
1/2 of a bar of paraffin wax
toothpicks for dipping
waxed paper


ok here we go in a large mixing bowl cream your peanut butter and butter . then add powdered sugar gradually till you have a dough you can roll into balls easily. I roll them into 1 inch balls usually stick a tooth pick in top and set them on a wax paper lined cookie sheet then place them in the fridge for about 15 minutes to chill them :) now while they are cooling you need to do some melting. next in a double boiler (or if your like me and dont have one heat a pot of boiling water get a large glass or metal mixing bowl and voila a homemade double boiler :) melt your chocolate chips and paraffin wax till smooth. right about now those delicious peanut butter balls should be ready to be dipped they need to be cool enough to be slightly firm to your touch. Now for the best part dip each ball in the chocolate melted goodness and place on a cookie sheet lined with wax paper I usually use the same pan let them set out and the chocolate will firm take the toothpicks out and enjoy. this recipe makes about 375 balls to 400 depending on the size you roll them into if you would like you can cut the ingredients by half to make a smaller batch. also instead of chocolate chips you can use white chocolate butterscotch chips and I have even heard someone use the white chocolate peppermint kisses never dont that one myself but it sure sounds great hope y'all all have a wonderful week and I will catch ya on the flip side next time around