Wordless Wednesday 7/22/09

Elijah loves to play while waiting for me to make his food!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

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Find more wordless Wednesday submissions and share yours at: 5 Minutes For Mom, Wordless Wednesday HQ, Extraordinary Mothers,Mostly Wordless Wednesday at Ordinary and Awesome, and Wordful WednesdaySeven Clown Circus

Guest Post: Mama Loves Cooking - Vanana Pudding Pie

A classic favorite among families in America is Banana Pudding. Simple, fast, and super yummy, you love the taste of the pudding, bananas, and the best part, the Nila wafers. How about changing up a bit and making a pudding pie with a Nila crust?

Be sure to prepare 4 hours ahead of serving. You chill it for 4 hours to secure the pudding's filling.

1 box of vanilla flavored pudding
1 box of banana cream pudding
2 1/2 cups of cold milk
1 cup of whipped topping
1 Nila wafer pie crust (Keep that plastic lid too!)
1 egg white
2 large bananas, peeled and sliced

Toppings you might enjoy: sliced bananas, whipped topping or Reddi Whip, shaved coconut, chopped walnuts or pecans, chocolate shavings.

1. Preheat oven at 375°.

2. Brush crust with egg white thoroughly. Make sure the edges get brushed with egg white as well.

TIP: Turn the pie crust in the light to see if you have missed any spots on the pie crust. You can see the egg "glistening" on the crust. The egg will harden the crust a bit and keep the crust together better.

3. Bake crust for 5 minutes. You will notice the crust has turned a little brown. That is perfectly normal and it's okay! Allow it to cool for 15 to 20 minutes.

4. Take 2 1/2 cups of milk and pour into a bowl.

5. Add vanilla and banana packets of pudding. Whisk together.

6. Stir in 1 cup of whipped topping to the pudding mixture.

7. Put the mixture in the fridge for about 5 minutes.

8. Peel the bananas and slice into and 1/8 thick slices. Discard the round ends.

9. Arrange some of the banana slices in a circle on the crust.

10. Take the pudding mixture and spread an even, thin layer on top of the bananas. Make sure you can't see any of the bananas. (I apologize for the fuzzy photo.)

11. Arrange more banana slices in a circle on top of pudding mix in the crust.

12. Add more pudding mix on top of those bananas. The pie is now complete!

(Again, sorry for the fuzzy photo.)

TIP: You can use all of the pudding mixture, but I had some left over and some banana slices. So! I made a pudding cup and ate it. Yummy!!!

13. Lift the edges of the pie pan careful around the entire pie.

14. Place the plastic lid so that it fits perfectly in place over the pie.

15. Press the aluminum edging back over the lid, securing the lid in place. Wrap in plastic wrap or place a plastic Ziploc bag.

16. Chill for 4 hours. Serve with your favorite toppings!

ENJOY!

Wordless Wednesday 7/15/09

I know it's dark and grainy but I thought this deserved sharing. I had to snap it really quick with my cell phone because the digital's battery was dead. And of course Elijah has his 6th sense when cameras are around. Silly ham. Anyway, last week for the first time in his life Elijah stood up on his own. The 3rd day of standing up he figured out how to put his toys on the couch and stand on the pillow so he can play with them up there. We can't get him to sit down ever since!

Happy Wordless Wednesday!

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Find more wordless Wednesday submissions and share yours at: 5 Minutes For Mom, Wordless Wednesday HQ, Extraordinary Mothers, MomDot, Mostly Wordless Wednesday at Ordinary and Awesome, and Wordful WednesdaySeven Clown Circus

Guest Post: Mama Loves Cooking -Super Stuffed Shell

Whenever I think of stuffed shells, I think of ricotta cheese. It’s a very tiny curded cheese that is VERY bland and does not melt so easily. So how can you make your stuffed shells POP with flavor? Check out my recipe and you’ll definitely turn this regular meal into a most flavorful meal!

Super Stuffed Shells
(Makes about 30 to 40 shells serving 6 to 8)

1 16 oz. box of large shells, cooked 16oz. (1lb.) container of ricotta cheese (can be skim or whole, your choice) 1lb. of ground beef 1 small box of frozen spinach or 1 bunch of parsley chopped 1 onion, minced 4 to 6 cloves of garlic, minced 1 cup of pizza blend cheese (Or for a mellower flavor, 1 cup of Italian blend cheese) 1 2lb., 13 oz. jar of spaghetti sauce (can be any flavor, but I recommend a sweeter sauce like a tomato, garlic, onion blend)



1. Start boiling water for your jumbo shells. Boil the pasta according to the box.

TIP: When you drain the shells, run cold water to cool the shells down. Discard any horribly split shells and unwanted pasta pieces. If a shell has a small split in it, don’t reject it. It’s still good! Separate the shells so that they don’t stick.

2. Chop onion and garlic until finely minced (chopped into very tiny pieces). (Chop parsley finely if you want to use parsley instead of spinach.) Set aside.

TIP: Mincing can be a very tedious task. Use a small food chopper (found at your local “Super Store” for only $10) to finely mince your onion and garlic.

3. Start to brown the ground beef. Add the minced onion and garlic. Stir together until mixed. Make sure that as you cook the ground beef that you use your spoon or spatula to chop up the meat finely.

Remember, this is part of the filling for the shells so you want it to be as fine as possible. Large clumps will only make it more difficult to fit inside of the pasta shells. Continuously stir the meat, onion and garlic mixture until fully cooked.

While your meat is browning:

4. Take the box of frozen spinach and microwave according to the directions on the box.

TIP: When microwaving the spinach, use a microwave safe dish and cover with plastic wrap like this:

This prevents the moisture from evaporating from the spinach which if it did, then you’d have dry spinach. Gross!

5. Empty container of ricotta cheese into a mixing bowl. Use an electric hand-held mixer to soften the cheese a bit more. Granted it’s soft already, but it’s been stuck in that container form for a little while. Using the mixer will allow for easy stirring later.

6. Add spinach to the ricotta cheese.

TIP: If your spinach has too much moisture to it, then drain the moisture by pressing a few paper towels on the spinach.

7. Add shredded cheese mixture. I highly recommend using the pizza blend because the cheddar will add some tanginess to the stuffing mixture. I promise, it’s very yummy.

8. When the meat, onion, & garlic mixture is fully cooked, drain all of that unwanted grease from the mixture.

9. Add meat, onion, & garlic mixture to the cheeses and spinach. Stir together using a spoon until well blended. This mixture is too thick for an electric hand-held mixer.

10. Preheat oven for 350°.

11. Spray baking pans (You’ll need at least two.) with cooking spray. Do not use cookie sheets. These pans are too shallow for the shells.

12. Spoon a little over a Tablespoon of the stuffing mixture into each shell. Line the shells in rows until your baking pans are full or until you have run out of shells or mixture. Cover each pan with foil tightly.

13. Bake for 20 minutes.

14. Warm the sauce in a sauce pan about 10 minutes before pulling the shells out of the oven.

15. The shells will be nice and hot after 20 minutes are up, so be careful pulling them out of the oven. Allow them to cool for 5 minutes.

16. Place desired amount of shells on a plate and spoon sauce over the shells. Serve as is, with garlic bread and/or salad.

ENJOY!

Global Influence Summer Gift Guide

(photo by G Viciano)

Looking for some great products to make your summer that much more fun and enjoyable? Looking to pamper yourself while the kids are off at camp? Or maybe you're dealing with summer bumps and bruises. Momfluence has collected some reviews of great products that you need to know about! Check out what our reviewers had to say about these great summer finds. And don't forget to stop by the Momfluence member giveaways listed at the bottom for some summer winning!

Featured Products

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Delsey Helium Fusion Carryon - If you are hitting the road or flying the skies this summer for your family vacation, the Delsey Helium Fusion carry-on offers a lightweight solution for packing your travel essentials.





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More Summer Fun

iTurtle

Playdoh Spaghetti Factory

Submergency

Nerf NFL Progrip Football

SuperSoaker 50

Boochie Game

Good For The Kids

Talking To Toddlers


Two Belles and A Bead Engraved Necklace

Cardstore

Jumeau Handbags

Staphaseptic

Member Reviews/Giveaways

Bonggamom - $50 Tiny Prints Gift Certificate

IceFairy's Treasure Chest - KiNeSYS, Purex 3-in1, and more

Eccentric, Eclectic Woman - Bra Barrette, Skipping Hippos

Riding With No Hands - 20 Piece Rubbermaid Set

Consumer Queen - FurBuster

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MommyNotGuilty - KidBanz Sunglasses

Robyn's Online World - Kodak Digital Frame

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Motherhood Moment - Summer Fun

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From Cribs to Car Keys - EcoStore $25 Gift Certificate and more

Miscellaneous Finds 4 U - Tiny Prints and more

All Momfluence guide reviews are product-provided, featured positions were purchased by vendors. Member reviews and giveaways are not associated with Momfluence.

horoscopes & first crawls

My Horoscope: Sagittarius

A lot of your world is hidden from the view of others now. Even if they believe they know what's going on, you realize how much you are keeping to yourself these days. It's easy for you to offer up a thought or an emotion that's controversial enough to draw the attention away from a more significant issue that you're not willing to discuss. There's no need to explain your actions to anyone today; bring up your deeper concerns in a few days when you are ready.

Thursday, July 2, 2009
My horoscope brought to you by twittascope.com

Sorry for the lack of posting this last week and a half. It's been hectic. I am going to heed my warning above, though I NEVER believe those things, and keep my mouth shut for the time being. I will however update you on some of the fun Elijah and I have been up to.


My first article for Walmart's baby buzz blog is up. PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE comment for me! So that I may have more chances to write for them again. http://instoresnow.walmart.com/Community.aspx?id=125 Have as many people as you can comment and if you leave me a comment, I will comment on a post of yours in exchange! Thank you so much!


As some of you know, ELIJAH CRAWLED! For the first time! He had been getting up on his knees, but had yet to take a 'step' forward. Well Dave and I were playing with him in his room and the next thing we knew he was up and his little knee SLOWLY slid forward, then the other, then he realized he could 'hop' both back legs forwards at once. It was so adorable. We DID get it on camera. But the batteries are dead in my flip video so i couldn't upload it. I will buy new batteries soon. I think we are going to the grocery store tonight or tomorrow.


If you didn't see it, here is a video from about 2 weeks ago of Elijah dusting. He was sitting on the floor playing peacefully. We looked over and he was drooling, I mean MAJOR drool. He drooled right onto the police station he was playing with. We apparently that upset him, because he screamed, then he pulled off his bib and started wiping the police station off. Well with that I KNEW I HAD to get to the camera. It was too cute for words. So I quietly slipped out of the room and grabbed it. Well this is what I caught from the doorway. I was afraid to come back in and tape because he always 'senses' when the camera is around and stops what he is doing. without fail.



We have been also working very hard on getting everything ready for Dave's surprise 40th Birthday. (no, he doesn't read my blog so he's not going to see this. He only reads it if I ask him to proof something. He says to him it's like reading my diary.)
Anyway. We have been working hard on cleaning the house (not like it's ever messy, but I have been doing 'moving the furniture' kind of cleaning and rearranging a lot. I have been doing a room a day. Yesterday I did Elijah's bathroom. I will post pictures soon. It looks SO MUCH better. Before Elijah was born it was decorated more like a spa bathroom and wanted to make it more like a little boys bathroom. I also have been childproofing as I go. ALL the cleaners in the entire house are now up high in a lockable cabinet in the laundry room. But I will write more on that soon.

We have also been working on making some presents for Dave's birthday, working on some extra decorations, and getting things ready such as special things I do for him every year such as hidden birthday messages around the house. One for every year old.

We'll it's time for lunch! Update more soon! Just for fun, here is Elijah's horoscope:

'You don't know whether to laugh or cry, for your world seems intensely crazy now, even if the excitement level is high. Fortunately, you are willing to ride the rollercoaster of emotions you are experiencing, for there's no easy way to stop. Keep in mind that this journey is perfectly safe and that you need not distinguish your fantasies from what's actually happening. You will gain the clarity you need in a couple of days.'

Now what could that mean to a baby. everything is crazy in baby lives. lol
thanks for reading!