Living in Iowa: We made it!!!

We made it to Iowa a few days ago and have been adjusting and unpacking. Baby boy decided to stay inside while we traveled, so that was good. We have plenty of pictures from the past few months: birthdays, traveling, odds and ends. Hopefully, I will get to them soon.

Here is what we see outside our front window every day. Through the trees is the Mississippi River. It is pretty cool. After living in Las Vegas for the majority of my life, I feel like this is a time warp! Or that I am on vacation! Or camping. But it is a welcome change! We have met our neighbors, "Grandma Barb" and Daryll. They are really nice and love our kids. Our landlord has a 5 year old grand daughter who is more than excited to have kids around the area.

Here is our little house. We are calling it "adventure house". It has attic rooms for the kids and a cool windowed porch that we turned into the play room. The yard is huge and open and far enough away from the road that I'm not worried about the kids getting hit by a car. Honestly, there have been very few cars to pass by!

Pretty sunset

A creek we saw that runs into the river

Throwing rocks into the river. We went for a walk in the town about five minutes from us. It is full of antique shops, neat cafes and cool little stores. Blake was pretty excited that The American Pickers have their headquarters here. I think it's hilarious. But we're hoping that will be some motivation to get his brother Spencer out to come visit!=)

I am just amazed that we get to live here in this beautiful place after desert living for so many years. There is nothing like waking up to birds singing in the trees and fresh air. Letting the kids run outside and not have to yell at them to get away from the road. We are grateful for the chance we have to live here and try something new!

The garage has this broken down tractor and the kids totally love it!
We didn't have a dryer yet so we hung our clothes on the clothesline for the first time in my life!! This is baby William's blanket that my mom made.

Martha Stewart Meatloaf

Bad picture. Moving on to the best meatloaf ever!! I found this six years ago from a Martha Stewart magazine and have never tried another. There is no need to! My only other meatloaf I love is my moms, but I can never get hers to stick together. She can.

This is a fall aparty, yummy meatloaf that must be served with mashed potatoes!

1 lb. hamburger

4 oz. tomato sauce

½ medium onion, chopped

½ green bell pepper, chopped

Seasoning-I use seasons all

1 egg

½ c. bread crumbs

Meatloaf Sauce:

2 ounce tomato sauce 2 oz. cold water

½ t. vinegar ¼ t. mustard

Brown sugar

Mix but only use half can of tomato sauce. Make sauce and pour half on meatloaf. Bake 40-45 min. at 350-375.

Really Good Meatballs

I was part of a freezer meal group for a month, but my kids are so picky that they wouldn't eat anything! And the food was good too! This was one of the favorites though from my friend, Valerie who is such a go-getter in so many things!

2 lbs. ground beef

1 pkg. Stuffing mix for chicken

1 1/4 c water

2 eggs

1/3 c. parmesan

Heat oven to 400. Mix ingredients and shape into 32 balls using 1/4 cup for each. Place 16 meatballs into 15 by 10 by 1 pan lined with foil and cooking spray. Bake 16 to 18 min.

See, easy!!!

Moving and Baby Time!

Wellllll, the craziest part of my life is occurring right now! My husband got offered a great job in Quad Cities, Illinois and we are taking it. We are moving this Saturday across the river from Illinois to a cute little town called, LeClaire, Iowa. It is going to be an adventure. We are going to drive there over 4 days with our 3 kids.....

And yes, I am 35 weeks pregnant. No, we don't have any family out there. Yes, we are still looking for a renter for our house in Las Vegas, NV (Here's the link: http://lasvegas.craigslist.org/apa/2869720200.html) Yes, I know everything will be ok! Times of learning and growth are good, although hard. For a long time, we knew a change was coming, just weren't sure what.

So, here we are heading off in a few days. Recipes will not be coming for awhile unless I have a free night to upload and schedule all the recipes and pictures I have saved. Maybe, yes. Maybe, no!

I love all your comments and glad to hear you are enjoying the blog. Hope to be in the blogging arena again soon!

Thinking Thursday: Fun Bookmarks

I am by no means a creative and crafty person in this crazy craft world! But I did make these for some friends at Christmas and I loved doing it. I have always thought bookmarks are so personal. There are so many different kinds! I love the pretty ones! I love the weathered ones! I love the ones with charms and jewels! I am no prejudiced!

These were so easy. I thought of this quote one day while I was standing in the bank:

"Writing might seem vast as an ocean-the expanse unbearable. Dip your toe, then submerge yourself."

It pretty much summed up how I was feeling about writing at that time. I know after a lot of research that it is how many writers feel!

So, I typed it up, cut it out, put it on some cardstock I had sitting around and slapped on some contact paper. I loved how it looked old and weathered.

Happy Leap Day: Honey Lemon Glazed Carrots

These yummies will make you "leap" with joy. haha. Not only are they super tasty but they are pretty much healthy. When my husband and I were first married, we lived in Idaho. This wonderful older couple, the Seiperts took us under their wings. They invited us to the most delicious roast and potato dinners. She made the best honey glazed carrots. They were like candy! I have never had any as good since. These are a close second. I love the lemon zing. It's a nice twist. I got this recipe from Food Network.

• 
  
• 1 pound baby carrots
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• Freshly ground black pepper
• 1/4 cup chopped flat-leaf parsley

Directions

In a medium saucepan, bring water to a boil. Add salt and then carrots and cook until tender, 5 to 6 minutes. Drain the carrots and add back to pan with butter, honey and lemon juice. Cook until a glaze coats the carrots, 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and garnish with parsley.

Lasagna Soup

Lasagna in any form gets a thumbs up in my book! Soup form is ingenious! It was so much faster and it was even better the next day! Get some crusty bread and soak it up! I got the recipe from Mel's Kitchen Cafe. The girl rocks!

INGREDIENTS

Soup:

1 1/2 pounds Italian sausage

1 medium yellow onion, chopped

4 cloves garlic, finely minced or pressed through a garlic press

2 teaspoons dried oregano

1/2 teaspoon dried crushed red pepper

3 tablespoons tomato paste

1 (28-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes, undrained

2 bay leaves

6 cups low-sodium chicken broth

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil or 2 tablespoons dried basil

Salt and pepper to taste

1/2 pound fusilli noodles, cooked and drained

Cheese topping:

1 cup ricotta cheese

1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon black pepper

1 Tablespoon chopped fresh basil or 1 1/2 teaspoon dried basil

2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, for sprinkling

DIRECTIONS:

In a large 4-quart pot, add the Italian sausage and cook over medium heat, breaking the pieces up with a wooden spoon or spatula while it cooks. I prefer the sausage in fairly small pieces. After about 3-4 minutes, add the onion. Cook the sausage and onion together, stirring occasionally, until the sausage is cooked through and the onions are soft,a bout 5-7 minutes. Drain any excess grease, if desired. Stir in the garlic, oregano, red pepper flakes and tomato paste. Cook for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly. Add the diced tomatoes with their juices, bay leaves and chicken broth. Add the basil, if using dried (if using fresh basil, add it in the next step).

Bring the soup to a boil then reduce the heat and simmer for 20-30 minutes. Season the soup with salt and pepper to taste and the fresh basil, if using.

For the cheese mixture, in a small bowl, combine the ricotta cheese, Parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and basil. Set aside.

To serve the soup, add a scoop of cooked pasta noodles to a bowl. Top with a ladle or two of soup and dollop with a generous spoonful of the cheese mixture. Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. Serve immediately.