A Rockey's Shake

Today, I was brainstorming ways to get anything good into Adelyn's body. Adelyn's just like her daddy and doesn't like anything green etc.

So, I decided to make a Rockey's shake. Rockey's is Italian Ice and it's Adam's favorite thing in the world. :) You know me and recipes; we don't really mesh but it has spinach, strawberries, grapes, milk, a half banana and some vanilla ice.

Just wanted to share...... :)

Sweet Baby Dolls- Random Fun

I found these pics from a few Sundays ago that I forgot to post and decided I had to post them. I LOVE the outfit that Annabelle has on. I think I got it at a baby shower I had for Annabelle and the dress Adelyn has on is one of my most favorite Annabelle dresses!

I just had to post Annabelle in the dress too! The girls looks so little.

 I have not posted much lately because potty training has take over my life. haha. It's going well, we only have accidents occasionally. I most definitely learned my lessons about putting a time line on potty training. I am very very encouraged that Ab will be going to school though on September 8th!!!

 As you can see we did sneak out a few times this week. I decided I "needed" sonic...haha...as so we went and I took the little potty in the van and Ab went right when we got there and then she told me when she had to go and she would jump in the van and go.

 It was funny but worked out good. Adam convinced me to go to rocky's the same night and it was good in that we got to hang out with the Fulks but not so good in that we pushed Ab too much that day and she had 2 accidents that night. :(

 On a completely new topic, yesterday when Annabelle woke up from her nap, she had this outfit on. She is in a big girl bed now and so she goes through all of her (used to be organized) drawers and throws clothes everywhere and tries on everything. She just looked so funny be bopping around in this little outfit! (It is a skirt btw!)

 And this little girl. Sheesh. I lover her to pieces but I told Adam last night, "What in the world makes me think I can handle any more children (one day...not now....don't worry) These two are a handful. Look at these faces. haha!

 The other day though, Ad and I were reading the book where you have to find all of the things on the page that I tell her to point to and she knew almost everyone of them. I was sooo impressed because she really doesn't talk all that much. Little smarty pants!

 Also, yesterday I went to run some errands and took Ad with me and she took her cars with her (cars that some little boys must have left at our house sometime.) She just LOVES boy toys! It is so funny; she is such a tomboy. I have been in birthday party mode for Ab and I thought, "Am I going to have to have a cars b-day party for Ad?! My little girl?!?!" haha.

 Last night, we went swimming and A and A had a tea party. I really am so glad they have each other! It reminded me of some of the first tea parties they ever had together!

So, last night when I was walking with some friends Adam was bathing the girls and took this "Peekaboo" video. (Don't worry it shows NOTHING inappropriate!) Soo cute though!!

And last but not least, @nhershoes made this salad off instagram and I saw it and decided I had to make it! It was soooooooo delish! I don't have a recipe or I would post it, I just threw all the ingredients in by eye-balling it. I felt like the key ingredient was the purple onions! Yum!


I think today I might get brave and decide to take Annabelle to McDonalds and see if she will go potty in the little potty there. She has been doing so well and will finally go potty on the big potty and not just her little princess pottty! We will see how it goes!! Happy Weekend!!

Our Week Randomness & A Recipe

 (Doesn't she look so big!?)

We have had a good week. I'm pretty sure the Lord is trying to teach me patience. I tried potty training Annabelle this week because she gives me all of the signs that she is ready. She was doing great but somewhere along the way she changed her mind and this is her third day to refuse to even look at the potty.

Oh well, right?! What can you do? With all the potty drama, I totally forgot to do Thankful Tuesday! So, this week I am thankful for so many things. Although I'm not in the most thankful mood. Just one of those days I suppose or maybe it all goes back to it is all how you look at things. This morning I thought to myself in the service, even though I have to get up by myself on Sundays and get the kids ready alone etc etc at least my husband is a christian and I am not coming alone while he doesn't want to be a church. That puts things in perspective for me for sure!

 (Ad got her toes painted for the second time ever this week by Mrs. Beth. She LOVED it!)

Something I have been learning a lot about is that self pity is a form of idolatry. There are lots of reasons I want to wallow in my self pity mostly having to do with living so far from family but that is just has sinful as pride because it is still all about me and not at all about God.

 (I painted Ab's fingers and toes teal at her request. I love having girls.)

I seriously need to write about my Daniel study. It has been soooo eye opening and humbling. I am thankful for it!

 (We swim almost every day. Ab looks like such a diva in my sunglasses!)

(Yesterday we were swimming and I saw Ab memorized by the sprinkler in the neighbors yard. I asked her if she was ok and she said, "Look moma, it's a hummingbird!;" That girl is hilarious!)

In other big news, me have a new niece named Lilah Jane Fisher and our friends Sammy and Kimberley now have baby Zeke!!! God is good. Pictures of babies to come I promise!

On a completely different note, I made this dessert for a  family at our church last night. It looked so goo I wanted to eat it but I couldn't so I'll have to make it again soon!! I have no idea what it is called; my sister in law Dottie introduced me to it and I don't think she even has a name for it!

 Ingredients= chips ahoy cookies (1 or 2 packages depending on how big of a pan you are making)
                      a large tub of whipped cream
                      a cup of milk
                     your favorite candy (optional)

 line pan with whipped cream and dip cookies in milk and top whipped cream with them and then repeat those two steps again.

and make sure whipped cream is your last layer and top with crumbled cookies (not dipped in milk) and crushed candy. Sooo easy and next time I'm going to have Ab hep me because I think she would LOVE it and there is no way to really messs this recipe up!!

Oh and I'm sure you are wondering how in the world I made this without Annabelle around!? Well, Adam took both girls out for ice cream with his first official outing with both girls! I had the house to myself for about an hour and a half! It was awesome!


Have a wonderful REST DAY!

Stir Fry Recipe and WInner!

Tonight I wanted to share a recipe. It's a vegetable stir fry. I wish I had a snazzy name for it but I don't. All you will need is three bags of bird's eye veggies. Your choice on which veggie bags. I used broccoli stir fry, baby broccoli, and asparagus stir fry. I will suggest, however, that you do use the bird's eye brand because they have the best quality of frozen broccoli.

So, if you are familiar with my "recipe giving skills," all I can do is explain. List of specific ingredients and quantities are just hard for me. haha. So, first you pour in about a tablespoon of olive oil into a large wok or wok-like skillet.

Next, turn the skillet on medium high and

 pour in all of the veggies.

 Let cook for a good, long time stirring every couple minutes or so.

 Always make sure to scoop up the bottom veggies so they don't get burned.

 The vegetables should start to soften.

 At this point, I add in our desired salt and pepper. That is it. You might have to experiment to see how much salt and pepper you need/want.

 Next, stir some more. It should take a good 15-20 minutes or longer before your vegetables are softened enough. Just taste them and see what you think. After stirring and waiting you have two options. You can drain the remaining liquid or keep it. I usually drain some of it and keep some of it (because you are keeping the olive oil when you do this.)

 Reguardless of if you drain the veggies or not move them to another bowl so that they do not continue to cook. And voila! You have a beautiful veggie stir fry made with only olive oil, veggies, and salt and pepper. We usually eat this dish as a side but you can make it into a meal simply by adding chicken or shrimp. Yum! Also, sometimes we add cheese too. It's best with mozzarella cheese.

*Yields 12 cups of vegetables!*

Nutrition Information for the entire recipe (not just a serving size):
Calories: 682 (so that's 56 calories per cup)
Fat: 14 grams (All coming from the Olive Oil so it's "good" fat :) )
Fiber: 24 grams!
Sodium: none until you add the desired salt

We probably eat this for 3 or 4 days before it is all gone! Enjoy!

This week at couponmom.com they have this coupon available for you couponers. I know it is not for the specific items in this recipe but my Walmart actually let me use the coupon for my frozen veggies so I guess you never know!

nd last but certainly not least, I wish I could send the book to everyone I know and especially the people who signed up for the giveaway. I had Adam pick a random number and he picked 5 and so the winner is:

Karrie King!

Healthier Spagetti Bake

Ya'll I am soooo bad at recipes. As in, I NEVER follow what they say! I guess that is how I came up with some of our favorite dishes but still it makes it impossible to share recipes because usually every single time I cook a dish I cook it differently! ha! So, this is going to be my first attempt at recording a recipe. Also if you like exact directions and measurements you might want to kill me when this post is over. Please bear with me!

I am sure there will be MUCH explanation in this recipe. haha. Ok so I call almost all of my original recipes "healthy" or "healthier" because I have usually taken a recipe someone has given me and picked healthier options to make the recipe better for you or I have just guessed at how to make a recipe with healthier ingredients.

A little more explanation needed. I married a man who used to eat NO veggies, salad, anything green and who is OBSESSED with bacon and cheese! Soooooo, I make recipes that he can still live with but are also in my opinion healthy compared to the normal version. I'll just say it this way, I make all the substitutions I can while making the dish still yummy enough for him to eat!! I am also on a tight budget so I use A LOT of off brand etc.

I also feel a lot of pressure (mostly the bad kind I put on myself ha!) because I am a nutritionist to not lead people astray. So, for example, if I was to cook the recipe the below just how I wanted it I might try spaghetti squash instead of noodles and use all organic products BUT I have to be practical for our lifestyle so I just go with what I can do and don't stress about the rest. Our family truly strives to honor God with our food choices as in we know our body is a temple and we try to treat it that way and God only looks at the motives of our heart and so that is truly what is important. (Golly, a whole different blog post necessary here but no time right now...) Ok enough explanation for now...haha...

Healthier Spaghetti Bake


All the ingredients are shown above. Salt, pepper, italian seasoning, olive oil, whole grain noodles of choice, 96/4 extra lean ground beef, parm cheese, other cheese of your choice (even fat free works ok), & organic Bartolli spaghetti sauce.


Cook the 96/4 ground beef, drain fat, and add the whole container of sauce. There will be very minimal fat because it's extra lean ground beef. I use 96/4 because the "bad" stuff in meat is found in the fat so we cannot afford to buy all organic products but I know that in dairy and meat the less the fat, the less the hormones etc there are so I do this for our family. (We eat A LOT of chicken so I do buy only farm fed chicken.) The Bartolli sauce is just the best tasting sauce I have found and it is so reasonably priced for organic.


Cook whole wheat noodles as suggested and then put them in a strainer and add parm cheese, Italian seasoning, and salt as desired. (They won't need much if any salt because the sauce is sooo yummy.)


Place the noodles in the bottom of a 10 x 13 glass baking dish and top with meat and sauce mixture.


Next add cheese as desired. Then, add parm cheese and then Italian seasoning, salt, and pepper as desired. Sometimes I put a lot because that's what Adam likes best and sometimes we don't have a lot of cheese and so I don't put a lot and it is still good. If you use fat free cheese you need to be aware that it cooks much differently that regular cheese. It is a little rubbery when cooked but let me tell you, it still works if you want to try it!

You will then bake at 350 degrees for about 30 minutes. The meat is already cooked inside and so the reason you are baking is for the cheese to melt! Just watch it and you will know when it needs to come out!

I never got an after picture...haha! Maybe I'll do better next time! :)


I always serve mine minus the bread and plus the broccoli. (My husband has given in and will actually eat broccoli!!) You can steam it or cook it in a pan as shown. I buy frozen broccoli florets and then I cook it on the stove with a tbsp of olive oil until it is a little burnt and we love it like that. Adam adds.....cheese...you guessed it! :)

I have to give credit where credit is due. I got the original spaghetti bake recipe from one of my best friend Crystal's mom and I tweeked it a lot. Mrs. Cassandra gave me the recipe when we ate it at her house one night and said she used thought to fix spaghetti as a casserole because her family of 8!!! wouldn't eat as much of it if she put it in a casserole!! Crazy huh?

I was planning on posting Healthier Mac and Cheese twitterers also but I'm just going to save it for another day!! Sorry, I know that is the one you really wanted!! Thanks for hanging in there with me!

Vegan Recipes from Bob Harper

I am all about health and health food. I have some recipes I am going to share one day but until then, I want to share these AMAZING recipes from Bob Harper's blog (from the Biggest Loser.) They looked absolutely amazing and delicious on last night's episode!!

Roasted Cauliflower

Serves up to 4 as a side dish 2 heads of organic cauliflower (I get mine from the farmers market, you can get purple, orange, or white)

• Core and cut cauliflower into uniform pieces.
• Heat oven to 400 degrees
• 2 Tablespoons good quality olive oil
• 5 sprigs of organic thyme(picked/pulled from stem)
• 2 garlic cloves (smashed and skinned)
• 2 Tablespoons Red wine Vinegar sea salt and cracked black pepper
• You will need 1 large baking tray/sheet tray
• Arrange cut cauliflower onto sheet tray and sprinkle with olive oil,red wine vinegar, thyme, smashed garlic, and season with salt and pepper(don’t like salt don’t add) gently toss and place into hot pre-heated oven.
• Roast cauliflower until golden brown and soft.
• Check after 30 minutes. Everyone’s ovens are different. If it needs more cooking time give it more time.
• The cauliflower will taste nutty and the acidity from the red wine vinegar adds a beautiful tart yet sweet flavor!
• Enjoy! Ps- you can also do this with Carrots, potatoes, onions, broccoli, green beans, brussel sprouts, etc.

Roasted Wild Mushrooms with Shaved Fennel Salad

Serves 4 people (side dish)

• Preheat oven to 400 degrees you will need a variety of mushrooms, about 4 different types, a good large handful of each variety. Shitake, Morel, Oyster, and Hen of the woods to name a few.
• Make sure your mushrooms are clean of dirt. You can do this by Gently wiping them with a paper towel/kitchen towel. Don’t submerge them in water! Mushrooms are like a sponge and absorb water, you won’t get a good roast on them if they are full of water!!
• The mushrooms need to be cut into the same size… Sometimes it’s easier to pull mushrooms instead of cutting them. How ever you can or what ever is easiest for the “cook” portion the mushrooms and place on a sheet tray.
• 3 tablespoons of good quality olive oil
• 4 smashed garlic cloves( skinned and smashed)
• 1 leek (washed, cut lengthwise, and sliced into 1/2 moon shape)
• 1 large shallot minced/finely diced 5 sprigs of fresh thyme pulled from the stem
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Add all of the above ingredients onto the portioned and cleaned wild mushrooms gently toss with your fingers.
• Once evenly coated place into a 400 degree oven.
• Roast mushrooms until golden brown and slightly crispy.
• Check after 35 minutes. If they need more time, leave them in a little longer!
• Also as a cook it is a good idea to get in the habit of cooking with your nose! You will be able to smell the mushrooms when they are roasted and ready… once ready pull out of oven and let “rest” until you can handle then…
• *Note* you can use what ever mushrooms are available to you. I make this with only button mushrooms and it is delicious!
• For the shaved Fennel Salad- 1 large bulb of fennel(cut in half) plus a few fronds for garnish
• 1/2 a lemon(the juice)
• 2 Tablespoons of good quality olive oil
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Dash/sprinkle of fennel pollen (Whole Foods and any specialty spice shop will have this, kinda pricey but oh my SO good)
• You will need to shave the bulb of fennel you can do this by using your chefs knife or I find it easier to use my mandolin. Please watch your fingers and be very careful!!
• Once shaved place into a mixing bowl and add oil, lemon juice, salt, pepper, fennel pollen, and fronds. Gently toss with your fingers.
• Season to your liking and let sit for 10 minutes.
• To assemble: Place roasted wild mushrooms into a serving plate or bowl. Put the shaved fennel salad on top of the roasted mushrooms and drizzle the extra liquid/vinaigrette over the top. Sprinkle with a little more fennel pollen and fronds.
• Ps- you can eat this dish room Temperature or you can use the mushrooms while there still warm, up to you. I like room temperature.

Chopped Broccoli with Pine Nuts

Serves 4 people (side dish)

• 1 large stalk of organic broccoli (florets and stem cut into uniform pieces)
• 3 Tablespoons of pine nuts (toasted)
• 2 tablespoons of olive oil
• 2 garlic cloves smashed and skinned
• 1 large shallot sliced
• 1 Tablespoon of red pepper flakes (less if you don’t like spicy)
• 1 Teaspoon of chopped and grated lemon zest
• Salt and pepper
• Heat a large pot with olive oil, add the pepper flakes, garlic, shallot, and season with salt and pepper.
• Once the garlic and shallot are “soft” add the portioned broccoli. Stir until evenly coated.
• Add 1/2 a cup of water and put a lid on the pot.
• Cook the broccoli until the water evaporates about 6-8 minutes.
• Once water is evaporated add the toasted pine nuts and lemon zest.
• With a old school potato masher” mash” the broccoli. You can also use a Cuisinart with the blade attachment, it will only take a few pulses or you can use a food mill.
• *Note* don’t put into a blender! Enjoy!

Recipes by Brooke Larson