N is for...

Nuts

M is for...

Mints

L is for...

Leftovers

I made my 7 Layer Mexican Fiesta and had leftovers. Recipe follows...

7 Layer Mexican Fiesta (crockpot)

2 cans chilli beans (undrained)

8 oz. grated cheddar cheese

3/4 cup Salsa

1/4 cup taco sauce

8 tortillas

Mix all the ingredients except the tortillas in a bowl. Pour just a little taco sauce in the bottom of a round crockpot to coat. Place in 1 tortilla then spoon on top a layer of the bean mixture. Put in another tortilla and spoon in another layer of bean mixture. Continue layering, finishing up with a tortilla on top and coated with a little salsa.

Cook on low for 6 hours or cook on high for 1 hour, then turn to low and cook for another 3-4 hours.

Slice like a pie with a long knife while still in crockpot. With a large long spoon scoop up a slice and place on plate. It should stay in layers as in the photo above. Top with sour cream if so desired. Enjoy!

K is for...

Ketchup

J is for...

Just Jelly Beans

That's all that is left in the Easter basket, just jelly beans.

I is for...

Ink

H is for...

Hollywood

Not the real Hollywood since I live in New Jersey but the Hollywood Cafe and Hollywood Video.

G is for...

Gravestones

F is for..

Forest Fairy

E is for...

Eclectus

Her name is Ariel. Male eclectus are green. Female eclectus are red and blue. Ariel is obviously a female.

D is for...

I had some yucky thoughts today for the letter D. I passed a dead dear on the sidew of the road, nah, I can't take a picture of that! I let the dogs out to do their business. Doggy doo doo? Ok, I admit, I did take a picture of doggy doo doo today but I decided I better not put that on my blog. So instead, here is Daisy the dog, who makes doo doo on my lawn. I caught her licking her nose.

Daisy the Dog

C is for...

Candlelight

B is for...

Baby Doll

ABC's - A is for...

Started a new daily photography challenge. ABC's. Today starts it off with the letter A.

Angry

Grape Nuts Roast

As you know, I have been trying to eat much healthier. Including switching to a vegetarian diet about 9 months ago. Then changing over to vegan a few months ago. I have decided that changing to vegan is not going to work for me at this point. So back to vegetarian which is very doable for me. In the mean time I have been struggling with coming up with meals that are balanced with a good amount of protein. Meals that help "replace meat". That give a similar feeling as just having eaten a meat meal. Meals that are not always beans.
I had bought a box of Grape Nuts cereal last month and found out nobody in the family likes Grape Nuts cereal. I didn't want to waste a whole box of cereal so I looked online for a recipe that included Grape Nuts. I was sure there had to be some ingenious person who came up with a decent recipe to use it in. Sure enough, someone had come up with a recipe for Grape Nuts Roast. So thank you, Sandee Eveland, for coming up with this recipe.
I tried it out and WOW. We were surprised to find that it gave a nice meat feeling when eating it. You make it in a bread pan and it comes out sort of like a meatloaf. It is very good and even better I thought, when you ate it with a little catsup like a meatloaf. Oh, and did I mention it is very easy to make too?

GRAPE NUTS ROAST

1 c Grape nuts
2 ea Beaten eggs (or egg replacer)
1 1/2 c Milk (dairy, soy or almond milk)
3/4 c Chopped nuts (I buy already chopped almonds in a bag from Trader Joe's)
1 ts Grated onion (or powdered onion if you don't have fresh onion in the house)
1 c Chopped celery (optional, I didn't use any)
1 ts Salt
2 tb Margarine

Combine all ingredients.
Let stand for 20 minutes.
Pour into a greased loaf pan.
Bake at 350F for 35 minutes.

Recipe by: Sandee Eveland
Serve with a green leafy salad and you have a nice complete meal!

14 years old

I find it easy coming up with photo session ideas for girls. For boys, it is a little harder for me. Here is one I did today that I think worked nicely for an older boy.

Prince

Dutchess

New Recipe

I'm not sure what to call this. Mexican Bake? It was delicious. I don't usually measure things out much. I kind of just go by look and feel so the measurements are estimates. This is one the kids enjoyed too, well, my younger two did. My older two are tired of beans.

Mix together all of the following in a bowl
2 cans chili beans (or dried and soaked)
1 can corn
1 chopped onion
1 tsp chopped cilantro
1 can of tomatoes (can subsitute with salsa)
1 tsp cumin
chili powder to taste

spread into a glass baking pan

on top pour corn bread mix. You can use a box mix or the following, which is yummy.

1 cup yellow corn meal
1 cup flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1 tsp sugar (not neccessary)
2 tbsp olive oil
1 cup milk (I used almond milk)
mix and spread on top of bean mixture in the glass pan.

Bake at 375 for 30 minutes or until the corn bread in done

Enjoy!

New Session Option

The house is still full of sickness. Just when I think we are all getting better some of us start getting worse again. I can't wait for Spring and everyone to get better! I'm looking forward to being able top open up the house and air it out! I'm exhausted.

I'm sharing a sampling of a small photo shoot I did with my daughter recently. This is a new set up choice for photography sessions I am trying out. I really like it. I think I am going to call it, the Angelic Session, the Purity Session or the Dreamland Session. Something along that line.