TASTY TUESDAY

Spanish Okra

1 lb stew meat
1 cup chopped onions
2 cups sliced fresh or frozen okra (I use frozen)
1 can (10 oz) diced tomatoes with green chilies, undrained
2 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic powder
6 cups cooked brown rice

Place all ingredients in slow cooker EXCEPT RICE. Mix well. Cook on low 6-7 hours, or until stew meat is cooked through and tender. Cook rice when ready to eat. Serve okra mixture over the rice. Goes well with a crunchy cold green salad. This meal is always a home run with my family! Bon appetite!

A Special Spot

A Special Spot

My son is the light of my life. The other morning, he came to my room...early. Jon had already left so Price crawled up on Jon's side of the bed and made himself cozy under the blankets. He comes toting all of his sleepy time items. HIS pillow (made of a special minky material), a "buzz", his blankie and a bear from Nana and got them all situated under the sheets with him. He rolled over and put his hand across my shoulder, whispered "I love you, mom" closed his eyes and went back to sleep for about 45 minutes.

It was cold outside. It was cold upstairs and even chillier downstairs. I turned up the heat on the thermastat and asked Price if he was hungry for breakfast. He is like his Mama and wakes up with a grumbly tummy, so of course he said "yes." I whipped out some waffles and some hot cocoa mix. In our kitchen is an island of sorts. Really, it is a rectangular table that is countertop height, right in the middle of the kitchen. I bought a little metal chair from a garage sale down the street for $2. We needed the table for the extra workspace, but it has turned out to be useful for so much more than that. It has become a very special spot for our family. Though small, this table is suited for so much. We use it as a place to mix special treats, chop fruits and veggies and make playdough. We use it often as a spot to put dinner out to serve guests informally and our sacks of groceries land here when they arrive home.

My favorite use for this little table is the time spent here with Price and Jon. Many times in the morning, like the one described, Price will climb up in the chair and watch and talk to me while I move about the kitchen. He eagerly helps me prepare dinner or awaits something hot and tasty from the oven. That particular morning, I made hot cocoa and listened to Price tell a story about events from the night before. We sipped our drinks and chatted, ate waffles and had a few giggles. I could not help but hope that this special spot would remain just that; a place where we could connect as mother and son. My mind flashed forward to a Saturday morning when he is 10, 14 or 17 years old. Would he come down, eat some waffles and chat with his mom about the football game the night before? Or the date he had? Would he still choose to pull up that little metal chair and tell me funny story?

Jon and I have had great talks over this little table too. Sharing a bowl of popcorn in the evening or a cup of coffee in the morning, we will chat at this special spot. The kitchen is the hub of our home. Most days there are three meals prepared and cleaned up there, in addition to snacks, unloading groceries and emptying and loading the dishwasher. It is also where I do most of my praying (while working of course). In that moment I had with Price the other morning, I prayed for this special spot. I wanted to capture that moment and all it meant to me in a picture.

I like my kitchen. I am not talking about the decor, wall color and so on, I like the feel of preparing to serve and serving my family. The smells from the oven, the laughter that fills the room when we are all there together there and the music coming from the radio in the sun room while we dish up our plates, eat and clean up meals make this place the heartbeat of our home. I am so thankful for this special spot and pray that it will be that way for years and years to come!

My little guy with his cup of hot chocolate.
Price; in the middle of telling a story.

TASTY TUESDAY

Crispy Ranch Chicken

4 chicken breasts
1/2 cup butter, melted
3/4 cup cornflakes, crushed
3/4 grated cup parmesan cheese
1 pkg dry ranch dressing mix

Pre heat oven to 350 F. Combine crumbs, cheese and ranch mix. Dip chicken in butter, coat with mixture. Place in baking dish sprayed lightly with cooking spray. Bake for 50-55 min, until chicken is cooked through. So easy!

Poppy and Price

"Poppy" is what we call my dad. Price is his biggest fan and I think the reverse is true aswell. We see my parents often, but lately we have seen more of my dad, for many reasons.

1) My mom hosts a Bible study on Monday nights at their house, so I usually invite Poppy over for dinner while my mom has a house full of women. He comes over around 6:00 and will stay until Price is about to go to bed, around 8:00. They spend the evening boxing, wrestling, playing football and soccer (in the house)! Last week they played pictionary. Sometimes they watch a movie. They are best buddies. I can't help but get tickled when they start laughing out loud at each other! It is so sweet! (Price is in his undies because he works up such a sweat!!) Price has my kickboxing gloves and Poppy has oven mits! Ha!

2) My dad is the ultimate handyman! He seriously can fix anything! My hubs is great at lots of things, but fix'n stuff is not his specialty. Poppy has helped us with a "things that need to be fixed" list (running toilet, hanging shelves, a new threshold in the garage door, tightening door knobs, fixing a broken drawer in Price's bathroom, removing closet doors to be painted, maintaincing our AC unit, replacing our hot water heater...) Whatever Poppy is working on, Price is always at his side! Always!


3) Knowing Price gets out of school at noon, Poppy sometimes will call and see if we want to go to lunch. We met at Subway last week. We sometimes call and invite Poppy and/or Yaya for lunch at our house too. My mom did the same thing on Friday and took Price to McDonald's. Price loves these little surprises!

4) My dad often chooses to spend his time hanging out with Price when he gets the chance. On Wednesday, my dad came over and spent the day with us. He replaced the door knob on our storm door. Jon brought pizza for lunch and then me, Poppy and Price went to the cemetary to place flags on the tombstones of Price's great grandpa's who served in WWII. Poppy explained to Price that Grandpa Beaty was a Navy sailor. He stayed on a big ship on the ocean. Price was intrigued and had lots of questions. We then told him about his Papa (my mom's dad) who was an Army soldier. Price wanted to know if Papa carried a gun and shot bad guys. Price had a look of pride on his face as my dad explianed the best he could in 4 year old terms that his great grandfathers were heros. Of course Price did not fully understand their service and sacrifice, but in his mind his grandpa's were tough, brave, "warrior super heros who defeated the bad guys." What boy wouldn't be proud of grandpas like that?!

It was a proud moment for me aswell. I must admit, I choked back tears at some points during the outing. I recalled stories I had heard from both of my grandads. I prayed for our armed forces that are currently serving. I thought about what it would be like if Price ever decided to serve our country through the military. Overall, I felt proud of the heritage Price has through his great grandpas. Not only serving America, but what he may get from them as people too. It was a good day to reflect on and honor two very special men I knew and loved.

TASTY TUESDAY

Classic Family Meatloaf

1.5 lbs extra lean ground beef
1 can condensed tomato soup, divided
1 pkg stove top stuffing mix for chicken
1 egg lightly beaten
1 onion chopped (I don't use a whole onion, use your preference)
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
1/4 cup chili sauce

Pre heat oven to 350 F. Mix meat 1/2 cup of soup, stuffing mix, egg, onion and thyme. Mix well. Scrub your hands clean and do it the old fashion way...get them dirty! Press evenly into 8x4 loaf pan sprayed with cooking spray. Bake 55 minutes. Heat remaining soup and chili sauce in small saucepan. Spoon over meatloaf just before serving. Great with mashed potatoes and a veggie of your choice. We like carrots, green beans or broccoli around the Molder house. Pick your fave and dig in! Yum!

A Happy Halloween

Halloween was lots of fun this year! It all started Friday morning with a party at Price's preschool. Price was an army man.

That night, Jon and I went to my cousin Evva's Halloween party. It was at her and her husband, Clint's house. I was a pumpkin and Jon was Peter Peter pumpkin eater. Okay...so it's not that exciting, but it was easy and our "costumes" were comfortable; which is very important these days.

Saturday, we went Trick or treating in our neighborhood with my niece and nephews. We had good time watching the kids run from house to house collecting candy. Afterwards, we went to my parents house for dinner and football games. The kids played and played and played!!! It was LOTS of fun! Here is a pic of YaYa, Poppy and the grandkiddos.

My guys and me.

My beautiful sis and me. Brett, Piper, Price and Blade. Good times!

Overall, it was a great and memorable Halloween!