Semi-Homemade: Boxed Dinners With A Splash Of This And That

So I haven't really posted any new recipes in a while and I'm not really going to be posting anything major but I just thought I'd share with you all some tips and tricks of making easy simple meals from boxed dinners and meals using simple ingredients you have at the house in your cabinets or in your refrigerator in order to keep your pre-packaged meals semi-homemade.

I will admit, fresh food is always the best and there's nothing like a home made meat loaf or an oven baked roast but sometimes, there's just not a whole lot of time to go all out on some huge fancy dinner. Not to mention, sometimes you're just a little too beat to slave over a hot stove for hours on end. 

So here's a few tips and tricks to make those easy to make and convenient boxed meals a subtle hint of down home flavor! First tip is for Cheeseburger Macaroni Hamburger Helper. In a large skillet, brown the beef and drain well. Then follow the directions on the back of the box. Cut up half an onion, add a splash of ketchup and chili powder to taste. Salt and Pepper is optional. Let it cook until the noodles and onions are completely cooked and serve with your favorite bread and veggies.

Next, I'll show you how to make those Betty Crocker Scalloped Potatoes taste oh so good!! Again, follow the directions on box but add an extra teaspoon of butter and two tablespoons of sour cream. Cut up an onion and sprinkle in some cheddar cheese. Salt and pepper! Bake as directed! Then sprinkle the top with cheddar cheese! My husband loves these scalloped potatoes! You can also add a sprinkle of parsley, chives or bacon which is entirely optional! Serve with meatloaf, steak, or chicken! You can't go wrong!

I'm not really big on Tuna but with a few fresh veggies you can make the best tuna salad! Make the tuna like you normally would, using a little Mayo or Miracle Whip. Dice up a fresh Tomato and Chop up some Lettuce. If you don't have tomatoes or lettuce, and all you have is an onion and some sweet relish, use those instead! This is really good on wheat bread and pita bread which I love fresh pita bread! It's perfect for those really hot days of summer and you just really don't want to turn the stove on. Just have some fresh tuna salad sandwiches instead! 

Lets talk deserts! Those pre-packaged cookie mixes are perfect! Just mix according to the directions on the back, stir in some m&m's, walnuts or both and bada bing bada boom! You can even add reese's pieces if you like or just walnuts or even a few oats and raisins! Whatever you wish! They make really great cookies and it saves you time and money! Same goes for fudge brownie mixes! Add some marshmallows, chocolate chips, nuts and or peanut butter and you've got one heck of a batch of brownies! For less than half the price! 

So there's a few tips and suggestions for you if you ever need something really quick to make and prepare for your family! These are easy and simple tricks that you can use to make any pre-packaged meal homemade. You can't go wrong and your family will slurp it up like little piggies! Thank you for reading the Simple Kind Of Life and have a safe and wonderfully blessed day/evening/night/morning! 

*Hugs*

Fun in the sun!

Today started off great! My husband and I along with our three boys took a trip out to Lake Beaver-fork to catch up with my sister for a day of fun in the sun! So we loaded up our van with our swimsuits and swim trunks and flotation devices along with some snacks and my sister supplied the drinks and of course we had lots of sunscreen for the kids! 

Today was perfect for taking a nice long swim. The sun was shining bright and the sky was filled with nice big fluffy clouds, just the way I like it! The kids were a little scared to get in the water at first. Bobby Lee and Christopher were both clinging to their flotation devices for dear life. The baby cried at first but soon he was beyond relaxed. He was so relaxed that he could have fallen asleep in his baby float and when he gets that relaxed, he gets a little affectionate. He kept giving me kisses while we were in the water! It was so sweet! 

I was most surprised by Mr. Hobbit who had swore that he would never go swimming in the lake but he seemed to have enjoyed himself the most. He stole my sister's float and drifted around the whole lake and then he got to show off his back stroke, his side stroke and his floating/swimming skills. I was impressed. It's good to know that if I ever get out too far he can swim to my rescue! LOL! Did I mention that he got quite the kick out of splashing us all with water! Yikes! 

My sister and I also got to spend a little one on one time with each other. We mostly wrestled. She hopped up on my back and started pulling me under the water! Not good!! I got her back! I got to dunk her in the water too! It was all in the name of good clean fun! Me and my sister also got to lay out in the sun together while the other's swam. It was really sort of peaceful. 

Oh but then I got home and realized just how burnt I actually was. MEGA OUCH!! I'm as red as a crusty lobster! That's the last time I lay out in the sun that long without any sunscreen. It's SPF 50 all the way! No more tanning spray with bronzers! Forget about it! A sun tan just isn't worth this much pain! I will take my pale ivory skin over a tan any day!! I'm actually waiting on Mr. Hobbit to get back with my burn cream! 

I hope it works! It has to work! Fingers crossed! OUCH!

Why didn't I think of that?

So I wish I had thought about doing something like this but unfortunately, I'm too slow..  I guess being an Arkansan has that effect on people. I've learned a great deal about language these past few months. For example, "yar," = "friend," in Urdo. And in India, it is considered respectful for a young lady to call an elder sister or an older woman, not by her real name but by "di." So I was recently given the name, by a very pretty young indian girl, "Cryssi Di." 

I for one find it fascinating and very interesting to learn about these other languages and customs/traditions considering the only language I understand is English and I don't really know much Spanish except for Uno, dos, tres, quatro, sinco, ses, and when translated, I'm pretty sure that means, one, two, three, four, five, six. So  I consider myself to be greatly uneducated when it comes to other languages! 

But we people here in Arkansas sometimes, have our own little language/accent and I just so happen to know a really great blog that might help shed a little insight on my "Southern Dialect." You see, I'm a country bumpkin and very darn proud of it! So go check out this blog post by finding guidance where she'll show you how to talk like an Arkansan! 

The Haunted Garage!

My son is a huge prankster! In a way, he reminds me of my brother. Many many years ago, my brother Carlos once pulled one heck of a prank on my sister Carla. He tied a piece of thread around the spokes of an old rocking chair. My sister was sitting on the couch at the time. All of a sudden, she jumped up and shouted, "In the name of Jesus Christ, I command you to leave this house!!" She thought that there was an evil entity or demon making the chair rock! Those were the good times...

Sometimes, pranks can go way too far.. there's the really funny ones and then there's the not so funny ones. I'll admit, I love to laugh and my son is pretty funny most of the time but sometimes, he too can take things way too far. So today, I got him back. Now he's afraid to go anywhere near the garage which is good because there's too many things in there that we don't want him messing up or destroying! 

It all started out when my son asked if he could play in the garage. I was busy at the time washing dishes so I told him to let me finish up dishes and I would go out there with him so he could shoot some pool. Did he listen? Of course not! He sneaked in the car and got the garage door opener and opened the garage without my permission. 

Little did he know that I had an extra garage door opener in my purse. I sat down at the kitchen table and watched as he went in and out of the garage dragging the rake, the shovel and his bike out of the garage. All of a sudden he heard the garage door closing behind him. He turned around as though he were in shock. He came running inside and said, "Mom, the garage door just closed by it's self!!" 

"That's funny! Bobby Lee, have you been playing with the garage door opener again?" He frantically assured me that he was no where near the garage door opener! I brushed him off and made out like he was just telling a fib like he always does and then I walk towards the bathroom. I use the garage door opener to open the garage door this time. 

He's banging on the door saying, "Mom you gotta believe me!! The garage door just opened all on it's own!" I brushed him off again and said, "Okay honey, give me a minute and I'll come and see what's going on! Then just like that, I close the garage door again!

By now, he's standing at the back door completely flabbergasted and I look at the garage door which is closed and I say, "Bobby Lee, the garage door is closed. Are you sure you don't have the garage door opener?" It's taking all the strength I have not to laugh at this point but he quickly tells me that he doesn't have the garage door opener and that he has no idea how that garage keeps opening and closing by it's self! 

"Well, maybe there's a ghost in there." I said.

"Can ghosts hurt you?" He asked with a very worried look on his face. 

"I'm not sure if they can but I do know they can make things happen," I explained, "like opening doors and closing them SHUT! Why don't you go out there and see if you see any ghosts in there?"

"Oh no! I'm not going out there!" He says. 

It's funny, that's exactly what I wanted to hear! Guess I don't have to worry about him or his brother Christopher going anywhere near the HAUNTED GARAGE!! Muahahahahahaha!

In My Neck Of The Woods!

So now that really awful terrible stuff is all out of the way I can get back to being me! Honestly I don't even know why I did it...I should just delete the whole thing!! If only I could delete all those years of self inflicted pain! Oh well! Life goes on and believe it or not, it gets better and better and better!! It's summer here and school is officially out!! I have all three of my boys home with me during the day now which means I'm constantly on my toes now!! More so than before but it's going great and I'm enjoying every minute of it! It wont be long before I have to say good bye to not only one of my little guys but two as my 4 year old will be starting preschool in the fall! But this "goodbye," wont last forever...just eight hours a day. I can do it! I know I can! The first day wont be as easy but I'm sure it will get easier.. Okay, before I cry on you guys.. 

My son cracked me up the other day when he looked at me and said, "Mom, what happens when you and dad are gone? How will I get money then?" YIKES! That came out of NOWHERE!! At first I laughed because it was a little funny but then I told him, "Hopefully by the time we're gone, you'll have your own money, a college degree, a good job, a wife and a little boy or girl of your own!" How easy it was to satisfy his greedy little conscious! LOL! My son also said something else that once again came out of NOWHERE! It seems as if the neighbor's son has been filling his head with all these thoughts about mommies and daddies getting new girlfriends and boyfriends/wives and husbands. Don't ask me what's going on in that kids head. Personally, I think he's a little backwards. But my son actually said, "Mom, when are you and daddy going to find new girlfriends and boyfriends?" OKAY!!! Enough with the questions! Geeze!     

So I waited for Mr. Hobbit to get home and then I told him what our son had said. He thought it was a little funny but after I told him, I knelt down on the floor beside his chair in the living room, wrapped my arms around him and kissed him on his cheek and said, "No boyfriends for me.... Mr. Hobbit is all I need!!" At that point, Jacob my youngest came and got between me and the chair and started patting on daddy's, arm, my four year old hopped on my back and started giggling and my 7 year old hopped on Daddy's chair and said, "Yes!!! They're kissing!! Kiss him again Mommy! Mr. Hobbit and I both just smiled and kissed each other one more time! It was a very sweet moment!  But apparently the neighbor's son is filling his head with all these questions and thoughts. Personally I don't like that very much because he's awfully young and impressionable... to be hearing about such adult topics and who knows, maybe his parents are having issues... but I'm not here to judge anyone. I hope everything works out if that's the case or maybe he heard it on television or from another friend. Oh who am I kidding? The boy's just not right!!

On a more softer and cuddly note, Miss Lily is doing great! (My sweet kitty) I lost her last night! I couldn't find her anywhere! I searched high and low and looked under the furniture frantically calling her name. I thought my son was asleep at the time but he called me into his room. He had been enjoying watching Lily hop around in his room playing with the clothes in his closet! She was exploring! And I knew it was just a matter of time before Mr. Hobbit opened his heart to her. I caught him playing with her even though he swore that he did not like cats!! He put his arm down to the side of his chair and she came running up to pounce on his hand and bat at his fingers! Was that a chuckle I hear?? LOL! Yeah, that's what I thought! I LOVE IT!!! He's such a softy! He's a sucker for cute and cuddly furbals! Just like me! 

What else is knew? Well, I have family down from out of state! I've been enjoying having my aunt and my cousin down from Tennessee and Kansas. It's sad that they are leaving today but it was really great sitting down and talking to them for hours on end! I just don't get to see much of them anymore. Also in another week, my sister in law will be here and that's pretty big news because I will be meeting her for the very first time! Now how is that possible? Well to make a long story short, my husband's siblings were once scattered and separated by some rather sad and unfortunate events but now they're all adults and I think it's great that they're able to talk now and be apart of one another's lives. I know it means the world to my husband! And his little sister seems like a pretty rounded and well adjusted young woman and I can't wait to cook a really big nice dinner for the whole family!!

But that reminds me, I need to go shopping! I have this problem you see. My family is sort of clumsy! Therefore, we have just enough plates and glasses for the six of us and I need atleast four more place settings.. I had a huge set of dishes when we moved into our new home and somewhere along the way, half of them got broken or shattered on the floor! Now you all know I love to save money whenever I can and plus I'm a sucker for newer used items. So needless to say, a trip to the salvation army thrift store is in order! There was a time when I once felt the need to go buy everything brand new but now I can't see the point in spending too much money on a set of dishes when they will more than likely get broken within 6 months or less. That's pretty bad but what's the point? You can buy a decent set of dishes at a thrift store for half the price! Maybe when the kids are much older I will go out and buy myself a brand new set of expensive china without the fear of it getting broken or chipped! I don't worry so much about where the dishes have been or other's germs. That's why you sterilize them! It's nothing a little bleach and hot water can't fix! 

Oh and that reminds me, I know this girl who's just starting out on her own and her and her boyfriend just got a house together. The poor things, they don't have much of anything and they are completely strapped for cash. The salvation army has this really wonderful program for people who can't afford much or have a lower income so I told her about this program they have, where they can get all the things they need for free! Clothes, shoes, housewares, you name it! She was ecstatic when I told her! I hope she takes advantage of it as it will help her family and I know how hard it is when you're just starting out and too many times, I've talked to my wise aunt whom I simply adore, who once told me, "It takes a lifetime to acquire the things you need." How true is that? 

Anyhoo, that's pretty much what's been going on in my world lately. Now, I believe I'll mosey on down town to my favorite thrift store and see what I can find! Maybe I'll find something unique and pretty! Have a great day everyone and thanks for reading my blog! And in case you're wondering what happened to all those blog posts, I reverted them to drafts... working on tweaking them, adding and deleting certain things so maybe in a few days, I'll get those back for you... I just feel like they are not quite as complete as what I originally thought so I'm working on getting those back and getting them in the correct order! 

Kittens Are So Sweet!

Taking a break from the continuing saga I've got going here, hope yall are enjoying that by the way. I can't express how good it feels to finally open up to so many about that and how much your continued support and encouragement means to me. But today, I wanted to introduce you to the newest member of our family!  Miss Tiger Lilly! Lilly for short! 

We've had her now for a little over 72 hours and she's doing great! At first she meowed a lot because she missed her little mommy and her brothers. She was pretty scared at first. A warm towel was the only way we could get her to feel safer and more relaxed. 

It was nice and cozy and soon she snuggled down under the towel and went right to sleep! 

The second day was a little easier for Miss. Lilly. She warmed up to me fairly easily. She is perfectly happy and content if she's nestled down in my arms with her little head on my arm or chest. It's really cute. She's very loving so as she's asleep in my arms she's got one little paw gently rubbing my shirt. I can't wait until she starts purring. I love the sound of a purring kitten. I can't believe I've forgotten just how sweet little kittens can be! She's absolutely adorable! 

I think she's going to be just fine! She's eating good. She's drinking warm milk. She took to her liter box almost immediately and our dog Rosie has not tried attacking her yet! It really feels as if our family is now complete! We have Mr. and Mrs. Hobbit, three wee hobbits of our own, a little old lady living right down the hall, (my mom) a little white dog and now a sweet loving kitten! I don't know about anyone else but I think I'm done! A dog and a cat is all anyone needs! LOL! As soon as Lilly is old enough, she'll go to the vet to get checked out and to have her first set of shots. We'll see how that goes! Hope you enjoy the pictures and thank you for reading! I hope you all have a wonderful day and may God bless you all! 

Carrie Underwood, Blown Away w/lyrics

I heard Carrie Underwood sing this song the other night on American Idol and thought it was worth sharing with you all here! I'm a big Carrie Underwood! This girl has come a long way since her days on American Idol. It seems as if she has a new hit single every other week and there's no sign of stopping her! Her voice is powerful and this song is really beautiful. I love the lyrics and I love her voice! So enjoy this song everyone and I will get back to my recent posts asap but for now, I'm off to go pick up my darling tabby kitten. Yes! She is finally eating soft food and is ready for a new home! I'm super excited and I can't wait to meet her! Have a great day everyone! 

*HUGS*