Love those Tots

I tried a new 'recipe' tonight. I decided I wanted to try Tater Tot Casserole. I know that this isn't a revolutionary dish, but it isn't one that Matt or I grew up with, so it is a new one for us. I googled it and got basic directions, though there are a billion ways to tweak it.

I started with browned beef, a little garlic salt. I then mixed in my favorite variety of Cream of ___ soup. I used Chicken. Use your favorite: Mushroom, Chicken, etc. I also saw the idea of mixing in Broccoli Cheddar soup. Some of the recipes suggested layering it on top of the beef instead of stirring it in, totally your choice. You could also mix in some diced onion here. Me? Bleck.

I then layered green beans (french cut). I also saw the idea of corn, or mixed veggies, or nothing at all....

A little cheese, and then the Tater Tots-

Bake according to the the Tater Tot directions, though I think mine could have used more time. I would probably add about 10 more minutes next time. I topped with cheese for the last 10 minutes or so to make it melty. Yum.

And there you have it-

(with ketchup for picky little girls)

If you make this, how do you tweak it?

Wordless Wednesday

I must have missed the memo about wearing black leotards this week to dance class.

(Abby's the one in bright pink.)

New shades

This post is really for my Mom, if no one else. Matt and I had our house built in 2002. We slowly filled and decorated our house over many years. The one area that we have not done anything for, in the almost nine years that we've been in our house, is the kitchen window and back door window. Until last night. No more worrying, Mom. :)

We didn't want traditional curtains. We didn't want venetian blinds. I liked the idea of cool shutters for the kitchen window, but didn't want to pay for them. We looked for blinds like this once, but the ones we found were a different color/type and I didn't like them. We probably need to shorten the kitchen window blind, but it will be a pain, and I really don't want to mess it up, so we'll see if I ever get to it. But... for now, we're pretty happy with how they look (and they were easy to hang).

One, Two, Tie Your Shoe

No Limp Saturday!

We decided to hit the mall today and I caught my reflection while walking and I had no noticeable limp! I was feeling pretty good... and then I wore myself out. Of course. :)

So while we were out, we hit the play area so the girls could play.

And, I have been keeping my eye out for a new purse. I looked at Target and couldn't find anything. I'm picky. We were going to look at the Fossil store, but it turns out they closed about a month ago. Bummer. We decided to try Macy's and it turned out they had a huge Fossil display. It's a bit more expensive that my usual Target, but so cute! It will take me a while to get used to the new organization, but I'm looking forward to using it. My old one was starting to show some wear and tear.

How did you spend your Saturday?