Wordless Wednesday - The First Major "Boo-Boo"

So, the Little Man and I were enjoying the beautiful weather last week and were playing a game of chase in the front yard. Unfortunately, he went running for the front door and got caught up in a branch. The results are not so pretty. He was a real trooper - cried for a few minutes and then was ready for the next event!

Here's some pics of our little Mixed Martial Arts fighter:

Tasty Tuesday - Homemade Tortillas

Mexican food (or Tex-Mex) is a HUGE favorite in our household. Honestly, I could serve beans and tortillas every night of the week and my 2 guys would be happy. I am a fan myself. Having grown up in Texas, pretty much any food that involves tortillas in some form or fashion (flour, corn, fried, you name it!) is high on my list of comfort foods! It was always a treat when I picked up some of the fresh made tortillas from Central Market. In fact, if I wanted them for a recipe, I had to buy 2 packs because 1 was sure to be demolished from snacking.

With our recent move to Tyler, I have not yet found a good source of homemade tortillas, so I thought it would be a worthy task to take on at home. Lord knows, I don't have to worry about them sitting in the

fridge. So, I found a recipe on one of my go-to recipe sites: Homesick Texan. And got to working.

I am not going to lie - this is pretty time consuming for the result of only 8 tortillas. I am thinking in the future that I will double the recipe. But, it was so good to have fresh tortillas that haven't been sitting on a shelf for who knows how long! These tortillas are definitely yummy, half of them were gone before the night was over (I didn't start making them until after dinner when the Little Man was asleep!).

The only changes I made from the original recipe were to substitute some whole wheat flour for the white flour and I used a stainless steel skillet (that's all I've got). I know, I know, how can I call my self a Texan and not have a cast iron skillet?

Want to try it for yourself? Here's the recipe!

Texas Flour Tortillas
from Homesick Texan

Ingredients:
Two cups of all-purpose flour (can make them whole wheat by substituting one cup of whole-wheat flour for white flour)
1 1/2 t. of baking powder
1 t. of salt
2 t. of vegetable oil
3/4 C. of warm milk

Directions:
Mix together the flour, baking powder, salt and oil.

Slowly add the warm milk.

Stir until a loose, sticky ball is formed.

Knead for two minutes on a floured surface. Dough should be firm and soft.

Place dough in a bowl and cover with a damp cloth or plastic wrap for 20 minutes.

After the dough has rested, break off eight sections, roll them into balls in your hands, place on a plate (make sure they aren’t touching) and then cover balls with damp cloth or plastic wrap for 10 minutes. (It’s very important to let the dough rest, otherwise it will be like elastic and won’t roll out to a proper thickness and shape.)

After dough has rested, one at a time place a dough ball on a floured surface, pat it out into a four-inch circle, and then roll with a rolling pin from the center until it’s thin and about eight inches in diameter. (If you roll out pie crusts you’ll have no problem with this.) Don’t over work the dough, or it’ll be stiff. Keep rolled-out tortillas covered until ready to cook.

In a dry iron skillet or comal heated on high, cook the tortilla about thirty seconds on each side. It should start to puff a bit when it’s done.

Keep cooked tortillas covered wrapped in a napkin until ready to eat.

Makes eight tortillas.

A Day Late, But not a Recipe Short! Tasty Tuesday - Tuna Burgers

We had a bit of a hitch with dinner last night with the Little Man napping for 4 hours which messed up my run to the store for an egg I needed for this recipe! So, last night was a last-minute pizza pick-up, but we were back on track tonight with some yummy Tuna Burgers. Since we are on a budget, these are a more budget-friendly version of burgers for the weekly menu. And, for our family, preferred over beef burgers anyway, so it's a win-win!

This is a recipe that I found on the All Recipes website, but I have modified it a bit. The original recipe calls for 1 6-ounce can of tuna and says it makes 4 patties. I almost double the tuna and get 3 decent sized patties - I'm thinking the original recipe writer might have used these as appetizers ;-). I have also adjusted the seasoning a little, toning it down for our family. Here's the recipe:

Tuna Burgers

Ingredients

•  2(5 ounce) cans tuna, drained
• 1 egg
• 1/2 cup Italian seasoned bread crumbs (make your own by toasting 1 piece of bread and grinding it up with about 1/2 teaspoon of  Italian seasoning and 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder)
• 1/3 cup minced onion
• 1/4 cup minced celery
• 1/4 cup minced red bell pepper
• 1/4 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 teaspoon dried dill weed
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1/8 teaspoon ground black pepper
• 1 dash Worcestershire sauce
• 4 hamburger buns (I made my own whole wheat buns with this recipe)
• 1 tomato, sliced
• 4 leaves of lettuce (optional)

Directions

1. Combine tuna, egg, bread crumbs, onion, celery, red bell pepper, mayonnaise, dill, salt, pepper,  and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well. Shape into 3-4 patties (mixture will be very soft and delicate). Refrigerate for 30 minutes to make the patties easier to handle (Do not skip this step! Makes it much easier to handle!)
2. Coat a non-stick skillet with cooking spray; fry tuna patties for about 3 to 4 minutes per side, or until cooked through. These are fragile, so be careful when turning them.
3. Serve on buns with tomato slices and lettuce leaves, if desired.

 

Cloth Diaper (Cover) Review - Gen-Y Universal Cover

I had the good fortune to win a Gen-Y Universal Cover during a photo contest by Gen-Y. I have had it for a couple weeks now and thought I would post a review. Now, I have to start out by saying that I am not a cover kind of girl -- we use pockets, AIO's and AI2's. I think I tried a cover at one point during a diaper trial, but ended up sending it back. That being said - if I had gotten this cover to begin with, my diaper stash might have been a little different.

Gen-Y has 3 different styles of covers - Classic, Simplicity and Universal. I chose a Universal because it can be used with virtually anything: prefolds, flats, cloth inserts, disposable inserts, contour diapers and fitteds. The other covers cannot be used with cloth or disposable inserts, which are my only current options.

Here's a little on the Universal cover from the Gen-Y website:
"The GEN-Y Universal cover is designed to make your cloth diapering experience easier, simpler, and more fun! Inner leg gussets contain anything your child can dish out. Our super soft polyester/ spandex jersey binding is gentle and comfortable against your baby's skin. Specially shaped inner flaps on the front and back work perfectly to hold any lay in or insert in place, while a gathered front allows you the room you need to use with fitteds or contour diapers. A snap down rise and highly adjustable legs and waist mean you need just two sizes for the perfect fit from birth to potty. Wipe-clean or air-out inside so you can reuse until soiled. Poly-resin snap closures allow air circulation, are more difficult for your baby to undo, and won't snag or wear out with time. Machine wash/ dry with your other diapers... What's not to love?
GEN-Y products are made in the USA."

Now, on to the cover:

Outside of cover (Fun print!)

Inside of cover - all PUL - you can just wipe clean and air out until soiled!

Inside stuffed with insert (I used my SoftBums microfiber inserts because one side is fleece)

Check out the awesome double gussets!

Close up on the print

Diaper being modeled by the Little Man

Being silly - going night-night on my quilting ruler!  Note the snug fit around his legs.

What I love:

• Fun, fun prints - they were out of some of my favorite prints - this was actually my 3rd or 4th choice, but I still love it. It was hard to choose from so many cool prints.  Also love how they color coordinate the snaps and gussets with the fabric.
• The big flaps in the front and back really keep the inserts in place
• The gussets - the double gussets are awesome at keeping EVERYTHING in!
• Flexibility - this cover can be used with anything! We are thinking this will definitely be one of our go-to options on vacation - using disposable inserts, when we have limited access to laundry. 
• Cleanability - Little Man has actually not soiled the cover yet. He had a couple poops, but they stayed on the insert, so we actually haven't even had to wash it yet.
• Clean lines - sine this is a side-snapping cover, the snaps are pretty much out of sight. They also have the rise adjustment snaps lower down so they aren't visible from the front either.
• Customer Service - Elizabeth was great to work with - she was able to answer all of my questions and she did so VERY promptly!

What could be improved

• Since I have no other diapers that use the side snaps,  I have a harder time snapping these than my other dipes, but if I had more of these, this probably would not be an issue. 
• The price of the Universal covers is a little steep for me - the covers are $21.99 each ($22.99 for Minkee covers) - this is more than pretty much all of my pocket diapers in my stash and the cover does not come with any inserts. However, I do have to add that you are paying for quality - these are very well made covers AND they are made in the USA. Also since they can be reused so easily, it would be possible to reuse the same cover for most of a day, which makes the price more accessible. Also, their Classic and Simplicity Covers are less expensive (ranging from $11.99 - 17.99). So for someone on a budget, they have other options. 

The Final Tally
The cons are far outweighed by the pros for this cover. This is not one of the first ones I grab, but more because of the fact that I am much more comfortable with pockets, AIOs and AI2s. It is a well made, fun cover and we just might have to invest in a couple more before our next trip to California because it could help greatly decrease the bulk of what we have to pack! With the airlines charging for checked luggage, taking a suitcase of pockets can be pretty outrageous on the pocketbook!

**This is not a paid post. I received the cover as a prize in a giveaway with no expectations of a review. All opinions are my own.

Not-So-Wordless Wednesday

Before the pics - I just wanted to apologize for the break this past week. The Little Man has been sick and there are a few other things going on around here, so I was not able to post this week. I am going to try and get back on track this week.

For the actual Not-So-Wordless Wednesday part - a picture of my 2 favorite guys in the whole world! I am blessed to call them my husband and my son! My husband takes care of Carter when I am at work and I love coming home and seeing them in action. I may walk into a series of car races down a ramp, a book being read on the couch, or puzzles being done at the table. A great picture to go with this story would be a pic of one of these moments, but those are all on my mental camera, so this one will have to do - my guys hanging out at the Pumpkin Patch a few months ago.

Do you have any mental pictures that you want to share? Post them below.

Wordless Wednesday - Snow Day

New blog hop

There is a new green blog hop starting up - you ought to go check out some of the great blogs that are participating!