Pumpkin French Toast, Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli and Mexican Lasagna

 

This week I have been trying some yummy recipes that I found on Pinterest. I started with this delicious Pumpkin French Toast Bake from Minimalist Baker. It was perfect for the cool autumn mornings we’ve been having and stored and reheated wonderfully. The only tiny tweak I made to the recipe was to add only 1 tsp of pumpkin pie spice because I’m always afraid of ruining a recipe with to much clove or ginger taste. oh and I only let mine set in the fridge for maybe 30min because I missed the part of the recipe about letting it set overnight, but I love the idea of being able to fix it in the evening and just pop it in the oven for breakfast the next morning.

I’d been craving Chinese and a way to get my Husband to eat more vegetables without needing to dip them in BBQ sauce so when I found this great recipe over at Chef in Training for Crock Pot Beef and Broccoli I was totally stoked. It’s a super savorty recipe and made such a easy diner that I hardly had to think about it after I threw the ingredients in the crock pot. I ended up using beef broth instead of consomme because it’s what I had on hand.

And to finish off the week I made a wonderful spin on traditional lasagna… Mexican Lasagna made from a recipe I found at Sugar & Spice by Celeste. It was SO GOOD and the leftovers made lunch quick and painless for the next few days! Since the produce was good this week at the grocery store I used all fresh ingredients instead of canned substitutes.

 

 

Pumpkin Light

 

Happy Halloween everyone! Have a safe night and watch our for all the spooky, cute, and creepy kids out there! Don’t forget glow sticks and reflectors for your little ones and keep your animals safe so they don’t get startled by all the commotion and costumes!

Apple Pie Breakfast Shake

Turn Fall into an easy, tasty, healthy breakfast on the go!

Ingredients:

1 apple cut up and frozen

1/2 cup plain yogurt

1/2 milk

2 Tbs Sugar

Pinch of Cinnamon

Drop of Vanilla extract

Add all ingredients to the blender, blend and Enjoy!

Flamingos

f/8 – exposure 1/2000 sec – ISO 400

Flamingos at the Sequoia Park Zoo in Eureka, CA.

f/8 – exposure 1/2000 sec – ISO 400

The zoo is a wonderful local resource with lots of opportunities for learning and fun.

f/8 – exposure 1/2000 sec – ISO 320

Photographing birds with lots of light and a fast shutter speed allowed me the ability to capture the detail of the Flamingos feathers. A small aperture helps hold onto a vibrant moment of clarity surrounded by a blurred backdrop to bring all the attention to what is most important in the photograph.  Under each photo are the camera settings that I used to achieve the desired affect.

Respecting the Toddler “NO!”

 

My daughter is 20 months old and a frequent user of the word “No”. I knew this phase would come and I’d heard all the same horror stories about it that most parents do, but when she did finally learn the word “No” I was surprised to find that every single time she said it, it was exactly what she meant.

It wasn’t a form of rebellion, or a means to torture me by refusing every single possible thing I came near her with; it was a means of finding and embracing her own personal sovereignty. Of letting me know what she thought was wrong and what she didn’t like. So instead of overpowering her like so many parents do I made a decision to respect her instead. When I ask her a question and she says “No” and I feel that she understood me and fully grasped the concept of what I was putting before her then I take the “No” at face value and that’s it, she said “No” and “No” means “No”.

Now there are always some exceptions like when we’re getting ready to go in the morning and she doesn’t want to wear clothes or be strapped into her car seat, but I also make sure not to offer up these things as options. I don’t ask her “Can we brush your teeth now?” I tell her “It’s time to brush your teeth!”, but if I do ask her a question like “Would you like yogurt for lunch?” or “Can I give you a kiss?” and she says “No” then we don’t have yogurt, and as much as I’d like to give her a big kiss on the cheek I don’t because she obviously isn’t interested at that moment and I respect that.

Another reason I think it’s so important to respect the “No” from an early age (especially for girls) is because you should always feel with every part of your being that when you say “No” that is does in fact mean “No” and if someone doesn’t respect that and tries to force you into something you are not comfortable with you should feel empowered by the fact that you gave them an easily understandable statement meaning that you did not, do not, and would not willingly participate in whatever it is they are suggesting (or forcing) and that you have every right to use any means possible to remove yourself from the situation and that by saying “No” you were in the right and they were without a doubt in the wrong. No shame should be felt, No guilt should be lived with because you wholly believe in the meaning of your “No”.

So as I try to get my toddler dressed this morning and make the mistake of asking her “Would you like to put on your shirt now?” and clearly hearing her pronounce “NO!” I respect that she means it and wait a little longer before rephrasing and telling her “It’s time to put on your shirt now”.

 

 

 

4 Easy Halloween Crafts for Under $5

Halloween is almost here and I know some of you have been feeling a little short on creativity, so here are three India’s Roses craft tutorials guaranteed to be EASY, lots of fun and under $5!

Window Corner Spider Web. All you need is: Paper and Scissors

Nuclear Baby Food just takes: Glow Sticks and Jars

Pumpkin Toddler Crayons only need: Old Crayons, Scissors and a few kitchen items.

Papier-mâché Pumpkins are easy as: News paper, flour, tape and water.

Happy Halloween Crafting!!!

Photographing Bubbling Water

f/6.3 – Exposure 1/2500 – ISO 6400

I’ve always been fascinated with water and when I finally got a camera with an adjustable shutter speed I knew that I needed to get out and take some pictures of the beautiful liquid movement in a nearby bubbling stream. The setting was very dark and the water moved fast so I had to compensate for both light and movement. I had to use an extremely fast shutter speed to capture the bubbles clearly, but the faster your shutter speed the more light you need to let in and since the areas lighting was really dark I also used a high ISO (which is what has given it a little bit of a grainy oil painting look) and a small aperture (f-Stop) to let in as much light as possible (I know it’s confusing, the smaller the aperture the more light the camera lets in, but the depth of focus becomes less. If you want to learn more click HERE). Under each photo are the settings I used individually feel free to use them as a place to start and good luck!

f/6.3 – Exposure 1/2500 – ISO 6400