Herb & Cheese Stuffed Burgers

We love to grill out and Nathan especially likes a good burger. I usually make a simple homemade burger, but he also loves it when I make these burgers for something different. I got the recipe from Taste of Home and adapted it a little bit. The girls will eat this too!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp. cream cheese, softened
• 2 Tbsp. minced fresh parsley 
• 3 tsp. Dijon mustard, divided
• 2 green onions, thinly sliced
• 3 Tbsp. dry bread crumbs
• 2 Tbsp. ketchup
• 1/2 salt
• 1/2 tsp. dried rosemary, crushed
• 1/4 tsp. dried sage leaves
• 1 lb ground beef 
• 4 hamburger buns, lettuce leaves and tomato slices are optional

Preparation:

1. In a small bowl, combine cheddar cheese, cream cheese, parsley and 1 tsp. mustard; set aside.
2. In another bowl, combine the onions, bread crumbs, ketchup, salt, rosemary, sage and remaining mustard. 
3. Crumble beef over mixture and mix well. Shape into eight thin patties.
4. Spoon cheese mixture onto center of four patties; top with remaining patties and press edges firmly to seal.
5. Grill burgers, covered, over medium heat or broil 4 in. from heat for 5-7 minutes on each side or until a meat thermometer reads 160 degrees and juices run clear. Serve burgers on rolls with lettuce and tomato if desired. Yield: 4 servings.

Strawberry-Bacon Spinach Salad

My mom made this salad one time when our family got together and it was a big hit. She got it from a Taste of Home magazine. I had to get the recipe! The homemade dressing is what makes it so good!

Ingredients:

• 1 package (6 oz.) fresh baby spinach
• 1 pint fresh strawberries, sliced
• 8 bacon strips, crumbled
• 1/4 cup chopped red onion
• 1/4 cup chopped walnuts
• 1 cup mayonnaise
• 1/2 cup sugar
• 1/4 cup raspberry vinegar

Preparation:

In a salad bowl, combine the spinach, strawberries, bacon, onion and walnuts. In a small bowl or pitcher, combine the mayonnaise, sugar and vinegar. Serve with salad. Yield: 6-8 servings

Tuna Stroganoff

This is a simple, low-budget, kid-pleasing dish. It is not the healthiest meal in the world but we like to fix it every once in awhile mainly because all the girls like it and it is good too! The girls don't really eat tuna fish by itself or on a sandwich but they don't mind it in this recipe. Two of the girls will eat the mushrooms in it and two won't, along with Nathan. I think it's better with the mushrooms so I still put them in there. I usually double this recipe. You can also substitute the tuna for ground beef. They love it whenever I make it!

Ingredients:

• 1/4 cup butter
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 can cream of mushroom soup
• 1/2 cup sour cream
• dash of pepper
• 1 tsp. garlic powder
• 1 can (7 oz ) tuna, drained and flaked
• 1 can  ( 4 oz. ) mushrooms, drained
• hot cooked noodles or rice
• fresh parsley (optional)

Preparation:

Melt butter in skillet; saute onion until tender. Combine soup, sour cream, garlic powder and pepper; add to onion. Add tuna and mushrooms; heat through. Serve tuna stroganoff over hot cooked noodles or rice. Add fresh snipped parsley if you want. Our favorite way to eat this is to mix egg noodles in with the tuna stroganoff....so yummy! I got this recipe form the book,  "Beyond Mac and Cheese."

Baked Ziti with Sausage

This baked ziti is a great recipe for parties, potlucks and holidays, because it feeds a crowd. If you are looking for something that is kid-friendly, then this is a great recipe for that too. When I make this, I don't have to worry about any wining girls and most of the time, Natalee and Lydia are asking for seconds!  Although, this recipe  calls for mild Italian sausage, feel free to use hot sausage if you like spicy food. This recipe was taken from kidscooking.com.

Ingredients:

• 16 oz. ziti pasta
• 8 oz. mild Italian sausage, casing removed, choppped
• 4 cups spaghetti sauce, divided
• 1-1/2 cups cottage cheese
• 2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese
• 1 tsp. Italian seasoning
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Preparation:

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2. Cook pasta according to package directions for "al dente." Drain.
3. Brown sausage. Drain. Mix with 3 cups of the spaghetti sauce, the cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese and italian seasoning.
4. Spread the remaining 1 cup f the spaghetti sauce in a 9 x 13 pan. Top with half of the ziti. Top with half of the sausage mixture. Top with remaining ziti and remaining sausage mixture. Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese over top.
5. Cover and bake 20 minutes. Remove cover, and bake another 20-35 minutes until golden brown and bubbly.
6. Let baked ziti rest 10 minutes before serving. 

**Make ahead directions: Follow recipe through step 4. Cover tightly with foil, and freeze. A day before you're ready to serve, thaw completely in the fridge overnight. Bake according to recipe directions. 

Baked Parmesan Tilapia

This is a dish that I especially like to make during the spring/summer. However, lately I have been making it during the winter also because the kids love it! This is one of Lydia's favorite meals! She does dip the fish in ketchup, but at least she eats the fish!

This is a recipe that I modified from a Taste of Home magazine.

2lb (6-8) tilapia fillets
1/2 cup breadcrumbs or crushed Ritz crackers
1/2 cup grated or shredded parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons of italian seasoning
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
garlic powder
olive oil

Thaw the fish and pat dry on paper towels. Combine the breadcrumbs, cheese, italian seasoning and garlic powder onto one plate.

On another plate, pour 1 tbsp of lemon juice.

Doing one at a time, place a fillet in the lemon juice, sprinkle with desired amount of kosher salt, black pepper, and garlic powder.

Dredge the fillet in the crumbs mixture patting it all over to coat all sides.
Put the olive oil in the baking dish and place the filets on top.
Sprinkle a little lemon juice over the fillets and drizzle or spray them lightly with olive oil.

Bake at 425 degrees for about 20 minutes. When the filets easily flake with a fork and the edges are browning then they are done.

We like to eat this dish with some french fries and green beans.

New Year's Eve and New Years Day

We tried to keep activities "low key" on New Year's Ever since we had been so busy over

Christmas break. Usually we go to a party or have someone over but it

just sounded like to much work this year so we decided to hang out

at home, which was nice:) We did go to the Y in the morning then 

came home and played. Luke came and picked up Natalee and Lydia to

go with him to get his haircut while Juls, Alyssia and daddy took a nap:)

Then we had tacos and ice-cream/oreos with the girls.  

Julianna practiced her ABC tracing and was so proud:)

After dinner it was a short movie and bed.

Nathan and I stayed up and went over some goals for this year.

We looked at our calendar and talked about what was happening

during the next couple months. It was really good to spend that time 

together! We stayed up until midnight, drank some sparkling juice

then went to bed!

New Years Day we spent some time at both of our parents house.

Then, prepared for the rest of the week with school starting back. 

Sunday, December 30th

* We stayed home from church and let the girls sleep in, which was much needed. We read a story from their new Children's Bible.  The girls made a fort and played "puppies" while Nathan and I tried cleaning up the house....ha ha:)

* Nathan went and had lunch with Grant Mora, since he was in town cleaning up their house. He had fun catching up with him and the other guys there. He was sad though to say good bye to Grant for the final time.

* We spent the afternoon doing some reading and some review papers to get ready for school. Nathan came home and played on the trampoline with the girls!

* Kimmy and Sergio came over and hung out for a little while then said good bye to the the girls and us. They were heading back to Florida the next morning. It's always sad to say good bye:(

* It was cold outside so we stayed in and watched a movie with the girls until bedtime!