Hi bloggy friends! I missed you last week 
What have you all been up to?
Brad and I spent all week soaking up the sun in Mexico. It was our first trip just the two of us since our honeymoon 5 years ago. It was heaven. Thank you Nana for watching the girls!!
Now it’s back to reality! Kate (3) is starting preschool for the first time this year. She will go on Mondays and Wednesdays from 9am-2pm. I think she will absolutely adore it after an adjustment period. My sweet girl is like her mama in that it takes her a while to get used to new situations and open up. We went to meet her teachers this morning and they seemed to put her jitters at ease. I’ll let you know how our first day on Wednesday goes.
On an unrelated note, I have decided that I need to learn how to cook. I really suck at it. I’m not being modest. I’m terrible. Like rubbery steak, chewy steamed vegetables bad. Puhlease help a girl out! I have some decent cookbooks (namely Martha Stewart’s Cooking School) that I think I’m going to try working my way through. If you have a favorite recipe you’d like to share, I would love to try it and feature it here. Send me an email with the recipe and I’ll give it a whirl! We’re not picky eaters at all. I’m just looking for mostly healthy dinner recipes. I’m so tired of dried out baked chicken and salad.
I’ll be back tomorrow to announce the winners of the postcard giveaway (you can enter until midnight tonight) and to share a new giveaway
Jenny: You’re not that bad! You haven’t killed us yet, and we’ve eaten with you lots of times…..oh wait, that was at restaurants! Nah…JK — You do a good job!
Love ya,
Roz
OK – according to Roz you’re not all that bad. Hey – cook by your tastebuds – that’s the best way. But I love Joy of cooking (http://tinyurl.com/m2a5d7) – it has everything from Hollandaise Sauce to how long to boil corn or potatoes!
Ahhh…welcome back, we missed you! Love your photos…where you went looks GORGEOUS! You need Tastefully Simple Girlfriend!!! I LOVE their products and they have hundreds of awesome recipes online using our products. You can become a Gourmet Cook in your very own home…trust me on this one, I’ve been a consultant for almost a year, a user of the products for over three years and it does wonders for many in the kitchen. Check out my website: http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/tdreist…order up some yummy goodness and you’ll be cooking like a queen in NO time…plus, that way you can see my photo and read a background story on me…you know, since I don’t have a blog and all, this is the next best thing. Oh, and many of our products are healthy and some are even Kosher! Nutrition info is also found online for all of our products too! Another good site is Sparkpeople.com. If you create a username and password, they have tons of VERY healthy recipes. I found a GREAT turkey meatloaf using muffin tins to make mini loaves that is a HUGE hit with the family. The recipe uses turkey, oatmeal, egg, spices and an onion (I add that to make it moister) that makes a quick and healthy meal served with a salad and fruit. Let me know if you’d like me to send that one to ya. My e-mail is tonidreist@yahoo.com. Later gal pal! :O)
That picture makes me so jealous. I hope the little one loves school, it can be so hard to make an adjustment like that. I’m not looking forward to mine going.
allrecipes.com GREAT site and they even have a free app for the iphone thats a dinner spinner thing. Its pretty neat. You can search the webiste online for different recipes just by name or by ingredients you have in your pantry, etc.. They are all rated and have reviews! If I am ever in a cooking slump, I always check there!!!
I can’t imagine that you aren’t good at anything…
I love Rachel Ray’s recipes and find lots of good things on her site http://www.rachaelraymag.com. We have also been getting some good and healthy recipes from http://www.eatingwell.com
I love to cook so I’ll send you some of our favorites via email.
I LOVE Taste of Home recipes. I use to get their magazines out of the library, but then I was given a subscription for my b-day
. They also have cookbooks and a website. I don’t think any of their recipes has every flopped! I definitely recommend ‘em!
I thought I left a message last night and now I don’t see it so I’ll try again. Welcome back gal! We missed ya but it looks like you had a gorgeous time in Mexico…stunning pics of that water…whew! Girl, you need Tastefully Simple, it will have you cooking up like a Gourmet Chef in no time. You can order some healthy products and then we have hundreds of recipes online using those products…you can make fresh, gourmet meals at home and everyone will rave about your cooking! Check out my website at http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/tdreist cause it’s the closest thing I have to a blog I guess. Also, Sparkpeople.com has really good recipes as well…just create a username and password and click the recipe link. I make a turkey meatloaf using muffin tins (pre-measured so really cool!) with marinara sauce, oatmeal, egg, spices and an onion to keep it moist…it’s SO yummy paired with a salad and fruit. Let me know if you’d like me to send ya that recipe. Hope Kate has fun at school…with her sparkling personality, I’m sure she’ll have a blast!
Ok-hot mama, I saw you in the bikini picture in Cancun! Soooo jealous! Anyway, I love food so I will try out all kinds of recipes and in doing so I’ve learned new ways to cook food, love new flavors and experiment. My all time favorite cooks are Tyler Florence and Ina Garten. Ina has the best chocalate cake recipe and I haven’t had a bad meal with any of Tyler’s recipes. I have to admit I do use foodnetwork alot and epicurious is another, but there’s a few other sites I love as well.
Thanks for the great tips, guys!!
I’m sad, my previous two comments are not posting…sniff…sniff….I’ll just say welcome back, we missed you and try either Tastefully Simple…LOVE their products, makes you a gourmet chef in your own kitchen…go to http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/tdreist and check out their recipes online using their products. Sparkpeople.com also has some great and healthy recipies too! Okay, we’ll see if this one finally sticks…..
I’ll just say welcome back, we missed you and try either Tastefully Simple…LOVE their products, makes you a gourmet chef in your own kitchen…go to http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/tdreist and check out their recipes online using their products. Sparkpeople.com also has some great and healthy recipies too! I wonder where my comments are going…hmmmm….
Welcome back chicka! We missed you! For some reason my other comments I tried to post are not posting…I wonder why?? :O(
Toni, I’ll have my tech guy (hubby) check it out!! Thanks for letting me know.
Hmmm…there it goes! Give Tastefully Simple a try! Makes you a gourmet chef in your own kitchen…purchase some products and then there are hundreds of recipes online to use them in. It’s AWESOME! I’ve loved the products for three years and have sold it for almost one. Great, great stuff! Go to tastefullysimple.com/web/tdreist and check it out! :O)
OMG…SO sorry for clogging your comment post! AAACCKK! :O( Best wishes for a yummy dinner tonight!
I LOVED all of your Mexico pictures! We’ve never been there either, but are thinking of going there next summer for our first REAL vacation in 23 yrs of marriage! I’d LOVE to know where you stayed, it’s beautiful!
Tidy Mom, we stayed at Aqua Cancun. It was AMAZING
Look on tripadvisor.com for reviews – it got super ones. I think it’s definitely time for you and your hubby to take a real vacation!