Bread with the Brisels

  Oops! I accidentally took two days off this week from blogging. This was a full week of summer fun! I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share all about it.  This week, Dustin was on his "off days" Tuesday through Friday, and the weather was perfect!  We swam... Sammy and Dustin went fishing... And we hit the zoo.  My aunt and I also took Sammy to see "Inside Out 2" this week. We LOVED it! Has anyone else seen it? I was worried it would be too "old" for Sammy, but I think the whole puberty  undertones were lost on him. We had lots of laughs!  This is one of my favorite photos of the week. 😊 On this morning I had gotten up, worked out, and enjoyed breakfast before the boys woke up. This rarely happens, so it's an exciting moment when it does, haha. Jack woke up and I enjoyed my iced coffee while he enjoyed some morning playtime. I love the slow mornings of summer.  One evening, Dustin and I got the boys to bed early and enjoyed a drink on

This isn't so much a recipe, just an idea for an easy weeknight dinner. 😉 Here's what we did! Beef Fajitas on the Grill Serves: 4+ Ingredients: 1 lb flat iron steak, cut into thin strips  1 red, yellow and green pepper, cut into strips  1 yellow onion, cut into strips  Drizzle of avocado oil  1/2 packet Fajita seasoning mix  Tortillas (we like to use Carb Balance ones), shredded cheese, sour cream, salsa, plus any other "fixings" you might like  Directions: Place your steak, peppers and onions into a gallon ziploc bag. Drizzle in some avocado oil and about 1/2 of the packet of Fajita seasonng mix. Massage the seasoning and oil into the steak and peppers/onions. Place back into the fridge for a few hours, or overnight.  We cooked this on our grill using  this grill basket  until the steak was cooked through and the vegetables were soft.  Serve it up! Place your steak and vegetables in a tortilla and top with whatever you like. 

This dessert screams summer to me. 😊 We had fresh peaches and a LOT of strawberries, so I was inspired to make an extra special dessert for our Sunday evening. It's not overly sweet, so you could absolutely add a little more sugar in if you wanted to. We served ours with some vanilla bean ice cream. Yum!  Strawberry Peach Crumble Ingredients: 6 fresh peaches, cut into small pieces 1 cup of strawberries, cut into fourths  1 cup of all purpose flour (divided 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup) 1 cup of brown sugar (divided 1/2 cup and 1/2 cup) 1 cup of old fashioned oats  1/2 cup cold butter, cut into small pieces Cinnamon 1 tsp Vanilla Extract 1/2 tsp salt Directions:   Grease a 9x13 pan with a nonstick cooking spray and preheat your oven to 350 degrees.  In a bowl, mix together your peaches and strawberries, along with 1/2 cup of flour, 1/2 cup of brown sugar, a big sprinkle of cinnamon, 1 tsp of vanilla extract, and 1/2 tsp of salt.  Spread that mixture evenly in your greased 9x13 pan.  Next, m

  It's crazy that another week of summer has come to a close! Fridays come around awfully quick these days. I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from the week. Here we go! These boys will always be my favorites, especially when they're in matching pajamas and fresh from the tub. 😉 Early morning snuggles are my favorite, too. I love how you can see Jack's little grin behind his pacifier. Haha.  I know I'm not the only teacher that is in the midst of cleaning and organizing and purging all the things. This week I tackled our kitchen cabinets and laundry closet. Have you tried this cleaner? It's a super concentrated powder that you dump into the washer by itself, and then run a "self clean" cycle. We have a top loader, but I was still amazed at how much fresher the washing machine seemed after using this!  Here's my latest lunch fixation of the week. It's cucumber, cauliflower, tomato, yellow pepper, turkey, parmesan c

Today I'm sharing another easy lunch idea to mix things up! I've seen this idea floating around on Pinterest, and decided to try it out for myself. Sammy loved mixing everything together and it was a hit!  Corn Dog Muffins Here's what we did:  We made a box of Jiffy cornbread according to directions, and divided the batter between about 6 muffin liners.  We quartered hot dogs and placed a hot dog piece in each "muffin."  We cooked the muffins in a preheated (350 degree) oven until cooked through and golden brown.  Give this one a try, it was a fun one! 

Happy Tuesday!  Today I'll be over on Instagram sharing a "Day in the Life" on Instagram on @desmoinesmom - come find me and follow along!

Happy Monday! It's the start of a new week, and I'm starting to feel like we're getting into our "summer" groove over here. It takes a bit to find a new routine!  It's starting to really feel like summer, too. In honor of the season, I'm sharing some of my favorite "guilty" pleasures of summer. I try hard to not feel too guilty about these habits of mine, but instead, look at them as a ways I can enjoy the season we're living in.  In no particular order... Ugh. Every night at 7:30PM it's like an alarm goes off in my head that tells me, "it's time for a little ice cream cone!" I don't need large quantities of it, but a few small scoops in a little cone bring me a lot of joy. 😉 During the school year, I feel as if I absolutely can't start the week if my house isn't in tip-top shape on Sunday evening. "Summer Emilee" is much more relaxed. Haha. I like to have everything picked up at the end of the night,

  I hate to be the one to point it out...but how in the world is June almost halfway over?! I would like to hit the "slow down" button on summer, please. 😉 Like usual, I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from our week. Here we go! You'll notice that many of my "favorites" are food related this week. One of the reasons I love summer is that the cooking is easy, and I can take some time making things I typically wouldn't have time for. Wednesday evening we grilled pork chops and I was hunting for a side dish. I found the ingredients for taco dip and we gobbled it right up. Taco dip is basically a salad, yes?  Jack (and big brother!) have been loving water play this summer. It has been extra warm this week, so it's been a great way to beat the heat.  We had burgers this week using my very favorite  recipe . This meal is probably one of Dustin's most loved meals! Ugh. I love watermelon. I ate SO MUCH of it during my preg

We are enjoying summer over here. 😊 Are any other parents doing all of the appointments this week? In the last week we've had 2 dental visits, one well-child visit, and one visit with a dietitian. Next week, we'll add an eye doctor appointment for Sammy to the mix. It's good to get things done (and out of the way!), but also really putting a kink into my slow days. 😉 Be back tomorrow for Friday Favorites!

Today I'm sharing the one and only burger recipe you'll ever need. 😉 It turns out perfectly every time, and whenever we make them people mention how juicy and flavorful the burger is. The best part is that in total - it's only 3 ingredients.  Best Burger Recipe Recipe for 6 burgers Ingredients: 1.5 lb lean ground beef (we use 93%)  1 tablespoon of Montreal Steak Seasoning 1 tablespoon of Worcestershire sauce Directions: In a mixing bowl, combine your beef, steak seasoning and Worcestershire sauce. Mix well, and form into 6 equal sized patties.  Cook on a heated grill until cooked through.  We like to top ours with cheese, bacon (always grill your bacon, less mess!) and all the fixings. I promise this recipe will become a staple at your house! 

Happy Monday! I hope everyone had a wonderful weekend. It's my first full week of summer, and I've got ten more weeks ahead of me. Life is good. 😉 Jack turned 1 on June 1st, but we celebrated him this past weekend with a precious little party. We decided to have a strawberry themed party to celebrate Jack's love of strawberries, and to accommodate his allergies. Cake made at a bakery wouldn't be a safe option for him, so we did homemade strawberry shortcake for his smash cake. Here are some pictures from the day!  It was a beautiful day, so we were able to celebrate outside. We had lots of red gingham and strawberry touches throughout.  I loved this sweet banner! I found it on Etsy.  Jack loved his dessert - mostly the strawberries. 😉 That's all for today! Be back tomorrow. XX

  A funny story...I almost forgot to write my Friday Favorite post because I have already lost track of what day is happening when. 😉 It ROCKS to be a teacher in the summer!  I'm linking up with  Andrea  and  Erika  to share some favorites from my week.  Turning these alarms off for the summer is at the top of my list. Right now I'm letting the boys be my alarm clocks in the morning and it's been so nice to start catching up on sleep!  This past Saturday we celebrated Jack's FIRST birthday! We had a day at home doing all of his favorite things, and will celebrate him with a big birthday bash on Saturday.  Chicken Caesar Salad Wraps   were a favorite dinner this week, and couldn't have been simpler to whip up! The return of summer also means the return of my children wanting to eat nonstop. I've been brainstorming lunch recipes that are easy to make and easy to enjoy. I shared a  lunch  recipe that Sammy helped me make. They were a hit! One last cheesy smile bef