Cowboy Meatloaf & Potato Casserole Or...

Or as I like to call it, heaven on a plate. So...this happened:

Now let me preface this with: I am NOT a casserole person. I don't know why. Maybe some childhood trauma or something. I just rarely make them. For some reason (cough, PMS, cough) the cheesy-potatoey-bacony goodness just spoke to me. Lets just say - there were no leftovers.  Amazing.... So I found this one on Pinterest. The original recipe on Simmerfor10.blogspot.com is no longer a good link; I found this recipe on Shades of Safhire. Like her, I'll show you what I did differently. 1 pckg of steam n' mash potatoes
1 lb ground beef
3/4 c onion, finely chopped
1/3 c Italian bread crumbs 
1/4 c Sweet Baby Rays original bbq sauce
1 egg lightly beaten
2 tsp chili powder
3/4 tsp salt
2/3 c evaporated milk
1 tbsp butter
1 c crumbled bacon (I used real bacon bits)
1/3 cup crispy fried onions, crumbled
2/3 c shredded Mexican blend cheese

Preheat the oven to 375°. Coat a 9x9 baking dish with nonstick spray.  In a bowl, combine the beef, onion, breadcrumbs, bbq sauce, egg, chili powder and salt until mixed well.  Press into the bottom of the baking dish.

Bake uncovered for 20-25 minutes, or until cooked through.  Pour off the excess fat.  Adjust the oven to broil and place oven rack 6-8" from heat source.

Meanwhile, microwave the potatoes according to package instructions. In a large bowl, mix together potatoes, butter and evaporated milk with a mixer until smooth.  Stir in bacon and fried onions.  Spread evenly on top of beef mixtures and sprinkle with cheese.

Broil for about 5 minutes until the cheese is lightly browned.

I didn't make a lot of changes...All I had was plain bread crumbs, it tasted fine. Instead of chili powder, I used a lipton onion soup mix (shhh, it's my secret meatloaf ingredient). I followed the recipe to a T. YUUUUUMMMMMMM.
I promise, your diet won't blame you when it hits your taste buds......

Product Love: Unreal Candy

As some of you know -  (HI MOM!) - we recently found out that my middle daughter is allergic to artificial dyes and preservatives. We went through months and months of different medications, allergy tests, and elimination diets. (Gluten free was hands-down the worst; I have a torrid love affair with bread....)
After much much trial and error, we figured out it was the artificial stuff. We quickly made some changes to our grocery list and some not-so-quick changes to our cooking routine! 
One of the hardest things for her is candy. I try not to allow a lot of things she can't have inside the house, meaning that the other kids don't get them either. I have to make a quick shout out to 100 days of real food. I would never have made it the first few weeks without her insight!! It is really a wonderful resource.  It was getting close to Easter when we figured it out. We researched all sorts of candy online (full of stuff she couldn't have) and even went to a high-end chocolatier to find something she/we could put in the baskets. Couldn't find a thing, much to our frustration. Imagine our delight when we came across Unreal Candy. We hightailed it to Target and picked a few different kinds out: Verdict?
 AWESOME!

They have 5 different kinds, with numbers.  #8 is like a Snickers #77, like Reese's Peanut Butter Cups #54, like M&Ms #41, like Peanut M&Ms #5, like Milky Way

Our first go round, we tried the regular m&ms, and the snickers. They are still colorful and appealing to kids. The funny thing is, we didn't need as much to get that satisfying "chocolate" buzz. I can eat a whole little bag of m&ms....I needed like 10 of these - that's it.  Unreal Candy has no artificial ingredients, no partially hydrogenated oils, no corn syrup, and no gmos.  My kids can now have candy just like their friends (in moderation of course!).
Have you ever tried Unreal Candy? What did you think? I'd love to hear your comments!
*disclaimer*: Unreal Candy did not pay me for this post. This is how I really feel!!

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Day 21: Share your favorite posts

I don't feel like I've been doing the blogging thing long enough to really have a "favorite" post of my own.  So I will share this AMAZING video I saw on upworthy today. I won't spoil it...but it really inspired me.  Between the OK tornado and this video I think I hugged my kids a little tighter today, and every so often the fighting makes me less crazy and feeling a lot more blessed to hear it. Love to you all.

photo credit: goodthingsarewildandfree.tumblr.com

Day 20: Share something you're struggling with

Day 20: GET REAL
Guilt.
Major guilt. 

When I can't get the house all picked up and it's midnight and I HAVE to go to bed...when I lose my patience with the kids and I can see it in their eyes that I've been too harsh...when I don't have dinner ready and its six o'clock and everyone's hungry...when my house doesn't look like Pinterest....that my baby (wah!) is almost six and I *still* haven't lost the baby weight...when I go to work (just part-time) and I want to be home with my kids...and then when I'm home and just want an hour alone.
I think these are things all moms struggle with. In my heart I'm a perfectionist, (in fact, I love a good list of to-dos.) but my reality is it just never all gets done. And then I feel guilty. 

I'm working on being a good-enough parent. My kids are happy, they are healthy and isn't that what matters in the end? When they start their own families I want them to remember the feelings of  love in the house...not that mom worried about the floors or the spills or the crayon on the wall. 
Let's cut ourselves some slack, mamas. Whaddya say?

Happiness is a.....

Lookie what I found....I was running across some of my favorite blogs today and found this challenge. While I know I'm jumping in right smack dab in the middle I thought I'd give it a shot -- after all this is one of my resolutions - to blog more. So without further ado..... 10 things that make me *really* happy: (in no particular order!)

1. Watching old movies with my honey
   
   
   
     love love love 
2. Cous-Cous salad from Whole Foods
   
   I could eat this every. single. day. Seriously. 
3. Fawlty Towers! 
   
   If you haven't seen this -- stop reading and go directly to Netflix. John Cleese made only 12 episodes and it is the best thing ever. You can't be in a bad mood after watching one. It's impossible....
4. homemade whipped cream  - my most recent perk of being married to a man who is a kitchen whiz. For mother's day: french toast with challah, strawberries and homemade whip cream. ah-may-zing.
5. these crazy kids.... 
   
   the reason I get up in the morning...
6. laughing so hard my ribs hurt
7. my lovely lovely friends 
8. driving and singing with the sunroof open
9. Hawaii Five-0 The old one, yes, with Jack Lord and his hair... I've been working my way through all of the episodes on Netflix. I got started one day and can't stop....
10. When my Meemaw says "chicken filly" for ChickFilA..

I absolutely adore this lady (that's my mom in the middle.). We have always been super close and at 91 she is still sassy and going strong. I can only hope to be half the amazing woman that she is.

 (And a shout-out to my mom - you aren't a slacker either! Love ya!)

Exciting Times Ahead...

Well, I have some big news. I have decided to make my sewing the focus of my goodgolliemissmollie business. When I did our local Cooper-Young Festival, I brought my handstamped jewelry, and brought a bunch of purses/sewn accessories I had made to see if they would sell. Much to my surprise, I nearly sold out of my sewn stuff. I was flabbergasted. 
I am so looking forward to this new chapter. Sewing is where my heart is and I can't wait to get started on a line of them for Spring/Summer. I saw some super awesome fabric at Hobby Lobby today.....just waiting for it to go on sale!
Below are some pictures I have taken of a few of my bags/sewn stuff. I am afraid I have lost most of my pictures with the bags from the festival...I recently switched from an iPhone to an android phone and I neglected to save my pictures first. (ARGH!!)