Letting Go: What I learned at the fair

I am not the most spontaneous person. Nor am I very good at living life in a "fly by the seat of your pants" fashion.

I like things planned out.

I like to know what's on the calendar, when it will happen, and what it will look like.

I'm an organized person by nature, so having structure, routine, and plans make me feel secure and comfortable.

However, as I am quickly approaching my 40's, I'm learning that while all of these traits are valuable, it's just as important to learn to "let it go, and get a little crazy sometimes."

My husband is far better at being spontaneous than I am, and after 13 years of marriage he's starting to rub off on me.

This past weekend, we followed our usual Saturday routine:

1. Brian gets up with the kids and I sleep in
2. I get up around 8, enjoy some coffee and hang out
3. Everyone gets dressed
4. We head out to a local restaurant for breakfast
5. We run errands and then come home and go about our afternoon

We follow this pattern almost every Saturday, and I love it.

However, last weekend, on our way home from breakfast, Brian spotted a sign for a local community fair and immediately did a U-turn making his way to what I felt was a dirty, dangerous, not-on-the-calendar-today kind of event.

As we drove up, the boys spotted all of the carnival rides and immediately went crazy. They were sold before we even got out of the car.

I was not.

But Brian said, "Let's just go check it out and see what things cost."

Thirty minutes later, both boys had all-day, unlimited ride wrist bands on, and we were committed to a day at the fair.

It wasn't on my "To Do" list that day.

It certainly wasn't written on my calendar.

And it was very spontaneous.

But ya know what... we had an incredible time!

The boys rode all of the rides over and over and over again.

Brian and I just stood back and watched them with smiles so big our cheeks hurt.

It was pure fun for those kids, and something they will always remember. And I'm so thankful for a husband who pulls me out of my comfort zone and drags me encourages me to try new things.

It was a valuable lesson I learned that day; and I hope to embrace more impulsive, naturally fun, unplanned moments like that in life.

Here's a little recap in pictures...

Heckmans at the Fair from Stacy Heckman on Vimeo.

Recipe: Taco Soup

Today is one of those wall-to-wall days when the moment my feet hit the ground this morning, I knew there would be little slowing down.

On days like these, I always look for a recipe that can be assembled quickly, ahead of time, and that requires minimal clean up.

Enter...Taco Soup.

This recipe is so simple, it's not even really a recipe. But I thought I'd share it just in case you have a busy day lined up this week and still want to serve your family a hearty meal at the end of the day.

Taco Soup

Ingredients:

• 1 lb. ground beef or chicken
• 1 envelope of taco seasoning
• 1 can sweet corn, drained
• 1 can pinto beans, drained
• 1 can kidney beans, drained
• 1 can black beans (Do not drain)
• 1 can of petite diced tomatoes (Do not drain)
• Shredded cheese
• Fritos or Tortilla chips

*Optional ingredients: Sour cream, cilantro, green onion, jalapeno slices

Directions:

1. Brown your meat in a skillet (I like to use ground chicken for this recipe and I cook it in a non-stick skillet with a tablespoon or two of coconut oil... and no, it does not taste like coconuts, it's just a super healthy alternative to vegetable oil).

2. Spray your slow cooker with non-stick cooking spray and dump in all the canned ingredients plus the taco seasoning. Then add in the browned meat. Stir everything around until all the ingredients are swimming happily together in their slow cooker hot tub.

3. Cook on low for at least 3 hours, but up to 6 hours will make it even better.

I like to really pile on the toppings with this recipe. I add sour cream, diced green onions, shredded cheese, diced jalapenos, and even Fritos! If you don't have Fritos, tortilla chips make great "spoons" for dipping. 

Hope you enjoy this recipe on your next busy day. As for me, I'm off to help with math homework, finish the laundry, prep for our Cub Scouts meeting, and entertain two rambunctious sweet boys the rest of the afternoon. Is it 5 o'clock yet? Ha.. ha..ha.,.

St. Patty's Recipe: Super Easy Corned Beef

Popping in quickly today to share my favorite St. Patrick's Day recipe.

As you know, Corned Beef & Cabbage is the traditional Irish meal served for St. Patrick's Day. But roasting it can be tricky because you don't want it to be tough, but you definitely want to make sure it's cooked all the way through.

My solution to this, is using ye ol trusty Slow Cooker! (That sounded more Scottish than Irish, but stick with me).

Here's how you make perfectly cooked Corned Beef and all the sides that go along with it in a few easy steps:

1. Spray your slow cooker with a non-stick cooking spray.
2. Place the following items into the slow cooker:

• 1 small onion cut into bite-sized pieces
• 1 bag of baby carrots (or a bag of regular carrots cut into 2-inch pieces)
• 1/2 head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
• 7-10 small red potatoes, quartered

3. Pour 3 cups of water on top of the veggies and then (1) 6 oz beer (Guiness or Harp is always a fun choice for St. Patrick's Day).
4. Place the Corned Beef brisket on top, sprinkle it with the enclosed spice packet.
5. Set the Slow Cooker to high and cook ALL DAY (at least 8 hours). One hour before serving, stir ingredients and let cook for one more hour.

This should result in a deliciously tender corned beef with all the sides ready to be served right along with it. Pair it with a loaf of crusty bread and some rich Irish butter, and you've got yourself a super easy, and very traditional Irish meal.

Happy St. Patrick's Day everyone! Hope you don't get pinched. ;)

Bunny Bars: An Easter Treat

I almost feel guilty posting this recipe because if you make them... you will want to eat them all.

I first saw this recipe on Pinterest and thought, "Well those look amazing. But nothing I've made from Pinterest ever turns out the way it looks, so I doubt they're that good."

Then I saw a similar recipe on another blog and it looked just as good, so I thought, well, I'll do a "test batch" and see how they turn out. Oh man. They're so easy, and so good.

The ingredients are very basic, and you don't even need an electric mixer. Just make sure you completely soften your butter. Do not microwave it to soften it, you need to let it come to room temperature. This may require taking it out of the fridge in the morning if you're making them in the afternoon, or even the night before. Butter will not go bad sitting on your counter. Promise.

Okay, so here's the recipe...

Ingredients:

• 1 cup flour
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/2 tsp baking powder
• 1 cup sugar
• 1/2 cup (1 stick) SOFTENED butter
• 2 eggs, lightly beaten
• 1/2 tsp vanilla
• 1/2 cup chocolate chips
• 1 cup Cadbury mini eggs
• *Optional: 3/4 cup chopped walnuts

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 350 and grease a 9x9 baking dish.

2. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt and sugar.

3. In another bowl, lightly beat the eggs with a fork, and then add them to the dry ingredients.

4. Add the softened butter and vanilla to the dry ingredients and mix well with a spoon to combine.

5. Pour the batter into the baking dish and spread evenly.

6. Bake for 30-35 minutes.

They kind of taste like a cross between cake batter and cookie dough with giant pieces of chocolate hiding inside. Just a warning...they're addictive, so cut them into small pieces. ;)

St. Patty's Day {Crafts, Recipes, Decor & More!}

You didn't think I was going to let a holiday go by without celebrating it, did you?

Of course not!

But I also genuinely have a hereditary reason to celebrate St. Patrick's Day. Both sides of our family have Irish descendants. My mother's maiden name is "Healy" and Brian's mother's maiden name is "Likens" so we both claim our Irish heritage and are proud to celebrate this fun holiday.

Fortunately for you, I did all the leg work and found some of the cutest ideas floating around Pinterest and Blog-land and complied them all here.

So without further adieu, let's hop right in like a little leprechaun and get down to it!

Free Printables 

Y'all know I love a good free printable! I was a little surprised at the amount of very cute and creative things people have made. Here are a few of my favs:

This Irish prayer below can be downloaded from the talented blogger, Marie, at Blooming Homestead.

I currently have this beauty framed and displayed on my kitchen counter. I just love those gold polka dots!

If you are planning to host a St. Patty's party for your kiddos, this entire party pack can be downloaded for FREE from WeHeartParties. I adore this color palette. 

And if you don't want to waste all of your computer ink, you can download it and either email it or bring a jump drive to Staples and they will print it for you for a nominal fee.

I think these gold/green shamrocks with the black & white background are so beautiful. They remind me of Kate Spade. You can download them at Paisley Petal Events.

I love to include little notes in Payton's lunchbox. Sometimes they are handwritten words of encouragement and sometimes they are printed jokes or fun facts. These St. Patrick's Day jokes will definitely be sitting next to his turkey sandwich next week. You can download them at Capturing Joy.

And if your family is anything like mine, I think this sheet of "Fun Facts" would make interesting dinner table discussions. You can print them off here at Degree Search. (Sorry they are so hard to read here, it was either this size, or so enormous it went off the page).

Craft & Gift Ideas

None of us are just sitting around looking for ways to spend more money or exert more energy toward another project. So I've found a few super easy craft and gift ideas that take no more than a few minutes to put together, but sure would make someone's day!

This free printable can be downloaded here from Blue Skies Ahead. Simply attach it to a single-serve container of Lucky Charms and BAM - you're done!

Or if you have some extra glass jars laying around the house, it would be a fun project for the kids to separate out a bag of Skittles to make "Rainbows in a Jar."

If you're willing to get your kids' hands a little messy, these crafts look very easy, but produce some grandparent-gift-worthy results.

This would be easy enough to assemble, but could be costly unless you can get the streamers at the Dollar Store.

I know Parker would love to do this craft. It's as simple as cutting off the top of a green pepper!

Depending on how adventurous you are with messes, this is one that any kid would love to do! Check out how No Time For Flashcards creates a super fun sensory play craft that results in puffy paint shamrocks. 

P.S. I would put my kids in their underwear and have them do this in the bathtub! :)

Recipes

My mother always made corned beef for St. Patrick's Day. I have very fond memories of it, and I still make it every year as well. But if you're looking for some other fun food ideas for this festive holiday, here ya go...

Such an easy and fun dessert for a kids party!

Simply make lime jello in plastic cups, then right before serving, top it with whipped cream and Lucky Charms cereal.

Yet another Lucky Charms recipe... I know. But I love the idea of just swapping out a couple of ingredients from Rice Krispy Treats and coming up with a super easy St. Patrick's Day dessert. These would be cute boxed up and sent in as teacher gifts.

And if you're not a big fan of corned beef, this Crock Pot Guiness Irish Beef Stew looks pretty darn amazing! You can get the recipe here from Season with Spice.

Or who doesn't love a loaded potato skin? This Irish spin on the classic appetizer looks AH-mazing.

You can get the recipe for these Ruben Style Potato Skins here on Simple Comfort Food.

And I had to include this little gem for my hubby who occasionally likes a little Bailey's on the rocks. These look both decadent and delicious.

Get the recipe here from Gimme Some Oven.

Okay loves, that should give you more than enough inspiration for your St. Patrick's Day celebrations. May the luck of the Irish be with you all! ;)

Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Pork Roast

Hello everyone! I hope you had a fantastic weekend.

We spent most of ours bouncing around from one birthday party to the next. In total, we celebrated FIVE birthdays in one weekend. Phew! That's a lot of celebrating.

Today, I wanted to share a delicious recipe that I came across last week when trying to figure out what to do with the pork loin roast I had purchased because it was on sale.

I am pleased to report that my entire family loved this recipe and the leftovers were just as yummy. This would make a super easy weeknight meal, or could be dressed up with some fancy side dishes and made for company. Either way, I hope you'll give it a try next time pork loin is on sale at your grocery store.

Mouthwatering Slow Cooker Pork Loin

Ingredients:

As simple as this may seem, the only ingredients are:

• Approx. 2 lb. pork loin roast
• 3 tablespoons of soy sauce
• 1 packet of dry onion soup mix
• 3 tablespoons of minced garlic
• 3/4 cup dry red wine
• 1 cup water

Directions:

Just like the ingredients, the directions are super simple!

1. Pat your pork loin roast dry and place it inside a greased slow cooker.

2. In a bowl, combine soup mix, red wine, water and soy sauce. Mix to combine, then pour over the pork loin, turning to ensure the entire roast is coated with the liquid.

3. Spread minced garlic on the top of the pork.

4. Cover and let cook on low for 10 hours, or high for 6-8 hours depending on the weight of the pork.

5. Once it is fork tender, shred the meat and serve with the remaining sauce.

I served ours with a huge pan of roasted vegetables. It was the perfect compliment to the pork.

I hope you and your family enjoy this recipe as much as we did.

I'll be back later this week with some fun St. Patrick's Day ideas. Stay tuned!

Photo/Brain Dump...

Warning: Brain and Photo Dump Ahead!

I'm being forced by my dumb phone to seriously purge my photo stash, so I wanted to get some of my favs up on the blog for archive sake.

I touched on our Valentines weekend in my last post, but didn't share many pictures. As you know, I love holidays. I'm pretty sure when I get to heaven, every month will have a wonderful holiday to celebrate and I will have access to as many decorations, cookie cutters, house flags, decorative pillows, glitter, and scrapbook paper as my little heart desires.

In the meantime, I tend to go a little overboard with themes. So, the boys started off Friday morning (before school) with a full-fledged Valentine's celebration.

My mom always bought my brother and I the little Russel Stovers chocolates for Valentines, and I am happy to keep that tradition going with my kids. And yes... I let them eat a chocolate before breakfast. They were so happy!

Breakfast was of course in the shape of hearts (making heart-shaped eggs is a lot harder than I expected. May have to perfect that one during the year).

And lunch may or may not have involved some hearts as well. :)

Parker's school had a cute program that day called "Donuts with Dad." The fathers came to their class and received special hand-made gifts from the kids and they all had donuts together. Then they took the kids out to the playground and got all rowdy together (as Dad's do best).

They requested the kids and dads to wear their favorite sports team attire. Don't they look cute??

Parker is so happy in this picture. Brian is his hero.

After school, I met up with my in-laws and the took the kids for the rest of the weekend! They are Saints! (Thanks Mom & Dad - we are so appreciative!!)

The time alone with Brian was so great not only because we got to move at a much slower pace, have long, meaningful discussions, and SLEEP IN... but I think it's so important for couples to reconnect without the kids around every once in a while. It reminds you why you married your spouse in the first place. :)

Friday evening, Brian and I attended the Harry Connick, Jr. concert.

 It was AH-mazing. He is so talented and can jam on that piano like no one else I've ever seen.

Before the concert we went to one of my favorite restaurants called "Cafe Carmel" and ordered all sorts of fattening, delicious items like this 3-cheese baked macaroni and cheese. Mmmmm.... makes my mouth water just thinking about it!

It was such a special weekend. Even though we didn't go anywhere, and we didn't do much else besides the concert... recharging our batteries was just what we needed.

...........................................................................................

In other random thoughts...

I am so obsessed with Ed Sheeran's new album. Well, I guess it's not technically "new" but his latest album. The song "Thinking Out Loud" is on constant repeat on my itunes. Download it. You won't be sorry.

The boys love to wrestle with Brian in our bed at night. We've even had to have our bed frame replaced because they were so rough with their WWF impersonations!

But the other night, they just cuddled up together in our bed and stated, "We're not leaving! You have the most comfortable bed in the house!" Which is true... but hey, we're the adults.

 

When it comes to beds, I love all white bedding, lots and lots of pillows, and a crisp, clean duvet over a high-quality down comforter. Makes me want to just curl up in my bed right now.

We've been having the most gorgeous weather lately.

The french doors have been open almost every day.

I need to re-read this when it's the middle of August and we're dying of the sweltering heat.

So, judging from my blog stats, you guys like my recipe posts the best. They are always the ones that get the highest "views" and comments. So, if that's the case, I've got some more great meal ideas to share in the coming weeks.

Happy Friday everyone. Yay for the weekend!!!