Homemade Freezer Breakfast Burritos

Since I’ve been working toward a healthy lifestyle, I’ve been eating a lot of frozen breakfast sandwiches or wraps for breakfast (although I’m not doing Weight Watchers, I really like their Smart Ones frozen breakfast options). However, those meals aren’t the cheapest breakfast option, and the variety of the sandwiches or wraps are limited. I had seen several recipes (methods) for making homemade freezer breakfast burritos on Pinterest, so I decided to give it a whirl. I used this method as a starting point, but made it my own. My goal was to make these breakfast burritos low calorie – mine ended up being about 190 calories per burrito.  Calories will vary based on filling choices as well as the tortillas used. Oh, and these burritos cost about $0.44 per burrito, not bad!

Ingredients (will vary based on desired fillings):

12 large eggs

20 tortillas (depending on tortilla size you may need more or less)

20 tablespoons of shredded cheese (I used mozzarella). Note – the burritos I made are not very cheesy. I’m not that big on cheese, plus I was trying to keep the calories down.

1 package turkey sausage (or other breakfast meat)

1 bell pepper

1 onion

Start by chopping the onion and bell pepper. Cook the sausage, onion and bell pepper (I cooked this in the pan after removing the sausage), and scramble the eggs. The onion and bell pepper add a nice bit of freshness to the burritos. I think next time I might add some jalapeño for a little extra kick.

Once everything is cooked, it is time to assemble the burritos. I started by adding the cheese, then adding the onion and bell pepper, sausage, and finally eggs. I would then do a slight “mix” of the fillings before wrapping the burritos up (I didn’t do this, and I wish I had).

Fold the burritos up and place seam side down in a dish that you can transfer to the freezer. Place the pan(s) of burritos in the freezer for one hour. After one hour, remove, and individually wrap each burrito in plastic wrap or press n’ seal wrap. Store the burritos in a freezer bag or container.

Although heating times will vary, I reheat my burritos by unwrapping from the plastic wrap, wrapping in a paper towel, and heating for approximately 2 1/2 minutes at 50% power in the microwave.

Happy 16 Months Troy!

Happy 16 Months Troy!

Ah, every month bring lots of changes, but this month you seem so much more grown-up! You are finally walking! You started taking steps early on in the month, but didn’t really take many steps in a row until about halfway through the month. You got fairly sick in the middle of the month, and after being sick didn’t seem interested in walking again for a little while, but once you were feeling better started taking steps again.

You love playing with Ella, and y’all generally do enjoy each others’ company. I love listening to you playing and laughing at each other!

You are stubborn. Really stubborn. You consistently get into things you know you aren’t supposed to get into (like the dogs’ water bowl or their food dishes). You demonstrate that you know you aren’t supposed to do things because oftentimes when I see you getting in the dogs’ water, for example, you’ll start crawling away really fast! You also keep on doing whatever it is you are doing after we tell you no (several times) like throw your food or touch my computer. This is new territory for us . . . when Ella was your age we usually only had to tell her a few times not to do something and she steered clear of the activity.

You also finally quit taking a bottle this month! We had intended on weaning you earlier on, but after a couple of bouts of sickness and travel, the timing just never worked out. We (along with our wallet) are glad that you are finally weaned! You have also been eating a ton lately, I feel like I can’t feed you enough! There have been days in the past couple of weeks where pretty much anytime you are awake you are crawling/walking around saying “bite! bite! bite!” (in a Chinese accent no less).

 

You continue to love being the center of attention. You’ve started clapping at yourself if we tell you that you’ve done a good job. You are such a cheese ball! You are also a huge chatterbox. You constantly talk even though we don’t know what you are always saying (most of the time we don’t know, ha!). The pediatrician kept commenting on how much you were talking when we were at your 15 month well check.

You love, love, love throwing balls. You are really good (especially considering your age) at throwing a football (or other things). You can get good distance and are pretty accurate too. You got a basketball goal for Christmas, and you’ve been having a lot of fun playing with it, and shooting baskets. Just recently you have been able to pick up the basketball, walk to the goal, shoot, and (sometimes) make a basket.

Signs you do: more, finished, milk, hungry, thank you, please (although only once, maybe twice), thirsty, sleepy (although thirsty, sleepy, and please all look a lot alike when you do them . . .)

Words you say: bye, ball, Bible, bottle, bite, book, blue, mama, dada, Ella, “eeses” (Reeses, our dog), “ah-ee” (Ali, our other dog), Lucy (grandparent’s dog),  “anks” (thanks), “ank oo” (thank you), “ish” (fish), “inished” (finished), duck, “ootball” (football), RhuRhu (grandma), Gigi (grandma), hey, hi, down, up, uh-uh, “eese” (please"), play. I also think you say something that sounds like “what’s that?”

Animal noises you make: chicken

Favorite foods: banana, and then I don’t know what else. You eat a ton of different stuff, but half the time something you gobbled up the day before, you won’t touch the next day. It can make it very tough figuring out what to feed you!

Favorite activities: crawling/walking and exploring everything, especially following Ella or chasing a dog; dancing (you love to turn on the music that plays on toys and dance to it); reading books; watching Blue’s Clues; taking baths; playing with balls (you love to throw any kind of ball); trying get any electronics or drinks you can spot.

Troy at 15 months

I Heart Faces: Oh So Silly!

I told Ella to hug Troy. This is what I ended up with, ha!

2012 Project 366: Week 4

 

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

I Heart Faces: By the Book

Ella has been so precious and funny lately when she reads books by herself. Sometimes the stories have something to do with the pictures on the pages, and sometimes not. When she was reading the book in the photo, almost every page began with her reading something to the effect of “When I was a baby . . .” followed by a bunch of made up words.

 

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

This week is going to be a week of leftovers with a few new items thrown in.

• Chicken spaghetti
• Chicken enchilada casserole (using leftover chicken from my slow cooker salsa chicken). I’m also going to attempt to freeze one of these casseroles (I had enough chicken left over for two casseroles).
• Pasta with meat sauce (I had a lot of meat left over after making these petite lasagnas last week. I didn’t follow the recipe exactly for the lasagnas, but we were not impressed – we will not be making them again. The wonton wrappers were dry/overcooked on the top, and undercooked on the bottom).
• Steak with grilled veggies
• Baked crusted chicken (not sure what I’ll coat it in yet) maybe with sautéed green beans

Speaking of new recipes I tried out last week, my husband loved the jalapeño coleslaw.  I didn’t dress it nearly as heavily as the original recipe called, but I think he preferred it that way. My husband said it was the best coleslaw he’d ever had in his life! It turned out to be too spicy for my taste, but I think I might have liked it on something like a sandwich (which is what it was used for in the original recipe anyway).

Encouraging Independence

For a while now Ella has been wanting to do everything by herself. This transition is kind of a strange for me – going from having to do everything for my tiny baby to allowing my toddler to do things by herself. Sometimes these changes are liberating to me as a mother: it is helpful at times that Ella can put her shoes on by herself or that she can pick up her toys or that she can buckle one of the buckles on her car seat. Sometimes, however, I struggle with allowing her to do these things herself. If we are in a hurry or running late (which seems to happen all too often), it usually is much faster for me to do those things for her, which is only discouraging to her. At times she can get quite upset when I “take over” her responsibilities. And, really, I do understand her desire to want to do these things by herself.

Sure, there are going to be times that I need to do these tasks for her for whatever reason. And she needs to understand that’s not a reason to throw a fit. BUT, I need to understand that I need to encourage her and help her to learn to do all these different things. I need to exhibit patience with her because she is only 2 (well, almost 3), and she doesn’t know how to do a lot of these things. Part of my role as her mama is to teach her these things, and to NOT get frustrated when she doesn’t do it right the first time or takes a long time to complete a task. When I let my impatience rule I’m only exhibiting a selfish attitude; very far from the attitude I ought to be exhibiting.

I’m amazed at the patience my husband displays with Ella (that I know I don’t always have!). He’s so good about letting her help him with special tasks – often things that he could get done more quickly by himself. Her eyes light up when he asks her to go help him get the trash together before the trash pickup comes or when he asks her to help him crush the cans for recycling (she picks up the ones he crushes and puts them away). I’ve also been trying to embrace giving Ella tasks such as putting clothes in the washing machine or taking the clean laundry to the appropriate bedroom. Yes, when Ella helps me out, these tasks take longer. BUT I need to train her to learn to do these things and much more, and I must have patience in the process!

I really do love watching her learn new things (I’m really amazed at what she picks up on!), and I don’t ever want to discourage her from learning. I need to encourage her independence without allowing my impatience to rule those situations.  I love Ella so much: watching her grow and learn new things are great blessings in my life!

2012 Project 366: Week 3

I admit that a couple of these photos were taken on the same day – which means I missed a day. But I’m ok with it. I’m taking lots of photos, and that’s a great thing!

 

Week 1

Week 2

Thankful Thursday: Days Like Yesterday

Some days aren’t like yesterday around the house. Some days feel like every little task I need to complete is really a huge mountain that I have to climb. That wasn’t yesterday. Yesterday ran smoothly. Yesterday went kind of like I imagined most days would go as a stay at home mom (which I’m still figuring out, by the way). The kids ate well, without extra reminders to Ella to take more bites or to Troy to not throw his food. They played well together without injuries and without really any fussing. They took an uneventful bath together (so much so that I was able to clean the bathroom while they were taking a bath). I was able to get lots of little odds and ends done around the house, and even had time to sit down and starting reading my new book on my Nook.

Sure, yesterday had its challenges – it isn’t likely that I’ll have a day without challenges when I have two little ones (or even when they aren’t so little) in the house. Ella did everything she could  think of to not take a nap (and I’m thinking in my mind, “Oh, what I would give for a nap!”), but she did eventually take a nap.

I’m thankful for days like yesterday, but also for days that don’t always run as “smoothly” as yesterday did. I’m thankful that I’m even able to have days like yesterday – I’m thankful that I’m able to stay at home with them. I’m thankful that I’m the one who is there to feed them their meals, to watch them  play, and to give them their baths. I’m thankful that I get to direct and watch them as they are growing up.

Promises in the Book of Genesis (Chapters 16-20)

It has been several months since I initially started this series, but it is time to finish it now!

 

Genesis 16

The promise that God would multiply Hagar’s descendants, and the promises of Ishmael’s future:

16:9-12: “9 The Angel of the LORD said to her, “Return to your mistress, and submit yourself under her hand.” ¹⁰Then the Angel of the LORD said to her, “I will multiply your descendants exceedingly, so that they shall not be counted for multitude.” ¹¹ And the Angel of the LORD said to her: “ Behold, you are with child, And you shall bear a son. You shall call his name Ishmael, Because the LORD has heard your affliction. ¹² He shall be a wild man; His hand shall be against every man, And every man’s hand against him. And he shall dwell in the presence of all his brethren.””

Genesis 17

The promises that God would multiply Abram (Abraham) exceedingly, make him a father of many nations, make him exceedingly fruitful, make nations of him, and that kings would come from him. Also, that God would give Abraham and his descendants the land of Canaan:

17:1-8: “¹ When Abram was ninety-nine years old, the LORD appeared to Abram and said to him, “I am Almighty God; walk before Me and be blameless. ² And I will make My covenant between Me and you, and will multiply you exceedingly.” ³ Then Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him, saying: ⁴“As for Me, behold, My covenant is with you, and you shall be a father of many nations. ⁵ No longer shall your name be called Abram, but your name shall be Abraham; for I have made you a father of many nations. ⁶ I will make you exceedingly fruitful; and I will make nations of you, and kings shall come from you. ⁷ And I will establish My covenant between Me and you and your descendants after you in their generations, for an everlasting covenant, to be God to you and your descendants after you. ⁸ Also I give to you and your descendants after you the land in which you are a stranger, all the land of Canaan, as an everlasting possession; and I will be their God.””

The promises that God would Sarai (Sarah) a son through Abraham, that she would be a mother of nations, and that kings would come from her. Also, that God would establish an everlasting covenant with Abraham and Sarah’s son, Isaac. Also, that God would bless Ishmael and make him fruitful, multiply him exceedingly, and that he will have twelve princes and make him a great nation.

17:16-22: “¹⁶ And I will bless her and also give you a son by her; then I will bless her, and she shall be a mother of nations; kings of peoples shall be from her.”
¹⁷ Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, “Shall a child be born to a man who is one hundred years old? And shall Sarah, who is ninety years old, bear a child?” ¹⁸ And Abraham said to God, “Oh, that Ishmael might live before You!” ¹⁹ Then God said: “No, Sarah your wife shall bear you a son, and you shall call his name Isaac; I will establish My covenant with him for an everlasting covenant, and with his descendants after him. ²⁰And as for Ishmael, I have heard you. Behold, I have blessed him, and will make him fruitful, and will multiply him exceedingly. He shall beget twelve princes, and I will make him a great nation. ²¹ But My covenant I will establish with Isaac, whom Sarah shall bear to you at this set time next year.” ²² Then He finished talking with him, and God went up from Abraham.”

Genesis 18

The promise that Sarah will have a son:

18:10: “10 And He said, “I will certainly return to you according to the time of life, and behold, Sarah your wife shall have a son.”

The promises that God would not destroy Sodom if there were 50, 45, 40, 30, 20, or 10 righteous souls found there:

18:26-32: “²⁶ So the LORD said, “If I find in Sodom fifty righteous within the city, then I will spare all the place for their sakes.” ²⁷ Then Abraham answered and said, “Indeed now, I who am but dust and ashes have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: ²⁸ Suppose there were five less than the fifty righteous; would You destroy all of the city for lack of five?” So He said, “If I find there forty-five, I will not destroy it.” ²⁹ And he spoke to Him yet again and said, “Suppose there should be forty found there?” So He said, “I will not do it for the sake of forty.” ³⁰ Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak: Suppose thirty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not do it if I find thirty there.” ³¹ And he said, “Indeed now, I have taken it upon myself to speak to the Lord: Suppose twenty should be found there?” So He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of twenty.” ³² Then he said, “Let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak but once more: Suppose ten should be found there?” And He said, “I will not destroy it for the sake of ten.””

Genesis 19

The promise that Sodom would be destroyed:

19:12-13: “ 12 Then the men said to Lot, “Have you anyone else here? Son-in-law, your sons, your daughters, and whomever you have in the city—take them out of this place! ¹³ For we will destroy this place, because the outcry against them has grown great before the face of the LORD, and the LORD has sent us to destroy it.””

The promise that Lot and his family would be destroyed if they did not leave or if they looked back or if they stayed anywhere in the plain:

19: 15-17: “15 When the morning dawned, the angels urged Lot to hurry, saying, “Arise, take your wife and your two daughters who are here, lest you be consumed in the punishment of the city.” ¹⁶ And while he lingered, the men took hold of his hand, his wife’s hand, and the hands of his two daughters, the LORD being merciful to him, and they brought him out and set him outside the city. ¹⁷ So it came to pass, when they had brought them outside, that he^[a] said, “Escape for your life! Do not look behind you nor stay anywhere in the plain. Escape to the mountains, lest you be destroyed.””

Genesis 20

The promise that God would punish Abimelech if he did not restore Sarah to Abraham:

20:6-7: “⁶ And God said to him in a dream, “Yes, I know that you did this in the integrity of your heart. For I also withheld you from sinning against Me; therefore I did not let you touch her. ⁷ Now therefore, restore the man’s wife; for he is a prophet, and he will pray for you and you shall live. But if you do not restore her, know that you shall surely die, you and all who are yours.””

Chapters 1-5

Chapters 6-10

Genesis 11-15

*All Scripture references are taken from the NKJV unless otherwise noted.

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Warm, toasted roast beef sandwiches with peppers and onions served with au gratin potatoes
• Chicken and dumplings (I’ve actually never made chicken and dumplings, so I’ve got some recipe hunting to do!)
• Breakfast for dinner
• Chicken spaghetti
• Slow cooker cilantro lime chicken (new recipe for me!) with cilantro jalapeño coleslaw (also a new recipe for me) and rice
• Some sort of pasta dish with ground beef, ha. I was thinking about trying these petite lasagnas that use wonton wrappers.

I Heart Faces: Family Fun

2012 Project 366: Week 2

Week 1

 

 

Ella’s House

One of Ella’s Christmas presents this year was a large cardboard playhouse that you can decorate and color yourself. I wasn’t sure how she’d do with such free reign of markers (not to mention the whole idea that she is coloring on walls of a house), but she did great! She has been responsible with the markers, and only ended up with a bit of marker on her, and none on the floor (or my walls) (at least not that I’ve found!). She’s even been a great sport about not having the markers out when Troy is playing in the room with her.

 

 

 

 

 

Thankful Thursday

I’m thankful for cold fronts. Yes, I like the cold. But then again, I really don’t think I know what “cold” is considering that I live in Texas. So maybe I should be thankful for cold fronts in Texas.

 

And, while I’m thinking about it, I’m thankful that I live in Texas.

 

I’m thankful for silly little girls.

 

I’m thankful for batteries for the ball popper. I think I am anyways, ha. The kids love that thing, but it is noisy!

2012 Goals

Rather than making resolutions, I’m setting goals for myself in 2012. I guess it might just be a different way of saying “resolutions” but, to me, goals are generally more tangible than any resolutions I’ve ever made, and I hope to be able to check them off the list sometime during the year (or at the end of the year). I realize this list is probably very boring to you, but I wanted to have a place to make myself accountable.

Spiritual Goals:

• Daily Bible Reading
• Focused/Planned Bible Study
• Write Bible study lessons (and execute them) for the kids.
• Develop a deeper prayer life.

House Goals:

• Get the house organized, and purged of excess junk at the beginning of the year.
• Have a garage sale (sooner rather than later).
• Keep up with Flylady’s daily assignments to help keep the house in a manageable state.
• Handle papers (mail, or otherwise) when they come into the home, rather than just piling them up to handle later.
• Get one “house” project done each month (paint the front door, repair the floor, etc.)

Health Goals:

• Complete Couch to 5K (I’m currently in week 4).
• Lose weight. (I’m currently down about 8 lbs from November)
• Gain strength and endurance.

Family goals:

• Eat at home more often.
• Stick to our budget, and look for ways to save more (including getting back on track with coupons – it is always hard for me to keep up with those over the holidays).

Photography:

• Complete Project 366.
• Learn more about off-camera flash.
• Learn more about Adobe Photoshop (I’ve only recently purchased Photoshop).
• Work on posing.

Other:

• Exhibit more patience towards everyone, but especially my husband and children.
• Work on time management, including getting up at a more consistent time in the morning, and going to bed earlier in the evening.
• Spend less time on the computer.
• Get outside more (especially with the kids).

Journeying to a Healthy Life: 2 Month Report

Two months ago I wrote about starting a new diet, well, actually about starting a new lifestyle in regards to forming healthy eating and exercising habits. I’m removing the word “diet” from my new venture because to me there is something that isn’t permanent about a diet – it is just an activity you do for a little while to produce desired effects. I don’t want to only do something for a little while. I want to make a serious lifestyle change that results in a lasting healthy lifestyle.

So, how have I done these past two months? Have I made any progress in the right direction? Overall, I definitely think I am moving in the right direction, but I’m not where I want to be yet.

I’ve lost about 8 lbs, which isn’t a lot, but it is something, especially for me. Most of the times I have tried to lose weight in the past, I’ve never even made it to 8 lbs before reverting back to the old bad habits. Combined with the fact that we’ve had Thanksgiving, Christmas, and New Year’s in the time I’ve been working on this new way of life, I’m certainly pleased with an 8 lb weight loss.

I’ve completed 4 weeks of the Couch to 5K program. Although I technically should have completed 7 or 8 weeks at this point (not really wanting to count it up right now), I’m excited that I’ve made it this far. I had a wicked cold/cough during December that prevented me from running (I have terrible asthmatic cough problems at times), but I’m back on track now that I’ve gotten past the cold. On top of completing those workouts, I can actually notice a difference in what I’m physically capable of completing. During the first week, I felt like I was going to die (well, almost) when I had to run for a minute and half. Yesterday, I was able to run for a total of 16 minutes – 2 3-segments, and 2 5-minute segments, which is good progress!

Finally, I feel like I’m slowly developing a better relationship with food. Two months ago, I was at a point where food controlled me. And, although I’m not 100% in control of the food in my life, I’m at a MUCH better place than I was two months ago. I’ve thoroughly enjoyed using the My Fitness Pal app, and I highly recommend it! The Couch to 5K app is also great.

No official after picture yet, but hopefully it’ll be coming in the next few months as I continue on my journey.

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

• Chicken and sausage jambalaya (postponed from last week)
• Pot stickers with Asian slaw (if I can find wonton wrappers!)
• Taco salad
• Stuffed chicken or pork  with couscous and a green veggie
• Slow cooker whole chicken (I’m excited to try this for the first time, plus I’ll be able to make some chicken stock!)
• Chicken enchilada casserole (made with extra chicken from the slow cooker chicken)

I Heart Faces: Best Face Photo from 2011

As always for me when choosing a favorite, or even a few favorites, from the past year, I have a very difficult time. However, when it came down to it, I found myself especially gravitating towards a couple of photos I took in December. I ended up choosing the photo of Ella below, but I almost chose the photo of Troy with the bokeh Christmas lights – he was such a poser in that photo!

Oh, and if you are curious, check out the photos I entered from 2010 and 2009.

 

2012 Project 366: Week 1

This is the third year that I’m attempting to complete project 365 (well, project 366 this year!), which is a photo a day, every day of an entire year. Although I didn’t officially complete it last year, I certainly appreciate the photos that I was able to take in order to document our lives, as well as to continue to improve my photography skills.

You can check out my 2010 project 365 here (I was very close to completing 2010, but I failed at documenting it along the way).

Thankful Thursday

I had forgotten that today was Thursday (I lose track of time after the holidays), and was reminded when I was reading today’s Thankful Thursday post by my friend (who inspired me to write these posts in the first place). She also inspired/reminded me that now is a great time to reflect on at least a few of the ways I’m thankful for my husband considering that we just celebrated our 8th wedding anniversary on Tuesday.

• I’m thankful that my husband always seems to remember to consider me first (even though I often get wrapped up in things, and don’t consider him first as often as I should).
• I’m thankful that my husband knows how to make me smile and make me laugh, even when I’m down.
• I’m thankful that my husband makes me smile and laugh everyday.
• I’m thankful that my husband is a dedicated Christian man, who puts God first in his life, and that he is the spiritual leader in our family.
• I’m thankful that my husband is extremely cute. : )
• I’m thankful that my husband thinks about our future together, when I tend to get caught up in the here and now.
• I’m thankful that my husband is patient with me, especially when I get crazy stressed out for no good reason.
• I’m thankful that my husband is always there for me.

Excuse the poor quality photo (a scanned photo from Facebook). We have been married longer than Facebook has been around, ha!

Drafting Dinner: Weekly Menu Planning

I thoroughly enjoyed the holidays, but I am very thankful to be home, and to get back into a regular routine. On a side note, do you call dinner, “dinner” or “supper”? I’ve always grown up calling it “dinner,” but I know a lot of folks (even who grew up in the same area as me) call it supper. I’m a dork, by the way, when it comes to words. I’ve decided to move away from calling my menu plan posts “Menu Planning Monday” simply for the fact that it always bugs me when I’m a day (or more) late posting the weekly menu.

• Beef fajitas
• Pasta in a light cream sauce with chicken and broccoli
• Chicken (or maybe beef) noodle stir fry
• Ground beef and rice casserole
• Chicken and sausage jambalaya

2011 in Photos

2010 in Photos

2009 in Photos

January:

 

 

 

 

 

February:

 

 

 

 

March:

 

 

 

 

 

 

April:

 

 

 

 

 

May:

 

 

 

 

June:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

July:

 

 

 

 

 

 

August:

 

 

 

 

 

September:

 

 

 

 

 

 

October:

 

 

 

 

November:

 

 

 

 

December: