For lunch I made some BBQ chicken and tried a new recipe for homemade BBQ Sauce. I already had everything in my pantry to whip it up so I just decided to go for it! It was super simple and I love that it has easy,simple ingredients that I more than likely always have on hand. No more running to the store to buy BBQ sauce whose number one ingredient is High Fructose Corn Syrup. When I make things at home, it always makes me question why store bought food has to have so many weird ingredients. Why does BBQ sauce need caramel color? My homemade sauce looks just fine being the color that it is, thank you very much! The homemade version isn't sugary sweet like some of the store bought ones can be, but it does have a nice hint of sweetness to it. I think the next time I make it I will either decrease the amount of cumin or leave it out all together. It was a little too cuminy(???) for my taste! Other than that, it was really yummy! Here's the recipe.
Clean Eating BBQ Sauce
(Makes approximately 10 servings)
Ingredients:
- 1 (15 ounce) can tomato sauce – no sugar added
- 1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste – no sugar added
- 1 teaspoon low sodium soy sauce
- 2 teaspoons cumin
- 1 teaspoon paprika
- 1 tablespoon garlic powder
- 1 tablespoon onion powder
- 4 tablespoons unsulfered molasses
- 3 tablespoons honey
- 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
Directions: Combine all ingredients together in a medium mixing bowl and mix well using a whisk. Use as you would any other bbq sauce!
The Dyas boys enjoying our picnic lunch.
Owen always does a great job clearing his plate! This boy loves to eat!
Bros and best buddies!
Owen having a blast swinging after lunch.
Gav attaching his pirate ship to daddy's pocket.
Gavin found a check in Rem's pocket and he was "reading" it and it said "Jesus loves you, Gavin Dyas."
One of Gav's favorite outdoor activities is riding his gator that Nana and Pop Pop got him for his second birthday.
Always finding treasure.
Owen is ready to go for a walk in the wagon!
The boys love their wagon. Also from Nana and Pop Pop, they hook us up! It was a very enjoyable Sunday afternoon.
On Monday, I did my usual grocery shopping trip and that evening we had our small group over. Our small group hasn't met for a few months and we decided it was time to get back to meeting again. We always begin with a pot luck meal and the kids play and the adults (attempt) to have a bible study. We have some really great friends in our group and most have kids around our boys age so it works out really well! Last night I made some stuffed pepper casserole for the pot luck, and it was super yummy. I used to go to all of the work of making individual stuffed peppers and one day I thought, "I could probably make this a whole lot easier on myself and just turn this into a casserole," so that's just what I did! If you are looking for an inexpensive, fast, healthy meal, this is it!
Stuffed Pepper Casserole
Ingredients:
1 bag mini sweet peppers, or 2 yellow,orange, or red peppers, chopped into bite size pieces
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 onion, chopped
1-2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup dry quinoa, rinsed
1/2 cup corn
1 cup chunky salsa (more or less, I don't usually measure)
monterey jack and cheddar cheese, grated
Directions:
Begin by cooking quinoa. Rinse 1/2 cup dry quinoa and add to saucepan with 1 cup water. Bring to boil and turn heat to low and simmer for 15 minutes. Fluff with fork.
While the quinoa is cooking: In a large skillet saute onion and peppers in olive oil until tender. Add garlic and cook 1-2 more minutes. Push this mixture to one side of the pan and add ground beef. Cook until ground beef is done. Add salsa, corn, and quinoa and stir all together. Pour mixture into 2 qt baking dish and top with cheese. Bake at 350 until cheese is melted.
I had to take a pre-cheese picture to show that this really is a healthy dish!
Always gotta have a healthy dose of cheese though. I would hate for it to be too healthy!
Totally random pictures of Rem giving Gavin a tattoo but I had to include them!
He was really proud of his tattoo! Last night in the shower he kept telling Rem to make sure he wasn't scrubbing so hard that it would wash away.
So now I'm finally caught up on our Sunday and Monday event updates so I can start with today! I knew when we woke up that we would be spending the morning outside. It was just way too beautiful to be playing inside. I texted a couple of my friends (who also are a part of our small group that met last night) to see if they wanted to go to the playground. My original plan was to go to the Free Methodist Church to play, but it is probably a mile walk, one way, from our house. My friend Kristin, who lives right across the highway from us, has three kids of her own so we weren't sure we could get five kids to cooperate for a two mile walk. She suggested that we go to the United Methodist Church, which is only two blocks away. I had no idea the the UM church had a play set so I was thrilled to learn that there is one only a few blocks away. How in the world did I miss this!? Our friend Bri also met us there with her two kids. Between the three of us, we have seven kiddos, so there is always lots of excitement when we get together. The kids are all so close in age that they always have so much fun playing together!
Rem has a track meet this afternoon in Greenville so the boys and I will just be hanging out at home for the remainder of the day. The swing set we ordered for the boys came in and we just need to go over to Walmart to pick it up so Rem can put it together. Hopefully by the end of the weekend we will have it all set up for them to play on!
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