A REALLY Long Post!

The weather is FINALLY deciding to cooperate and we have been getting some beautiful days lately. Rem came home from teaching his Sunday morning class and decided that it was just too pretty out and we couldn't possibly eat our lunch inside. So outside we went! It was fun for the boys to have a picnic in the front yard, since they don't normally get to eat their lunch outside. I'm sure since the weather is getting nicer, we will be doing this much more often!

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!

St. Louis Zoo Trip

Today was an absolutely PERFECT day to go to the zoo. The weather could not have been any more beautiful! If we wait until later in the summer to go to the zoo, the heat is almost unbearable so we usually like to go once in the spring and once in the fall when the weather is cooler. We decided to leave pretty early and get to the zoo within the first hour that it is open to hopefully avoid the crowds. Boy, was this ever a good idea! We got there close to ten and were able to see many exhibits without too much trouble due to crowds. We left around one thirty, and we could tell about the last forty-five minutes that we were there that the zoo was getting PACKED! I'm so glad we didn't have to fight the crowds the entire time we were there and the boys got to actually see the animals. Gavin absolutely loved the zoo! I would say that this is probably the first time that we have taken him that he is overly excited to be there. Before, he enjoyed it, but today we could tell he was really into it! It seems like the older he gets, the more fun he has. The zoo is one place that we can go without having too much of a meltdown with him. He is a very high energy little boy and likes to be RUNNING everywhere. We have tried taking him to the movies and the circus and neither one worked out so well. He just does not like to sit still long enough! The zoo is Gav's zone! He gets to be active and the scenery is ever changing so it keeps his attention. Owen is pretty happy to just sit in the stroller and get out every now and then to look at the animals. The zoo also works out well when it comes to nap schedules. Owen can just lay back in his stroller and take a nap when he needs to. The zoo suits the needs of the whole family! We had such a fun day and are all worn out this evening. We are so fortunate to have such an awesome FREE zoo within an hour of our home. I don't always love living so far away from home (Kansas), but we do have a lot of awesome opportunities here that we wouldn't have as easy access to if we lived in Leoti. Gotta look at the positives I guess! Here are some pictures of our family enjoying our day at the zoo.

 Gavin really enjoyed all the animals today.

 Going up the steps to the slide at the Children's Zoo. Inside the zoo, they have a smaller section that they call the "children's zoo" that has lots of fun activities for little ones. There are farm animals like goats, chickens, rabbits, pigs, etc., and also a play area. The cost is usually $4 a person but it's free for the first hour the zoo is open. We made it today with about five minutes to spare! It's pretty fun but I don't know that I would pay $12 (Owen is still free) to get in. We enjoy it when we make it there in time to get in free!

 He's as tall as a River Otter.

 Owie checking out the birds with daddy.

 Daddy showing Gav Reid how to brush the goat.

 Owen wasn't so sure about the goats. He preferred to keep his distance!

 Daddy giving Gav a lift to get a better view of the animals.

 Gav got to choose a treat after lunch. He picked a popsicle!

 Owie chowin down on his cheerios.

 Waiting for the sea lion to come his way.

 He thought these were pretty neat.

 Daddy telling Gav all about the prairie dogs (and how Pop Pop shoots them).

 My hubby's rocking photography skills at work!

 Checking out some big cats.

 More big cat lookin.

 Little man taking a snooze in his stroller.

 He really got into looking at the animals!

 Had to take a quick nose picking break! 

 Hey zebras!

 Daddy enjoying the zoo.

 Gav LOVED the lemurs.

 He thought they were soooooo silly!

 Owen's back! All rested up!

 Checking the monkeys out.

 He really liked the rattlesnake.

 Come look dad!

 Telling daddy all about the rattle snake.

 Owie had to get in on the snake action too!

He was one tired little boy!

What a fun day! Gav was already talking about going back on our way home. If we lived in St. Louis, he would probably want to go on a weekly basis! 

Homemade Granola Bars

I'm not usually the biggest fan of granola bars. You know the ones, they come prepackaged in a cardboard box with a picture of a white haired man on the front. Claiming that they "Don't contain any high fructose corn syrup," but the label on the back clearly says "corn syrup" and "corn syrup solids," but thank the Lord it's not HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP! Gotta love food marketing! You can even get them in fun flavors like S'mores and Chocolate Dipped! I've never really understood how and why these are marketed as "breakfast" items. I think anything that is chocolate dipped is CLEARLY a dessert! I guess since they contain oats, the people who make them believe that qualifies them as breakfast. To each his own I guess! Anyway, we are heading to the St. Louis Zoo tomorrow and I will be packing a lunch and some snacks to take with us. The zoo doesn't charge admission and there is free parking all around Forrest Park, and so if I choose to pack a lunch instead of buying food at the zoo, this makes for an EXTREMELY cheap (not to mention fun!) family outing. Who doesn't love cheap fun! Yes, it's probably easier to just grab something to eat from a stand at the zoo but #1. I'm not a huge fan of spending half of our monthly eating out budget on one day of food at the zoo, which gives us the choice of corn dogs, pizza, cheeseburgers, fries, you know, typical zoo food. Now, I'm not saying that I don't like those kinds of food but if I'm going to be indulging on pizza, I don't want to be paying $7 a slice (that my kids will take two bites of and the rest will go in the trash) and #2. The lines for food are LONG during lunch hour on a Saturday. If I pack us a lunch, it costs a fraction of what lunch at the zoo would cost, my kids will actually (hopefully) eat it, and we can sit down and eat it wherever we are! No walking around looking for restaurants/stands that have what we want to eat. I usually just pack a cooler that will fit beneath our stroller for our cold food and put anything that doesn't have to be kept cold in the diaper bag. Tomorrow's lunch includes chicken salad (that uses leftover chicken from tonights supper, always a plus to use up leftovers), carrots and hummus (our fave!), watermelon, homemade "Jello" jigglers (just 100% juice and unflavored gelatin), and homemade granola bars. Finally, back to the granola bars! I made some homemade granola the other day to go with yogurt for breakfast and snacks and it got me thinking that I should make some granola bars to bring with us to the zoo. Now, I've already said that granola bars aren't my favorite snack. What I really should have said is that granola bars in a box from the store aren't my favorite snack. HOMEMADE granola bars, on the other hand are another story. These babies are delicious, not to mention easy! I made a pan yesterday, that was meant to go to the zoo with us, but we already ate them.....ALL. Yeah, they are good! So today, I had to make another pan. Yesterday, I made a chocolate chip version (definitely more of a dessert version) and today, I made an almond, raisin/craisin version. Both are equally yummy! The base is the same and you can just change up the flavor by adding pretty much anything you like. Peanut/almond butter, coconut, any nut/seed, dried fruit, or chocolate are good add ins. If you are buying granola bars from the store, do me a favor and try making these at home. They will save you tons of money and they taste SO. MUCH. BETTER (almost like a no bake oatmeal cookie!). Not to mention, they are probably better for you since they don't have all the artificial junk and preservatives that the store bought ones do. They take about ten minutes to whip up from start to finish so they really can't be beat! Try out this recipe and see what your family thinks! We are huge fans!

Homemade Granola Bars:
Base:
2 cups old fashioned oats
1 cup puffed rice cereal
1/4 cup butter (I used real butter so I can't say if they will turn out with margarine)
1/4 cup honey (mine is cinnamon flavored, and adds a nice little taste to the bars)
1/3 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
Once you get the base made, you can add any mix ins that you prefer! These are also great if you have to have a gluten free diet. Just be sure to get certified GF oats!

For the base you mix the oats and rice cereal in a large bowl (if you have add ins like nuts, coconut, dried fruit, also add these to this mixture. Do not add chocolate chips, they will just melt). Place a medium sauce pan on the stove and add the butter, honey, and brown sugar. Cook until it boils and continue to cook for 2 minutes after it begins to bubble, stirring so it doesn't boil over. Remove from heat and add vanilla (if you are using peanut/almond butter, add now). Pour the hot mixture over the oats/cereal mixture and stir to coat. Press mixture into a buttered 8x8 (thicker bars) or 9x9 (thinner bars) pan. If you are doing the chocolate chip version, you can add on top before you press, but they may melt a little so you can wait until it cools a bit then press the chips in. Let them set up for 2 hours and cut into 12 (more or less, depending on what size you like) bars. Keep bars covered for up to 1 week. Enjoy!

 The base has only six simple ingredients, which you more than likely already have.

 My assistant. Such a big helper.

 Stirring the oats and rice cereal.

 Note from Gav, always make sure you sample your work.

Yummy! Obviously the chocolate chip version. I didn't include a picture of the craisin/raisin almond version, but they are yummy as well. *Note-these will not be as hard when they set up as store bought but you can put the pan in the refrigerator before cutting/serving and they will set up a little more.  

I'm so excited for our zoo trip tomorrow! We haven't been since Owen was a tiny baby and I know both boys will love seeing all the animals. We are also planning a stop at Trader Joes, which is right near the zoo. I LOVE that grocery store! We will be stocking up on healthy pantry items that we can't get at our local grocery stores. If I could shop here weekly, I totally would! I just can't justify driving an hour, one way to buy groceries every week. If I lived in Leoti, that would be another story!

 I always enjoy cooking treats for us at home, especially when they turn out as great as these granola bars did. Always a bonus when you can make something at home that would have cost you twice (or more) as much as something you buy at the store. This mama loves to save money! Give these granola bars a try, I'm betting you won't be disappointed!