Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole

Another winner from Taste of Home! This can be prepared in the slow cooker as suggested, or you can just mix it up and stick it in the oven til bubbly. This recipe reflects a few changes that I made to fit our preferences and what I had on hand... Add any veggies you like to make it "your kind of pizza"!

Slow Cooker Pizza Casserole

1 pkg spiral pasta
1 lb. ground turkey
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb. mozzarella cheese, diced
2 cans (15oz) pizza sauce
1 can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1 pkg. (~5oz) mini pepperoni

1. Cook pasta according to package directions, minus a minute or two, so that the pasta still has some bite. Meanwhile, in a skillet, cook turkey and onion until meat is no longer pink; drain.
2. Drain pasta; place in 5 quart slow cooker. Stir in the turkey mixture, cheese, pizza sauce, soup, and pepperoni. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours or until heated through and the cheese is melted. Enjoy!

Watch out Kindergarten, here comes...

Ruby!!

Ruby had her first day of Kindergarten last Wednesday at Pisgah Forest Elementary School and in her words, it was pretty "awesome"! The first day was filled with lots of tours and playtime, mostly just getting used to what a school day is like. It's definitely a big change going from a life of leisure to a 6:30am wake-up call and out the door by 7:15! We are thankful, however, that the school provides breakfast so she can sleep in a bit on the days they are having something that she wants to eat. :)

Here are a few photos from her first day...

All ready for school and looking FANTASTIC! Pretty perky for a girl that prefers an 8am wake-up!

Jared brings Ruby to school in the morning... a few minutes of Daddy/Daughter time to start the day. We are also so happy that many of our church friends have children at this school and she already knew 4 or 5 kids in her class before she even got there!

These are Ruby's teachers for the year-- Mrs. Worley and her assistant Mrs. Merrill. They are wonderful ladies and I know they will take good care of Ruby this year!

After a long break, Ruby went back again today with mostly positive reviews. She's learning about the rigors of P.E., forgiving others even when they don't ask for it, and responsibility. I assume reading, writing, and arithmatic will follow!

We love you, Ruby girl. Do your best and never be afraid to ask questions. We can't wait to see how you grow this year.

Did I forget to mention...

Our sweet baby girl, Cornelia Grace, was welcomed into our family May 26th weighing in at 7lbs 8oz and 21.5" long. She is a joy and big brother and sister love her to bits. Here's her one month photo shoot by Samantha Austin...

"Mommy rhapsody" by Church on the Move

Grilled Burgers with Tahini Sauce

We had these tonight to rave reviews! Hope you enjoy them as much as we did...

Grilled Burgers with Tahini Sauce
(from Southern Living "All-Time Favorite Recipes")

1lb. extra-lean ground beef
1 tsp. Greek seasoning
4 pita rounds
4 lettuce leaves
8 large tomato slices
4 thin red onion slices
feta cheese
Tahini Sauce (recipe to follow)

1. Combine beef and Greek seasoning. Shape into 4 patties.
2. Grill, covered with grill lid, over medium-high heat 5-6 minutes on each side or until beef is no longer pink.
3. Cut off and discard 2 inches of bread from 1 side of each pita round, forming a pocket. Line each with 1 lettuce leaf, 2 tomato slices, and 1 red onion slice. Add burger. Drizzle each with 2 tablespoons Tahini Sauce; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon cheese, if desired.

Tahini Sauce

1/4 cup tahini paste
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon salt

1. Whisk together all ingredients. You can make this sauce several days ahead if desired.
   

Swagger Wagon

I'm not sure if this makes it any better to be a minivan owner now, but it is funny! :)

Our New Van!

I can't really believe that it's taken me a week and a half to post up a picture of our new minivan, but here she is!

We ended up getting a 2004 Nissan Quest and so far we really are enjoying it. The van has all the bells and whistles-- leather, sunroof, sky view panel roof for the passengers in the back, and best of all (in the kids opinion) the DVD player. It definitely has some quirks including a CD player that doesn't seem to work, but so far it seems to run great and that's what we're most concerned with.

Interestingly enough, now that MOPS is done for the year and we have a van in our driveway, I seem to be sleeping a lot better! I'm still getting pretty worn out mid-afternoon on, but other than that I'm hanging in there. Less than three weeks to go until we get to meet our sweet baby!