Tasty Tuesday: Beef & Veggie Stir-Fry

 Don't know about y'all, but I love one-dish meals... they're tasty & there are fewer dishes to wash! WIN! I haven't tried this stir-fry recipe yet, but one of my facebook friends vouches for it. It's on our menu for next week...

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The Ingredients:

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup sherry or water
• 2 tbsp cornstarch
• 2 tsp sugar
• 2 tbsp canola oil, divided
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 1/2 lb. sirloin or flank beef, thinly sliced
• 1/2 lb fresh mushrooms, sliced
• 1 medium onion, cut into thin wedges
• 8 oz fresh snow peas
• 1 lb fresh asparagus or broccoli
• any other veggie your family likes (squash, zucchini, bell peppers, baby corn, carrots, etc)
• rice or noodles, cooked

The Directions:

In a small bowl, whisk soy sauce, sherry (or water), cornstarch & sugar.

Transfer 1/4 cup of the mixture to a large bowl; stir in garlic & 1 tbsp oil. Add meat & toss to coat. Let marinate for at least 15 minutes (or overnight for maximum flavor).

Heat a large skillet over medium-high heat.  Add half the beef. Stir-fry 1 to 2 minutes or until no longer pink (don't overcook to avoid making the beef tough). Remove from pan. Repeat with rest of beef.

In same pan, heat remaining 1 tbsp oil over medium-high heat until hot. Add mushrooms & onion. Cook while stirring until mushrooms are tender. Add snow peas & other veggies; cook 2-3 minutes longer or until vegetables are crisp-tender.

Stir remaining soy sauce mixture & add to pan. Bring to a boil; cook & stir 1-2 minutes until sauce is thickened. Return beef to pan & stir until heated through.

Serve with rice or noodles.

Tasty Tuesday: Halloween Popcorn!

It's OCTOBER, people! Time to kick off fall festivities (if they're not already in full swing) & treat yourself & the kiddos to a Halloweenie treat...

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The Ingredients:

• 2 bags microwave popcorn (recommend Pop Secret HomeStyle because it's not too buttery)
• 1 lb package almond bark or white chocolate candy coating
• 1 1/2 cups candy corn
• 1 1/2 cups dry roasted peanuts
• 1 1/2 cups Reese's Pieces

The Directions:

Pop popcorn according to directions on package. Place popped popcorn in a large bowl. Pour peanuts & candy on top.

Break up almond bark or candy coating & melt according to package directions. Pour over popcorn mixture. Stir until everything is well-coated & then spread out on waxed paper.

Let it sit until completely dry & then break into clumps of Halloween goodness!

Tasty Tuesday: Slow Cooker Lasagna

Lasagna in the crockpot? Yes, please! This is one of my family's favorite recipes. It's pretty soupy, which we're a big fan of... the saucier, the better!

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The Ingredients:

• 1 lb lean ground beef
• 1 small onion, chopped
• 1 clove garlic, minced
• 28oz can crushed tomatoes
• 15oz can tomato sauce
• 14oz can sliced mushrooms (optional)
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp dried oregano
• 1/2 tsp dried basil
• 1 cup part-skim ricotta cheese or low-fat cottage cheese
• 1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
• 1/2 cup shredded or grated parmesan cheese
• No-boil lasagna noodles

The Directions:

In a large skillet over medium-high heat, cook beef, onion & garlic until browned (5-7 minutes). Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato sauce, mushrooms, salt, oregano & basil. Simmer for at least 5 minutes.

In a medium bowl, stir together ricotta cheese & 1 cup of mozzarella cheese.

In another bowl, combine remaining 1/2 cup of mozzarella & parmesan cheese. Put in fridge for later.

Spoon 1/3 of beef mixture in your crockpot, covering the bottom fully. Break 3 lasagna noodle sheets in half & arrange until beef mixture is covered. Add half of ricotta mixture. Repeat with another layer of each & finish with remaining 1/3 of beef mixture.

Cover slow cooker & cook on low for 4-6 hours. Turn off heat. Sprinkle the parmesan/mozzarella mixture on top of lasagna. Cover until cheese melts & lasagna firms up a little, about 10 mins.

Tasty Tuesday: burrito bites

This recipe is from Jill K... its looks like a perfect lunch or snack for kiddos (or adults)! Thanks, Jill!

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The Ingredients:

• 2 (8 oz) blocks cream cheese, softened
• 2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chilies
• 1 packet taco seasoning
• 10 flour tortillas

The Directions:

Mix cream cheese, chopped green chilies & taco seasoning together. Microwave tortillas for 30 seconds to make them easier to work with.

Spread mixture on tortillas. Roll tortillas & cut into bite-size pieces.

**Tip: it's sometimes easier to cut the rolls if you put them in the fridge to chill first

time to enroll for MOPS 2013-14!

Only a little over 2 weeks until Sept 12th, & as you can imagine, the first MOPS meeting of the year can get kinda... well, messy!

We have lots of new moms... YAY!
We have lots of new kiddos.... YAY!
We have lots of paperwork.... not yay.

So in an effort to make things more efficient, we're putting the forms out there for you ladies to get a head-start. We're attempting online enrollment for the first time, so if you have technical issues, please let us know on the facebook page!

Option #1: Online Enrollment (preferred!)

• Click here to complete the MOPS enrollment form.

• Click here to complete the MOPPETS enrollment form for your children.

Option #2: Paper Enrollment

• Download the paper MOPS enrollment form. (Print, complete & bring to the meeting)
• Download the paper MOPPETS enrollment form for your children (Print, complete & bring to the meeting)

Tasty Tuesday: Buffalo Chicken Dip

Margaret made this last year for our December recipe swap.... it would be a great snacky option now that football season is upon us!

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The Ingredients:

• 8 oz cream cheese, softened
• 1/2 cup wing sauce
• 1/2 cup ranch dressing (or bleu cheese dressing)
• 1/2 cup shredded cheese (monterey jack or cheddar)

The Directions:

Mix cream cheese, wing sauce & dressing until blended. Pour shredded cheese on top. Bake in oven at 350 degrees for 10-25 minutes, or until cheese is bubbly. Serve with corn chips, tortillas, celery &/or carrots... or just eat it out of the bowl!

Steering Team Intros... meet Cheryl !

My full name is Cheryl Elizabeth Nelson.

I'm on the MOPS Hospitality team.

I have seven daughters -- Cassie (18), Cierra (16), Cayli (14), Chloe (11), Cadence & Charis (5), 
& Courtney (almost 2).

I was born in Augusta, GA.

If I had two hours of kid-free time,
I would do more volunteer training at Red Cross or 
Foothills Alliance.

If I could go out to dinner anywhere tonight,
I'd choose the Melting Pot... my husband & I
have so much fun there even though we only go maybe every
year & a half!

My fav dessert is peanut butter cookies.

The last book I read was... do kids books count? Pete the Cat,
I Love My New Shoes (we love that book!).
The last movie I saw was The Lucky One again last night...
yep, it's a chick flick :)
If I could go on a road trip with anyone, I'd choose Oprah...
I'd love to pick her brain!

Something I've learned in the last week?
Acting like a teenager with my teenagers every once in a while is really worth it... had so much fun!

It's 8pm on Saturday night...  I'm just wishing all my kids (or at least the 3 youngest) would fall asleep before my husband. 

My favorite thing about MOPS is
the moms & kids, the connections, the friendships!