Speedy Stroganoff

Another great and simple recipe. I made this for dinner last night and my family LOVED it!!

SPEEDY STROGANOFF
1 lb ground beef
1 diced onion
2 t. paprika
1 t. salt
1/2 t. pepper
10-3/4 oz can of mushroom soup
16-oz container sour cream
cooked egg noodles

In a skillet over medium heat, brown beef and onion; drain. Add paprika, salt and pepper, stirring in thoroughly. Reduce heat to medium-low; blend in soup and heat through. Stir in sour cream. Serve over cooked noodles.

Serves 4

1/5 My daily contest/giveaway entries - you can enter too :)

• COOKING! I love to do it and salt always seems like a staple in any recipe. But did you know that salt can also be used for more things than just cooking. People use it for things like freshening flowers and relieving stings. For more ideas check out: Morton Salt. And for your chance to win a Morton Salt giveaway package visit "Two of a kind, working on a full house" - this ends on: 1/24/11
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CIO Night #3

Last night was BY FAR the best night yet!!!! I put Brooklinn in her bed, said good-night, gave her a kiss and walked to my room. She cried for 2 minutes - YES TWO MINUTES!!!!!! (I timed it). The real test came when her father and brother got home. Those two can definitely wake the DEAD or at least a sleep trained baby! They both ran upstairs to see me after arriving home from Raileigh's basketball game and she woke up. But the awesome part - SHE PUT HERSELF BACK TO SLEEP!!!! Any doubts that I have ever had about CIO were thrown right out the window!

It was worth it - It really works - I wish we would have done this soon!!!!

1/4 My daily contest/giveaway entries - you can enter too :)

• Are you surprised that I found another giveaway for a TASSIMO coffee maker? Probably not huh? Well I did - this time it is from "Granny Loves Gift Baskets". Head on over and check it out.....ends on 1/16
• I could always use another pair of shoes especially a pair that aren't snow boots, "farm boots", flip-flops or sneakers. Two lucky people will win a $15 gift certificate to Jenlinn.com AND a pair of FILE-5 Women's Suede Buckle Ankle Boots in their choice of grey or black*! Total ARV $38.99! I found this giveaway at "Thanks, Mail Carrier" ...this ends on 1/28
• I found another giveaway at "Thanks, Mail Carrier" that I really liked. This one is is for your chance to win a 2-Piece Fruit and Vegetable Set from Shenzhen Knives! ARV $44.98! This ends on 1/21
  

CIO Night #2

Last night went much smoother with Brooklinn. I don't know if it was because Daddy wasn't home to interfere in the process or because she finally realized what she was supposed to do. I put her down in her crib around 7:50 and she cried and screamed and yelled for her Mommy until 8:28. That is when she finally went to sleep :)

And guess what??!! She's still asleep - 

don't worry...I snuck in there last night and this morning and I could hear noises. I think she is just so tired from the many nights of poor sleep.

I felt bad for JJ last night. She doesn't like to hear her baby sister cry - ESPECIALLY when she is trying to sleep too!

Daddy will be home tonight but hopefully he will be able to stick it out tonight with us. It sure was nice to get a whole nights rest.

EGGS

My chickens disappointed me once again this morning. ZERO eggs is the total for today so far! But I'm sure I'll keep running out there to check. I don't want them to freeze afterall :)

DINNER

Not long ago, I found a cookbook that caught my eye. It's called "Dinners on a Dime" by Gooseberry Patch - more than 200 recipes for delicious, budget-friendly family meals. Tonights dinner is going to be coming from there - hopefully, I have everything needed:

ITALIAN MINI MEATLOAVES
1 lb ground beef
16-oz package stuffing mix
1 c. water
1 t. italian seasoning
1 c. tomato-basil pasta sauce
3/4 c. shredded mozzarella cheese

Mix beef, stuffing mix, water and season together until well blended. Spray a muffin tin with non-stick vegetable spray. Press mixture evenly into 12 muffin cups. Make a small well in the center of each; spoon some sauce into each well. Bake, uncovered, at 375 degrees for about 30 minutes, until cooked through. Sprinkle with cheese and bake for 5 to 7 minutes more, until cheese is melted.
Makes 6 servings

CIO

I should probably start this off my mentioning that I was even MORE disappointed this morning to find ZERO eggs in the Chicken Coop!!!! They are just teasing me....I can almost hear it, "lets just lay one egg so she eggs really excited and then we'll wait another 5 months to lay some more"!!!!

CIO = Crying It Out
I've had a really tough time getting Brooklinn to stay sleeping in her bed. She is still in a crib so it isn't a issue of her running all over the house. It is a issue of her wanting and thinking that she needs Mommy to sleep. Yes, this is probably my fault. I allow her to lay with me at bedtime to watch TV and cuddle until she falls asleep. It isn't until recently that she won't allow me to transfer her to her own bed. The second she feels my hands starting to remove from her body she bolts awake and screams. I don't have this issue at nap time - I just lay her in her bed, she cries for a few minutes and that is it. Nighttime is a different story. It isn't even that she is crying because the crying doesn't really last all that long. It is the fact that she will stand there and yell over and over and over again....MOMMY!!!! But that still isn't the problem. The problem is that Daddy (aka Jason) can't stand the sound of her distressed and anguished cries and screams...LOL - it really isn't that bad.

But how can you just ignore a face like this:

Last night I let her yell for about 1/2 hour...long enough that Daddy couldn't take it anymore and he came up and got her. So night number 1 = EPIC FAIL!!! He couldn't get her to stay asleep with him downstairs so she ended back upstairs in our bed where she immediately fell asleep. I was able to move her to her own bed around 12:30 - YES, she woke up and started fussing, so I stood there and rubbed her back and slowly made my way out of the room. She happily slept until 6AM. Still no real crying - just lots of yells for MOMMY - over and over and over again! I did NOT get up and get her until my alarm went off at 6:30.

We will try again tonight - bring on NIGHT 2!!

1/3 My daily contest/giveaway entries - you can enter too :)

• Soda Stream makes Soda easy! The Soda Stream is easy to use. We just fill it with tap water, add the carbonation (it takes about thirty seconds), add the flavor of your choice and presto! you have soda. These are cheaper than buying cans of soda, and environmentally friendly (no cans or bottles). You can win yours at "The Thrifty Things" blog - this ends on 1/17/11
• I just got done telling Jason that maybe Brooklinn would benefit from having a humidifier in her room. So I was pretty excited when I woke up this morning and saw this giveaway!! This giveaway is for a Crane humidifier. You can find Crane humidifiers and other Crane products in Target, Babies R Us, Bed Bath & Beyond, among others - as well as at "From PDX with Love" This ends on 1/18/11
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• I found another giveaway for a TASSIMO coffee maker! I'm bound and determined to win one of these for my Mother. (afterall, Mothers Day will be here before we know it). This time I found the giveaway at "MOMMY PR" this ends on 1/7/11
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• Another TASSIMO coffee maker giveaway. This one is at "Tifani's Mom"'s blog. This giveaway closes on January 15!
  
  
  

1/2 My daily contest/giveaway entries - you can enter too :)

I've been having a bit of a dry spell lately. I haven't won anything in a few days! I'm hoping to break that!!

• This giveaway is another one for your furry friend. Simply Fido is offering one of my lucky readers the chance to win their own Simply Fido Bamboo Rayon Nap Mat & 100% Organic Limited Edition 9″ Holiday Penguin Pet Toy! This giveaway can be found at: Granny Loves Gift Baskets and ends on 1/5/11
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She has a British Accent! And no eggs today :(

All of a sudden Brooklinn is speaking with a British accent! I have no idea why. The only reason I can think of is because she was having a Tea  Party with Grandma the other day and Grandma was talking with a British accent! It is so stinkin' funny! She only says a few understandable words: Mommy, JJ, Dada....but they are all nicely said with a accent :)

I could barely sleep last night. I was so excited to wake up this morning and run out to see how many eggs I have. I have ZERO! Yepper....ZERO eggs! I'm very disappointed! I thought since the first egg arrived on New Years Day it would be fun for me to keep a "egg counter". It can be found on the side bar, and  I adjust the total daily. So it now reads: Day 2 = 1 :(

I've been in a winning slump lately! I haven't won any new giveaways in 2 or 3 days! I'm bummed about that too!

Dinner!? Hmmmmm....what should I make? Maybe Corned Beef and Cabbage! I better get moving.......