recipe for porcupine balls

Porcupine Balls

I never like to turn my oven on in the summer, so this is a favorite dinner in the summer that I can make without turning on the oven! So grab your ingredients and make some yummy skillet dinner!

1 lb. hamburger

1/2 c. uncooked regular rice

1/2. c. water

1/3. c. chopped onion

1 tsp salt

1/8 tst. garlic powder

1/8 tsp pepper

1 can (15 oz) tomato sauce

2 tsp worcestershire sauce

1/2 tsp celery salt

1 c. water

First Mix up your hamburger, rice, 1/2 c water, the onion, salt, celery salt, garlic powder, and pepper. Mix well, shape mixture into round balls this will make between 15 and 20 depending on how big you like your meatballs.

Mix, mix mix :)

Place meatballs in skillet, and brown on all sides.

Mmmmmm doesn't that smell good?

Now if there is any excess fat, drain at this point.
Then add: The tomato sauce, worcestershire sauce, and 1 c. water. pour over meatballs. Heat to boiling, then reduce heat. cover and simmer for 45 min.

Add water during cooking if necessary, I usually end up adding about another 3/4 c. during cooking. don't you just love how the rice looks like porcupines! I love it when the rice poofs when its done!

kid friendly dinner, at least for my kids anyway!

Oh yea, we got her good!!!

the birthday pie in the face!!!

and she loved it!! Way too much fun!
I will have to come up with something really good next year to top this one!
So far I have got everybody but Jason and his turn is next month! It has been a blast!

Happy birthday pepper!

Pepper turns 5!!!!

She decided she didn't want a birthday cake this year she wanted ice cream sandwiches! So thats what she got! And I have to say it was a great change! Yummy. Here she is opening her birthday presents.
She has been asking for a pillow pet forever! and she got the ladybug one from grandpa and grandma carroll~ she was so happy! she also got $2.90 from the money bag!

We met grandma and grandpa bowcutt at the park to celebrate her birthday the week before her birthday. she had a blast, that weekend she got a cute little puppet, and a new bike which she totally adores!

And here she is showing off her most prized possession.

Happy birthday big girl.

I don't have any pictures for this recipe, but I thought I would post it anyway since I haven't posted anything for a while and I thought it was time for a summer recipe. This is my favorite summer salad! So get ready to eat!

Triple p salad

pasta, pea, pesto

2 c. uncooked elbow macaroni (8 oz)

1 c. fresh snow pea pods

1 c. fresh sugar snap peas

1 c. frozen baby sweet peas

(if you don't have the snow pea pods or the sugar snap peas, you can just use more of the frozen sweet peas, and it still tastes great!) I have done it both ways and they are both good. when you are on a budget the frozen peas keeps this recipe cheaper.

1/2 c. mayonnaise

1/3 c. refrigerated basil pesto ( I have found this at walmart or albertsons, or harmons.)

2 med. green onions, chopped

2 teaspons lemon juice

1 teaspoons salt.

1. cook macaroni as directed on package, adding pea pods sugar snap peas and baby sweep peas during the last 2-3 min. of cooking time. Drain then rinse with cold water until cool.

2. Meanwhile in a large bowl mix remaining ingrediedents.

3. add cooked macaroni with meas to mayo mixture, toss to coat. cover, refrigerate for 2 hours or till chilled before serving.

Perfect for Summer!!!!

Enjoy:)

joey swimming with the olympians

Joey got to go to the swim with the olymian fitter and faster tour in Idaho Falls last week.

He had SO MUCH FUN!! They talked with him, gave him advice, and then they swam with him. what a great experience for kids! The olympians that were there where Misty Hyman and Ian Crocker. Joey was so proud and excited. He got their autographs on his goggle case! What an exciting night! Here they are getting thier instructions and Qand A with Ian and Misty.
Here's my Joe man.

Joey showing off his new t-shirt he got.

Ian and Misty doing thier autograph thing!

It sure motivated Joey and got him really excited for the next swim meet! He said he is even ready to try the breaststroke! His least favorite! talk about a motivational speech! Can't wait to see the improvement in him! What a fun night and thanks to grandma and grandpa carroll for driving up to take him since I was at home taking care of Alli and Jason who just got their tonsils out!

Thanks Uncle Jim!!! He helped me figure out how to get the pics from my phone to my blog!! thank you! I am so not into this technology stuff, brian bought me a touch phone and I can't figure out anything, plus I keep calling my friend at odd hours of the night when I try to call brian back. so sorry I am trying to figure this thing out. But I did get the pics I took of the kids the morning of surgery! Here are Jason and Alli right before they went into surgery. A little nervous, but all in all, pretty happy.
I know I know, I keep posting pics backwards, I am not promising that I will figure that out, we will just have to deal with my incompitence there. But this pic is of the kids on the way out to the car after surgery. How sad do they look! But of course I thought it was cute thy both fit in the same wheelchair and I didn't have to carry anyone.

They are getting ready do go back for surgery, they give them strawberry scented masks to practice breathing through, so when they hook up the gas it isn't as scary. They are just so darn cute together.

So here we are on day 3 after surgery and I am tired, Jason still won't sleep, he just cries all night. Alli is doing ok. she is one of those suffer in silence types. she just wants to be left alone and every once in a while a little cuddle, a popcicle, and her tylenol. A few more days, and hopefully things will start returning back to normal!!!

So the day after surgery, we are all tired, and cranky. But we are here! We have been missing Zach, he has been up at scout camp since Monday, Jason has really been missing him, (well we all have) he comes home tomorrow, and we can't wait! Alli and Jason had their tonsils out yesterday, I decided to get them done at the same time and just simply get it over with! Jason is bouncing back pretty fast, although today he is struggling a bit, but poor little Alli is having a hard time, but her surgery was a little more intense. Her tonsils were huge, and her adnoids were blocking 75% of her nasal pasage way. the poor girl couldn't breathe! So this will help both of them so much. I just can't wait till we are all sleeping and eating and breathing normal again! So anyway, I just wanted to give you all a little update. I actually took some pretty cute pics of them at the hospital, but they are on my phone, and I am too dumb to figure out how to get them on the computer, so sorry, maybe another day!!!

4th of july

All of my sparklers!

My cute kiddo's on the 4th of July they had so much fun! We just hung out at home this year, and did our fireworks with our neighbors, we had a great time. the kids ran around like crazy people. (they all slept in till like 11:00 the next day except zach who went to scout camp) but oh they had fun. Just look at the grins on their faces!!
Havin too much fun!

All grins and giggles, and sparklers, and fun! overall, it was a great time! Homemade donuts, yummy cake, way too much sweets, great friends, not enough family! but overall a great 4th of july!

zach leavin for scouts, and the kids workin in the yard with dad

So once again, my posts are totally backwards and messed up, but at least they are posted right??? So this first one is of Zach on the morning he is leaving for a week of scout camp. It is 4:45 in the morning of July 5th. He was so tired, and so excited. He is going to have so much fun! And Here are the kids helping Brian work in the backyard, we were pulling weeds for hours, and getting nowhere, so Brian gave up,and went and borrowed the neighbors 'toy' to get the job done quicker, and I have to say, it worked! It was done quicker! And a whole lot funner.
Joey hopping on for a ride.

Well.......what do you do when its Tuesday and you are so bored? you make cupcakes of course!

My kids thought I was crazy, but whats new! This was last week, I am a little slow in posting, but the kids were bored, and I was running out of ideas, so I decided to make cupcakes, and give them frosting, and decorations, and let them have at it! They had a blast! Here is pepper and Alli doing their very best at decorating!
Zachs final creation, of course, he lives in pokemon world! so his cupcake is geared towared pokemon!

Salt, just liked frosting the little cuppies, then licking off the yummy frosting! A kid after my own heart.

Pepper has to eat things one at a time first the frosting then the cupcake!

Joey with all his decorating tools ready to write! Go joey you're the man, look out duff, joey is the new ace of cakes!!!

More fun decorating!
Zach actually decorating! and enjoying it! I think its only cause he gets to eat it in the end!

Allicat posing with her cupcake! getting ready for the frosting!


Pepper, we gotta watch out with this one, if you don't watch her all the frosting will dissapear!!

hmmmm where to start, chocolate chips, or white chips?

maybe both....

so the next time you are bored on a tuesday.... maybe you should make cupcakes!!!!!!