Mexican Bean Wraps

I love finding a meal that the whole family loves, EATS and its cheap and healthy too!
I got the inspiration for this meal off a friends Facebook Status about having Burritos for tea, and I was writing out our meal plan. That was it.

Its very simple, and if you have older kids, they can put them together themselves, picking and choosing their own salads etc. I remember doing this with Tacos as a kid.

Now we are lucky, Stella absolutely LOVES , loves, Mexican food. Nachos, tacos, these wraps, enchiladas,you name it. If your child does , hmm goodluck!!


MEXICAN BEAN WRAPS

A tin of Refried Beans (we use the NO chilli version)
Lemon or Lime Juice
Minced Garlic
Packet of Taco Seasoning ( I use the Woolworth Select brand)
Sour Cream
Jar of salsa
Burrito or Tortilla Wraps
Tomatoes
Lettuce
Cheese

And Wedges to serve


In a medium Saucepan, add the whole tin of Refried beans (we have leftovers after 2 adults and 3 kids, but they don't eat lightly, so maybe just half a tin if you want!)
Squirt in 2 tablespoons of Lemon Juice (I use the bottle type, whatever works I say), and add a teaspoon of minced garlic and stir.
Also sprinkle about half a packet of Taco Seasoning ( this has a little bite to it, but it never bothers my kids, because of the sour cream but add it as desired).
Give it all a stir and bring to the boil. Then turn off.

Meanwhile, dice your tomatoes, chop lettuce and grate the cheese reading for serving and make sure your wedges (if you are having them) are in the oven.

With the Tortillas, I just lightly toast each side in a large frypan, it is fiddly but I can only make one wrap at a time and they taste better!!
With the toasted wrap, spread some of your bean mix through the middle area, then swipe on some sour cream and salsa if you like (sometimes we use it , sometimes we don't) and tomatoes, cheese and lettuce and roll into a wrap.

Serve with wedges, sour cream and sweet chilli sauce (for adults). ( I like to serve with wedges incase Max and Lacey decide its a day when they don't want to eat the wraps)

I meat free, cheap meal option that can cater for up to 4-5 adults or lots of kids!!

I'm sorry I don't have a photo of them, I will be sure to take one next time we have them, but they get eaten too quick!!


NOTE- We had leftover refried bean mix, as we had these for tea on Friday night , so I used the left overs, spread over the bottom of a small glass casserole dish, then spread the left over salsa, then the sour cream (I mixed some taco seasoning in it) , then some tomatoes and another layer of salsa and sour cream and served it as a Layered Nacho dip with CC's for the AFL Grand final on Saturday . (It was just DH, Stella and Myself watching but it was a nice thing to have and it was all leftovers anyway!)

A Few Recipes

I am still here, waiting, organising, preparing. All those things that must, MUST be done before you have a baby, totally useless and not important at all, but they have somehow made it to the top of my To Do List!! Hmmm maybe thats another post all together!!

From posting my weekly Meal Plans (sorry I am a little behind here), I have received a few comments and emails about some recipes, and I am finally getting around to typing them out here.
Its pretty embarrassing really but the 2 that are the most asked about, are infact the EASIEST meals you will ever cook, seriously. And my family just love them! So much so, they are requested to be put on the Meal Plan!

First up;
CREAMY CHICKEN AND BASIL PASTA  (totally NOT a healthy dinner option, but hubby's favourite all the same)

Jar of Basil Pesto
Small carton of Cream
Fetticine Pasta
Pinenuts
Cherry tomatoes- cut in half
Chicken Breast

Cook Pasta as per directions /as normal.
Add a little oil to your pan, and cook chicken until slightly golden, add about half a jar of Basil Pesto.
Then add about 2/3 of the carton of cream, depending on how many people you are cooking for.
Simmer for about 5-10 minutes to thicken the cream.
Add pinenuts and Cherry tomatoes and cook for another minute.
Serve over pasta.

NOTE- I change this dish every time I cook it, and ratios are not that great , ha , sorry. But thats what you get when you don't use a recipe!! Sometimes I use a Sundried Tomato Pesto, sometimes add Bacon, sundried toms, olives, capsicum, salami, cherizo sausage. Whatever you like to change the flavours.
Super easy, quick and ready in 15 minutes, quicker than takeaway!!


CHICKEN PIE

2 sheets of Puff Pastry
2 Chicken Breasts (OR ca n be a cheaper cut as is going to be cut finely in a pie!  Thats what I do)
Butter or margarine
Plain Flour
Sour Cream
1-2 cups Chicken stock
Packet of Spring Garden Vegetable soup
Large Carrot cut into cubes
1/2 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup frozen corn
Beaten Egg (for glazing)
Rosemary ( I use dried)

Firstly take the Puff Pastry out of the freezer and set aside to defrost a little (its easier to mould into dish)
Dice the chicken and carrots .
Add a little oil to the pan and cook off chicken until golden. Add a dollop of Butter and then some rosemary and carrots and fry slightly.
Add a tablespoon of flour and cook until thick then gradually add the stock. Start with just one cup and see how you go, again it all depends on how big your pie needs to be. Sprinkle about half a packet of the Soup mix into the liquid and continue to stir. This will evaporate and thicken, turn down the heat to a low simmer and add 2 tablespoons of sour cream.
Add Peas and corn and simmer for a minute. Turn off mixture and let cool a little.

During this process, oil you dish, I just use Spray Cook, and line with your Puff Pastry. Depending on the size of your dish you may need more sheets of Pastry.
Line the bottom and mould , add cooled mixture, and then add a sheet to the top, glaze with egg/milk mixture and piece or slice the top for steam.
Cook in the oven until golden brown, usually 180 degrees, about 15-20 mins.

NOTE- You can also add Leek, bacon, mushrooms, zucchini, onion , anything really!!

This is yummo, and I usually make 2 at the same time, one to freeze, so give that a go!!

Later on I will post another recipe that has been requested for our Mexican Bean wraps!

Take 2- Show Day

Seeing as though the real Fathers Day was a non event for us, we decided to head a bit out of town the following weekend for a Show.

The weather was warm and sunny and we were finally in the mood for some fun and family time!

The kids had a ball, Stella enjoyed all the activities, things to look at and Sideshow Alley and Max and Lacey (who stayed in their pram most of the time and were excellent) had fun looking around and taking it all in!

My parents went out to the show aswell, and it was nice to be able to spend some time with them and the show experience. I personally haven't been to a show day for many, many years, as I have always worked weekends, oh how nice is it to not anymore!!

Max and Lacey checking out the "eep"

Wow!

Stella and her beloved Grandma in the Petting Zoo, hmmm she is not much of an animal lover, rather scared actually but we were surprised she went in at all!!

Playing clowns

Having sword fights with balloons

Stella on a Car Merry-Go-Round

Woohoo

Checking out the cows.

Getting her Face Painted!! This lady is so talented and Stella had a beautiful Butterfly!

Max's turn!! He did so well and sat so still, Lacey however, was not impressed and didn't like it!

And at the end of the day, just before bath time, a quick pic of the face painting, a fish!!

The day was beautiful for everyone, and quite tiring, but we were so grateful to be able to celebrate Fathers Day properly!!

Lately...

I had a short break from blogging (other than the few recent posts) but it wasn't by choice. Life just got away with me, lots of different things were happening in our house and I just couldnt' find the time, nor the energy!

Starting with this, Noel rolled his ankle during a football game and had to be taken to hospital. Luckily nothing was broken but some serious ligament damage occured!

Check out the size, and this is only day one!! For the next week, it only got bigger and blacker! And even now, nearly 4 weeks later, its still bruised and swollen! Eeek men!

They are kinda hard to see here, but Lacey has taken to having her hair put up when Stella does in the morning! Tiny little pony tails and oh so cute!! (Complete with a jam biccie and sand face during outside play time!)

Some Baby prep baking has been a happenin'! 100 muffins, a Choc coconut slice and a cake (the cake was consumed!) All put into stackable freezer containers and labelled. Feels good!!

Some cranky kids have been living here! Someone took my happy little cherubs and replaced them with these little whining, sooky babies!! Teething is the devil and we have had THE WORST run with virus' and sicknesses! Bring on Summer!

                                           Cruel but thats reality !! "Pick me up Daddy"

But on a good note! My new toy arrived!! A VERY welcome addition to our house!!

Our Robomaid! Still to be named, so if you have suggestions, pass them forward!!

She is a gem, and gets used a few times a day!! ( I am slightly anal about having a clean floor) And she is taking the pressure off my growing baby body!! Worth her weight in gold!!

Other than that, I have been making a HUGE effort to catch up on my Project Life! Believe it or not, I got nearly 13 weeks behind!! Such a mammoth effort to catch up, but a few nights of ordering my prints online (a new found system and I am seriously LOVING it!! ) and a few more nights of journalling and organising and I only have 4 weeks to go!! Yay, so worth it in the end, and I refused to give up! I have also managed to set up 2 of my 3 kids Baby kit albums and will do the other 2 soon!!

Gosh it feels good to be regaining some control and achieving a few jobs I thought were never going to happen!!

I will do a post when I have caught up on Project Life to show you my album and progress, for those that have preordered next years kit ( I have, Clementine baby!!)

But for now, check out one of the blogs I follow Mish Mash, such amazing inspiration for creating a gorgeous and personal PL album (rest assured , mine looks NOTHING like this, but it is preserving our memories and thats all that matters!!)

Life is starting to slow down a little, Noels football season has finished (but Waterpolo is about to start) but we have a few weeks of a little less on, and its nice!

Fathers Day - Take One

I know it was a little while ago now , but the memory of Fathers Day is still fresh in my mind !! I'd like to say for a positive not, however, its just not the case, unfortunately!!

The Thursday before Fathers Day, we all woke as usual and Lacey was off her breakfast. Now this is a BIG thing for us, the little pocket rocket can put away 3 pieces of toast in the mornings, with Jam of course!! Seriously! Our 17 month olds eat more than I do!!

Anyway, turns out she had a virus , started with vomiting and ended with a chest and ear infection.

The virus swept through the whole family, Noel and I included , and it floored us!!

So unfortunately our plans for a yummy morning breakfast, gorgeous sunny picnic with my parents and dinner at the inlaws , were all cancelled and we just did as little as possible to survive the day.

The usual presents were excitedly passed over to Dad (sorry no pics, I was NOT feeling very good AT ALL) , some cards made by the kids, a book, a mini Clipper set, a Man smelly pack, chocolates. Little things, and some artwork of course!!

This year I had the joy of filling out this interview with Stella about her beloved Daddy. It proved to be rather difficult to find a good opportunity as Noel was home for most of the week with a badly sprained ankle from Football but we got there in the end!

Her answers were so entertaining and I couldnt' help but giggle the whole time!

We also did them for Poppy and Gramps. Classic

Thankyou so much for Bianca at A Little Delightful , for the awesome printables!!

They got laminated and our in prime position on our fridge!

We also had our small basket with books for Fathers Day out on display in the living area, and the kids took delight in them! ( And I printed some great subway art our seasonal frames at the front door , just to make the day a little more special!)

And the most valued part on Noels Fathers Day present, was the mug that Stella decorated at Playgroup! Such a hit and is used all the time!

Such unfortunate timing with our sickness and this special occasion, and I felt terrible for my Dad and Noel, but these things can't be helped and survival was the key for the weekend unfortunately!

We decided to recelebrate the following weekend, and had a ball!

Craft - Painting and the Dinosaur

We have been a little quiet on the crafting front lately. We have had a nasty run of bugs and sickness and just keeping my head above water has been a mission enough!

However, after seeing some gorgeous things on Pinterest and getting inspired by the Dinosaur theme on Playschool last week ( the kids are a little Playschool mad lately after seeing them live in concert last weekend, post to come, it was fantastic!) Anyway, this is what we got up to!!

Painting a Dinosaur (and our faces, and our hands and anything in the way!!)

It simply is a paper plate, cut 2/3 of the way across, then the left over piece , I made the head, tail and legs out of. Not quite dinosaur looking but it was well received by Miss 3!!

Stapled all together, then we stuck pegs all around the back.

               And then, Stella went for it with the green paint! Everywhere, even the pegs. Simple and fun.

And this was one of the first times I have given Max and Lacey free reign with the paints, only I thought that stamping pads would be a safer option with them. hmmmmmm maybe?!

However, Master Max, bless him, decided the paint was better elsewhere! Lucky its non toxic and childsafe!

And the finished product (other than some cool art by the 17 month olds!!)

Menu Plan

Finally I have remembered to post our Meal Plans for the next few weeks. I shop on Thursdays so our plan runs from a Friday.

Week 1
Fri- Mexican Refried Bean wraps with Wedges
Sat - Chicken and Bacon Rice (The McCormicks packet style)
Sun - Sausages , Vege and Gravy
Mon - Meatballs and Pasta
Tues- Crumbed Chops and Veg
Wed - Chicken Casserole in Slow Cooker
Thurs - Quiche , chips and salad

Week 2
Fri- Fish, with Lemon Pepper Sauce, chips and Salad
Sat -  Devilled Sausages in S/C with Veg
Sun -  Shepherds Pie, Chips and Salad
Mon - Beef Pie, and Veg
Tues- Chicken in a bag (packet style) with Rice and Saldad
Wed -  Nasi Goreng
Thurs - Beef Strog , and pasta

Pretty plain, pretty simple for a few weeks. I am lacking somewhat in energy, everything is a bit harder to do, the bigger I get, and boy am I big!!
33 weeks and counting down!!
Hope my Menu helps you, feel free to share your own!!