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Thankful Thursday

“One of the main reasons that we lose our enthusiasm in life is because we become ungrateful..we let what was once a miracle become common to us.  We get so accustomed to His goodness it becomes a routine…”

~Joel Osteen, Your Best Life Now: 7 Steps to Living at Your Full Potential 

This week has been a bit rough thus far.  Sunday, we missed church.  Then, we had a major run in with the neighbor on Monday night.  Tuesday, we woke up to find a bootleg apology note taped to our door from said neighbor.  That same night her daughter called the cops on her after they had a little scuffle.
So, in the mist of everything that’s went down I have to admit that it’s been a little hard to concentrate on being thankful.  However, it’s a new year and I’m not going to let negative things get in the way of my thankfulness.  Despite all the craziness that has gone down I’m thankful that we got spent some quality time together a family on Monday and Tuesday.  We took the kids to the indoor playground on Monday and I got to snap pictures and video of JJ going down the slide for the first time by himself.
Tuesday we ran errands.  Afterwards, we enjoyed some time at the library.  Yes, we are still avid readers.  My goal this year is to read 100 adult books and to read 100 books to the kids.  The 100 books for the kids will be a breeze since we read a book almost every night.  I’m thankful that I was able to find really good books that are going to help me with taking my brand even higher.
I’m thankful for unexpected sources of money.  Times are still hard and I’m always thankful when I can get extra cash, gift cards, etc.  I’m thankful that I can contribute to my household beyond just raising my kids, keeping the house clean and cooking.  I’m also thankful that we’re able to a blessing to others through our donation of clothes and household items to a local charity.
We go through our stuff often to make sure that we’re not hoarding things we don’t need or have outgrown. Moo was even nice enough to give up some of her old toys.  Remember, last week I told you all about how we were under attack with all these cold germs floating around?  Well, everyone is feeling better except JJ.  His asthma has been acting up and he’s teething.  I’m thankful though that through it all he’s been his usual cheery self for the most.
Last but not least, I’m thankful that rest of this week is going to be a great one!  I’m naming and claiming it folks.
What are you thankful for this week?
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Empanadas Galore

So, here I was earlier today debating out loud what I was going to make for dinner.  Before I had kids making meal plans was easy because it was just me and the Mr.  However, these days it’s a little bit tricky.  Moo has been going through a picky eater stage.  JJ will only eat certain meats cooked a certain way.  Plus, you have to factor in food allergies.
It can be a bit of a headache trying to make a menu based around what you think everybody is going to want to eat.  Anyways, it’s going on 4 o’clock and I haven’t taken anything out of the freezer to defrost.  Then the Mr comes into the kitchen and tells me about this new empanada recipe he saw on tv.  I was a little skeptical at first because he’s cooking shows and I wasn’t completely certain if had REALLY seen the recipe on a cooking show or not.   And if anybody who knows me knows that I all about Mexican cuisine. 
Well, tonight I gave the recipe a try and it was a success.  Such a success in fact, that I’ve decided to get on YUMMommy at 11 o’clock in the night to share it with you.  I would have typed this post up early but JJ is still sick and has been cranky, then Moo needed her one on one time and I had to put both kids to sleep.  But better late than never.  We made tons of empanadas tonight. Pictured below is what we’re going to call the M Family Mucho Grande Empanada!

Ingredients
2 cans of Pillsbury Grand Biscuits
Ground beef/turkey/chicken, cooked
Chunky salsa
Mexican blend shredded cheese
Flour
1 egg beaten
Nonstick spray
Directions
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
In a medium bowl mix together cooked ground beef, one can of salsa and two large handfuls of shredded cheese.
Next, dust a flat surface with flour and flatten out two biscuits using your hand (or rolling pin if you must).  Make sure they are about 5-6 inches in diameter.
Then, add filling to center of one biscuit.  Make sure to leave the edges clear of filling.
Take beaten egg and coat edges of the biscuit.  Once finished, lay the second biscuit on top and seal edges together using fingers or a fork.
Coat baking dish or cookie sheet with nonstick spray, add empanadas and bake until biscuits are golden brown (about 15 minutes).
Let cool for 2 minutes, serve and enjoy!