Stuffed Zucchini

I had to share this recipe that I got from pinterest...yes I know another one from pinterest.
However, I really tweaked it and loved how it turned out. So I will share my version of it:

Vanessa's Mexican Stuffed Zucchini

* Here is the original recipe

Now this is my version.

3 of the biggest zucchini's I could find (there are no large ones at the Supermarket)
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 green pepper, finely chopped
2 T finely minced fresh garlic
1.5 lbs. ground bison
1 398 ml can of Earthpure Organic Tomato Sauce
1 cup of Salsa
2 cups low-fat mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350F/175C. Chop onion and green pepper. Brown ground bison and add chopped onion and green pepper. Add minced garlic. Cook until meat is completely browned.

Add the tomato Sauce and Salsa and bring to a simmer and then turn off heat.

While meat cools, cut zucchini into 2 inch thick slices, discarding ends. Use a sharp spoon or melon baller to hollow out a cup in each zucchini slice, leaving just over 1/4 inch of zucchini flesh. Be careful not to get too close to the skin or the cups will leak liquid when they cook.

Spray baking sheet with nonstick spray and stand up zucchini cups, open end up.

Stir 1 1/2 cups grated cheese into the cooled meat mixture (it doesn't need to be completely cool), then spoon the meat-cheese mixture into zucchini cups, pressing down with the spoon and mounding it up a little over the top of the zucchini.

Bake zucchini cups for 20 minutes, then remove from oven and use remaining cheese to top each one with a generous pinch of cheese. Put back in oven and bake 10-15 minutes more, until zucchini is slightly soft when pierced with a fork and cheese is melted and lightly browned. Serve hot.

** I had a lot of the meat mixture left over as my zucchini's were quite small. I froze it and will make again.


Yes I know, I suck at taking good food pictures! Ha, I didn't realize how blurry these were, but trust me, it tastes better than it looks!

1000 Gifts

On and on and on I count.

218. Star of the Day and his great adventure as Captain Gooch.

219. Groceries and that He provides abundantly for us.

220. All 5 of us cuddling in bed, chatting away.

221. The start of a new study for some young impressionable kids.

222. Exploring new areas.

223. Knowing that it is only God that can move and work in peoples hearts.

224. Our first Gooch family movie theater day. We saw The Lorax.

225. Thai food.

226. New playgrounds.



227. Packing a 'picnic snack' to enjoy at the playground.

228. Testimony night.

229. A new cell phone for moi.

230. Bill - our messenger and delivery person.

231. Making casseroles for a woman who needs them.

232. That he is home from the hospital (still no idea what is wrong, but it is nothing like we feared, please pray)

233. Lazy Days.

234. New Parks and running races with my kids!

235. A day off of school.

236. My husband who can fix vehicles (saves us a tonne of money--especially lately).

237. Finally finishing all 5 busy bags, which meant 20 in total since there are 4 of us participating. (can't wait for the swap)

238. Stuffed Zucchini!


239. Going for a run---even if it was crazy at least I got out!

240. Having a nap--so rare!

241. Cleaning, sorting and purging!

242. Playing outside in the gorgeous weather.

243. Finally something, extremely important that I have been looking for! (for a long time at that)

244. Reading his Action hero Bible with him---just the two of us!

245. Singing songs before bed with them (their favourite 'Jesus loves the little Children', but I put each one of our names in the song, instead of saying children---they LOVE it).

246. Ann's words, as usual she inspires, challenges, and just makes me tear all up!

247. Getting a call for an interview.

248. St. Patty's day parties, crafts and activities at school.

249. Daddy/son day in Banff (they went mountain bike riding, ate Sushi, stopped at the candy shop, and had ice-cream).

250. Letting her pick out nail polish.

251. Going for a nice walk.

252. Chatting with a good friend and hearing her words of encouragement.

253. Special time with her. Since it is too hard to take her out for a special princess day with Jude in tow, I pampered her at home. She did not want to take her feet out of the foot bath. I painted her toes and fingers. I gave her a foot scrub and sprayed special foot refreshing spray on, but she just wanted to leave her feet in that tub all day long. (as you can see Jude liked the foot bath too)!

254. Sleeping in.

255. My hubby who goes out late to buy me advil.

256. Zech and Gigi playing outside all morning long.

257. Catching up on some emails and paper work that was long over do.

258. Our little evangelist who is so concerned that 'everyone' know Jesus (he asked our neighbour if he knew Jesus--what a kid).

259. Catching up on some blog writing.

260. Coming upstairs to see that my 5 year old still had his light on and seeing that he fell asleep reading his Bible. (pretty cool to see your child fall asleep literally in the Word--:o)

261. Late night texts to see why he is not home from work yet and getting the response that he is ministering and witnessing to some really needy kids. Lots of kids were asking really deep questions, sharing deep hurts, really opening up. We have been praying so much for this!

262. Making ju-jube creations.

263. Baking soda, vinegar, and food colouring and the entertainment it provides.



264. Going to Fort Calgary.



265. Exploring new places we have had yet to see.

266. Eating out....celebrating early.

267. The pirate pack and the entertainment it provides. Forget the food, I should just buy them the boat.

268. A morning all to myself and my baby.

269. Taking a nap and cuddling him after a long night, when both of us have been really under the weather.

270. Reflecting on 7 years.

271. Talking with my sister on the phone.

272. Telling him my struggles, my fears, my worries. What would I do without my amazing husband whom I can share this with.

Celebrating 7 years

My amazing husband and I are celebrating seven years today. Wow, what an amazing seven years it has been! I am truly blessed beyond words. God sure knew what He was doing when he brought John into my life.

- I take my husband for granted far too often, he gets the brunt of my grumpiness, he puts up with my argumentativeness and my stubbornness when I am letting my pride get the best of me.

- He listens to me, he hears my rants, my desperation, my feelings of complete and utter frustration and exasperation when I just can't go on. He encourages me.

- He tells me what my gifts are, as I feel like God forgot about me in that area.

7

- He inspires me, in so many ways, but especially in his desire to speak the truth always and to live for God and God alone no matter what people say or think. I really struggle with that!

- He tells me I am beautiful, even when I am struggling so bad with losing all of the pregnancy weight and feel like a big fat blob.

- He gives me hugs when I need them most.

- He prays with me, and for me and for our kids.



- He prays for our enemies.

- He fights for me, sticks up for me, he honours me and he loves me!

- He parents with me, supports me and helps me out so incredibly much!

- He buys me Rolo ice-cream (which doesn't help with the weight loss, but it's the thought).

- We both desire the same things in life.

- He is such an amazing Dad to our three kids, which really makes me love him that much more.

- I think he is the sexiest man alive and I am not afraid to say that (he will blush at this).




I know that my list could go on....

Happy Seven Years my love. I am so honoured to be spending my 'happy ever after' with you.



**Please keep us, especially John in prayer today. True love means that we will be spending our anniversary apart as he has a big interview with a prospective church tonight over the phone. He has already made the short list. They will be interviewing the four people on the short list today and tomorrow and by the end of this week they will determine who they want to come and candidate. We also have another interview in a week from now--which both of us have to be at. It's in God's hands, we know that and we trust in that. Where ever He wants us, is where we will be.

Recipes to Share

I know I have said this here before, but I do really love pinterest! I have been making some 'freezer' meals and needed some ideas, so off to pinterest I went. I had to make a few casseroles for a young, single mom of 5. Her son is in Zech's class and she just had twin girls (not to mention her 13 year old and 2 year old she also has). It is a pretty difficult situation, she is alone, lots of 'issues', but she needs help. So I got busy and made some meals. I also had to make some vegetarian meals as her son doesn't like meat.

So I thought I would share what I made:

1. Spaghetti Squash Lasagna

This was super easy to make and looked awesome. I didn't make enough for us, but will definitely try it. So I can't really tell you what it tasted like, but it looked good, smelled good and was very easy to make.

2. Baked Broccoli Macaroni and Cheese

I didn't mind this one. I think I would have preferred my broccoli a little crunchier, which was totally my fault. If would have been better if I hadn't cooked the broccoli as much as I did. Still good though.

3. Tuna Casserole

LOVED this one. I think that this is by far one of the best Tuna Casseroles I have ever had (and I have tried a few). I didn't have mushrooms on hand (plus my kids don't like them), so I never put them in, but I did put corn instead. Definitely one I will make again.

4. Kalyn's Stuffed Cabbage Casserole

I have made this one and frozen a few for us. I haven't actually tried it yet, but a good friend made it and said it was awesome. It was another one that looked and smelled good and was pretty easy to make. I will let you know when we try it!


* All photos are from the linked recipe sites

He is only 5 years old.....

We have had some pretty great conversations lately, Zech and I. Zechariah, my social butterfly who loves to talk, loves to socialize and be around people, loves to evangelize and loves to tell us all sorts of wonderful things. He is inquisitive, he thinks very deeply about certain issues, he gets upset easily and he has such an amazingly sensitive heart. For such a fiery spirited little boy, his heart is so gentle and soft, it really catches me off guard.

Lately though our conversations have been centered around a young princess in his class named Kate. Yes he has his own Princess Kate. I listen, ask questions, and I laugh and then it hits me.

HE IS ONLY 5 YEARS OLD!!!

I can not believe I am having these conversations with my 5 year old! It is kind of scaring me, ok freaking me out!

It all started with him asking us a lot of questions about marriage:

- When I am a grown up man, I can get married right?
- I need to marry a woman that knows Jesus?
- Maybe I can marry the girl and I know... teach her about Jesus? (we got out scripture for this one--;o)

It then switched from questions to matter-of-fact statements.

- I am going to marry a beautiful princess mom.
- When I get married I am going to have 5 kids, 3 boys and two girls (he had names for them all too, by the way and he is quite adamant about naming one of his boys after his Dad--John---because he knows that Zechariah in the Bible had a son John)
- My wife will have long hair just like you mom (such a sweet thing, cause I am hating the long hair right now).

Then a specific name started being mentioned and this is how our conversation went:

Zech: Mom, I really like Kate.

Me: Oh, why do you like Kate?

Zech: She is so beautiful and she talks so sweet. (yup his words exactly--my little Romeo)

Me: Wow, what does she look like? (I am trying to figure out who she is now)

Zech: She is just beautiful.

Me: Well, what does she look like?

Zech: I don't know, she is just beautiful.

Me: You will have to show me who she is when I pick you up next. (little did I think that he would.....)

So yes, the next day I went to pick him up and remember, Zech is not shy, and really knows nothing about being discreet. So right there in the boot room as parents are rushing in to pick their little 5 YEAR OLDS up, Zech comes running up to me and yells at the top of his excited little lungs:

"look Mom, there is Kate, see Mom, that's Kate"

I am beat red at this point and I look up and see beautiful little Kate and her Mom.....I smile and nod 'hi'. I mean really what do I say---well hello Kate's Mom, my 5 year old is infatuated with your 5 year old daughter and thinks she is beautiful---let's arrange a marriage!

I should know by now, that Zech is a black and white kind of kid. Everything is very literal to him.

I thought that his love for Kate would subside and that it was 'just a phase'. However, just this week he came home and told me:

Zech: Mom, I told Kate that I am going to marry her and Nick is going to marry Ema.

Me: (choking on my water) oh really....

Zech: (before I could say anything further) she smiled at me Mom, when I said I was going to marry her, yup she smiled at me. (you should have seen how proud he was that she smiled at him)


All I can say is that he is only 5 years old. AHHH!

My first run.....how not to run

So I finally went for a run. I am not injured, I do not have any ailments that prevent me from running, I just don't have the time. It is a scheduling problem. I started doing workouts in the mornings when Zech is at school and when Jude is finally napping. However, my little girl has been seriously neglected. I didn't want the middle child syndrome to affect her----you know the 'forgotten one'. That is kind of what she has been. So I have been trying to spend more time with just her, playing with her, reading with her, doing crafts with her. So their went my morning workout time (I am a morning work out person---love getting my workouts, runs, whatever done in the mornings).

I would then do my workouts as soon as the kids were in bed, which went great until we all got sick again. So frustrating.

Anyways, I have had a few frustrating days and nights with Jude and he just would not go down for his nap, so I decided that the weather was nice and I was going to take them out for a run. I put them in the Chariot and off we went. I was also hoping that he would go back to sleep

I LOVE running. It is such a stress reliever for me. It is one of the times when I can truly get alone with God and just empty, release, hand over everything. I have had some of my most amazing, intimate times with Him on my runs.

Today was not one of those times............

- the weather was warm, yes.......but the wind was atrocious and I forgot my ear thingy's in the van which John had.

- Genesis cried the entire time.....which meant Jude did not go back to sleep.

- I forgot that we live in a really, hilly part of Cochrane.

- I let Genesis out to run in the flat field and then she decided that she didn't want to get back in the Stroller, she wanted to walk or run beside me (she can't keep up--yet).

- She was forced back in the Stroller.

- She then screamed the entire rest of the ride and kept asking over and over and over if we could go to the park.

- Her consequence for not listening to me was 'no' park time.

- She then started screaming......"I want to go to the park" like a broken record.

- The wind was insane, I felt like I was running hard, but barely moving.

- I forgot about the super steep hill I had to go up on the last part of the run. Ouch!

- Only Twenty minutes and I felt more stressed, more burnt than I did before I went.

So that was my first run. I am sore, and I am now sick. My entire body aches and I feel like I have been hit by a truck. I want to run again, but am a little 'scared' to right now after that little epsiode. Hopefully next week is better, as this first run was a good example of 'how not to run'!

Jude at 6 months

I know, I say it every time, but seriously I can't believe my baby is 6 months old! ;o) I love this little boy. He is such a blessing to our family. He is such a happy, easy going character. Even though it is the toughest job in the world being a mother, a parent, I wouldn't trade it for anything in the world.

So our little Jude dude at 6 months:

- weighs 18lbs. 9 oz.

- is approximately 29 inches long (it is so hard to get this measurement)
- wears size 4 diapers

- wears 12 months clothing (he really grew this past month it seems....he is so long now....most people always think that he is almost a year old--not 6 months)

- has switched to his big boy car seat now (I should have switched a month ago, but it is so hard not having the convenience of carrying him around, letting him sleep)

- started solids and he LOVES food. I mean this kids can eat. I started the once a day feeding and found that he was reaching for food every time we sat down to eat. I now feed him 2-3 times a day.

- has eaten cereal, apples, bananas, peas, carrots, sweet potatoes, peaches, pears, blueberries, chicken soup

- seriously loves ALL food. My other two had their preferences, but Jude doesn't care what it is, just as long as you are feeding him and getting it to him fast enough he is happy.

- loves his frozen peaches!

- makes the funniest sounds when eating!

- rolls all over the floor. He is not crawling, but he rolls and arches his back to get everywhere.

- sits on his own and loves to sit and play with his toys.

- is still teething, but nothing has broke through (he is the latest teether now).

- loves to stand up and see the world. He is super curious like his brother and sister were.

- is still so SMILEY!
- Loves to play with his brother and sister.

- Sits in the stroller and grocery carts like a big boy now.

- Loves his bath time and could stay in the water all night.

- Has two naps, one around 9:30 am and the other after lunch. He will also have a cat nap around 6:30 - 7:00 pm. He goes to bed about 8:00 pm and is still so sporatic with his sleep. I wish I could say he is a great sleeper, but he is not and I am EXHAUSTED!

- Had his first swing ride and a few more since.

- Went down the slide with Mommy for the first time.

- Talks so much and is so vocal. His favourite thing to say lately is ba,ba,ba,ba! (his siblings think this is the funniest thing ever).

- Loves to play the piano. He is so funny on it. I will have to post some video.

- Loves when we sing and will try and join in....even at worship in church.

- He is such a cuddle bug. Every time I pick him up, he wraps his arms around me and just snuggles right in. He really is our cuddler. I love it----LOVE IT!

- Loves to be outside.

- He knows his daddy and gets really excited to see him.

- Is so ticklish and has the cutest little giggle.