jammies and recipes

Just sharin' a cute picture of the boy monkeys! I *love* the "Carters" brand...first of all for obvious naming reasons, and second because they have a size span that allows both Carter and Trevor to having matching outfits. This time it was some neat rocket ship jammies (Carters brand is also awesome because they don't have any terrible gory/killing/dark character prints that dominate many of the other clothing lines), in footsie version for Carter and grown up two piece style for Trev!

Now, may I present today's accomplishment...

I made these Pretzel Rolls from scratch today! I got the recipe from this blog *http://fabulesslyfrugal.com/2011/01/pretzel-rolls.html* that I just started reading for local coupon deals. These rolls turned out SOOOO GOOD!! The recipe was a bit outside of my normal easy mix/bake zone...but I went for it and they weren't hard at all!!

Also, I don't have a picture to include, but I wanted to share the following recipe. I have to say I honestly don't recall where I got it from (copy and paste culprit) so I can't give proper credit (insert apology to mysterious cook). I've read for a long time about stretching your budget by doing meatless recipes and lentils sounded like some weird gross thing from some far away place I didn't frequent...but I gave it a try and THIS DISH WAS AMAZING!!! Josh and the kids were equally hesitant, but they all give a HUGE thumbs up to how darned delicious this turned out. You can serve this with a nice baked bread and a salad and call it a meal. I also added the leftovers of this into enchiladas I made a couple of nights later and it was YUMMY!

• 3 cups broth (chicken or vegetable)
• 3/4 cup lentils
• 1/2 cup brown rice
• 3/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 teaspoon italian seasoning (I just used some rosemary and oregano because that's what I had on hand)
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I use more)
• 1 cup grated cheese (cheddar or a blend is preferable)

Directions
1. Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
2. Mix all ingredients except the cheese in a baking dish (I use an 11 x 7).
3. Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.
4. Then remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.