What's for Dinner?

Tonight we had Italian Beef for dinner. It seems like I've made this at least once a month in the 9 years we've been married. It's one of Rob's favorites and it's very easy to make.

Italian Beef

4 lbs - Beef Shoulder Roast

2 - Cans of Beer (any kind)

2 - Packets of Italian Dressing or Louie's Seasoning Packets

Hand full of Pepperocini Peppers & some of pepper juice

(you can use banana peppers instead if you prefer)

I put the roast in the slow cooker first thing in the morning and add all of the ingredients listed above. Let it cook all day on high.
Shred the meat and serve on hoagie rolls (or whatever bread you have available!)

Tonight I used banana peppers since I was out of pepperocini peppers and buns instead of hoagie rolls. I decided to make this early this morning so I had to use what was available. - And it was still very good!

I got really ambitious after making dinner. Rob asked that I make a cake tonight so I dusted off my cake bible - The Cake Mix Doctor By: Anne Byrn. I cannot say enough how much I absolutely Love Love Love this book! It's full of great easy recipes and helpful tips.

So tonight's dessert is: Amaretto Cake (This is the one Rob has been asking me to make for about a year now.)

This cake would be much prettier had I made it into a bundt cake but this way was easier - that and I absolutely hate my silicone bundt pan. It's almost impossible to clean and it always takes a lot longer for baking time. Why I still own these I don't know. Maybe I'll give them away one day.

A reminder for this cake. It contains a lot of alcohol (3/4 cup in the batter and 3 1/2 tbsp in the glaze) so it's more of an adult cake. My children didn't get to eat any of it but I bought them popsicles so they forgave me.

Rob & I gave this cake a 7 out of 10. We both really liked it but it was a little heavy on the alcohol for our taste.

If you are wanting to try the Amaretto Cake recipe I found it posted on this site: http://recipeclippings.com/mf/8/7467

It's Broke!

Travis had a snowboarding incident yesterday. He made it down the hill but then fell. He landed on his thumb which dislocated and broke it. We spent several hours in the E.R. getting him fixed up, at least temporarily.

Paige (16 yr. old cousin) was with us. She really wanted to see Travis scream in pain but was disappointed. Travis never made a peep but grit his teeth while they were pulling his thumb back in place.

I don't think Travis will be snowboarding any time soon. Next week we have an appointment with the Orthopedic Surgeon. The emergency room doctor made it sound like he'll have to have surgery and get pins put in.

I'm hoping for a speedy recovery. Travis, I think is silently hoping not to have P.E. for the rest of the school year!

Meet the Family

Meet Punky (his real name is Jeff)

Jeff is 2 years old and the youngest of our brood. He is bossy, temperamental, adorable, and sweet.

He's your typical boy. He loves trains, trucks, toy swords, and Mario (the game of course). Jeff loves mario and luigi so much he has named his stuffed monkey, Mawigi. Cute huh?

Meet Alan

Alan is our middle child. He's 13 years old and is a loving wonderful son.. as long as he's not around his brothers and then it's like watching WWF (is that even around anymore?)

Alan loves to ride his bike and play video games. His passion is the military so I'm guessing he plans to follow in his father's footsteps and enlist once of age.

Meet Travis

Travis is our oldest son. He's 14 years old and thinks he knows it all. (He's a teenager, what did you expect?)

Travis is the video game and computer wizard. It would not surprise me at all if he was designing video games in the near future.

His plans after HS is to move to the UK and join the British Army. I don't think he's thought this out yet. lol

Then there is us (Erin & Rob)

I'm only posting a picture of us together because I don't really have any updated pictures of us. Infact this picture is over 2 years old! I need to work on that I guess.

Rob is 38 years old and is an Electrician and Weekend Warrior (my words, not his). He enjoys computer games and flying model aircrafts.

I am 32 and am an Independent Contractor working from home. Sounds almost exciting huh? It's not. lol

I enjoy baking/cooking (although I'm not good at it), scrapbooking (I haven't actually scrapbooked since before Jeff was born), traveling (I don't actually remember the last time I traveled farther than Walmart), and writing (it will get finished one day!).

So there we all are. Our life is crazy and feel like we are living in fish bowl sometimes.. but I'll blog about that another day.

Why Population 505?

I've been thinking about creating a blog for some time now but seemed to get stumped whenever thinking of a title. I wanted something that was unique and catchy. After making a list and checking it twice and polling my family and friends to see what they thought of the semi-finalists. I finally decided on Population 505.

I grew up in a very small town (more like a village actually). It was a place where everyone knew your name and who you belonged to and what you ate for breakfast that morning. I was related to over half the town so it always felt like home.

After 9 years of marriage, 3 kids, a long process of finding land, and building a house. My husband and I have finally moved back home. We have now officially made the town population 505.