Slow Cooker Saturday: Shredded Beef Tacos

Hoorah for me actually showing up to a Slow Cooker Saturday. I have been MIA on Saturdays around here for a couple of weeks. Chalk it up to crazy weekends. It surely isn't because I haven't been using my slow cooker, 'cause I have.

A slow cooker using fool, that is me.

Let me introduce you to these Shredded Beef Tacos.

Reader, meet Taco...

Why Hello....

Sorry for the food conversation. Where was I.

Oh right, the tacos.

These are scrumb-diddli-umcious people.

Srumb.Diddli.Umcious.

We served these at our recent Turning Uno Birthday Mexican Fiesta. These tacos were a crowd pleaser. In fact, the next day when Oldest asked for leftovers and I had to tell him they were gone, he was pretty displeased.

He was really counting on another Shredded Beef Taco.

Oh this meal was yummy. I am kind of wishing that it wasn't several weeks ago when I made this. I am kind of wishing it was like um cooking in my slow cooker right now...okay like really I wish that it was already done cooking so I could eat while typing. All the while dripping yummy taco bits all over my keyboard.

The rice and beans were good too...we will talk about that another day. Here is a teaser. Yum.

Besides being delicioso (yea I just threw in my best Spanish, which I know thanks to Dora), these are insanely easy to make.

Roast and fixins just chilax in the slow cooker for the day. Then when it is done cooking, you just shred it up and serve it up on a tortilla with your favorite taco toppings.

Seriously yum.

Slow Cooker Shredded Beef Taco
classy cooking

Printable Recipe

1 2-3lb chuck roast
1 14oz can beef broth
1 1/2 Tablespoons chili powder
1/2 Tablespoon cumin
1/2 Tablespoon onion powder
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 teaspoon salt
freshly cracked black pepper
juice of 1 medium lime

flour tortillas
lettuce, shredded
cheese (I used cojita a Mexican crumble cheese)
guacamole
sour cream 
pico de gallo
cilantro    

In a bowl, whisk together the chili powder, cumin, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper.

Place the roast in the slow cooker. Pour the beef broth over the roast. Then add the lime juice. Sprinkle the roast with the spice mixture. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours.

Remove the roast from the slow cooker. Remove any fat. Shred the beef and return to the slow cooker. Cover with a lid and cook an additional 30 minutes.

Remove the shredded beef from the juices. Serve up on a warm tortilla, topped with your favorite taco toppings.      

Fun with the Kids Fridays: 10 Boy Approved Picture Books

Today I thought I would share some of my Little Men's favorite picture books.

Reading is kind of a big deal around here.

 

I am a big fan of reading and have been for as long as I can remember. The hours I spent reading The Babysitter's Club and Nancy Drew.

One of the first things I bought when we were ready to start our family was books. Oh how I love books.

Actual in my hands, turn the pages, books. I especially love beautiful Children's books.

So I bought away. Green Eggs and Ham. Cat in the Hat. The Monster at the End of This Book. So on and so on.

While the boys still love all of the classics I bought while Oldest was bakin' away in my belly, they have evolved a little in their tastes in books.

We have gone from Green Eggs and Cats to Construction, Boogers, Dinosaurs, Monsters, Funny Sounding Names, Silly Words, Bad Manners, Shenanigans, Burpring, and of course Underwear.

They are after all a houseful of rowdy, sometimes disgusting boys.

So I have compiled a list of 10 boy approved books (favorites in our house), sure to make any dinosaur-lovin', booger giggling, little boy super excited for story time.

Dinosaurs Love Underpants

by Claire Freedman and Ben Cort

The double whammy of boy perfectness--Dinosaurs AND Underwear.

Perfect.

Goodnight, Goodnight, Construction Site

by Sherri Duskey Rinker and Tom Lichentheld

Not much is better in the eyes of a little boy than 

construction equipment. In this book you can say goodnight

to the entire construction site. 

The Hiccupotamus

by Aaron Zenz

The.Best.Book of all time.

This is a family favorite.

Remember how I said love beautiful children's books?

I LOVE the artwork of this book.

Remember how I said boys like silly words?

Silly words like bottomus. Hehehe.

Speaking about silly words and funny names...

Edwina

The Dinosaur Who Didn't Know She Was Extinct

by Mo Willems (our favorite author)

This is a very silly story that showcases a 

dinosaur (yes a girl dinosaur) and a little

boy by the name of Reginald Von Hoobie-Doobie. 

They laugh every single time we read his name.

More Mo Willems?

Yes, please.

Don't Let the Pigeon Stay Up Late

(or any of the Pigeon books really)

by Mo Willems

This pigeon has a level of weasel and deals

mostly in shenanigans.

I think my boys totally root for him to get his way.

I am sure they are hoping for the same victory.

Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible,

No Good, Very Bad Day 

by Judith Viorst

A classic. Poor Alexander just can't 

catch a break. Grumpiness ensues.

There are days I am sure my boys relate to poor,

poor Alexander. They too probably want

 to move to Australia...

or at least to the neighbor's, whom I have been told are way

funner parents than me.

Speaking of another classic.

Where the Wild Things Are

by Maurice Sendak

Could there be a better book for a

 little wild thing boy?

I don't have to recap this story, you all know it.

Best little monster story ever.

Russel the Sheep

by Rob Scotton

Poor Russell can't sleep.

Whatever will he do to get to sleep?

He might give your little ones some ideas.

No, David!

by David Shannon

All of the David books are awesome.

I think my boys feel some camaraderie

with Little David. 

Hearing "NO!" all the time and all.

I kind of saved the best for last.

How Do Dinosaurs Get Well Soon?

by Jane Yolen and Mark Teague

A house full of boys can not get enough dinosaurs.

These books have awesome illustrations of dinosaurs who all 

find themselves in situations similar to regular little boys.

There are tons of  "How Do Dinosaurs..." books. They are all pretty 

fantastic and dinosauriffic.

I hope you enjoyed seeing our list of favorite boy-approved pictures books. Now these books are also delightful for the little ladies in your house too just in case you were worried I was leaving them out. 

I just tend to know more about Little Men, being as I am surrounded by them day in and day out.

Stay-tuned for an upcoming boy-approved chapter books list.

Happy Friday. 

Happy reading!

Linking:
Your Homebased Mom,
Love and Laundry

Honey Oat Granola

We love ourselves some vanilla yogurt and granola around here.

For breakfast it is a definite hit. All.the.time.

Well for that matter most of my kids would eat it any time of day. Okay, I am pretty sure everyone in the house BUT Bean would eat granola and yogurt all the time. AND to be fair, he doesn't have enough teeth to eat granola otherwise he probably would too.

Bottom line, we wouldn't pass up a bowl of yogurt and granola if it were offered to us.

For as much as we like this lovely duo, I shockingly had never made homemade granola.

Shriek. Gasp. What?!?

Don't judge. I am kind of lazy and have been just fine with filling up on granola bulk-style at our local grocery store.

For some reason I was feeling pretty ambitious lately ( I blame being in party mode the last month) and I decided to make myself some homemade granola.

Good news is that it was super duper easy to make, because the bad news is I am back to feeling a tad bit lazy!

We have already almost completely gone through my first batch of homemade granola. It was so, so yummy.

I am already imagine all the variations I can make. Alas, that will have to wait until I am feeling less lazy...hahaha.

For now this will do, after all I already have all the ingredients already on hand. I am probably going to be making more soon. Very soon.

Happy eating!

Honey Oat Granola
adapted from Half Baked Harvest 

Printable Recipe

3 cups quick oats
1 cup crushed cornflakes cereal
6 Tablespoons cornmeal
1/2 teaspoon of salt
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 cup honey
4 Tablespoons coconut oil
1 1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 Tablespoon brown sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Combine oats, cornflakes, cornmeal, salt and baking soda in a bowl and set aside.

In a glass, microwave safe bowl or measuring cup, mix the honey and coconut oil. Place in the microwave fro 30 seconds and stir. Then heat it for another 30 seconds and stir until the coconut oil is fully melted. Add in the vanilla and brown sugar. Whisk to mix. Pour the liquid mixture over the oat mixture. Mix until completely combined.

Pour into a 9x13 baking dish and press down into the pan. Bake for 20-25 minutes until the top is golden.

Let the granola rest in the pan for 10 minutes. Then take a spatula and break up the granola into crumbles. Lay out on a cutting board or a baking sheet and let cool completely, stirring occasionally.

Store in an air-tight container.

Linking:

Your Homebased Mom,
Love and Laundry,
Suburbs Mama

A Pinteresting Wednesday: Charlie Brown Party Invites

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Welcome to another A Pinteresting Wednesday--Charlie Brown Party Edition.

I am kind of hoping you all aren't all Charlie Brown'ed out. When I do a party it tends to kind of consume all my creating time. Consequently I have a lot of party related projects to share.

So fingers crossed you guys are waiting on the edge of your seats for the next Charlie Brown Birthday Party installment...

Or at the very least you are mildly interested in the crazy antics of yours truly and are kind of waiting to see what I come up with next!

I have said before that Pinterest has made throwing a party all the easier.

Not only can you find entire parties in certain themes, but you can also find different ideas here and there that would fit into a specific theme.

I have used Pinterest to help me plan a Superman Party, a Harry Potter Party, an Avengers Party, and recently a Mexican Fiesta First Birthday and of course a Charlie Brown Party.

Most of the time I use ideas I pin as PINspration...sorry I had to..ehem..

So as I was saying I use Pinterest as a jumping off point.

Today I am sharing with you my Charlie Brown Birthday Party Invites.

I had THIS invite from Piggy Bank Parties on my Charlie Brown Pinterest Board.

I made a simple little version of their card for Little's invite. I used PicMonkey, of course.

I didn't just want the party invite, though. I also wanted an envelope for the invite.

I had this little idea to use Peanuts comic book images as the paper for the envelope.

I had this Peanuts comic book.

I scanned in one of the comic strips that I liked.

I edited the image in Picmonkey, adding a text box saying, "You Are Invited".

I printed off the image twice, once with the words and once without.

Then I sewed the two papers together right sides facing out.

That made a perfect little pocket envelope for the Charlie Brown Party Invite.

All I had to do is repeat so each little party guest got one.

Pinterest is perfect for a little inspiration.

My Time to Party Board is jam-packed full of party ideas.

Are you throwing a party anytime soon? Do you use Pinterest too?

I would love for you to follow Just Another Day in Paradise on Pinterest.

Printing on a Lunch Sack

Printing on lunch sacks is one of my new favorite ways to create my own cute packaging.

I first did printed on lunch sacks for our teacher Brownie Points Valentine's.

I have used it several times since...it is AHHHHdicting.

Most recently I made these take-home bags for Little's Charlie Brown Birthday Party. Through a little bit of trial and error I have worked out a method of printing on lunch sacks that works out pretty well for me.

Today I am sharing my handy dandy method of printing on a lunch sack.

The very first step of course is creating the image you will use on the lunch sack.

I created this image by using an image of Charlie Brown and adding the text and word bubble in the online photo editing program PicMonkey.

I saved it to my computer.

Then I opened up a Word document. I edited the margins to the narrow setting.

Insert the image into your document. You will want it justified left. The image will most likely need to be shrunk down a tad to make sure it fits on the bag. You will also want to move the image down a tad.

Now, if you print the bag now, the image would be facing the wrong way. So you need to flip it.

First, under page layout go to the ROTATE icon. Flip the image vertically. If there is any writing it will be as if you are looking in a mirror.

So the last step is to ROTATE the image HORIZONTALLY.

Now the image is upside down and facing the proper way.

To actually print the image on the bags, first grab some lunch sacks. For this project I used white bags.

You will want the "bottom" of the bag to face the top and the "bottom flap" of the bag to face you.

Load the lunch sack into your printer with the "bottom" facing up.Move the slider in the printer over so it rest right against the edge of the lunch sack (you know like when you print on an envelope).

Now all you have to do is print it off.

I do recommend doing a trail run first. Sometimes the printer has a hard time feeding the bag through. No matter how many times I have done it, there is still a little bit of trail and error. You might have to move your image up or down to get it right were you want it.

Once it comes out perfect, just keep printing until you have all your bags.

I had fun adding these Charlie Brown Chevron Sugar Cookies to my freshly printed Charlie Brown take-home party bags.

I tied them up with a little strip of fabric. Then they waited patiently until the end of the party until it was time to go home with our cute and happy party guests.

I pretty much promise that once you try this, you will use this technique all the stinking time. You might even come up with gifts you can give out just so that you can print on some more bags.

You probably should just go buy lunch sacks in bulk.

Just sayin'.

Thanks for stopping by.

I would love for you to share this how-to 

on Pinterest and/or Facebook.

Love, love, love it.

Linking:
Sugar Bee Crafts, Today's Creative Blog,
Lil'Luna, High Heels and Grills,
The 36th Avenue,
Your Homebased Mom,
Love and Laundry,
Suburbs Mama