Bitter and Sweet

If there was ever a day, or moment, or weekend, that was both precious and sad, well, this past weekend was it. In 2012, a precious little Schnauzer entered my life. It was right after my divorce and I was finding that when my children were hanging out with daddy, for the weekend, my house felt empty and quiet and I wasn’t too big a fan of being alone. So entered, Millie, this sweet and energetic girl that I fell in love with at the local Animal Shelter. She became my companion, my partner, my girl. This weekend we had to say goodbye to sweet Millie and it was so much harder than I could have expected. The house feels a bit empty without her the pitter patter of her paws on the hard wood floors or the sounds of her snoring in her corner spot of the living room. She will forever be missed.

Since I’ve gotten the sad part out of the way, let me tell you about the sweet. Saturday, I picked up my nieces and nephew for the day so all the cousins could play together. We enjoyed lunch, sidewalk chalk, coloring around the table, soccer in our cul de sac, and a trip to the SWEETEST snow cone shop in town….SUGAR BOOGER.

I had been seeing this snow cone shop, pop up on Facebook, on multiple friend’s feeds. My friends were raving about it and the pictures had me intrigued.

Unicorn Snot

Y’all! These snow cones are like none I’ve ever seen before. They are HUGE! They are FUN! and they are SWEET! You could easily share one between 2-3 people, but what’s the fun in that? And of course my children got a huge kick out of the names: Unicorn Snot, Dr. Pepper Pimple Popper (I know right?! lol), Bloody Booger, Berry Booger (which was amazing!), and so much more.

Bloody Booger

The giggles and the sticky smiles made for a perfect summer day. So if you’re ever in Jenks, Oklahoma, be sure and make a stop at this sugary shop. It’s sure to be a sweet memory for the whole family.

Berry Booger

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Pulled Pork Enchiladas

Tuesday nights, in our house, is always Taco Tuesday and Movie Night. We usually eat dinner earlier than most nights, make a pallet in the living room, pop popcorn, settle in with our favorite candy or treat, and spend the next 2 hours uninterrupted as a family. It’s one of our favorite nights of the week.

For this Taco Tuesday I wanted to change things up a bit and remembered that I had pulled pork, in the freezer, from when my sweet husband smoked a pork roast a couple weeks ago. All I did, ya’ll, was build this recipe just as a I would if I were making beef enchiladas. It was so good!

I’ve been doing theme nights, in regards to meals, for quite some time now. It helps me stick to a grocery budget and keeps our weeknight meals simple, easy, yet delicious. Our kids love our theme nights and are often throwing out ideas, at me, for future ones.

I start this recipe by heating up the pulled pork in a skillet with 1 Tablespoon of butter. You can always use Avocado Oil. Warming up the pork this way helps the enchiladas cook faster in the oven, and it pulls out the flavor of the pork a lot better, in my opinion. *I also warm up the corn tortillas in Avocado Oil so they are much easier to roll and manage.

Start by adding 2 Tablespoon of your Enchilada Sauce to the bottom of your 9×13 pan. *For this recipe I used an organic Red Enchilada Sauce from our local food market. My goal is to make a homemade sauce for next time. I’ll keep you posted on that.

Place pulled pork down the center of the corn tortilla, top with your favorite shredded cheese, roll, then place in pan. Repeat till the pan is filled with your hand rolled enchiladas.

Pour remaining Enchilada Sauce on top of the enchiladas, top with shredded cheese, place in a 350 degree oven for 15-20 minutes and the cheese is all melted and bubbly.

*Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy! 

Pulled Pork Enchiladas

3 Cups of Pulled Pork

10-12 Corn Tortillas

1 (15oz can) Red Enchilada Sauce (or homemade)

1-2 Cups of shredded cheese (your preference)

1 Tablespoon of Avocado Oil

1 Tablespoon of Butter 

Instructions

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
2. Melt 1 Tablespoon of butter in a skillet. Add pulled pork to quickly heat through. 
3. In another skillet, heat 1 Tablespoon Avocado Oil, place corn tortilla in skillet and cook on both sides, quickly. No more than 1-2 minutes. 
4. Place 2 Tablespooons of Red Enchilada Sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 casserole pan. 
5. Fill each enchilada with pork and shredded cheese, roll and place in casserole pan.
6. Pour remainder enchilada sauce on rolled enchiladas. Top with cheese (as little or as much as you want).
7. Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes until the cheese is melted and bubbly around the edges.

*Top with cilantro, sour cream, guacamole, whatever your heart desires.

Friday Finds

It’s August 2020 and we are in the midst of a pandemic. The question that has plagued us as a family and a community, lately, is whether or not we send our babies back to school. Do we send them to school for in-class instruction, or do we continue with distance learning? For our district, and family, it’s both. Our district has compiled a framework that looks like this: Week 1 – first half of the alphabet will report to school to meet teachers face-to-face, begin to build relationships, and learn the distance learning program/model. Week 2 – 2nd half of the alphabet will report to school. Then Week 3 – we all start distance learning together. I know it’s still not the ideal situation for most of our students, but…….pandemic. I do know that I am blessed to work for and have my children in a district that has and is continuing to work hard to protect our staff and families.

Part of protecting our staff and students is wearing masks while we are in the building. (This is not a debate on whether masks work or not and whether it’s an infringement on our freedom.) This is, however, where my Friday Finds comes in……..Face Masks. I simply want to share the ones I’ve purchased for myself and my kiddos. Keep in mind, the ones I’m going to share with you are not medical grade, but they are reusable, washable, breathable, and comfortable.

Anthropology

Let me start by saying, I still can’t get used to seeing face masks as part of the accessories category in some of my favorite stores/boutiques. (I’m just here for the earrings people.) That being said, I did purchase these from Anthropology and, well, I love them. They are lightweight, soft, breathable, easy to wash, and easy to wear for long hours if needed. And might I go as far as saying they are pretty adorable.

Old Navy
Old Navy
Old Navy

For the kiddos, I headed to our trusted Old Navy. I purchased each kid a set of 5, one for each day of the school week. These masks are 3-ply, reusable, washable, durable, and can even be disinfected at the end of each use.

I honestly don’t know how long we will be required to wear face masks when walking into stores or school buildings, but I do know one thing, when this is all over part of me wants to burn the masks and part of me wants to place them in a keepsake box with some other items (hand sanitizer, toilet paper, disinfecting wipes, etc.) to one day share this bit of history with my future grand babies. I’ll keep you guys posted on this decision.

Momma’s Pot Roast

When I was considering what to share as my VERY first food/recipe post, I decided on my favorite Sunday Dinner – Pot Roast. (Bare with me, as this is my first food post and it may need LOTS of improvement).


Sunday’s in my childhood were spent going to church, eating a big, home cooked meal, followed by that Sunday nap. (Glorious!)


The Sunday meals my mom made were different from the rest of the week. These were meals that took extra time and attention. They were special. And these became meals that I now make for my own family.

What I love about this Pot Roast is the ease of putting it in the crockpot and the aromas that feel the house. And my spirit.

Sunday Pot Roast

2-3 lb rump or chuck Roast

1 Tablespoon Garlic Powder

2 Tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce

1 can of Golden Mushroom Soup

1 packer of Onion Soup Mix

4 cups of chicken broth

4-5 carrots cut in 1/2 inch pieces

Directions: 1. Place Roast in crockpot and add the garlic powder and Worcestershire sauce. 2. Mix the soup and 2 cups of chicken broth in a bowl. Pour over roast. 3. Mix the onion soup mix and the other 2 cups of chicken broth in a bowl. Pour over roast. 4. Cover and cook on high for 6-8 hours. 5. Place diced carrots in the crockpot at hour 3.

*serve with garlic mashed potatoes.

Life As We Know It

Life has looked a bit different since March. Many things we used to do we couldn’t do for the time being. However long that was going to be. Restaurants closed. Movie Theaters turned off their screens and closed their doors. Birthday parties were put on hold. Visiting Grandma and Grandpa was postponed. Beach vacation was rescheduled for 2021 🤞🏻. But let me tell you what did happen.

  1. Our favorite restaurant foods were enjoyed in our mini van, on top of parking garages, over looking the Oklahoma sunsets.
  2. Movie nights STILL happened, right in our living room, with popcorn and candy and makeshift forts.
  3. Birthday parades became a thing and how fun did those celebrations become?
  4. We ate dinner and played board games with the grandparents via FaceTime. Thank you technology!
  5. We have soaked up a lot of Vitamin D, poolside, and finally read those books that were stacking up on the nightstand. 😉

I think it’s the root of why I’m so sad that school will be starting soon. I’ve enjoyed EVERY bit of this time with our family and I don’t want to see it end. And neither do our children, which is why we as a family have made the decision to take this year off from team sports/extra curricular activities. WHAT?! Why would we do such a thing??? Kids need activity! And you’re right, they do. Here’s what we are doing instead.

  1. Weekly bike rides through our gorgeous trails around the city.
  2. Hiking and picnics for dinner.
  3. Playing catch at any of our local parks or simply in our backyard.
  4. Building and completing projects as a family.
  5. Tuesday night movie nights in the living room! Yep, even on school nights.
  6. Weekly bible study: This is my favorite!
  7. Rest

Our goal is to continue this focus on our family. Investing in our relationships with our children, investing in their relationship with God, and investing in our health as a whole. The one common statement this household has made was we didn’t want to return to “busy” and not have time for each other.

So here’s to a better, more full-filling, intentional way of doing things.

Hi there!

Welcome to Our Blended House blog. I’m Misty and I am so glad you have popped in for a visit. Let me introduce myself. I’m a wife, a mom, a step-mom (we prefer the term bonus mom), I’m in my mid 40’s, I love coffee first thing in the morning and then again in the afternoon with my husband, chips and guac are life, and I will find any reason to eat cake.

Here you will find easy and delicious recipes from a family who loves to gather around our hand built table, fun activities for the whole family that won’t break the bank, and lots of love and grace. Because let’s be honest, I need all grace I can get. Just ask my kids. 😉

So come on in, grab a cup of coffee, and stay awhile.