Italian Roast Wraps ~ Recipe Highlight

You've probably seen this show up on my menus before but I wanted to spotlight it becuase it's really one of my favorite meals. It's a simple meal and not too expensive when you can find roast on sale. For the longest time I thought that all you could do with a roast was serve it along side carrots and potatoes! But there are lots more you can do with them and this is one of my favorite things.

I cook my roast the same way that Laura at Heavenly Homemakers does, except I add about 1/2 cup of water to the bottom of my crock pot. I do this because I love the juices at the bottom! I like to shred up my meat and mix the juices in. I use the homemade Italian dressing mix from Heavenly Homemakers as well. I've used it to make Italian dressing and just didn't like it but I think it's fantastic as a seasoning for roast! I keep some mixed up and ready in my spice cabinet. Unlike Laura, I don't make my own tortillas. I would love to try but just haven't gotten around to it. I have found three different brands that are whole wheat that don't have partially hydrogenated oils but are made with olive oil. So, I go with the lesser evil. ;) We often have these just as she suggests with chopped tomatoes and sour cream. My boys like the wraps with just meat and cheese. Tonight I made them with feta cheese instead of sour cream and they were so yummy! I usually serve them with sauteed green beans or a salad. I've often thought of using homemade taco seasoning on the roast and making them Mexican style, rather than Italian.

As I said before this can be a pretty economical meal when you can find roasts on sale. It's simple, delicious and good for you too!

What other ways do you like to use roast?

Linking up with

Comfy in the Kitchen

Hello, old friend!

I decided to sit down and see if I could update the ol' blog! I haven't been around in a while! I've got a few minutes, literally a few so let's see what I can share!

(The boys riding their Jeep at Easter)

We're winding down our school year. Can you believe I did it!? My very first year of homeschool! I am so encouraged and just thrilled that God helped me through this year! It was fun! We still have a few weeks left and we'll still keep up the reading during the summer! Luke has done fantastic and we've just had a great year! I pray we have many, many more! Maybe I can get around to sharing what we loved and didn't love about our homeschool curriculum and what I learned along the way. I really wanted to blog more about our journey throughout the year but well, I was a little busy! There are so many moms that make the time to blog and though I love it, I just have a hard time fitting it in. It's one of the things that sometimes falls to the wayside! Maybe next year!

Speaking of Luke, he will be SIX in just a little over a month. He is currently obsessed with both Lego's and Star Wars. So you can imagine what kind of birthday party he wants! He's such a smart boy! He enjoys doing most school work. Reading is a little bit of a struggle, so we take it slow. He really loves all things science and math! He's very strong willed and while we've had some rough times in the area of discipline, I'm beginning to see some fruit there. Praising God for that!

Eli is a mess. He loves to play with his brother and he also loves Star Wars! He is pretty much his brother's shadow. He's still not potty trained and we're very much still struggling with that. In fact this afternoon I found him outside with nothing on from the waist down. He had taken off his pull up in attempts to 'get rid of the evidence'. Oh, that kid.

The Hubs is working hard at work and school. He is getting closer and closer to being finished and I am so proud. We're also involved in planting a church and it is so exciting! We've been meeting twice a month and getting to know everyone in the church plant and praying over and discussing things like what we want the church to be about, how we plan to get involved in the community and more practical things like where are we going to meet (we're currently meeting in a home). The plant consists of families from two local churches. We are so excited to be a part of this and to see what God does! The Hubs and I really feel that God has prepared us for this over the last few years and we are just thankful for His faithfulness to us. It's really amazing how God has put us where we are and brought along side people who are so dear to us and at the same time given us great new friends, all of which we get to serve with! He is just so good! When I have more time I hope to share more! :)

Well, it's bedtime for the boys so I've got a few stories to go read!

Menu Plam Monday (3/26)... and a question... How is your energy level??

It's been a busy few weeks! I'm going to attempt to get back to posting my menus! So, here is what we're eating this week... (keep reading at the bottom I have something important to share!!)

Breakfast:
Cereal (x3) & fruit
French Toast (x2) & fruit
Cinnamon Toast (x2)  & fruit

Lunch:
PB&J, Carrots/Fruit {boys}
Cheese Quesadillas, Ants on a Log {boys}
Salads, leftovers, tuna sandwich, fruit {mom}

Snacks:
Fruit- canteloupe, grapes, strawberries, bananas, apples
Veggies- Carrots and Celery
Yogurt
String Cheese
Smoothies

Dinner:
Cracker Barrel (ate there last night after church)
Fish Fry @ Mom and Dad's
Grilled Cheese Chips & Salsa, Carrot Sticks
Sausage Pasta Toss, Salad (x2)
Baked Lemon Chicken, Summer Pasta Salad
Pancakes, Scrambled Eggs, Orange Slices

So, how is your energy level?? A favorite blogger of mine Arabah Joy is having a week long energy challenge that goes along with her ebook Energy Explosion. I am sooo enjoying reading it along with other ladies. We're all conversing about it on the Energy Explosion facebook page. If you're like me and you need an 'energy makeover' please check out her ebook! It's full of practicle tips for your body and soul! And might I just add that Arabah has a wonderful way of explaining things and she is so encouraging. Her blog is one that I check daily. She just has a beautiful way of explaining scripture and helping the average gal get it! I highly recommend reading anything of hers! So click the links above and check her out! She's just fabulous! :)

pssstt.... the eBook is only $2.99! Go get your energy back!!

Strawberry Mango Smoothie

(Imagine a cute picture of my boys enjoying their smoothie outside. We got a new computer and well, I can't figure out how to get my pictures on it! I've contacted Canon and they say my camera isn't compatible. They did give me steps to get them downloaded but I've tried it and it doesn't work! Frustrating!)


My boys are very picky when it comes to smoothies. They do not like a strong banana or yogurt flavor in them. That is super weird since they like bananas and yogurt by themselves. Most smoothies call for bananas and yogurt so all recipes I've tried haven't gone over well! So, I set out to find some that didn't and this is one that I've altered from another I found online. The boys both loved it! It still has yogurt but not enough for them to turn their nose up!

Strawberry Mango Smoothie (serves 2)

1 cup frozen strawberries
1 cup frozen mango chunks
1/2 cup plain yogurt
3/4 cup milk
1 TBS honey

Add all ingredients into blender and blend well. Since there is so much frozen fruit it took a while to get it going! If you were going to use fresh fruit you would need to add some ice and maybe less milk. This is a great way to get good fats into your kids by using whole milk and full fat yogurt! My yogurt was low fat (boo) but it was the only organic I could find at the store. I'm sure I will be using this recipe with different fruit combinations and maybe even trying to add some spinach to it.