What Should I Give Up For Lent?!

Can you believe Lent is only 10 day away!  AHHHHH!!  I'm not ready yet! I don't know what to give up, what to make for dinner on Fridays, it's just too early!  

Usually  I give up ice cream or dessert.  This year though...mmmmmm that may be impossible.  40 days no ice cream?  No dessert?  Ouch!! 

Plan B: google "what to give up for Lent" and hope I find an equally difficult option!  You'd be surprised people have some great ideas!  Like giving up hair styling tools or 90% of your wardrobe.  And I never really though of it, but you can choose to DO something too.  Like read 10 minutes of the bible or eat dinner as a family every night.  

So (of course!) I made a list of all the things you can give up/do this Lent!  Figured I'd help you out a bit and put all the info on one site.  Of course these are not all my ideas...don't give me all the credit, but I did come up with a few.  Hope this helps you make your decision.  

Things to Give Up

Dessert/Chocolate/Ice Cream/Chips/etc.

Coffee/Pop/etc.

Snacking

Eating Out

Alcohol

Smoking

Swearing

Procrastinating

Complaining

Gossiping

Negativity

Arguing

Lying

Texting

Video Games

Television

Social Media

Pinterest

Snooze Button

Hair Styling Tools

Make Up

Shopping

Credit Card

Parking Close (park far away and pray as you walk)

Elevators

Wardrobe (limit yourself to 4 outfits)

Things to Do

Compliment (3 per day)
Donate (3-5 things per week)
Be Grateful (write a list of 3 per day)
Daily Mass
Family Dinner (every night?)
Bible Reading (10 minutes a day)
Random Acts of Kindness (1 per day)

For all those daring souls giving up dessert or ice cream this year....good luck!  I wish you the best and know I'll be at your door Easter morning with a half-gallon and two spoons! (one for you and one for me of course!)

Broccoli Cheese Omelet

Another snow day yesterday.  Don't get me wrong, I love a day off, but they're becoming the norm.  Not quite as special as they used to be.  I can't remember the last time we had full week of school!  A five day streak is gonna be rough!

Five days without sleeping in...and relaxing...and having no homework...and making myself nice breakfasts.  I take that back! They're still special!  Bring on the snow days!  Really, who needs to go to school?  

This particular morning I was in the mood for eggs.  Well, I guess every morning I eat eggs.  But this morning I wanted something other than scrambled.  Leftover broccoli, american cheese....omelet?  Let me tell ya, it was delicious!

Heat your pan over medium heat and add the eggs, salt and pepper.  Cover and let em' cook.

When the top is almost set, like so, take your flipper and flip em over.  

It takes some skill to do it like this.  :)  Years of practice!  Hint: shimmy the flipper to get it under the eggs

Now add your fillings and cheese and fold in half.  I'm going to invent half-circle shaped american cheese slices.  Please tell me why they don't sell them already?  They'd go like hotcakes!  At least I'd buy them.  No more ripping up the slice of cheese!  

Let set just until the cheese is warm and melted.  Perfect time to push down your toast!  Voila!  Perfect(ish) broccoli cheese omelet!  

Broccoli Cheese Omelet

by Simple and Sweet Creations

6071144

Ingredients (1 omelet)

• 1 egg
• 2 egg whites
• 1/4 cup broccoli, chopped
• 1 slice american cheese

Instructions

Heat pan over medium heat.

Add eggs, cover and cook until almost set.

Flip. Add cheese and fillings and fold in half.

Let set until cheese is warm and melted.

Powered by Recipage

Baby Back Ribs

It's finally Super Bowl Sunday! (aka...the BEST DAY EVER!!)  Seattle or New England?  Let me tell ya, it's a tough decision.  Mom's born in Connecticut, but Uncle lives in Washington.  Neutral...?  Never!  That takes all the fun out of it!  You gotta cheer for someone!  

Okay, I'm cheering for the Seahawks.  You can't go wrong with Russell Wilson.  On top of being an amazing quarterback, he seems like a pretty down-to-earth guy.  I always respect that.

And then there's the commercials!  Personally I'm looking forward to Budweiser's.  Kinda disappointed they revealed it early though.  I didn't let myself watch it.  Being surprised is always best.  You gotta have some excitement the first three quarters!  

Excitement?  Well, yeah my families excited for the game and the commercials and the fact we may have snow day tomorrow.  But wait till you see their faces when I pull dinner out of the oven! Surprise...Baby Back Ribs!  Hopefully they don't catch a whiff of em' first!

Just put it this way. No matter which team wins tonight, I'm gonna have a happy household!  And no leftovers!

You'll wanna start making these 3 or 4 hours before dinner.  Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook ribs 2 hours.

Stir everything else in a small saucepan until the jam has melted.  Don't forget to stir!  Sorry for the missing picture...mom and I have started canning our barbecue sauce.  We go through it so quickly it just wasn't worth dirtying a pan every week.  Canning = much more efficient!

After two hours (carefully) place the ribs in a glass dish...and smother em' with the warm barbecue sauce!  Shhhh...I'll turn away!  Go ahead, sneak a little bite!  I know some of that meat is already falling off the bone!

Okay, okay save some for dinner now!  Put em' in a 325* oven for 30 to 40 minutes.  

Baby Back Ribs

6071026

Ingredients

• 2 racks baby back pork ribs
• 1/2 cup strawberry or grape jam
• 2/3 cup Sweet Baby Ray’s original barbecue sauce
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 2 quarter-sized squirts yellow mustard

Instructions

Boil ribs in a large pot for 2 hours.

Combine remaining ingredients in a small saucepan.

Cook on low until jam is melted, stirring frequently. Add more mustard if too sweet.

Preheat oven to 325º F.

Place ribs in a glass dish and completely cover with barbecue sauce.

Bake 30 to 40 minutes uncovered.

Powered by Recipage