Meanwhile, Leah and I cooked and our boys built a deck.


While at Leah’s I made:


2 – My Awesome Meatloaf
8-  Hamburger Patties
3-  Beefy Spinach Casseroles

Reason #10
Kiddos self-entertain.

They played and played. The swam, sandboxed, trampolined, Barbied and My Little Ponied. And, after all that they watched a little Toy Story.


Reason #9
Lots of girlie talk and tips. She has forever changed the way I cook my ground beef…. more on that in a minute.


Reason #8
There’s another mama around when you are elbow deep in chicken juice and your little one needs a potty break.


Reason #7
She serves the best post-freezer day meal to both your crews… like it’s nothin’

Reason #6
The day goes a lot faster and you get LOTS done.


Reason #5
Friends have the coolest kitchen gadgets you get to try on for size.

Leah had the niftiest ground beef wand thingy. And, she has fundamentally changed the way I will cook ground beef from here on out… She cooks her beef in a pot with the wand and it always comes out perfectly broken up.  I heart it. Really.


Reason #4:
If you forget something, she’s got your back.

I had planned on making burgers, but forgot to pick up a burger press… Miss Leah had me covered


Reason #3
When you are making Beefy Spinach Casserole and realize your can of Cream of Mushroom turns out to be Cream of Chicken, you have someone to trade with




Reason #2
She finds the COOLEST cookbooks… that you immediately go out an buy the next day!

Reason #1:
She doesn’t laugh at you when you accidentally use puree instead of paste in your gigantic pot of sauce that never seems to thicken…

Oh my sauce. Ugh. I cooked and cooked that sauce and it never got thick. It wasn’t until the very end of the day that I realized what I had done wrong.


I put my oil in my crocks per Life As Mom’s Recipe

And there I went and done it.


So, now you know my secret… Martha doesn’t live here.


Fear not, I was able to save it after a quick trip to Aldi’s the next day and a couple more hours in my kitchen at home….

2- Aunt Mary’s Pork Loin Mary-nade-new

Done and in the freezer