Up Before the Birds!

My nan used to get up at a ridiculously early hour in the day and get everything ready and head out to work and I always thought she was crazy to be able to function at such an early time in the morning!

As I have gotten a little older, and hopefully somewhat wiser, I have learned that getting up earlier in the morning can really work wonders for me throughout the day! 

The morning is the best time for time to think, silence, space, no children, hot showers and just room to breathe. 

It is no secret to most people who know me that I usually get up around 4am and my day will go from there! I get maybe 2 hours to myself before the kids start waking up at around 6ish, but they are so much of a pleasure to see at that time of day when i'm already up and ready to go before them! 

This morning, for instance, is a not-so-sunny Sunday morning, but I am happy as pie due to the simple fact that I got up early, had a shower, made some tea and baked a few mini cupcakes and by 5:30am I was myself and ready for the day! 

Here are said cupcakes... 

Luckily it isn't hard to stick to an early-to-rise schedule as my family's schedule works neatly into that timeframe, but it sure does help going to bed early and getting some much needed sleep - granted, the going to bed part of it isn't always a done deal with 2 children under 4 in the house waking up now and then but, for the most part, it is fabulous and I am glad I got on this train! 

It also helps that half of my friends seem never to sleep, ever! And so a quick morning chat keeps things light and there is never a dull moment! 

Here's to the early risers! May the day be ever in your favor - and in everyone elses, too, because whatever works for you, you're doing it right!

Have a great day!

Mean Green Cassarole with Cous Cous! #Recipe

Here is a really quick dinner, or side, which you can make with no fuss or hassle and serve up to the masses!

I call this a Mean Green dinner, which consists of a spaghetti squash, green beans, sprouts, collard greens, a beshamel sauce, cottage cheese, italian breadcrumbs and a little touch of mexican cheese to finish it off - I plated this with a side of spinach cous-cous!

Sounds  like a real mouth-full, I know! BUT! It was delicious and so worth the effort and tongue twister!

So what do you do?! Well, if you are anything like me, you will want to riffle through your fridge and see what veggies you have hiding in there and whip them out on the side and plan this dish around those - any veggies will work and so don't be affraid to give it a try!

For this dish I grabbed a medium sized spaghetti squash and threw that in a pan, in the oven for an hour - you don't have to do anything to it at all, except pierce it a couple of times and throw it in and leave it!

While the squash was cooking, I put green beans, sprouts and collard greens in a pan of hot, boiling and salted water to cook down to a little soft-but-crunchy!

Once the greens are cooked, drain them out and leave them on the side, while you make your sauce!

Within the hour, your spaghetti squash should be cooked and you'll know that it is when you can slice through it with ease!

Scoop out the seeds and then grab a fork and scratch at the insides to rake them out - they will look spaghetti-like if cooked properly, but don't be scared to throw it back in the oven for another 10 minutes if you're having a tough time with it the first time over!

Now that you have your spaghetti squash and greens ready to go, you are going to work on your sauce!

The sauce is a simple bechamel sauce (milk, butter, flour to thicken) with an added cup or two of cottage cheese! I don't have measurements because I cooked this on a whim and by eye and so just go with it and make it how YOU prefer!

Now take your veggies and squash and mix them into your sauce and work it through! Pour the entire mix over to a cassarole dish and put everything else aside!

Top this dish with italian breadcrumbs and grated cheese - or nothing at all, if you would prefer - and cover with foil and place in the oven for 10 minutes to finish it off!

Serve this cassarole with a side of cous cous or rolls, or over baked potatoes - the options are endless and you're going to love your greens!

Enjoy!                                              

Justified Season 6: Episode 1...Fate's Right Hand...

Holy gosh, the new season of Justified is on the move and and it opened with a, well... "bang!"

I can't believe how much tension and drama they bring to the table in every single episode, but I do so love this show and am both thrilled and destroyed to see it in its last season!

I am glad it is ending this year, mostly because a good show shuts itself down with a full cup and wraps everything up, while a not-so-great ending arrives when a show goes on for 3 extra seasons with only 1 season's worth of story just because it wants the paycheck, so! Well done, Justified, I applaud you for getting things done and look forward to this one last hurrah!

Welcome back to one of my favorite casts, with heartbreak, mayhem, awkward silences and heart-stopping hits right out of the gate!

Go  get 'em, Raylan! But do give us a dance, first!

It is fort season, with Pop Secret! #PopSecretForts Build Yours, Today!

 POP SECRET!
***
Pop Secret is your perfect snack companion on trips into the uncharted reaches of your imagination!!

(Disclaimer: This is a compensated post for Pop Secret via Linqia. All images and opinions are my own, your views may vary. Thank you!)

This time of year is the absolute best time of year for indoor-fun, which sometimes comes in the form of that all-time favorite... FORT BUILDING!

Last night was the PERFECT night for distracting the kids with a fort as the snow fell and made it impossible to go outside without freezing off our tootsies, feeling far more enticing to hide away and giggle instead!

We love to keep our forts simple and fun, so grab some chairs, pillows, a table, anything in your room that you can throw a cover over and make that little den as cozy as you like!

We popped up a bag of Pop Secret to help us get through the task and my kids were so very excited to get their butts in the fort - mostly for the snack, but also because, hey! It's a cozy little hide-a-way and who doesn't want one of those!! 

Pajamas on, a few pillows thrown in for good measure and blankets at the ready! Pop on a movie and bring in the Pop Secret!! VOILA! Movie night, fort night, snow-day, awesomeness!!

Oh, and hey! Don't stop with the creativity at your fort's front door! Make that Pop Secret your own, too!

We LOVE the Movie Theater Butter flavor because everybody in the house loves that yummy, buttery taste, but you can also easily add your own goodies to the buttery base! We love to grind up sugar and make it a powder and dust that on, or throw in some cinnamon! Yum, YUM, YUUUM!

Pop Secret loves to keep you going, no matter what you do and you can pick up a $1 off coupon towards your next box, over at their Facebook Page, right now!

Do you have a favorite flavor? What do you like to add to your Pop Secret? Maybe you have a fort to share and, if so, we'd LOVE to see!!

What are you waiting for?

***

Pop Secret knows that fun, like popcorn, is better when it’s shared. Send Pop Secret your pillow fort stories and pictures on Facebook. You can upload them right to the Pop Secret timeline and tag them: #PopSecretForts. They might just share a little something back!

ENJOY!!

The Baby Bullet Review AND Giveaway! Getting Cooking for Baby, Today!

Magic Bullet: BABY BULLET!

(Disclaimer: Mom's Gone Bronson received the following for review and all thoughts are her own. Your views may differ, thank you!)

Everybody! Gather around and meet the Magic Bullet: Baby Bullet - the simplest, easiest and most convenient way to make your own baby-food, from scratch, at home, just the way your baby is going to love it and with all the goodness and nutrition he or she is going to need! 

For as long as I can remember, I have cooked from scratch and I love to feed my children good, healthier foods without any of the added sugars, sweeteners or other products that just simply do not have to be there and I have always mashed and smashed and smoothed the hard way - though have managed to get the job done!

The Baby Bullet really takes out all of the stress that goes along with the baby-food-mashing olympics, though, with its 2 stainless steel blades, high-torque power base, 3 piece batch bowl and storage and mixing accessories!

To make life even easier, the Magic Bullet: Baby Bullet comes with a guide full of recipe ideas for baby and includes goodies from a simple fruit or veg for babies eating for the first time, through to those eating mixed, thicker or a little more complex varieties as they grow!

The Baby Bullet really does take you through the first stages of baby-feeding and lasts beyond! You can always make apple sauces, blends, smoothies, even ice lollies from fruit and veggies and none of the added stabilisers or unnecessary sugars! Great!

I personally LOVE apple and raspberry sauce and my children can never have enough! Making a soup is easy with the Baby Bullet and anything I am making for myself, I can put into the Baby Bullet and have it ready to go for little mouths with the push of a button!

I am actually thoroughly impressed with this cute little contraption and you can't help but smile seeing that big grin staring back at you every time you whip up a batch of goodness for the kids! 

The Baby Bullet actually comes with a storage tray and storage cups, which are just the perfect size for babies to toddlers and make a great way to treat yourself without going overboard, too!

Make a weeks worth of meals in less than 5 minutes, which is just what you want when planning with a house full! I know I can cook up some goodness, throw it in the Baby Bullet and freeze it down ready to go!

My children LOVE the cute cups and are happy to reach for an apple sauce in a smiley cup then something that isn't perhaps so great for them! I love that I can wash the entire set out and save on trash and recycling with this set and there are just so many bonuses to making your own food, period.

I really wish The Baby Bullet had been available when my older children were babies, but delighted that I have been able to try one out now! It is just the perfect size to make the perfect children's portions and will keep me going back for more as I learn new recipes and goodies that I still want to try! 

I would definitely recommend giving one a try if cooking for your little one is something that you have been thinking about - I think the Baby Bullet is a really good start! It doesn't take up very much space in your kitchen, either and so you can always have it ready to go!

If you would like to find out more about The Baby Bullet, you can find them on Twitter, Facebook and over at their blog, with other outlets such as Pinterest and Instagram to keep you in touch, which you can also find in our giveaway form!

Speaking of giveaways...

***GIVEAWAY!!***

The good folk behind The Baby Bullet would love for you to try one out for yourself and is letting us give away ONE Baby Bullet set to ONE lucky winner!!

All you have to do, to be in with a chance to win is to reside in the U.S.A, be 18 years or older and enter via the rafflecopter, below!

This giveaway will run from 1/21/15 and end on 2/4/15!

The giveaway winner will be notified via email within 24 hours of giveaway ending and will have 48 hours to claim their prize! If no correspondence has been received by the deadline then all prizes are forfeit and a new winner is chosen until the prize is claimed!

Note: No participating bloggers are in any way, shape or form, responsible for this review or giveaway. Prize fulfilment falls to the company sponsoring the giveaway and all views within the review are those of the original reviewer, Mom's Gone Bronson. Your views may differ! Thank you!

What are you waiting for!?

GOOD LUCK!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Dinner Time!

HEY LOOK! It is time for dinner and I made a tasty hot and sour soup using a swanson soup base stock-in-a-box that I bought this week, fresh veggies, beans, tofu and such and a little sea salt!

That is it, in a nut shell! I made it on the stove and now have about a weeks worth of tofu/veggie hot and sour soup!! JOY!!

What's for dinner at yours?

Eat up!

Therafit's Holiday Collection, Euro Women's Ankle Boot, Look-See!

THERAFIT SHOES, HOLIDAY COLLECTION!

*Disclaimer: I was provided with a pair of these shoes for review and all opinions are my own. your views may differ! Thank you!

Here is another fabulous pair of shoes from Therafit, from their latest Holiday Collection, which are going to make a great addition through the New Year and beyond!

The Euro Women's Ankle Boot Sand Leather are a creamy high-top boot that fits comfortably around the foot and is a great walking shoe!

I personally do not usually enjoy higher topped shoes but these ones are actually very bouncy and easy to walk in, with leather uppers and padded collars, removeable insoles and great arch support along with Therafit's Patented Personal Comfort System (PCS™), which you can adjust to your own level of support and comfort as easy as 1, 2 or 3!

For a better understanding of Therafit Shoes and how they work, please see the video, below!

If you are interested in purchasing from the Holiday Collection, these shoes are available for $120 and in a size 6 to 11, HERE! You can also find 12 other new pairs of shoes, equally as desireable and ready for the taking, salong with the usual favorites, so why not head on over and take a peek!? I know you want to!

Let me know what you think - I do love to hear from you!

- MGB!