Mexican Goulash Recipe

I've been dusting off some old recipes recently. I don't know why we stopped making some of them, because everyone loves them. We do that sometimes though, we have meals we love and then it's like we just forget they exist. 

This is a family recipe from my husband's mother's side. His Grandma Ellen created it years ago, and all of the grandkids grew up eating it. Anytime I make it we always comment that the house smells like Grandma Ellen's house. 

It has kind of an odd name, but it is also like no other recipe I've ever found. It's called Mexican Goulashh. It's not technically 'goulosh', it's more like a Mexican dip...but not like any Mexican dip I've ever seen. I'm kind of a traditional person and I would never attempt to change the name of a recipe that a beloved family member has created. So, it will remain a goulash, although it's technically not. 

We serve this with sour cream, guacamole, fresh jalapeno and tortilla chips. 

Mexican Goulash
(Printable Version Below)

Ingredients

1 lb ground beef (browned/drained and seasoned with taco seasoning)

1 can refried beans

1 large package shredded cheddar cheese

2 cups chunky salsa (We use medium, you can use whichever you prefer)

1 onion (finely diced)

Instructions

The layers are listed below. 

Layer 1- Refried beans spread evenly in bottom of 9x13 (or smaller) dish. 

Layer 2- Beef taco mixture

Layer 3 Cheddar cheese

Layer 4- 2 cups salsa, spread evenly

Layer 5- Cheddar cheese

Layer 6- Onions

Layer 7- Cheddar cheese

Yes, it's a lot of cheese...and yes, you really need all three layers of cheese. I've tried cutting back on the layers of cheese, and it just doesn't taste like Grandma's. Something magical happens to all three of those layers when they melt in the oven. It's amazing. 

Bake uncovered at 400° for 20-25 minutes, until golden and bubble. 

*I sometimes follow this recipe but double the meat to stretch the recipe farther. 

Enjoy!

I've made this for a pot luck more than once and I always return home with an empty dish. 

This meal is fast, semi healthy,(if you over look ALL that cheese.) and budget friendly. 

If you give it a try, be sure to come back and leave a comment! 

~ Lyndsay

The Fish in the Toilet Story

** This is an incident that happened at our house last January. It showed up in my memories today, and I realized I wanted to share it here. **

It's story time folks. 

  Last Thursday night one of our Betta fish passed away. I was up most of the night with a sick kid and didn't bother to do anything with it until the next day. 

It was Alex's fish, so I had him and Emma flush it down the toilet. In typical preteen/teen fashion they started goofing off, being silly and absolutely ridiculous about it. Alex kept saying he didn't want to flush it, then Emma was joking that it didn't go down. Which then morphed into them continually 'pranking' each other about it coming back up in the toilet, bathtub, bathroom sink etc. 

Low and behold, who was watching them? Their newly potty trained, now traumatized baby sister, Anna. 

  Yep. She went from being all but 100% potty trained to absolutely positively NOT potty trained in about thirty seconds flat. She was also afraid to wash her hands and take a bath because the fish might come back up the drain and 'bite her on the butt'.

  

  I started pulling out all the tricks trying to remedy the situation. Lies, candy, bribery. At one point in time I tried to just place her on the toilet and it looked much like the old cartoons, when they try to bathe a cat! 😂🐈🚿 It. Was. Bad. 

  We finally got her to go number one on the potty again, but she refused to go number 2 because the fish might see. 🤷🤦‍♀️

We tried to tell her that we took the fish back out, but she wanted proof. 

We told her the fish was never really flushed, bit we had no fish to prove the fact. 

  After many days of discussion and many more accidents, we collectively decided (through three year old reasoning.) That the best approach was to 'remove' the fish from the pipes under the toilet, take it to the vet, (the same vet that our dog sees, per Anna's instructions.) And bring it back home after it is 'all better', as proof that it's 'all better'. Super Dad to the rescue. 

  I'lll be the first to say that I'm not one to play along with little kids' whims, but this was fear. Real fear. 

She gave her daddy special instructions on the pipe that she thought the fish was hiding in, the 'little baby pipe' in case anyone wanted to know. As well as gave him a description of the fish in case any other fishes were in the pipes as well, 'Him's has black hair.'

  My husband just sent me this picture asking if it is close enough to the original fish, and is on his way home with our now revived miracle fish. While we all pray that this is enough proof for her to get past the toilet fear. 😌

Myself, my close friend and the kids have been laying the ground work all day to make this as smooth of a transition as possible. I also may have promised to buy her a new baby doll if she starts going number two in the potty again. Desparate times my friends, desperate times. 

  

  We have learned three things this week.

1. Older kids are fun, yet highly overrated.

2. There isn't much that two desperate parents won't do to help potty train their kiddo. Especially their last one. 

3. To never underestimate the determination of a strong willed and frightened child.

9 Random Facts About Me (Confessions of a Homeschool Mom)

For those of you who keep commenting that you think I have it all put together. 

Here are a few random things that I feel you should know.

1. I'm a recovering Supermom. Don't believe me? You should read my blog. Google tinyhousehomeschoollife, find the blog and then search postpartum anxiety. You can read all about how and when my entire self worth as a person crumbled and I had to learn to rely on God, my family and my friends just to get through the day.

2. My house used to be spotless on the daily. One downsize into a 100yr old renovation with zero closets, a fourth kid and a whole lot of life later....and we try but it's far from spotless. I supposed I could spend all of my time cleaning and it would look nice, but we'd have no life. I like to think they won't remember the clutter in the corners. 

3. I have not worked out consistently in a long time. Yes, I used to be that annoyingly fit person, I lost 90+ lbs, trained for a half marathon, wore a size 2 and assumed I'd stay that way for the rest of my life. Yeah, life happens and I'm not in that place mentally, physically or emotionally. I'm not sure I'll ever be back in that place, or that I should ever want to be. I do plan to take more time focusing on my fitness this next year. It's not easy adding one more thing back in, especially when I'm not willing to drop any of my other priorities or compromise my health. I'm not going to say I'm unhealthy right now, but I will say I need to work on my strength and fitness level. 

4. Homeschooling and raising four kids is wickedly hard and majorly time consuming. It's exhausting guys! I'd be lying if I didn't confess to considering alternative options from time to time. I love being with and teaching my children daily...but it means I'm with my children daily. It can be a lot, especially when you want to do it right, and send some very prepared and capable adults out into the world. Sometimes it is all we get done. 

5. I love to cook and serve healthy foods for my family, but sometimes life takes over and the focus is on filling bellies. Whether it be by a compromise in what meals I'm cooking or a run through a fast food place. It is how it is right now and that's ok. I push vitamins, vegetables and fruit when I can. Fun fact, I've ruined more meals in the last two years than I think I have in my entire adult life. 

6. I sometimes forget to take care of my husband. We've been married 18 years and together for almost 20. We own a business together, have four kids and life...and in the midst of it I sometimes forget about him. Seriously. Last Sunday I went to Chipotle after church for lunch and totally forgot to order his food. Thankfully one of the kids reminded me once we got back in the van or I would have went home without food for him. I truly love him and do not mean to forget about him. This goes both ways right now, he has forgotten I'm allergic to chicken(It's a new allergy) and brought me a chicken sandwich.(It used to be my favorite thing to eat.)

 It's just the season we are in, it will get better as the kids get older. 

7. Twice a week there is a pile of clean laundry so tall if it fell over it might hurt someone. My husband refers to it as the laundry monster. I have tried many things to keep it under control and folded daily, but it just hasn't worked out. So I have resorted to throwing a 'folding party' twice a week. I turn on a show, put it all in the living room and fold every single piece and match every sock. Then I lovingly call out (I yell) this phrase...'If you live in this house, come put your own clothes away!'. Interestingly enough, my husband started putting his own clothes away after I started doing this. I didn't bother to tell him I only meant the kids, and just went with it. 😂

8. I wrote all of these with my feet propped up after a day of school...while my children are cleaning, doing their daily chores. After school is done I need one full hour before I can address any of their questions/wants/needs. I am an introverted extrovert, I need my down time. 

9. Sometime I forget to take care of myself. I've been known to order a meal at a fast food drive thru and forget to order food for myself. I have also showered on a Monday night and not had a moment to take another one until Saturday morning. This wasn't with a baby in the house, it was three weeks ago. Sometimes I forget to drink water and have four cups of coffee throughout the day instead. At least two of them are decaf, I like to think that makes it a little better. 

Why did I type all of these random facts about myself? Because I NEVER want my life to be a stumbling block to anyone else. I fail every single day and it's by the grace of God that I'm still here raising these four crazy kiddos while trying not to forget about my husband. 

All of this being said, I'm not perfect, no one is! If you are struggling in life and need someone to remind you it's okay to struggle, call me. I promise I will have a reason for you to feel better about yourself. We need to band together to help each other, not just assume someone has it all together. Satan loves for us to compare and assume, and isolation is his biggest tool of destruction for women! Don't give him the satisfaction. 

Blessings! 

Lyndsay