Glad my kids are happy!

I am just so glad that I have the kids that I have and they are happy. They make me and my husband happy. Each one of them has had a reason to be happy recently. Tori was so happy on her baptism day and she has been very careful that she keeps the covenants that she made with her Heavenly Father. She always helps me without complaint and loves doing "girl movie night with me." Camren is happy that he has a teacher that is so nice and treats him with kindness. She does so many good thing in that class and is preparing him for Middle school. He was very behind when he came and she just took him under her wing and has helped him with anything that he has needed. They have the most fun activities in their class and also rewards. I couldn't be more pleased with Camren's teacher and his class.

Brahnson is happy about being able to have so much fun in middle school. He has had a lot of new and interesting classes that have given him so much exposure to different things. The blue clip board that you see in the picture is a project that he did in his tech ed class. He totally made that all by himself. He has also had opportunities to learn a little Spanish, French, and German. He has decided that he wants to take French for his Foreign Language requirement for next year. He is also a big help with Sydnee. He will always take her whenever I need him to and she loves it too!

Jorden is happy about all the "girl friends" that he has here. He only has one little boy here that is his age that he has played with and gets along with. The other friends that he has are all girls and they will be going to kindergarten with him next year. He also gets to go to a speech preschool and ride a bus to get there. Very Exciting!

Sydnee is happy to be able to talk and use her words now in order to communicate. We went through a very frustrating time because she knew what she wanted, but couldn't tell us what she wanted. She is getting better and even saying three word sentences now. She knows how to get her way when she wants to with those bright baby blues and her bright smile. She is also happy because she is in Nursery. She absolutely loves it!

Wisconsin has been such a perfect place for our family! Chad told me that he thought that we would still be on the west side of the Mississippi when we were thinking about moving here. He was wrong and I didn't know that until we passed it when we drove over the bridge to it. I wasn't so happy about that, but now that I am here, I can't imagine a better place for our family. Life here is lived in a lot slower pace than we have been used to. We love our ward, our neighborhood, and the schools that our kids go to. The only thing that would make it absolutely perfect is, to have all of our family move here too. I just know that they would love it too if they came here. Don't ya think? :) :)

This week's recipes March 20-26

So, I have had an overwhelming number of requests to start putting my recipes online. This blog is my family blog, but I thought that I could do this once a week. I can't guarantee that I will do it every week though. It depends on how busy my week is. I can put my recipes here, but if my husband is cooking, he is not as willing to share his recipes. Keep in mind that the recipes are not all "my " recipes. I get them from different sources and I will note the source. I figure out my menu either Thursday or Friday and go shopping every Friday, that way I don't have to go back to the store the rest of the week. It works well for me. I also usually do left overs on Thursday or Friday. I am only going to put the main dishes here. I almost always serve a fruit and vegetable with every meal and sometimes bread. FYI. Never substitute margarine for butter! Always cook with butter! So, we'll see how it goes to see if I continue next week....

Friday-Left overs

Saturday- Ham and Turkey Sandwiches

Sunday-Lasagna
Sauce:
Dry Spaghetti Mix
1# hamburger
2(6oz) tomato paste
2(60z) cans of water
onion, mushrooms, green pepper (chopped)
Cook hamburger and add veggies then everything else. Simmer for 20 minutes.

8oz. package of noodles Cooked according to package directions

1lb of shredded cheddar jack cheese (if you like it really cheesy add more)

Next Combine...
3cups cottage cheese
1/2 cup parm. cheese
2 Tbls. Parsley flakes
2 beaten eggs
2 tsp. salt
1/2tsp. pepper

Instructions:
Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees.
Put a little sauce on the bottom of 9X13 pan. Put half noodles then half of the cottage cheese mixture then have of the meat mixture, then half of the cheese. Repeat. Cover with foil. It helps to spray the inside of your foil so that the cheese doesn't stick to it when it is done. Bake for 30 minutes and then let sit for 10 minutes before serving.

Monday- Cheese Enchilada Chowder
1small can green chillies
1(15oz) can black beans
1(14oz) can Italian seasoned diced tomatoes
1(10oz) pkg. frozen corn
small onion chopped
green pepper chopped
Sauce:
1(190z.) can of enchilada sauce (Roserita is my favorite, El Paso works well too)
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 c. milk
2c. shredded cheddar cheese
Toppings:
sour cream
guacamole or fresh avocados
more cheese
tortilla corn chips
Instructions:
In a 3-5 quart crock pot add all ingredients except for the sauce and toppings. In a large mixing bowl whisk together enchilada sauce and soup. Gradually add milk. Pour over ingredients in the crock pot. Stir and cover. Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours. Stir in cheese just before serving until cheese is melted. Ladle into bowls and top with desired toppings. We don't use spoons with this soup. We just use the Tortilla chips.

Tuesday- Beef Stroganoff (Rachel Ray)
1# beef cut in thin strips
salt and pepper
3Tbls. Butter divided
2Tbls. flour
2cups beef consomme'
2tsp. Dijon mustard
1/4c sour cream
1Tbls. olive oil
onion (Chopped)
Mushroom (Chopped)
parsley leaves
Egg noodles (cooked to pkg. directions)

Instructions:
Heat skillet and add 1Tbls. olive oil and 1 Tbls. Butter once melted add flour and whisk in consomme and thicken 1min. Stir in mustard and sour cream and thicken 2-3 min. Remove from heat and season with salt and pepper. Brown meat in 1Tbls. olive oil and 1T butter and onion and mushrooms. Cook through and add sauce. Serve over noodles. My kids like me to shake a little of Parmesan cheese on top too.

Wednesday- French Toast
6 eggs
11/2c. milk
1/4c sugar
2 Tbls. Orange juice
1tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. salt
2 dashes of cinnamon
Instructions:
Mix all together and dip the bread. Cook on heated griddle and serve w/ syrup and Strawberries.
Butter syrup
1cube butter
3/4c. sugar
1/2 buttermilk or sour milk
1tsp. baking soda
Melt butter and sugar and add buttermilk or sour milk stir until sugar is dissolved. Remove from heat and add the baking soda. Stir until foamy and serve.

Thursday- Sweet and Sour Pork (Lion House Recipe)
1# lean pork cut in 1/2 inch chunks
2Tbls. Cornstarch
1/4c. Soy Sauce
2Tbls. oil
1c. carrots cut in chunks
2 small onions cut in chunks
1green pepper cut in strips
1 can (20oz.) chunk pineapple drained, reserve the juice
3Tbls. cornstarch
3tbls. Brown sugar
2cups pineapple juice
1/4 c vinegar
1/3 c soy sauce
Instructions:
Mix 2 Tbls. cornstarch and 1/4 cup soy sauce and marinate for one to two hours or over night in refrigerator. Drain, reserving marinade. Stir fry meat in hot oil until evenly browned and tender, about ten minutes. Remove meat from pan. Stir fry carrots and onions in same pan using more oil if needed. Cover and cook on low heat until tender about 10 minutes. Add green pepper and pineapple. Return meat to pan, then stir in marinade.
Make the sweet and sour sauce by mixing cornstarch and sugar in small saucepan. Add pineapple juice, vinegar, and soy sauce. Cook and stir until thickened and clear. Pour over meat and vegetables; heat until flavors are blended. Serve with steamed rice, ham fried rice, or noodles.

Dessert of the Week:
Raspberry Peach Dessert
1 Large can of sliced peaches
1 (12oz) pkg. frozen raspberries
1 (3oz.) pkg raspberry jello (dry)
1 vanilla cake mix (dry)
1 cube melted butter
1-11/2c. water

Instructions:
Preheat oven to 350 degrees
Drain the peaches and put them in the bottom of a 9X13 pan. Put the frozen raspberries on top of that. Sprinkle the dry jello mix on top of that. Put the dry cake mix on top of that. Drizzle the melted butter on top of that followed by the water. Take a fork and try to get what you can moist on top. You will not be able to get it all moist. That is okay. Bake in oven for 1 hour or until the top is golden brown . Serve with vanilla ice cream.

My poor little Leopard baby!

So, my Sydnee decided that she need to try about 5 cashews and this is what happened! It happened about a month a go. I was browsing my pictures and thought that this would make a good post. It took us a week straight on benedryl to get all the hives to clear up. Isn't this just soo sad? She kept pointing to herself and saying "Owie owie." So, she is the third one of my children that is allergic to nuts. She, by far, has had the worst reaction. Nuts aren't too bad to stay away from. We really don't have them around. Except during Christmas when I do my chocolates.That is how we found out that Jorden was allergic to nuts too. He had a small bit of a pecan and broke out into hives as well. So far, Brahnson and Tori are okay with them. The rest of them are okay if they don't eat the actual nut. If the label says that it was manufactured on a plant that uses nuts then they are okay. If they do slip up and have a reaction, Benedryl has taken care of them so far.