The Joys of Life

We have had an exciting couple of months and have failed miserably in keeping anyone informed. I hope that all of the excitement is winding down, but it never seems to with little ones. There is always something new and exciting. What an adventure we are having!

First and foremost, Rally girl is officially done with her helmet forever!! It has been amazing to watch her grow and develop. When she had her helmet on, she was behind developmentally by about 4 to 5 months. In one month after getting her helmet off, her physical therapist said that she was almost caught up. It is astounding. I know that miracles happen every day as I watch my own little miracle grow and develop. She is so fun to watch. She says her own name and if she thinks you aren't paying enough attention, she will throw her pacifier and scream her name. It makes me laugh. Sometimes, it makes me want to cry, too! She shouldn't be almost a year old. She is too spunky now and doesn't like to be held. She had her first babysitter since moving to the Basin about a month ago. It was funny. After coming home, the babysitter told us how sneaky she is. Our G man is rough and tumble and wants to play constantly. Rally will just quietly slip away and get into something she shouldn't. Makes for a fun adventure.

G man is going through potty training. This was a decision made out of desperation, not necessarily preparedness. But we are getting there. At 2 1/2 years, he was outgrowing the biggest size diapers they sell at normal stores. He is going to be big and tall like his Grandpa's! So, we made the decision to start toilet training. He is doing so well. We have even made it a whole day without any accidents. I can't wait for it to be done. We keep telling him that he is done with diapers. There aren't any more. Hopefully he is starting to understand.

We sold our Ford today to one of Bruce's relatives. It was nice. I hope they love it as much as we have. We had to drive to Heber City to drop it off. On the way home, we had to stop and get gas. Apparently he was trying to have a conversation with me while I was trying to relax. He said "Mommy" several times to no avail. At that point, he screams at the top of his lungs, "Rissa Walther, listen to me!" I couldn't help but laugh. It is funny when you realize how much they really do seem to understand. What a fun and happy boy. Now if he would stop living up to the "Terrible Two's", we would be ecstatic.

So, onto selling our Ford. We found a crazy deal on a minivan and purchased it. GULP. We are now a minivan family. GULP. It is weird to see my Hot Hubby driving a minivan. It was a necessity, though. We were just outgrowing our little sedan with long trips down to Salt Lake as often as we have. It is an older car, but meets our needs. In the long run, that is all that matters. Being debt free is more of a goal for us than having the newest cars or a bigger home. Those things may come in time, but right now, being home with my babies is the biggest thing.

I started my own little business, as well. I am now an Independent Jamberry Nails Consultant. I have loved it so far, but we have yet to see if I will be successful in this endeavor. I hope so. I hope that it will be the answer to our prayers in making us more financially fit, but only time will tell. So realize if I mention this business to you, I am not trying to push you into buying anything or trying to get you to sign up to be a consultant. I just really want my own business to succeed and am trying to do it the best way I know. WORD OF MOUTH. So with that, call me if you want to order nails, host a party, or are thinking about doing something similar to this on your own.

Our church had General Conference last weekend. It has always been my time to relax and hear from our Prophet. I am discovering that the relaxing may very well be null and void until my children grow up a little. It was a constant fight to keep a two year old entertained. At one point he yelled at me. "Mom, I am tired of being quiet. I want to play!" I forget that it is a lot more sitting time for little kids his age than he would have at church. I must be better prepared next fall! But one of the things that I loved was a talk from Boyd K. Packer. In this talk he mentioned a lot about the changing values in the world we live in. One thing he reminded people of was to not try so hard to be tolerant that we lose our beliefs. I am so grateful for our little family and our belief system. I am grateful for the fundamental role that families play. I am grateful to be a mother and to be married for eternity to my sweetheart. He makes me so happy. When the kids are being pills and I'm so tired I can hardly stand, he comes home and wraps me in his arms. When I haven't gotten to shower yet or have had to clean up potty training messes, he takes the kids outside and gives Mommy time for a much needed shower. He is my strength. He is my home. With him, I am the best me that I can be. So while the world may take away the important role of motherhood or diminish the role of womanhood, I have a man who finds ways to constantly remind me how much he needs me, as a wife, a mother, and a woman. I am eternally grateful for that.

Valentines & Chicken

My hot hubby and I got a call a few weeks ago from someone in our church group. She was wondering if we would be in charge of our Ward (what we call our congregations) Valentines dinner. Of course, he said we would love to. Then he turned to me and asked "What have we gotten ourselves into?" Now, to clarify, we were in charge of making and serving all of the food. They were expecting 75 people. I jumped in head first.

We decided quickly that Valentines deserved a special dinner. After talking to my mom (the fount of all knowledge in my culinary brain), we decided to make Chicken Cordon Bleu. It would look pretty awesome and taste even better. So last Wednesday, I set out pounding 100 chicken breasts as thin as I could get them. The best part of this story is that I don't have a meat mallet. I was planning on taking my mom's when we went into Salt Lake City several weeks ago, but I had forgotten. My husband walked in from work to see me pounding on the chicken with our heaviest skillet. After he stopped laughing, he set to work helping me finish the prep work for the chicken.

Friday was the party and was a very busy day for me. I have never cooked food for 75 people before. It took most of the day to roll the chicken with the ham and cheese. A couple of hours before the party, I then took the chicken bundles and rolled them in melted butter and then in bread crumbs. Of course, I seasoned the breadcrumbs in garlic powder, paprika, salt, and pepper. Because I was making such a large quantity, I baked these bad boys on cookie sheets instead of baking dishes, but I would encourage a smaller baking dish for just your family. Bake these wonderful little cheesy bundles at 350 until the chicken is cooked through and the breaded bundles have turned a golden brown.

The nice thing about Chicken Cordon Bleu is that it looks a lot harder to make than it actually is. I've made it for my family several times. It takes very little prep work and is great. Until you make 100 of them. I've often told my husband that I would love to open a catering company. Now I would amend that to "Only if I could hire the employees to beat that chicken thin".

I was so pleased with how great the food turned out. It was a wonderful night. A lot of our church members put in a lot of work to decorate the gym and prepare entertainment for all of it. Plus, they even provided a nursery for my two little ones. It was so much fun to be with my hubby with good food and good friends. So now, for your Valentine, go home and make some tasty chicken. He will think you slaved away on it and fall in love with you all over again!

And next time, I'm taking pictures.

Helmet Free!

We had a busy week this last week. We spent the weekend down in Salt Lake and found out at the beginning of the week that our sweet princess is now going to be helmet free! They gave us a month pass, then we will head down there again and reevaluate how her head is growing. I will admit that this Mama is super excited. Since we have gotten back on Wednesday, the girlie has worn a new bow every day. I have been saving all of these bows and head bands for months and now we can start spoiling her. I have been so impressed with her surgeon, Dr. Siddiqi, down at Primary Children's Medical Center. If any of you ever have to have this surgery, he is the way to go!

We also got to go the the baby blessing of our adorable niece. She is a beauty! We are far enough away now that we don't get to see all of our family as often as we would like, but are grateful that we could be a part of their special day.

Mi Hermana

I don't speak Spanish. I attempted for a while in high school and college, but fifteen years later, I have to admit very little stuck. But my baby sister is currently learning Spanish. In fact, she is in the sink or swim school of Spanish. She is serving a mission for our church for eighteen months in a Spanish speaking area. I get to write her on Sunday nights/Monday mornings and just finished up. It gets me thinking. So now you get to hear my rantings.

I am on a journey of discovery lately. Where we live there are a lot of people who make very little money. Yet, when I go to church every Sunday, I see true joy. They live hard lives on farms and with winters below zero. Or they work in the oil fields in below zero. But I watch them with their families and I see happiness. This is a stark contrast to me. I must admit that since graduating college, I had always been fiscally secure and responsible. I always had a savings account. I always had the money to get all of the things I needed and most of the things I wanted. So I apparently needed to learn some things about life.

My husband graduated from college in May of 2011. It took him a long time to graduate. He really isn't as young as that makes him sound. But he is super hot so that makes up for it! Anyway, we assumed he would get a teaching job immediately. I mean, a male in a female dominated field has to be in high demand, right? Wrong. Utah had some problems with an over abundance of teachers that year and he didn't get a teaching job. I was a stay at home mom at this point with our little boy and the pressure was put on our little family. My husband worked every job he could find. He delivered pizza's. He worked fast food. He substitute taught. All at the same time. I hardly ever saw him. I was miserable. He was miserable and tired. But we survived. It was a great learning experience, but we failed to learn the big life lesson. We decide how we feel.

We really were blessed at that time. We always had the money to meet our needs. Our kids never went hungry. It was what we needed to prepare us for now. I say that for the simple reason that now we are in a different place financially. My husband is only working one job as a public school teacher. We don't make a lot of money. We don't have a savings account any more. We don't go out to eat and we haven't been on a date in months. Yet, I am happy. I see people around me, finally. I see the family that makes half of what we make and yet, devote their lives to service. I get letters from my sister about the families she is serving. About how poor they are and yet, how they not only survive, but thrive.

Changing directions this year isn't about just changing our physical location. It's about changing our mental one too. I have decided that my attitude needs to be one of gratitude. My Heavenly Father has provided for us. We have all we need to meet our needs and we have family and friends who love us. I have two wonderful children. I have a husband who comes home every night and tells me how much he loves me. I could ask for more, I'm sure. But I need to be grateful for the blessing I have and not waste any time lamenting the few I don't. When we count our blessings, we will find that most of us have far more than we realized.

Monthly Menu

I will admit that I have stopped planning a menu for breakfast and lunch. It just didn't work with my little guy. I would have planned for grilled cheese sandwiches and he would want chicken nuggets. It just wasn't working. So now we have the basics for breakfast and lunch and play it a little more by ear. It makes my meal planning a lot easier. I just have to keep a closer eye on my pantry to make sure I still have those kid favorite foods in the cupboard.

Our menu for the month includes a couple of my favorites that I posted on another of my menu planning posts. Zippy Beef Casserole and Bruschetta Chicken are on the second meal planning post, so be sure to check out those recipes. We have been trying some new recipes this month, and most of them have been wonderful, but we've had a few that my sweet husband kindly told me were skipable. Yep, that's a new word. Created just for you. Here are my keepers for the month and the recipes. I will take pictures from now on to show you all the tasty goodness, but until then, you will have to take me at my word. Also, my family usually makes each of these meals last two nights. It's one of the perks of having really little kids, so realize that a normal family of four would probably go through this menu in two to three weeks instead of a month.

Crock Pot Chicken Taco's
1 1/2 lbs. Chicken
1 med. can Mexican style stewed tomatoes
1 small can tomato sauce
1/2 onion, diced
1/2 green pepper, diced
1- 4 oz. can green chilies, diced
1 pkg. taco seasoning

Put all ingredients in a crock-pot. Cook on low for most of the day. Shred chicken with forks before serving. Serve with your taco favorites.

Spanish Spiral Pasta
1 lb. ground beef
1 med. onion, chopped
1 can (28 oz)diced tomatoes, undrained
2 cups rotini, uncooked
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. chili powder
1/4 tsp. garlic powder

In a skillet, cook the beef and onion over medium heat until meat is no longer pink; drain. Stir in the tomatoes, rotini, salt, sugar, chili powder and garlic. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 25-30 minutes or until rotini is tender. *Note- I can my own tomatoes. I usually can them whole in quart jars. For this recipe, I used the quart jar and just gently crushed my tomatoes instead of purchasing store tomatoes. They taste so much better when I can them myself.

Cherokee Casserole
I found this recipe online and thought I would try it. I would love to give credit where it is due, but to be honest, I've had the recipe long enough, I don't remember where I got it.

1 green pepper, diced
1 lb. hamburger
1 Tbsp. garlic powder
1/4 c. ketchup
2 cups cooked rice
1 medium onion, diced
1 Tbsp. Chili powder
salt to taste
3 cups tomato juice (again, I used my own canned)
3 c. shredded cheese, any variety

In a skillet, brown hamburger and saute onions and green pepper. Add chili powder, garlic powder, salt, and ketchup. Stir. Add tomato juice. Simmer on low heat until it thickens slightly. Mix cooked rice into the hamburger mixture. In a large baking dish, layer the hamburger mixture, then cheese. Repeat the process, ending with the cheese layer. Cook at 350 until heated through.

We like to serve this with a small scoop of sour cream. It is so yummy!

Onion Turkey Meatballs
This recipe had mixed reviews. I enjoyed it and thought it was pretty good. My little boy loved the meatballs and "noodles", but the hubs wasn't super fond of it. He said he would eat it again, but wouldn't choose it. Here it is for you to decide.

1 cup soft bread crumbs
1 cup onion soup mix, divided in half
1-1/2 pounds ground turkey
3 cups water, divided
3 Tbsp. all purpose flour
Hot cooked noodles or rice

In a large bowl, combine the bread crumbs and half of the soup mix. Crumble meat over the mixture and mix well. Shape into one inch balls. In a large skillet, cook meatballs until browned on all sides and a meat thermometer reads 165. Stir in 2-1/2 cups water and remaining soup mix. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; Cover and simmer for 10 minutes or until juices run clear.

In a small bowl, combine flour and remaining water until smooth; gradually add to the skillet. Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Serve with the noodles or rice.

*Recipe found in Taste of Home-The busy family Cookbook*


Bacon Chicken Crescent Ring
2 tubes (8 oz) crescent rolls
1 can (10 oz) chunk white chicken, drained and flaked (I used 2 chicken breasts instead)
1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1/4 cup finely chopped onion.
6 bacon strips, cooked and crumbled
1 Tbsp. dry Italian salad dressing mix
1 cup alfredo sauce

Grease a 14 inch pizza pan. Unroll crescent roll dough; separate into 16 triangles. Place wide end of one triangle 3 inches from edge with point overhanging edge of pan. repeat, overlapping the wide ends (dough will look like a sun when complete). Lightly press wide ends together. In a small bowl, combine the remaining ingredients. Spoon over wide ends of dough. Fold the points of triangle over the filling and tuck under the wide ends. The filling will still be visible. Bake at 375 for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown.

Spaghetti
Okay, this recipe is courtesy of my amazing Mother-In-Law. One of the things I discovered quickly about their family is their love of spaghetti and the necessity for Guacamole to make every holiday dinner complete. I know if my husband has had a really bad day, it's time to whip up a batch of spaghetti. If there are leftovers, he has been known to eat it for breakfast the next morning. Yes, it is that good.


Brown in a pan:
1 lb. of ground beef 1 small onion, chopped

Add:
2 large cans (32 oz) tomatoes ground in a blender OR 1 large can of tomato juice
1/2 to 2/3 c. brown sugar
1/2 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground marjoram
1 tsp. ground oregano
1 Tbsp. Italian seasoning
1/2 tsp. ground thyme
1 tsp. garlic powder
1/4 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp. celery seed
1/4 tsp. mustard seed

Simmer all of this together until it thickens into a sauce. Serve over hot noodles.
*Sometimes, when I'm feeling the need for a spicier sauce, I throw in some red pepper flakes. I usually do 1/2 tsp., but try it to your family's taste.

Taco's
Okay, there really isn't a trick to this meat. Just brown the hamburger and prepare it with store bought taco seasoning as you like. I also throw in some diced onion and minced garlic.

When I want to make it go a little further, I also add 1 cup of rice and double the water mixture and taco seasoning. This way, the rice actually cooks in the taco seasoned water and it is great. I actually prefer my taco meat with the rice, but you should refer back to the comment from yesterday about my love of carbs.

Sour Cream Marinated Chicken
This recipe is from my Aunt Karen on my dads side. It's been in the family recipe book for years and I always pull it out for fancier meals, like Sunday dinner.

6 whole boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut in half
4 tsp. worcestershire sauce
2-4 cloves of garlic, pressed or minced
1/2 tsp. salt salt
1-3/4 cups bread crumbs
2 cups sour cream
4 tsp. celery salt
3 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. black pepper

Mix sour cream, worcestershire suace, celery salt, garlic, paprika, salt and pepper. Place chicken in sauce and turn to coat. Let marinate overnight (or two to three hours if you are forgetful like me). Roll chicken in bread crumbs. Drizzle 1/4 c. melted butter over top. Bake at 325 for 30 minutes. Turn chicken over and drizzle another 1/4 cup melted butter over other side. Bake for 15 more minutes.

Mexican Haystacks
This is one of my Grandma's recipes. We love it so much that the recipe is actually huge! I've paired it down for you, but it is usually 3 times this large at my house and then I freeze it to pull out for a quick fix when I really need a good reminder of my Grandma.

1 lb. hamburger, browned
1 small onion chopped
4-5 hot peppers (I use the bottled kind found in the mexican food aisle.)
1 quart of tomato juice
7 oz. of ketchup (I had to pair it down, but roughly 1/4 of a 28 oz bottle)
cayenne pepper or tabasco sauce to taste

Simmer until consistency you like and the heat you like. Remove the peppers once it is the spicy heat that your family enjoys. When I make a big batch, I usually simmer somewhere between an hour to two hours.

This is going to be the top layer of your haystack. I will list the rest of the layers how I do it, starting at the bottom

Fritos
Rice
Lettuce
Cheese
Sauce
-I usually put a scoop of sour cream on top. That only started after I married my honey. My grandmother would call for the pure, unadulterated version. It is so good either way!

Chicken Pot Pie
Again, another MIL recipe. I will take a picture of this one when we make it next week and post it for all to glory in.

6 lbs. diced chicken
1 med. onion, diced
1 tsp. salt
2 stalks celery, diced
1 bay leaf
1/2 tsp. pepper
Cover this with water, simmer until tender. Strain and retain the liquid.

Melt 1 cup butter, add 1 cup flour, cook for 5 minutes. Add 4-6 cups of retained chicken broth until it is a gravy consistency. Salt and pepper to taste.

Cook together:
4 cups diced carrots
4 stalks diced celery
2 cups diced potatoes
Combine chicken, veggies, 1 pkg of frozen peas(cooked slightly), 1 pkg. frozen broccoli(I leave this out. I'm not a big fan of broccoli in this, but you be the judge.) and chicken gravy. Place in a casserole dish and cover with a pie crust. Brush with 1 egg and 1 Tbsp. milk whipped together. Prick pie crust with a fork. Bake at 375 for 30 to 40 minutes, until pie crust is golden brown.

Mostaccoli
This is from my sister, Cheree. It is awesome. Mainly because you just use canned marinara sauce. We made this and added sliced pepperoni to it and it was great.

Cook your pasta. Add the marinara sauce and I add 1/2 tsp of chili pepper flakes. Pour it into a casserole dish and cover with mozzarella cheese. Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.

Taco Soup
My sister-in-law, Sarah, is responsible for this one. I really like it. It is so tasty!

1 can beans (kidney or black), drained
1 can corn
1 quart of tomatoes (blended in blended)
1/2 to 1 lb. ground beef
chopped onion
cumin
salt and pepper
chili powder
garlic powder

Brown the meat with the onions, while browning, heat beans, corn and tomatoes. Add browned meat and onions. Add chili powder, garlic powder, cumin, salt and pepper, and other spices to taste. Heat thoroughly. Serve with tortilla chips.

Chicken Crescents
I make this so often that I don't even have the recipe written down anymore. But I can tell you how much I love them!

2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
2 8 oz. blocks of cream cheese
1 tsp. minced garlic
1 tsp. parsley
1 Tbsp. milk
2 tubes of crescent rolls

Mix the cooked chicken, cream cheese, garlic, parsley and milk. Lay out the crescent rolls on a greased baking sheet. Pout a small scoop of cream cheese mixture in each crescent and roll up. Bake at 350 until golden brown.

Sauce:
1 can cream of chicken soup
1/2 can of milk
2 Tbsp. of sour cream

Heat together and pour over the crescents. Serve with rice.


I hope you enjoy these recipes. I don't do anything too fancy. but I do love making good, sit down meals for my little family. Please feel free to comment and share your family favorites. I would love to try some new recipes!

Missing Grandma and Bread!

So, I will admit something. I love bread. I love everything about it. My favorite thing about going to my Grandma's house was that she always had homemade bread. Not just one slice. As many as you could eat. I always intended to keep up the tradition of making homemade bread. It just didn't happen. I have a baby who is fussy regularly and a little boy who is fully entrenched in the terrible two's. This means that I mostly buy bread. But earlier this week, I made bread. And cinnamon rolls. Hallelujah for carbs! But what I found was that it was the most relaxing couple of hours I have spent in a long time.

I don't have a stand mixer and my hand mixer just wasn't sturdy enough. So this was all done in a big bowl with the best mixer in the world; my hands. It was fun. My little boy was super excited because "Mom was getting messy!" The best part about it was that I felt like I was with my Grandma again. I have to admit that I have a minor case of hero worship when it comes to her. She was my paternal grandmother and most of the time I was growing up, they lived on a farm. It was the best thing in the world to go and visit. That woman could cook! She was the hardest working woman I know.

Back to the bread. The recipe makes four loaves of regular sized bread. Poor me, I only have two bread pans! So I made cinnamon rolls with the rest of the dough. I didn't really have a recipe, so I had to call my mom on how to make the frosting. I still didn't measure, but it was super yummy, so I will take it. But here is the best recipe in the world for bread from the best woman in the world.

Grandma's Bread

4 cups warm water
8 Tbsp sugar or honey
8 cups flour
4 tsp. slat
4 Tbsp. shortening/butter, cut into cubes
4 heaping Tbsp. yeast

Dissolve yeast in 1 cup of warm water (in addition to the 4 cups the recipe calls for). Mix all ingredients and knead to form a soft dough. You will probably need more than the 8 cups flour. I did! Keep adding flour a little at a time until it is no longer totally sticky, but still very very soft. Let the dough rise two times. Mold into loaves and place in bread pans. let rise about 30 minutes and bake in a 350 degree oven until golden brown.

I hope you enjoy Grandma's bread as much as I do. I'm making more tomorrow and can't wait for a couple more hours of memories!

Grandma and my cute baby boy!

Changing Directions

Whew! What a busy couple of months it has been at our house. Bruce started his new job teaching in August. We didn't close on our new house until mid October. It made us a commuter family for several months. It was so nice when we were finally all under the same roof again. It was a blessing in disguise as it made both of us realize how much we truly do depend on each other.

In July, shortly after my last post, our daughter had surgery for a condition called Craniosynostosis. Basically this is a condition where a baby is born without a soft spot. It affects roughly one in a thousand births. Supposedly, this is just a fluke thing, but I don't buy it, since Daddy also has the same condition. It generally requires surgery on her skull to create a soft spot so the baby can grow at a normal rate and brain pressure will stay in the safe zone. It was a pretty scary day for us. But our girlie did great with the surgery and we are five months past the surgery. She is now eight months old, rockin' her helmet, and the happiest little girl in the world.

Now, onto our move to catch everyone up. We moved from a suburb of Salt Lake City into a very rural area two to three hours away. It was a terrifying thing for me as I have always lived in a more metropolitan area. Yet, I've fallen in love. I love waking up each morning and looking out the window. I see rolling hills covered in snow and horses. I know when the diapers are being delivered because no one else drives down our little road during that time of day. I can't go to the grocery store because that is an hour round trip, so we eat a lot more homemade things. This is also a problem because I currently have a half pan of cinnamon rolls sitting on my counter, calling my name. I went from never eating carbs to having them be the center of my menu because that is what homemade treats consist of. We have to plan our trips into town and spend Saturdays going grocery shopping for the perishable items and visiting the library and any other errands we need. We have to drive twenty minutes to go to church. It is such a change of pace. The rural lifestyle suits me. I am now planning my large garden and trying to talk my husband into getting some hens.

I also now plan out my menu for the whole month at one time. It makes grocery shopping a lot easier since we have to travel to Salt Lake to go to the big stores. But it also insures that my budget is more strictly enforced. I will post my January menu in the next couple of days. A little late is always better than never!

I am working on my own personal goals as well. I have decided that the big goals seem so overwhelming. I had to break them down a little. My first big goal is to lose ten pounds in the next three months. It is a small amount, less than a pound a week, but will bring me back to my pre-pregnancy weight. From there we will have to work on the next ten. This is a New Years goal, but only because I wanted to enjoy my holidays with homemade fudge, caramels, and all the other good Christmas traditions. I'm a foodie at heart and that particular obsession won out for a couple of months. Next check in on the diet will be on February 1st.