Weekly Menu

I thought it would be fun to start posting our weekly menus. It is fun for me to look back on what we've eaten and quickly find recipes. Here is our menu for dinners this week. This first week I am also posting because (as you will see) I struggle with coming up with side dishes. We have no variety! I need input on yummy (preferably healthy, because the main dishes aren't always) sides.

Monday:
Mock Beef Stroganoff
1 Lb browned ground beef
1 Can Cream of Mushroom
(About) 1 Cup of Sour Cream or Plain Yogurt
(About) 1/2 pkg Onion Soup Mix, to taste
Milk-until it is as thin as you want it
*Mix all ingredients in a skillet over medium-high heat until heated through. Serve over egg noodles.
Steamed Broccoli

Tuesday:
Morning--Apple Muffins (From Food Tastes Good)
Corn and Green Chile Chowder in the Crock Pot (From Prudence Pennywise)
Easy French Bread (From On My Menu)

Wednesday:
Chicken Green Chile Sandwich Braid
I am making this one up with some inspiration from here.
1 Loaf Rhoades white bread, thawed
Cream Cheese
Green Chiles
Mexican Seasoned Chicken? (cumin, chili powder, etc)
Cheddar/Mozzarella Cheese
**Roll out the dough on a floured surface into a 12x18" rectangle.
Leaving a 4 in space in the center of the dough, cut the sides into 2 inch wide strips.
Mix cream cheese and chilis. Spread down the middle of the dough.
Top with the rest of the ingredients.
Braid the dough, then place braid on a sprayed cookie sheet.
Brush braid with egg white. Bake at 350* for 30-35 min.

Thursday:
Little Cheddar Meatloaves (Originally found at Taste the Joy)
Potato Wedges
Pour into a large Ziploc bag:
Approx. 4 T olive oil
Any seasonings you would like: Montreal Steak, garlic powder, chili powder, paprika
Salt
Pepper

Cut potatoes into 6-8 wedges and drop into Ziploc bag. Mix around so all of the potatoes are coated.
Put potatoes on a large plate or casserole dish and cook in microwave for about 10 minutes or until soft.
Optional: You can broil the potatoes after microwaving to make them a little crispy.
We like to eat these with cheese and jalapenos and dipped in a spicy ranch. (Ranch mixed with
paprika, chili powder, and any other seasonings that sound good.)

Friday:
Chopped Pizza
Found in HobbleCreek Ward Cookbook
Submitted By Katie Ipsen
8 Rhodes Texas rolls, thawed
1 pkg pepperoni
1 c grated mozzarella cheese
1 c grated cheddar cheese
1/2 c sliced olives

**Place 2 thawed rolls on cutting board. Top with 4 pieces of pepperoni, 1/4 c mozzarella cheese, 1/4 c cheddar cheese, and 1/4 of the olives. Chop with large knife until ingredients are mixed into rolls. Lift with spatula onto greased cookie sheet. Shape into a 4x6 inch chopped pizza. Repeat to make all 4 pizzas. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise 30 minutes. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes.
Green Salad

Saturday:
Thai Peanut Chicken
HobbleCreek Ward Cookbook
Submitted By Tiffani Larson
2 chicken breasts, diced
4 T soy sauce
2 cloves garlic, pressed
1 T oil
2 tsp ginger
1 red bell pepper, chopped
1 C Pace Picante
5 T peanut butter
3 green onions, diced
1/4 C unsalted peanuts
1 can coconut milk

**Combine soy sauce, garlic, oil and ginger. Marinate chicken in this sauce at least overnight. Set aside marinade and cook chicken in hot skillet with 1 T of oil until done. Remove chicken and set aside. Saute peppers and onions until tender. Add remaining ingredients and marinade. Bring to a boil and simmer 2 minutes. Add chicken and cook about 2 more minutes. Serve with rice.

Sunday:
Crock Pot Roast
1 Medium/Large Roast (I just use whatever is on sale)
1 pkg onion soup mix
1 Can cream of mushroom soup
Optional: Chopped carrots and onions

**Place the roast in the crock pot and cover with soup and mix. Add vegetables around the sides of the roast. Cook on low 6-8 hours.

Playing With the Cousins

Little Miss LOVES playing with her cousins. She really thinks she is playing with them, but most of the time I thing she's driving them bonkers. One of her older cousins decided she needed this backpack on. Surprisingly she left it on for a long time. It was pretty funny.

Her sweet cousins trying to keep the crazy monkey entertained. (And doing a great job!)

First Official Ponytail!

I can't believe Miss E's hair is finally long enough to do this...I've been waiting a long, long time!

**Yes I do realize it is tiny and that bow looks silly but I was just so excited!**

Miss E is often content to just play by herself. Here is a little video of what the majority of our days consist of. A little toy playing, a little talking to herself, a little dancing to music.


*Note: In the morning all of her toys start out in her toy bin. By the time Little Miss has been awake for 10 minutes or so, the bin has been all but emptied. This is where the toys spend the rest of their days. This is just FYI so if anyone comes to my house, you will know this is par for the course!

Rave Review!

Steve and I have been trying to tighten our budget lately, which means fewer trips to eat out. However, when I saw this place on Diners, Drive Ins, and Dives (on Food Network) I knew we needed to go! Burger Bar is (a dumpy looking place) in Roy, UT and we highly recommend it!

We were there at about 2:30 on a weekday and we still had to wait in line. I've heard it's always busy...it is that good.

The burgers were gigantic!

In true drive-in fashion, we had to eat in our car. Little Miss didn't mind...in fact, she loved it.

Both the fries and the onion rings were so yummy. And they don't skimp on the fry sauce!

Heroes

(Thanks to my sister Michelle for the idea. Check out her blog here.)
Growing up I was often asked to speak or write about my heroes. I always had a hard time explaining myself when I would choose my parents or grandparents, but I knew they were my heroes. As an adult, I still consider those people to be at the top of my list, but now I have someone else to add: Dr. Geoff Williams.
Dr. Williams has committed and dedicated his life to the betterment of others. He spends his days traveling around the world using his skills as a plastic surgeon to give new life to children in 3rd world countries who were born with cleft lips and palates. He also takes time to train doctors and nurses there to do some of the work on their own, so the magic can continue after he has gone. His work is completely non profit, which means he takes none of the money for himself. All money donated to his organization, the International Children's Surgical Foundation, or ICSF.
Right now Dr. Williams and a team are in Kabankalan, Philippines. Joining his team on this mission are my beautiful parents, my heroes. This is my dad's 4th or 5th mission with Geoff as an associate doctor, and my brave momma's first trip as part of the support team. The idea of Dr. Williams' missions brings tears to my eyes. I urge you to check out the ICSF website here. In a world obsessed with beauty, Dr. Williams provides the greatest kind of true beauty, CHARITY and LOVE.

She's 11 Months!

I cannot believe how time flies! In one more month my babe will be 1. She is getting more and more animated and fun every day. I have more love for this girl than my heart ever thought possible. We had a fun month with Little Miss celebrating her first Christmas (sorry I don't have many pictures) and New Years (no pics at all because she and daddy were in bed by 10). Sadly E also was truly sick for the first time, with a fever of 102.9. We never really figured out what was wrong (no ear infection) but it was a sad few days.

11 Month Highlights:
*8 total teeth
*pulls to a stand and then lets go, trying to do it on her own
*drinks from a sippy all on her own
*eats pretty much everything that is put in front of her (most days)
*Favorite tricks: "Where is your tongue?" "Where is your fat belly?"
*shakes her head "no" (she's still trying to figure out what it means, but knows it gets a reaction)
*dances to basically all music, including hymns at church (dancing=bobbing her head, shrugging her shoulders, belly thrusting)
*points to things with her pointer finger
*she has started to warm up to people, specifically grandparents, making for some very happy grandmas and grandpas
*laughing and clapping when everyone else is doing it
*lots of hand movement and activity
*she is very inquisitive, E can never let a box go unopened or a full box full...its contents will generally be strewn all over the floor in only a few seconds
*one of our personal favorites: she loves to hold things in her mouth and then flap her hands around as if to say "Look mom! No hands!"

Resolute

I am not big on New Year’s Resolutions. They are really hard for me to stick with. I have been thinking a lot about why this is so and have come to the conclusion that January is a horrible time to start something new unless it is specifically related to the cold, grey, dismal weather. It is disheartening enough when I don’t have the will power to change habits cold turkey or to start a new lofty goal; I really don’t need the weather to remind me that life is hard sometimes. I think we should make resolutions in June. The weather from that point into the next couple of months is awesome. The sun rises everyday to bright, beautiful blue skies.
Regardless, this is still the time of year where it is customary to commit to ourselves to be better, and I have jumped on board (again) this year. I have heard that one is much more likely to complete a goal or more soundly change their habits if they publicly announce them. Then there is a sense of accountability. Others know about it, so it must be done to save face…or something like that. So here it goes: my resolution for this year (yes, I have only one) is to JUST DO IT [NOW]. Cliché? Yes. Overused? Probably. But is it applicable to my life? Oh yes!
I find myself saying too many times in the day: “I should probably…,” “It would be fun to…,” and the ever infamous “I’ll do it later.” I am tired of never getting things done, and especially tired of never starting things that I want to or should do. Some examples:
*Calling someone that I feel I need to call.
*Taking the pair of socks by my bed to the hamper…NOW.
*Having that cup of hot chocolate in the middle of the day.
*Buying paint and decorations for the baby’s room.
*Going for a walk in the snow with my family.
*Blogging when something fun comes to mind (this is way more for me than you…it’s so fun to look back!).
*Organizing my craft stuff, sooner rather than later!
*Reading my scriptures, writing in my journal, etc.

And the list goes on, and on, and on. This year I resolve to not let my life pass me by because I am too lazy or scared to stop it and enjoy it! Hopefully, by telling you, I will be held more accountable than I have been in all of my past (Failed) attempts at resolutions. So whether you have just one, or many things to resolve this new year, good luck to you!

***END NOTE: Since this post was written on the 31st and I didn't have internet until today, I feel that I must update on my progress to this point. I have since painted my baby's room, started organizing my own room, called and had family over for dinner last night (just for fun), and tried new recipes. I think I can say that I have had the 3 most successful days of a resolution that I have had in my entire life. To borrow a line from the disney channel...Yay Me! Now let's hope that I can keep this up!***