A New & Useful Tag

A new sort of tag - I'm rather excited about it, everyone loves new recipes, especially if someone else already says they are good.

Dinner Tag: 5 Meals, 5 Recipes, 5 Favorites...

You post 5 of your favorite meals (or whatever you can come up with and feel like typing out!) with accompanying recipes, there should be a good mix of easy, quick meals and maybe one or two nicer meals and throw in one you've been meaning to try but never get around to it - we'll tell you if it's any good... Double points if any of your meals are or can be made gluten free :) Pictures are worth extra credit. You can do 5 all at once or spread it out over 5 days.

This post is what I do when I am suppose to be making our meal and grocery lists for the next 2 weeks during quiet time! This isn't going to be an easy one, recipes take time but maybe you already know the ones you want to do. It's soup season, we do A LOT of soup in the winter, we are sick of it by spring, but that is what winter and fall are all about :)

Chicken Noodle Soup
2 chicken breasts
1/4 c. finely chopped onions
4 c. water
2 1/2 c. water with 2 - 3 chicken bouillon cubes
3/4 c. chopped carrots
1/2 c, finely diced celery - I've started using celery salt a lot and sure like it so I've been doing some of that and cutting out a bit of salt.
1 1/4 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. marjoram
1/4 tsp. thyme
Pinch pepper
Couple handfuls of spinach - chopped up tiny - I know this might not sound good, but spinach really adds good flavor and it's so healthy - you can go ahead and make dessert cause you ate spinach with dinner:)

Here's the recipe for homemade noodles, this is the key to the whole recipe, these are the secret! Don't get lazy and throw in egg noodles, it won't be near as good. I am missing this recipe as I haven't yet tried making GF noodles.

1 c. flour - I usually end up adding a lot more flour but this is a starting point
2 eggs, beaten
1 tsp. salt

Stir together with fork, until stiff, but not so stiff you can't roll them. May have to add more flour. Then mix with hands. Roll out like pie dough, slice into strips with sharp knife. Slowly add noodles into broth for 10-15 min, they'll usually float up once they are done. Boil SLOWLY.

Cook onions and stir 1-2 min. Don't brown. Add all ingredients, except noodles & spinach. Bring to boil. Reduce heat to low simmer, uncovered and cook 30 min. until chicken is tender. Remove chicken, shred and add back to pan. Add noodles & spinach and cook.

Minestrone Soup
(This makes tons, I half it)
All veggies cut into bite size pieces

1. 1 lb ground beef, cooked
2. 6 T butter
3. 3 carrots
4. 2 stalks celery
5. 1-2 small onions
6. 1 clove garlic, minced
7. 1/2 head cabbage
8. 1 head cauliflower
9. 2 cans tomato sauce
10. 6-8 c. water
11. 2 tsp salt
12. 4-8 beef bouillon cubes
13. 1/4 tsp oregano
14. 1/2 tsp pepper
15. 4 potatoes
16. 2 zucchinis
17. 10 oz. chopped spinach (I know that might sound gross but it really adds so much flavor and nutrients!)

Directions:
Stir fry first 8 ingredients 20 minutes
Add 8-15 and boil, then simmer for 30 minutes
When 5 minutes left, add spinach.
And you're done, eat it up!

Cilantro Cream Sauce
This isn't a meal but it is so good it should be! We use it as salsa, or in any meal that we want to top with sour cream. It is seriously freakin' AMAZING!!!
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 tablespoon sour cream
1 (7 ounce) can tomatillo salsa - we just use normal salsa, but you want the tomatillo if you want it to be spicy.
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon celery salt
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
2 teaspoons garlic powder
1 bunch fresh cilantro, chopped
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice

Combine cream cheese, sour cream, salsa, pepper, celery salt, cumin, garlic powder, cilantro and lime juice in a blender or food processor. Blend until smooth and creamy.

Clam Chowder
3 (6.5 ounce) cans clams - don't drain
6 slices bacon, cooked & chopped up
1 cup minced onion
1 cup diced celery
2 cups cubed potatoes - or more, we like lots of potatoes
1 cup diced carrots
3/4 cup butter
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 quart half-and-half cream
2 tablespoons apple cider vinegar
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
ground black pepper to taste
Drain juice from clams into a large skillet over the onions, celery, potatoes and carrots. Add water to cover, and cook over medium heat until tender.
Meanwhile, in a large, heavy saucepan, melt the butter over medium heat. Whisk in flour until smooth. Whisk in cream and stir constantly until thick and smooth. Stir in vegetables, bacon and clam juice. Heat through, but do not boil. Stir in clams just before serving. If they cook too much they get tough. When clams are heated through, stir in vinegar, and season with salt and pepper.


Beef & Broccoli
1 pound beef sirloin, cut in thin strips
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
4 cups broccoli, cut up

marinade:
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
1 clove garlic, minced
gravy:
1 Tbsp soy sauce
1 Tbsp cornstarch
1/2 cup water or broth

Stir marinade ingredients in a medium bowl, add beef and let marinade in refrigerator for 15 minutes.
In a small bowl, mix together gravy ingredients and set aside.
Cook beef in a large skillet or wok with hot oil and set aside.
Cook broccoli with 1/4 cup of water until tender crisp (about 8 minutes).
Return meat to skillet with vegetables. Stir in gravy. Cook till gravy is thickened (about 1 minute).

Okay, so this took a little longer than I had intended! But if you are interested I tag the following people, good luck, I am so excited for new food!!!
Alexis
Jessica
Jo
Julie
Michelle
Tara

TEXAS!!!

Last week we were in Texas, just me 'n' the kids - I haven't been there before and I hadn't seen my dad in so long, almost 2 years I think! That's longer than any gal should go and we found an awesome deal on tickets so off we went.

We had a BLAST! The kids were in heaven, the dog (Bowzer), the fish tank, the turtles (they live on a golf course and there is a pond with turtles that they feed), the lizards ( that climbed on the windows when it was dark outside so that they could catch the bugs bouncing off the glass trying to get the light inside ), the gigantinormous yard, it was so great. My kids have never been so happy, they were free. We need a house.

Brandon ended up not being able to come so Dillon informed everyone around us on the airplane ride there that Daddy had to stay home and clean the whole house :)

Rules for our next trip to TX...
NO sitting next to drunk people on the plane
Bring a back up DVD player
Have "OFF" available at all times
Bring Brandon with us or we aren't coming home :)
Go to Gator Country when we get to see them hungrier and crankier and when I have the extra memory card with me... there are pictures of us holding a little 3 year old gator but they are on my mammas camera, I'll post them when I get them.
Bring an extra empty suitcase
Hide Bowzers water and food - he can feed himself, Kenzie just doesn't realize that.

Kenzie - 5 mosquito bites - $165
Dillon - 16 mosquito bites - $165
Natalie - 32 mosquito bites - $165
Spending a week in Texas with your parents - priceless. :)

The Plane Ride Home

This is a letter I sent to Delta Airlines following our recent trip to visit my parents in Texas (which was DELIGHTFUL!!!! and I will blog about later it's been a little crazy around here since we got home. Jo, can this count as disappointing?) I know there are more details than any of you need but I just copy and pasted it :)

To the complaints department of Delta Airlines,

I recently returned from the most miserable flights I have ever been on. Connection flight DL 1226 from Salt Lake City to Seattle on October 26^th.

Seated next to my 26 month old daughter was a completely inebriated woman. I couldn't move my daughter because my son (4) was on the other side of the isle and I needed to be able to reach both of them (row 18, seats B, C, and D were ours and I couldn't have her sitting alone in seat B).

This woman was swearing and miserable. She hated Delta, children, Mormons, Utah, the stupid Mormons who had kicked her out of the bar before her flight, flight attendants, checking baggage, no room in over head compartments, (which she stored hers at our feet! Placing her bags in a nearby over head compartment was apparently completely out of the question even though I pointed out several places) charging for headphones, and charging for beer. I could tell this woman had issues and possibly was physiologically challenged. I tried to take a high road, I made nice – I ignored her when she used offensive derogatory language and consoled her as she complained about everything I listed – however being a Mormon it was very difficult, and as you can imagine I kept my mouth shut about my religious beliefs. My daughter began to get wiggly; she's 2, that happens. She stood in my lap and turned my light on and off, this woman informed me that it was enough and turned my light off. I told her that it entertained my daughter and kept her from crying. The woman then told me I needed to – I'll spare you the language and translate – "beat her bum" I informed her I didn't do that to my children and she told me to shut my *bleeping* mouth so I held it wide open, sorry. Then my daughter began to buckle and unbuckle my seatbelt each time exclaiming – ta daa! (It was actually really quiet because she had a binky in her mouth) and clapping. This woman grabbed her beer glass and threw the beverage on my child, my barely 2 year old daughter and said (in writing you can't grasp intonation and sarcasm but let me tell you it was DRIPPING with it)"Oh, oooooooooopps, sorry 'bout that!" I had had enough. I pushed my call light and yelled my head off! By then the flight attendant rushed over to investigate the situation and the kind woman to the other side of my son (18 A) offered us her seat. You can correlate with any number of people, I would refer you to her (18 A) if necessary or to those seated in rows 17 C, D, and E or row 19 C, D, and E as they all witnessed her "issues". The only further incident happened when multiple times she would look over and ask, "You happy now, huh, you happy now?" I'm not exactly certain how I could be happy holding a beer soaked, scared 2 year old, and calming an angry, scared 4 year old (who had no concept of beer, until this incident)

Delta should not serve alcohol to people who are so clearly already above the limit for a public place, if you are uncertain ask the person seated around them. If that were already the case, we would possibly have been spared such an ugly experience and the worst we would have had to put up with was a woman with a nasty, dirty mouth.

This should not have happened. This woman verbally assaulted a baby and its mother, and assaulted the baby with an alcoholic beverage. I should have had the police come but after such a long miserable day the last thing I wanted to do was stay another 2 hours speaking to the police! This woman was out of control. She should be fined the cost of our tickets, dry cleaning, and never allowed on Delta again!

PS They replied with $100 on my next Delta flight.

Kenzie, the almost a big girl!

Kenzie got a new bed last week. She is doing great, but it took a couple nights and some well placed spiders :) On Wednesday (yet another night I had to be away, this time for mutual) Brandon was having a difficult time getting Kenzie to stay in her bed, sooooo... he went and started rummaging in her closet, grabbed a handful of "spiders" and threw them on the floor and told her not to come out of bed or the spiders will get her... (there wasn't really any spiders real or pretend) This is of her first night - after her parents won the battle of the sleep at 10pm...




Jubilant celebrations the next morning!

I'm Having an Affair . . .

Although I never thought the day would come that those words would come forth from my lips, it's true, dastardly and horribly true... (don't stop reading!!!)

I am an Idaho girl to the core, my heart will always belong there, but I have recently fallen in love, again. North-western Washington has made a play for me. It is trying to steal a place in occupied territory. I cannot tell you the beauty of this area, you know if you have been here. It is beyond compare (with anything I have experienced thus far in my short existence) I love it here.

On one hand you have some of God's art work at it's finest. Puget Sound and it's many beauties, Mount Rainier peaking/peeking out at you in between the clouds, and our newest exploration, Point Defiance Park (the zoo and aquarium are somewhat famous but the park is what should be - and most of it is free which is a price tag I most admire!) After today's adventure, I might have to be dragged from this city kicking and screaming. I am as happy as a bear in the honey pot, now if I could only find a way of transporting all the people from Idaho who are still tugging my heart strings - and the ones in Utah and Texas, life would be perfect!

For my big city loving husband I bring you the other hand... Seattle, as much big city as an Idaho boy can handle and much more! For myself though, I stay far away - unless he is driving ...

As for my title - never you worry, Mr. Bradshaw is so thoroughly adored that my heart - although fickle when the matter of land is in reference, it is not where my Colonel Brandon is concerned!

In case you noticed, not that you could help it, yes I've been reading Austen - with all the joy and fondness my heart can issue. :)