Tried and True-sday

This is the first chance I've had to get to my computer today.  It's been a great week and oddly enough I really didn't do very much cooking at all.  It was a GET RID of LEFTOVERS kind of week with random combinations of meals and ending with a fridge finally ready to be refilled with goodness.  We had a fun girls day on Saturday with all the Partridge girls (born into or married into).  There were some haircuts, some shopping, and some eating. . . . all happy things:). I've never been much of a morning person, but I wanted to have a special breakfast for the kick-off of the girls day on Saturday since it began at our house.  The first thing that popped into my mind was my sister, Angela's recipe for make-the-night-before-bake-just-before-serving so it seems freshly made French Toast.  It's yummy.  It's easy.  You'll love it!  Another exciting thing was to be a guest spotlight blogger on my friend Kami's healthy living blog.  CLICK HERE to see what I had to say.  Happy cooking:)

Upside-Down Apple French Toast

(make the night before)
1 stick butter
1 1/4 c. packed brown sugar
1 Tbsp. water
4 granny smith apples
cinnamon, to taste
1/2 c. raisins and/or chopped pecans (optional)
1 loaf French bread sliced about 1 inch thick
1 1/2 c. milk
7 eggs
1 tsp. vanilla
nutmeg, to taste
cool whip - or cream topping

Heat butter, brown sugar and water in saucepan on medium until bubbling.  Place in 9x13 pan and cool for 20-30 minutes.  Peel, core, and slice apples.  Place in rows overlapping on top of sauce in pan.  Sprinkle with cinnamon and raisins/nuts.  Top with bread.  Mix milk, eggs and vanilla.  Pour over bread.  Sprinkle with nutmeg.  Cover and refrigerate overnight or several hours.  Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour when it is golden brown and crispy.  Serve upside-down using sauce as syrup and cool whip cream on top.

Two Glorious Two!

On February 20th our Little Goose, Noah, turned two!  He is such a wonderful part of our family.  We love his little personality and humor.  Here's a few stories to help you understand what a cutie we have:

Noah:Knock, knock
Me: Who's there
Noah: Orange rolling down the street
(followed by full-on head back fake loud laughing)

I put Noah down for a nap and he decided to stay awake playing with toys.  I could hear him talking to himself, so after about 20 minutes I went in:
Me: Noah, you're supposed to be laying down in bed.
Noah: Awh, NUTS! (Said with a smile on his face and motioning a pretend snap)

(Favorite things: blankie and kitty)

Favorite phrases:
 "Noah do it!"
 "Hurry! Hurry! Hurry!" - done while running frantically
 "Noah turn!"
 "3,2,1 Bas-off (blastoff)"
 "1, 2, 3, 6, 7, 18, 19, 20"
 "Sorry Daddy" (said at any little mishap and repeated over and over until he's acknowledged)
 "Thank you, Daddy"
 "Wooperman! (Superman!)"
 "Biggest thing EVER!"

He blows us away with how well he talks.  He's saying new things everyday and loves to communicate to us everything he thinks, sees, or feels.  Noah is also such an athlete.  He is very coordinated at jumping, running, dancing, and throwing.  He shocks us with his knowledge of all the letters.  He can point out and tell you what every upper-case letter is and most lower-case letters too -with most of their sounds too!  He is a little Superman and we love him SOOO much! Happy Birthday, Noah!

Tried and True-sday

I realize Valentines was yesterday, which means posting this is a little late for anyone who may have wanted to use it, but it's still a great recipe!  This is a family classic.  I remember having these frequently when I was young. They are soft, sweet, and addicting.  We decided to make this a Family Night activity.  They are so fun to make and the boys love it, but anytime they help with these cookies it means they eat WAY too much frosting and the kitchen takes a while to clean up.  The sacrifices we make to involve our children. . . maybe I'll finish cleaning up the kitchen today.  For Valentines Brett also gave me an edible arrangement which was amazing.  I let the boys munch on those with their cookies.  I hope you all had a wonderful Valentines Day.  Happy Cooking! 

Sugar Cookies

Cream these together until very smooth:
2 cups sugar
2 cubes butter (softened)
3 eggs
6 Tbsp. milk

Combine and then add to the above ingredients:
5 cups flour
1/2 tsp. salt
3 Tbsp. baking powder

Place parchment paper on baking sheets, and preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Roll out dough no thinner than 1/4 inch thick and cut out into desired shapes.  Cook 7-10 minutes.  (Don't let them get brown around edges) You want to take them out when they're still white, let them sit on the tray for a couple minutes and then cool off on tray.  Frost soon after cooled, because if you leave them unfrosted they dry out quickly.    

Cream Cheese Frosting (so much better then using anything out of a can)

1/4 cup butter softened
pinch salt
1 tsp. vanilla
4 oz. cream cheese
1 lb. powdered sugar
2-3 Tbsp. milk

Blend with hand mixer until creamy and the consistency you want.  Feel free to add food coloring:)

(Here is a small portion of the craziness we had last night)

(And then of course after cookies we had to remove the evidence with a bath.)

Brothers Don't Shake Hands. . .

brother's gotta hug!  Wow, I miss Chris Farley.  I know that I spend a good portion of the day telling the boys to stop touching, hitting, kicking, poking. . . (basically insert anything that sounds painful or annoying here), eachother.  Yet, right now I want to post the things that I hope to remember more than anything else looking back at this time in my life.  My boys really do love each other.  They both have very different personalities, yet they manage to have a lot of fun together.  Not that this age defines who they will be, but for now Hyrum is the dramatic storyteller. (When we have company, he seriously will not stop talking to them for a minute.  He thinks they are his guests and he will tell them anything and EVERYTHING!)  Noah seems to be playing the part of athlete and independent.(While Hyrum thrives off of attention, Noah usually just does his own thing and loves to play by himself.  He also really has great coordination and sport.)  It's amazing how different two little people can be raised under the same roof.  I love watching them grow and continually develop knew skills and knowledge.  The thing that makes me most happy is when they play well together.  Sometimes they (soft) wrestle each other and it's so cute to watch them laugh as they roll around.  Sometimes Hyrum calls for Noah;, "Come here you little Goose!" or Noah will yell, "Where Hymum go?".  Usually when Hyrum talks about doing something or sharing something he always says: " . . .with my friend, Noah".  I think I want to capture those words and these moments forever, because I know that there will be times when I need it.  So this post is for me in 10 year:).  

This afternoon I was trying to fold some laundry and Hyrum yelled to me, "Mom! Come sit on us with your bum, please!"  Of course, I was a little curious what they were doing.  I had thrown our comforter in the spare room because I need to take it to get cleaned.  The boys had formed a nest in the corner of the room with it and they told me that they were eggs about to cratch (a mixture of crack and hatch).  They wanted me to be the Mamma bird and sit on them. . .of course I obliged:)    

Tried and True-sday -Health

Last week I managed to only get one post in.  I'll try and do better this week!  My Sister-in-law Cassi shared this recipe with me a while back.  I finally tried it this last week and was amazed at how easy and quick it was to make.  Seriously, why haven't I made this sooner and more frequently!  She got the recipe from the American Heart Association.  You're going to LOVE it!  

(In my attempts to photograph the chili I realized that white beans are really not photogenic, so I Googled white beans and found this picture from the Taste of Home and what I made actually looks the same.)  

White Chili

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

2 Tbsp olive oil

1 Tbsp minced garlic

1.5 lbs chicken breasts (cooked and small cubed)

1  chopped onion (medium)

2 (14.5 oz) cans chicken broth

2 (4 oz) cans chopped green chlils

3 (15 oz) cans white beans (great Northern)

2 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp oregano leaves, crushed

1. Sauté onions, cilantro, and garlic in olive oil until onions are transparent.

2. Add remaining ingredients.

3. Simmer for 10-20 minutes.

4. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and cheese.

Tried and True-sday- Health

Last week was the end of a long month, which means our grocery budget was running tight.  I looked through the pantry, freezer, and fridge to see what I could come up with for the week's meal plan. I was able to figure out two meals from just things we had around.  The third meal is what I'm going to share with you because its SOO easy and we also had all of the ingredients already in the house minus Doritos and lettuce.  (Yes, I admit I'm a three good meals a week kind of girl, don't think I spend every night in the kitchen cooking. . . although someday when kids are older I would LOVE to! The other nights are always leftovers or create your own adventure.).  Taco Salad is probably something that most people already make, but I think everyone makes is differently, so I'll just share what I have learned from my Mom.  Thanks, Mom! Happy Cooking!

Taco Salad

    1 lb. ground beef
    1 packet taco seasoning
    1/2-1 head of lettuce shredded
    1 tomato (cut up into cubes)
    1-2 cups cheddar cheese in small cubes (I only had shredded in the fridge, so that's what you see)
    1 can Kidney beans (rinsed and drained)
    1 small can olives
    1 can corn (drained)
    3 hard-boiled eggs (cut into small pieces)
    2-4 green onions (finely chopped)

1 bag Doritos (I just got the nacho cheese kind, but the hotter one is good too)

Make ahead of time: Brown the ground beef and then follow the directions on the taco seasoning packet. Once the meat mixture has COMPLETELY cooled, stick everything above except the Doritos in a big bowl and stir together.  Serve with Doritos on the side or in a bowl on the table for people to put on themselves.  If you add the chips to the salad and don't finish it all that night then they get soggy and not so yummy.  You can also add Sour Cream, refried beans(on the side), or any number of things.

Dinnertable Quotes from Hyrum:

-"These are hot chips.  They make volcanos out of my eyes and fire come out my mouth.  But just for pretend."
-"Here Dad, this milk will make your heart happy"