Red Haven

March 28, 2009

I have really gotten into gardening in a big way if you couldn't tell. Last week I decided that we needed a peach tree for our backyard. Forrest and Eliza helped me pick it out and today we were able to plant it.

The kids of course were a big help.

Forrest even got out of his sick bed to come help. Yesterday at school he threw-up. For the rest of the night he was pretty miserable. When he woke up this morning we thought we were over the worst of it, but he threw-up again. I was picturing a long day with a sick kid, but ten minutes later he was telling me he was fine and running around the house. I really wish I could bounce back that fast.

We are really hoping that we will get some peaches this year. Forrest has told us that he will try one only because it was grown in our backyard. If it comes from the store it just isn't as good. We are raising that kid right.

Cafe Rio Salad

March 23, 2009

I was going to take a picture of this, but a hoard of locust descended upon it and pretty much ate everything in sight. That would be my family. This is an awesome salad. Every person I have given this to loves it. It makes a ton so it is great when you are having family or friends over. We always have leftover meat that I will later make burritos out of. It is very easy to make and makes great leftovers.

Café Rio Salad

Sweet Pork
6 lb pork shoulder
1 can coke
16 oz can red enchilada sauce
2 c. brown sugar

Place pork in crock-pot and cover half way with water. Cook for 5 hours on high. Mix together coke, enchilada sauce and brown sugar and pour over top. Cook on low for 3 hours. When the meat is able to be easily shredded it is done. Shred the meat and return to the crock-pot to keep warm while you prepare the rest of the meal.

Lime Cilantro Rice:
2 c. uncooked rice (not instant rice)
2 tsp. butter
2 clove garlic, minced
2 tsp grated lime peel
1/4 tsp. black pepper
4 cups chicken broth
2 T. chopped fresh cilantro

Combine rice, butter, garlic, lime peel, pepper and broth in a 2 or 3 quart saucepan. Bring to boil; stir once or twice. Reduce heat; cover and simmer 15 minutes or until rice is tender and liquid is absorbed. Stir in cilantro (makes 6 cups)

Southwest Dressing: (You can also buy a dressing similar to this at Bajio’s if you don’t want to go to all the trouble)
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Fiesta Dip mix
2 c. milk
2 c. mayo
Cilantro
16 oz avocado chip dip (not zesty)
2 limes

Mix dressing and dip mix with 2 cups milk and 2 cups may. Add cilantro to taste. Add juice of 2 limes and avocado dip. Refrigerate at least 30 minutes before serving. This makes over a quart of dressing.

Flour Tortillas: (Or you can buy the tortilla strips from Bajios)
Buy uncooked tortillas and cook right before serving.

To Assemble:
Place ingredients in the following order:
1. Flour tortilla
2. Lime rice
3. Black beans, rinsed, drained and warmed
4. Sweet pork
5. Romaine lettuce, Cheese, tomatoes, etc.
6. Southwest dressing
7. Tortilla strips (if desired)
This makes a lot, but is really good. The meat can be frozen to be used later, or can be used to make burritos and quesadillas for another meal.

Eliza is Talking

March 20, 2009

Eliza is coming a long way in her talking. She is trying to say a lot of words and most of the time we can even understand her. Her new thing is trying to say peoples names. My favorite is when she says hi to one of my friends. It is always Hi(pause) Hol-eee. It is really cute. Greg's favorite was when she was on the potty the other day and she said "Go away, poop" He wants to put it in her baby book as her first sentence. I think she would hate that so I figured I would just blog about. We are really exicted about all the progress she has made. There is even more good news. Her doctor feels she has come so far that we wont' have to do the MRI and EEG. This is a big load off of our shoulders. Of course now that she is starting to talk we can't get her to stop. This posses a problem in Sacrament, but it is worth it.

London Broil With Jarlesburg Potatoes

March 19, 2009

This is one of our favorite meals. We could eat this every week if Jarlsburg cheese wasn't so expensive.


London Broil
1 ½ lbs London Broil
Unseasoned meat tenderizer
5 oz soy sauce
¼ c. brown sugar
1 T. lemon juice
1 tsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 ½ c. water

Sprinkle the meat on both sides with unseasoned meat tenderizer; set aside. Mix together soy sauce, brown sugar, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce and water. Add meat. Place in heavy plastic bag and marinate for 12 hours turning every few hours. Cook on grill. Slice diagonally across the grain.

Jarlsburg Potatoes
3 T. Butter
2 lbs russet pototes
Salt
Pepper
1 to 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
1/2 medium onion, thinly sliced
1 to 2 c. Jarlsburg cheese
3/4 c. heavy cream
3/4 c. chicken broth

Preheat oven to 425. Butter a 13 x 9-inch pan with 1 tablespoon of butter and set aside. Peel and slice the potatoes 1/4-inch thick. Put in cold water to cover. Carefully dry the potato slices with a clean kitchen towel and begin layering them into the dish. Season each layer lightly with salt and pepper, and sprinkle with a portion of the garlic, onion and grated cheese mixture. Continue layering. End with a cheese topping. Combine cream and chicken broth and pour over potatoes. dot the top of the gratin with remaining butter. Bake, uncovered in oven for 45 to 50 minutes or until the potatoes ore tend and nicely browned.

So Tired

March 18, 2009

The weather is wonderful, the kids are active and we have a lot more activities going on which means sleep is starting to suffer. This morning when we woke up Forrest he told us that when he got home from school today he was going to take a nap. Of course that is never going to happen, but it tells you how tired he is when he is volunteering to go to bed early and would love to take an afternoon nap if he could.

Moving on up

March 15, 2008

I can't believe Forrest is now an orange belt. He really loves karate and is doing very well. Each week he gets better and better. Before you know it he will be a black belt and then we will all need to watch out because we will have a true karate kid in the house.

Spring is Here

March 14, 2009

And boy are we having fun. The kids have spent the last two days playing outside in the sun. Forrest keeps commenting on how much he loves spring. I am loving it too. Today we got out and worked in the yard getting everything ready. We even planted some peas. I am hoping I am not to early, but they say as long as your soil temp is 40 degrees you are fine. So we will see how it goes. I am getting really excited about my garden. We are doing some of the same things we did last year and we are also adding in a few new ones. My favorite will be the pumpkin. I am really hoping it works out. Our neighbors have pumpkins every year and it is fun to pick them in the fall. Greg is really looking forward to the tomatoes. All winter long he has complained about the quality of tomatoes we have gotten from the grocery store. The funny thing is he hated tomatoes when we first got married. Then we planted some and he was hooked. This year he is thinking of doing a hanging tomato plant. I don't quite know how it is going to work, but supposedly you can take it into your garage at the first frost so that you can enjoy your tomatoes for a lot longer. We will see how it goes. I have found that gardening is really about experimenting with what works in your yard. We are still learning, but it has been a really fun process. The kids get such a kick out of it. They love to see their plants grow.

Chicken Stir-Fry

March 11, 2009

It seems that I am always looking for a good recipe. Especially ones that people I know really like. I also have recipes stashed all over the place. I figured if I made a goal to type up on recipe a week I would soon have all my recipes in one place. Hopefully you will enjoy this.

Chicken Stir-Fry

Sauce
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 T. soy sauce
1/2 tsp. ground ginger
1/4 tsp crushed red pepper flakes
brown sugar

2 T. oil
2 chicken breasts, cut into bite size pieces
1 c. broccoli, chopped
1 c. red pepper, chopped
1 c. carrot, sliced
1/4 c. green onion, chopped
1 clove garlic minced
4 c. rice, cooked

Stir together mayonnaise, soy sauce, ginger, red pepper, add brown sugar to taste. Heat oil and add chicken. Stir-fry 3 to 4 minutes. Add vegetables. Stir-fry for 3 to 4 minutes. Stir in mayonnaise mixture. Once heated through severe over rice.

Making Progress

March 10, 2009

It seems like we are finally making progress with Eliza's room. This weekend Greg worked really hard and was able to install all the boards. Now all we need is a little touch ups here and there and then we can paint. Of course Greg is now sicker than a dog and can't really do anything.

Our family has been dealing with a lovely cold bug the last couple of weeks. Eliza got if first and it still seems to be hanging on. Forrest got it second. He came home from school Friday sneezing up a storm. By that night he was cough and hacking everywhere. On Saturday he sounded much worse, but it was the Union Station annual train show. Forrest had been looking forward to this all week. Being the bad mom that I am I let him go. Hopefully he didn't infect too many people. By Saturday night I was pretty sure he that he would have stay home from church the next day. He sounded awful. I was even thinking that he might have to miss a couple of days of school. That of course was until Sunday morning when he woke up all better. He still has a little bit of a stuffy nose and will cough occasionally, but on the whole he is all better. I sure wish I could get over colds that way. I think Greg wishes the same thing. He started feeling a little under the weather Friday night, but still worked hard all day Saturday to finish Eliza's room. Of course by Sunday he was completely under the weather. He still went into work to day, but I suspect he will be warming the couch most of tonight. And of course last but not least I woke up this morning with a sore throat. I am hoping I only get a mild case, or maybe have a miraculous recovery like Forrest. Either way I really don't have time to get sick so of course this would be the time it would happen.

Steady, but Slow Progress

March 4, 2009

We are still working on Eliza's room. I am the type of person that want things done yesterday. Unfortunately for us we haven't had one good day for Greg to really work on the room.
This is how her room looked last Saturday.
After working on it off and on this is where it is finally at. Not much to look at, but Eliza seems to think it is done and wants to move all her stuff back in. We have finished all the easy parts; removing the base boards, taking down the wallpaper and prepping the walls. Now comes the hard part. Cutting all the boards and getting them up on the walls. Hopefully then we will finally be able to paint. Greg has half of Friday off and miracles of miracles we have nothing going on this Saturday. I am hoping that this weekend we will be able to make some real progress. I am getting anxious to see how it is going to turn out.