I want to wish you all the very best mothers' day! Mine was very nice - Rick really tried to make it special by making a bunch of my favorite yummy foods. It was very sweet! And Ashlyn made me a beautiful vase and tissue paper flower in school. That is one great thing about having someone in school now - I can look forward to awesome homemade gifts!
Hope you were made to feel special today ladies - because you are!
Big kisses,
Erika
Sunday, May 11, 2008
Wednesday, May 07, 2008
Food glorious food!
So - has everyone tried Betty Crocker's Warm Delights? They are tasty good - we had some that we got for free after coupon from a sale a while ago but I haven't bought any since. They just weren't worth $1. But I have since found out you can make your own! This is the perfect solution to a late night sweet attack. You can have a piece of cake without making an entire cake!
Here's all you do:
1/3 cup of cake mix (I like chocolate)
1/2 cup water
Mix mix and water together until blended in microwave-safe container. Nuke for 90 seconds. Let cool for a minute or two. Drizzle Hershey's syrup, sprinkle choc chips, etc. YUMMY!
We have #10 cans of cake mix from the distribution center so it works out so nice to keep a tin in the cupboard for this!
And for our next recipe - another of our attempts to "eat meat sparingly" and also to find more things to cook in the crockpot that are a little different. I just happened to have 6 tortillas left over from egg enchiladas (more later) so I popped this in the crockpot tonight. Everyone loved it! I would say it serves 4 if you have average servings - but you can't make it any bigger and have it still fit in the crockpot so you'll either need to make a couple of these or supplement if there are more of you.
Mexican Lasagna
6 corn tortillas
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
jar of salsa (I used 16 oz)
1 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 packets Goya seasoning (optional)
1 small can of diced green chilies
Make foil strips to act as handles for your crockpot. I ripped off a piece about 18" long and folded into four the long way to make a strip. Lay 3 strips in the crock placed like spokes on a wheel.
Place a tortilla in the bottom. Top with some salsa, some beans and some cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
Place in the crockpot until cheese is melted. Mine was done after 2 hours on high. (Much earlier than the original recipe's 3-4 hours - glad I checked it!)
Some notes: The original recipe called for 1 c. chicken instead of black beans, didn't use Goya, and used pepper jack cheese. I just typed it up as I made it.
We topped with guacamole and sour cream. I had fully intended to have lettuce and tomatoes too but I totally forgot until we were almost done!
We ate this with cornbread and I would definitely suggest at least one more side to fill you up. (And we are just a family of 4 - including a 3 and 5 y.o.)
And now for the Egg Enchiladas
18 corn tortillas
6 eggs
oil for softening tortillas (a couple Tbs.)
1 recipe enchilada sauce
grated Cheddar
diced onion
Place enchilada sauce in a shallow pan. Soften the tortillas in hot oil - don't cook long, just a few seconds each side. Dip tortillas in sauce and plate them, top with cheese and onion. Repeat twice more for a stack of 3. Top with a fried egg and sauce. You can keep this in a warm oven while you finish cooking. We loved these!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (8-ounce size) tomato sauce
2 cups water1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Heat oil in large 2-quart saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder; cook for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Happy Mother's Day week!
Here's all you do:
1/3 cup of cake mix (I like chocolate)
1/2 cup water
Mix mix and water together until blended in microwave-safe container. Nuke for 90 seconds. Let cool for a minute or two. Drizzle Hershey's syrup, sprinkle choc chips, etc. YUMMY!
We have #10 cans of cake mix from the distribution center so it works out so nice to keep a tin in the cupboard for this!
And for our next recipe - another of our attempts to "eat meat sparingly" and also to find more things to cook in the crockpot that are a little different. I just happened to have 6 tortillas left over from egg enchiladas (more later) so I popped this in the crockpot tonight. Everyone loved it! I would say it serves 4 if you have average servings - but you can't make it any bigger and have it still fit in the crockpot so you'll either need to make a couple of these or supplement if there are more of you.
Mexican Lasagna
6 corn tortillas
1 can of kidney beans
1 can of black beans
jar of salsa (I used 16 oz)
1 c. grated Monterey Jack cheese
2 packets Goya seasoning (optional)
1 small can of diced green chilies
Make foil strips to act as handles for your crockpot. I ripped off a piece about 18" long and folded into four the long way to make a strip. Lay 3 strips in the crock placed like spokes on a wheel.
Place a tortilla in the bottom. Top with some salsa, some beans and some cheese. Repeat layers ending with cheese.
Place in the crockpot until cheese is melted. Mine was done after 2 hours on high. (Much earlier than the original recipe's 3-4 hours - glad I checked it!)
Some notes: The original recipe called for 1 c. chicken instead of black beans, didn't use Goya, and used pepper jack cheese. I just typed it up as I made it.
We topped with guacamole and sour cream. I had fully intended to have lettuce and tomatoes too but I totally forgot until we were almost done!
We ate this with cornbread and I would definitely suggest at least one more side to fill you up. (And we are just a family of 4 - including a 3 and 5 y.o.)
And now for the Egg Enchiladas
18 corn tortillas
6 eggs
oil for softening tortillas (a couple Tbs.)
1 recipe enchilada sauce
grated Cheddar
diced onion
Place enchilada sauce in a shallow pan. Soften the tortillas in hot oil - don't cook long, just a few seconds each side. Dip tortillas in sauce and plate them, top with cheese and onion. Repeat twice more for a stack of 3. Top with a fried egg and sauce. You can keep this in a warm oven while you finish cooking. We loved these!
Homemade Enchilada Sauce
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
2 tablespoons chili powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1 can (8-ounce size) tomato sauce
2 cups water1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
Heat oil in large 2-quart saucepan; stir in flour and chili powder; cook for 1 minute. Add remaining ingredients bring to a boil and simmer for about 10 minutes.
Happy Mother's Day week!
Two months old
I tried to get some more pictures of that very elusive smile... The flash really washed out the pictures so in an attempt to darken them up the colors went a little funny. You'll get the idea though!
Monday, May 05, 2008
Rick-less
So as of this past weekend we are back in the Land of Rick! And so happy to be there! Rick spent the last week in New Orleans checking out a new kind of weld for the rocket. A friction weld - never been done before apparently and he was super excited to see it. I was not super-excited to be by myself for a week, and the kids missed Daddy a lot, but we made it!
In a nutshell, I wouldn't recommend New Orleans. There are more girly clubs than you can shake a stick at and even worse they have people (men and women) outside trying to lure in the passersby. Gross! That's a den of iniquity that will certainly be sinking into the sea before the millenium. Move if you live close by.
Rick was so uncomfortable! I felt so bad for him there all alone. He was so anxious to talk with us that week and even more so to come home. I can't imagine what it must have been like. Other than that, he loved the work part of it and decided he is a fan of jumbalaya, but not gumbo. I had him bring back some beignets from Cafe Du Monde so we could taste the New Orleans doughnut. It's good - but its just fried dough with powdered sugar. Better to make your own and not have flat, hours-old beignets, even if they are authentic.
Well, we're glad that's done and have a new love for Heavenly Father's plan that parents come in twos!
In a nutshell, I wouldn't recommend New Orleans. There are more girly clubs than you can shake a stick at and even worse they have people (men and women) outside trying to lure in the passersby. Gross! That's a den of iniquity that will certainly be sinking into the sea before the millenium. Move if you live close by.
Rick was so uncomfortable! I felt so bad for him there all alone. He was so anxious to talk with us that week and even more so to come home. I can't imagine what it must have been like. Other than that, he loved the work part of it and decided he is a fan of jumbalaya, but not gumbo. I had him bring back some beignets from Cafe Du Monde so we could taste the New Orleans doughnut. It's good - but its just fried dough with powdered sugar. Better to make your own and not have flat, hours-old beignets, even if they are authentic.
Well, we're glad that's done and have a new love for Heavenly Father's plan that parents come in twos!
2 months
The attempt here was to show you her numbers on the scale - but the lighting/flash made that impossible - so here she is! And you can almost see the weight, she's at 10lb 3.2oz right now. She's 23" long and her head circumference is 38 cm. That puts her into the 39% for weight, 80% for height and 36% for head. Those are the unadjusted numbers (check her other dr. appt. post is you don't know what I'm talking about). Ajusted, she's ninety-kajillionth for height and I think 80th for weight. To compare, she was 15% for weight last time and now she's 39%. For height she was 67% last time and now she's 80%. So she's not just maintaining her %iles she's gaining. Soon she'll be a 90/50% for height and weight just like the others. Go Lauren!
This was her first visit where she received shots. She's not a fan. She had tons! There was an oral rotovirus vaccine (new since I last had a baby), the DPT shot (Diptheria, Pertussis and Tetanus -I think- which I was lucky enough to receive at my 6wk visit - that puppy hurts for days), HIB (Haemophilus Influenza B - causes infantile meningitis), PNUcn (Pneumococcal conjugate), Hepatitis B, and Polio vaccines. That poor girl slept for 2 1/2 days! She didn't get back to "normal" until Sunday night - when she ate every hour and a half to make up for her hibernation.
We mentioned our concern to our doctor that some nights she didn't sleep any longer at night than she did in the day and he asked us if perhaps she might have reflux. Gosh - I don't know! He asked if she seemed uncomfortable after eating, made faces, stuck out her tongue, and curled into a c-shape. Um - yeah? Like when a baby needs to burp? What baby doesn't do that? But just as a trial we are giving her Zantac to see if she seems more comfortable and is able to sleep longer. We are still waiting to see. She slept so much in the days after her appoiontment that we haven't had a nice normal day to evaluate yet. We've also started giving her some vitamins to make sure she's getting enough vitamin D. Breastfed babies often don't (since, unlike the milk we drink, I am not "Vitamin A + D fortified"). I have to say that she likes the vitamins much more than she likes the Zantac. The Zantac is peppermint flavored, which Rick says he doesn't like. He says it tastes like Pepto Bismol - which he doesn't like. I don't mind it, but it's looking like Lauren is taking after Rick here.
As far as milestones go - that day that she rolled over and we posted the video was the only day she rolled over until Sunday. Then she did it again for Rick. Other than that she continues to work on smiling and cooing.
And I know you'll all disagree with me - because everyone says she looks just like Nathan - but I'm telling you I think she looks just like me when I was a baby! Her eyes and nose have been slightly "Rick-ified" but the general shape is mine I think. And the head shape, chubby face is spot on! Maybe there is hope that she won't have short legs and will be able to fit in outfits! I'm excited to see! Her eyes are definitely on the blue side. I think I can rule out brown anyway. Her sleeping seems to be erratic, but she's pulled off a few 4 and 5 hours stretches some nights so we are optimistic that we'll be getting more sleep. Strictly biologically babies should be able to sleep through the night when they hit 11 pounds. She's getting rolls on her (as you can see above) and we are excited to see what she'll do next!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
