Beans!

This last weekend, we went to Boise for a family fun 4 day get away.  While living in Kauai, you may know that we developed many strong friendships.  These are friendships that I hope will never die.  Some of our best friends (Mandie and Holly Cook and their families) have moved from Kauai to Boise, so we love going to Boise to see these friends!

One problem is that my camera never came out while on this trip, I do not have a single picture of my little girls playing with their friends.  Hailey and Alyssa stayed in Kyleigh's room and they both love Kyleigh so much (they always cry when she leaves us or we leave them).  Abby and Kaitlyn are the same age, and so they play together wonderfully!  Naiya is a year younger, but makes that a fun trio.  Then Macey, she has Ridge (the only boy) and Aliya just a few months younger than her.  Really our kids work together perfectly.  While our kids are excited to go to Boise anytime, it's John and I that are the most excited.  We love Rusty & Mandie and Mike & Holly and are still much closer to them than others around us.

While there, Mandie (whom is a wonderful cook) made creamy chicken taquitoes with homemade refried beans.  She made the taquitoes beforehand and had them frozen in the freezer so that the meal could be quick and easy.  Everything tasted so wonderful and I wanted to share the recipe for the beans here.  They are a great way to use your food storage and also save by not having to buy cans of beans.

Refried Beans (without the Refry)

1 onion peeled and quartered
3 cups of dry pinto beans, rinsed
1 can chopped green chili's
2 T minced garlic
2 1/2 tsp Salt
2 tsp Pepper
1/8 tsp Cumin, ground
9 cups water

Place everything in the crock pot, stir to combine.  Cook on High for 8 hours, adding more water as needed.
When beans are cooked, strain them, reserving the liquid.  Mash the beans and add the reserved water as needed to attain desired consistency.

Rhubarb surprise!

Every year spring brings so much excitement and anticipation.  I love the green grass, the flowering trees and being about to see color in my flower bed.  Right now I have mini tomatoes growing in my garden, radishes popping up all over, fresh lettuce and I am eagerly awaiting the cucumber, watermelon, pumpkins and broccoli to pop us.  But in the spring one of my favorite things is the Rhubarb, not to just pick and eat but to have in a Rhubarb cobbler.  It's my favorite and I love having it for my birthday each year.  This year I'll be gone for my birthday and so I had to make this early.

Here is my recipe:

 First pick good rhubarb.  If the rhubarb gets to wide, it gets stringy and isn't as sweet when cooked

Cut the tops of the rhubarb and the end also, then wash it up really good.

Chop the rhubarb into small pieces, you will need about 4 cups:

Here's the magic ingredients that you will need to make this wonderful dessert!

So lets get started, here's how to make this:

Put the rhubarb in a bowl and pour 1 1/2 cups of sugar over the top

Next add lemon juice, salt, tapioca and almond extract (optional)

The almond extract is optional, but it adds a wonderful flavor

Mix all this together really well in the bowl.  Then place this in a buttered baking dish

I used mini dishes, so that I could give a few away to some ladies in my neighborhood.

In another bowl combine the flour, sugar, salt and baking powder.  Then cut in the butter and shortening.

Mix together the milk and egg.  Pour into the flour mixture and stir with fork until combined

Then take blobs of the dough and place on top of the rhubarb

Keep putting the blobs on until fully covered

Sprinkle with additional sugar (about 1-2 Tbsp.)

Bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes

Enjoy with ice cream or whipped topping!

Ingredients:

4 cups fresh Rhubarb

1 1/2 cups Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

2 Tbsp Lemon Juice

2 Tbsp Tapioca

1/2 tsp Almond Extract (optional, but recommended)

2 cups Flour

2 Tbsp Sugar

1/4 tsp Salt

1 Tbsp Baking Powder

1/4 cup Butter

1/4 cup Shortening

1/2 cup Milk

1 Egg

1-2 Tbsp Sugar

My new Irish Cream Cupcakes

Yesterday we had our monthly Mother - Daughter bookclub here at our house.  You know when people get together, people have to have treats.  So Hailey and I spent the day making and trying cupcakes (and Alyssa made the cheese bread to go along with dinner :) ).  We had one failed recipe and one recipe that was so delicious!   In all it was a really fun cooking day and we learned a little about how these recipes will be altered for the next go around.  I will say Hailey is on her way to becoming a wonderful cook!
Caution: These are very Rich! (I'm not a dark chocolate fan, but with these I may become one)

Irish Cream Cupcakes 

1 Duncan Hines Moist Deluxe Dark Chocolate Fudge Cake Mix

3 Large Eggs

1/2 Cup melted butter

2/3 Cup milk

1/3 Cup Irish Cream creamer

1/4 C Flour (due to high altitude)

Preheat oven to 350.  Using a large bowl, mix all ingredients until combined and then mix on high for 2-3 minutes.  Pour batter into lined cupcake pans.   Bake 20 minutes.  Cool completely, cut triangle out of top for chocolate caramel ganache filling. 

Chocolate Caramel Ganache (Delicious):

8 ounces Bittersweet Chocolate, finely chopped

3/4 Cup Heavy Whipping Cream

3 ounces caramels (about 10 candies unwrapped)

Place chopped chocolate in a medium bowl and set aside.  Using a small sauce pan, heat whipping cream and caramels over medium-low heat, stirring frequently, until the caramels have melted completely.  Pour caramel cream over chocolate and stir until melted.  Fill cooled cupcakes while this is warm

**tip** put this in a disposable frosting bag, cut the tip of and just squirt it into the cupcakes for a clean easy job

Frosting

 -- You may have your own favorite but this goes great with these cupcakes and is what makes the cupcakes the best.  This recipe is for frosting with cake decorating bag and tips (as shown in picture above) so if not using them, cut recipe in half. Here is some awesome directions on frosting cupcakes http://www.ourbestbites.com/2012/05/how-to-frost-cupcakes/ .



3/4 Cup Butter, softened

1/2 Cup Cream Cheese, softened

5 1/2 to 6 Cups Confectioner's Sugar (powdered sugar)

1 1/2 tsp Pure Vanilla extract

1 Tbsp Heavy Whipping Cream

1 Tbsp Irish Cream creamer

In a large mixing bowl cream butter, cream cheese and vanilla for 2-4 minutes.  Add powdered sugar 1 cup at a time making it a little stiffer than desired.  Combine whipping cream and irish cream and slowly add to frosting, using more for creamy consistency, use less for stiff consistency.  Top cupcakes with this buttercream frosting.

Garnish with caramel syrup and remaining ganache (I didn't use ganache in picture)



As I set at the computer this morning wondering what to type, I had floods of information come. Yet in those floods, nothing made enough sense for me to try to put into words.

My new years resolution Make it Count is working, not always as good as I would like it to, but I am doing much better. Part of my goal was to make time with my children count, spending more time together. Hailey and I have started going to a local book club once a month, she starts volleyball next week and we have been practicing together and I have been letting her help in the kitchen more. Alyssa is my trial. She seems to zone out and not care about anything except for them wizzards on the disney channel. I still go to her class once a week as a volunteer, but I needed to let her know I care. This is why we did the valentine cookies last week... I still need help with her. Abby has become my little side kick. We play together during the day, I take her to story time at the library each week and she is getting to be a good little reader, reading to me daily. And Macey, well she gets lots of time each day, as does most two year olds.

Another part of making it count dealt with the way I spent my time. While reading through an old acquaintances blog a few weeks ago I found this chores chart from www.my3monsters.com/2011/09/housekeeping.html. I decided to give it a try and it's really working. I had to change up a few things, like it doesn't take me 30 minutes to do the daily chores (it's more like an hour) and I have a few more rooms to clean then she did. It's really helping me organize my schedule better each day and keeping my house clean is really easy.

So, to keep myself organized I have to first clean house daily, second workout, third keep a weekly menu so I only shop once a week and last remember that Macey is growing up quick and needs my time! As long as I stick to this and not to my computer I have plenty of time, I actually have had enough time to have made about 40 scrapbook pages this year already.

As for the second 1/2 of my resolution, it's good and I can really feel the effects with the spirit in our home.

Last night I tried a new recipe from this awesome blog: http://www.homesicktexan.blogspot.com/, she has lots of great recipes. It was easy and really good. My kids even loved it, so I thought I would share this with you.

Tex-Mex sloppy Joe sandwiches
Ingredients:
1 1/2 pounds ground beef
1 chipotle chile in adobo sauce (I cut in half and removed seeds)
1/2 medium yellow onion, diced
1/2 bell pepper, seeds and stem removed, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
15 ounces canned tomato sauce
2 teaspoons oregano
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 teaspoon ground allspice
Pinch of cayenne
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
12 ounces chicken broth
2 tablespoons ketchup
1/2 cup cilantro, divided (optional)
1 tablespoon lime juice
Salt and black pepper to taste
4-6 warm buns for serving
Guacamole

In a large skillet cook the meat until browned, about 10 minutes. (If you like, you can drain the extra fat once the meet is browned.) Add the onions and diced bell pepper and cook until soft, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 30 more seconds.

Meanwhile, in a blender mix the tomato sauce, chipotle chile, oregano, ground cumin, paprika, allspice, cayenne and Worcestershire sauce. Pour tomato sauce into the skillet along with the broth, ketchup and half of the cilantro (I didn't use this) . Stir until well combined.

Cook on medium-low heat uncovered for 15 minutes and then stir in the remaining cilantro and lime juice. Adjust seasonings and add salt and black pepper to taste.

Serve on warm buns with guacamole

Now I'm off to make pretzel bites (thanks Shauna for the pinterest link)with Alyssa.

My Valentine's Fun!

I read about what these awesome mom's do for their families on Valentine's Day and am always thinking to myself "Why can't I do that?". I see their creativity and have convinced myself that I just have just lost mine. I thought about doing things early in the month, but never had the time or put much thought into a valentine surprise. I bought valentines for my kids for school and signed up to help with Hailey's 4th grade class party. That was all I had planned.

While setting in sacrament meeting Sunday, I looked around at how many widows and widowers our ward has and I thought about how Valentines Day must be such a lonely holiday for them. It then donged on me that we could have some fun, I had Hailey and Alyssa each invite a few friends over for after school on Monday and decided we could make sugar cookies and take to those members of our ward, letting them know that we cared. What was I thinking, sugar cookies are not fun to roll out and make, let alone with two-9 year olds, six- 7 year olds, plus my two side kicks! We did make the cookies which turned out awesome, I used two recipes and my favorite came from http://www.ourbestbites.com/. We did a butter cream frosting and a glaze trying a few different things, but the butter cream is definately the best! If you need a good frosting recipe this is awesome.

Sugar Cookies (our best bites)

2 C Butter
2 C Sugar
2 Extra large eggs
1 tsp Almond extract
1 tsp Vanilla
6 C Sifted Flour (don't pack it in the measuring cup
3 tsp Baking Powder
1 tsp Salt

Cream butter and sugar until light and fluffy. Add egg and extract and mix in. In a separate bowl combine flour, baking powder and salt. Slowly add the flour mixture to the butter mixture and mix until completley combined.
Chill the dough in the fridge for an hour
Flour surface, roll out, and press with molds.

Bake at 350 for 8-12 minutes, depending on thickness of dough and how you like your cookies.

Butter Cream frosting(my recipe)

12 oz. butter (1 1/2 cups), softened
1 lb 6 oz Powdered Sugar (about 6 cups, unpacked
2 oz Cream
1/2 tsp Vanilla extract (or Almond)

Cream butter this fluffy and add the powdered sugar slowly while mixing. Beat until fluffy on High, then add vanilla & cream until mixed well.

It was a little hectic but we delivered 10 plates of cookies around the neighborhood. All of those little giggly girls had lots of excitement bursting out of them, but we did crush it a little when we had to forgo delivering the 11th plate due to Alyssa getting the door slammed on her hand. Yes, I did it and didn't know it until I climbed in and heard everyone screaming. Screaming is normal with little girls so I ignored it until they started screaming about Alyssa's hand being stuck in the door. We got it out and while there was many tears, nothing was broken and she was good.

Preparing that was more than I had done the prior years and so I felt that was enough for me this year, and then I woke up! My little girls won't be little forever and definately won't want to be my valentine forever. So, I decided to have a fun day of surprises for these little girls. They started out the day with heart shaped pancakes for breakfast.

Abby and I had a little shopping to do in town before the 4th grade valentine party and so while at the grocery store we bought items to make each girls a surprise box with some of their favorite treats (chocolate covered strawberries, chocolate covered pretzels (shaped as hearts), valentine candy corn, and cinnamon lips). Abby put them in cute little containers and put bows on each of them, which Macey removed.

John was coming home from work so I could go over the Hailey's class party at 1pm and so I wanted to be creative for lunch. Papa Murphey's pizza is one of our favorites and during valentine season, they change their pepporoni pizza's into a heart shape. I picked up a pizza and decided to pick up my girls from school for a fun lunch with mom, plus they needed their little box of surprise treats too!

I live next to the school so I put the pizza in, set the timer for 12 minutes, and ran out the door to the school to pick my girls up. They were so surprised and excited that within a minute of us getting home the oven started beeping and our pizza was ready.

I don't have any pictures with John, but he surprised us by coming home a little early and joining us all for the pizza. I will say that it is wonderful to live next door to the school. Alyssa ran outside and hopped the fence to join her friends playing a recess after lunch and I took Hailey back to the school to check her in for her fun class party. And, let me say 4th graders are crazy!

It was a wonderful day and we had so much fun together!!! Happy Valenines Day!