San Diego

Last week we were in San Diego for my niece Brinlee's blessing. All of my family was there except Deja (she is in Europe) and Amaras husband. Here are some of the highlights:

The arm you see is Brinlees big brother Nate. Nate is like a second Mom to Brinlee. We wanted to get a picture of the girls together (Savannah is 2 mos older). Brinlee was just waking up. Meesha commented that someday Brin would be mad that Savannah was all dolled up and she was not even awake. The babies LOVE Nate. Here is Savanny trying to charm the pants off Nate. He was pretty loyal to his baby and wouldn't even look at her :)


This is at the Point Loma Cabrillo monument. We were not sure if this guy was worked there or was some strange guy hanging out to make some money. He was a little odd so Meeshas boys wanted a pic with him.

This is the only pic we took together....man I wish I had put on make-up.

This is my mama. It was nice for us to gave the help with the babies.

Keaton loved the beach. He got knocked down by a wave at the beach so he had just the right mixture of fear and love :)

Smashed Beans

(does the pic help or hinder?)
It seems like the world is getting into being more prepared. The other day I bought a 25 pound bag of pinto beans for around $10 at Costco. I got home and wondered what I was thinking because I have never cooked beans from scratch. Guess what....EASY! I found this recipe at Sisters Dish. It is so easy! Once again this saves me a ton of time. I make a big crockpot of these the first of the week and they are great as a side for fish tacos, a quick dinner or lunch of bean burritos, or for the start of easy hearty bean soup (see below). I figure the whole pot is about $1 so it is a great deal (please note I always buy my seasonings at Smiths in bulk for pennies).
SMASHED BEANS

I rinse and soak 3 cups of beans for ~ an hour or longer(depending on how much time I have-I DO THEM OVERNIGHT). Then I rinse them again (IMPORTANT TO MAKE THEM NOT GASSY), put them in the crock pot with 3 T bacon grease ( I LEAVE THIS OUT)and cover them with 3 inches of water. If I need to add more water later in the day, I bring it to a boil in the microwave before adding it to the crock pot. I cook the beans on high for 5-6 hours (I DID THEM FOR 8-10), or until I can easily smash one of the beans between my finger and the countertop...make sense?:)
MY MOM'S TIP IS TO SCOOP OFF THE FOAM SEVERAL TIMES WHILE COOKING. THIS TIP MAKES THEM MUCH EASIER ON THE DIGESTION.When the beans have about 1/2 hour left to cook I add the following: 5 jalapeno rings(from the jar, you could use fresh jalapeno), 1/2 T seasoning salt, 1/2 T garlic salt, 1/2 t onion powder, 1/2 t cumin and 1 T chili powder. After that cooks for about 1/2 hour, I scoop out the beans with a slotted spoon to the food processor and puree with ~ 1 cup of cheese. I add liquid from the beans as I puree until I get my desired consistency.


Hearty Fiesta Bean Soup Ingredients:1 (15 oz) can chicken or vegetable broth (I used chicken) 1 (16 oz) can fat-free refried beans 1 (15 oz) can black beans, drained and rinsed 1 (15.25 oz) can corn, drained and rinsed 1 (10 oz) can tomatoes & chilies, like RO*TEL (I used the 15 oz generic brand petite diced tomatoes with green chilies)Directions: Put the broth and refried beans into a soup pot and heat, while whisking together, until the beans have incorporated fully into the broth.Add the rest of the ingredients and heat, while stirring until the soup is boiling.Serve with cilantro, cheese, sour cream and a couple dashes of Tabasco.

Chicken

In my honey lime enchilada post I commented that I always pre-cook my chicken to have for recipes. I had a number of people ask me to explain what I do so I thought I would take a second and let you know.
I always buy my chicken when it goes on sale. I buy what I can get cheap. I love boneless skinless, especially if we are just grilling or something but sometimes you can find breasts with the bone for 99 cents. Those are good too. I save some out for when I need a whole breast. I then take and fill my crock pot with the rest. I stick it in there and let it cook 6 hours to 10 hours depending on time. I then have Lee shred it (that is the crucial part....he is usually pretty willing except the other night when I screwed up the time estimate and needed it shredded at 4 am). I then fill sandwich bags with it. I then stick the baggies in the freezer for a quick dinner like Honey Lime Enchiladas, chicken soup, chick and dumplings from Cooking Light Magazine, chicken chili, chicken and broccoli casserole, etc. (let me know if you NEED any of these recipes). I have found having that step done lets me get a good dinner (or top a quick salad for me) on the table in a jiffy.
I also do the same thing with ground beef. Half the trouble with ground beef is the browning. If I have that done I can have tacos on the table in 10 minutes, Shepard's pie with leftover mash potatoes with 10 minutes prep (a little more cooking time), or Cooking Lights' no chop chili in 10 minutes.
I also make up a big double batch of my favorite homemade BBQ sauce and will buy the big pack of chicken thighs at Costco for 99cents a pound (or this week there are boneless pork ribs for cheap at Associated). I then separate them out into Ziploc gallon bags with plenty of sauce. Then when I am stuck for dinner I can pull one of those out and I have a quick marinated grill item ready and all I need to do is put in some potatoes and a veggie.

Hope this helps!

(This is RIGHT after labor. Of course I look torn up :)

I have thought a lot about new little babies these last few months. As Keaton and Savannah were placed in my arms for the first time I remember thinking, "shouldn't I recognize you?". Maybe I am alone but the first few days I feel like a lovely stranger has filled my space. I love them but I don't feel an immediate or terribly deep bond. As I nurse those babies and stay up night after night after night and care for their every need it doesn't take long to feel that amazing love you feel only for your children. It makes me think of the teaching, "you love those you serve". What a wise kind Heavenly Father that sends us these little helpless babies to care for and to learn to love completely. I am really glad he doesn't send them as a mouthy 3 year old :), or even more mouthy teenagers. What a marvelous time we live in that we can love and care for these little ones and get a small glimpse of how the Saviour has learned to love us in our inperfection.

A few things I LOVE...

I was heartbroken when Wal-mart discontinued their White Cloud diapers. I used those all the time with Keaton and they worked great for about 1/2 the price of the "national brands". I thought diapers would be a budget breaker with this little miss. I was thrilled though to find Target has a store brand as well. I gave them a try. They are GREAT!!! At $5 for 56 diapers they are a wowza! I have used them 2 mos. and have only have them leak 2x. Granted both times were at baby showers so maybe she just wanted outta there? They work out to be 1/2 the price of buying diapers at Costco....so maybe worth a try?

The second thing is GRIPE WATER. Have you ever heard of this? It is a natural thing with ginger and fennel. It eases colic, upset stomach, gas, and reflux. My sister Meesh suggested it (Meesha has a new baby too). It is a miracle. Savannah can be crying bloody murder and within a minute she is asleep. It is a must have for anyone with a new baby to have in their arsenal.

Lastly is one that you may like even without a new baby :) My friend Lisa and I just joined Bountiful Baskets . It is a produce co-op. It really is a cool deal. You pay $15 on Weds. and then on Sat. you go pick up a laundry basket of produce. This week my $15 got:

2 HUGE heads of Romaine

1 honeydew

5 small mangos

6 oranges

3 apples

10 bananas

1 big spaghetti squash

2 red peppers

2 cucumbers

6 pears

8 red potatoes

6 big tomatoes

I think for me it makes us think of new ways to use the produce and will help us eat better. You don't have to commit you can stop or start anytime. Right now it is in Northern Utah but Lisa is trying to get them to come more central.

So blessed...

We blessed our little girl in church on Sunday. It was a beautiful perfect Mothers Day. My Mother-In-Law made her dress.....all pintucks and smocking. It was seriously the dress of my dreams. We had most of our 10 (combined) brothers and sisters there so it was quite a crowd for dinner.

Family Picture....

Aunt Laralee made these darling little slippers for her, in like 2 days!

Head shot....

Thank you all who made the great effort to come to our special day!

TWO MONTHS!!!

We took the little miss to her 2 mos. appt. yesterday. She is getting so big. She jumped from the 3rd percentile to the 21 percentile. Of couse she has the classic big nog that Keaton has and is in the 50 percentile for head...my Mom is sure it is to house extra brain power....I am not so sure :) She weighs 9 pounds 6 oz. now. Yes, that is the same weight that her brand new cousin Brinlee came OUT at last week (what a good pusher you are Meesh!). She is now 21 1/2 inches so she picked up an inch there. She smiles like crazy (although I could NOT get her to smile in the picture) and is such a joy to have around. She has been a "made for TV" baby for us :)