6 Mabeys

Love Boat

2012-02-10T19:36:00.000-08:00

Look how cute this turned out! Colette made this love boat for her school class party. It is made from a half gallon orange juice box and a few other pieces of cardboard, lots of tape and glue, and construction paper. She had fun making it. Colette's class is having a contest for the best box during their Valentine's party and she hopes she wins!!

leftovers

2012-02-10T14:34:00.000-08:00

Yeah! The big kids are entertaining Clive outside so I have time to myself to blog!! Thank goodness for beautiful weather and for Colette and Jamison who help me so much!

I am so very happy with how we have really been able to change our eating habits for the better over the past year! I spend a lot of time in the kitchen preparing meals from scratch and I love every minute of it! The children seem to really enjoy helping in the kitchen, too, and usually eat what we create. But for each meal we typically have plenty of variety so everyone is happy. We are so blessed to have had an amazingly productive garden last year and still have a shelf full of winter squashes and a freezer full of frozen fruits and vegetables. Nick and I look forward to transforming our own dirt into beautiful gardens this spring.

We have 3 HUGE meat squashes that I would love to find a home for. These make the best pumpkin pies ever, or cookies, or bread, or even serve with butter. Yum. Anyone want one or two?

Here's what we've eaten this past week. . . .

Saturday: B- Cinnamon toast with butter, bananas
L- Sweet rolls, milk, carrots with ranch dipping sauce, popcorn popped in coconut oil
D- Celery with PB and raisins, spinich salad with almonds/swiss cheese/red onion and Italian dressing from Our Best Bites cookbook, apples with caramel dip, walnuts, cheese

Sunday: B- Leftover sweet rolls, bananas, apples
L- Kiwi, leftover spinich salad, crackers and cheese
D- Extended family Superbowl dinner of sausage, sauerkraut, citrus, celery/PB/raisins, and more

Monday: B- Banana bread with butter, milk
L- Leftover spinich salad, spaghetti squash and banana squash, leftover sweet rolls
D: Onion rings with homemade dipping sauce and chicken taquitos with sour cream and homemade salsa

Tuesday: B- Cinnamon toast with butter, kiwi/banana/apple fruit salad
L- Breakfast burritos with sausage, eggs, potatoes, cheese
D- Everything leftover: taquitos, spinich salad, and squash

Wednesday: B- Maple almond granola, milk, bananas
L- Leftover taquitos, carrots and celery with ranch dip
D- Enchiladas, bean dip, and nachos at the grandparent's home. Yum!

Thursday: B- Sunny side up eggs with buttered whole wheat toast, banana
L- Homemade New York bagels with cinnamon cream cheese spread and onion herb spread, mock tuna salad, peanut butter cookies
D- Leftover bagels, asparagus, nuts, dried bananas and apples

Friday: B- Maple almond granola with milk, kiwi
L- Cucumbers, leftover spinich salad (the last of it finally!), homemade peanut butter and blackberry jam on wheat toast, kiwi, banana
And for dinner we'll be having Beef French onion soup with Swiss cheese, leftover bagels, leftover squash

Oh, and as far as our New Year's Resolutions go, the kids ate pizza one time and went to McDonald's to use giftcards they got from grandparents for Christmas gifts. Colette and Jamison ate school lunch a few times, and Nick ate dinner out 2 times because I forgot to pack him dinner. Total spent on out to eat in January: $43.xx.

And we love the clotheline in the garage. We have gone from line drying about 5% of our laundry to 50%. And when the weather gets warmer and things dry faster, I bet we'll be able to dry even more of our 10 loads per week.

Valentine Fun

2012-02-09T16:53:00.000-08:00

Colette and Jamison made these nice Valentines to pass out to their classmates. We used old scrapbooking materials that were given to us for free (thanks to Megan's days at Making Memories), cut slits in pink paper rectangles to slide a pencil in, glued hearts to the front, spelled out each person's name with letter stickers, and signed who they are from. Only the pencils cost money; we picked them up last year after Valentine's Day for 3 cents a piece. What a fun evening we had making these!

And Vera has been so great to help decorate our home for the special day by coloring the heart that hangs on our fridge and helping Grandma make the ribbon of hanging hearts. And we even got around to making the XOXO banner using old chipboard letters and ribbon we rescued from the trash. And, I am glad to say that that is the extent of our decorating. . .about the same amount I put up for Christmas or any other holiday!

Swimming Lessons

2012-02-05T20:02:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was the last day of this session's swimming lessons. Onto the next level for Colette this coming Saturday. (Jamison is undecided about whether he wants to continue even though he is one great swimmer!)

Laurie Clark's Cherry Cheese Bread

2012-02-04T10:55:00.000-08:00

Here is one of our favorite desserts that I have made several times for the past 3 or 4 years. (I didn't find the original blog post, but here is a friend of Laurie Clark who featured the recipe, too.) I don't make it often, but when I do everyone is happy! Rather than a can of pie filling, we use about 1 cup of homemade blackberry/raspberry jam. (I make my jam with just a little honey instead of cups and cups of sugar. So it is rather tart, but yummy!) My children think the braid looks cool, and they love to help spread on the cream and jam. We also made some in the traditional sweet roll shape, too.

Laurie Clark's Cherry Cheese Bread

Dough
1/2 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup warm water
2 T. yeast
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup milk
2 eggs
1 t. salt
4-5 1/2 cups flour

Cream Cheese Filling
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/3 cup powdered sugar

Icing
1 lb. powdered sugar
1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 t. almond extract
1 t. vanilla

Other
1 can or pie filling, cherry or strawberry

----

Mix yeast in water, let dissolve. Add sugar, butter, milk & eggs. Mix together. Add salt to flour and stir well. Add 2 cups of flour at a time until the dough is a smooth mixture—just a little sticky. Knead until smooth.

Let dough rise 1 1/2 hours, punch down, let rise 10-15 minutes. Divide into three balls of dough. Roll dough into rectangles. Spread 1/3 of the cream cheese filling down the center of each rectangle. Spread 1/3 of cherry pie filling on top of cream cheese filling. Cut 1” strips down each long side of dough to weave with. Braid the bread by starting with the strips in each corner. Lay them over the filling. Continue braiding and tuck in the last braid. Gently pick up the braids and place on greased cookie sheet. All three braids will fit on one sheet. Let braids raise for 15-30 minutes. Bake at 350 degrees for 18-20 minutes until golden brown.

Helicopters, orchids, and hula hoops

2012-01-31T08:24:00.000-08:00

Vera made this helicopter hat for Clive. He thought he was so cool while wearing it!

Jamison loves giving Clive piggy-back rides! These two are best buds!

Clive loves playing with his kitchen. His favorite thing is pretending to turn on the faucet and fill a cup with water, complete with sound effects. So cute!

While Nick rarely gives me a birthday or Christmas gift, he seems to always remember a Valentine's gift. I already received this orchid from him. It is beautiful!

Vera got a hula hoop for Christmas from Grandpa and Grandma, and WOW! She is getting good at it!

Trip to the Farm

2012-01-27T13:05:00.000-08:00

Vera and Clive went with us to Farmer Peters to get fresh eggs. Clive was in heaven! He happily petted the chickens and fed them out of his hand. We were there when one of the chickens laid an egg and Vera retrieved it from the coop. She carefully held the brown egg all the way home and ate it for lunch. Nothing like yummy, fresh eggs!

Q-tips

2012-01-21T20:07:00.000-08:00

I found 19-month old Clive yesterday looking like this:

Reminds me of how I found Vera when she was 15 months:

Younger Vera had sense enough to get a clean one from the basket. Clive must have found his in the trash.

Just perfect!

2012-01-21T19:59:00.000-08:00

As a child I remember being in awe of how well my mother could do so many things. She could fix anything, cut perfectly, and sew and quilt with ease. Yesterday and today as I was making Vera play felt food for her kitchen, she patiently peered over my shoulder, watching my every move. She frequently commented on how well I was doing as I traced patterns, cut, stitched, and sewed. Even though the end products are far from perfect, she insists they are perfect, and says I did a wonderful job. I remember feeling the same way toward my mother. Vera sure knows how to make me feel good. . .that is probably why I devoted more than 15 hours during the last two days making the fun things she requested---bread, cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, carrots, eggs, broccoli, eggplant, lots of fish, some with magnetic eyes, and a fishing pole. So what did I not do during those 15 hours that I usually do? Sleep, bake, cook, clean, iron. Our house is a mess, everyone is hungry for yummy food, and I am tired. And I'll probably just wear a wrinkled skirt to church tomorrow. But, it was all worth it!

New project underway

2012-01-21T19:37:00.000-08:00

This is going to take a long time to finish. About 75% of the 3,000 pieces are varying shades of blue sky.

Oh, why?

2012-01-21T19:35:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, Vera and Jamison were in the back seat of the car talking. As usual, Jamison was bragging to Vera about something fun he got to do at school, which made Vera jealous. She said, "Well, when I am as old as you we can both be in your class together and both do it." I told Vera, "Vera, Jamison is always going to be older than you. You two will never be in the same school class." Vera thought about that for a moment then said in an exasperated voice, "Then why didn't you just have me first!"

I find it amuzing when the children are jealous of each other. . .it brings out their best!

Go Red!! Tradition and Happy Children

2012-01-14T13:39:00.000-08:00

Another winter tradition we have is to go to a U of U gymnastics meet (Nick never joins us). Last night was U of U vs. USU. This was probably the best year of the 5 times we have gone, thanks to Jill's help with the children. I think my two little men liked it better than the girls. Clive was totally enthralled with all that was going on. . .he sat still in my lap for quite a while! Jamison really loved it too. Vera was sure to take home all the posters that were handed out and we decorated her bedroom walls with them last night. Fun times! (You can thank the no-flash policy at the Huntsman Center Stadium for such high quality photos.)

And, Colette and Jamison are still loving swimming lessons. Jamison is so incredibly animated when he is playing in the water and swimming. Rarely do I ever see him so happy in any other setting. Just seeing his smiling face justifies the $10 per hour per child lesson rate!

New Year's Day Celebration

2012-01-12T17:04:00.000-08:00

We spent New Year's Day with Nick's extended family. The children played part in the Christmas story, we exchanged white elephant gifts, made candy trains, and enjoyed visiting with friends and family. What a fun evening!

Desserts

2012-01-12T10:18:00.000-08:00

Pumpkin Cookies

Cream together:
1/2 cup butter, softened
1 cup Rapadura
1 egg
1 cup pumpkin
1 t. vanilla

Mix in:
1 cup white flour
1 1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1 t. baking powder
1 t. bakind soda
1/2 t. salt
2 t. pumpkin pie spice (or 1 t. nutmeg and1 t. cinnamon)

Then add:
1 cup chocolate chips

Drop cookies onto cookie sheet, flatten slightly. Bake at 350 degrees for 14-15 minutes.

Chocolate Chip Cookies

1/2 cup butter, softened
1 1/4 cup Rapadura
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup white flour
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
2 cups semi sweet chocolate chips
1 cup nuts, chopped (optional)

Cream together butter, Rapadura, vanilla and eggs. Then add flours, soda, and salt. When completely mixed, add chocolate chips and nuts. Bake at 350 degrees for 9 - 11 minutes.

Peanut Butter Cookies

Cream together:
1/4 cup butter, softened
3/4 cup Rapadura
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 t. vanilla

Combine with:
1 1/4 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 t. baking soda
1/2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt

Shape dough into balls and place on ungreased cookie sheet. Flatten with a criss-cross pattern. Bake at 350 degrees for 8 - 10 minutes, being careful to not overbake.

Oatmeal Cookies

Cream together:
1 1/4 cup Rapadura
1/2 cup butter
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla

Add to mixture:
1 1/2 t. cinnamon
1 t. baking soda
1 t. salt
1 3/4 cup oats
1 cup white flour
1 cup whole wheat flour
1 cup raisins

Bake at 350 degrees for 10-11 minutes.

No-Bake Cookies

Stir these ingredients in sauce pan, heat to boil. Boil for 1 to 2 minutes:
1/4 cup cocoa
1 1/4 cup Rapadura
1/2 cup milk
1/4 cup butter

Remove sauce pan from heat and add these 4 remaining ingredients:
1 t. vanilla
1/4 t. salt
1/2 cup peanut butter
4 cups rolled oats

Press into 9x9 baking dish and refrigerate. Cut into squares when chilled.

Banana Bread

Cream together:
3/4 cup Rapadura
1/2 cup butter, melted
2 eggs
1 t. vanilla
4 ripe bananas, mashed

Add these ingredients:
1 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
1/2 t. baking soda
1 cup walnuts, chopped

Grease bread pans before pouring batter in. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes, then lower the temperature to 325 and bake until bread is done in the center, about 15 additional minutes.

Zucchini Bread

3/4 cup Rapadura
1 egg
1/4 cup coconut oil, expeller pressed
1 1/2 cups zucchini, grated
1 1/2 cups flour (any combination of whole wheat or white)
1/2 t. salt
1/2 t. baking soda
1/4 t. baking powder
1/4 t. nutmeg
1 t. cinnamon

Grease bread pans before pouring batter in. Bake at 350 degrees until center is done, about 30 minutes.

Quick Cinnamon Rolls

In large bowl, mix until dissolved:
1/4 cup Rapadura
3 T. yeast
1/2 cup coconut oil
1 1/4 cup warm water
Cover and let stand in a warm place for 15 minutes.

Blend into yeast mixture:
2 eggs, beaten

Then add to mixture:
1 1/2 t. salt
5 cups flour

Knead dough for 5 minutes on lightly floured surface. Roll dough into rectangular shape, about 1/4 inch thick.

Brush dough with:
1/4 cup butter, melted

Then sprinkle on:
1 1/2 T. cinnamon
1/3 cup Rapadura
1/2 - 1 cup nuts, chocolate chips, or raisins

Carefully roll up dough and cut 1 inch slices with knife. Place on ungreased pan. Let rest for 10 minutes. Bake at 425 for 10 - 15 minutes or until golden brown.

3-Minute Cobbler

1/2 cup butter, melted
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
3/4 cup Rapadura
2 t. baking powder
1/4 t. salt
3/4 cup milk
1 to 2 pounds fresh peaches or pears, peeled and sliced.

Melt butter and add dry ingredients. Gradually add milk. Pour in 9x9 baking dish. Pour fruit on top. Bake at 350 degrees for about an hour, until top is golden brown.

English Toffee

1 cup brown sugar
1 cup butter
chocolate chips
saltine crackers
walnuts, chopped

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Cover cookie sheet with foil and grease. Line with saltine crackers. Combine sugar and butter in sauce pan; bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Boil for 2 minutes. Pour mixture over saltines. Bake for 5 minutes. Sprinkle with chocolate chips. When melted, spread chocolate over smoothly. Sprinkle with finely chopped nuts. Let cool in freezer and then break into pieces.

Favorite Breakfast

2012-01-11T16:28:00.000-08:00

I am going to compile our favorite recipes on our blog so I can make a new cookbook of only the recipes we love and use repeatedly.

Vanilla Yogurt Pancakes

1 cup whole wheat flour
0.5 cup white flour
1.5 t. baking powder
0.75 t. baking soda
0.5 t. salt
1 egg
1.5 cups vanilla yogurt*
0.5 cup milk

Mix all ingredients together and drop 1/4 cup batter onto hot griddle. Turn over pancake when bubbles appear and edges begin to dry out.
* Our favorite vanilla yogurt is Chobani. . .but since it is expensive, we use whatever we have on hand. Lately it has been Stonyfield Organic YoBaby Vanilla Yogurt and it works okay in the recipe.

Peach Syrup

12 oz. fresh or frozen peaches, chopped
1 T. Rapadura

Combine over high heat and boil for a few minutes.

Maple Turkey Sausage

1 lb ground turkey
2 T. grade B maple syrup
1/4 cup rolled oats
1/4 t. sage
1/2 t. salt
1/4 t. pepper

Combine ingredients and shape into patties. Cook in skillet over medium heat for about 14 minutes, turning halfway through cooking time.

Gratitude

2012-01-09T14:11:00.000-08:00

I cannot believe I forgot to finish my gratitude post back in November. I am so thankful for:

My missionary brother Ryan who is such a good example to my children
Grandparents that my children adore
Siblings that live so close and are so generous with their time and love to our family
Nick's grandparents who just returned from a mission and for their example
That aside from our home mortgage, we have no debts, and enjoy financial peace
Our employers and for their generosity
Colette's drive to develop her talents and do well in school
Jamison's quiet, sweet personality that reminds me to be a better person each day
Vera's passion for life, her happiness and her contagiously fun personality
Clive's love for everyone, his curiosity, and his sweet singing voice
Nick's determination to learn new things, solve problems, and his creativity
My love of cooking and of being a homemaker
For our home and all the wonderful neighbors and friends we have here!
and That I am able to be home with my children and always be available for them (and for my mom's example of how important that is)

Life is beautiful! We are so happy and look forward to another great year!

Our Tradition

2012-01-09T09:15:00.000-08:00

Every January or February we have guests over for turkey dinner. It all started back when Nick used to get a turkey from his employer each December. With such a small family, we knew we wouldn't be able to eat the whole thing, so we always invited others to join us in sharing the meal. We have done this for 9 years, only missing the year 2007 when we were in the middle of moving residences. Even though Nick hasn't received a turkey from his employer the past 4 years, I buy one each holiday season and we still carry on the tradition.

Yesterday was our annual dinner party. We had 17 people in all. Our menu featured delicious, healthy homemade dishes of roasted turkey, oat bread sage stuffing, rosemary and thyme roasted carrots, homegrown salt and peppered roasted red potatoes, homegrown spaghetti squash, and gravy, with desserts of coconut milk tapioca topped with toasted coconut and chocolate pudding (the sucanat gives it a really deep, rich flavor that white sugar cannot). Very good!

I really love cooking and entertaining, so we thoroughly enjoy that our home has lots of kitchen counterspace and is suitable for large gatherings. We have hosted 6 parties/dinners/showers in the past 3 weeks, with more that 30 people at one event. Since 30 was somewhat of a stretch for our great room, we decided we would be wise to finish the basement with a kitchen and extend the family room so we can easily accomodate even more guests so we can continue this tradition as our extended families continue to grow!

Two Resolutions for 2012

2012-01-02T18:33:00.000-08:00

During this New Year we want to focus on two things:

The first is to eat out at restaurants and fast food places even less than we did in 2011. (In 2011 we spent in out-to-eat charges for our family of 6 a total of $481.14, mostly McDonald's, Quiznos, Costa Vida, and school lunch). We did great in 2011 so it is going to be hard to beat! This means we need to be a little more organized and make home lunches for Nick and the kids, and have dinner ready before we are too tired in the evening to prepare meals. This resolution is so easy for me to make because I dislike eating out and really love to cook at home, but poses major challenges for others in our household who are junk food junkies.

Second, we are going to line dry most of our laundry, which should decrease our power bill and increase the life of our clothing. We hung a clothesline in our garage today and the children are all of the sudden so excited to help me do laundry!

Our Christmas

2011-12-28T16:15:00.000-08:00

Three days before Christmas we had Great-Grandpa and Grandma over for dinner.

On Christmas Eve, Clive played the piano at Grandpa Todd and Grandma Sherri's house.

The children left carrots for the reindeer on Christmas Eve. On Christmas morning we discovered the reindeer left us ice cream in exchange for the carrots!

Jamison got a big can of nacho cheese and a Bakugan. Colette opened presents of clothes and more clothes. Nick got a new pair of his favorite shoes, I got artwork for my dining room: Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis, and Clive and Vera were extremely happy with $13 of Fisher Price toys Santa found at the D.I.

A simple, wonderful Christmas morning!

After church, we talked with Uncle Ryan from his mission in Brazil. Later Vera got a hula hoop from Grandma and Grandpa.

Colette got this awesome game from Megan and Mike.

Vera trying to be sneeky and open a present when it wasn't her turn.

Clive loving his dog/blanket from Grandma and Grandpa. . .they sure know what he loves. Jamison opened a package of Squinkies.

And the best gift of all (according to Vera), the one Nick and I are ready to throw out, Roller Skates! She wears them night and day and has rolled over all of our toes and fallen flat on her back multiple times. But it is what she wanted, so I guess we'll be nice and not throw them out until next week!

And the fun continues. . .

2011-12-20T19:01:00.000-08:00

Clive enjoying an ice cream cone at the family party.

Yes, our sweet Clive has a really big head (99th percentile) to go with his really skinny body (10th percentile). Hopefully all that ice cream will help fatten him up!

I love his rosy cheeks!

A visit with Santa at the elementary school.

Jamison sitting with a different Santa at another family party. . .he says sitting on Santa's lap is embarassing, as he knows it is just fake. . .but he played along because he really likes this Santa!

Clive not wanting anything to do with Santa

Vera acting like a monkey because she is scared of Santa. . .but when we got home, and she continued playing with all the toys in the box from Santa, she said he is really nice and will not be scared of him anymore. We'll see!

Colette just going through the motions. . .I can't believe she is getting so big!

And finally, Vera spent well over an hour setting up this birthday party. The cake in the middle was her Christmas present from Aunt Megan & Uncle Mike last year, and she still plays with it a lot! Can't wait to see what those creative two came up with this year!

Fun things happening around our house!

2011-12-20T18:44:00.000-08:00

Colette's 4th Grade class is studying Utah. She showed us all she has learned by decorating this Utah-shaped frosted chocolate zucchini cake with the appropriate rivers, lakes, and mountains. What a fun project!

Jamison LOVES having a brother. And we are happy the two of them get along so great! Both boys sharing a cup of water.

Clive loves yogurt and making messes almost equally!

Clive riding his scoop truck while making one of his funny faces.

Vera whipping up a batch of wheat rolls. Who needs an electric mixer when you have a willing 4-year-old to knead the dough?

Clive found it very amuzing that this medicine measuring cup fit in his mouth.

Vera loves dogs! And I love that we don't have one!

Homemade tapioca with real vanilla beans is soooo good. Vera ate the entire double batch before Nick got home from work, so we had to make it again the next day, and again the following Sunday. Y-U-M.

Clive enjoying homemade hot cocoa! (Glad I didn't have to resort to buying those packets.)

Decorating and dress-up

2011-12-05T08:45:00.000-08:00

Clive's new thing is saying "Hi" whenever he walks in a room, and he doesn't give up until he gets a response. So, so cute! He saw himself in the small mirror we have in our closet (propped up by the wall, waiting to be hung). He kept saying "Hi, hi, hi, hi, hi. . ." He then kissed himself on the mirror repeatedly, and kept saying "Hi, hi, hi. . ." I have never laughed harder. It was the cutest thing! I don't want him to ever grow up!

Colette, Jamison, and Vera helped around Great-grandpa and grandma's yard after the storm. First they played, though.

The children set up and decorated the Christmas tree by themselves. Looks pretty good if you ask me!

Nick caught Jamison playing dress up with Vera. . .what a sweet brother he is.

Thanksgiving Week

2011-11-29T07:33:00.000-08:00

Grandpa and Grandma Baxter returned from their mission and we were so happy to get to see them again! What great examples they are to us all, sacrificing so much to help share the gospel with others.

On Tuesday we decided to use up all the coupons the children get from school. We made stops at Chipotle, Pizza Hut, Costa Vida, Wendy's, and Yogi Berri for free kids meals and frozen yogurt. Total spent on food: $0. And all the children were happy with dinner that night. . .not a single complaint!

We had a visit by our home teacher--first time we have had hometeachers in about 2 years! How fun it is to get to know more wonderful people in our area!

We spent Thanksgiving with extended family and friends. We met my cousin's fiancee and the children enjoyed playing out-of-doors in the nice weather with Uncle Mike! We are blessed with so many amazing people in our lives! And are especially lucky that Grandma Hinckley is the best cook and hostess around!

We had our annual Thanksgiving/Christmas party with our extended family and always look forward to visiting with so many family members who come in from out of town. We are so blessed to be a part of the Hinckley family!

We enjoyed Christmas light. . .until Clive started crying from being so cold. Beautiful!

Main Dish Recipes

2011-11-27T21:49:00.000-08:00

Beef Stew

1 lb beef roast, cubed
3 cups carrots, chopped
4 cups potatoes, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
4 cups tomatoes, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
2 bay leaves
2 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups mung bean sprouts
6 - 8 cups beef broth (or enough to cover all ingredients)

Place all ingredients in crockpot and cook on low for 8 hours. To thicken the broth, use arrowroot powder at the end of cook time.

Chicken and Broccoli Stir Fry

For sauce:
1 cup chicken broth
2-3 T. soy sauce
1 T. honey
2 T. arrowroot powder
2 T. apple cider vinegar
1/4 t. crushed pepper flakes

1/2 lb chicken, cubed
2 cups broccoli, chopped
1/2 cup onion, chopped
3 cups mung bean sprouts (that have been soaked and sprouting for 4 or 5 days)
Any other vegetables you want to add
2 T. coconut oil, expeller pressed
3 to 4 cups rice or spaghetti squash

Wisk all sauce ingredients together and set aside. Over medium heat, saute chicken in oil for 5 minutes. Add vegetables and stir fry for about 5 minutes longer. Add wisked sauce and let simmer until thickened. Serve over rice or spaghetti squash.

Creamy Chicken Taquitos

4 oz cream cheese
1/4 cup green salsa (we used roasted, pureed tomatillos)
1 T. lime juice
1/2 t. cumin
1 t. chili powder
1/4 cup onion, finely chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
3 T. chopped fresh cilantro
2 cups cooked chicken, shredded
1 cup mozarella cheese, shredded

Mix all ingredients together. Fry corn tortillas in 1/4 inch palm shortening just for a few seconds so the tortillas become soft and will roll up without breaking (I bought the palm shortening from Tropical Traditions). Place 2-3 T. of the mixture on the tortilla and roll up, placing seam side down on baking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees for about 20 minutes, turning half way through cooking time if desired.

Easy Alfredo Sauce

1/2 cup butter
2 cups cream
1 clove garlic
2 T. cream cheese
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese

Bring the butter, cream, garlic, and cream cheese to a boil. Turn down the heat and add grated cheese and stir until melted. Let simmer for a few minutes until slightly thickened, stiring occasionally.

Cabbage Bake

1/2 pound ground beef
1 onion, chopped
2 t. salt
1 medium head cabbage, chopped
12 oz. tomatoes (sauce, diced, or stewed)

In skillet, cook beef and onion over medium head until meat is browned. Stir in salt. In greased 8x10 baking dish layer half the meat, cabbage, and tomatoes. Repeat layers again. Cover and bake at 350 for 50-60 minutes.

Beef Stroganoff

1 lb ground beef
1 cup sliced mushrooms
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/4 cup butter
salt to taste
1 clove garlic, minced
2 T. arrowroot powder
3/4 cup sour cream
16 oz. pasta, cooked and tossed in olive oil

Saute mushrooms and onions in butter for 4 minutes. Add meat, garlic, and salt. Cook until meat is browned. Add arrowroot powder and stir until thickened. Stir in sour cream and serve over hot pasta.

Grandma Hinckley's Sloppy Joes

Brown in skillet and cook until tender:
1 lb ground beef*
1 large onion, chopped
1 green pepper, chopped

Combine and pour over meat:
3/4 cup ketchup
1 T. Rapadura
2 T. mustard
1 T. white vinegar

Cover skillet and cook until mixture boils. Simmer for 30 minutes. Serve on buns.
*We usually decrease the amount of ground beef and add cooked lentils instead.

Taco Soup

1/2 lb ground beef, browned
1 lb kidney beans, cooked
1/2 lb corn kernels
16 -32 oz tomatoes, stewed or sauce
1 onion, chopped or 1 cup salsa
4 oz. green chilies
2 T. chili powder
1/2 t. garlic powder

Combine all ingredients and simmer for 10 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and cheese.

Chili Con Carne

1/2 lb ground beef
1 onion, chopped
1 cup green pepper, chopped
3 lbs canned tomatoes
1 lb kidney beans, cooked
12 oz tomato sauce
2 T. chili powder
2 t. salt
1/2 t. cayenne pepper
1/2 t. paprika

Brown ground beef, onion, and green pepper in large soup pot. Drain off fat. Stir in remaining ingredients and heat to a boil, then simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.

A week in Nov.

2011-11-21T12:20:00.000-08:00

--When I asked Vera what she wanted for Christmas, she said, "Hot coffee." I'm thinking she watches too many 1960's Pink Panther episodes!
--Clive calls me "Mom" already. He pretty much skipped the "Mommy" stage. He is growing up way too fast.
--Monday night Clive looked tired so I asked him, "Are you tired?"
"Yeah," was his reply.
"Do you want to go to sleep?" I asked.
"Yeah," he said.
"Can I put you in your crib?"
"Yeah," he said.
And so I put him in his crib and he sang himself to sleep within 5 minutes---before we could only ever put him to bed when he was already asleep. How fun it is that he is so great at understanding what we tell him. He is such a good baby and has gone to sleep on his own every night this week!
--Nick took the Series 63 exam on Wednesday and he passed. Woohoo!
--Vera told me she wanted "that slimy fishy food" for breakfast on Thursday. Turns out she wanted tuna and ate a whole pouch for her morning meal. What a way to start the day!
--We went to the zoo on Saturday. It was so beautiful, with fresh snow in all the trees. We nearly had the entire zoo to ourselves, rarely seeing any one else. And the zoo worker was kind enough to ran the carousel just for our family. Fun, fun day!
--We took the kids to Chuck-a-Rama for lunch Saturday (to use free coupons) and it was gross. All the children complained. Yippee! We never have to go there again!

Dessert Rehearsal

2011-11-17T09:01:00.000-08:00

We turned this rather ugly 19lb sweet meat squash from our garden:

into 192 ounces of "pumpkin" puree, and

made this amazingly delicious, and beautiful, crustless pumpkin pie:

Recipe:

4 cups pureed squash (approx. 32 oz.)

2 cups heavy whipping cream

4 oz. cream cheese, softened

6 eggs

3 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice

1 1/3 cups Rapadura

Blend ingredients well. Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes. Chill before serving.

It is good enough to make for Thanksgiving. Clive ate it for breakfast today and loved it:

Good stuff. . .mostly

2011-11-13T20:26:00.000-08:00

--Nick passed the Series 7 exam on his first attempt!! To celebrate, we had chicken scaloppine and margherita pizza for dinner. Yum!
--Jamison asked me, "When are we going to move?" He has been worried that we might move soon since we have moved many times the past several years. He feels we should not move until he is in college. No promises Jamison, but we do hope to be here for a while!
--Clive makes the funniest faces. . .a backward tilt of his head with eyes closed and mouth open wide or a mad one-eyed squint. He's always good for a laugh.
--Nick found out that his good friend from work lives a few blocks from our home and so they started carpooling. . .almost as good as getting a raise!
--Colette, Jamison, and Vera love our neighborhood and enjoy all their friends who meet after school across the street from our house to play in the big piles of dirt.
--Vera has changed from my sweet shopping partner to a tantrum-throwing 4-year-old. I cannot take her shopping because she wants new dresses and robes and shoes and toys that I will not buy her, and she lets the entire store know how mean I am because I will not give in. I hope this phase ends soon.
--At least Vera is still wonderful when we are anywhere else. . . we especially love her prayers each night, as she thanks Heavenly Father that she can get married in the temple when she is big, that she can have babies when she is big (she already has several names picked out), that Jamison and Colette can go to school, that Colette can have babies when she is big, too, etc. I am thankful that Nick and I have patience as we listen to her 10 minute prayers each night!

First week of Nov.

2011-11-07T10:04:00.000-08:00

--The children got to play with their cousins twice this week! How blessed we are to have Maggie, Coleman, and William!
--Jamison and I went on a date to see "My Fair Lady". . . he said he loved the song about why can't a woman be more like a man! That would sure make life more simple.
--Colette continues to do so well in school and enjoys being rewarded with the opportunity to sit in her teacher's soft chair.
--We went shopping with Chelsea and I found the best deal ever: three dress shirts for Nick to wear to work at 95% off and they happened to be his exact size. . .what luck!

--And as I was quizzing Vera on everyone's names, I asked her "What are your grandmas' names." She said, "Grandma Vicki, Grandma Valynn, Grandma Gayle, Grandma Sherri, and Grandma Grant (she has a hard time remembering it's Lois)." We sure do consider Valynn and Mel to be family and miss them everyday since we have moved from paradise. We'll never have better neighbors!

Our week

2011-10-31T07:09:00.000-07:00

-I got 2 days off this week, so spent some time at the elementary school doing a party for Jamison's class, watching the Halloween parade, and seeing Colette perform in reader's theater. Good job Colette!
-Nick and I went on a date for the first time in a long time! Thanks to Jill for putting up with Clive.
-We all went to a Halloween party put on by Grandma and Grandpa Hinckley. Ate lots of yummy food and had FUN!!
-The three big kids did a wonderful job in the Primary Program -- wow! the Primary presidency did a pretty good job of incorporating all 200+ Primary children into the program.
-Nick and I were called to be Nursery Leaders. Small room + 18 toddlers + too many toys + 5 screaming children + Clive hanging on my leg = way too much fun each Sunday + the need for Excedrin
-And Vera's been so sweet this week, giving me lots of hugs, telling me I am the best Mommy ever. She says, "I love you, you are my sweet honey pie mommy." I asked her why she loves me so much, and she said it is because I fixed her oatmeal for breakfast and lunch (steel cut oats with mashed pears and bananas -- it is so good!)

Another week of fun!

2011-10-23T12:43:00.000-07:00

-The children got a pet bunny (but only kept it until animal control picked it up to return it to its rightful owner)
-Clive got 2 new teeth -- this was extra fun!
-Jamison had no homework the entire week
-Great-Grandpa Hinckley would have turned 100 years on Thursday, so we celebrated with family and ate black licorice, Jordan almonds, extra sharp cheese, and aplets & cotlets.
-We had lunch at the Church Office Building Cafeteria and enjoyed the beautiful autumn as we walked around the temple grounds with Chels
-A visit to Gardener Village on Friday -- were you there too? I seriously saw at least 20 people I know during our short visit!
-And we attended what the children have been anticipating since last October -- Kara's Annual Halloween Party -- Best Party Ever!

Past Week's Highlights

2011-10-17T11:51:00.000-07:00

Clive slept all night two days this past week---first time I too have slept for more than 5 hours straight without waking up since, well, since having children!
Vera hasn't awoken during the night lately because she ". . .asked Jesus to take my bad dreams away, and it worked!"
When we got The Reader's Digest in the mail Monday, Vera got really excited and said "My mas-a-geen came!"
Vera got a hair cut (first one since she decided to be her own hairdresser and cut her hair back in December. . .it finally grew out!)
We hosted a dinner party and had some yummy food! You must try this recipe.
Jamison went on a fieldtrip with his classmates to the Hogle Zoo.
Colette was rewarded for her good behavior by getting to use her teacher's cushioned chair for the day!

Good things

2011-10-09T18:19:00.000-07:00

Highlights of our week:
Nick started his new job and we have fantastic dental, vision, health and life insurance from Day 1!
We finally got around to hanging up artwork, photographs, and curtains--so it now feels like home!
Jamison got 100% on his spelling test!
Colette went on a field trip to This is the Place and the Utah State Capitol--it was snowing!
and Vera went to Primary today for the first time by herself without screaming (or kicking her teacher)!