Just a swingin'....

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That's not the keys...

This morning I was sitting at the table and I thought I heard the sound of keys jingling. My husband has a mini wind-up flashlight on his key ring and Logan loves it. If hubby leaves the keys in Logan's reach, I can just about guarantee that Logan will take them and play with that flashlight. I told hubby, "I think someone is playing with your keys". He says, "I know someone is playing with my keys". Logan came up from the basement with his hand behind his back and the sound of jingling keys got closer and closer with each step he took towards us. I laughed and told him there was no sense in hiding the keys behind his back because I could hear them. He looked at me and said, "That's not the keys, it's just my butt ringing". HA!!

Menu Plan Monday...

Last week we tried lots of new recipes, but our two favorites were coconut chicken and tomato rice

*= new recipe

Monday--salmon with peach/mango salsa (from Costco...they were giving samples of the fish with salsa and it was sooo good), wild rice pilaf, steamed broccoli

Tuesday--chicken chilaquiles casserole (recipe below), tomato rice, chili beans

Wednsday--crock pot pork chops and potatoes (still haven't had this from two weeks ago), green beans

Thursday--spaghetti*, garlic bread, salad

Friday--orange chicken*, Jasmine rice,stir fry veggies, store bought egg rolls

Sat./Sunday--leftovers


Chicken Chilaquiles Casserole

1/2 c. veg. oil
10 flour or corn tortillas (6-8 inches in diameter), cut into 1/2" strips
2 c. shredded cooked chicken or turkey
1 jar (16 oz.) green salsa (salsa verde) or salsa (2 cups)
2 cups shredded mozzarella or Monterey Jack cheese (8 oz.)

1. Heat oven to 350'. Spray 2-quart casserole with cooking spray. Heat oil in 10-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Cook tortilla strips in oil 30-60 seconds, stirring occasionally, until light golden brown. Remove with slotted spoon; drain on paper towels.

2. Arrange half the tortilla strips in the bottom of casserole. Top with chicken, 3/4 c. salsa, and 1 c. cheese. Gently press layers down into casserole. Repeat with remaining tortilla strips, salsa, and cheese.

3. Bake uncovered about 30 minutes or until cheese is melted and golden brown.


***I prefer this made with flour tortillas and I have only used the green salsa for this recipe. It is sooo good and pretty quick. I got it out of a betty Crocker cookbook.

If you'd like to see more menus, head on over to Laura's!!

Sweet Logan....

For the rest of the story, click here.

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Menu Plan Monday...

Last week I made green chili cheese bread and thought I would share a picture of it. It turned out sooo good. It was only my second time to make it. I cut the recipe in half to make only one loaf except I still used the whole can of green chilies and added a little extra cheese.



Time to get back on track this week. We are trying lots of new recipes that I will mark with an *. I was surfing Mommy Cooks and found lots of yummy looking recipes. I decided we'd try some of them out this week!! We're also trying another yummy sounding side dish of Sandra's. Thanks to you both for taking the time to post your recipes!!


Monday--coconut chicken*, Jasmine rice, Syrian green beans, corn on the cob

Tuesday--fish, tomato rice*, sauted zucchini and summer squash

Wednesday--Tuscan fusilli with sausage*, salad, bread

Thursday--honey mustard chicken, pasta carbonara*, steamed broccoli

Friday--beef tips and noodles, buttery cooked carrots, Syrian green beans (yes, we love them enough to have them twice in one week!!)

Saturday--leftovers

Desserts--I will make cookies* for the boys and Oats 'n Honey Granola Pie for the adults. I tried this pie almost two years ago (at a friend's) and have been wanting to make it, but haven't gotten around to it....LOL! I had the swirled choc chips already so when I saw the cookie recipe, I knew we had to try them out!!

If you'd like to see more menus, head on over to Laura's!!

Caterpillars and Chrysalises and Butterflies...OH MY!!

My mother in law purchased a butterfly habitat for Logan a while back and it took me forever to send the postcard off to get our caterpillars. Finally I did, and the fun began. Five caterpillars arrived in a little container with food. At first we thought two of them had died, but after a few days they were getting bigger. One of the little ones was the last to form a chrysalis and ended up knocking two of the others down. The first butterfly to emerge was one of the fallen ones and it came out deformed and didn't make it. All of the other ones did, though. We kept them for a few days and Logan loved watching them. I did, too!! Oh....and our cat Molly loves insects, so she enjoyed them, too. We had to hang them and make sure there was nothing near them that she could jump off of to get them. We found the habitat knocked over a few times and at first we thought Logan had done it. Nope....it was Molly.

I took a few pictures of them before we released them. I balled up some tissue and put sugar water on it for them to eat. That is what they are eating in the pic. Also, I don't like bugs, spiders....mostly anything that flies or crawls and it seems that has rubbed off on Logan. You can tell by the pics that he wasn't to sure about it. Anyway, I thought it was too funny not to share!!

If you click on this one, you can actually see that they are eating.



If you look closely, you can see that I caught the first one on film as it flew away! They were fast!!


I thought this was a neat picture! (Click on it to enlarge it to see what I mean)


Yep...Logan is not your typical little boy that loves bugs. He keeps asking for a bug vacuum at Target and I keep telling him that he can't have it because he doesn't like bugs. That last picture confirms it!!

Edited to add....I guess I should clarify that my husband doesn't have a problem with the butterflies. Mostly he is making faces because Logan was totally flipping out and had already knocked one butterfly out of his hand. He said he was trying to keep the butterflies safe and it was no easy task!!

What are Mommas good for??

The other day the boys and I ventured to the mall. I was hoping to find some good summer clearance sales....and boy did I!! We went to the food court for lunch and Logan made some new friends. There were two older ladies (I say older...older than my parents, younger than my grandparents) sitting at the table beside us. Logan was watching them very closely...his way of getting someone's attention. They noticed him and said hello. He ducked his head and they thought he was shy. I told them that he was just pretending. After he finished his lunch, he proved to them that he was indeed pretending. They talked about so much stuff.....funny what all kids talk about. One of the ladies asked Logan what he wanted to be when he grows up. He told them a daddy (this is always his answer...sometimes he'll also include that will make me a grandma). The lady said, "Yes, but what will you do for your job?". Logan, doing what he loves most lately, made up a word. The lady thought he said astronaut and he was very excited about the thought of being an astronaut. Of course, he doesn't fully understand it because he went on to say that he would build his very own rocket ship and that Momma would clean it for him. So...there you have it, we're good for cleaning rocket ships!!

My silly boys...

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Menu Plan Monday...

I was bad last week and didn't cook two nights in a row!! That means that I will carry those meals over, plus we have some leftovers to eat. Add to that that we have lots of fruit/veggies that we need to eat and it makes for a pretty easy week!

Monday--butter nut squash, sausage, bowtie pasta-- homemade green chili cheese bread, salad

Tuesday--blt sandwiches, chips, fruit

Wednesday--leftovers

Thursday--crock pot pork chops, Syrian green beans , and deviled eggs (hubby's request)

Friday--cucumber and tomato sandwiches, chips, fruit

Saturday--leftovers

If you'd like to see more menus a bit more ambitious than mine, head on over to Laura's!!

M&Ms...what ever happened to melt in your mouth, not in your hands??

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Menu Plan Monday...

Along with our typical fruits and veggies we got, this week at the farmer's market we got about 20 Red Haven peaches. I will make a peach pie and use the others to freeze filling for my Nanny's homemeade fried pies. I have fond memories of pressing the edges with a fork to seal them when I was little!! I also picked up some apricots at the grocery store to make some preserves. YUMMY!!

Here is one of our favorite meals from last week...

Syrian green beans, mashed cauliflower, New York strip steak


Sunday--leftovers

Monday--(didn't use this last week)--chicken breasts, veg. casserole in pita bread with feta cheese

Tuesday--pan fried tilapia (a new favorite), deep fried green beans from Sandra's blog, couscous

Wednesday--meatloaf, cornbread dressing with gravy, mashed cauliflower (trying to keep the carbs down ...hubby wanted mashed potatoes)

Thursday--homemade chicken strips, homemade mac and cheese, corn on the cob (making up for the carbs with this one!)

Friday--butter nut squash, sausage, bowtie pasta--homemade green chili cheese bread (recipe below), salad

Saturday--crock pot pork chops, Syrian green beans , and deviled eggs (hubby's request)

Sunday--leftovers


I got this recipe from my MIL...it is soooo yummy!!

GREEN CHILI CHEESE BREAD

1 c. milk, heated until almost boiling
1/4 - 1/3 c. butter or margarine
2 T. sugar
2 t. salt
2 pkgs. dry yeast
1/2 c. warm water
1 egg beaten
4.5 c. all purpose flour, divided
2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 (3.5 oz.) can French fried conions, coarsely chopped
1 (4 oz.) can geen chilies

Combine milk, butter, sugar, and salt in saucepan and place over med. heat. Stir until butter melts. Let cool until luke warm (105-115 degrees). Dissolve yeast in water in a large mixing bowl; let stand 5 minutes or until bubbly. Add milk mixture and egg, stirring until well combined. Stir in 2 cups flour and beat with mixer for 3 minutes. Add 1.5-2 cups more flour and turn dough onto a floured surface. Knead for 5 minutes, adding a little more flour if needed. Dough should be smooth and elastic. Place dough in a greased bowl turning dough to spread oil over sides of bowl and top of dough. Let rise in warm place free from drafts for 45 minutes or until doubled in bulk. Punch down and let rest 10 minutes. Turn dough onto floured surface. Gradually knead in remaining ingredients (cheese, onion, and chilies).

Divide dough in half. Shape into round loaves and place into greased 8" round cake pans. Let rise 30 minutes or until doubled. Bake in preheated oven at 350 degrees for 40 minutes.

(My mil makes these in small loaf pans for Christmas gifts.)

Wordless Wednesday....Logan loves mac and cheese!!

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