Thursday, September 8, 2011

Blog Stalking Recipes!

So I have been trying to make dinner every night (not just pb&j or ramen noodles!).. And try new things. I blog stock this blog called Kevin & Amanda, She has posted some recipes that I SOOOO want to try! Well tonight, I did one.. Mine did not turn out as BEAUTIFUL as hers, but it was sure tasty... AND all the kids (Harley, Oakley and Erika) scarfed it down!

*I did not take pictures of mine, because I was to busy making dinner and chasing around an 8 month old.. so I borrowed this from the blog I got it at!*

Cheeseburger Macaroni

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This delicious, incredibly cheesy dish is another one of our favorite weeknight dinners. It’s beefy, hearty and whips up in less than 20 minutes. Hope you love this one as much as we do!

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Start with one pound of lean hamburger meat, browned and drained.

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Add a package of taco seasoning.

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And one can of this. The good stuff.

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You don’t even have to bother to drain it!

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Gosh, I really like Rotel.

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Add two cups of beef broth.

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(You can also just use water if you want.)

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And one cup of elbow macaroni. You’ll be glad you did.

By the way, I’ve tried other shapes of pasta in this recipe, and none of them seem to work as well as good old macaroni. Gotta love it.

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Stir to combine, and heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cover. Simmer for 12-14 minutes until the macaroni is tender.

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Meanwhile, melt 2 tablespoons of butter in a saucepan over medium heat, then add 2 tablespoons of flour.

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Whisk to combine, and continue to cook, whisking until the roux is fragrant and light brown in color, about 5 minutes.

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Whisk in 3/4 cup of milk.

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And bring the sauce to a boil. Whisk until smooth and thickened.

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Remove the saucepan from the heat, and add 1 cup of shredded cheddar cheese.

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Whisk until melted. Heaven help me.

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Now one last step for the sauce, this stuff needs some seasoning! Add 1/2 tsp each of salt and pepper. I love this seasoned salt and pepper.

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Here’s what your hamburger and noodles should look like after 12-14 minutes. Don’t worry if there’s still some beef broth in there. You may want to taste test a noodle for doneness at this point.

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If you like it, go ahead and pour in the cheese sauce and stir gently to combine.

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Glorious! Beef. Cheese. Rotel. Taco seasoning. Does it get any better than this? Enjoy!

Cheeseburger Macaroni

1 lb lean hamburger meat
1 pkg taco seasoning
1 can Rotel tomatoes and green chilies (or petite diced tomatoes)
2 cups beef broth (or water)
1 cup elbow macaroni

Brown and drain hamburger meat. Stir in taco seasoning, Rotel, beef broth, and macaroni. Heat to boiling. Reduce heat and cover pan. Simmer 12-14 mins until macaroni is tender.

Meanwhile, make the cheese sauce….

2 Tablespoons butter
2 tbsp flour
3/4 cup milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper

Melt the butter in a saucepan. Whisk in the flour and cook, whisking for 5 minutes until fragrant and light brown in color. Whisk in the milk and bring to a boil. Whisk until smooth and thickened. Remove from heat and stir in the shredded cheddar cheese until melted. Add the salt and pepper to the cheese sauce. Pour the cheese sauce over the hamburger mixture. Stir gently to combine.

Serves 4.


***PS... I like the pictures! It helped me be able to see what MINE was supposed to look like! ***


Monday, August 29, 2011

Brighton- 8 months

I can't do a post about the older kids and not put a couple pictures of B on here! He is now 8 months old and weighs 23 lbs! CRAZY I know.. where has time gone?! He is the happiest baby I have ever seen! I thought Harley and Oakley were happy, but B is SOO Happy! And how can you not say NO to this face?! yes, he is climbing up and walking around the couch...





1st day of School....


I had to go through TWO days of FIRST days! Not the funnest! Here are some pictures of the kids on their first day of school.. Harley is now in the THIRD grade, and loving it.. She is meeting new friends, since she is the NEW girl at school! Oakley is in Kindergarten and is in the same class as his friend at daycare. They get to ride the bus to and from school, which is nice but in a way not.. Harley started school last Monday, and Oakley today... Oak has been asking for a week when he gets to start school.. He has been so excited! Today I asked him if he was excited to go and he said..."I am excited for tomorrow... Because I get to ride the bus with Berklie!" WHAT? not the first day of school, but the bus?!
I have to laugh.. sorry if you are one of these parents... There was a couple parents (okay really one while I was there..) that was crying because her BABY was going to school.. Me? I couldn't be happier! Oak's school is during B's naptime, so that means ME time.. (on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays!) Well I was helping Oakley get his bag in the right place today, we put the bag on the hook and he said..."Okay mom... You can go now.. bye..." Wow, Mr. Independent! Glad that he is ready to go to school and actually liking it!
Harley is another story! She has loved school since Pre-school.. and has always been excited to go.. This year, not as much. She has fun, but she says that it is boring.. I am thinking that she will grow out of the boring school stage, and it is just because she is new to the school, and only has a couple friends (luckily a couple of those couple are in her class!) Well, Ill be done with my NOVEL and let you check out pictures.. For those couple of you that actually read my blog!


I am not big on making breakfast for my kids before school because we are always in a hurry to get ready and off to work and daycare, that they get cold cereal... BUT since my day off is Mondays, I thought that I would make them Crepes!
Brighton was even happy about it!

Harleys First day of School..
(didn't you know we lived in WINDY city USA!)Sitting in her class
Oakley and Erika's first day of Kindergarten
These two are best friends, and are not even in the same class, OR time...

Lexi wanted to get in the picture with them!
Oakley in front of his Classroom! He was so excited!
Oakley and Berklie

The New House...

Well... it is about time that I post this.. people have been asking for pictures of the new house.. We love it and are happy that we have moved here.. The kids love it, that makes a difference! Sorry about the picture OVERLOAD! But here you go!










SOOOO much better than HOUSE at 335!

Saturday, July 30, 2011

Decorating...

Yes the Decorating has started. I have been wanting to make a Book Wreath for a long time now, and finally sat down and did it.. It was fun to have Harley helping me rip out pages. Who would have thought that ripping pages out of books, when you have been told your whole life to not do it, was so much fun!? So this is my first of many projects for the new house! Enjoy!

I love to see the Temple...

I'll go inside someday...

Oh yeah! That day was July 21, 2011. On that day, I chose to go and take my endowments out. I can not express in words how Thankful I am for my Family, examples in my life, and my Husband. With out their support I would not be where I am today. I am so thankful for having the Gospel in my life and temples so close to my house that I can go to.

Fiesta Days 2011

The kids got to participate in the Children's Parade this year. Every year they are at their dads house on the weekend before Fiesta Days, so they dont get to participate. They were so excited to be able to walk in the parade with our new ward. The theme this year for Fiesta Days was the Place 2 Be. In our ward they chose to have their place to be as the Beach, so they all go to go in their swimming suits and pretend to be on a beach! Here are the kids after the parade.

Here is Brighton during the Children's Parade. He loves his stroller and being able to watch what is going on! Check out the sideways hat! (he moves it to that position!)
Every year we go and watch the Parade. This year Mom and Dad were incharge of the Parade. It was not the same with them not sitting by us. Not only them, but Trent and Tyson were helping with the line up at the top of the street, Emily had to work, Erika and Lexi where in California with their Nanny and Papa Smith, and Adam had to work. So it was just us and a couple of our cousins. Here are the kids with their NEW flag shirts.. (thanks to procrastination I finished them minutes before we had to leave for the parade!) Didnt they turn out so cute!
This is what happens when there is a Parade going on during nap time! Brighton was getting sleepy and didn't want to lay down. Who would when there is so much going on!? Next thing I know, he was asleep sitting in my lap! What a stinker!


Muttin Bustin 2011

This year during the Rodeo, Oakley and Erika were old enough ride the sheep. They have been talking it up for weeks and were so excited to go! In Spanish Fork, you can ride the sheep at age 5. They do Pre-Rodeo and Rodeo. This year they were in Pre-Rodeo. Hopefully next year they will be able to ride in the show! Erika was first to ride and was a little scared.. Okay she cried, but she was a trooper and rode anyways. Oakley did a really good job, once off the sheep he was supposed to stand and wave his hat, but did it sitting down! Kyler, Oakleys friend from our old ward, rode it backwards, fell off face first into the dirt and did a good job as well! Congrats to the Muttin Bustin-ers! You did good! Here are a few pictures of the three!

Oakley





Erika


Kyler



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