Wednesday, March 19, 2008

The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

You smell that...that's March Madness baby, there's no better time to be a sports fan, unless you happen to be a fan of those teams that got Jack Stomped, by the NCAA committee, first and foremost on that list has to be the Devils of ASU...are you kidding me, they beat UofA twice and ended the Pac 10 with a better record...oh well, what can you do.

Here's my final four (that is until I change my mind right up until tip-off):

UNC, UCLA, Kansas, Texas

And for those folks that know me, know who I'm picking to cut down the nets in '08.

So the question is, who's in your final four?

Thursday, March 13, 2008

Total Addict

My parents are due to come in town in 6 hours ... I still have to clean a bathroom, mop a floor, make cornbread and a salad, clean the kitchen, finish some laundry, clean the living room, bathe children and put said-children to bed ... and did I mention that Eric had 3 shots today and another tooth popped up? Ugh!

But here I am ... blogging. Escaping my reality and connecting with my friends and family ... all while holding Eric in a murderous Baby Bjorn that he is too darn heavy for!

There was a request for Santa Fe Soup, so I'm posting that recipe. It's a recipe from my friend, Lauren, that she got from the Body for Life Cookbook, I think. Anyway, it's pretty healthy. I would definitely suggest making the little baked tortilla chips ... the soup need the texture and flavor of those. I also suggest serving with cheese. I think she did last time, and I loved the soup. When I made it, I felt like the soup really could have used it. Anyway, here's the recipe.

Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Ingredients:

1/3 c brown rice (uncooked)

4 portions chicken breasts

1 lime, halved

2 tsp. taco seasoning

6 corn tortillas

1 T olive oil

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 onion, chopped

1 can (4oz) diced green chilis

6 cups chicken broth

4 T salsa

1/4 c sour cream

2 T cilantro, chopped

Cook rice according to directions on package. While cooking, place chicken in shallow dish, cover with lime juice and then coat with taco seasoning. Grill for 6 minutes or bake in oven (25 mins.). Once chicken is cook, cut into strips or chunks.

Preheat oven to 350. cut tortillas into 1 inch strips and bake for 15 mins. Set aside.

Heat oil in pot and sautee garlic and onion until transparent (8 mins).

Add cooked rice to pot, saute 3 mins. Add chilis, sautee 2 mins. Pour chicken broth into mixture; bring to a boil. Add chicken. Reduce heat to low and simmer 25 minutes.

Place tortilla strips in bottom of bowl, spoon soup into bowls. Garnish with salsa, sourcream and cilantro.

Freezes well!

Also, instead of pork chops and potatoes, I made a pot roast. They were on sale, and it sounded pretty good. I am not a particularly adept cook when it comes to roast. I love to eat roast, but I don't know how to prepare them very well. So, I scouted out a recipe from Paula Deen on the Food Network. This recipe was easy and it made the best broth ... which in turn made the best gravy I have ever made in my entire life. I did make some changes based on a reviewer's comments and based on what I had in the pantry. I bagged the house seasoning. I added 2 tsps. beef bullion and 1 can beef broth in lieu of the Chardonnay and the bullion cubes. Here's Paula Deen's recipe for Pot Roast: Enjoy!


1 (3-pound) boneless chuck roast
1 1/2 teaspoons House seasoning, recipe follows
1/4 cup vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
3 bay leaves
3 or 4 beef bouillon cubes, crushed
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 (10 3/4-ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/2 cup Chardonnay

Sprinkle roast on all sides with house seasoning. Using a skillet over high heat, sear roast until brown in oil. Place roast in a slow cooker, and layer onions, bay leaves, crushed bouillon cubes, garlic, and cream of mushroom soup. Add the Chardonnay and cover with enough water to cover all of the ingredients. Cook on the low setting for 8 hours.

House Seasoning:
1 cup salt
1/4 cup black pepper
1/4 cup garlic powder

Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months









Sunday, March 9, 2008

Recipes

I've decided to post one new recipe per week ... it's an achievable goal for me as I change out my menus, etc. However, if you see a menu item that you'd like the recipe for, just leave me a comment and I'll post it. :)

This is for the BBQ Chicken Salad. I found the recipe from a blog that my friend, Shauna, referred me to called "The Enlightened Homemaker." I really enjoyed this recipe ... super easy and reasonably healthy.

BBQ CHICKEN CHOP SALAD


2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts or about 6-8 chicken tenders

1 cup barbecue sauce


Marinate chicken in sauce, then bake at 350 for 30 minutes. (If you bake in the bbq sauce in a baking dish, this will take longer. If you bake on a cookie sheet after marinating, then I think they’d be ready in 30 minutes.) Chop into pieces and refrigerate.


1/2 head iceberg lettuce, chopped

1/2 head romaine lettuce, chopped

3 to 4 Roma tomatoes, chopped

1 jicama, peeled and diced (I omitted this)

1/2 Cup cilantro, chopped

1 15 oz can black beans, rinsed and drained

1 Cup frozen sweet corn, thawed

1/2 pound monterey jack (or cheddar) cheese, grated

Combine chicken in large bowl with salad ingredients and toss. Serve with Ranch dressing and additional BBQ sauce and crispy corn chips.

A Couple of Pics

Jacob building a "tower" ...
it's more like a "compound" with multiple buildings than a tower, per se.



Goodbye, gummy smile! (Sorry for the sideways pic ... I pulled it straight off the camera without rotating it.)





A picture of the Snoopy salad that I described in one of my recent posts. Yummy and loved by children and adults alike! :)

Post-game Wrap-up

This is a phrase borrowed from DH's sports shows. We had another busy week with tooth #2 emerging in sweet Eric's little mouth. He did a little better with this one, but he's definitely got a more intense personality than Jake does ... evidenced most recently with these teething episodes. He's also become a proficient back-to-tummy roller, but he gets stuck there and then cries until he's "rescued" from tummy time. :) He also tried "real" food this week. Here's a recap with the reviews: squash (two enthusiastic thumbs up), peas (one-and-a-half thumbs up), pears (two enthusiastic hands up). He was totally ready and is doing great with it. Our most recent tribulation is with nighttime sleeping. He's been waking for no discernible reason, so we've been trying to let him "cry it out." Yikes! He's got some staying power. The power struggle with a six-month old (turned 6 mos today!) is vicious. We've won the last few nights, but barely.

Jacob has had a good week. He had a great "report card" from preschool. So we took him out for an ice cream treat to celebrate! He's been a social butterfly lately ... always wondering what our calendar holds each day as far as playdates go. And believe me, the devastation is great if we have nothing set up. He's been going to great lengths to coerce me into lining up playdates too ... lately, he's been saving part of his snacks and treats to "share" with a little friend of his. He'll then ask if we can go "deliver" the snack and play. Anyone that knows Jacob knows that this is a total labor of love as he kid loves to eat!

Matt and I got together with some friends lately, and we were discussing some of the funny things kids say. It reminded me of a few funny things Jacob has said that I wanted to make sure I posted (for documentation's sake).

First, I commonly drop the "g" from a few words ending in "-ing". Like "somethin'" instead of "something." (I grew up in the South and have virtually no trace of an accent except little nuances like this.) Anyway, Jacob has adopted this into his own dialect but has expanded it a bit to include just about any word ending in "-ing", such as "anythin" (pronounced "en-ee-thin") or "everythin" (pronounced "ev-ree-thin). :)

Another thing ... it's funny when kids realize you have a name other than "mom." Jacob has come to this realization a few times. He'll hear my name, laugh about it, and then forget it. So, I got a little necklace a few months ago with my nickname ("jewel") on it, and he was very attentive during the conversation about nicknames and my "real" name. He must have known my name was "julie" before because he and his friends have giggled about that as they've called me that. But I guess it just "sunk in" that that was really my name when we talked about it this last time.

The last funny anecdote is related to his buddy, Grant. Grant is a little over a year younger than Jake but is a big kid like Jacob and so the age difference doesn't really seem like much. But for awhile, Grant couldn't say, "Jacob" really clearly, and he called him something that sounds like, "Day-bug". Well, I think Jacob thought this was a term of endearment or something because now he calls Grant, "Day-bug", when they're chasing or when he wants Grant to go outside with him. And then, just the other day, I heard Jacob giving himself a little self-affirming pep-talk. I think he was making his bed, but I can't remember exactly what he was doing. Anyway, I hear him quietly (but with feeling saying), "Good job, Day-bug! Good job!" :)

He's been into the story of "David and Goliath" lately, also. He's asked so many questions about this story ... about details that we don't know anything about. For instance, "What did they do with Goliath's sword after he was killed?" Anyone know? Or, "Were the brothers scared of Goliath?" That was an easy one. (Every now and then, he gives us an easy one.)

Even though there are a few challenging times with Jacob, I am really enjoying this stage of life with him. He is really loving and is learning so quickly.

Tagged

My sister "tagged" me ... didn't even know what that meant until a few weeks ago. So, here goes nothin'

10 Years ago: School: I was completing my junior year at BYU as a sociology major. By this time, I was much more studious (even had 8 a.m. classes!). I still did stupid stuff like sleeping all night with a space heater on in my bedroom, but we made it out alive! Love: I was dating Matt, but still wasn't sure if we'd get married. Work: I was working as a "server" at the Skyroom Restaurant on BYU-Provo Campus. Friends: I lived at the Elms with 5 terrific roomies!

5 Things on my To Do List Today!
Because it's Sunday at 9:00 p.m., the to-do list is really different from any other day, but here goes:
1. Do the dinner dishes (can anyone tell I'm avoiding this by blogging?)
2. Call back a girl I visit teach
3. Send out a Relief Society email
4. Go through the schedule for the week and make tomorrow's to-do list :)
5. post pics on the blog

Things I would do if I were a Billionaire
1. Buy lots of ipods and give them away to anyone I can think of. That is truly one of my favorite gadgets!
2. Get weekly housekeeping services (good idea, Jenny!). And I'd probably hire a decorator to help me define my style. Also like my sister, I'd continue to do my own cooking.
3. I enjoy bargain hunting for cute clothes, but I really do love higher-end jeans and shoes ... which don't always come at a bargain price. So, I suspect I'd purchase some killer jeans and shoes.
4. Travel - Europe is at the top of my list ... specifically to see fine art.
5. Philanthropy - After my sister put this as one of her answers, I thought a lot about it. I have always wanted to have more "means" to donate to worthy causes, but after watching Oprah's Big Give, I realized that I have a hard time not being too judgmental about who's really deserving. (Like I thought it was kind of lame that they were trying to raise money to pay off a medical resident's 200K school loans so that he could give free plastic surgery to the children.) Because I tend to research things to death and have a hard time making a decision, I'd rather be in a position to give something to everyone who asked. I'd probably also donate substantially to church affiliated charities since I know that all of the money goes to the truly needy.
6. Education. For the kiddos, and probably a degree in art history for me.
7. Don't necessarily need a big home, but would like a larger yard and a home large enough for more entertaining.

Three of my bad habits
1. Worrying
2. Procrastinating
3. Nagging

Five places I have lived (in no particular order)
1. Atlanta, GA
2. Memphis, TN
3. Cottonwood Heights, UT
4. Chicago, IL
5. Lubbock, TX

Five Jobs I have had
1. Mom
2. Writer for a business magazine
3. Assistant Buyer
4. Waitress
5. Hotel maid (for 1 week!)

Things that people do not know about me
I'm sure some of you know some of these things, but I can't think of anything that NOBODY knows (ditto), so here goes:
1. I am very claustrophobic. I don't like caves or mines where I can't get to fresh air quickly. I get kind of panicky when I have to sit in the last row of a minivan or if I'm surrounded by lots of people for an extended period of time. I totally know it's not rational, but I get weirded out if I perceive that there might be a shortage of air. (I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the time my sister locked me in a suitcase. :))
2. The first concert I ever went to was Kenny G. I won tickets on the radio (FM100, naturally). And I loved it so much that my friend and I actually called the radio station to tell them how awesome the concert was! :) (I suspect that when Matt reads this, he'll want to cry.)
3. I had to take my driving test three times because I failed it the first two times ... but I've never been in a car accident that was my fault.
4. Although it was implied, I was the first one who verbalized the "big question." I asked Matt if he wanted to marry me. He may try to contradict this, but I really was the first one to say it out loud.
5. I am a HUGE over-analyzer. I worry all the time that I might have offended someone or hurt someone's feelings. I worry about the things I say a lot ... like if I sounded like a dork or if I talked too much (I worry about that alot ... if I let others participate in the conversation enough). I replay conversations in my mind all the time. Luckily, I am very generous with other people (i.e., I don't offend very easily), but I'm not always so gentle with myself. However, that's the beauty of getting older. I feel that I'm becoming so much more comfortable with myself and trusting that people will understand my intentions. So, even though I still rehash a lot of what I say, I definitely give others and myself more of the benefit of the doubt.

That's all ... anyone that wants to be "tagged", you're it!

Tuesday, March 4, 2008

In Our Mouths

I haven't blogged anything of substance for the last week because we've been getting teeth. I say "we" because it's truly been a family experience for us ... involving each one of us in some special way. Poor little Eric has one tooth in (on the top), one "arriving" any day now, and two more on their way on the lower level. Matt and I have taken lots of pictures documenting the precious gummy smile ... only they're on my sister-in-law's camera, and I don't have her USB cable. So, I'll post a picture later of the gummy smile (which, incidentally, has been a challenge to capture ... we keep ending up with "deer in the headlight" shots).

I wouldn't have even posted today except that our family has to eat. And as long as I'm making up our menu, I may as well share ours with all of you in blog land that you might be inspired by our family's dining habits. :) (Ha, ha, ha!)

So, I've updated the menu for the week. Maybe you've noticed that I don't update every seven days. Well, that's because, contrary to popular belief, I don't cook every night for seven days. We often have leftovers or go out, but I don't always know when that will be. So, I usually try to have everything on hand for seven meals (in the extremely unlikely event that I cook for seven straight days), and the menus usually last about 10 days. I try to plan my "fresher" meals first ... the ones that have the freshest ingredients, so they don't spoil, and I usually try to have one or two meals at the end that have ingredients with a longer shelf life.

A few people have requested recipes for some of the things I've listed. I am lucky to be friends with great cooks who don't mind sharing recipes, so I hope they don't mind if we take the sharing to the next level by posting on my blog (read by millions, I'm sure!). :)

The first is an AMAZING recipe for chicken lentil stew. This came from my friend, Kasey, who got the recipe from her sister-in-law. Watch out! This one is terrific. I made this the other night with homemade cornbread ... recipe from my sister's blog. And we made Snoopy salads as the other side. I will post a picture of snoopy salad sometime, but basically, every kid loves them. You place a pear half core-side down on a plate. Then put a prune (the cherry flavored ones are good) as the ear on the "big" end of the pear. Then put a maraschino cherry on the small end to make the nose. The eye is a raisin, and put one or two mandarin oranges on the bottom to make a collar.

But, I digress, so, I give you ... recipes for stew and cornbread.

Curried Lentil Soup


2 med. sweet potatoes (2 cups), peeled, cut into 1/2 inch cubes

1/4 cup chopped onion

1/2 cup apple juice

1/2 cup water

2 cans (19 oz. each) Progresso lentil soup

1 1/2 cups frozen cut green beans

1 cup chopped cooked chicken

2 to 4 teaspoons curry powder

In 3 quart saucepan heat sweet potatoes, onion, juice and water to boiling, lower heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Add lentil soup, beans, chicken and curry. Heat to boiling, reduce heat and simmer 10-15 minutes or until vegetables are tender.

Corn Bread

2
c. Bisquick
4-6 T. cornmeal (I usually go with the 6)
1/2-1 c. sugar (I usually stick closer to 1/2 c.)
2 eggs
1 c. milk
1/2 c. butter, melted

Mix all ingredients together. Pour into a greased 9 x 9 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 mins. (Mine took a little more time ... closer to 45 minutes, I think.)

Saturday, March 1, 2008

Just in case you were wondering ...

Some of you may be wondering about the title of our blog. We (Matt and I ... not our kiddos) really like the tv show, The Office. Anyway, our title is a quote from that show.

Well, avid fans that we are, Matt gave me a page-a-day calendar with quotes from The Office for Christmas. As has been my experience with such calendars, there are a fair share of "duds", but yesterday had a really funny quote that tied to our blog title.

For your reading enjoyment ...

"We can't overestimate the value of computers. Yes, they are great for playing games and forwarding funny e-mails [and I would add here, blogging!] , but real business is done on paper."
-- Michael