Monday, January 31, 2011

Crescent Roll Taco Bake

Ingredients:
1 onion, finely chopped
2lbs ground beef
1 (1.25 oz.) pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 cup enchilada sauce
2 cups cheddar and monterery jack cheese blend, shredded
4 (8 oz.) cans refridgerated crescent roll dough
1 lg. egg, lightly beaten
Garnish:shredded cheddar cheese, optional
Garnish: cilantro, optional
Instructions:
Preheat oven to 375. Lightly grease a 17"x12" rimmed baking sheet. In a large skillet, combine onion and ground beef. Cook over medium-high heat until beef is browned and crumbled. Drain well. Stir in taco seasoning mix and enchilada sauce. Bring misture to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes. Stir in cheese blend. Remove from heat; set aside to cool slightly. Unroll 2 cans crescent rolls. Press into bottom of prepared pan -- pressing edges together to seal. Bake 8 minutes. Spoon meat mixture evenly over partially baked crust. Unroll remaining cans of dough. Place over meat mixture to cover -- pressing edges together to seal. Brush dough with beaten egg. Bake 23 - 25 minutes or lightly browned. Let cool 5 minutes. Cut into squares and serve with sour cream, shredded cheese, and cilantro garnish, if desired.
This recipe yeilds 8 - 10 servings.
My family loves this recipe, even my picky eater enjoys this dish. Very quick and easy to make, affordable, and filling!

Recipe Week....

This week a few of us gals will be sharing some of our favorite family friendly recipes. I would like to start with sharing a few tricks I've learned lately about meal planning. I tend to be a scatter brain, disorganized kind of person, but I am trying really hard to get it together to save myself some time. For Christmas my hubby gave me a new cookbook , Barefoot Contessa. Inside she shared some grocery shopping tricks, very practical but never something I had considered.                    

  1. Monday
    1. Beef Stroganoff
    2. Brown Rice
    3. Broccoli
  2. Tuesday
    1. Chicken Scampi
    2. Pasta
    3. Salad
  3. Wednesday
    1. Broccoli/cheese soup
    2. rolls
  4. Thursday
    1. Enchiladas
    2. Mexican rice
    3. salad
  5. Friday
    1. Chicken Curry
    2. Brown Rice
    3. Green Beans
As you attack your grocery list you can make your headings.

Produce
  • fruit
  • lettuce
Dairy  
  • milk
  • butter
  • eggs
  • yogurt
Meat
  • beef stew meat
  • chicken breast
Shelf
  • pasta
  • brown rice
  • cereal
Baby
  • diapers
  • locks for the cabinet
  • chocolate for mom
You get the idea, I cannot tell you how much time this has saved me in the grocery store. Normally I make a big random list and it never fails I forget something or Marshall eats half of it. This way I move from one section of the store to the next without missing anything. 

Below I attached a link that has a great menu planner ready to print.
 http://www.personal-nutrition-guide.com/support-files/weekly_dinner_planner.pdf
 
Stay tuned for recipes!!

Dessert Time! This is fun and easy.


Fried Mexican Ice Cream


1 pt. Vanilla Ice Cream

1/2 c. Crushed Corn Flakes

1 tsp. Cinnamon

2 tsp. Sugar

1 Egg

Oil for deep frying

Honey

Whipped Cream


Scoop out 4 to 5 balls of ice cream. Return to freezer. Mix crumbs, cinnamon and sugar. Roll frozen ice cream balls in half the crumb mixture and freeze again. Beat egg and dip coated balls in egg, then roll again in remaining crumbs. Freeze until ready to use (for thicker coating repeat dipping in egg and rolling in crumbs.


When ready to serve, heat oil to 350 degrees. Place a frozen ice cream ball in fryer basket or on a perforated spoon and lower into hot oil for 1minute. Immediately remove and place on dessert compote. Drizzle with honey and top with a dab of whipped cream. Continue to fry balls one at a time. Balls will be crunchy on the outside and just beginning to melt on the inside. 4-5 servings.

Wednesday, January 26, 2011

Encouragement in Motherhood

My name is Beckey and I became a mommy 6 years ago.  Like most soon-to-be parents I thought all the talk about how much it would change my life was a bit overblown.  We, of course, would be able to handle the changes smoothly.  Our lives wouldn't change THAT much . . . and then my son was born.  I was not completely prepared for how much I could love him . . . or how much he would actually change our lives.  He was a colic-y baby who cried even more if we tried to take him out with friends and I don't think he slept through the night at all that first year.  On top of all the new parenthood changes, we were living overseas and almost all of my friends had moved back to the States just prior to him being born.  All except one.  Kristin's daughter was born 3 weeks after my son and we became our own Mom's Club.  I thank God every time I think of having her support that first year.  One or the other of us would call in tears not knowing what to do with all the emotions that came that first year and we knew there would be an understanding ear on the other end of the phone.  We enjoyed our baby's firsts together and supported each other during the tough times. 

Since then we have moved several times and have had two more kids.  Each move one of the first things I've done is to look for the local Mom's group.  Not only does it give me a few hours of adult time, but it gives much needed support.  During the tough times of parenting, I am reminded of how quickly these times go.  I hear that other three year-olds can be just as challenging as my own is right now and I get a few good ideas of creative ways to take care of discipline issues.  Being a mommy is a wonderful profession and I am so glad to have a place to help support me in my job.

Chocolate No Bakes


If you haven't had the luxury of eating one of these bad boys your in for a treat. They are exactly what your looking for at 10pm when you and the hubs are watching a movie, 8 in the morning when you don't feel like eating kid cereal and when you need something to keep the baby quiet. I tell myself they are "healthy" because they have 3 cups of  oatmeal. Here goes the very simple recipe......

1 cube  butter
1/ 2 cup milk
2 cups sugar(don't worry the oatmeal kind of absorbs all that sugar ;)
Combine ingredients and bring to boil. Boil for 2 minutes, I set the timer, because if I don't I will boil them to long and it will be very ugly.

Remove from heat and add the following.
1 tsp vanilla
1/4 cup cocoa
1/2 cup peanut butter
2 1/2-3 cups oatmeal

With a teaspoon scoop onto parchment paper. Wait about 1/2 an hour till they set. Devour!



Tuesday, January 18, 2011

Adventures of getting to Club Mom...

My name is Loretta, mom of 3 boys under 5 and currently pregnant with #4. I’m one of the first people you will see when you come to Club Mom. I will sign you in and make sure you get coffee, food, introductions and a warm welcome.

I was 8 1/2 months pregnant with my first baby when I moved to Sweet Home and prior to moving here to be with family, I looked up the Club Mom group (previously MOPS) and planned to attend. Two years and two children later, I finally made the effort to show up.

That morning I located some of the few non-pajama clothes in my closet that fit, dressed my 2 year old and my 6 month old boys in the cutest outfits they had, found something to bring for the brunch and I was ready to go. I rushed to put the baby in the car seat and ran back through the house to get my purse and when I reached for it I had brown spots on my blue sweater. Yep, the baby had gone through and I had to resort to his 2nd cutest outfit and find something else in my closet that fit on my post-pregnancy body. After all that, I was determined to go even if I was going to be late.


My 2 year old cried and refused to go into his class, so I had to walk in after it all started with my kid in tow. I was frustrated and wishing I’d stayed home in my pajamas. After listening to the great speaker and meeting some of the women, I was very happy I had made the effort and was wondering why I had not done it earlier. I was a little choked up through a lot of it and wondered if it was all the estrogen in one room.

On the 2nd visit to MOPS, the talk was on the importance of friends. I had left some very dear and special girlfriends in New York. God had brought us through a lot together and we were like the Band of Sisters. During the discussion time I was sharing about my friends and realizing I had been missing those types of friendships, I started crying. Not those cute little tears that trickle down, but really crying and I was feeling foolish and was quite certain they all thought I was crazy.

On the 3rd visit, my two year old finally took to his class and loved it and I even manged to arrive on time. Now I looked forward to the 2nd Tuesday of the month and started making some friends. Eventually I was asked to join the leadership team to help with the administration in Club Mom. (I guess they didn’t think I was all that crazy after all.)

Club Mom is an opportunity to have your batteries re-charged, enjoy some girl talk and hear a word from the Lord. On the practical side, it is a HUGE resource for all things children. The women are walking encyclopedias. (Where to take the kids for free, cheap places to shop, best pumpkin patches, best books, pre-school and daycare options, etc.) There is also nothing more reassuring than hearing about how horrible somebody else’s kid acted in the grocery store. lol

I still feel inadequate at times because there are many “Martha Stewart” types and women who live like they are on Little House on the Prairie. I can barely sew a button, didn’t know the difference between an Azalea and a Crocus and usually flunk the craft part of the day. However, the women are loving, gracious, generous, encouraging and I’ve learned so much from all of them. What I've also come to know is that if you do show up in your pajamas, everybody will just look at you with warm eyes of understanding.

Monday, January 17, 2011

mommy, mother, mamma, hey you, honey

Your important......
You make a difference.....

The most important person on earth is a mother. She cannot claim the honor of having built Notre Dame cathedral. She need not. She has built something more magnificent than any cathedral-a dwelling for an immortal soul, the tiny perfection of a baby's body.... The angels have not been blessed with such a grace. They cannot share in God's creative miracle to bring new saints to heaven. Only a human mother can.
Cardinal Joseph Mindszenty

As your wiping butts today remember your important. Remember those little butts are all yours. Remember those little butts won't always need wiping. :)

Monday, January 10, 2011

Here is the January Craft for Club Mom.
These decorative candles are fun and easy to make.



See you there!

Join Us Tomorrow Jan 11th

Clubmom meets tomorrow at 9am at the Chapel. We would love to see you there!

Friday, January 7, 2011

"In You O Lord I put my trust." Psalm 31:1a

Hello! My name is Gina Swanson, and I’m the one who sends out the postcards every month. :) I grew up in Grants Pass, graduated from U of O, and then wanted an adventure, so I went to graduate school in Boulder, CO, and ended up staying in Colorado for 9 years. My husband and I moved back to Oregon, & Sweet Home about 3 ½ years ago.

My journey to becoming a mom began with a love for kids. I enjoyed my time as a nanny, volunteering w/ kids with disabilities and babysitting through high school and college, and I studied to be a Speech/Language Pathologist at U of O and then the University of Colorado, Boulder. I worked in the schools as a Speech/Language Pathologist for 6 years, during which time we were foster parents for several years. Then, we got on the waiting list to adopt from S. Korea. We traveled to S. Korea to bring our son James home In May of 2006. He was 6 ½ months old. After James had been home about 9 months, we were looking on the waiting child list, and saw a picture of a little girl, and just knew she was our daughter. The Lord helped to work out all the details, and we traveled to S. Korea again, one year later, to bring Grace home. She was 11 ½ months old at the time. Now, our kids are 5 & 4 ½. It’s amazing how fast they grow!

Because of the way the Lord built our family, I am passionate about a lot of things, adoption being one of them!! Adoption is such a joy and we are so very grateful to our kids’ birthmoms who chose life for them, and decided to place them in a family. I am reminded of God’s love for us and how He is so very faithful in our own lives, placing us in His family and loving us. I also love the beauty of adoption. God’s people are found all over the world- they may not speak the same language, or look the same, but they speak the language of God’s love and God’s redemption of His people. As believers, it’s important for us to have a heart for those around us, using words that are respectful to other people groups, and love that extends to help.

Wednesday, January 5, 2011

A little about myself.

My name is Deidre Springer, I am a mother of three and one on the way. I have a step daughter who is 13 and two at home (boy 7 and girl almost 5) and I was asked to write a little about myself; unfortunately I am not a writer. So I have decided to do a question and answer survey to do the trick. Well, here we go....

2 favorite movies: Hmmm, my two favorite movies. Let me see, it has been so long since I have got to watch a grown up movie, but the last movies I can remember really enjoying are; The Notebook, and Passion of the Christ.

Favorite foods: Really really good Italian dinner

3 places I have lived: I was born in California, but raised in Sweet Home, OR. I moved to Astoria for about a year, and then moved right back where I belong, Sweet Home.

Favorite TV shows: I love to watch the cooking channel; it keeps me trying new things for dinner. We all know how hard it can be making dinner every night but trying to keep it exciting.

TV show I wish they'd bring back:  Hmmm this is a hard one, (after thinking for 5 min.) I guess I don't miss any TV show enough to really want it brought back. LOL

Favorite vacation spots: Well I have only been on a few vacations, but so far my very favorite is Hawaii. It was probably a once in a lifetime thing, but a girl can dream, right?

Websites visited daily:  Hotmail and Facebook. I don't spend a whole lot of time on the internet, like most moms’ I have about 20 minutes in the morning to myself.

Favorite children's books: The velveteen Rabbit has to be my all time favorite children’s book and I think my second favorite would probably be, The Spotted Little Puppy.

Favorite cartoon character:  Hmmm another TV question, let me think, when I was a kid it was strawberry shortcake, but now from the cartoons my kids watch, I have to say Max and Ruby the bunnies!

2 people (past or present) I'd like to have dinner with: Only two? Hmmmm, I guess, My husband I would love to go on a date with him, just us LOL. And a dear friend I haven’t seen in years.

Most decadent guilty pleasure: Chocolate covered caramels.... yum yum!

Cool trick I can do: hahahahaha! Well I guess the coolest trick I can do, is listen to my husband, cook dinner, and solve a problem my children are having, and doing it all at the same time while keeping everybody happy and not burning the dinner!

Language I speak (other than English): Um, I don’t really speak a second language other then toddler.

Place I'd like to be right this moment: Right where I am, I love being in my home with my family. It is right where the Lord wants me to be, and He has blessed me beyond my wildest dreams!

Favorite Bible Verse: 1st Corinthians 13: 4-7; "Love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast. It is not proud, it is not rude, it is not self-seeking. It is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil, but rejoices in the truth. It always protects, it always trust, it always hopes, always perseveres"

Monday, January 3, 2011

Getting to Know US

For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.             Jeremiah 29:11 NIV
This passage is one of my favorites. It has been very true and made some of those crazy days seem a little less crazy. My name is Andrea McCubbins and I help out with the crafts in Club Mom. We have decided to all take turns writing a little bit so you all may get to know us.
I have lived in Sweet Home, OR with my husband and two kids for six years. Before moving to Oregon I met my husband in North Dakota where I was raised. I’m a stay at home mom and also do the bookkeeping for my husband’s business. I volunteer my time helping with Kids Food Paks and my church. My family and I enjoy camping, fishing, hunting, and riding quads. I love making jewelry, reading, and taking naps. We also have a little mini farm with pygmy goats, chickens, and a cow.
I have enjoyed getting to be part of club mom this year. It is so nice to get together with other moms and share some encouraging words and laughs with each other. Best of all we are building lasting relationships with each other and strengthening our relationship with the Lord.
May God bless you and your family.Thank you for reading and please join us the second Tuesday every month.

Here is a Song from JJ Heller that I just love.