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Friday, May 30, 2014

Daughter/Son of a King

Hello world!  For those of you who may not know I have officially entered the land of two children!! My daughter Rachel was born last week and we have been having a lot of fun with the transition.  DJ is super sweet with her and loves helping, though he has been throwing WAY more tantrums than ever before.  Ah well, thank goodness for having my mom here, hopefully things will have normalized a little bit before she leaves and we will survive.

Isn't she the most beautiful thing ever!!  C Kelly Roy Photography


Any way , Rachel's room is kind of princess themed.  I like Disney Princesses and their wall stickers are cheap, and since I can't paint in our apartment wall stickers it is.  Over her crib we have this vinyl, it's from "A Midsummer Night's Dream"

Here is where on Amazon I bought it.
But I wanted to make sure that Rachel remembered she really is a princess and a daughter of our Heavenly Father and since we are encouraged to have a Temple picture in our kids bed rooms I used this pin as an inspiration.

I have seen this pin all over but never linked to the creator... if you know who it is let me know so I can credit them
I dithered between what temple to use.  My husband and I were married in the Oakland, CA Temple but we now live in the Boston, MA Temple district.  We have lots of pictures of the Oakland Temple in our house so I think I've finally decided to do the Boston Temple.  I also have a new niece, and since her parents were married in the San Diego, CA Temple I did that one as well.  I'm also going to be using the Boston ones for my primary kids.  I used PicMonkey to edit the photos and the LDS temple website to pick the photos I used.

Feel free to use these or to use them as a template for your own temple.

Photo © 2008, Jairo Hernández.

Photo © 2008, Jairo Hernández.

Photo © 2004, Travis L. Foister.

Photo © 2004, Travis L. Foister.

Photo © 2006, Scott Cannon.
  Since Rachel's room is still in construction phase (it's a guest room right now with all the family coming in and out) I will be adding more photos of it once it's done in a few months.  But for now here is the photo of her crib with the Shakespeare quote above it (remember her room is still in construction phase so the stuff behind it will be living elsewhere once things calm down).


*Edit*
As promised updated Rachel Room Photos





As you can see I went with the Boston temple.






Saturday, April 12, 2014

Displaying Daddy's Missionary Tag

I love talking to my husband about his mission in Argentina!  It is one of my favorite things and I am working really hard to get a book put together with his emails and pictures together so that I can read it to our kids.  I want the fact that their daddy is a return missionary to be something my kids are aware of and proud of, I want them to ask him about it and hear his stories.  So when I saw this idea for displaying David's missionary tag I knew I had to do it!!

I could not figure out how to order from Shadow Reflections, if you can let me know
I went digging and actually found one of David's old mission shirts (it was wrapped around a few figurines and stuff that had been packed away).   I found a black 8x8 shadow box at Target (usually $10 but I got it during a sale for $6).  I had to trim down the shirt a little bit so it would fit but I really liked how it turned out.  

I chose not to do a boarder because that would have taken a more expensive frame and well... we are in grad school.  I may redo it more exactly like the pinterest version later down the line but for now I really like it and actually look forward to stealing extra name tags from my kids when they return and having set of these.  It would work just as well with a blouse and a sister's tag.  This currently lives in the hallway outside my sons room where we walk by it everyday.  DJ is still little but I make sure I point it out pretty regularly.  

Besides the traditional missionary plaque how do you keep your or your spouses mission as part of your home?  


Wednesday, March 12, 2014

Freezer Meals Month 3

 These are all recipes I've had around forever so I'm not sure where I got them all from, I'll look around to find those that have originals, but for now, here is the list of recipes and shopping list (* means you don't need till the day of).  The numbers are number of bags/number of days it will feed 2 adults. 


Freezer Meals Month 3 (19/33)
Shopping List:
·         Canned Goods
o   2 box chicken broth
o   1 box stuffing mix
o   1 can cream of chicken soup
o   2 (15 oz) cans tomato sauce
o   1 (8 oz) can tomato sauce
o   2 cans stewed tomatoes
o   1 jar pace picante sauce
o   84 oz Italian style tomatoes
o   28 oz diced tomatoes
o   2 cup red wine*
o   Honey mustard dressing
·         Grains, Noodles, and Rice
o   32 oz bowtie pasta*
o   16 oz penne pasta*
o   2 cups rice
o   Corn flakes*
·         Dairy Products
o   3 cup Parmesan*
o   3 cup Mozzerella*
o   6 cups heavy cream*
o   ½ cup butter
·         Meat, Poultry, and Seafood
o   4 lb chicken
o   5-6 lb pork loin
o   3 lb ground beef
o   2 lb Italian sausage
·         Produce
o   6 onion
o   Celery
o   carrots
o   11 cloves garlic
o   7 green peppers
o   ¼ cup parsley
o   20 oz frozen spinach
·         Staples List
o   Italian seasoning
o   dill
o   Brown sugar
o   Oregano
o   Vegetable oil
o   Salt
o   Pepper
o   Basil
o   Bay leaf
o   flour
o   Red pepper flakes
·         Freezer Containers
o   18 Gallon Freezer Bags
o   1 9x13 pan
Meals
·         Crockpot Ravioli Casserole
·         Stuffed Bell Peppers--Old family recipe
·         Café Rio Pork--From Jenni W.
·         Alcohol Pasta--From Jenni W.
·         Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup
·         Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken
Recipes for the Freezer Meals
1.       Crockpot Chicken and Stuffing Recipe (1/2)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      1 lb chicken
                                                             ii.      1 cup chicken broth
                                                            iii.      1 box stuffing mix
                                                           iv.      1 can cream of chicken soup
                                                             v.      ½ cup water
b.      Assembly Directions
                                                               i.      Put all ingredients in a Freezer bag.
c.       Cook Directions
                                                               i.      Thaw and Put in a crock pot on low for 6 hours
2.       Crockpot Ravioli Casserole (2/4)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      3 lb ground beef
                                                             ii.      2 onions, chopped
                                                            iii.      2 clove garlic, minced
                                                           iv.      2 (15 oz)can tomato sauce
                                                             v.      2 can stewed tomatoes
                                                           vi.      2 t Italian seasoning
                                                          vii.      32 oz bowtie pasta
                                                        viii.      1 cup parmesan cheese
                                                           ix.      3 cup mozzarella
                                                             x.      2 t oregano
                                                           xi.      20 oz frozen spinach
b.      Assembly Directions
                                                               i.      Brown ground beef, onion, and garlic.
                                                             ii.      Divide meat mixture, tomato sauce, stewed tomatoes, oregano, and Italian seasoning between 2 freezer bags
c.       Cook directions
                                                               i.      Thaw.  Dump into crock pot and cook on low for 6-7 hours.  Add the 16 oz pasta, 10 oz spinach, ½ cup parmesan, 1 ½ cup mozzarella during the last 30 minutes. 
3.       Stuffed Bell Peppers (1/3)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      7 green peppers, 6 whole and 1 chopped
                                                             ii.      2 T vegetable oil
                                                            iii.      1 onion, chopped
                                                           iv.      1 lb ground beef
                                                             v.      1 t garlic
                                                           vi.      ¼ cup parsley
                                                          vii.      ¾ t salt
                                                        viii.      ½ t pepper
                                                           ix.      Pinch red pepper flakes
                                                             x.      2 cups cooked rice
                                                           xi.      8 oz tomato sauce
                                                          xii.      Water
b.      Assembly Directions
                                                               i.      Brown meat, onion, and garlic with oil.  Mix meat with spices, rice, and tomato sauce. 
                                                             ii.      Stuff the peppers and place them in the freezer pan.  Cover and freeze.
c.       Cook Directions
                                                               i.      Thaw.  Cover bottom of pan with water.  Bake 20-30 minutes.  Let rest for 10 minutes before serving.
4.       Café Rio Pork (3/6)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      5-6 lb pork loin (divided in 3)
                                                             ii.      1 jar pace picante sauce
                                                            iii.      1 cup brown sugar
b.      Assembly directions
                                                               i.      Cut the pork into 3.  Divide meat, picante sauce, and brown sugar between 3 freezer bags
c.       Cook directions
                                                               i.      Thaw.  Crock pot on High 6-8 hours.  Shred and serve in tacos or on salad.
5.       Alcohol Pasta (4/8)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      16 oz pasta
                                                             ii.      4 cups heavy cream
                                                            iii.      84 oz Italian style tomatoes
                                                           iv.      2 cup parmesan cheese
                                                             v.      2 cup red wine
                                                           vi.      2 onion
                                                          vii.      2 lb Italian sausage
                                                        viii.      8 cloves garlic, minced
b.      Assembly directions
                                                               i.      Brown sausage, garlic, and onion.
                                                             ii.      Divide meat mixture and tomatoes between 4 freezer bags.
c.       Cook directions. 
                                                               i.      Thaw.  Put into a pot with cream, cheese, and wine.  Bring to a boil and allow to simmer 20-30 minutes.  DO NOT COVER!
                                                             ii.      Cook 4 oz pasta and add to sauce.
6.       Tomato Basil Parmesan Soup (2/4)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      2 (15 oz) can diced tomatoes
                                                             ii.      1 cup finely diced celery
                                                            iii.      1 cup finely diced carrots
                                                           iv.      1 cup finely diced onions
                                                             v.      1 tsp dried oregano
                                                           vi.      1 T dried basil
                                                          vii.      4 cups chicken broth
                                                        viii.      1 bay leaf
                                                           ix.      ½ cup flour
                                                             x.      1 cup parmesan cheese
                                                           xi.      ½ cup butter
                                                          xii.      2 cups half and half, warmed
                                                        xiii.      1 t salt
                                                        xiv.      ¼ t pepper
b.      Assembly Directions
                                                               i.      Divide tomatoes, celery, carrots, onions, oregano, basil, chicken broth, salt, pepper, and bay between 2 freezer bags.
c.       Cook Directions
                                                               i.      Thaw dump into crock pot and cook on low for 5-7 hours
                                                             ii.      About 30 minutes before serving prepare a roux.  Mix ¼ cup butter over low heat in a skillet and add ¼ cup flour.  Stir constantly with a whisk for 5-7 minutes.  Slowly stir in 1 cup hot soup.  Add another 3 cups and stir until smooth.  Add all back into the slow cooker.  Add ½ cup parmesan cheese, and 1 cup warmed half and half.  Add additional basil and oregano. 
                                                            iii.      Cover and cook on low another 30 minutes or so until ready to serve.
7.       Crusted Honey Mustard Chicken (6/6)
a.       Ingredients
                                                               i.      2 cups lite honey mustard dressing
                                                             ii.      3/8 t salt
                                                            iii.      3/8 pepper
                                                           iv.      6 tsp dill
                                                             v.      3 cups cornflake crumbs
                                                           vi.      3 lbs chicken, cut in strips
b.      Assembly.
                                                               i.      Divide all except cornflakes between 6 freezer bags.
c.       Cook directions.
                                                               i.      Thaw chicken.  Preheat oven to 425.  Coat a pan with cooking spray. Dredge chicken in cornflake crumbs and place on the pan.  Bake until chicken is golden and no longer pink in the center, about 15 minutes.  Serve with veggies and sweet potato fries.