Freezer Meals

Last week my friend came over so we could make some freezer meals. I don't do a ton of complete freezer meals, but I do a few things that help make dinner faster and easier. When my friend was here we made meatballs, cooked ground beef, shredded chicken and a freezer meal from THIS website. I gave my friend a list of dinners with recipes she could make easily by using her cooked ground beef, shredded chicken or the meatballs. When you cook meat and then freeze it, you save a ton of time when it comes to making dinner. I always have cooked ground beef and chicken in the freezer and I try and keep my pantry full of things I can use for casseroles, soups, chili, pasta dishes, etc. When I make my grocery list I first make a menu for that week and then make my list off of that. Lots of times I don't have to buy any meat or pantry items since I already have them. I also like to look for sales and buy lots of meat when it's on sale and then cook and freeze it (freeze in 2 cup portions) or make a freezer meal. Today I saw that chicken thighs were on sale at Smiths for 99 cents a pound. I LOVE chicken thighs because they are so cheap and I think they taste better than chicken breasts. Today I baked my chicken at 375 for an hour, covered. Once it's cooked the skin comes right off and the chicken just falls off the bone. I paid $5.76 for the chicken and I can make three meals from that as well as have enough for leftovers for lunch. Want to save money on ground beef? Smiths marks down their beef EVERY MORNING. Whatever they did not sale the day before gets marked down the next morning. It has to get marked down by 9 a.m. so go shopping early to get the good deals. My friend got ground beef for $1.99 a pound last week because she looked for the marked down packages. (They don't always have marked down beef - it's only if they don't sell it all the day before. Talk to the butcher at your favorite store and ask when they put out their marked down meat to get the best deals) I also keep lots of frozen veggies ready for side dishes and have chopped lettuce ready to make a quick salad for dinner. I buy a package of 3 Romain hearts at Smiths for $2.99. I wash and then chop the lettuce, place it in a ziplock bag with a paper towel and I have lettuce ready for salad or sandwiches all week long. I love adding chopped apples and dried cranberries to salads, or chopped dried apricots and croutons. And when it's all ready to go I'm more motivated to make a salad for lunch or dinner or to add lettuce to my sandwiches. I love cooking dinner for my family and with our schedules getting busy and me going back to work (yay!) it's nice to know I can do a little prep work ahead of time and keep dinner one of my favorite times of the day.

It's beginning to look a lot like Spring

Once Christmas is over I am ready for Spring. I am not a lover of winter and cold. I like warm weather, sunshine, flowers and greens leaves on trees. Lately, something I look forward to after Christmas is getting my garden ready for planting. Living in Las Vegas we can plant and grow things almost all year long. My parsley survived the below freezing temperatures we had back in the beginning of December and it's still growing so well. I planted it in August. I just picked a strawberry today - since I planted my strawberry plants last February we've had fruit from it practically all year. Sometimes just one or two berries at a time, but it's fun to pick and eat your own. Today I worked in the garden covering my asparagus with dirt and getting ready for it to start growing soon. I usually get the first asparagus sprouts in February and it grows until about July. Tomorrow I am going to plant lettuce, spinach and some more herbs(basil and parsley since that is what I use the most in cooking). In February I will plant green beans and then in March I will plant Butternut squash, pumpkins and watermelon. I have not gotten those to grow yet, but I am hoping this year I can get something. I bought a peach tree last year and planted it in the fall and I just ordered a blueberry bush that will come in February for planting. If you don't have the yard space for a garden or if you're new to gardening you can try a container garden. Get a few pots, fill them with some good soil and plant a few things you like to eat. Some good plants to grow in containers would be strawberries, lettuce, spinach, herbs. You can even plant pumpkins, watermelon or other vine plants in a container. I also love planting flowers so I put some new yellow pansies in my front yard and I have some flower seeds coming in the mail that I will plant throughout the garden for some color. If you want to learn more about gardening BYU has a FREE online gardening class. Click here and then scroll down and click on the gardening link.

These are the strawberry plants I put in last February. The leaves are yellow and red from the cooler temperatures but soon they will green up and start producing white flowers and lots of strawberries. These plants will produce fruit for the next 3-5 years.

I planted this parsley in August in this little pot to see how it would grow. It survived the cold snap in December and is growing great. I love having it to toss into soups, Italian dishes and any recipe that calls for parsley. Fresh herbs just make things taste better. Some herbs can grow all year in Vegas - or when it gets cold you can bring your pots indoors and have a kitchen herb garden.

The lower portion I am going to plant lettuce (3 different kinds) as well as spinach, parsley and basil. The top potion is where my asparagus is. The asparagus starts growing in February here because of the warm temperatures. Asparagus takes 2-3 years to get established and then it will grow for about 15-20 years. It grows well here and takes very little care.

When you feel like a crap mom

Last night I felt like a crap mom. T was fighting with L and I was sick of it, so I didn't do anything about it. I just kept cooking dinner and told them to work it out. Well, they worked it out all right. Someone got hit, someone got yelled at and sent to their room and I ended up crying over the whole thing and wishing I had handled the situation differently. It's like that a lot with my first one. I didn't know how to be a mom when he was born. I was totally clueless. Throw in postpartum depression for the first 6 weeks of his life and I was a mess. He was fed and clothed but I don't know if he was loved like he should have been. It took me a while to learn to love him. It wasn't instant like people told me it would be. He was a stranger and I had to get to know him and get used to him and learn to like him. It's been a rocky relationship with us. There have been times when he was my whole world and my favorite thing was to just sit and hold him. As he got older I loved teaching him and reading to him and just being with him. But when more kids came along and more problems and issues I had more bad mom days than good. And now he's almost 11 and sometimes the last thing he wants is to hang out with his mom. I mess up a lot with him. I say or do the wrong things and then I have to make up for it later with an apology and an explanation that I've never had a ten year old son before, so I don't always know what to do. There are times when more than anything I want to go back in time and start over with him because now I know what I am supposed to do. If I could do it again I would be a better mom to him. I feel like he's my experiment and I feel bad about that. I wish he wasn't. I wish I had been given a practice child before him, one that wasn't real and I couldn't hurt, but I could learn from. But then I look at him and I know why he was born first. He is stronger than the other two and there are things I needed to learn from him before they came along. I was thinking about this last night and so I wrote him a letter. I told T how alike we are, how when I was in elementary school I also got teased because I wasn't good at throwing or kicking or catching a ball. I told him how I also liked to come home after school and go to my room and close the door and sit and read and not be bothered. How I started ballet lessons at the age of 10 just like he started karate this year. And then I told him what I see when I look at him. That despite his challenges with ADD and friends and self esteem that I look at him and see someone who is strong, faithful, brave, obedient and a protector of little brothers. I told him that his brothers look up to him and to them he is a hero. I told him that when I look in his eyes I see something so special and that I know that some day he will do great things. I left the letter in his room where he would see it this morning. And he did. When I came in this morning he said, "I read your note. Thanks Mom." He gave me a hug and I realized that even though I mess up and make mistakes there are times when I do just the right thing. And now I see that he's mine for a reason and that I am the mom he needed to become who he is going to be.

An empty manger

One of the traditions we have for Christmas started a few years ago at a Christmas dinner our church had for the women. At the dinner they read a story to us called "The Last Straw". The story was about a family with young children and how their mother got her children to get along during the month of December by having them do kind things for one another. As they did their service for their family members, the children got to place a soft piece of straw in an empty manger. Their mother told them that the more nice things they did, the softer the manger would be for Baby Jesus on Christmas morning. The story focuses on service and love in our homes and how we can focus more on Christ at Christmastime. For a gift that night at the dinner, we each got a copy of the story as well as a little wooden manger to fill with straw and every year we focus on filling that manger. As soon as the Christmas decorations are up, we read the story to the kids and talk about all of the gifts we can give to Jesus during the month of December. We encourage our kids to be kind to one another and to their friends at school and when they do service for someone else they get to put a piece of straw in the manger. I love walking by the manger at Christmas and seeing the pieces of straw inside. I love that instead of telling them they need to be good because Santa is watching, we focus on reminding them that they need to try and be more like Jesus. It's all about Christ and the gifts we can give to HIM for his birthday. My kids have already been filling the manger. Logan drew a baby Jesus and an angel to sit by the straw and manger to remind everyone what we need to do. We have already had lots of little conversations about Christ and service and having more peace in our home this holiday season. I love this little tradition and the way it reminds us about the true meaning of Christmas.

5 year-olds aren't dumb

Did you know that yesterday was Don't Send Your Child To School day? It was a protest created by parents who are against Common Core. I had read a little about it, but I don't think anyone here really knew, or even cared. And even if I did care, what would keeping my kids home for one day accomplish? I say, instead of keeping your kids home from school, maybe those parents can go to school with their kids and volunteer in their child's classroom. That is what I did yesterday. Every Monday I help in my son's kindergarten class. I have asked his teacher what she thinks of Common Core and you might be surprised at her answer. She loves it. She also loves that she now teaches full-day kindergarten so she can better cover all of the standards she is supposed to. When I told her lots of parents hate Common Core and are very opposed to it she asked me why. I told her the comments and articles I have read state that those who are opposed to it believe that Common Core "is dumbing down our kids" and that it is a "one size fits all curriculum." Really? If you think that, you might want to visit my son's kindergarten class. In the first 30 minutes of class yesterday this is what I observed: kids who were further ahead reading books and taking AR tests on the computer for the books they were reading; kids who needed a little extra help with sight words working with me while the kids who still needed a little extra help with counting, letter sounds, shapes, etc. working with their teacher at the front of the room. In 30 minutes, every child was getting what they needed at the level they needed. After that I saw kids on the computer with a program that adjusts to their learning level; kids who did not know their letters or sounds at the beginning of the school year sounding out letters and then blending those sounds to read words; kids who did not know how to write at the beginning of the school year writing 3 sentences and then drawing a picture to go along with their sentences; kids reading with their teacher books that were at their level. It's November and every child in that classroom is reading. Every.Single.One. They might not all be reading a the same level, but they are all reading. That didn't happen when I was in kindergarten. That didn't happen when my 10 year old was in kindergarten. Yes, I remember painting in kindergarten and playing with clay and coloring more and playing games and doing puzzles, singing songs and having recess. And that was good and fun, but to see my 5 year old reading books way earlier than I was reading books is amazing to me. I don't know everything about Common Core, but I have looked up the standards for my children and the grades they are in. I have also looked up the standards for the areas I used to teach. I don't see anything scary or horrifying or evil. It's going to look different in every state in every district in every school and even in every classroom because they are STANDARDS not CURRICULUM. There is a big difference. If I thought it was horrible and terrible I would take my kids out of school and teach them at home. But I don't think that. I love the school my kids go to and I love their teachers. I go in their classrooms and I help, I watch, I see what they are learning and how they are learning and I am impressed. They are learning more right now than I did when I was there age. They are smart and they can do it. My son's teacher said to his class yesterday, "What do we say when people tell us, 'A 5 year old can't do that'?" and the class said in unison, "We can do it!"

Home

It was time for new family pictures and I decided I wanted to do them at home. We're a family who likes to be home. We like sleeping in on weekends and being lazy, staying in pajamas and not making any plans. We like quite nights reading books together all cuddled on the couch or our big bed. We like family movie nights in the TV room and game nights around the kitchen table. I'd rather invite friends over for dinner, dessert and games than go out for a night on the town. I love when our kids bring their friends over to play. I enjoy being home and the feeling when we're all here together. Our house isn't always clean (and right now it's seriously a mess) and we don't always get along, but if I had to pick my favorite place to be it would be home. Here are some of my favorite pictures...

Pumpkin pancakes and Buttermilk Syrup

Last night I made breakfast for dinner and I've been wanting to try these Pumpkin Pancakes from Pioneer Woman. I changed the recipe just a little and made Buttermilk Syrup to go with them. Before we ate I didn't tell the kids they were pumpkin because I didn't know if they would think that was gross or what. But after the first bite all I heard from them was how yummy they were. I think Colin's words were, "I don't know if it's the pancakes or the syrup, but this is the best thing you've ever made." Really? Wow. To get a food compliment from that boy is HUGE. Logan loved them as well and ate a ton of them (5 or 6) and Trevor raved, like always since that boy will eat anything. This recipe is definitely a keeper and something that will be fun to make in the fall for special breakfasts or for a fun dinner. Here are the recipes:

Pumpkin Pancakes (this recipe made 30 silver dollar pancakes)
1 1/2 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon baking powder
1 1/2 tablespoon sugar
1 cup canned pumpkin (or fresh pureed pumpkin)
1 egg
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/4 cup milk
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg

Mix dry ingredients and spices. In a separate bowl combine the wet ingredients and mix until well blended. Mix into dry and stir until moistened. (I added chocolate chips to half the batter).

Buttermilk Syrup (tastes like caramel)
In a sauce pan melt 1 stick of butter. Add 1 tablespoon corn syrup, 1 cup sugar and 1/2 cup buttermilk (or 1/4 cup sour cream and 1/4 cup milk). Bring to a boil over medium-low heat, stirring constantly. Immediately remove from heat and do not allow to come to a full boil or it will curdle. Stir in 1 teaspoon vanilla and 1/2 teaspoon baking powder. It will foam up, so make sure the pan is big enough. Serve while still warm.