My Sick Bubby!

My Little man is sick and has been very sick for 2 weeks! This was taken today! There is nothing more heartbreaking than when your child is hurting or sick! They are so vulnerable so needing of their Mommy. Fevers are so scary, but these Be Cool gels for the forehead are a God-send! I love them and so does Grant, he loves to keep them on his little head! Even when he is sick he is such a little doll baby!

Take Out!

We have the best little Mom & Pop Chinese food place down the street from us. It is ranked top 10 in the COUNTRY! Dragon Village Restaurant. It is amazingly well-priced and the quality is untouched by anywhere else I have ever eaten. The small eatery is always packed full of patrons. They use the best quality of meat and vegetables. The meat is lean, the chicken is all-white and tender, the shrimp is large and plump. The portions are more than you can eat at one sitting making excellent leftovers the next day! Every once in a while I love to order take-out, I would rather get take out than go to a restaurant and eat out. All the kids love it. Grant begs for "I-knees food" Carter and he both love the Orange Chicken. Gabrielle loves the Sesame Chicken and the Cashew Chicken and will alternate between the two. Lately I have been on a Curry kick and have stayed from my usual Schezuan Beef, both choices are delicious! If you live in town I highly recommend it!

Twilight Frenzy!!!

Finally Gabrielle is interested in reading and it is all because of Twilight! I bought her all four of the books for Christmas. i gave the first one to her early! it did not take long for her to become completely submersed in its pages! She was reading all of the time and finished the first book within a week and began the second, then the third and is now reading the fourth and final installment of the Edward/Bella saga. I told her she could not go to see the movie until she read the book and she upheld her end of the bargin. I had intended to read the books also but life, school, work and kids have prevented me from actually getting around to it. On March 21st at midnight the movie was released to video. Walmart was holding a Twilight Release Party with cake and prizes. Although I had to work the next day, Gabrielle and I traveled to the nearest Walmart and hung out until the video's release at midnight. We were first to claim a number and it's a good thing becuae the did end up running out of the video that night! Of course there has been several million around town since but being there to claim it on the first day of the release is a sort of victory!

For Christmas I photoshopped a photo of Gabrielle and Edward together, the "hero" of the story, the guy all the ladies are swooning over! I had it framed for her and it hangs in her bedroom. All her friends are jealous and I know she treasures it. We watched the movie and I must say it was quite fantastic, corney yet romantic. Gabrielle said the book was much better, I can't wiat to read it this summer when I have more free time... in theory!

Sandra's Best Pot Roast Ever!

Sandra's Best Pot Roast Ever!

1 2-3lb roast -- any cut you like
1 20 oz can of Cream of Chicken Soup
1 cup of Chicken Stock
1 packet of Buttermilk Ranch Dressing
1 packet of Italian Seasoning
1 packet of Brown Gravy Mix
1 can of corn drained
1 can of diced tomatoes drained
1 tablespoon minced garlic

5-6 cups of your families favorite veggies-- Celery, Potatoes, Carrots, Onion, Zucchini, Peppers, Cauliflower, mix and match anything you wish

I used ....
Onions
Fresh Broccoli
Fresh Mushrooms
Sliced Carrots
Red Potatoes

1. Mix together the cream of chicken soup, 1 cup of chicken stock, the packets of Ranch and Itailan Dressing and the Brown Gravy Mix, drained corn and drained tomatoes and the minced garlic. Blend well.

2. Place roast and veggies in crockpot or large roasting pan or dutch oven. Pour gravy mixture over the top of the roast and veggies!

3. The flavor is best when cooked in crockpot on low over 8 hours. This also tastes wonderful if cooked in the oven in a covered roasting pan or dutch oven on 375 for 1 hour and 45 minutes. (cooking time may vary depending on size of Roast and type of oven)

Everyone in my family loves my Pot Roast! It is one of their favorites! Even the boys love it! Grant attacks any meal I make as soon as it is on the table. He is always sneaking nibbles off the main plate. I was trying to get a picture of my pretty roast but Grant would not keep his grubby little paws off it so I asked both boys to come take a posed picture in front of my roast. Both boys went to lick the roast at the same time. I snapped the picture first and yelled second, not only because ewwww that is disgusting but it was HOT! Really really hot and I didn't want them getting burned tongues! It made for a great picture though and it was completely unprompted, it was a completely spontaneous move on their part.

Stop the Sniffles!!!

All three of my kids have been sick for a week! There is nothing better than a bowl of homemade Chicken noodle soup when you are feeling under the weather! This is my version of Chicken Noodle soup! You can adjust your spices to your taste! Also look at the two bottom pictures for some cute entertainment, I get free comedy like that everytime I cook, this is them sick, imagine when they are feeling better!!

~Sandra's Chicken Noodle Soup~

1 3lb bag of frozen Chicken Breast

1 qt of Chicken Broth

1 can of Corn

1 bag of Shredded Carrots

3/4 bunch of Celery

1 large Onion

1 tablespoon of Minced Garlic

1 bag of Wide Whole Wheat Egg Noodles

3 tablespoons of Chicken Boullion

1 tablespoon of Bbasil

1 teaspoon of Rosmary

1 teaspoon of ground Thyme

1 teaspoon of Oregano

1 teaspoon of Pepper

Salt to personal taste

1. Boil Frozen chicken in a large pot with 16 cups of water, 3 tbls of bullion and all spices for 45 minutes. Remove Chicken from boiling water.

2. While chicken cools, add all veggies to the pot and let simmer to soften the veggies and shrink the mushrooms. When chicken is cool enough to handle, shred into bite size pieces. Add shredded Chicken back to pot. Add the chicken broth and additional water if needed to cover chicken and veggies. Add the egg noodles and simmer until done. Salt to taste and serve!

This makes a lot of soup, enough to freeze 1 gallon and have 1 gallon for leftovers!

The First Day of Spring!

I spotted this beautiful little area behind a Subway restaurant near my house! There was no private property sign so I brought the kids down for some spring photos. It was, after all, the very first day of spring! Carter was not very cooperative but it was still a good time!

Sweet and Sour Meatballs!

I am going to immitate the Pioneer Woman and incorporate my two favorite things! Photography and Cooking! I love love love to cook! I cook dinner for my family almost every night! It is my simple gift to my family, a home-cooked meal. I love to try new things, I do have a few favoites though! Here is one of them! Sweet and Sour Meatballs! It is very tangy, it freezes well and makes great leftovers for lunch the following day!

Here are the ingredients.......


And of course I forgot to set this in the picture!

peel the onion and seed the peppers

Chop them all into bite size chunks

Toss into a pot with 2 cups of Chicken Stock and let

simmer until the veggies soften a bit, but not too much.

Add the soy sauce, cider vinegar, cornstarch, and sugar mixture

and let simmer to thicken!

The finished product!

The way I like it, a little spice with my sweet and sour, some spicy HOT Sriracha sauce, a staple in my house!

Yummy!

Sweet & Sour Meatballs
1 Large Bag of Prepackaged Meatballs
3-4 Peppers --- Green, Red, and/or Yellow
1-2 Yellow Onions depending on size
2 cans Pineapple Chunks--- drained with juice reserved
2 cups of Chicken Stock (equal to one can)
1/2 cup of Sugar
3 Tablespoons of Cornstarch
1/2 cup of Cider Vinegar
3 Tablespoons of Soy Sauce
---White or Brown Rice
1. Drain pineapple, reserve 1/2 a cup of the juice in a mixing bowl.

2. Warm approximately 40 meatballs in a glass dish in the microwave, you can put them on defrost for 5 minutes. Then cook them an additional 2 minutes. Don't over cook them. Blot the grease of with a paper towel. Transfer them to a large pot.

3. Cut Onion(s) and Peppers into 1in x 1in chunks (bite size)

4. Add Peppers, Onions, drained Pineapple chunks, and the chicken broth to the meatballs and bring to a boil, be careful it doesn't burn on the bottom, stir often. After it begins boiling reduce the heat and simmer for 5-7 minutes.

5. Get your mixing bowl of Pineapple juice and add the vinegar, soy sauce, sugar and cornstarch and whisk together until smooth.

6. Pour the Vinegar/cornstarch mixture into the meatball pot. Bring back to a boil and stir for 2 minutes or until mixture thickens

7. Serve over brown rice.