Update

Wow so its been a very very long time since I updated. Wince I last updated a lot has happened. We moved from Utah to Texas. We love it here and have really enjoyed it. The trip here was a little crazy. Marc flew down to go to interviews and came home and said we had one week to pack my 6 bedroom home and find a place unseen in Texas to live. I was able to find a 4 bedroom apartment within out price range. We packed everything and left Utah (me in tears along with my family). We left Utah about 8am on friday morning and got to grants NM at about 7pm Friday night. It was a long slow drive. I was following Marc who was driving the U-haul. We had dinner with the boys grandpa and then Marc and I crawled into bed for a few hours of sleep. We woke up at 1am and loaded all the kids up and headed out. We had to be to our apartment by 3:30 saturday afternoon in order to sign papers. If we didnt make it we had to wait until Monday. We got about halfway through texas and relized we were not going to make it because the U-haul was to slow. Marc sent me on ahead. Can I say how scary that was. I had no map or anything just Marcs instructions. I had never driven anywere alone like that before. I did make it at 3:30 on the dot thank you to Marcs brother Jaren who lives in Texas just 10 minutes from our apartment. We got the papers signed and were able to move in. Thank you to all the guys in Jarens ward we were able to unload the whole truck that night and not have to worry about it. So far were loving it here. Now I am going to update you on everyone lol.

Marc is working as a temp. worker for Dell on there assembly line. He is trying to get hired on full time with them doing tech support. He works nights and we all hate it. He leaves at 3pm and gets home at 2am. He then sleeps until 10:30 when I have to leave for work. I get home and see him for 2 hours before he is gone again. The kids dont get to see him except on weekends. We all Hate it.

I am working in Jacksons school as a lunchroom monitor. I love it. I am trying to get hired full time some were in the district so that I can have the same time off as my kids. So far no luck.

Hunter is in the 6th grade now which in Texas means middle school. He is taking band and learning to play the clarinet. He loves it. He also found a soccer team here and just finished up the season. He plays defender.


Haylie is also in the 6th grade and loving school. She is taking drama and LOVES it. She is my happy go lucky girl that has been a big help. She even babysits for me now.


Isaac is in the 5th grade and loving his school. He had to get glasses and looks awsome in them and will finally keep them on. He loves his teacher and for the most part is a happy kid.

Jackson is in the 5th grade and is also loving school. We have had some behavior issues but he seems to work his way out of them pretty ok. He is still a very active kid.

Zander is almost 3 (were did my baby go). He is fully potty trained now (yippee) and a very busy guy. He never stops. He quit taking naps when we moved and still doesnt go to bed until about 9:30 every night. He loves to draw and dance. He also loves to play on the computer.

I tried to upload videos of the kids but its not working. I have to get ready for work so I will try again later.

Stuffed Tuna shells (Step by Step)

OK yes I know I havent posted in FOREVER. I am posting this for a friend of mine Nina. I will post an update (there is a lot) later tonight after kids get to bed.


STUFFED TUNA SHELLS


Ingredients

1 box LARGE shells
2 jars alfredo sauce
3-4 cans Tuna drained (if you dont like Tuna I am sure you could used cooked shredded chicken or even canned chicken)
2 celery stalks
1 small yellow onion
Salt and pepper
Shredded cheese 

Preheat your oven to 450 and spay a 9x11 dish with cooking spray.

Bring a large pot of water to a boil and add your shells (stir every so often so they dont stick to the bottom)

While your pasta shells are cooking chop your celery and onion (i used red onion because its what I had normally I use yellow) and put them in a medium bowl

Add Tuna

Add one jar of Alfredo sauce, salt and pepper and stir.

When your noodles are cooked pour them into a colander and rinse with cold water.

Take a spoon full of your tuna (or chicken) mixture and add it to the inside of a shell. Place in your baking dish,

Continue until your dish is full and you have no more mixture (I usually have extra shells. I have yet to get it down to exactly how many to cook and I do extra in case some tear while cooking).

Take your second jar of Alfredo and pour over the shells and spread with a spoon until there completely covered.

Top with shredded cheese.

Place in your preheated oven (I have au gratin potatoes already in there.)

Bake for 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and enjoy. There that easy.

Wow

OK so its been a while. Here is why I havent been updating or posting new recipes. IM MOVING. Its been a little hectic. We have put our house up for sale. We had to paint the basement and finish up some things down in the basement, had the carpets cleaned, boxed up a ton of stuff. Its been busy. In 1 week we have had about 10 showing of the house. We have another tomorrow. You ask well why are you moving and were are you moving to? We are moving because we just cant make ends meet here. So we have looked into moving to Colorado but they are the same as here as far as cost of living and wages, we looked into New Mexico. Not really the place for us. Then we looked into Austin Texas and loved that idea. Cost of living is cheaper and wages are higher. We have only heard good things about it down there. So we put the house on the market and Marc is looking for a job down there. As soon as he finds a job he will find a place for us to live and off we go. I amexcited but scared all at the same time. So that is why I havent been on much. I will try to get on more now that things are started to slow down a bit.

Creamy Pesto Chicken and Bow Ties

Not a great picture sorry.

2 TBS butter
1 lb skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into cubes
1 can (10 3/4 oz)  condensed cream of chicken soup
1/2 cup milk
1/2 cup prepared pesto sauce
3 cups bow tie-shaped pasta, cooked and drained

1. Heat the butter in a 10 inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and cook until it's well browned, stirring often.
2. Stir in soup, milk, and pesto sauce into the skillet. Heat to a boil. Reduce the heat to low. Cover and cook for 5 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through. Stir in pasta. Cook until its hot.

My family gave this a 4 out of 5 stars.
It was very rich in flavor and super easy to make. This will definantly be a regular meal here.

Cream cheese Chicken Cresent rolls

My friend Toni gave me this recipe. (I forgot to take a picture so I stole one from off the internet lol)

2 Chicken breast cooked and shredded

1 pkg Cream cheese

2-3 pkgs cresent rolls (it depends on how full you fill them)

Mix the shredded chicken with the cream cheese.Salt and pepper to taste. Put a spoonful on a cresent roll. Roll it up and put it on a backing sheet. Continue until you have no more rolls. Bake at 350 degrees for about 11 minutes or until the cresent rolls are lightly brown.

My family gave this a 5 stars. I made 24 of them and we ate every last one of them and could have eaten more. Definantly a family favorite.

I have seen a few variations of this recipe. Mine is the simple one. I have seen recipes that call for 1 small onion diced, 1 tsp milk and one egg. If you want to go with the added things. Add the onion to the main chicken mixture. Once you have your rolls stuffed and rolled mix the milk and egg together and spread it over the rolls.

Super Burritos

OK this was a yummy easy recipe. I got it out of one of my new Better Homes and Gardens New cookbook 15th edition. It was pretty easy to make.

Ingredients


1 pound lean ground beef

1 cup chopped onion (1 large)

1/2 cup chopped green sweet pepper (1 small)

1 clove garlic, minced

1/4 cup water

1 tablespoon medium or hot chili powder

1/4 teaspoon ground cumin

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 cup cooked rice

1 4-ounce can diced green chile peppers, drained

8 10-inch flour tortillas

1-1/2 cups shredded Monterey Jack or cheddar cheese (6 ounces)

1 cup chopped tomato (1 large)

2 cups shredded lettuce

1 recipe Guacamole or frozen avocado dip (guacamole), thawed

Bottled salsa (optional)

Directions

For filling, in a large skillet cook ground beef, onion, sweet pepper, and garlic until meat is brown and onion is tender. Drain off fat. Stir in water, chili powder, cumin, and salt. Cook about 5 minutes or until most of the water has evaporated. Remove from heat. Stir in cooked rice and chile peppers.



Meanwhile, wrap tortillas tightly in foil. Heat in a 350 degree F oven for 10 minutes to soften. (When ready to fill tortillas, remove only half of them at a time, keeping remaining tortillas warm in the oven.)



Spoon about 1/2 cup filling onto each tortilla just below the center. Top filling with cheese and tomato. Fold bottom edge of each tortilla up and over filling. Fold opposite sides in and over filling. Roll up from the bottom. Secure with wooden toothpicks.



Arrange burritos on a baking sheet, seam sides down. Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 10 to 12 minutes or until heated through. Remove and discard toothpicks. Serve warm burritos on lettuce with Guacamole and, if desired, salsa.



Makes 8 burritos



I say my family gave this recipe a 4 out of 5 stars. The only thing I personally didnt like is it didnt have enough flavor for me. I think next time I will add more of something just not sure what lol.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ok So I have decided to make my family expand there eating horizons. I bought 3 new cookbooks. I am going to pick 2-3 meals a week to make them that they have never had. When I do this I will post them here with the recipe, a picture, a star rating of up to a 5 and if I would do anything diffrent the next time. Here is the first one. This is not from a cook book. This is something I decided to just throw together out of stuff that was in my house.

Chicken Pot Pie

2-3 Carrots peeled and diced
2-3 potatoes peeled and diced
1 small onion diced
2-3 boneless skinless chicken breast cooked and diced
1 cup frozen peas
1 large can cream of chicken or celery soup
Chicken broth (enough to cover the vegetables while they cook)
salt
pepper
Bisquick

Take the potatoes, carrots and onion and put them in a pot; use chicken broth to just cover the vegetables while they cook. When your vegetables are tender add the chicken, peas, and cream of chicken or celery soup and salt and pepper to taste. Pour into a baking dish. Make the bisquick according to the package for biscuts and drop by the spoonfull on top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes or until the biscuts are golden brown.

My family gave this a 4 out of 5 stars