Thursday, October 30, 2008

Happy Halloween

I don't know when Neil became so opinionated. As of Tuesday, he was going to be Mickey Mouse (because I am lazy and that is the costume we have that fits him). All of the sudden he started saying that he was not going to be Mickey. The boy is 2. The kids are obsessed with Toy Story right now, so luckily Heather saved me by lending me this Woody costume and gave me the tip that there was a Buzz Lightyear costume at the DI. Joshua hasn't taken it off in 2 days and Neil is currently napping in his costume.
Last weekend we were up in Logan with my family and went to the Pumpkin Walk. Here's the boys by the KungFu Panda pumpkins.

The funny thing about this picture is that the girl who put her face in the Yoda cut-out after Josh got her head stuck in the hole. It was not pretty..

And who knew that glow in the dark fangs from the dollar store would provide such entertainment..

Thursday, October 23, 2008

Home again and Kirsten's Recipe Tag

Well, I am back from San Francisco. I tagged along with Russ on a business trip and of the 5 pictures I took, none of them are very good, but since my favorite part of reading blogs is the pictures, I have included the gorgeous view from Alcatraz looking back on the city. We've had a busy couple weeks with the trip and getting ready to remodel our kitchen(don't worry, I will document with before and after pictures). Oh yes, and Russ was called as Bishop of our ward, which will surely bring about some changes in our family.

On an unrelated note, Kirsten started a recipe tag-- I love this idea because especially during pregnancy, I have the hardest time coming up with dinner ideas. Everyone who reads this is required to participate :-) and to post a recipe on your own blog. Let me know in comments if you have posted something. I will look forward to all sorts of delicious new simple dinner ideas. Here's one of our favorite standby recipes.

Chicken Pesto Pasta
1 lb penne pasta, cooked
2-3 cooked sliced chicken breasts (I often bake the chicken seasoned with garlic powder, salt & pepper, or even better when we have leftover grilled chicken)
1/2 pint of cream (or milk)
~1/2 cup of prepared pesto to taste
handful of parmesan cheese
sprinkle of garlic salt

Cook the pasta. In a sauce pan, mix the cream, pesto, parmesan cheese and garlic salt. Heat until warm. Mix pasta, chicken and sauce all together and sprinkle some more parmesan cheese on top.

AND, just because that was so easy, here's a bonus recipe. This one I cannot take credit for. It comes from my gormet cook friend Christy, but it has also become a family favorite.

Green Chicken Tacos
3-4 cooked chicken breasts (shredded)
8 oz cream cheese
1-2 cloves garlic
½ red onion chopped
~1/2 bottle green chili sauce (I usually use pace green taco sauce)
dash oregano
1 t. cumin
Tortillas, cilantro, lime for serving.

Sautee onion and garlic with a little oil. Add shredded chicken. Cut cream cheese into dice-size pieces and add to pan to melt. Add cumin and oregano. Add green chili sauce. Heat through and serve. Amounts are all farily adjustable, so just add til it looks good. Its good served with black bean/corn salsa.
Enjoy!

Sunday, October 5, 2008

Last little trip of the summer..

Since it appears that summer may now be over (48 degrees this morning!!), here's some pics from our last little trip of the summer. We went down to Capitol Reef last weekend for a couple of days. Its really beautiful there. I think its often looked over in favor of Arches and Zion. Here's some highlights:The boys

Climbing trees


I love this picture of Neil


Neil, enjoying his ride.


Josh, ticked because he doesn't get a ride.

Roasting marshmellows.(I know it looks like there is no fire, but there are a few hot coals left.. I promise)

Picking apples in the orchards in the park.
The end.