Clawson Clan: July 2011

Thursday, July 21, 2011

Food Reviews

Really good. I added chicken and mandarin oranges and I left the noodles crunchy. I've been buying rotisserie chickens at Costco about once a week. It makes making chicken dishes so easy and I can get three meals from one chicken, which for $4.99 is a great deal AND I don't have to deal with raw chicken, which I hate.

Baked Southwest Eggrolls with a Chipotle Dipping sauce

I didn't really follow this recipe at all, but I used the idea of it to make my own baked egg rolls. Definite success. Here's what I did:

First, I sauteed a white onion with garlic, a little butter, lemon juice, cumin and chili powder. I added some black beans, shredded rotisserie chicken, shredded cheese, fresh corn which I cooked and then cut off of the cob. And then I baked it according to the kitchencafe.com directions. I make the dipping sauce with sour cream, a little salsa and cumin. And then I make fresh guacamole to go with it.

It was a hit. All four members of my family ate it. Hallelujah. It is so rare I cook anything that Ian and the kids with eat.

Sour Cream Noodle Bake

I really loved it, but if you don't like cottage cheese than it is not for you (which unfortunately Ian is not).

White Chicken Enchilladas

So good and so easy. And very few ingredients which I love about any dish.

Garlic Parmesan Chicken and Noodles

It was just okay. I didn't use cream, which may have been my problem. I used milk and made a roux. I have more new recipes in my queue for the next week, so more reviews to come.

BTW...The links for the other recipes are two posts down. Also, when I make any recipe, I always half it. It usually works out to be just enough for Ian and I.

Happenings

I haven't taken my camera out since we moved, but here are some pics from my phone.

Lazy pool day with Choobie. It's been so nice having Jaime and her family so close!

Sealife Aquarium with the kids today

We been trying to go up to Legoland once a week or so. It's nice they have three different parks up there with the aquarium and water park.

Bubba. The kids are such troopers these days. Lately, when we have been going to Legoland, just the three of us, I have not been taking a stroller. So, by the time we leave, they have each walked around the whole park with their little legs. They are so tired by the time we are done. And they actually stay by me AND hold my hand most of the time (which both of them usually hate to do).

I was telling Ian the other day that our lives revolve around legos. Legoland, Lego video games, and actual Legos. This one in particular, the kids refer to as "Papa H," aka my dad, which gets fought over it seems like daily. I often hear them yelling at each other, "I want Papa H!" "No, I want Papa H!" It's pretty funny. Whenever anything needs fixing around our house, Addi always says, "Papa H needs to come visit so he can fix that." He is our handyman every time they make a trip out. Can't you see the resemblance?

Tuesday, July 12, 2011

SAHM

Stay at home mom. That is what I am now. It's crazy. I don't quite know what to do with myself. Aside from not working, we moved far enough away that I have no other obligations other than keeping my kid entertained. Seriously, I have nothing to do, it is so weird. I have never not worked, and I have always been the type to have way too much on my plate. When I worked, I was gone a solid 12 hours out of the day. I would leave the house at 7 am and not get home until 7 pm. So those days were shot when it came to running errands or getting things done around the house. Which meant the rest of my week was filled with Costco runs, getting Addi to and from school, working out, the kids random activities and any other errand that needed to be done. We were lucky to get home in time for Von's afternoon nap with all that I had to accomplish.

So, we've been going to the gym a lot. I think Addi likes the gym better than me. When I came to pick her up today, she cried because she wanted to stay longer. And luckily our new place has a really nice pool. So after the gym, we hit up the pool. Pretty much everyday. I also made myself a chore list, which I have printed out and hanging in my laundry room. And I've been cooking nice meals and baking. I asked Ian yesterday, "So is this what people do when they don't have to work?" He assured me, "yes." I have become obsessed with couponing. I saved over $50 last weekend between my Ralph's and Target shopping trip. It's kind of addicting and probably a good thing since we have just lost my income and we are paying MORE in rent. Not a good combination. I even found a coupon for a free training session at my gym which I used today. It was really informative, and so hard. Also, Legoland is on the agenda this week. We went on the 4th when Ian was able to go with us, the kids had so much fun. We went to the water park and Ian convinced Addi to go on all of the big kid rides with him. She was so stoked she told every lifeguard she came into contact with. And I turned 30 last week. Can we say making for a 1/3 life crisis?

So my house is cleaner that than it has ever been and I've been trying new recipes and have plans (because I have time to meal plan, thus our dinners are already planned and shopping list made for the next two weeks) for many more. Here are a few of them thanks to pinterest.com:

White Chicken Enchilladas