No Dinner Menu This Week...

Because I have a bit much going on this week, I am not going to post a dinner menu. After tonight, I am not cooking for the rest of the week, but....here is what I made last night...
Chilli-Rubbed Steak Tacos with Avacado and Cucumber Salsa
and tonight I am making...
Skillet Lasagna with some french bread.

It is easy to see that the Chillie Rubbed Steak Tacos have become me go to recipe every week. They are a HUGE hit in my house and I do the meat in the crockpot, so it can be any tough piece of beef, cause at the end, it is nice and tender.

Also, this past Sunday I made the ever so rich Peanut Butter Brownie Trifle for my Brother-in-Law for his birthday. This go around I made it full blown peanut butter as the recipes calls. He says it is great, I did not have the sweet tooth to dare try it. I also made a chocolate eclair cake for my family. It is trusted favorite, can't go wrong kind of thing. It is so yummy....

Chocolate Eclair Cake

Family Favorite!!!!

1 box graham crackers
6 oz instant vanilla pudding (2 - 3 oz or the 1-5.1 oz works too)
3 Cups Milk
8 oz Cool Whip, Thawed

Fudge Frosting
1 Cup white sugar
1/8 tsp salt
1/3 c. cocoa*
1/4 cup milk
1/4 cup butter*
1 tsp vanilla

Liberally grease a 9 x 13-in baking dish and line with graham crackers. DO NOT CRUSH :) Mix together the milk and pudding; fold in Cool Whip. Pour half of this mixture over the graham crackers, then top with another layer of graham crackers. Pour the remainder of the the pudding mixture over graham crackers. Lay a third layer of graham crackers over the pudding mixture. Frost top layer with Fudge Frosting or other chocolate frosting.
Fudge Frosting: Combine Sugar, salt and cocoa and milk in a small sauce pan. Heat slowly; bring to a boil and cook for 1 minute. Remove from heat; add butter and vanilla. Cool. Beat until smooth and spread over crackers.
*If using salted butter I would omit the salt. If using non-salted butter use the salt called for.

Look at her go...

My Kaylee girl...she is something else. She has mastered crawling....from one end of the house to the other. There is no stopping her, and when the front door opens she is out to the porch. I keep saying she looks too small to be crawling, but today she started pulling herself up....yep!! I can't believe it...she is almost 8 months old. Where does the time go?? Check her at...she is one cute, sweet, jumping baby :)

If I could figure out how to flip this...I would :)

Dinner Menu Week of July 19th….YEP, late again!!

Monday	Buffalo Chicken (Sandwich Style)…We headed to the park for FHE and a game of kick ball, so I made this chicken then through it on some toasted hoggie rolls and with Mayo and Blue Cheese! YUMM!!! Potato Chips Watermelon
Tuesday	Chilli-Rubbed Steak Tacos Avocado and Cucumber Salsa
Wednesday	Chicken Parmigiana (I not make this the week before as planned) Garlic Bread Cesear Salad
Thursday	Relaxing Night….My husband was not home, so it was a quick dinner of mac and cheese for the kids and I then a movie.
Friday	Leftover Chicken Parmigiana

Weekend Recipes

So over the weekend we tried some good, yummy recipes. Definately some keepers. Saturday night Tad cooked up some salmon fillets with some really good lemon, dill rice. We also had some crab fritters. We have become Allton Brown Goo-roos, so of course the crab fritters come from him. Oh...we used imitation crab :)

I also found a new recipe I was dying to try Chili Rubbed Steak Tacos with Cucumber & Alvacodo Salsa....YUMMO!!! Thats all I can say. I wanted it to be ready when we got home from church yesterday so, instead of grilling the steak I tripled the rub recipe and through the meat in the crock pot with about 1/2 cup of water and then...when we got home it was ready and smelled so good. We shredded the beef and then added it back to the juices in the crock pot so it could soak them all up. It was GREAT and I will definately be making them again...soon rather than later. The salsa is soooooo refreshing!! Oh yes....I used more like 2 pounds of meat.

Dinner Menu Week of July 12th

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Monday	Hot Dog On A Stick & Sausage Buns Homemade French Fries Fresh Fruit
Tuesday	Chicken Parmigiana Caesar Salad Roasted Red Garlic Potatoes Garlic ToastTiramisu Delight
Wednesday	Tacos (Homemade taco shells)
Thursday	Caesar Chicken Salad Squares Corn on the Cob
Friday	Pizza (Papa Murphy's)

So much to do and so much on my mind…

Well, with another week vastly approaching, I am lost!! Yep….LOST!! I am trying to make plans for Tad's Birthday…not just any Birthday but his 40^th birthday. I think it is a big deal….he does not! So, trying to plan a nice dinner, decorations for the house….thinking black but also bright colors, balloons, streamers, 40 cut outs all over. Then for the cake. Not sure what to do there. Then I had this crazy idea to compile a book of 40 birthday wishes from friends and family…I really wanted to have a surprise birthday party but since we are in no mans land, a nice quiet birthday at home will have to do. Which is fine with him. And….I still have not contacted 40 people about the wishes…only 31!! Yikes!! Oh…32 I guess, cause I do count as 1. So, I am throwing this out there to anyone who has any ideas as to what I can do for the big 4 O, please let me know (even though I don't think anyone but 1 person even reads my blog)! Well, I am going to put one more good hour into my birthday planning then I am off to bed. I need good rest to get me through this week that lies ahead.

Father's Day Soda Bottles

Here are the Father's Day soda bottles I made. Such a FUN idea :)

Twin Falls Trip and 4th of July

I finally got my husband to go to Twin Falls for the weekend. Thank goodness I did, cause he loved it. We left here early Saturday morning and we got to Twin Falls and the first stop we made was the Dollar Tree. Being in a town where you can actually shop felt so good. So good, that after we went and visted the Shoshone Falls, which were awesome, we headed to the hotel to unload our bags, then Costco, then mall. Yep...the mall. We went to Sear, JC Penny, Eastdown Basics, Claires, then to dinner to a reall restraunt. I was in heaven!! After dinner it was back to the hotel room to get ready to do some swimming. It was so relaxing. After the pool, we were off to Fred Meyer...what a great store. Sunday morning we went to Target, then to a really nice park down town, to let the kids run around. Then we just went and did some sight seeing through the farm countries. It was such a nice trip. Oh yes...somewhere in there on Saturday we got Sonic in there, can't forget about Sonic! And of course, we Tad and I hated to come home. But we got home just in time to unload the car and head out to watch the fire works with my sister and her family. Comparing Elko to Twin Falls...well, there is no comparison. Needless to say, we are looking to move out of here. Moving again....uggg! But....a better place....it is worth it. All we have here for shopping is Walmart, Kmart and Home Depot. Twin Falls...I got to go to all my favorite stores - Dollar Tree, Costco, Target, but we did not make it to Micheals :( but next time!! So now the job search is on for something better. No jumping in, until we know it is a good thing!! Now, I am trying to figure out when we can make a trip to Henderson.

Dinner Menu Week of July 5th

Monday	Tequila Lime Chicken Pico de Gallo and GuacamoleRefried Beans Spanish Rice Corn on the Cob
Tuesday	Turkey and Swiss with Herbed Greens Beer Battered Onion Rings
Wednesday	Hot and Sweet Drum Sticks Twice Baked Potatoes
Thursday	Skillet Lasagna French Bread Green Salad
Friday	Chicken Piccata Caesar Salad

Turkey & Swiss with Herbed Greens

This is another Taste of Home recipe. For some reason I am having problems linking to their recipes.

Turkey & Swiss with Herbed Greens

• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 tablespoon olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
• 1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1/4 teaspoon dried basil
• 4 cups torn mixed salad greens
• 2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
• 16 slices multigrain bread
• 3/4 pound thinly sliced deli turkey
• 8 slices Swiss cheese
• 2 large tomatoes, sliced

In a large bowl, whisk the vinegar, oil, oregano, garlic powder and basil. Add salad greens and onion; toss to coat. On eight slices of bread, layer the turkey, cheese, tomatoes and salad greens. Top with remaining bread. Yield: 8 servings.

Dinner Menu Week of June 28th…Late Again

Monday	Orange Chicken Fried Rice
Tuesday	Margarita Chicken Salad
Wednesday	Fruited Tuna Salad Pita Corn on the Cob
Thursday	Papa Murphy's Pizza (feeding a lot of kids)
Friday	Szechuan Beef Fried Rice (left over from Monday)

Fruited Tuna Salad Pita

Very fresh tasting and light. It is another good one from Taste of Home.

Fruited Tuna Salad Pita

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup mayonnaise
• 1 tablespoon honey
• 1 can (12 ounces) white water-packed tuna, drained
• 1 can (11 ounces) mandarin oranges, drained
• 1 medium apple, chopped
• 1/3 cup chopped pecans
• 1 celery rib, thinly sliced
• 1/4 cup dried cranberries
• 1/8 teaspoon salt
• 4 whole wheat pita breads (6 inches)
• 2-3/4 cups alfalfa sprouts

Directions

• In a large bowl, combine mayonnaise and honey. Stir in the tuna, oranges, apple, pecans, celery, cranberries and salt. Serve on pita breads with sprouts. Yield: 4 servings.

Grilled Margarita Chicken Salad

Now this is a GREAT salad!!
Grilled Margarita Chicken Salad

			1/2 cup frozen (thawed) nonalcoholic margarita mix
			1/4 cup olive or vegetable oil
			2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
			4 boneless skinless chicken breasts (1 1/4 lb)
			6 cups bite-size pieces assorted salad greens
			1 cup sliced strawberries
			1 medium mango, peeled, pitted and sliced
			1 medium avocado, peeled, pitted and sliced
			1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro

1.	Heat coals or gas grill for direct heat. To make dressing, in small bowl, stir margarita mix, oil and vinegar with wire whisk until well blended. Measure 1/4 cup dressing for basting chicken; reserve remaining dressing for serving.
2.	Cover and grill chicken over medium heat 15 to 20 minutes, turning and brushing occasionally with 1/4 cup dressing, until juice of chicken is no longer pink when centers of thickest pieces are cut.
3.	Cut chicken into slices. In large bowl, toss salad greens, chicken and strawberries; divide among 4 plates. Arrange mango and avocado around each salad. Sprinkle with cilantro. Drizzle with reserved dressing.

Finally….a clean car (well, half way there)!!

Well, I could not handle it anymore. My car was so stinkin' dirty there was no way we could drive it to Twin Falls this weekend with it looking the way it does/did. I have simply been spoiled living in the city. We have owned our Excursion for almost 5 years and not one time in those almost 5 years have I ever washed my car myself. Spoiled or lazy?? I like to think spoiled. Living in a large city you have all the amenities in the world….like a guy who will come to your house and wash your car in your driveway, while you tend to you 5 children. Or before there were 5 children, you could drive into Green Valley and drop your car off, walk to a restaurant to get a bite to eat and return to a nice clean car. Well, living in good ole Elko, NV….those amenities do not exist!! Nope…only one guy in town who does car washing and he is totally unreasonable. So, I have not had my car detailed since Kaylee's baby blessing in February. Now, in all the snow, rain, and dirt that it has been subjected to here, you can only imagine what a mess it must be. But to top it all off, when I was heading out to the branding, on a not so nice road of nothing but poof dirt, and drove further than what I needed (cause I got lost), it was a great big moving dirt pile. So, today I cleaned the inside. I started around 2:30 and did not finish until close to 5:00 this afternoon. It looks so nice…so tomorrow I am going to venture to the carwash and work on the outside. I really do miss the guys who used to come to my house to clean it. They were so great to my car!!