In the Kitchen: Navajo Tacos (aka Indian Tacos)

The first time I made Navajo tacos (or as you call them when you grow up in Cardston area - Indian Tacos) Regan took one bite and said to me "why have you kept this from me for so long?" And then he went on to devour 3 more of them.

By then we'd been married for four years and had lived in Lethbridge and then moved out to Cole Harbour, Nova Scotia (8 months pregnant no less) and then moved into our own house in Eastern Passage, NS.

I can't remember why I thought of making them. But some day while was making a sweet dough, probably for buns or donuts or cinnamon buns (since I use the same dough for all of those that you can find here) I made Navajo tacos for dinner. And apparently Regan was smitten.

Well since then I've tried to make them for dinner most days that I bake anything sweet dough related.

If you don't know what a Navajo Taco is, then you obviously didn't go to high school in Cardston, where they had Native American Awareness days and would serve them in the lunch room.




It's basically a scone or a donut without a hole (and no icing or anything) with a taco toppings on top! You could read more about them here or here. But really it's some deep fried sweet dough topped with the taco guts on top. Easy peasy! And you can convince your kids to try them when you tell them it's a no hole donut with some stuff on top. That is unless you have kids who actually just eat what you make. And if that's the case I am extremely jealous of you.

Have you tried these or heard of them before?

The last two weeks

have been absolutely packed. And this last weekend I had so many things going on I just plain old didn't blog. It's the first time I've missed a few days in a while. I always post Sunday - Thursday with Friday and Saturday off. Don't know if you've noticed or not. BUT that's been my posting. Just to show you a little list of all the things we've had going on in the past two weeks.

* Soccer Pictures for Alden
* Dad and Alden date - went to the movie
* Dad and Lucy date - went to Wendy's
* I went out to dinner with my SIL
* Regan started Internal Medicine - which has been fairly busy. I've heard it's one of the worst but it hasn't been ridiculous yet. Just busy.
* Alden has had 4 Soccer Games (two of which got canceled from bad weather and then reschedule on this past Saturday)
* Regan went out of town both the last two weekends - one in Calgary for teaching days and one in Vancouver for the ALARM course (something about delivering babies)
* Mother's day Celebrations for both Lucy and Alden in one day (thank goodness grandma could come and be with Eli during) and I watched someone's kid that morning so she could go to her mother's day celebrations
* Had my parents over on mother's day, a couple over on friday night and a family on a Sunday night for dinner
* Reg and I went out to dinner with my inlaws
* Regan met with the Stake President
* Regan got called and set apart as the new Elder's Quorum president in our ward yesterday
* went to a movie night with a couple girls where we just chatted, ate and played games instead of watching a movie
* did 4 different photo shoots - one pregnancy (with two girls), one engagement, one new baby and one grad one
* went to the temple with some of my family to remember Kelly since it was her birthday this past Saturday
* hosted a craft night at my house (which was tons of fun!)
* attended a birthday party in Raymond and had to miss another one since they were at the same time
* had my online chat with my photo instructor for my class
* worked on my assignment for my photo class
Plus just plain ol' regular cleaning the house and meals and laundry and all that.

Phew. I'm glad this week has a lot less going on! And even a long weekend coming up! :) Hopefully Regan will get some of it off so we can enjoy relaxing!!

What have you been up to?
And did you miss my posts.... hahahahaha

Spring Soccer

has been filled with canceled games from lots of bad weather. Snow and rain. We had a game on Monday. A really really really wet and dirty game.


The best thing about the soccer season this year (Alden's first) is that he has two friends on his team. Colton and Kaden. And the good thing is that it is great for us moms and dads to hang out and visit. AND for the little sisters to giggle and run around and play (and pee in the bushes - oh wait that WASN'T good) and eat snacks and giggle.



And I made all the flowers from on line tutorials. Would you like the links?

And the t-shirt was totally from an online tutorial right here

Looks like a little guilt encourages ya'll to comment hey? :) Nice work!

In the Craftroom:

First off - no I did not serve a mission. Always wanted too. But it wasn't right every time I prayed about it!

Secondly, thought I'd share some of the craftiness I've been enjoying around here.

Made necklaces for Young Womens


Lots of different kinds of hair flowers and broaches


And altered a t-shirt (kind of a funny picture of me. hahahaha)


And I've been back in my scrapping groove yesterday and today and i was itching to spend more time down there in my scraproom but I've got a long list of things I should be doing instead!

What have you been up too? (Besides reading not commenting?)

Mother's Day

A great quote I wanted to share via Christal's blog

Elder M. Russell Ballard on mothering:
"There is no one perfect way to be a good mother. Each situation is unique. Each mother has different challenges, different skills and abilities, and certainly different children. The choice is different and unique for each mother and each family. Many are able to be “full-time moms,” at least during the most formative years of their children’s lives, and many others would like to be. Some may have to work part-or full-time; some may work at home; some may divide their lives into periods of home and family and work. What matters is that a mother loves her children deeply and, in keeping with the devotion she has for God and her husband, prioritizes them above all else." “Daughters of God,” Ensign, May 2008, 108–10

I am grateful to be a mother. And to have a wonderful mother my self. We have a marvelous relationship. She truly is one of my best friends. And I am grateful we have grown closer over the years. I am also blessed with a marvelous mother in law. She is so upbeat and energetic. So generous and kind.
How blessed I am!



I had breakfast in bed (it was even waffles with whipped cream and fruit - Way to go Reg!), got a Sunday afternoon nap and lots of presents. I am lucky!



I gave my oldest two kids a little quiz about me and motherhood.

Lucy
How old am I? 32
What is my favorite food? Kind of every food, right mom?
What do I love to do? Read and bake cookies and watch movies.
What did I do before I had kids? Get married.
What do I do all day? Walk around
How could I do better as a mom? nothing
What am I good at? baking and cleaning up the house
I love it when my mom.... does stuff.
:)


Alden
How old am I? 32
What is my favorite food? i don't know
What do I love to do? Read and nothing else
What did I do before I had kids? Serve a mission
What do I do all day? cleaning and reading and crafts and nothing else
How could I do better as a mom? be a really good artist
What am I good at? crafts and hugs and baking
I love it when my mom.... hugs me.

How blessed I am with my little family!!!

Spiritual Sundays

"We women have a lot to learn about simplifying our lives. We have to decide what is important and then move along at a pace that is comfortable for us. We have to develop the maturity to stop trying to prove something. We have to learn to be content with what we are."
— Marjorie Pay Hinckley

Ode to Scrabble

I love playing scrabble. In a lot of ways it is strange that I do. I am not a good speller. In fact math and spelling would totally be my worst subjects. Unless you count physics 10. In which my high school teacher, bless his heart, made me a deal that he would pass me if I promised to never take physics 20. Took that deal!

Anyways.

I love picking out the little letters. Yep. I like the little cute tiles. A surprise waiting for you in that little brown bag.


Some times words come right away. And some times not so much. You just end up with all vowels or no vowels. (We play with 9 tiles in Super scrabble... but I have 10 for some reason....)


I like sitting down with Regan and doing something that exercises our brains and isn't just the tv. I like that we are interacting with each other. I enjoy the conversation that we have while we play. It is good to spend time just doing fun things together. And this is one of them for me. Regan doesn't enjoy it as much as me, but he plays with me because he knows I love to play it.


I love it when we can fill up most of the whole board. We have super scrabble which makes the board bigger and has more of each letter.


And well, truth be told, I like it when I win (I mean he's smart, I am married to a doctor) ;)


Do you have any board games you love??

On Tuesday...

... there was ANOTHER rain/snow storm

.... we ate leftovers for supper
... there was a bit of sewing of baby gifts for friends and family during nap time

... Lucy had a fit cause we had to leave the house and then had another one cause we came home
... Regan and I got surprised by something that is good but will take some time to get used too (and no I am not pregnant)
.... I finally got Lucy and Eli to leave the house to drive across town to Costco and get in the store only to realize that I had not in fact put the two things I needed printed the most on my memory stick
... so I made two trips to Costco
....there were many emotional ups and downs with this one (as is usual)

... I edited over 100 photos today
... we ate our leftovers as a picnic on the floor in the kitchen, well Alden and Lucy did. Even on a read checkered blanket. And I did not want to let them do it. But I realized.... does it really matter. NO. so they did it.
... after fighting a bit after school and both of them ending up in tears they hugged, made up and then started playing together like they normally do

... I actually had a showered before 10 am
... I ate an obscene amount of candy (in fact it gave me a stomach ache)
... this one and I ran around the kitchen island about 30 times today. He comes over, taps me and says "RUN! RUN!"

... I did in fact not feel like running around and around the island. But I did it anyways... almost every time he asked
... i reloaded and unloaded the dishwasher 3 times today
... besides my trips to Costco I really didn't talk any adults today until Regan came home
... Eli wore underwear for about 1 hour today and then decided he didn't want to anymore so he went back into his diaper. And he used the toilet twice

... all the kids were in bed asleep by 7:30pm
... i talked to my mom and dad on the phone
... i washed and dried 2 loads of laundry and didn't fold a single one
... i got another wedding photo shoot booked
... i procrastinated doing a few things AGAIN
... i laughed and giggled with these two

... i NEED some sunshine and outside time. I am starting to feel quite housebound and nutty!

In the Kitchen: Sunday Dinner

consisted of all Greek food. Reason?? Not sure. Just had a hankering. :)
So I made....

Greek Salad


Pita Bread


Mama Voula's Spanakopita (it's like a spinach and feta pie)


Pork Satay


Tzatsiki


And of COURSE we had to try Baklava!!

MSBH Update

So today I am guest posting over here at Frankly Entertaining. So go check it out and then look around at the great site. Two sisters post lots of great recipes and cookbook reviews and other tips about working in the kitchen.

AND since I am over there today I thought I'd just give an update here on my MSBH Challenge.

107: Cherry Streusel Coffe Cake
108: Milk Glaze
109: Mexican Wedding Cookies
110: Torta Sbrisolona
111: Linzer Cookies
112: Classic Apple Pie
113: Olive oil Bread
114: Fruit Turnovers
115: Sfogliatelle

And since it's way more fun with a picture.... here are two.

Spiritual Sunday

"Each of us will face trials and tests, and... it is how we react to those difficulties that will determine our success and happiness. Each of us will face adversity no matter where we are. We are taught in the scriptures that there “must needs be . . . an opposition in all things.” We will each face times of difficulty, and the question is not when we will face them but how we face them." - "All Things Work Together for Good", Elder James B. Martin Of the Seventy

In the kitchen: Chicken Salad: My way

So I think there are some recipes that every one has the one they think is best. Like lemon bars. Or chocolate chip cookies. And chicken salad.

This is the way I love to make it.
Adapted from Barefoot Contessa and Eat Shrink and be Merry. I combined them both to get just what I like)

A full chicken in my crockpot. (i loooove my crockpot!) The meat with the bone makes the meat so much more tender. If you don't have a full chicken you can do any of the meat with the bone in. So much better than just dried out chicken breasts with some mayo!

Drizzle the chicken with olive oil and cover generously with salt and pepper.


Cook just until done. As in this one was completely thawed out and it cooked on low for 4 hours in the crock pot. You can totally roast it in the oven too. Let it cool and then take all the meat off. Save 4 cups for this recipe and put the rest in the fridge for another meal. (like enchiladas or Hawaiian Haystacks)


Get all your ingredients together.


For the dressing:
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup sour cream
1 Tbsp Honey mustard (or 1/2 Tbsp of each mustard and honey)
1/4 tsp salt and pepper
Dash of Worcestershire Sauce
Whisk it all together. And set aside.


Add in:
1 cup diced celery
1 large apple chopped and seeded (i love Gala)
1/3 cup dried cranberries
1/3 cup chopped red onion (green onion tastes good too)
1/3 cup chopped pecans
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsely (or some dried if you don't have it)


Add the 4 cups of chicken


And mix it up!


The best is to eat it on toasted homemade bread.

mmmmmmmm! My Favorite!!!

And for dessert.....
Hazelnut Chocolate Chip Cookies

Photo Talk: Lately

I've been up to...editing. Lots of editing!!

No crafting time. (well actually I did get one project half done today - but it still needs a handle so it's not done). I have lots on my editing plate right now.
SOOO close to being done M&J's wedding.


Started a bit on N&M's wedding




Still have to a maternity shoot


A little girl


And my brother and SIL


And then all the ones of my own kids too.

(Alden at volleyball camp over Easter break)

I've been shooting A LOT lately. It'd be interesting to know how many shots I've already taking with my camera since I got it! So crafts gotta take a back burner while I edit!

Hair cuts

I grew up watching my mother cut my brother's hair. She cut everybody's hair in our family. With 5 boys and a dad with ridiculously quick growing hair equals a lot of hair cuts! I have no idea if she just started cutting hair, but knowing my mother it was the case. That she just figured out how to and then did it.

Well I had given a few haircuts before we were married. Mostly to missionaries funny enough, they'd ask if I knew how and I said not really but I could try. And somehow that was enough for some of them. Not sure how THAT worked out, but anyways.

I gave Regan a hair cut when we were dating. And I did a T-E-R-R-I-B-L-E job! Like we ended up having to mostly shave his head from the bald spot I gave him when the clippers got a little feisty. (in my defense I had never used clippers before (always just scissors) and they were NOT a good pair. They would cut and then not cut and then all of a sudden start cutting again.)

Well over the almost 10 years we've been married my hair cutting skills have gotten better. It's nothing amazing, but it works. And we don't have to pay anyone to do it.

Well when Alden got older I thought, hey I cut Reg's hair why not Alden's. Well I have given him some bad hair cuts too. And I am lucky enough to live close to someone now who is a hair dresser. And we fixed up a trade. One that works for the both of us. She cuts our hair. And I took their family pictures.

Sometimes it's good to say, hey I can't do this. Alden sits politely there for her (which he never did for me) and she actually knows what she is doing.
Sounds like a good trade to me! :)