Tuesday, August 17, 2010

Happy Birth Day Baby E!

Baby E was born at 4:08pm on August 3rd.  



My sister helped through the delivery again, like she did with CP.  Thanks Mary!



Grandma and Grandpa took the boys while we were at the hospital.



Proud Big Brothers:

J



A



CP



Proud Dad



I'm so glad baby E is here and part of our family.  He's so sweet, and we are all in love with him.  CP even licked him a couple of times (I think he was pretending to be a dog).  I'm also glad that I can sleep on my stomach again. :)

Food Storage Alfredo (sounds yummy doesn't it?)

(This isn't really called food storage alfredo- I just happened to have everything to make it in my fridge or pantry.  The name sounds mormony and maybe a little disgusting though doesn't it?)

  Lacking inspiration for dinner several weeks ago, I scanned the list of frugal dinner ideas at my friend Jessica's blog.


Here's what I found:


Alfredo Sauce

Ingredients:

  • 3 TBSP butter
  • 1 1/2 -2 TBSP flour
  • 2 cups whole milk (I used 1%)
  • Half a block of cream cheese {cut into chunks. Low-fat varieties work just as well!}
  • 3/4 cup Parmesan cheese {can use fresh or Kraft}
  • 1 teaspoon garlic powder (I used minced garlic)
  • salt & pepper to taste
Directions:
Melt butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat. Once melted, whisk in the flour. Gradually add milk, whisking to combine as you go. I generally add it about 1/2 cup at a time, whisk, then wait for the milk to heat up and thicken a bit before adding more.

Once all the milk has been added and it's hot {do not boil!} add the cream cheese. Whisk to combine. Heat the sauce back up before adding the Parmesan cheese. Simmer this until all is melted, and mixed well. Add salt, garlic powder and pepper to taste. Serve over noodles, with chicken, in a pizza, or however you like it!
Tips: I normally double this recipe, so that I can use the whole block of cream cheese. I freeze about a cup in small containers, for future dinners. I love this sauce and use it in a variety of ways, however my favorite is in the pasta dish described below. It's so easy and versatile! If it's summer, add zucchini, cherry tomatoes and fresh basil. In the winter, I add eggplant, collard greens and frozen bell pepper. Really, I use whatever vegetables I can get inexpensively! I don't actually have a recipe for this, I just toss things in and call it good! 


I mixed the sauce with some green beans and tomatoes from the garden, and some frozen broccoli, and tossed that with the pasta.  A little sauce can go a long way, and makes for a light summer dinner.  Next time I'd put about 40 times the amount of vegetables in it that I used this time.  Other than that, It was a big hit!

July and August... Where did the summer go?

We've had a busy summer, and I haven't had time/energy/desire to update my blog.  I've been thinking about getting it printed in a book as my journal, so I thought I ought to do better at keeping things up to date.
A few days after we got home from our Ferron Reservoir camping trip (and did I mention I couldn't sleep at night while we were there?  The elevation made it hard for me to breathe), we left again for Baumgartner, the yearly trip we go on with my Mister's side of the family.

We left friday after work and stopped for the night at a truck stop.  I can't believe some trucks idle all night long. 


My Mister and CP floating in the river (it was REALLY cold this year.  I had pictured myself floating in the cool water, and how good that would feel, being large and pregnant and all- but I didn't get in further than my ankles).



All the kids in the hot pool trying to sink my Mister.  




We got home from Baumgartner and started swimming lessons the following Monday.  J and CP both passed their levels.  A will take level two again next year- the boys always repeat the same level several times before advancing.

CP


A



J


Next up:  Back to School time.  We have school supplies in abundance, new clothes as needed, and we're all getting rather tired of each other (well mostly, J and A are tired of each other, and the rest of us are tired of hearing them argue).  I used to think it was weird when people would say they couldn't wait for their kids to go back to school.  I hated sending my little kindergartner to school, and was so happy when he was home all summer.  Now with the boys being a little older, and having a little too much "together" time, I've joined the ranks of those who are excited for the kids to go back to school.