Fun Week!

The last week of February was a fun one for our family: On Sunday, John got a new calling (actually an assignment). He is now a member of the Stake Audit Committee. That brings him up to 3 callings - just like me! Speaking of my calling, I was making copies for my lesson before church and then we had the interview for John's calling. I walked into the chapel about 10 minutes before sacrament meeting started and asked my mom who was supposed to be playing the organ. I looked at the bulletin and realized it was me!! Whoops!

On Tuesday, my baby turned 16. She truly has been a wonderful blessing in our lives. I don't think she understands how much we love her and appreciate all she means to us. I think she had a good birthday - lots of fun phone calls from friends and family. And then we had her favorite dinner (Panda Express) and her favorite dessert (Chocolate Satin pie). She got to open her presents and enjoyed her new toys.

Wednesday I took the day off. It was great! I ran errands, started my taxes, did a couple scrapbook pages, made dinner, did some laundry and then drove Audrey and Tycie to the youth temple trip. John picked the girls up and stopped at Dairy Queen on the way home.

Thursday we went to an open house at the Skills Center. We are ruining yet another summer for our kid by making her take classes during the summer. Truly, she did seem genuinely interested in a couple of the courses offered and will be taking their Computer Programming Academy this summer. They will introduce the students to video game programming, web site development and Java Script and C Code. She was also very interested in the Welding & Metal Fabrication Academy. Depending on how things go, she might take that as well.

Friday Audrey and I went shopping in the evening and kept calling John to see if he missed us? We were gone for quite a few hours, so he should have!!

Then Saturday we got to spend time with Uncle Steve. John's brother was up visiting from California and we all went out to dinner and then we were able to talk him into sticking around and watching a movie. Everyone tells me it was good - I fell asleep! (It was the third movie in the Librarian series starring Noah Wyle).

Poppy Seed Ham Rolls

Tried a new recipe today. I had the day off and figured I had no excuse not to have a nice dinner ready for Audrey & John when they got home. Recipe called for 15 dinner rolls. I used the large French rolls made by the bakery and since they were larger and our family is smaller, I only made 4 and then scaled back the topping as well as the meat & cheese. These were a hit with John and I. Audrey did not like all the poppy seeds coming off on her hand while she ate them. They were definitely finger food, not fork & knife fare!
POPPY SEED HAM ROLLS
15 Dinner rolls
1 lb. Sliced deli Black Forest ham
1/2 lb. Sliced Swiss cheese
Mayonnaise

Topping Ingredients (enough to make 15 rolls, scale back as needed)
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
1 1/2 T. prepared mustard
1 T. minced onion
1 cube butter, melted
1/2 tsp. Worcestershire sauce

Make sandwiches by spreading mayo inside rolls. Add ham and cheese. Place inside baking pan. Mix together topping ingredients and pour by spoonfuls over each roll. Cover with foil. Place in fridge to marinate for several hours (or can do overnight). Loosen foil and bake at 350 degrees for 20 minutes, until cheese melts.

Broccoli Salad

BROCCOLI SALAD
1 bunch broccoli, cleaned & cut into bite-size pieces
1 cup grated cheddar cheese
1/2 lb bacon, cooked & crumbled
1/2 small red onion, diced fine
1 c. golden raisins or Craisins

Dressing:
1/2 c. mayonnaise
1 1/2 Tbsp. red wine vinegar
1/4 c. sugar

Make dressing 3 to 4 hours ahead. Just before serving, toss all ingredients together with dressing. Best to eat right away (leftovers get mushy).

Audrey is 16 - How'd that happen!?

B-Day Girl !!

We had our traditional birthday movie and dinner today, chosen by the birthday girl. Audrey always feels that movie releases are just a little unfair as John and I get all the big holiday releases and by the time Audrey's birthday comes around in February, good movies are a little more scarce. She has some movies already picked out that are releasing in March, but did have a tough choice to pick today - poor kid! Anyway, she chose the movie "Taken" and it was a nail biter & action packed. It made us think too. We did enjoy it, though I would not suggest it for the younger crowd. Afterwards she wanted to go to the Old Spaghetti Factory. We had not been in quite awhile and after going, I cannot think why not? Our service was fabulous and the food was yummy! We will be going again, I am sure. Plus, we all had enough food that we had leftovers for Sunday after church - Yippee!! And to top it off, Audrey got a souvenir glass to take home after finishing her Italian soda. She loves it!

She really does watch tv !!

Audrey was watching "Nature", one of her favorite shows. She called me downstairs because she wanted me to see that the cat was watching the show too! The episode was about dogs and cats. With the surround sound in the room, the dog barking and cat meowing was a little too realistic for Sidney. The next week it was about wolves and hawks, and she got into that episode too! She was ready to pounce to get that bird... I remember when we originally got our surround sound we put in the Jurassic Park DVD. You should have seen the cat jump the first time those dinosaurs roared!!

Oreos with a Twist

John wanted to take a Valentine treat to his Sunday School class. We debated between brownie pops, sugar cookies or our final decision - Oreos with a twist. We took regular Oreos, dipped them in melted chocolate (used Wilton Candy Melts) and then rolled them in rainbow hued cupcake sprinkles. They were a big hit with the teenagers!

Valentine's Day

John and I had a lovely Valentine's Day. He was so kind - first he went to a chick flick with me. Thanks honey! We saw "He's Just Not That Into You". We definitely liked some of the characters and their storyline better than some. I liked Jennifer Aniston's character the best (and her boyfriend Ben Affleck) and then Ginnifer Goodwin and Justin Long's relationship was a close second. I really did not care for Bradley Cooper or Scarlett Johansson's characters. And yes, I did tear up a couple times during the movie!!After the movie we headed to a French bistro restaurant - Madeleine's. I had heard some reviews about it and had wanted to try it out.We each ordered a salad-trio plate and some of the salad choices we tried were a Curry Chicken Couscous, a Potato Salad Nicoise and a Pesto & Pea Pasta. The food was OK/fine and we probably won't head back, but it was fun to experiment and try something different. And it did seem terribly romantic to be in a French bistro on Valentine's Day.

YW Activity: Valentine Birdseed

Patty planned tonight's activity. We put birdseed into little clear sacks, tied them with a red ribbon and attached the following poem (printed on Valentine paper). The girls were able to take some home to give to their parents, neighbors or friends.

I gave a hundred Valentines.
A hundred did I say?
I gave a thousand Valentines
One cold and wintry day.
I didn't put my name on them
Or any other words
Because my Valentines were seeds
For February birds!

When they were done, we still had some time, so the girls played "Thumbs Up, 7-Up" and "If you loved me, you'd smile". The girls were a riot!!

Valentine I-Pod

I got this idea from Familyfun.com and decided to make a few for the gals I visit teach. It was cute, fun and easy. You still have time to make some for this year!!

Material List (makes one I-Pod):
Tape
2 (14-inch) pieces of string
2 mini peanut butter cups
1 (1-ounce) box of conversation hearts
2 (4-inch) circles of aluminum foil
4x7 inch strip of pink paper
Glue stick
Printable scroll wheel and playlist (off website)

Directions: Tape each end of a piece of string to a peanut butter cup. Tie the two strings together about mid-way and tape the loose ends to the candy box. Wrap each peanut butter cup in the aluminum foil. Wrap the pink paper strip around the candy box and secure it with a glue stick. Cut the scroll wheel and playlist and use glue stick to attach them to the box. Write a valentine message on the back of the box.

Laser Quest and the Symphony

Today was a day with absolutely different activities! John and Audrey started the day by attending a birthday party at Laser Quest. They had a fun time! Then later that evening, Mom and I went to the Spokane Symphony performance. It was titled "Three Broadway Divas". We heard music from Gypsy, Funny Girl, Music Man, A Chorus Line, Candide, Mame, Sweet Charity, My Fair Lady, Mama Mia, Wicked, West Side Story, Evita and Boys from Syracuse. The music was fun to listen to because it was a nice variety of styles. They also varied it between solos, duets, trios or just the symphony playing, so that was nice too. One of the performers could not make it due to health issues, so they got a substitute the day before. She did a great job, especially on the Candide solo (Glitter and Be Gay). Good time!

Amanda's Apricot Chicken Redux

This recipe is actually the Apricot Chicken recipe I got from Amanda Jeppsen years ago, but if you add diced red peppers and a can drained pineapple chunks - Viola! Hawaiian style chicken.

I got a rice cooker for Christmas and tried it for the first time today. I love it! It made 8 cups of rice (in retrospect, a little much) in a short amount of time, perfectly cooked, fluffy and wonderful! We served the Hawaiian Chicken over a bed of yummy Jasmine rice. Yeah for John, thanks for the present : )

AMANDA'S APRICOT CHICKEN, HAWAIIAN STYLE
12 to 16 oz Apricot jam
1 Pkg. dry onion soup mix
8 oz. Russian dressing
*1 can pineapple chunks, drained
*Finely chopped red pepper, to taste
4-6 oz boneless chicken breasts, cut into chunks

*Indicate the additional steps. Leave these out if you want to make the traditional Apricot Chicken recipe*

Place chicken in 9x13 baking dish (can pre-brown if you like). Mix jam, soup mix and dressing together. *Add drained pineapple chunks and diced peppers.* Pour all over chicken. Bake for 45 minutes to 1 hour at 350 degrees. Serve over sticky rice.

Ramen Salad

Do you sometimes misplace the recipe that you are used to using? I have found the Allrecipes.com website helpful in those situations! We were having company over and I wanted to make the Ramen Salad. I could not find the recipe I normally used, but found this one. Thought the title a little different, I'm sure it means something.

LAP SALAD
2 boneless chicken breasts, cooked and diced
2 oz sliced almonds
2 green onions, chopped
1 TB sugar
2 TB Sesame seeds
1 package ramen noodles, crushed
1/2 medium head cabbage, shredded
1/2 cup olive oil
Salt & pepper to taste
3 TB rice vinegar

Combine chicken, nuts, onion, sugar, sesame seeds, noodles and their flavor packet and cabbage in large bowl. In small bowl combine oil, salt, pepper and vinegar. Pour oil mixture over noodle mixture. Let stand a couple hours in the refrigerator and then serve. (I think John also added some pine nuts, because he likes them...)

Friends and Family Day

A friend from Young Adult years had gotten in touch with me, told me she would be in town and invited me to join her for lunch. I had not seen her in 20 years so said an enthusiastic yes. We had a great time catching up. Thankfully my boss told me to take longer than my normal one hour lunch as Lori (Erickson) and I spent a good amount of time talking. I'm glad we got together!

After work we prepared for our dinner guests, the Heerdinks. We prepared Hawaiian Style Chicken over rice, Ramen salad and egg rolls. Angela brought homemade cinnamon rolls for dessert - YUM! We had a great time during dinner and then relaxing and just visiting afterwards. We originally were going to play board games, but got to talking and never stopped. We will have to get together again. What a fun day getting together with family and friends!!

YW Activity: New Beginnings

Our New Beginnings was held tonight with "Carnival of Values" as the theme. Everything was decorated with balloons and in the value colors (of course). Each leader was in charge of a station and the girls and their parents rotated through all the stations during the evening. My station was Knowledge. I was instructed to have some type of trivia game ready, so I brought our laptop and had a Jeopardy game loaded. I got the idea off a website, but then created some of my own questions so that some questions were church related and some were not. My ending line each session was to remind everyone that we can spend a lot of time gaining knowledge, but that some of the knowledge we gain can be rather trivial and we should choose wisely. The other stations were Faith (they did the Faith Fall), Good Works (they tied a quilt), Divine Nature (nail polish booth), Choice and Accountability (a game where they flipped a coin and then made their decisions), Virtue (a memory game), Integrity (a board game) and Individual Worth (a game where they raced to finish certain tasks). They had popcorn and drinks for the refreshments.

Quiche Lorraine

I was hankering for some quiche so we decided to make a double batch. It was yummy!

QUICHE LORRAINE
Pastry for 9-inch one-crust pie
Bacon, crisply cooked and crumble (12 slices)
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese (4oz)
1/3 cup finely chopped onion
4 eggs
2 cups whipping cream (or Half and Half)
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper

Heat oven to 425 degrees. Sprinkle bacon, cheese and onion in pastry-line pie plate. Beat eggs slightly; beat in remaining ingredients. Pour into pie plate. Bake uncovered 15 minutes. Reduce oven temperature to 300 degrees. Bake until knife inserted in center comes out clean, about 30 minutes longer. Let stand 10 minutes before cutting.