Summer 2012 Bucket List
| May 17, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Family |
Yesterday was Carson’s last day of preschool. While it saddens me that this chapter of his life has come to a close, I must admit I’m terribly excited about summer break and that excitement is getting me through. These are our last few months before we send Carson off to school and I want to cherish and enjoy every moment. It is my hope that when summer 2012 comes to an end, we will all have to think long and hard about our favorite parts. I have seen ideas on Pinterest, and one of my favorite blogs (thishomemadelife.com), about making a “summer bucket list”. I loved the idea and got the family together and brain-stormed some ideas of things we’d like to do this summer. Here is what we came up with:
Summer Bucket List:
- Go on lots of bike rides.
- Have a lemonade stand.
- Have a scavenger hunt.
- Sleep in a tent in our backyard. If that goes well, go camping at Mahoney.
- Make s’mores in a campfire.
- Pick berries at Bellevue Berry Farm.
- Make giant bubbles.
- Make sidewalk chalk paint.
- Make homemade ice cream.
- Build a fort.
- Go to the zoo…lots!
- Have a picnic.
- Make a bird feeder.
- Go miniature golfing.
- Enjoy the sunshine- get out and play at least an hour a day.
- Play in the sprinklers.
- Go fishing.
- Go to Fun Plex.
- Start a garden.
- Make regular visits to the Farmer’s market.
- Go to the lake.
- Swimming!
- Take Griffin to his first movie.
- Go to the Offutt Air Show.
- Visit the Strategic Air & Space Museum in Ashland.
- Go to the Wildlife Safari Park in Ashland.
- Go to Adventureland in Des Moines.
- Make frequent visits to the park.
Some things listed are repeats of things we’ve enjoyed in past summers, and therefore want to do again, and others we’ve never done before. I hope we will be able to check many, if not all, things off our list. With that being said, I want to let you all know that things could get a little quieter here on the blog. As our bucket list shows, we plan to keep very busy this summer! I will still post, it just may not be as frequently as I have been recently.
Chicken Salsa Ranch Wraps
| May 16, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Main Dishes |
Don’t you just love finding a dish that tastes as if you’ve slaved over it for hours, when in reality it’s a snap to put together? That is what you get with this dish. All you need is a handful of ingredients and you’ll be enjoying a super yummy meal in no time. Greg and I loved the contrast of the hot chicken mixture and the cool, crisp vegetables. So delicious!
Chicken Salsa Ranch Wraps
Source: kitchensimplicity.com
- 1 pound chicken breasts, cut into strips
- salt and pepper, to taste
- 1/2 cup salsa
- 1/4 ranch dressing
- tortillas
- shredded cheese, lettuce and sliced red bell peppers, to serve
- Heat a skillet over medium high heat. Add a small amount of oil to the pan, add chicken and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until cooked through. Stir in salsa and ranch. Cook until bubbly.
- To serve: Place a tortilla on a plate. Top with chicken mixture, shredded cheese, lettuce and red pepper. Roll up and serve.
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
| May 14, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Main Dishes |
Happy Monday morning! I hope all of you mamma’s out there had a happy Mother’s Day! I had a great Mother’s Day and enjoyed getting spoiled by my guys. The idea behind Mother’s Day, of course, is to celebrate mother’s and show your appreciation for them. While I didn’t mind being spoiled in the least, I thought many times throughout the day that I am the lucky one to be blessed with such an amazing little family. I am so grateful that I get to see the the world through mother’s eyes.
I am thankful for the little things to. Like having a family to cook for. It is even better when you come across something super yummy to make for them! Such as this recipe for baked creamy chicken taquitos. So yummy and super kid-friendly! The prep time was minimal and upon taking the first bite I couldn’t believe how tasty these were. Greg and I both dipped our taquitos in the green salsa that is needed for the chicken mixture and we both have now developed a new love for green salsa. These will certainly be added the the regular rotation list. Give them a try yourself!
Baked Creamy Chicken Taquitos
Source: chef-in-training.com
3 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup green salsa
1 Tbsp fresh lime juice (juice from half a lime)
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp chili powder
1/2 tsp onion powder
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 Tbsp chopped cilantro
2 Tbsp sliced green onions
2 cups shredded cooked chicken
1 cup shredded Mexican flavored cheesesmall flour or corn tortillas
kosher salt
cooking spray
Preheat your oven to 425˚F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.
In a large bowl, mix the cream cheese, salsa, lime juice, ground cumin, chili powder, onion powder and garlic. Once combined, stir in the cilantro and green onions. Add the chicken and cheese; mix thoroughly.
(If you decided to prep this in advance, refrigerate the mixture at this point until ready to continue.)
Working with a few tortillas at a time, heat them in the microwave between two paper towels until they are soft enough to roll (about 20 – 30 seconds).
Spoon 2-3 Tablespoons of the chicken mixture onto the lower third of a tortilla. Roll the tortilla as tightly as you can.
Place the rolled tortilla seam side down on the baking sheet. Repeat with remaining tortillas until the mixture is gone.
Make sure the taquitos are not touching each other.
Spray the tops lightly with cooking spray and sprinkle with kosher salt.Bake for 15 – 20 minutes or until crisp and golden.
Serve with salsa, sour cream or guacamole.
**To freeze: Before baking, flash freeze the taquitos in a single layer on a baking sheet then place in a labeled freezer bag and store up to 3 months. To bake a frozen taquito (no need to thaw first): Preheat oven to 425˚F and bake for 20 minutes. (Flash Freeze means freezing the taquitos in a single layer for 15-20 minutes (until hardened) so that when you add them to the freezer bag, they will not all stick together).
Watermelon “Cookies”
| May 9, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Snacks & Desserts |
Does anything say summer like a juicy watermelon? I know I keep getting ahead of myself and it isn’t quite summer yet, but like I have already indicated, I have summer on my brain. I had just recently noticed watermelons popping up at grocery stores I shop at, but I was hesitant to buy one just yet because I was unsure if they would be very good this early on (as I am writing this post I am coming to the realization that I’m a bit of a watermelon snob). I was at Hy-Vee the other night and I couldn’t resist the urge any longer. I had to get one. When I got it home I remembered this cute idea for watermelon “cookies” I had seen on Pinterest a few months ago. I thought it would be the perfect way to christen our first watermelon of “summer” 2012.
Griffin absolutely LOVES watermelon, so he was more than pleased with his afternoon snack. I also got a little treat out of the deal as this was the first time he had had watermelon since being potty trained and I got to join him in his 20+ trips to the bathroom in the following couple of hours :).
Last summer, Carson couldn’t seem to satisfy his hunger for watermelon, but he doesn’t seem quite as enthralled with it currently. He loved the idea nonetheless! He also loved showing me that he could pick the whole watermelon up off the counter-top and then proceeded to stumble around the kitchen in an effort to show me how strong he is. There is truly never a dull moment around here.
Just a quick and simple way to make snack-time fun. All you need is a watermelon and some cookie cutters!
Source: beneaththerowantree.blogspot.com
Trix Krispies
| May 7, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Snacks & Desserts |
Do these look as yummy to you as they did me, when I first stumbled upon them on Pinterest? I made these this weekend while the kids were outside soaking up the sun with dad. Greg and Carson did some serious work on our garden over the weekend. Carson was drenched with sweat and caked in dirt and loving every stinky minute of it. I had bought the ingredients for these Trix Krispies earlier in the week and seeing how hard everyone was working, it seemed like the perfect time to whip up a treat for my hard-working boys.
These are made exactly like Rice Krispie treats except you use Trix cereal. Super simple and definitely a kid pleaser!
Source: tastykitchen.com
April 2012
| May 3, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Family |
Wowzas, May already?! Carson has less than 2 weeks of preschool left and then it’s summer! Didn’t we just celebrate Christmas yesterday? Before I get too far ahead of myself, here’s a recap of April:
We started the very beginning touches on our garden we are going to have this summer. And by beginning touches I mean we basically just picked the spot where we wanted it. Griffin wasn’t super interested in helping but I was shocked at how quick Carson was to jump in and help out. He asks frequently when we are going to do more work out in the garden. I think it’s something he’ll really enjoy this summer!
We had a great Easter and enjoyed all of the fun festivities surrounding Easter. We dyed Easter eggs, went on a number of egg hunts, both at home and locally, and were visited by the Easter bunny.
After taking a season off, Carson started soccer up again this month. He was really excited to start again and has been enjoying it!
Griffin is potty trained! We spent a weekend doing the same potty boot camp we did with Carson and again it worked like a charm! We were absolutely in awe of how quickly we had him trained. Now, nearly 3 weeks out, he’s basically a pro! We couldn’t be prouder of him! This is the first time our household has been diaper free in 5 years 2 months, but who’s counting?
We also got to spend a day playing with cousin Nolan. We love when Nolan comes over to play and the boys especially love to see what new things he’s doing and has learned!
In the middle of the month, I got the privilege of taking a “girls” trip with my mom and sister. We were celebrating my mom’s upcoming birthday. We had such a great time! We shopped, ate some super yummy food, went to a Jimmy Buffet concert, but best of all we just laughed hysterically the whole time and thoroughly enjoyed each others company!
With mom being away it meant it was a boy’s weekend for Greg, Carson & Griffin. They were really looking forward to a “boy’s only” weekend! The highlights of their weekend included a breakfast date at Denny’s (they LOVE to do this with dad) and a trip to the zoo.
Carson had his kindergarten physical last week and he got an excellent report! He was given this shirt to take home and it of course brought a lump to my throat. 2025, doesn’t that seem like an eternity away?!
This past weekend, we went back to Holdrege for the baptism of our nephew, Kaleb. We were glad we could be there for his special day! Later on that day, I went to a shower for my soon to be sister-in-law, Kaylie.
We’ve had a lot of fun stuff keeping us busy, so it really shouldn’t be such a wonder that the days seem to flying by! Bring on summer :)! Have a great May!
Kiwi, Banana & Orange Palm Trees
| May 1, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Snacks & Desserts |
Have you been able to tell by my previous posts that I have summer on the brain? Well if you haven’t picked up on that before, this little treat should be obvious I most certainly have summer on my brain.
Upon first sight of seeing the treat I had made for him, Carson said,”It’s like the trees from Jungle Adventure!” Jungle Adventure was the theme for our church’s vacation bible school last summer. For a little boy who only knows the plains of Nebraska, that is his only association with palm trees. I got a good chuckle when he said that.
The directions for this snack are pretty self explanatory, right? You just need an orange, banana, a couple of kiwi and some hungry kids. Fun, super easy, and healthy!
Grilled Lettuce
| April 26, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Sides |
Any time we get a warm and sunny day I start itching for grilled foods- I absolutely love food fresh off the grill! In part, I love it because my kids love it, therefore it is one meal I can ensure there will be no complaints about what is for dinner. I also may love it so much because I am not the actual griller. That is my husband’s job, so it means a night off from the kitchen for me. I am pretty sure he would take it as quite the insult if I even thought about taking over his grill.
There have been many new culinary creations he has pulled off that grill that I hadn’t even heard of beforehand. Grilled lettuce is something he introduced me to last summer. I haven’t been able to get it off my mind since. I really thought he was off his rocker when he told me to pick up some hearts of romaine lettuce from the store and then later told me his plans for it, but man was I in for a surprise! It really is just a taste you wouldn’t expect and compliments other grilled food very well. Here is what he does:
Buy a couple of heads of hearts of romaine lettuce. Drizzle with olive oil and throw it on the grill. It takes no time at all to cook. After you pull your steaks off just throw the lettuce on for a few minutes. Easy peasy, right?
Chop off the ends of the head of lettuce and continue to coarsely chop the lettuce. Throw in some shredded cheddar cheese, toss, and you’re all set. Greg asked what kind of dressing I liked best with it and we both replied, “Ranch” simultaneously. Ranch isn’t even my favorite dressing in general but for some reason it just really is extra fantastic with grilled lettuce.
Next time you grill, throw on a couple heads of hearts of romaine lettuce. You won’t believe what this simple addition can do to a meal!
If you’d like some more reading material, check out my sister’s blog where she talks about an incredibly fun girl’s trip we took this past weekend with our mom. I second everything she said! By the end of the weekend my stomach was literally sore from laughing. Which could be an indicator of how miserably out of shape I am, but instead I’ll use it as an indicator of how much fun we had :)!
Apple Sandwiches
| April 25, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Snacks & Desserts |
Carson had his kindergarten physical yesterday. When they kept referring to my boy as a “kindergartner” I couldn’t help but wince as if they were saying something derogatory. He is still technically a preschooler, thank you very much. Never having a kindergartener before, I never realized what a kindergarten physical entailed. They had to go through different stations of testing; eyes, ears, physical exam and shots. He got an excellent report, which is never taken for granted! However, when we got home from the appointment (we still Dr. in Lincoln, so we had a little bit of a drive) he was “huuungry”. After all, he had really exerted himself.
I wanted to give him a bit of a treat without completely forfeiting nutritional value. That is when I remembered coming across these apple sandwiches on Pinterest. Fortunately, I already had everything on hand to make them too! The only thing quicker than making these was the amount of time it took my boys to inhale them. Carson had his first “sandwich” down before I had even completed making one for Griffin. Mom and dad even got in on the snack and we did our fair share of inhaling them. Super easy and yummy!
Source: pinterest.com
Frozen Yogurt Drops
| April 20, 2012 | Posted by Brooke under Recipes: Snacks & Desserts |
The snack idea I’m about to share with you can be filed under the “Found On Pinterest: Why Didn’t I Think of That” category. This snack is just as simple as it’s title suggests; frozen yogurt drops. All you do is spoon your favorite yogurt into a Ziploc bag, snip off a corner of the bag and squeeze drops onto a cookie sheet. Place the cookie sheet in the freezer, go live your life for approximately an hour and come back and enjoy yourself a tasty and very low calorie treat. Greg asked me twice if I was serious that it was just the yogurt and that I hadn’t added anything else to the mixture. I assured him it was just the yogurt and that I do not in fact typically come in and out of consciousness, and for the most part remember what I put in the food we eat.
My kids couldn’t get enough of these. They were devouring them by the fistful. The next time I make these I may make them the size of a cookie to try and slow them down a bit. They taste like ice cream, so it makes them think they are really getting away with something when in fact it is quite the healthy snack. Ahh, sweet deception.
Recent Comments