Put your whole self in.

That's what it's all about.

Crushing on you...

One of my favorite traditions is our "Valentines Dinner of Family Love".  We have a fancy dinner of steak and shrimp and chocolate dipped strawberries. We also take the opportunity to tell each person why we love them. It is a special time for our family. 

 I saw this idea for a drink on Pinterest and had to copy. 

This will be fun for our dinner. Here is the link for the PDF I made. 

 When I got put in as Primary president in December it was crazy. We didn't have time to give the teachers a Christmas gift in appreciation for all they do. Now that things have slowed down a little bit we put these together (idea from Pinterest, once again) for the teachers for Valentine's Day. Here's the PDF (generic, just Primary kids) for that as well.

 I love Valentine's Day and it makes me appreciate my sweet family and husband. It's nice because there isn't the pressure like with Christmas, and often it's the small tokens of affection that remind us that we are loved.

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Forget me not

I planted these seeds back in October and I had almost forgotten about them. I wasn't sure really what would happen, or if I planted them in the right season, etc. But lately they are looking great and yesterday I noticed the first blossom! Yay! Nature amazes me. It gives me hope. If there is that much potential in a little seed;  if I just keep doing everything I can to nourish myself and my family that Heavenly Father can make something beautiful out of us too.

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Freezer Friday - Mini Cheesy Meatloaves

No one (including me) in my family is a big meatloaf fan, but then I started making these. Everyone but Tyler loves them, and he may join the ranks soon. He has to practice liking a bite of what he doesn't like so maybe one day he will be on Team Mini Meatloaf.

I found the recipe on a blog called My Sister's Cucina almost three years ago and I adapted it to the freezer after I made it the first time. It's a great thing to have in your freezer. We love to eat it with Stuffed Bleu Cheese Potatoes or just baked potatoes and green beans. 

Mini Cheesy Meatloaves
1 lb. ground beef
1/2 cup oats
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup grated cheddar cheese
1 egg
1/4 cup milk
3 Tbsp onion (chopped)

Sauce - make extra to get them really good and covered.
1 Tbsp brown sugar
1 Tbsp mustard
1/3 cup ketchup

Combine all ingredients very well. Use ice cream scoop to form into scoops of meatloaf.
Place in greased, shallow baking dish. Cover with sauce. Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.

To adapt it for the freezer be sure to use fresh, not previously frozen ground beef. When you scoop the meatloaf  just put them onto a greased cookie sheet and freeze. I freeze with the sauce already on. It is a little messier, but I have found that is the simplest way. (I am all about simplest way :) Once they are frozen put the desired amount into labeled Ziploc freezer bags. 

To prepare, thaw in fridge during the day and cook for 30 minutes. Or cook directly from frozen for about 45 minutes (covered).

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Freezer Friday - Chicken parmesan

One of our favorite freezer recipes is Chicken Parmesan. Everyone likes it. 

Here is the recipe from my mom:

Chicken Parmesan 

2 egg whites

1 tablespoon water

1 large garlic clove, minced

½ cup dry bread crumbs

¼ cup Parmesan cheese

1 ½ teaspoons Italian Seasoning

¼ teaspoon salt

4 boneless skinless chicken breasts - (pounded thin)

1 tablespoon olive oil

4 oz. grated mozzarella cheese

½ cup heated pizza sauce 

Whisk egg whites in bowl with water until foamy. Stir in garlic. Mix breadcrumbs, Parmesan and seasonings in shallow bowl. Dip chicken in egg whites then in crumbs. Repeat. Heat 1 ½ tablespoon of olive oil in skillet, add chicken. Cook for 4 minutes until golden brown. Add remaining oil to pan and turn chicken over. Cook 4 minutes longer or until cooked through. Top each chicken breast with cheese and cook until melted. Transfer to serving dish and drizzle with sauce.

This is how I adapt it for the freezer: 

I cook an obnoxious amount (usually about 10 pounds), but at the end of the day you have several dinners but the same amount of dirty dishes. Once the chicken is browned on both sides, instead of covering it with sauce I let it cool slightly on the cooling racks. Then you know the drill, the pans go into the freezer to freeze them quickly. Once they are frozen I put the amount my family will eat into labeled gallon size Ziploc bags and then right back into the freezer. 

When we are ready to eat I put the frozen chicken into a baking dish and cook @ 350 for 30-45 minutes (can vary depending on thickness of chicken). Towards the end of cooking I put the sauce and mozzarella cheese on. This keeps them nice and crispy, not soggy. Sometimes we just eat them plain with no sauce.  I love having these in the freezer, they are so tasty and really freeze well. Be sure to use fresh, not previously frozen chicken.  

I really need to learn to take better pics - these don't look very appetizing, but man they smell and taste so good. 

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I remember.

 This has been an emotional week. Every time I start thinking about 9/11 I start to cry. I know it's partly lack of sleep (hello cross-country 4:40 a.m. carpool) and baby hormones, but the loss of all of those lives has really affected me this week. I was grateful we could go to Tempe's Healing Field and walk around tonight. They have one flag to remember each life lost. Nearly three thousand. Very touching.

Freezer Friday - Raspberry Lime Rickey

I love yummy punch. Mel's Kitchen cafe blog has a delicious recipe for Raspberry Lime Rickey. Here's a quick idea to make it ahead and make life easy on party day. You can also take advantage of a good sale. (Raspberries are on sale this week at Albertsons for 99 cents). 

Just follow the recipe. I did a quadruple batch. When it was cooled off, I put 2 cups of the syrup into freezer quart size bags. Lay the bags flat in the freezer and smile because now you can have yummy punch when ever the mood hits you. I like to serve one bag in a punch bowl filled with Sonic Ice, a 2 liter of Sprite and some lime slices.