Monday, October 20, 2008

Monday Randomness!

First of all, my awesome sil, Jenna, awarded me w/this...



Thank you, Jenna! I'm honored to know that she feels I deserve this!

Now I want to pass it on to my sister and my mother, because they are the ones who inspired me to get back into scrapbooking and encourage the creativeness that I have been blessed with. (Now you guys get to pass it on...)

The kids went back to school today after a week long Fall break. I was certainly ready for a little quiet time. I love my kids to death, but they sure have a ton of energy and are loud to boot! I ended up keeping Trenton home from preschool today though, because he's got some sort of eye infection that I didn't want to risk him passing on to someone else. I don't know that it's pink eye...but as far as I know I've never dealt with that, so I could be wrong. His bottom eyelid is pink and puffy and he's got a little bit of drainage. He seems to be dealing fine however!

Last night for dinner I fixed shredded pork tacos. The pork was sooo good! Here's the recipe I used...

3-4 pounds pork shoulder roast
1/4 cup chili powder
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon taco seasoning
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste

DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F (150 degrees C).
Place the roast on top of a large piece of aluminum foil. In a small bowl, stir together the chili powder, oregano, taco seasoning and garlic. Rub onto the roast. Wrap foil around the roast so that it is completely covered, using additional aluminum foil if necessary. Place on top of a roasting rack in a baking dish, or place a cookie sheet on an oven rack below to catch any leaks.
Roast the meat for 3 1/2 to 4 hours in the preheated oven, until falling apart. Remove from the oven, and shred into small pieces using two forks. Season with salt to taste.

We used the small flour tortillas and added only sour cream & mexican blend cheese. Totally yummy! I didn't get a picture though.

Friday night I fixed some homemade cinnamon rolls for Saturday morning breakfast...



******C i n n a m o n R o l l s ******
2 packages (about 3-1/4 teaspoons) dry yeast
1/4 cup warm water
1/2 cup shortening
1/3 cup sugar
1-1/2 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk
1 egg
4 to 5 cups sifted flour
melted butter
brown sugar
cinnamon

PREPARATION:
Add the warm water to the yeast and soak 10 minutes.

Scald milk; pour over the shortening. Add sugar and salt and cool to tepid. Add the dissolved yeast and beaten egg. Add 4 cups flour adding one at a time beating after each addition.

Dough should be soft yet firm enough to handle.

Knead on floured board until elastic and smooth. Avoid too much flour. Turn dough into well oiled bowl. Let rise for 1-1/2 hours.

Press dough down and divide into workable size. Roll dough out into a rectangle. Cover with melted butter. Layer with a generous thick layer* of brown sugar. Sprinkle on cinnamon* as desired.
Roll up jellyroll fashion.

Cut slices about 1" - 1.5" thick. Place slices on foil lined, greased pan. Let rise another hour.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven about 15 - 20 minutes. If rolls get too brown, cover with a piece of tin foil until the end of baking. Do not over bake rolls.


Cream Cheese Frosting:

stir together the following ingredients:
• 1 (3 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
• 1/4 cup butter, softened
• 1 1/2 cups confectioners' sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract


Spread over warm rolls as soon as they are placed on a plate to let the frosting melt and run into the rolls.

Again, SOOO YUMMY!

This is my 3rd year of making these. I only bake them October through December though, so we enjoy them while we can.

Last Thursday night for dinner I made Fried Porkchops...



Josiah suggested it and they turned out soo yummy. I don't think I'd ever tried them fried before. I made them the same as I do fried chicken.

First I started out w/a boneless pork loin, which I sliced into no more than 1/2" thick slices. Then I salt & peppered both sides before covering them in flour.

Melt shortening over medium heat until hot. (You'll know it's ready when water flicked onto it, pops.

Add pork chops 1 piece at a time to hot oil. Cover with lid, while heat is still on medium/low, cook 3-4 minutes per side. After both sides have cooked, turn the heat to high and cook chicken for 2 more minutes per side, uncovered.


I guess it's pretty obvious that I don't cook the healthiest meals. I am however, very proud of myself that I've been cooking at home as much as I have lately, rather than going out for fast food. It has been saving us a ton o money!

Saturday I was at Costco and picked up a few things which included frozen chicken patties along with a few other things. As I was driving home, I was very tempted to pick up some lunch somewhere rather than having to fix something when I arrived. Typically, if I'm in the car and have this sort of urge, I will just go with it. It's easier all around. I resisted this urge though. Knowing I had some left over buns at home from hamburgers that I'd made a few nights before, and if they didn't get used soon, they'd go bad. I also had some leftover ham & swiss cheese from the night before when I'd made omelettes for dinner. I decided that going home and heating up some chicken patties would be the best idea. The kids just had chicken patties on a bun. For Josiah and I, I added ham and melted a slice of swiss cheese over our patties. A quick and easy meal, and a happy mom since the buns and extra ham didn't go to waste! I hate wasted food!

Saturday I went to my sil's house for a GNO craft night. We made some Christmas tree ornaments. I tend to be a super slow crafter, so mine of course did not get completely finished. I will finish this week though and hopefully get some pics up. We had tons of fun crafting and chatting and snacking. We even got to meet a fellow blogger for the first time! Julie aka Crazymama, came and crafted with us. She was, as stated in her blog title, Truly Delightful in Every Way! Lots of fun meeting you Julie!

The next couple weeks are going to be fairly busy! Josiah and I signed up for a cake decorating contest for our ward's Halloween party this Saturday evening. (Josiah's idea..) It may run in his family to be great cake decorators, but not in mine. Sure my mom used to make cakes, but she took a class to learn those skills. I haven't done that. No clue how it's going to turn out. They were also sending around a sign-up list to the primary classes for the kids to sign up for either a cake or a pumpkin, so of course a couple of the kids signed up. Rylie signed up for the pumkin carving contest and I'm not sure about the others, but we'll get a reminder call...hopefully before Friday night.

Saturday morning I have Cub Scout Day Camp. I'm not at all thrilled that I have to spend the first 1/2 of my day there. Especially since we'll have to get that cake done. Ugh!

Next week is my week to teach preschool. I really need to look over the curriculum before Sunday evening. I don't expect it to be that bad though. Mostly I just need to make sure the house gets and stays clean. For Wednesday next week, we're just going to be having a Halloween party. That should be simple enough. I hope. I should probably figure out details for that ASAP, so I can let the moms know if they will need to help.

Then of course, Halloween is the following Friday. We will be going to my sil's house for her scones that she makes every Halloween. The kids will get to go trick-or-treating together which they always love. Although Rylie is wishing we could just go in our neighborhood for once. I told her that maybe we could do that before heading over.

The following week, starting on the 6th of November, through the 11th, Josiah has off from work. Our anniversary is the 8th and my birthday is the 9th. We are going to try our hardest to (fingers crossed) head up to Show Low for that weekend. We spent our Honeymoon as well as our 1st anniversary in Show Low, both in the Honeymoon Suite at the Days Inn Hotel. We are hoping this time though, that we'll be able to stay with Grandma & Grandpa Holiday?? The kids will be going with us too, so the Honeymoon Suite is out of the question. I'm very excited about this possibility though of getting out of town for a couple days.

Christmas is just around the corner. I can not even believe how quickly it is coming! That's ok though. So far I'm not stressing out about it.

We discussed with the kids a few days ago, about how we don't want to overload ourselves with too many presents this year. We want to try and focus more on the real meaning of Christmas. We discussed w/them how we've been blessed that Josiah still has a job during this falling economy and how many homes haven't been as lucky. The girls liked the idea of picking some names from the Christmas Angel tree at the mall, and sharing our blessings with others. I'm excited for the opportunity that they will have to learn from this experience. I hope it can be a very memorable one for them.


And now I've sat here long enough! I hope everyone is having a fabulous Monday!

8 comments:

Leslie said...

Sounds like lots of fun!!

I thought Rylie did trick or treat in her neighborhood last year. Or is it that it wasnt on your street?

I hope you can get out of town, you guys deserve a nice break..

And good luck on your cake..
I think that would be fun to do...they do all the fun stuff once we leave...I signed up for chicken noodle soup for our party...not sure how falley that is but it was on there and I signed up for it.

Crazymamaof6 said...

OHHHHHHHHHH love how those cinnamon rolls look! i need some of that delight!
YUMMY! is it hard? i have never baked cinnamon rolls.

it was SO FUN to meet you the other night. and craft. i got way less done than you. i am a slow crafter also.
totally cute though and SO FUN!

way to go cooking at home. that is awesome. i think everyone is getting to that point financially. cheaper is smarter. but not always so fun. gold star for you cooking and baking though! that is RAD!

way fun to go on a trip if you do.

ok and i love your playlist! you have some awesome songs on it. i may have to listen to it while i craft!


time seems to speed up the last few months of the year, and as the years go by. i'm already stressing. a little. awesome you are doing the christmas angel thing that is so exciting for kids.

Jenna said...

I remember that honeymoon trip! That was our gift to you guys! It's been so many years now! Congratulations on that. Your wedding was so beautiful.

We love to do the names on the Angel tree too. The kids get so into it. Good for you guys.

And your dinners always look so mouthwatering!

Love your new wallpaper here!

Tanya said...

FYI my dear, dear sister...it sounds like pink eye

Raelene said...

Yes, of course you can stay with us, we would love to have you! The kids can also go and collect some good pine cones out back to make some Christmas decorations with. Grandpa can also do some more of his excavating for indian relics with them.

Unknown said...

Oh man- I just went from not thinking about food, to STARVING. I'm taking all of those recipes.

Hannah said...

You've inspired me Sarah. I'm gonna make pork chops for dinner tonight. I love when you post pictures of the meals you make. They all look so yummy.

Hey if you guys wanna borrow any cake tools, you're more than welcome!

Saint Holiday said...

Sarah!
That Josiah is a lucky guy, and I hope he knows it. I've got the best family in the world.

Love,
The Ancient of Weeks