This Weekend:

* I was home in the afternoon on Friday (good thing!) and my doorbell rang.
My girls answered it and called to me, saying it was for me.  

My visiting teachers were there.  (I'd totally forgot they were coming!)

But, luckily, I was here so we got to visit.
It was also lucky I'd changed out of the muumuu I had been hanging out in earlier in the day!
 (THAT would've been a sure giveaway that I'd forgotten!)

(Except my family room was a mess with kids' games, back packs, papers, clothes, scriptures, etc. strewn on the floor & chairs.
One of the ladies literally had to pick up
stuff off the couch and move it first before she was able to sit down!  Aaugh!
So, maybe they figured out my forgetfulness anyway?)

* Before going out on our date in the evening, we had to play "taxi service" for

Kyle, taking him to his social events/party.

* We went out to dinner at Sonora Grill in Ogden.

Matt had received a birthday "free entree" coupon already,

so that helped us choose the place tonight.

(I'm on this no-white-flour challenge, so I had to order my meal with corn tortillas......tonight was just not as yummy as their flour tortillas entrees I've had there in the past.)

* After dinner, it was still early enough that we figured our children would

still be up, so we stopped at Ross to kill some time go shopping.

We had to get some pool & beach essentials for the fam in preparation for our upcoming vacation.

* On Saturday morning, I walked to the library to return and pick up some books.
AND to get my fitbit steps in.  As I was out & about, I saw a couple of friends
who were outside, so I stopped to visit.  My 40 min. walk/errand turned into TWICE that long! :)

* We spent some time out in the yard.  Matt set up a pump to pump out the water
that is in our trampoline hole (a natural spring?)  The water was coming
out a hose - and it was crystal clear - so I took the hose up to the
garden we planted last week and watered the whole thing with the "good" water.
{I think we've got our emergency water situation taken care of!}
I cut up a watermelon and it tasted SO GOOD coming in from the warm outdoors.

* I went through the pile of clothes that has somehow ended up on my laundry room counter.
For some reason, the kids were putting clothes they didn't want to wear anymore there.
WHY?
I separated and organized them all into Put Away/Give Away/Throw Away piles
and now we can see the counter top again!

* Matt & I went to the plasma donation center.
I started a new book to read while I layed there donating:

(I haven't decided if it's good or not, yet.)

* We were driving towards an eating establishment, and right before we got there,
we got a text from Matt's brother inviting us to go to Sushi Monster with them.
Well, of course!  So, we switched gears and headed to meet them.
Except, I needed to eat one more vegetable for the day with this challenge I'm on,
and I wasn't sure I could get a whole serving from just sushi, so we
stopped at a grocery store to buy some carrot chips.
While we were in there, my flip flop straps totally came out and the foot-bed cracked
and was dangling on a thread, just seconds from breaking into two pieces.
I knew I couldn't go to Sushi Monster without any shoes on,
so we swung by our house to get new flip flops for me.
(Sidenote: I had a feeling that this 2nd pair of flip flops might fail me, too,
so I put a "replacement" pair in purse just in case.....and guess what?
I DID need them when my 2nd pair also broke.  Two in one night?!?  Wow! I'm talented!)

* Sushi Monster was good, and the company was great.
My recommendation: the Las Vegas roll.
Delish.

* Afterwards, we went to six stores looking for a new light blue purse for me.
My current one (in my beloved color, red, but I thought I venture out to a new color) is kinda hammered.

 (Yes, this is the same purse that Kohl's replaced for me last year.  I didn't have the gall to ask them for a new one AGAIN - it's tearing because I put the whole kitchen sink in it!)
Kohl's is ONE of the stores I went to, but in the end, I found my purse at Target (on clearance even!)

* On Sunday morning, I slept in until 9:30 a.m.!!!
This has just become a luxury in recent years.
Our kids have [finally]  figured it out that IF they wake us up,
we put them to work/tell them to get dressed/make them eat REAL, healthy food,
so it's so much better, in their minds, to let us sleep! ;)
Smart kids!

* I went out visiting teaching with my companion on Sunday,
then I came home, and our home teachers came to my family.
(Was it the last day of the month, or something?!?)  ;)

* Churchy-Church
It was the missionary farewell of one of my former young women!
They're growing up! {sniff, sniff}  She did a great job!
She shared an awesome quote from a Elder Holland talk he delivered at the MTC back in 2000.
Read it HERE.

 * Because it was the 5th Sunday, we had a combined meeting with the
Priesthood men and Relief Society women the last hour of our church block.
The theme of the meeting was "Family Home Evening" and we had been
asked to speak about our experience, representing a "family with children at home."
(There was also a newlywed couple and an Empty Nester couple who spoke.)
The thing about this "assignment" was, last Sunday Matt had mentioned to me, in passing, that
the Elder's Quorum President had talked to him about something and that he'd have to tell me about it later......
Well, that "later" happened to be last night around 10:00 p.m.!
(Ya gotta love it, baby!)

* I had a meeting after church, so I gave Matt instructions on everything
he needed to do to get dinner ready.
He owed it to me after the lack of notice he gave me on my speaking assignment in church, don't ya think?!?  ;)
We had Ranch Chicken.  It was a new recipe (found HERE) and I approved.

* We went on a family walk on the Lagoon Trail up to Farmington Pond
with grandma/pa and Matt's brother, wife, & kids.

A lot of other people had the same idea...and somehow some people
had confused our quiet Farmington Pond for a swimming hole that day.
There were a ton a people jumping off the fishing docks, splashing around,
and wearing skimpy suits - I'd never seen THAT up there.
Needless to say, we didn't stay long at all.

* Wrote my weekly letter to our missionary

* I quit eating before 9:00 p.m. (another part of this blasted challenge I'm on),
while Matt baked up some cookies for himself from the cookie
dough I'd made (but I didn't eat any!) for the missionary farewell/lunch.
 Only one week left of the challenge!  Yay!  ;)

Why My Husband is Awesome - Reason #419

Night before last I kind of had a little (read: major) Freak Out to Matt.
It had to do with how close it was getting to Christmas and how much work there was to do still.
It had to do with THE LIST.
It had to do with everyone's expectations.
(The Fam wants everything to be the same even though everything is NOT the same!)
It had to do with the demands on my TIME.  Namely, I don't have the same kind of TIME that I used to have to get things done - I now work my job during the school day hours, whereas before I "did Christmas" (and the homemaking/laundry/cooking) during those same hours.

So, after this "diarrhea of the mouth" (that took a good amount of time, with Matt "trapped" in our room) Matt's face had a look of bewilderment on it.
He doesn't want me to quit my job.
He doesn't want to quit having dinner.
He doesn't want me to quit showering.
He doesn't want to quit Christmas.
As a man, he feels he's suppose to come up with a solution - that's what men do, they "fix" things, but, at the moment, he didn't have a solution. 
That night, it got left like that - UNfixed.

The next afternoon, I got a text from Matt:
"I will be home from work around 5:00 to make dinner.  I will make whatever you have on the menu schedule if you leave me with the recipe.  Feel free to go and run any errands you may have."

Ahhhh!

That's what I needed!
He figured out a "solution" - sometimes in marriage, you need to re-divide the household responsibilities. 

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup (from "The Girl Who Ate Everything") was on the menu schedule, so, admittedly, I was a little nervous for him because.......well......let's just say it wasn't SPAGHETTI!  ;)

He realized dinner takes a long time to make!!  Whew!
But, that was OK - I was busy doing other things, remember?

When we sat down to eat, and I took my first spoonful -- it tasted A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.
It's like the lemon enhances all the other seasonings/flavors!

And I exclaimed this multiple times - as he sat there, hardly smiling about my compliments, BECAUSE he was drained from making dinner - it is A LOT of work - especially with multiple children all around needing help with homework, zippers, & urgent dilemmas.  Them asking, "What's for dinner?" or "What is THAT?" and telling you they're hungry don't make things any easier, either.  Poor Guy! :)  I can relate.  I love you, Matt!

Well, I thought I'd share the fabulous recipe with y'all.
I still haven't decided if it was SO GOOD because it really is SO GOOD or because I didn't have to make it!
Either way, here it is:

Lemon Chicken Orzo Soup

Yield: about 6 servings

Ingredients

• 9 cups chicken stock
• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 1/3 cups carrots, chopped
• 1 1/3 cups onions, chopped finely
• 1 cup celery, chopped
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1 teaspoon fresh thyme
• 1 bay leaf
• 2 1/2 teaspoons lemon rind, grated
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 rotisserie-cooked chicken, shredded (about 3 cups)
• 8 ounces orzo pasta, uncooked (about 1 1/2 cups)
• 1/4 cup fresh flat-leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
• 1/2 teaspoon black pepper, coarsely cracked (optional)
• 1/4 cup Romano cheese, grated (optional)

Instructions

1. Heat the olive oil in a large Dutch oven or large pot.
2. Add the carrot, onion, celery, garlic, thyme, bay leaf, lemon rind and salt. Saute ingredients over medium heat until vegetables begin to soften.
3. Add the chicken stock and lemon juice. Bring to a boil.
4. Add the chicken and orzo. Simmer until orzo is cooked through. (see Note not serving soup right away)
5. Just before serving add parsley and remove bay leaf. Garnish with salt and black pepper if needed and Romano cheese if desired.

Notes

If you're serving right away you can add the orzo pasta and chicken at the same time until the orzo is cooked. If you plan on serving later it at a later time you may want to cook the orzo separately and add right before serving. The orzo pasta tends to soak up all the liquid and can become quite thick if you simmer the soup for a long time. You can always add more chicken stock if you want to thin it out a little.

Have YOUR husbands make it for your family, too!!  Enjoy!

A Taste of Christmas

What would Christmas be if not for the food?

We have some recipes/dishes that we have but once a year.  They are reserved for Christmas.  They are practically sacred.  They are anticipated.  They make our mouths water the day of preparation.  Then they are savored - or devoured, depending on WHO you are in our family.  ;)

Do you want to know what they are?

Here's some of the cast of characters:

Christmas Eve Dinner:

Jello Slush
2 sm. (3 oz.) pkgs. jello - any RED flavor dissolved in 2 cups boiling water
5 c. sugar dissolved in 3 more cups boiling water
1 lg. (46 oz.) can pineapple juice
8 more cups water

Mix together and freeze.  Remove from freezer 1 - 2 hours before serving.
Place in punch bowl and mix with 2 liters "7-up" type soda.
Serves 50  (or less if you're like my family and keep going back for more & more & more....)

Ruth's Chris Sweet Potatoes
Sweet Potato Mixture:
3 c. cooked and mashed sweet potatoes
1 c. sugar
1/2 t. salt
1 t. vanilla
2 eggs, well beaten
1/2 c. (1 cube) butter, melted
splash of milk (if needed)

To cook sweet potatoes, boil them for 30 minutes.
Combine all ingredients together in the order listed.  Beat thoroughly for about 3-4 minutes to increase the fluffiness of the sweet potato mixture.  Add a splash of milk if too stiff.  Put mixture into a [sprayed with nonstick spray], medium-sized casserole dish.  Bake for 35 minutes at 375 degrees.  *At this point, dish can be covered and refrigerated for a couple of days.
Crust:
1 c. brown sugar
1/3 c. flour
1 c. chopped pecans
1/3 cube butter, melted

Mix together and sprinkle the surface of the sweet potato mixture with the crust mixture and return to oven for 15 minutes.  Allow to set at least 30 min. before serving.
The brown sugar/pecan crust should be slightly browned and crunchy.  
Makes 12 servings.

And this year, for the ones who turn their noses up on sweet potatoes, I added an "alternative."

"Boat" Potatoes
(more commonly known to the outside world as "twice-baked potatoes")
4 baking potatoes, scrubbed clean
Canola oil
4+ T.  prepared bacon crumbles (conveniently found at Costco) - or you could fry up actual slices of thick-cut bacon
1/4 lb. (1 cube) butter, cut into slices 
1/2 c. sour cream
1/4 c. milk
1/4 t. seasoned salt, such as Lawry's
1/4 t. black pepper
1 c. grated sharp cheddar cheese
1 gr. onion, sliced

Preheat over to 400 degrees.  With a paper towl, rub the outside of the potatoes with canol oil.  Place the potatoes in the oven and bake for 45 minutes, or until the potatoes are cooked inside and the skins are slightly crisp.  Turn the oven down to 300 degrees.
Put the butter, sour cream, bacon, milk, seasoned salt, and pepper into a large bowl.  Cut each potato in half lengthwise.  With a large spoon, scrape out the insides into the bowl with the other ingredients.  Reserve the potato shells on a large baking sheet.  Use a potato masher to mix the ingredients together.  Stir in half (1/2 c.) the grated cheese and add the gr. onions to the bowl.  Stir.  
Fill each potato half shell with the mashed potato mixture and return to the baking sheet.  Top with the remaining (1/2 c.) cheese.  Bake for 10-15 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the potatoes are hot.  
Makes 8 "boat" potatoes.  Double the recipe if you need to serve more.


Potato Rolls
This is actually a "top secret" recipe of my friend's mother that I do not have the rights to put out there in blogosphere.
BUT, luckily, you can get it in her [published] cookbook found at:
www.idocook.com

We also have vanilla pudding as a "starter" (following a "Nut in the Pudding" Danish tradition that has been in my family for 4+ generations.  The REAL Danish way is to use rice pudding, but no one likes that, so vanilla it is!  Everyone is served a bowl of pudding, but only ONE has a nut hidden in it - secretly put in by the chef, who then mixes up the bowls, and then has a third party set them at the table, so it is totally fair.  The person who discovers the nut in THEIR bowl, wins a present right there on the spot!  :)

{Katelyn had the nut this year!}

The rest of the dinner is steak, green salad with [good] Ranch (ONLY Hidden Valley from a packet mix), and fresh
fruit - but no recipes are needed for that, just prepare it!

Christmas Day Appetizers:
I usually mix up the menu here from year to year, with a total of 4-5 dishes, but there's a couple of "constants."

Sweet & Sour Meatballs or Li'l Smokies (or both!)
This one is very difficult, but if you're extra talented, I think you can handle it!  ;)

1 (12 oz.) jar chili sauce
1 (18+ oz.) jar grape jelly 
2 lb. frozen meatballs or 2-3 packages Li'l Smokies, or a combo of both!

Combine jelly and chili sauce in a crock pot and stir until smooth.  Add meatballs or Li'l Smokies and set temperature to low.  Cook for 2-4 hours on low.  Serve with toothpicks.

 Vegetable Dip
(My food snobbery causes me to think the store bought ones are BLEH!  Note: I don't JUST make this at Christmas, I make it whenever I need veggie dip.)

1 c. sour cream
1 c. mayonnaise
2 t. onion powder
2 t. Bon Appetit seasoning salt
2 t. dill weed

Mix all together.  Chill overnight until ready to serve with any fresh cut raw veggies.


Christmas Treats/Dessert:

Homemade Pepperment "Oreo" Cookies
Cookies:
2 Devil's Food Cake Mixes
2 cubes butter
1/2 c. flour
4 eggs

Mix all ingredients together (Beware!  It is a stiff dough, it could mangle wimpy beaters).  Roll into walnut-sized balls  Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.

Filling:
8 oz. cream cheese
4 c. powdered sugar
1 t. vanilla
little milk, if needed to thin 
Beat together.
Then add:
little peppermint extract
ground up candy canes (fresh ones, do not use year-old ones - I KNOW from experience!)

(I always have too much filling left over - can reduce measurements to make less!)

Use filling between 2 chocolate cookies = "Oreo"
Then roll edges of "Oreos" into crushed up candy canes before it dries, so it sticks.

Santa Claus Cookies
2 (6 oz.) pkgs. while baking chocolate, shopped
1 pkg. Nutter Butter cookies
red colored sugar sprinkles
vanilla or white chocolate chips
miniature chocolate ships
red-hot candies 

In a heavy saucepan over low heat, melt white chocoate, stirring occasionally.  Dip one end of each Nutter Butter cookie into melted chocolate.  Place on wire racks.  For "Santa's hat," springle red sugar on top part of white chocolate.  Press on vanilla chip off center on hat for "pom-pom."  Let stand until set.  Dip other end of cookie into melted white chocolate for "Santa's beard", leaving center of cookie uncovered.  Place on wire racks.  With a dab of melted white chocolate, attach mini chocolate chips for his eyes and a red-hot for his nose.  Place on waxed paper until everything sets.
 
Homemade "Magic Shell"
(I found this on Pinterest and now I'm never buying the $3-4 bottle at the store again!) 

It's REALLY hard, are you ready for this?  ;)
1 c. chocolate chips
2 T. coconut oil

Place in microwave safe bowl and cook on high for 30 seconds. Remove and stir. Continue microwaving and stirring in 15 second intervals until all of the chocolate is melted.

Serve over Peppermint ice cream (only comes out at Christmastime, which is now 3 months out of the year!)
 


I also make my MIL's sugar cookie recipe, cut out into Christmas shapes, for everyone to frost & decorate and leave for Santa, but it's not my recipe to share, so ask her!  ;)

There you have it.

Until next year.......Good Bye.  Sayonara.  Adieu.  Adios.   Auf Wiedersehen.  Ciao.  Farewell to all our yummy Christmas food.

Comfort Food

I decided the least I could do to help with the kids' dread of going back to school (Yes! Woo Hoo! Hallelujia! Doin' back flips!) is to make their favorite meals for dinner the first week of school. Usually, I make my own menu, independently of their opinion, since their finicky ways wouldn't provide us with enough variety and I refuse to eat the same thing every single week.
But, to help ease their sorrows of the "No more homework, no more books, no more teacher's dirty looks" vacation coming to an end, this week, I catered to their taste buds - and filled their mouths & stomachs to their heart's content.
I thought I'd share their numero uno dishes.
(Disclaimer: I did not invent or write any of these recipes on my own. Tweak, I may do, but make up, I did not. They all come from cookbooks, others, T.V., blogs, etc.)

Ryan's: Mongolian Beef
2 1/2 lb. Cross Rib Roast (or any kind of roast)
1/2 cup Soy Sauce
1 tsp. minced Garlic
2 Tbsp. Hoisin Sauce
2 Tbsp. Sesame Oil
1 Tbsp. Sugar

Cut roast into large bite size strips. Mix remaining ingredients well and marinate roast in it over night. Grill or broil approximately 8 minutes on each side. (I use my George Foreman grill.) Serve over rice.


Kyle's: Sesame Chicken
4 boneless, skinless Chicken Breasts
1/2 cup Cornstarch
canola oil
2 cup Water
3/8 cup Sugar
3 Tbsp. Soy Sauce
3 Tbsp Oyster Sauce
3/4 tsp. Garlic Powder
3 Tbsp. Cornstarch
1 1/2 cup Broccoli, cut in small pieces
Sesame Seeds

Cut chicken in 1 inch cubes, put 1/2 c. cornstarch in plastic bag and toss chicken to coat. Add canola oil to skillet to cover bottom and fry chicken until med.-brown. Prepare sauce by mixing: water, sugar, soy sauce, oyster sauce, garlic powder, and cornstarch in separate pan, stir over med. heat until thickened. Pour over chicken and simmer 3 minutes. Add broccoli and steam until desired tenderness. Stir in sesame seeds and serve over rice.

Can you tell that our children have been born of two returned missionaries from Japan and, as such, raised on rice? This & that over rice. Such & such over rice. You-name-it over rice. :)


Haylee's: Hearthstone Inn French Toast and Kristen's Famous Syrup
See this recipe on her blog here. (I don't want to copy)
I'm serious, you won't want to miss out on this, but I can't take any of the credit for it! ;)
Haylee has an "all carb" diet, so this is just perfect for her! :)


Katelyn's: She insisted that she wanted Orange Chicken (another something over rice!) from Costco. But, I kept trying to ask her what her favorite meal that I COOK was since THAT comes from a box in the freezer section. She didn't get it - she told me that I could cook Costco Orange Chicken.
Finally, she said she wanted Chicken Noodle Soup without any green stuff (i.e. broccoli) in it.
Chicken Noodle Soup
6 cups Water
3 Chicken Breasts
1 Tbsp. Chicken Bouillon or Base
2 Cups chopped carrots
2 Cups Chopped Celery
1 can Cream of Chicken Soup
2 1/3 cups Chicken Broth
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 cups Country Pasta brand homemade style egg pasta

Bring water to a boil in large pot. Add chicken, bouillon or base and stir until dissolved. Cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until chicken is no longer pink in center. Remove chicken and cut in small piedes. Return to broth and add carrots, celery and onion. Cover and cook until tender. Meanwhile, cook pasta in separate pot according to package directions (this pasta takes 20-30 min.) Mix cream of chicken soup, chicken broth, and spices together and slowly stir into original broth mixture. Add noodes. Cook until heated through.


So, there you have it - their favorites - at least for this year. They might have changed their minds by the first week of school next year, but I'll help comfort them with whatever it is when the time comes.

Some of them have already asked if we can have these meals again this week!

Nope.

Now, I'll return to my own cooking agenda! :)

Food Glorious Food

My Grandma on my mom's side was such a good cook!
Whenever she had us over for dinner, it was TOP NOTCH. Mmmmm, Mmmmm!!
I learned to eat lamb with mint jelly as a child at some of those dinners at her home. (I don't think my kids would touch that with a 10 foot pole.)
Even when Grandma made me Campbell's Curly Noodle Soup for a "late night snack," it tasted so good! I've bought that soup in stores as an adult and made it and it's just not as good. Did Campbell's change the recipe from when I was a child - or was it just Grandma's touch?
And her baking was just as good!
She put on luncheons for her friends and church functions all the time, too, since she was "the sure thing" when it came to cooking.
And this carried over into my mom.
I'd even go as far to say there is some "Food Snobbery" in the genes! ;) Only high-quality, delicious food will do.
I remember, as a child, saying to my mom once, "I know why you're such a good cook, it's because Grandma is, and she passed it on to you, so I wonder if that means I'll grow up to be a good cook!?"

*Now, I should make it clear that there were some things my mom made for dinner that were pure torture to eat! She was (in)famous for the "Clean-out-the-fridge-casserole" which was down-right scary! I remember one time I did not finish my [gross] dinner, so I got it the next morning for breakfast. At which time, I did not eat it all either (how stubborn of me) - and it greeted me on my dinner plate that night for the evening meal, as well (how stubborn of mom.) Repeat, repeat. Thank goodness for school lunch in the middle of all that to offer me a "break." I remember begging my mom to PLEASE never, never make that particular meal again - EVER! I eventually did consume it all (with some snuck into the napkin, garbage, the underneath crevices of the table and "accidentally" dropped on the floor) and got to return to the regularly scheduled meal the rest of the family was eating. The "Good Cook Mom" I'm talking about is when she made "real" food, the first time around, and especially on Sundays, Birthdays, & Special Occasions.*

Would I inherit these traits? Would I continue the line of good cooks? Truth be told, I didn't really start [real] cooking until I got married - I held the position of "Prep Chef" all those years prior. And let's face it, with cooks like Grandma & Mom around, why would I?! But I received a nice collection of recipe books of my own as wedding gifts.

Now, I did plenty of baking growing up. (There's a difference - baking & cooking - did you know that?) I was more than glad to bake in a home that was entirely VOID of any junk food or sweets altogether! I also worked in a Bakery at a resort between my Freshman & Sophomore years in College. So, baking? I had that down.

So, armed with my cookbook arsenal as a newlywed, I looked through every page of them and started to write down the ones that looked good and I wanted to try. And that's what we ate the first year of our marriage - a different recipe each night from all those books. And my husband LOVES to eat food - and a lot of it - and so it made cooking rather enjoyable! But, I never, never threw together teriyaki chicken, marinara sauce w/ pasta, green peppers, peas, eggs, & brown gravy from the past week into a pot together and served up THAT! :P
And thus started my fascination with recipes. My quest for finding new and interesting (& delicious) ones. I would jot down "ratings" in the cookbooks next to the recipes as to how good it was - and unless it got the highest rating, it wasn't going to show up on our dinner table again! Because, after all, "there's other fish in the sea!" I mean, "recipes in the books/Internet/friends & family's collection!"

Whenever I've been at a shower or a party or a church activity and had something that was really good, I track down the person who made it and get the recipe.
Because of this, I don't make the same things too often. Like once every 6 months. I like variety - and the mediocre ones don't get repeated, remember? ;) That's my mantra: "Don't eat mediocre food."

I like to think that some of Grandma & Mom are coming out in me now.
(Including the "Food Snob" part.)
I remember my very first Thanksgiving being married, we went to Matt's side for dinner. And they served Instant Mashed Potatoes! For Thanksgiving. I mean, this wasn't a haven't-been-home-all-day-and-the-baby's-sick-and-I-gotta-get-dinner-on-in-fifteen-minutes-before-everyone-has-to-run-off-somewhere-else-regular-boring-Tuesday. This was Thanksgiving. My Grandma probably rolled over in her grave!! I. WAS. TRAUMATIZED. And, of course, I commented, which I shouldn't have. It's just that I'd never seen - or expected - THAT! And if you thought I was shocked, you can only imagine what my new sister-in-law was going through, who happens to be from IDAHO where they worship the potato, and was also experiencing Thanksgiving on that side of the family for the first time! ;) They have since mostly changed to REAL mashed potatoes (for our benefit) and we thank them!
So, back to me becoming a cook....
TODAY, I'm going to do something I've never done on my blog before. (Since this is NOT a food blog.)
I'm going to share a recipe.
Because, it's just too good not to. This is what we had for dinner tonight and there were quite a few "Mmmmm's" going around. I think this earned 4 stars out of my 3 stars possible rating system! And it made me giddy.
I found it on the Internet, and just from the title, I was hooked. And I was salivating. I did change it just slightly to fit with what I could find at the store [for a good price] and what I had on hand.

Shrimp Enchiladas

1/2 cup sweet red pepper, chopped
1/2 cup onion, minced
1/2 cup green pepper, chopped
1/4 cup butter
1/2 teaspoon oregano
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
3/4 cup Half & Half
1 Tablespoon flour
2-3 cups Mexican-Blend Cheese (I get this at Costco in a big bag)
1/2 cup sour cream
2 Tablespoons butter
1 to 1 1/2 pounds cooked, tail off Shrimp (also at Costco)
1/2 cup onion, chopped
2 cups tomatoes, chopped
8 (9-inch) flour tortillas

Saute red pepper, onion and green pepper in 1/4 cup butter until crisp-tender. Add oregano, salt, garlic powder, pepper, cayenne pepper, Half & Half and flour; blend well. Continue cooking for 3 minutes or until slightly thickened. Add 1 1/2 cups cheese; stir until melted. Add sour cream, stir to blend. Set aside.
In another skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter. Saute 1/2 cup onion. Chop shrimp; add to butter and onion. Add chopped tomatoes and 1/2 of the cheese sauce. Divide & spoon shrimp mixture evenly into each tortilla. Sprinkle cheese on top of shrimp mixture. Roll up tightly. Arrange seam side down in a 9X13-inch glass baking dish. Spoon remaining cheese sauce over tortillas and sprinkle with remaining cheese.

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 35 minutes.

And I'm gonna have to fight Matt for the leftovers tomorrow for lunch!

**Jill & Jennifer, I know you're both probably barfing over this recipe, since the only ingredients you'll consider eating are the salt, black pepper and flour tortillas, so just go ahead and disregard this post! And just know that your pickiness with food is seriously interfering with your ability to enjoy life to the fullest!! :)**


Up next to try this week:
Chicken with Mushrooms and Zucchini
Brown Sugar Spiced Pork Loin
Pot Roast
Overnight Breakfast Casserole
Sausage and Spinach Penne Skillet Supper
Cheesy Ham and Broccoli Crescent Braid
Healthy and Hearty Chicken Quinoa Stew
Caramel Popcorn (with a *secret* ingredient)