And the winner is...

So, ever wake up knowing that today is going to be one of those days?!?!?! That's how my morning started - waking up at 6:25 when we are supposed to leave for seminary at 6:15! Thought I was doing good to get back on track, dinner in the crock pot, HEALTHY lunch almost on the stove - just needed to add the chicken broth - sent Drew to the garage for the broth - while he was gone decided to start cleaning up the food processor - see where this is headed? Base wiped down - check. Bowl wiped down - check. Shredder blade meet thumb - UH OH! So here I sit, 3 1/2 hours later, 3 stitches and a huge bandage later. We did take pics for a possible scrapbook page of the cut after it was cleaned and the stitches. To add insult to injury I had to get a tetnus shot too!

Anyway, enough hunt and peck typing! Hope everyone else is having a good day!

Chicken Taco Rice from Bloggers lunch

Here is the recipe from the bloggers lunch. We had a great time but missed those of you who couldn't make it.

Chicken Taco Rice

2 C. cooked chicken, shredded
3 C. chicken broth
8 oz. tomato sauce
1 pkg. taco seasoning
1 1/2 C. brown rice, uncooked
3 green onion, sliced using white and green portions

Mix everything together in large saucepan. Bring to a boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer until rice is done, 45 - 50 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand for 5 minutes. Fluff with a fork incorporating in the sliced green onion.

To freeze: Allow mixture to cool. Place in appropriate sized Ziploc. Seal, label and freeze.

To serve: Thaw in refrigerator. Reheat in microwave until warm or reheat in saucepan adding a little water to keep moist.

Serve with shredded cheddar cheese, tortilla chips, tortillas, tomatoes, lettuce, sour cream, salsa, hot sauce, etc.

I add an additional sliced green onion to the top as garnish.

We often times skip the chips or tortillas as the rice provides enough carbs but will say that it makes a great "wrap" that I have wrapped in wax paper and cut in half diagonally and then wrapped in plastic wrap and thrown into the kids lunches - something different from sandwiches.

My New Kids

Here are some pictures of my babies! The little black one is Bear and the cream one is Sugar. The basket was supposed to hold their toys (and the cat toys which they have taken over!) but apparently the basket made a better bed! Anywayz, Bear weighed 2 pound 6 oz. at his first visit to the vet and at this weeks visit he weighed 4 pound even. Sugar weighed 2 pound 7 oz. on her first visit and at this weeks visit she weighed 4 pound 6.5 oz. The vet estimates that they should weigh 10 - 12 pounds full grown. We are working on leash training and will start puppy training classes soon. We have bells tied to the back door which they are getting really good at jingling when they want/need to go out though we still have occasional accidents! We were concerned about how the cats would do with them - Midnight hides from them in our bedroom - Pixie plays with them some, smacks them when she's had enough and puts them in their place other times for unknown reasons. She has even been seen giving them "baths" every now and again - but by the time I get the camera she is done!

Meet Wyatt & Sara

While trying to make sure I understood how to do the whole picture thing (since I want to send pictures of my puppies and my recent OAMC session) - I thought I would take a minute and introduce you to my cutie pie nephew Wyatt (and his mom - Sara!). For those of you who like baby facts - Wyatt was born at 10:32 a.m. Saturday December 29th. He weighed 6 pounds 2.5 oz. and was 19 1/2 inches long.

I cannot tell you how blessed we are that he is HEALTHY - his poor mom had a hard pregnancy (diabetes & pre-eclampsia) and during the testing his spina bifida testing came back abnormal - the doctor really tried to convince them to abort but since Jeff (my brother) and Sara had already miscarried one little one - they decided they were blessed to have even made it to the testing phase and would take whatever Heavenly Father dealt them.

Can I just tell you I can't wait to get my hands on him! Right now they are stationed in Hawaii - and I can't afford to fly over there and stay in a hotel etc. (my brother Jeff is a smoker so I won't stay with them!) so I have to wait until they come back to the mainland!

Anyway, thanks for being so patient with my hectic lifestyle and sporadic postings!