Tasty Tuesday

We have had a lot of zucchinis this year from our garden. I have made everything from zucchini bread to fried zucchini to casseroles to freezing it to giving it away! I try to stay creative with what I do with all of them, and this recipe for Enchilada Soup is a bit of a mix up from the basic ways to use zucchinis. This is a Pampered Chef recipe I got awhile back from a neighbor's party. Though it may still be summer, I love soup and can eat it year around! If you prefer your soup with chilly weather, cut it up and freeze it and make this soup when it cools off because it's a winner!

Enchilada Soup
Pampered Chef
3 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded
1 small zucchini, cut into halved circles
1 red pepper, diced
2-3 tablespoons of oil
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 cans chicken broth
2 cans black beans, drained and rinsed
1 large can mild red enchilada sauce
1/4-1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped (put in amount you like to taste)
1/4 cup flour

In large pot, put oil and garlic. Cook for few minutes, be careful not to burn. Add chicken and flour, stir to coat. Add zucchini, pepper, chicken broth, black beans, and enchilada sauce. Bring to boil and simmer about 20 minutes. Add cilantro, remove from heat. Serve with tortilla chips, sour cream, and shredded cheese. **I have also added a can of corn to this. Feel free to mix up the veggies...this is a really yummy soup. Want a nutritional punch? Add a couple of your veggie purees, like the orange and white ones. This is such a flavorful soup no one will notice and you'll get lots of extra vitamins!

A Pretty "Crappy" Week

Ok, the pun it totally intended, it has literally been a crappy week! Dawson has been sick with some sort of stomach bug and for the last few days I have dealt with poop...almost nonstop. Yesterday I was changing yucky diapers almost every 2 hours and half of that time it resulted in a complete outfit change because there was poop coming out of any place it could. Fun. Dawson's poor little bum is all red and chafed because of it and he has been walking around like he has been horseback riding too long...I can't help but laugh at it and then give him a big hug. When you now ask him how his bum feels he proclaims OW! very dramatically. He has had no fever with it and no vomiting; so when I talked to the nurse at the doctors office she said keep him hydrated and on a starchy diet. She then proceeded to tell me it could last 3-10 days which means there could be another 7 days of it! He seemed better today, he only had a couple of bouts of it, but somehow the 2nd time (after a bath of course) the poop traveled clear up to his shoulder blades! Is there some mother out there who can explain to me this phenomenon? How the heck does poop seep up their backs, seriously?! Anyways, he has been a champ though and it really hasn't stopped him too much...somehow he still seems to be happy and playful and energetic. He has definitely loved laying on the couch or Mom and Dad's bed and watching as much Caillou as he wants and getting pampered and fussed over. He will climb up onto the couch, request a blanket and his puppy dog stuffed animal, then ask for his juice (which has been pedialyte) and "aillou" aka Caillou. I figured I wouldn't take any pictures to go with this post, considering again, they would be pretty crappy pictures!!! Ok ok, I am done with the venting, poop talk, and bad jokes!

Tasty Tuesday

Got tomatoes in your garden? Maybe some peppers or onions or cilantro? Well make Fresh Tomato Salsa!! I love this recipe, I think it's the perfect blend of flavors and it is so easy to make as well. Don't have a garden? It up a local Farmer's Market. The produce is always really fresh and much cheaper than in the stores!

Fresh Tomato Salsa

3 tomatoes, seeded and chopped
1/2 cup finely diced onion
1-2 jalapenos, finley chopped
1/2 cup cilantro, roughly chopped
1 t salt
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 t fresh lime juice

Combine and chill for 1 hour.

Tagged and Tagged!

I have been tagged twice...once by Carrie and once by Liz...so I am going to do them both in one post...sorry if it's long and you get sick hearing all about me!

Liz's Tag:
3 Joys: My family & friends, scrapbooking, and being a mommy

3 Fears: Losing a loved one, spiders, and getting hit from behind in my car (or anywhere)

3 Obsessions: Keeping my kitchen clean, Dawson's laugh, and diet coke

3 Surprising Facts: When I was 3 years old I fell out of a 2 story window and walked away with a couple of bruises, I bite my nails and have tried to quit numerous times, and when I was 6 years old I was obsessed with the name Jenny so I would introduce myself to everyone as "Jenny Sarah" and then my Mom would have to explain my "phase" I was going through.

I tag Dawn Anderson, Lisa Anderson, and Debbie Thurston

Carrie's Tag:
In honor of the Olympic's opening ceremony held on 8-8-08....Here are my 8's...

8 TV Shows I Love to Watch: Jon and Kate Plus 8, The Office, America's Next Top Model, Scrubs, One Tree Hill, The Hill's, Keeping Up with the Kardashians, and Iron Chef America

8 Restaurants I Love: Cafe Rio, Rumbi's, The Melting Pot, Cheesecake Factory, Noodles & Co, Paradise Bakery and Cafe, Tommy's Hot Dogs, and Georgio's Pizza

8 Things I am Doing Today: My "job" at Paper Crafts (doing the magazine returns), Eating Arby's, Blogging, Reading my new People Magazine, Going to a Farmer's Market, Going to Boondocks, Playing with Dawson, and Going to Bed!

8 Things I am Looking Forward To: Fall time, Dawson's Birthday, Chris's Birthday, Our Anniversary, the Holidays, Visiting my Family, the Weekend, and Being Almost all Caught up on my Scrapbooking!

8 Things I Love About Summer: Flip Flops, Swimming, BBQ's, Playing Outside with Dawson, Taking Vacations, Going on Walks in the Evenings, Growing a Garden, and the 4th of July

8 Olympic Events I Want to See: I Don't Think I have 8, but Summer/Winter Combined I Like Figure Skating, Gymnastics, Swimming, Women's Volleyball, Speed Skating, and a Little Bit of Skiing/Snowboarding.

8 Things on my Wish List: Having our Van Paid off, Christopher Finishing School, Maybe Going to Culinary School Someday, Never Having to do Laundry Again, New Clothes, a Bigger House, Good Health for all my Family and Friends, and Nicer People.

I Tag Brandy, Holly, Ashley, Selina, Kim, Katy, Amanda Tuckett, and Shanna

Tasty Tuesday

As the summer is winding down, I have been trying to BBQ every last chance I can get because I love it! One of my favorite things to grill, is a recipe by my friend Sheri Fuller called Grilled Chicken Sandwiches. They are a nice twist to the typical hamburgers and hot dogs and they are super easy and yummy too! Enjoy!

Grilled Chicken Sandwiches
By: Sheri Fuller

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 c honey
1/4 c lemon juice
1 clove garlic, minced
4 kaiser rolls
4 lettuce leaves
4 tomato slices

honey sauce:
4 T honey
4 T mayonnaise

Preheat grill. Cut chicken breasts in half and pound to 1/4 inch thick. Mix honey, lemon juice, and garlic in gallon ziplock bag. Add chicken and let marinade at least 15 minutes, or longer. Grill chicken until no longer pink in middle. To prepare honey sauce, mix mayo and honey in a small bowl until well blended. Serve chicken on rolls with lettuce, tomato, and honey sauce.

Fun Weekend With Friends

This weekend we had a fun-filled weekend with friends. On Friday we went over to the Olsen's, Tammy and Rob, and had a BBQ with them, Brandy & Dave, Cassidy & Jared, Carole, and their neighbor girls Aubrey and Jessica. It was a group effort with the food, and everyone pitched in a helping hand to make something....the result was delish! We had kabobs, rice, biscuits, fruit, caprese salad, snickers salad, and homemade peach ice cream...yum!! It was a beautiful evening so after dinner we all went outside and played some Bag-O and ate our ice cream on the porch as we sat around and talked. I couldn't help but think that summer was winding down and I will really miss it!!
On Saturday we met up with the Pace's (Carrie, Joel, and their kids Tyson and Regan) and went swimming at the Sport's Mall. We all worked up an appetite so we headed over to Cafe Rio (voted by me and Carrie....Joel was pushing for Chipolte and Chris was just plain hungry) and had dinner there. After we went over to the Pace's where Joel and Chris played Rock Band for hours on end and Carrie and I talked and talked and talked some more. Dawson loved playing with Ray and Tyson and followed them around non-stop. We had tons of fun!
When I stop and think about it, we really are blessed with such wonderful family, friends, neighbors, and ward members in our life! If we know you...we love you and appreciate you all and the friendship you give us! Thanks for being my friend!!
PS I didn't have my camera so the pictures with the Pace's was from the last time we hung out with them!

Free Slurpee Day!

So I was looking through my pictures, wondering what I could blog about because nothing too exciting is happening right now, and I realized that I forgot to blog about 7-11 Free Slurpee Day because that was during all my vacation posts. So anyways, Christopher loves slurpees and even more he loves free ones! So for the last couple of years we have been participants in free slurpee day. Pretty much, on July 11th (7/11) you can go into any 7-11 and get a free 7.11 ounce slurpee. Well, this year, Christopher decided we should hit as many as possible on our way home from Gymboree....which meant 5!!! Can I tell you...I was slurpeed out after 5 of those suckers!! So to remember our lovely slurpee day, we took some funny pictures....enjoy!

Tasty Tuesday

Here is a yummy summery salad that I have really enjoyed eating this summer. I have to say, it's my new favorite way to eat broccoli (which is healthy)...probably because it has a mayo-sugar-vinegar dressing (not so healthy!!) Enjoy!!!

Broccoli Salad
allrecipes.com

8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
2 heads fresh broccoli, chopped
1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese
1/2 large red onion, chopped (don't need if not a fan)
1/2 cup sunflower seeds

Dressing:
2 c mayo
1/2 c sugar
4 t white wine vinegar

Combine first 5 ingredients. In a smaller bowl, combine dressing ingredients and whisk. Add dressing to broccoli mixture and toss. Refrigerate until ready to serve....yum!! I have also added 1/2-1 cup of craisins to my salad and it adds a little bit of a sweet and salty combo if you like that!

Lions, and Tigers, and Bears...Oh My!

Two Saturdays ago we, along with Christopher's sister Jen, her hubby Jeremy, and his other sister Heather, took Dawson to the zoo. It was a VERY hot day (right around the 100's) but we went close to when it opened and were done after a few hours. Hogle Zoo is nice because it has most of the main animals there but it's not very big so you can get it done in like, 3 hours easy. It was fun this time with Dawson because he could recognize the different types of animals and would make various animal noises when he saw them. My favorite animal there was the baby orangutan. I swear, her and Dawson had this little connection. As soon as we got up to the glass Dawson put his face up against it and the baby orangutan came right up and did the same thing on the other side of the glass. They just stared and smiled at each other. Then she (her name was Eve), would go and show off swinging and playing and somersaulting....she was adorable. Then when Dawson went up to the glass a second time, she came right up to where he was and put her face up against the window. I had to see if it was a fluke, so I walked away with Dawson (and she went off to play), then cam back with him and stood in yet a different spot and within a minute she was right in front of Dawson again! It was so cute to watch the two of them. Dawson came home with a little $3 plastic elephant and now walks around the house with it making elephant noises. I can't wait to take him back, because he had so much fun...but I am thinking maybe it will be closer to fall when it's a bit cooler!!!