Comin Back

Yep you read right... we are heading back to WA for Josh's 1 year res. In my dream he makes great networking ties there and they keep him for Oral Surgery. But thats a dream, but it would keep us there for 5 years total and I'd have family there to help me out.
So look for us mid summer!

TWO for TWO

Thats right! Two new recipes and the family liked both!

French Dip Sandwiches
Recipe by OurBestBites.com

French Dip Sandwiches

1 2.5-3 lb. beef roast (you can use a frozen roast if you want)
2 Tbsp. olive oil
salt and pepper
2 1-ounce packages dry onion soup mix
2 c. water
2 cans beef broth
6-8 large buns (or more...6 would be VERY generous servings!)
Swiss, provolone, or mozzarella cheese, shredded or sliced.

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat and rub roast with salt and pepper.

When very hot, carefully place roast in pan and sear on all sides. You're not cooking the meat, you're just browning it quickly on all sides to add flavor and seal in the juices.

Place in crockpot and sprinkle with onion soup mixes. Pour water and beef broth over roast.

Cook 8-10 hours on low or cook 4-5 hours on high and another 3-4 hours on low. It's hard to screw this part up; basically, the longer it cooks, the more tender it will be. But you know it's done when you pop a fork in it and the meat just falls apart. When meat is ready, shred with a fork.

Place meat in crusty rolls. Top with cheese and broil open-faced in the oven or toaster oven for a few minutes, until bread is golden and cheese is melty.

Ladle juices into small cups for dipping and enjoy!

Video before bedtime

Just recently Kohl's had Eric Carle books for their Charity books.
I love him. If you dont know who he is he wrote "The Very Hungry Caterpillar".
Anyways. . . Kohls rotates the books and Stuffed animals that go with them. I just love it. Each book is $5 and each animal is $5. 100% goes to Charity. kohls doesnt keep any of it.
Well I went and got them all. And a few extras for gifts. Each one of my kids picked an animal and I bought the book that went with the animal they picked.
SUPER CUTE!!!!
They LOVE IT!
I had to make a video with Lincoln explaining what he named his Chameleon. I have no idea where he got this name but he has stuck by it for over a week.
Then of course my two camera hogs came over too. Sydney goes into super cute mode when she's tired and she's pretty much exhausted these days. Isaac after watching the video corrected himself, "It actually Mr. furry shell, not shelly." thanks for the clarification.
But thats ok. They really are all so cute and they are only little once.
Well he has more then just that one.

So who out there owns a Maxi Dress??? I LOVE mine. In fact I just ordered a Maxi skirt with my kohls $$$. You can do anything with a maxi dress and they look good on everyone. Gotta Love em. The only thing is they are usually really long on my 5'4" frame. I've wanted to shorten it but dont like the whole "did it myself" look. Well I happened to stumble on a blog where she pretty much customizes all her outfits to fit her perfectly and she had some really "dumbed down" tutorials for people like me.

http://cottonandcurls.blogspot.com/2010/12/hemming-jeans-while-keeping-original.html

Sorry still havnt figured out how to put a real link on here. You still have to copy and paste it.
This lady ROCKS!! She can get anything from a thrift store and make it look amazing!
This link will take you to her tutorial on hemming jeans while keeping the original hem. And an even fancier way if thats too ghetto for you.

I dont know how well you can see the edge of the excess that I cut off. If you dont know what I'm talking about you havnt been to the tutorial. I cant keep my eyes open long enough to retype her explanation.

OOOOOO!!!! MIRA!!!!
I just put the link in. I have no idea why that line in particular want to type in a web address but I'll take it.
The picture below is of my finished hem. I took a total of 3 inches off, now I can wear cute sandals with it instead of 4" wedges. (which did look cute but you cant run after a toddler in them). Not too shabby huh!! I also took the sleeves up 1/2 an inch each. What a huge difference. My boobs look so much bigger with a top that fits.

I spent a fair amount of time going through my closet looking at all the stuff I want to hem or take in. I have this great Purple dress I'm going to wear to Josh's graduation Banquet in May but I think I'm still hesitant to take that one in on my own.
We'll see, maybe after a few more alterations under my belt I'll be more confident.
Now go hem some pants!!! (or skirts)

Yay for makeup!!

So I made a New Years resolution to put myself together everyday. Even if its just a little. I had been doing pretty good so I thought why not make it official? BIG MISTAKE!!!! Needless to say that its February and I've probably done it maybe a handful of times.
Well I got a new order in the mail. BE new brightening primer. LOVE IT!!!!
Besides making your face feel like satin (the original does too) it has little gold flecks in it. Makes the light reflect of your imperfections.
Top left corner is a before makeup shot. WOW is right!
I had dye in my hair. Second box in a couple weeks. We dont even want to talk about my bright red roots that the last bye job did.
You can best see the makeup in the top right corner.
Doesnt make a huge difference but in person it makes just enough.
Go check it out Bare Escentuals Face Brightening Primer. Its HEAVEN!

I made this for dinner last night and my family didnt die!!!

Chicken-Bacon Stuffed Pizza Rolls


1 roll refrigerated pizza dough* (or make your own)
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing mix
2 T grated Parmesan cheese
1 T olive oil or melted butter
sharp cheddar cheese (I used 75% sharp cheddar and 25% mozzarella)
8 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled
about 1 C shredded, cooked chicken.
3/4 C mayo
3/4 C milk

First take 1 teaspoon of your ranch dressing mix and combine it with 1 1/2 T parmesan cheese. Set aside. Combine the remaining ranch mix with 3/4 C mayo and 3/4 C milk and place in the fridge to chill. (This is the dip)

Preheat oven to heat specified on pizza dough package. Usually it's 400-425 degrees.

Unroll your pizza dough onto a lightly floured surface. Pat or roll the dough so it's about 12" by 8". You're going to want to cut it into 24 squares, so just eyeball it if you need to. Use a pizza cutter to slice the dough into 24 squares.

Place cheese and desired toppings on each square.


When all of your dough squares have cheese and toppings on them, carefully lift up each square and wrap the dough around the toppings.


I grab the four corners first and then squeeze the seams shut. Then place them seam side down in a lightly sprayed pie pan (or similar sized dish). Brush with melted butter or olive oil and sprinkle with the parmesan-ranch mixture.


Time out for a sec. I tried a few new things this time around. One was to cook some of my rolls in a mini-muffin pan. This might work better for serving depending on the situation. They turned out great. You're making 24 rolls, so it fills up the pan perfectly. They cook quicker this way than in a pie pan so keep an eye on them. Mine only took about 8 minutes whereas the ones in the pan took about 13-15.


Okay, back to our regularly scheduled programming. Place your rolls in the oven. I've noticed baking time really depends on the type of dough I'm using. Whether it's different brands from the store, or homemade dough, they all take different amounts of time. Set your timer for 10 minutes and check on them after that. They may take up to 15 or 20 to be done. Take them out when they're lightly golden on top.

Serve them warm with a side of freshly made ranch dressing for dipping.



I'm serious when I tell you these are amazing. They were actually way better than I had imagined them. Although how could you possibly go wrong with warm dough, gooey cheese, and crispy bacon, dipped in ranch. You can't. You just can't.


The other great thing is that these are freezable! Before baking, flash freeze individually, or together right in a disposable foil pan. Bake from frozen until golden brown.

Here are mine, they are not as pretty as her's. But they did taste good.

couple of tips.... I made my dough in my bread maker which didnt mix it up very well. The dough was way too much trouble. Just buy the store bought frozen dough. I'm even going to try Pillsbury dough next time. Maybe the crescent rolls.
Oh and I used a left over chicken breast from a rotisserie chicken from the night before.
I've got the pre cooked and crumbled bacon from Costco. I know its not as tasty and greasy as the bacon you cook at home but then your house
doesnt smell like bacon for a week and prep time is WAY less!!
Oh and dont over stuff them, it will make you swear.
And definitely go the route of the cupcake pan. Way easy!
Over all the family liked enough for me to make them again.

Lincolns photo shoot

Lincoln pretty much followed me around all morning asking me to take pictures of him.
I love this shirt he's wearing. I didnt think red heads could wear red but it looks great on him.

You see he was upset yesterday when Sydney told him he couldn't be in her pictures. Doesnt he look so sad. And yes he spent all day wearing no pants because thats how he rolls. here it is building and below is the meltdown. He wouldnt even calm down to have his turn next. In his defense Sydney was being a stinker yesterday.
So I guess he woke up this morning with pics on his mind.

Here's Lincoln talking about the Love of His Life... his cars!!