Wow, It Has Been Forever!

Hello Mommies!!!

I'm terribly sorry that it has been so long since anything new has been added.  My family and I just finished moving into a new house in a new ward and having a new baby (Pictures coming soon)!  We're going to try to get this blog up and running again while trying to kick start mommy night again.  If you have anything you would like to see in "Wisdoms" posts or any recipes we've had that I haven't posted as of yet, please let me know so that I can fill them in as quickly as possible.  I'm so excited to get this rolling again! 

Mommy Group 3/5/14

Chicken Florentine

4-5 chicken breast
1/2 cup flour
1/2 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup greated parmesan
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
1 egg - beatedn
1 quart heavy whipping cream
2 cloves of garlic
2 shallots - chopped
spinach
chopped tomatoes
extra parmesan

Mix together flour, crumbs, parmesan, and pepper.  Dip chicken in egg then in crumb mixture.  Fry in a little olive oil.  (You know when it is time to turn chicken over when sides of chicken turn a little white.)  Continue cooking until almost cooked through - a little pink should show in the middle (leave in pan because it still needs to cook, you just want to get started on the other sections so that the chicken isn't over cooked by the time everything else is finished).  Saute chopped garlic and shallots in same pan as the chicken.  Be careful not to brown the garlic as it gets bitter, but make sure they are softened.  Add cream until it covers nicely up the sides of the chicken.  This really is a preference call.  If you like more sauce, add more cream.  The cream will thicken as it cooks.  When thickened, serve on a bed of cooked spinach or I like a bed of noodles and spinach mixed together.  Spoon a little extra sauce over the top of the chicken.  Then garnish with copped tomatoes and a little grated parmesan.  Also if you like a few sauted mushrooms are wonderful as well as some chopped roasted red bell pepper.  Just make sure you don't add them to the sauce because it will flavor the sauce too much - just add as a garnish.

Mommy Group 4/2/14

Malibu Chicken

This is a traditional recipe that I recieved from my mother. I'm not sure at all of the history behind it, but I love it!

Chicken patties (number basted on number of people and how hungry they are)

1 pkg of deli cut honey ham lunch meat

1 pkg of sliced Swiss cheese

Cook patties to package instructions.  Layer patties with 2-3 slices of meat and a slice of cheese.  Cook until the cheese is melted.

Dipping Sauce
Mix a scoop of mayo, a scoop of sour cream, and a large squirt of mustard.  I don't really have a recipe for this, it's just sort of a thing you do to taste.  If you like mustard, add more.  If you like the sour cream, add more.  Make it to your own special flavor.

Matt's Special Mashed Potatoes
Boil potatoes until they are soft enough to mash.  Add cream cheese, butter, sour cream, salt, and pepper to taste.  Again, there isn't really a set recipe, but rather just something you do until it's the right texture and the right taste.

And then there was this AMAZING salad that was prepared by Karli.   Thanks so much for helping!

The Empty Plate

So tonight for dinner, I was making my daughter buttered noodles (her favorite!). When i told her this, she was ecstatic and jumped right up to the table ready to go. However noodles take a long time to cook in the eyes of a 19 month old. 

To appease her while she was waiting, I gave her a plate full of raspberries, which she enjoyed with sweet delight and quickly consumed. I then gave her some cereal to hold her off for the last few minutes, but those as well were gone as quickly as they had arrived. 

Finally, the noodles were done, but needed to be drained and buttered. Oh the agony! As the empty plate sat before her, she cried and whined and asked repeatedly for more. When I was finished with the noodles, I took her plate from the table over to the stove to fill it. She panicked! 

She jumped down from the table and began crying at my feet. How dare I take her plate that had held such foods thus far! "NOT DONE!" she exclaimed. I laughed to myself at the childish misunderstanding, but quickly filled her plate and turned to show her that it had been filled. All crying stopped as she took this new information in. I simply asked, "Would you like some noodles?" She nodded emphatically. "What do you say?" I said. "Peeees!" She said as she rubbed her tummy to sign the word 'please'. 

I then returned the plate to the table and told her that she would have to come to the table to get her meal. She jumped right up and began joyfully downing her feast!

In this moment, I realized how our Heavenly Father must feel when He is trying to bless His children. 

He knows that blessings appear to take a long time in our minds, so He gives us little blessings here and there to let us know that He has not forgotten to feed us. 

However, we often 'devour' these blessings so quickly and without thought that we are left every once and a while with an 'empty plate'. 

Father, knowing our hunger and our need, proceeds to present us with the trial of taking away empty plate. We, in our childish thoughts, do not understand why and are sometimes angry that the Lord would take from us all that we have. We suddenly realize the blessing of the food we have already eaten and implore Him at His feet that we were 'not done' yet, pleading with Him for even just our empty plate back. 

In this moment, I can just see Him smiling down at us and whispering, "oh, my child, do you not see the bountiful bowl before you? Do you not remember the promise that I gave you before it all began? I told you there would be better blessings for you in time. I will never leave you hungry."

In this moment, we feel humbled and cease our whining. Instead, we meekly and cheerfully 'say please'. Then, our most loving and patient Father, places our blessings where we can obtain them, as long as we are willing to work to climb back up to the table. 

How grateful I am for the many blessings that He has given me and my family. May we ever be thankful for the blessings we have and patient for the ones still to come. Thank you, Father, for taking away my empty plate. 

Actual Baby Clothes Sizes

I have had plenty of moms-to-be and new mommies as about clothing sizes. Each baby is a different size and a different shape. For this, there are many clothing brands. For example, gerber clothes tend to be shorter and wider while carter clothes tend to be longer and skinnier. Because of this, however, it can be really confusing when you have a 3 month old outfit that fits a 6 month old or a 9 month old outfit that your baby grew out of before they were old enough to even consider trying it on. What a waste, right?

I recently found this wonderful post that really lays out the "actual" size each brand of baby clothes!  Check it out! 

http://www.allforgiggles.com/2013/03/baby-clothes-size-charts.html

Mommy Group 2/26/14

Pizza Cobbler

(Sorry, I forgot to take a picture this week.)
View the original pin  here.

1 Tbsp olive oil
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, smashed and peeled
1 8-10 oz can sliced mushrooms
1 1/2 cups tomato sauce
1/2 cup sliced black olives
2/3 cup sliced pepperoni
1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1 can refrigerated biscuits, separated and cut into quarters

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  In a large skillet, combine the oil, onion and garlic and cook on medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes.  Add mushrooms and cook until tender, about 5 minutes.  Stir in the tomato sauce and olives and bring to a simmer.

Spread the sauce mixture in a greased 2-quart baking dish.  Arrange the pepperoni in a single layer on top and sprinkle with the cheese.  Top with the biscuit pieces.  Bake until the cheese is bubbly and the biscuits are browned, about 15 minutes.  Let cool for about 5 minutes before serving.

Mommy Group 2/19/14

Chicken Enchilada Casserole

1.5 lbs chicken, cooked and shredded

1 can enchilada sauce

1 can corn

1 can black beans, rinsed

1/2 onion, chopped

4-6 tortillas (I like it with more bread)

Shredded cheese

Spread a thin layer of enchilada sauce on bottom of dish. 

Place 2 tortillas on sauce and cover with an additional thin layer of sauce. 

Mix together chicken, corn, beans, and onion (I also add seasonings - cumin, garlic salt, etc.). Spread a layer in dish. Sprinkle with cheese. 

Repeat staring at tortillas. 

Top with sprinkled cheese. 

Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.