Updating the Blog

Sorry for the lag in blogging - I've been on the verge of vomit for many days in a row now. Finally, at about 5 p.m. last night, I felt better. And, for the first time in about 2 1/2 months, I bought myself a Starbucks! I forgot how much happier of a person I am with a little caffeine in my life - I ordered a decaf, but even that gave me a little boost. Needless to say, I've been home A LOT lately and really needed to get out by myself last night. Colin stayed home with the kiddos and since I earned a bit of money this weekend, I was on the hunt for a shiny new prize for myself. I haven't been shopping for so long, I started to believe I didn't really need anything (ok, so I don't need anything, I mean there are people starving in other countries, but you get my drift). I headed to Michael's first and bought an Orange Clove candle - as nasty as it sounds - it smells absolutely delicious. Then I had to go to Home Depot after a desperate call from my husband for something about "wire" and "lubricant". Since I had my Starbucks in hand, I skipped right into the store happily and got him what he needed - or so I thought. I bought the wrong thing. Oh, well. Then I headed to the mall: my first mistake. That place just sucks me in with all it's pretty MAC makeup and designer jeans. I picked myself up a pair of free Vicky's Secret unders, a Cars placement for Samuel and a cute pair of maternity jeans. Not bad for having $35 in my wallet. I didn't buy much, but always leave feeling like I need to go back and just get those few extra cute pieces of clothing. Oh, well. And with the last of the money I earned this weekend, I bought myself a Palm Pilot. Sounds funny, but when I had one when I was working, I used it all the time, both for personal stuff and for work. I think Palm Pilots are God's gift to organization - with their pretty color displays and To Do lists. Yay!

Ok, enough rambling - here are some pictures of the boys from yesterday. Jude found this cheese slicer in the dishwasher and thought it was the greatest toy for about three seconds. Do we think he's growing his mullet back? Or do they call this a bowllet? It is rather bowl shaped...

And Samuel picked this outfit out all by himself. Can you tell? Colin and I were giggling, so I had to take a picture.

Yesterday

So, Colin and I watched my brother's three kids yesterday for a couple of hours and of course I couldn't help but take some pictures. We figured all the kids could burn thier energy outside, especially since we have such a pretty yard. Here they are, blowing bubbles, filling the gas tank, driving the car and just staring. They were in so many different directions!

Here's Mary blowing bubbles.
And Elizabeth blowing bubbles.

I found Mary swinging by herself - she is such a little introvert!

Jude had another rough day - lots of fussing. So I gave up on healthy food and stuck him outside with a popsicle - there was peace a quiet for about 10 minutes!
Here's David in the car.
I love this picture of Samuel - he always has his hands behind his back lately. Like he's shy or something.

Menu Ideas

Here's what I'm cooking this week for those of you who may be in a recipe rut. And I stole some of these recipes from friends/family - you know who you are!

Lasagna

1 package lasagna noodles
1 package mozzerella (I shred the solid kind in the food processor - I think it tastes better)
spinach or zucchini, whichever you prefer
1 onion
parmesan
Italian seasoning
1 egg
cottage cheese (or ricotta, if you like)
ground turkey (or hamburger)
lots of garlic (like 7 cloves or more, if you're brave)
1 jar or 1 1/2 jars of your favorite pasta sauce

Brown the turkey. When that has no more pink, add the onion and garlic and zuccini until they are fragrant and onion is transparent. If you're using turkey instead of hamburger, splash some olive oil in the pan while it's cooking - I look for excuses to use olive oil. Add your pasta sauce to this pan and let all that goodness simmer on low until you are ready for it. Meanwhile, mix a container of cottage cheese with one egg. Spice it up with some Italian seasoning or salt and pepper. Shred your mozzerella. Now start layering!! Start with a cup of the sauce on the bottom of the pan (this helps to cook the noodles). Then put the noodles down, the cottage cheese, the sauce ands some parmesan. If you are using fresh spinach, add a layer in there. Then keep layering until the pan is full. The last layer I just put the sauce and some parmesan. Cover with aluminum foil and cook on 400 degrees for 45 minutes. Pull cover off and cook for a few more minutes if you like the crispy cheese effect on top. Serve with spinach salad and french bread. And lots of butter.

Chicken, Rice, Feta and Spinach

2 cups brown rice
2-3 chicken breasts, depending on how meaty you like it
1/2 cup to 1 cup of feta
lots of fresh spinach
1 onion
4 cloves garlic

Cook rice in your rice cooker. Cook chicken breasts - I use a Greek seasoning on the chicken that I found at Winco. It's loaded with MSG, but so tasty. Cut up chicken breasts and throw them back in the pan with the onion and garlic. When they are done, put all you fresh spinach in there until it wilts down. When the rice is done, throw some of it in the pan with your feta and let it all melt together. You will probably have leftover rice for your scrambled eggs in the morning (at least that's what I do with mine). Enjoy!

Ground turkey, green bean and rice stir fry

2 cups brown rice
1 package ground turkey
1 package frozen green beans
1 onion

Start your rice cooking. Brown turkey. Add onion and cook until transparent. Add frozen beans on top and cover until they are cooked. Throw in the rice when it's done and be prepared to add a lot of salt and pepper. It's a healty meal, but pretty bland by itself.

Cornbread casserole

1.5 pounds ground beef or turkey
1 package taco seasoning
3/4 cup water
2 cups corn
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
1 15 oz. can tomato sauce
2 8 oz. packages corn muffin mix
1/2 cup chopped onion
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese or enough to cover top.

Brown meat and drain. Boil the taco seasoning and water and mix well. Add to meat. Add corn, green pepper and tomato sauce. Pour into greased 9x11 casserole dish. Prepare muffin mix according to box and add onion. Spoon over meat mixture. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes. Top with cheese and bake 3-4 minutes longer.

Pumkin Bread (courtesy of Joy, my sis-in-law)

Heat oven 350degrees
4 eggs
3 cups sugar
1 cup Crisco oil
2 cups canned pumpkin
2/3 cup water.

Mix and add: 3 1/3 cups flour (if you don't sift the dry ingred's, at least lift flour with a fork several times to add air before measuring it out. ) 1 tsp nutmeg 1 tsp cinnamon 1 1/2 tsp salt 2 tsp soda In large mixing bowl, beat eggs, add sugar, beat, add oil and pumpkin. Mix well, add water. Mix together some flour, the soda and spices, add and beat in, then stir in the rest of the flour. Makes 2 large loafs (like I just brought) or more smaller ones. Bake large loafs about 1 and 1/2 hour, or til toothpick comes out clean. It's hard to make sure these are done without the toothpick. If your oven heats too hot, reduce temp and check with toothpick.

I add about 3/4 cup raisins and 3/4 cup coconut to this recipe and love it. The best pumpkin bread ever and my kids are not mad about it for a treat. Or breakfast.

And Baby McGladrey Makes 5!!

Yep, we're expecting. Which would explain my lagging in posts, my lack of cooking, eating, showering and just about everything else that I normally do. Ok, so I manage to shower every day, but not without feeling like I might throw up. I've been pretty sick for about 6 weeks now (I'm 12 weeks along). We had an ultrasound this last week and got to see the baby moving around and his or her little heart beating away. I'm due January 31st. And while this pregnancy came as a very big suprise, we are excited and have officially started looking for a vehicle to hold three little ones. Oh, and the remodel of another bedroom has been bumped up on the priority list. So many things to do! But for now, I will be praying that this pregnancy goes well, the baby grows as he or she should and my little boys hearts are being prepared for another sibling.
My baby is now the size of a lime (although I feel like the size of a house).

Eli's Third Birthday

Samuel's friend, Eli, had his third birthday at Pump It Up in Wilsonville yesterday morning. This is the second party Samuel has attended there and it is such great fun! Last time I was jumping as much as the kids and what a great workout that is! I took some pictures - please forgive me - I wasn't feeling good so I was off my photography game, hence the graininess. This is about all I ever see of Samuel and Eli - thier backs.

Here's sweet Addison - she was exhausted, but such a trooper the whole time.
Here are all the kids - I'm quite surprised we actually got them all in one location.
Here's Eli heading up the table eating his oh-so-delicous birthday cake. And if I might recommend Lamb's Thriftway in Wilsonville for thier wonderful chocolate carmel cake - I had the same one for my baby shower and I could have wept it was so good. Yep, food gets me emotional sometimes.
Here's a sweet moment between Colin and Jude.
My favorite: Goat handing my baby off to one of the staff. I don't think that guy had much experience with babies.

My Boys in the Car

I just love how different my kids are - and these pictures show it perfectly. We were waiting in the car for Colin and here's what they were doing: Jude sucking his thumb very seriously. No smiles there.
Samuel making crazy faces - using his hand for "goggles".

Sometimes Jude get annoyed with Samuel's wonderful moods. This was one of the those times.

My Brother-in-Law, Goat

Ok, so Goat came into town for a wedding and after running to the Hawthorne area to find suit-able (hehe) attire. This is what he came back with and I'm so glad he requested I take pictures for all of us to enjoy. "Should I wear this suit jacket?".....
"Or this?"

Personally, the shoes were my favorite.

Amazing Music!!

Cinnamon Rolls!!

Ok, up until recently I have been very intimidated of making cinnamon rolls. I know, I know - why not just bust open a can of Pillsbury and pop it in the oven? Well, I get hives doing anything the easy way (that and I never know what they put in those convenience foods), so as I was perusing my Bon Appetit magazine in March, one of the editors shared her recipe for cinnamon rolls and admitted they were pretty easy to make. I am now a big fan, I am letting my dough rise as we speak (and Colin loves these, although he will never encourage me to make them) and thought I would share the recipe here.

Cinnamon Rolls With Cream Cheese Glaze

Dough:

1 cup whole milk

3 tablespoons unsalted butter

3 1/2 cups (or more) unbleached all purpose flour, divided

1/2 cup sugar1 large egg

2 1/4 teaspoons rapid-rise yeast (from 2 envelopes yeast)

1 teaspoon salt

Nonstick vegetable oil spray

Filling:

3/4 cup (packed) golden brown sugar

2 tablespoons ground cinnamon

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

Glaze:

4 ounces cream cheese, room temperature

1 cup powdered sugar

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, room temperature

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For dough:Combine milk and butter in glass measuring cup. Microwave on high until butter melts and mixture is just warmed to 120°F to 130°F, 30 to 45 seconds. Pour into bowl of stand mixer fitted with paddle attachment. Add 1 cup flour, sugar, egg, yeast, and salt. Beat on low speed 3 minutes, stopping occasionally to scrape down sides of bowl. Add 21/2 cups flour. Beat on low until flour is absorbed and dough is sticky, scraping down sides of bowl. If dough is very sticky, add more flour by tablespoonfuls until dough begins to form ball and pulls away from sides of bowl. Turn dough out onto lightly floured work surface. Knead until smooth and elastic, adding more flour if sticky, about 8 minutes. Form into ball.
Lightly oil large bowl with nonstick spray. Transfer dough to bowl, turning to coat. Cover bowl with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until doubled in volume, about 2 hours.
For filling:Mix brown sugar and cinnamon in medium bowl.
Punch down dough. Transfer to floured work surface. Roll out to 15x11-inch rectangle. Spread butter over dough, leaving 1/2-inch border. Sprinkle cinnamon sugar evenly over butter. Starting at 1 long side, roll dough into log, pinching gently to keep it rolled up. With seam side down, cut dough crosswise with thin sharp knife into 18 equal slices (each about 1/2 to 3/4 inch wide).
Spray two 9-inch square glass baking dishes with nonstick spray. Divide rolls between baking dishes, arranging cut side up (there will be almost no space between rolls). Cover baking dishes with plastic wrap, then kitchen towel. Let dough rise in warm draft-free area until almost doubled in volume, 40 to 45 minutes.
Position rack in center of oven and preheat to 375°F. Bake rolls until tops are golden, about 20 minutes. Remove from oven and invert immediately onto rack. Cool 10 minutes. Turn rolls right side up.
For glaze:Combine cream cheese, powdered sugar, butter, and vanilla in medium bowl. Using electric mixer, beat until smooth. Spread glaze on rolls. Serve warm or at room temperature.

Oops.....my bad.

Um, so apparently that book that some stalker sent me from Vancouver? Yeah, that stalker was none other than myself (insert bright red face and sheepish grin). In my defense, I ordered it off eBay and she sent it from Amazon under a different company name and with a gift reciept and no message. If you're interested, she does sell really cheap new books on eBay - just look up the seller Modern Supply. And expect a package from Amazon, not eBay. Hehe.

Fourth of July

For the Fourth, the boys and I headed over to Sarah's house for a barbeque and stayed the day. The food was good, the weather was great and the company was even better. I was feeling a bit under the weather, so they took my kids, entertained them, fed them, bathed them and even let me nap!! And the best part? My kids were so tired, they were asleep by 6:30 that night - it's like Christmas came early for me! Jude doesn't nap well unless he's in his bed (what's with my kids never wanting to sleep in Pack N' Plays?), so he is lacking a couple hours of sleep when I snapped this picture. He woke up screaming and the tears are still on his face.
Here's Samuel eating - do note he has a plate full of veggies and an empty cup where the fruit once was. My kids would live on a diet of 100% fruit if they could.
Here's Sarah coaxing Jude to eat his corn - notice his mouth is not wide open for that bite...
I love these little cups - they are red (strawberries) white (bananas) and blue (blueberries) and they are so tasty!

Thanks for having us over!!

Blogging Privacy

Please forgive me for setting my blog to private (it may be an extra step logging into my blog now) - this comes after I received a book in the mail yesterday from Amazon ("The Omnivore's Dilemma") that I had written about on my blog about a month ago. It was a gift from someone I had never heard of in Vancouver with no gift message, and call me paranoid, but it creeped me out a bit. I realized how much of my life (and my kids!) I put on my blog and naivly think that only my friends and family are reading it. So, to be safe, my blog will have to closed to the general public.

Menu Planning - Ugh

So, my latest nemises is what to make for my family without running to the store everyday and spending tons of money on food. The answer: menu planning. It's a drag, but so efficient in the long run and saves money because you know exactly what you need for the meals - no waste. I've decided to list the meals and recipes I am doing this week, just in case it might help people plan their week. I try to make one recipe last for two dinners so I can take a break from standing at the stove to do more fun things like laundry and change diapers =). Here are my dinners (keep in mind that I buy the bag of frozen chicken breasts from Costco):

Chicken tortilla soup w/cornbread (2 dinners)
Chicken tortilla casserole w/spinach salad (2 dinners, maybe even a lunch)
Spinach and mushroom quiche (2 dinners)
Fajita chicken w/mashed potatoes (1 dinner, probably 1 lunch and I may morph the chicken breasts into fajitas for the next night)

Recipes:

Chicken tortilla soup:

INGREDIENTS
1 pound shredded, cooked chicken
1 (15 ounce) can whole peeled tomatoes, mashed
1 (10 ounce) can enchilada sauce
1 medium onion, chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups water
1 (14.5 ounce) can chicken broth
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon chili powder
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 bay leaf
1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn
1 tablespoon chopped cilantro
7 corn tortillas
vegetable oil
DIRECTIONS
Place chicken, tomatoes, enchilada sauce, onion, green chiles, and garlic into a slow cooker. Pour in water and chicken broth, and season with cumin, chili powder, salt, pepper, and bay leaf. Stir in corn and cilantro. Cover, and cook on Low setting for 6 to 8 hours or on High setting for 3 to 4 hours.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C).
Lightly brush both sides of tortillas with oil. Cut tortillas into strips, then spread on a baking sheet.
Bake in preheated oven until crisp, about 10 to 15 minutes. To serve, sprinkle tortilla strips over soup.

Chicken Tortilla Casserole:

4-5 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup
1 can black beans, drained
1 can diced green chiles, drained
1 can black olives, drained
1 package flour tortillas, torn into bite size pieces (you don't have to use whole package)
1 8 oz. package shredded pepperjack cheese
1 8 oz. package shredded cheddar cheese

Spray large baking dish with cooking spray and preheat oven to 350
In large bowl, combine soups, beans chiles and olives.
In a rectangular baking dish cover the bottom with torn tortillas
Cover with a layer of chicken
Cover with the soups mixture
Repeat the layers.
Cover all with cheese and bake at 350 for 35 minutes.


SPINACH MUSHROOM QUICHE

2 ready made pie crusts (deep dish)1 lg. can mushrooms, drained2 (10 oz.) chopped spinach (thawed and drained)6 eggs2 1/2 c. milk2 tbsp. flour1/8 tsp. nutmeg2 tsp. chopped onion1/4 tsp. pepper1# Swiss cheese, shredded
First combine eggs, milk, flour, nutmeg, onion and pepper. Beat well. Set aside. Layer the rest of the ingredients evenly into the two pie shells. Split egg mixture evenly over both. Bake at 375 degrees for 35 to 45 minutes. Instead of spinach, mushrooms, and cheese for ingredients you can substitute anything. Like ham, coked bacon, broccoli, turkey, cheddar cheese, etc. Try: Ham, cheddar cheese, broccoli and mushrooms. Try it, you'll like it!

Fajita Chicken w/mashed potatoes

For this I just simmer 4 chicken breasts in fajita marinade until they are almost falling apart. I boil potatoes and mash them, adding lots of butter, salt and pepper. Any side veggie will work for this meal. The next night I will slice up the leftover chicken breast and throw them in tortillas with peppers for fajitas.

I was also feeling brave while planning my shopping list and bought ingredients for Pineapple Upside Down Cake and Sweet Potato Muffins. I made the muffins and my family LOVES them - they are great snacks for the kids, too.

Sweet Potato Muffins

INGREDIENTS
1 1/8 cups packed brown sugar
1/2 cup canola oil
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups peeled, shredded sweet potato
1/2 cup raisins
1 cup walnuts
DIRECTIONS
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Grease muffin tins to hold 12 muffins.
Whisk together brown sugar, oil, vanilla and eggs in a small bowl.
Mix together the flour, baking powder, spices, salt, and grated sweet potatoes in a large bowl. Make a well in the center, and pour in the egg mixture. Stir the egg mixture, gradually incorporating it with the flour mixture. Stir in the raisins and walnuts
Spoon the batter into the tins. I like to fill each tin to the rim to make a large cap. Bake the muffins for 25 to 30 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the middle comes out clean. Take the muffins out of the oven and run a paring knife carefully around each muffin, then invert the pan, and knock one edge against your work surface to release the muffins. Serve the muffins right away.

Pineapple Upside Down Cake
2/3 cup butter 3/4 cup brown sugar
Place the butter and brown sugar in a frying pan and melt until it boils or bubbles. A cast iron pan works well because it's heavy and will be less likely to scorch.
1 can pineapple slicesmaraschino cherries (enough to fill centers of pineapples)
Place pineapples in the butter and sugar mixture. Put cherries in the center of the pineapple. Cut the slices of pineapple into halves and line the sides of the frying pan with them (standing up on edge).
Prepare a box of yellow cake mix following the directions on the box to mix the batter (do not bake in a separate pan; follow instructions below).
Pour the batter over the pineapple and cherries.
Bake at 350°F degrees. When the cake is done, loosen the edges with a butter knife. Remove from heat and allow to sit five minutes, then turn it upside down on a serving dish.
Optional: Instead of using a cake mix, you can prepare the batter from scratch using the recipe below, or any recipe for yellow cake.
Scratch Cake:
1 cup flour1 teaspoon baking powder1/2 teaspoon salt2 eggs2/3 cup sugar1/4 cup milk
Combine ingredients and beat 1 minute. Pour batter over pineapples and cherries (same as above). Bake at 350°F and follow same steps as above.


Hope these recipes are helpful!!

Cute Picture at Breakfast

This is a picture I took of Jude the other morning during breakfast and it represents him pretty well - crazy hair, tugging at his shirt to entertain someone with peanut butter all over his face. I love moments like this with my kids...

After Eight Cupcakes

So I love all things chocolate and mint - white chocolate, dark chocolate, pepperminte, cream de menthe - it's ALL good. So, naturally I'm drawn to a cupcake that incorporates these flavors. My mom bought me this wonderful cupcake book from Costco and it has this recipe called "After Eight Cupcakes". I would post the recipe here, but I don't have the two hours to type it out. They are a mint chocolate batter, a mint buttercream frosting, topped with a chocolate ganache and a junior mint, in case there wasn't already enough chocolate and mint. Yum! Well, hopefully they are good - I haven't tried them yet. Do note that the two cupcakes in the bottom left were w/out Junior mints - Samuel woke up as I was finishing these and I had to hold off on the last two while he washed his hands so he could put the candies on. He's becoming such a big helper...

Oh yeah - I made these for a Fourth of July barbeque - really? Couldn't I have gone with one of the Fourth of July themed recipes she had in this cookbook? Chocolate and mint trump all in my book.