Friday, March 30, 2012

Green Chili Enchiladas are currently one of my favorite things...I don't know if it the sauce or the cream cheese I put in the filling or what but man oh man they are SO good!  Here's what I do:

makes about 24

5-6 boneless skinless chicken breast
1 T garlic powder
1 T onion powder
1 T cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp black pepper
1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
2 T veggie oil
1 onion, diced
1 T minced garlic
1 can diced green chillies
1 pkg cream cheese
24 flour tortillas( you can use corn but I prefer flour)
1 large can green chili enchilada sauce of choice
1 lb grated Monterrey Jack cheese

Toss the chicken in the Garlic onion, cumin, salt pepper, pepper flakes and oil. Place on a baking tray and bake at 350` till cooked through. Set aside to cool and rest. In a large pan, saute the onions and garlic till golden. Add the green chilies and cream cheese. Stir to allow the cream cheese to melt completely. Dice the cooled chicken into small cubes. Add chicken to the cream cheese mixture and mix well. Scoop into flour tortillas and roll, place on tray. Top with the canned enchilada sauce and then top with cheese. Bake at 350` for about an hour, serve hot with rice and beans on the side!

Tuesday, March 27, 2012


Here is Porter with his Stars wars cake! I had to laugh because my kids like me have never really seen Star wars, but it was all he wanted and all he could talk about. He loved it but was bummed that the legs didn't move... Sorry son I'm not going to get in to mechanical cakes!

I can't believe he is five! Here are some facts and things we LOVE about Porter:
  • I think he is going to one day legally change his name to Porter Cowboy, he loves everything  and when asked his name Porter Cowboy is what you get.
  • We thought we were going to loose him at six months old, when he had his Craniosynostosis surgery. One of the scariest things I've ever experienced. We have been so blessed that he did so well and continues to do well.
  • If you ask him about his scar on his head he will tell you a long story about how Parker hit him in the head with a hockey stick and gave him that scar....?
  • He loves to play independently, he will find one thing whether it is cars or his soldiers and play by himself for hours.
  • Some of his favorite toys are cars, his little green soldiers, his horses and cowboy things of course, dinasours, and his fighter jets.
  • He loves all sports, but is really good at basketball. He is excited to start T-ball here in a few weeks.
  • He has inherited some of his father's OCD... it really is quiet annoying. He likes things a certain way and doesn't handle change well. For example when he is coloring all of the crayons have to be in a certain order and in a line, if someone needs a color he has, he can't handle it... thus we have a huge bucket of crayon in our house to eliminate any fighting over the yellow crayon. :)
  • His favorite color is green.
  • some of his favorite foods are, cheese roll ups, any and all things breakfast, steak and green beans and broccoli.
  • He is our story teller and comedian, for a kid who didn't say anything other than screams till he was almost three we sure can't seem to get him to be quiet now!!
  • He loves to sing and be silly, he loves to give hugs and kisses.
  • He loves babies, and there is rarely a prayer that is said by him in which he doesn't pray for more siblings....(his Dad is so proud)
  • He is our tough guy, he is always trying to wrestle or box his siblings and he is the one that if he gets hurt he most often just shruggs it off.
We are so very blessed to have Porter part of our family, he brings joy and comedy into it daily. He is such a character and wesure do love him and hope he had a wonderful birthday and felt how much we love him!

Friday, March 23, 2012

Chicken and noodles with Thai Peanut Sauce

Spaghetti with Chicken and Thai Peanut Sauce
This is going to be our dinner tonight! Chicken and Noodles with a Thai Peanut Sauce. My hopes are that my kids will hear peanut Butter and noodles and chicken and will not only try it but love it as well!
Here is the recipe and I'll have to post latter how it went over :)
3 T plus 1 tsp soy sauce
2 T plus 2 tsp lime juice
1 T plus 1 T cooking oil
4 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 tsp ground ginger
1 lb boneless skinless chicken breast
1/2 cup peanut butter
1 cup chicken broth
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp salt
1/8 tsp red pepper flakes
3/4 lb spaghetti
3 scallions

In a medium bowl marinate the chicken with 3 T soy, 2 T lime juice and 1 T oil, garlic and ginger. Coat chicken well and marinate for at least ten minutes. In a sauce pan combine the remaining soy, lime. Add the peanut butter, broth, sugar, salt, and red pepper flakes. Remove chicken from marinade and add marinade to the other ingredients in the sauce pan. Bring to a high simmer and whisk till smooth. Heat a grill pan and grill the chicken till cooked. Cook the pasta till al dente. add remaining oil to a frying pan, add the cooked chicken  and pasta and sauce. Add the scallions and toss well. Serve hot.

Tuesday, March 13, 2012

My Dear sweet son Parker turned 4 yesterday! it is crazy to think he is four already! Even more crazy to realize he and Porter are the same age now! Even though it is only for 2 weeks! He wanted a ninja turtle cake so a sculpting I went! It turned out pretty good except for as I went to place the fourth ninja turtle on the cake it slip and fell to ground and shattered...ooops.. oh well he still was happy with the cake.

Parker is such a joy to have in our home! He has blessed our family so very much. Facts about Parker....
  • He is very mischievous and I swear the wheels are always turning in his head planning his next move or plan of attack.
  •  He is our pickiest eater, some of his favorites are chicken nuggets(so much that he asked Santa for a bag for Christmas!) hot dogs, pretty much any type of meat and shrimp, french fries and pancakes.
  • He likes to chew on things (I blame this on the fact that as a baby he would NOT take a binky or bottle...but that is just my theory) So if it is nerf or plastic, rubber or fabric beware. He once ate an entire nerf football...no joke it is strange and disturbing.
  • He loves to hug and kiss his brothers and sister, he is so sweet and kind and always worried when one of them is crying or hurt.
  • He has a sweet spirit and is already a little missionary. He always remembers to pray at meal times even if he is at school he will bless his lunch. He bore his testimony at Church for the first time and it consisted of him singing a primary song over the pulpit.
  • He is very athletic like all my boys and is very excited to get to play T-ball here in a couple of weeks.
  • He is very very smart. He can spell and write correctly each of his family members names and can repeat words of a song after hearing them only once. I wonder if his memory is almost photographic or something.
  • His favorite things to play with are his Dinosaur World and dinosaur tail, pretty much anything dress up even if it is his sisters princess costumes, and he loves to color.
  • He is soft spoken and very obedient.
  • Most recently he figured out how to climb on top of the refrigerator...something mom is not happy about. Hopefully our chat about safety will stick!
We love him so very much and we are so blessed to have him in our eternal family! Hope that he had a wonderful day full of fun, love, presents and cake! Love you Parker!