Happy Birthday Rebekah

I know I say this every year but where has the time gone.  I can't believe my baby girl is 3 today.  It truly seems like yesterday that we were welcoming her into this world. 

Rebekah was born at 12:52 pm on 10/15/07 and weighed 7 lb. 5 oz.  She was so tiny and so sweet. 

I am so thankful Rebekah is a part of our family and she has been a wonderful blessing.  I love you my little Beck Beck.

Happy Birthday

All in a night's work...

I tried my hand at making a few hair bows.  I guess it isn't too bad for just getting started.  I have had all the bow making supplies for many years now but just haven't set aside the time to make bows.  I have tried a few times over the last few years but I just got inspired and here is the final product. 

I would love to know how to make all the clever and complicated and super cute bows.  Baby steps, right?

Dinner Co-op Day 8

We are already in to our third week.  I am LOVING IT!!  Today was my turn to cook.  On the menu:  White Bean Chili and Sourdough Bread.  This recipe is easy cheesy to make.  Besides boiling the chicken, it is a "dump this and dump that and mix together and then let cook and you are done"

White Bean Chili with Sourdough Bread and a "Dollop of Daisy"

This is one of those "comfort foods" for me.  It just makes you feel warm inside and it is delicious to boot.

Verdict:
Kara:  Mmm Mmm Good!
John:  Love it!
Hannah:  "I want more cheese in it.  I can't even taste the cheese."
Abigail:  ""How much more do I have to eat to get dessert?"
Rebekah:  Totally cleaned her bowl and got a brownie and ice cream for dessert

Recipe for White Bean Chili:
48 oz white beans w/juice (1 jar or 3 cans)
2 cans chicken broth (about 3 cups)
1 large jar salsa -medium hot
2 c shredded cheddar cheese
4 chicken breasts-cooked and shredded

Mix together.  Heat 15 min on stove or 2 hours in crock pot!

Dinner Co-op Day 6 and 7

Today I am playing catch up.  On Day 6 we had Stuffed Shells with Spaghetti Sauce and Apple Crisp.

Stuffed Shells

Apple Crisp

The Stuffed Shells and Apple Crisp were very yummy.  I don't think I have had stuffed shells in a long time.  I remember making this several years ago but my biggest complaint was the time it took to stuff the shells. 

The Apple Crisp happens to be one of my favorites.  I added a little Cool Whip to my portion and it was sooo good.

Here is the verdict from the family:
Kara:  Oh SOOO good
Hannah:  "Well, I like it but I want more sauce"
Abigail:  "I love it!"
Rebekah:  She liked it...take a look at the picture.
John:  "They were good"

If you get a thumbs up from a 2 yr old...it must be good!!

Recipe for Stuffed Shells: (From Tricia)
I used the big bags of frozen stuffed shells from the commissary, Caesar's brand.  There are 22 in each bag.  I put 18 in each of your 9x13 dishes.  I put the remaining 8 + one bag of little ravioli's in the one for my family, just to make sure we all had enough.
Then covered them with jarred sauce, baked covered with foil for an hour.  I think I used 4 jars of sauce for the 3 pans.  Then sprinkled with some mozarella and bake uncovered for 5 more min.

Recipe For Apple Crisp: (From Tricia)

10 cups all-purpose apples, peeled, cored and sliced

1 cup white sugar

1 tablespoon all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

1/2 cup water

1 cup quick-cooking oats

1 cup all-purpose flour

1 cup packed brown sugar

1/4 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 cup butter, melted

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degree C).
2. Place the sliced apples in a 9x13 inch pan. Mix the white sugar, 1 tablespoon flour and ground cinnamon together, and sprinkle over apples. Pour water evenly over all.
3. Combine the oats, 1 cup flour, brown sugar, baking powder, baking soda and melted butter together. Crumble evenly over the apple mixture.
4. Bake at 350 degrees F (175 degrees C) for about 45 minutes.

Day 7:   Crock Pot Pork Chops and Chocolate Chip Ice cream

This was the first time I have had Pork Chops in the crock pot.  They were mighty delicious!  Totally falling off the bone!!  I fixed mashed potatoes, sweet corn, and crescent rolls with my meal.  For dessert we had brownies and Chocolate Chip Ice cream.  CC Ice Cream is hard to find these days so being able to eat it was a treat.

Verdict:
Kara:  "WOW!  Delicious"
John:  "This is MONEY!" 
Hannah:  "Do I have to eat the potatoes?"
Abigail:  "Can I have MORE potatoes?"
Rebekah:  She seemed to suffer through it...I don't think anything would have made her happy.

Sorry, no pictures.  We ate and cleaned it up before I could take a pic.

Recipe for Pork Chops:  (from Nicole)
Place 4-6 pork chops in the slow cooker (if you put a liner
in, clean-up is a breeze, too)
Mix 1 can of cream of celery soup with 1 can of milk (I just 'rinse' out
my soup can)
Pour mixture over the pork chops and let it cook all day!
They will practically melt in your mouth!

Dinner Co-op Day 5

Yesterday was day five of our co-op.  It was my turn to cook and on the menu was Poppy seed Chicken and fruit salad.  Poppy seed Chicken happens to be one of my favorite meals.  And typically when preparing meals for others,  I like to choose dishes that are on my top 3 list.  This would definitely be on  my top 3!!

I spent my morning at the grocery store buying all the ingredients I didn't have and then trashed my kitchen as I worked to prepare the meal.  I must say it was fun to dirty the kitchen in this capacity because for one, all the kids were in school and it was just me in the kitchen, and for two, the dinner at the end of it all was going to be well worth the mess.

As I excitedly served my girls their plates and sat down to join them for the "best dinner ever", I was greeted with the angelic voices of my children saying..."I don't like the soggy crackers.  I think they are gross" and "Why didn't you buy purple grapes instead" and my favorite "I don't like the yucky chips.  I only like the chicken."  (there weren't any chips in the meal) 

I have to be honest, my feelings were somewhat hurt by their negative comments.  And what made it worse was that this was a meal I have prepared a hundred times and they LOVED IT every other time.  (Maybe I am living in a parallel universe or something but can someone explain to me why chicken today and the same chicken tomorrow are two totally different things?  Hmmm, I just don't get it)

SOOO, Here is the verdict of the family...I am sure you will be shocked:
Kara:  I give it 3 thumbs up
Hannah:  "I like it mom but do I have to eat ALL the fruit salad?  I just like the apples and strawberries"
Abigail:  "I don't like the soggy crackers"
Rebekah:  "I don't like the yucky chips.  I only like the chicken"
John: still out of town.

I hope the other families enjoyed the meal but from the sounds of it, maybe this wasn't such a good pick of a meal.  At least it was my meal they hated.

On tap for tomorrow is:  Stuffed Shells and Apple Crisp!!

Dinner Co-op Day 4

Today was Day 4 of dinner co-op and the start of week 2.  Menu for today: hamburgers with all the fixin's and french fries.  I added baked beans and cheese dip.

Let me just say that these hamburgers were super duper good.  I am not sure what Nicole added to the meat but it totally worked.

Verdict:
Kara:  MM MM GOOD!!
Hannah:  "That was really good, mom"
Abigail: "Look, I ate it all"
Rebekah: "FRIES!!!!"
John:  Once again is out of town.


 Recipe for Hamburgers:
2 lbs. turkey or ground beef
1/2 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 tsp. garlic salt

Mix all ingredients together and form patties, grill and eat 'em up


Tomorrow's menu:  Poppy Seed Chicken and Fruit Salad (yummy, yummy ;-)

Dinner Co-op Day 3

OOOPS!  Day 3 of our dinner co-op was last Thursday and here it is Monday and I have not blogged about it.  Our menu on Day 3 was pulled pork sandwiches with broccoli salad.  Unfortunately I do not have a picture of our meal b/c at the time the food was supposed to be delivered to my house, I was on my way to the hospital with my youngest who, at the time, had a suspected UTI.  (Good news, she didn't)  Anyway, so in the midst of the crazy chaos, I forgot to take a picture

I will, however, tell you that the dinner was fabulous.  The pork was prepared in the crock pot (I love my crock pot!) and as you know with most things prepared in a crock pot, the pulled pork was the dinner that kept on giving.  We managed to eat sandwiches on Friday AND twice on Saturday.  I did not mind though.  Who doesn't like a pulled pork sandwich covered in sweet BBQ sauce...my mouth is watering:-)

The broccoli salad was good too.  It is a fun way to eat your veggies and it TASTES GOOD.  My two older girls at least took a bite of the salad.  I am not sure I understand why kids dislike all things green when it comes to food?.?.

The Verdict:
Kara:  I give it 2 thumbs up!!
Hannah:  "It was good"
Abigail:  "I liked it"
Rebekah:  "I want a chip"  (she's two, right?)
John: He missed out b/c he was out of town

Recipe for Pulled Pork:  (from Tricia)
I used 2 pork butt roasts and sprinkled on a seasoning I have called Savory Sensation  and put them in the crock pots on low all night.  Then lifted them out and chilled them all day, saving the juice in the fridge, too.  At 2:30, I pulled them out and stripped off all the fatty portions and the bones and put all the meat back in the crock pots.  I threw away the fatty layer off the juices, then added about a cup of juice, 1/2 a bottle of BBQ sauce, and 1 tsp of liquid smoke.   2 hours on high in the crock pot.

Broccoli Salad: (from Tricia)

2 – 3 heads of broccoli, cut into bite-size pieces

6 slices bacon, cooked and crumbled

½ cup shredded cheese

½ cup sunflower seeds

Mix Together in a bowl

Dressing:

1 cup mayo or Miracle whip

3 Tbsp. Vinegar (any variety)

½ cup sugar

Stir dressing ingredients until smooth.  Pour dressing over salad right before serving

Dinner Co-op Day 2

This is Day Two of our dinner co-op.  Menu:  Lasagna and No Pudge Fudge Brownies.  (I added steamed corn on the cob to my meal)

Here is the verdict:
Kara:  I loved it
Hannah:  "I thought it was really, really good.  I liked the cheese on the lasagna the best"
Abigail:  "I love the lasagna, I love the corn, and I tried the brownies and I love them too"
Rebekah: "I want more brownies"
John:  He is in Colorado this week, so he is missing out on a good meal right now.

So, ideally when doing a dinner co-op, you would probably come up with recipes that are homemade family favorites.  I totally agree with this premise except for the fact that my family doesn't like my homemade lasagna.  They claim they don't hate it but that they like Stouffer's better.  Okay, so I guess I can't complain simply because throwing a frozen lasagna in the oven for 2 hours is MUCH easier than making it from scratch.

The brownies on the other hand were a little more difficult.  Honestly, the process of mixing brownies together is not that hard but for some reason, I am inept in the kitchen sometimes.  I poured the mix in a bowl and added the yogurt (super simple).  I then used my mixer to mix it altogether.  I sat the mixer to the side and then went to remove the beaters from the mixer.  Well OOOOPS, I totally hit the on switch and proceeded to fling brownie mix everywhere...including all over myself.  So I cleaned it up and went to make another mix.  Remember, I am doing everything in triplicate.  I did each step again and was going to take the beaters off again and wouldn't you know it, I hit the on switch AGAIN.  Jeepers Creepers Kara...and once again, I was wearing the brownie mix as was the wall, counters, and floors this time.  Oh well with trying to wipe it up...I just went to licking it up this time.  Gross, right?  Well, chocolate can make you crazy sometimes :-)

All in all, I had fun and would do it again.  Our next meal is on Thursday.  Stay tuned...on the menu:  Pulled Pork Sandwiches and Broccoli Salad!!  Bon Appetite!!

Labor Day Weekend

No camping trip would be complete without hamburgers and hot dogs...

...and s'mores of course!!

On Friday, John and I packed up the kids and the boat and headed down to Table Rock Lake in MO.  My mom met us there with her RV and we camped for the weekend.  I didn't know this but John has never been camping like this before.  Welcome to the world of camping, my love! 

Who knew that a 4 hour drive would take 6 hours?  When you take a minivan and throw in 3 kids and attach a boat in the middle of weekend traffic, I guess that is a formula for "ARE WE THERE YET" about 500 times.  Good times! 

The weather was beautiful.  We did get a sneak preview of the upcoming cold fall mornings.  Each morning started off a touch cool but by mid morning, our summer heat was back.  The wind joined us for the weekend which made for awesome tubing and horrible skiing.  I thought the wind made the water feel a tab cold and wimped out  in getting in the water by Sunday.  Well, that isn't entirely true.  I did get in after lunch but it was a 10 minute process of getting in the water inch by inch.  I am sure it would have made it much easier to just jump in but I was a total girl about it...

Everyone had their fun on the water this weekend, though.  John and I skied and everyone except Rebekah had their turn on the tube.  Yes folks, even Nana rode the tube.  (Brave soul)  She rode with Abigail and then with Hannah.  I think she even had a good time.  I got it on video!!  

Nana and Hannah getting ready to tube!

                    Here is the proof of Nana riding the tube!!

John and I thought it would be fun to ride on the tube together since we had another adult to drive the boat.  I wasn't sure if my mom would feel comfortable driving the boat but let me tell you....She about KILLED US!!  John and I innocently climbed on the tube and yelled go.  She totally gunned it.  I started laughing so hard.  We were going all over the place and got thrown off a few times.  I thought it was so funny b/c my mom seemed so innocent and yet she gave us a run for our money.  I had fun though.

The embarrassing moment of the entire weekend was when we launched the boat only to find out it wouldn't start.  Yes, that's right, totally floating in a boat with no running engine.  After much talk, we decided to paddle (thank goodness we had one) over to the marina and get some help.  John paddled us over to the marina.  Seeing as how it took us a while, they were totally watching us.  I figured they were thinking we had run out of gas.  Gee, I am not that stupid, right?  Well, once we arrived, the nice man caught the boat and tied it up.  We told him what was going on and tried to start the boat so he could hear what was going on.  He looked the boat over and then innocently said, "Is your Run Switch on?"

Well, DUH!!!  Are you kidding me?  You mean we sat there paddling for 30 minutes and all we had to do was hit the run switch?  Boy did we feel like idiots.  I guess that is part of learning.  Thank goodness there was nothing wrong with the boat.  It was just "Operator Error" this time.  Hahaha.  Never a dull moment in the Wagnon House.  If you come boating with us, just make sure you bring your paddling arms.  Never know when you might need them.  (Heehee)

Row, Row, Row your Boat....

         

Thank you Nana for letting us camp with you and Thank you John and girls for fun family memories!!

Dinner Co-op Day 1

Today was the first day of my neighborhood dinner co-op.  Myself and two friends have decided to give this a try.  It all began for two reasons:
1. I love having hot meals brought to me but I just don't want to have another baby or be sick to get them
2. One of our MOPS meetings this year is talking about cooking and alternative ways to cook for busy moms.

Honestly, this is an experiment but I don't know if I have words to describe how excited I am.  Here is the schedule.  I get dinner brought to me on Mondays and Thursdays and I take dinner on Tuesdays.  Wednesdays are always spent at church and Fridays are usually "Pizza" days or "go out to eat" days.  The weekend is a free-for-all anyway so for my family, we will most likely eat the left-overs.  How awesome is that.  I cook one day and rest for six.  Why didn't I think of this before?

The menu for today was Cheesy Chicken Chowder and Cheesy Texas Toast.  (Can I get a hip hip horray for Cheese!!)  It was DELICIOUS!!  Here is the verdict from the family:

John: ate 2 1/2 bowls and said "mmmm" the whole time

Kara:  I give it 3 thumbs up (I don't have 3 thumbs, but if I did...)

Hannah:  "This is actually good, mom.  Can you homemake this too?"

Abigail:  ate 2 bowls and her favorite part was the celery.  Who knew?

Rebekah:  Seemed to enjoy it but her favorite part was the bread.

I would say this meal was a hit with the Wagnons!!!  Stay tuned for tomorrow.  On the menu...Lasagna and Brownies!!!  Yeah Baby!

Recipe for Cheesy Chicken Chowder:
8 cups chicken broth
3 cups peeled, diced potatoes
2 cups diced celery
2 cups diced carrots
1 cup diced onions
1 stick butter
2/3 cups all purpose flour
6 cups milk
2 Tbl soy sauce
1 16oz block Velveeta Cheese
4 cups cooked chicken (chopped)

Combine first 5 ingredients in large saucepan.  Cover and cook over med. heat 15 mins or until veggies are tender.  Melt butter over low heat; add flour, stir until smooth.  Cook 1 min; stirring constantly.  Gradually stir in milk; cook over med heat; stir constantly until thickened and bubbly.  Gradually stir in veggie mixture, soy sauve, cheese and chicken.  Cook until cheese melts and mixture is thoroughly heated.

Kids Say the Funniest Things

Me:  "I am lovin' me some Beckers" (Beckers is Rebekah's affectionate and preferred nickname)

Rebekah:  "I am lovin' me some Nana"

Me:  "Do you love mommy?'

Rebekah:  "I love me some mommy too"

Sweet girl.  I love the innocence and complete honesty of kids!

An Apple A Day...

Saturday was the much anticipated pick-your-own Honey Crisp Apple Weekend at Eckert's.  This is my favorite time every year.  We take the girls to Eckert's and take a wagon ride out to the apple trees. We walk up and down aisles of apple trees, pick Honey Crisp Apples, and eat almost as many apples as we pick.  We were a little disappointed this year because the apples weren't as good as last year.  Despite the disappointment, we managed to find 20lbs of acceptable apples!