Dear Son...

Dear Son,

Dating is a tricky thing and doing it right is difficult. But it is honestly, the most important thing you will ever do. Because how you date will dictate who you date. And who you date will become your wife. And who your wife is will determine your future family and so forth and so on. So date wisely.

Here are a few expectations I have for you when it comes to dating:

1. Always ask a girl on a date. Straight forward & direct. AND always ask in person. If that just isn’t possible then ask over the phone. Never, I mean never, ask a girl on a date through a text, instant message, or email.
2. Always take a girl out on a date. None of this “let’s hang out at my place & watch a movie” nonsense. I expect you to pick her up & take her somewhere. It doesn’t have to be fancy or elaborate or immensely creative. Sometimes the best dates are simple, like a picnic in the park. You should always make sure you take her to a place you know she will feel comfortable & enjoy.
3. Open the car door for your date. Open all doors for your date.
4. Pay for your date. No questions asked. Your father & I will make sure you always have money for your dates. Do not ever split the bill.
5. Walk to the door to pick up your date. Never text from the car, or worse yet, HONK! And always walk your date to the door at the end of the night.
6. Use your good senses when it comes to kissing. Don’t kiss every girl, but don’t be afraid to kiss the right girl.
7. Listen to your date. The best dates involve getting to know the other person so take your date somewhere that will allow you to talk. Ask her questions & share insight about yourself. The purpose of dating is to find someone you could spend your future with. So the longer you date a person, the more you should get to know her.
8. Always make your intentions clear. If you aren’t clicking with a girl then end it. Don’t string her along. It may hurt her for a minute but she will appreciate your honesty. And if you are feeling a connection then let her know. A girl loves clarity. It will make the whole dating process easier if you follow this one simple rule.
9. Date around, but only seriously date one girl at a time. Once you’ve found a girl you are interested in and going exclusive with, be faithful to her. Always, always be faithful. If you decide things aren’t working out or you meet someone else you’d like to get to know, refer back to rule #8.
10. Be physical. The right way! Hold hands, put your arm around her shoulders or eventually her waist, kiss her head, put your hand on her knee, these sweet gestures speak volumes & make a woman feel cared for. Going too far physically only confuses the relationship & it can never be undone.
11. Handle her heart with care. Women are strong, but they are also delicate. Don’t ruin that. Do not be responsible for hardening a woman’s heart.
12. Get to know her family & friends and let your family & friends get to know her. Especially Me.
13. When the time comes, tell her you love her, a lot. In fact, tell her all sorts of nice things. Everyone deserves to be complimented.
14. Serve her. Not like a waiter. Perform acts of service for her; make her breakfast, take out her trash, offer her your jacket when she’s cold, you get the point.
15. Surprise her. Again, a little can go a long way. Just stick with small surprises. Bring her a case of her favorite soda, pick her flowers, or show up at her work for a surprise lunch date.
16. Never underestimate the power of the written word. As nice as it is to hear good things, it’s even better to have them written down so you can reference back to them. You should write letters or notes to your love often.
17. When the time is right & you’ve found that special someone, get down on one knee & ask her those 4 special words.

I love you now, forever and always. And know that someday, I’ll love her too.

Love, Mom

Summer Lovin'...it happened so fast!

My family loves summer as much as we love fall as much as we love Christmas! Seriously! It's like a competition. 

This summer, as much as this may not seem so, was slightly more laid back that previous years. 

We didn't sign up the boys for baseball (although Ashton played in the Spring). We did however use to the fullest of their extent our Pass of all Passes. Utah County peeps know what I'm talking about. 

I think Ashton went down this slide a million times! I was ready for the life guard to ask him if he wanted a job!

Jordan and Kolton having fun in the kiddie pool!

Bumper boat fun at Trafalga!

Of course we have to take some time for the "summer appointments". Jordan's yearly heart check. So far no surgery! Woohoo!

Some of my dearest friends at her daughter's wedding. 

Lots of ice cream (I loved torturing him, lol)...

And of course, lots of strawberries and cream!

But that isn't complete with out a good home town parade...

...and a Rodeo queen.

...complete with sunburns.

...and fireworks...

...followed by playing with fireworks at home...

...then we remembered our dear Stevie as we lost him just a year ago...

...topped off with the purchase of our first SUV...with 4 wheel drive...and a Hemi...Shon was believe or not more excited that I am despite this picture. Don't worry we still have big red (our dodge caravan) 😉.

And now...school is in session!

It actually wound up being quite the summer. With lots of BBQ's and family bonding time. 

But the crisp air is slowly rolling in and the Halloween shows have already started...so ready or not...here comes fall and the Christmas season!

Inside Out Stuffed Bell Peppers

My husbands HATES (not even an understatement) shepherd's pie. Something about his childhood and Stevie's (his dad) cooking. :-)

I on the other hand love it. I loved it growing up and my dad and I always made (especially when mom was on cooking strike).  I always thought it was a great go to meal, brown the meat, open a can of corn and mix up some instant potatoes.

Well...as I got older (no I won't tell you my age) I wanted a way to implement the delicious summer fresh vegetables that most of us get (the usual zucchini, squash, tomatoes, bell peppers, etc). I also wanted to attempt to take out the potatoes.

So one night here is what I came up with...

There are a few ladies at work that had gardens that were growing too many vegetables (tough problem huh?) While I was making this recipe Sprouts also had there bell peppers 3 for $1. Holy cow! We LOVE bell peppers...raw, stir fry, omelettes, stuffed, etc.

Well I also had a zucchini that needed to be eaten before it went rotten.  I chopped it up thinking what am I going to do with this. It was a medium size. I pulled a pound of ground beef, browned it up. Then I added 1 red and 1 green bell pepper.

Off subject...did you know that bell peppers (red mostly) have more vitamin c than an orange? I read it online somewhere and we know if you see it online it MUST be true, right? (wink)

OK, bad to the recipe...here is a list of what I add

1 pound lean ground beef-browned
1 medium zucchini
1 red bell pepper
1 green bell pepper
half a medium yellow onion (although I didn't add it in the first time)
salt and pepper to taste
rice-white or brown--enough servings for the number of people serving
1 bunch of asparagus
sauce found in this recipe from my blog

Along with the bell peppers that week at Sprouts, the asparagus was also AMAZINGLY priced. Needless to say I think for about a month we had asparagus our a vegetable with dinner. Good thing my boys finally started liking it as long as they had the sauce to put over it. Such an easy sauce too, so make sure you check out that recipe that I linked as well.

Moving on...this is a really rough recipe. After your meat is browned, dump all the remaining chopped veggies (except the asparagus) and let them mingled together with the meat until they are tender. While these saute sprinkle some salt and pepper to taste.

Get your asparagus boiling in some water with a little sprinkle of salt. Also get your water boiling now for your rice. I just used instant rice. It's easy. Feel free to use whatever rice you want.

 

Also, get the asparagus sauce mixing and ready to go...

 

I don't do tomatoes very well...so I just opened a can of tomato sauce to put on top of the mixture. If you love tomatoes or want this to have more of a fresher taste, I would definitely place some cherry tomatoes or just some chopped tomatoes on top. (I am sure my tomato loving husband would have preferred that).

Here is the recipe plated. It was a nice and refreshing and light summer meal. And what another great way to use zucchini. 

 

My kids loved it. We actually didn't have my oldest son the first night I made it. So when he came home, my two youngest told Ashton (my oldest) about the recipe and Ashton begged I make it. He had seconds and thirds! He loved it! I also took some to work a few times and I am ALWAYS questioned about what I am warming up because they love the smell. It reheats very well for lunch. It's a great refreshing meal for lunch or dinner. And very fast to make. 

As always I hope you enjoyed this as much as we did...and as always...happy cooking!

~Cristina

 

Philly Cheese Sloppy Joes

My kids love meat. So I am always trying to find a new (budget friendly) way of cooking with meat. Usually beef because it's sometimes cheaper (but not always).  I found this recipe in the Six Sisters Recipe Book as well...but you can also find it on my Pinterest page found here.

Here is what you need:

1 lb. ground beef/sirloin
1 onion, chopped
1/4 c. steak sauce
1 c. beef stock
1 green pepper, chopped
1 pkg. sliced mushrooms
Provolone cheese, cut into slices or pre-sliced
Salt & Pepper to taste
Buns/Rolls

This recipe makes quite a bit..and it was great as a left over for lunch the next day! I had SO many people ask me what I was having and wanting the recipe.

In large skillet over medium-high heat brown the ground beef/sirloin, about 5-6 minutes. Add the onion, green pepper and mushrooms and cook another 3-4 minutes, until they start to get tender. Stir in the steak sauce and beef stock, season with salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and cook about 2 minutes.

Place a scoopful of the meat on the bottom half of the bun, drizzle with additional steak sauce and place cheesy bun on top! Delish! I just served it up with tater tots and a nice green salad. They are sloppy and they were...Yum!! And....another 5/5 stars! Woohoo!!

Pork Canitas-From Six Sisters Recipe Book

You can also find the recipe on my Pinterest account here.

This was such an easy recipe and it was DELICIOUS!!!

First you want to get a good Pork Roast

 

Pork obviously is very fatty. Watch how much you are getting. I also tend to get roasts with the bone in because they are 1. cheaper and 2.Tend to have more taste 3.Are more tender.

Then you add the following to pot (I like this part...you just open cans and drop!)

15    ounces    enchilada sauce
1    cup    salsa
1    onion ( chopped )
1    clove(s)    garlic ( minced )
2    tablespoons    lime juice
1    teaspoon    ground cumin
1    teaspoon    garlic salt
1    teaspoon    paprika
1    tablespoon    brown sugar
  

**Note instead of the salsa I used two cans of Rotels...I love Rotels! Great meal fixer! I also added some green bell peppers and 1 chopped and un-seeded jalapeno. 

I cooked on low for 8 hours...

 

This is what it looks like after it has cooked and I have removed the bone and shredded the chicken.

 

I just served it on tortillas with some cheese, sour cream, cilatro and some fresh squeezed lime.

 

It was DELICIOUS!!!! We had very little left over because we all had seconds and thirds. So needless to say this was a 5/5 stars!!

Enjoy and as always...happy cooking!!

Reflections of Ashton Age 13---several months late.

I have a LOT...and when I say a lot...I mean seriously a lot of updates to the blog to add.  My computer was out of commission and needed some TLC...and after about of 3 months of BEGGING Shon...he finally had some time to sit down and fix it for me...so...on to what this post is really about.

Ashton...oh my Ashton...

This year he became a teenager.  And he acts like one. ;-)

This year Ashton played his first year of tackle football, played baseball again and he rocked it, he started junior high, he has excelled in his scouting and he has been the best big brother to David and Jordan!

I still remember the first day I met Ashton. He was not too sure about this person that was with his dad. It took him some time to come around.  And I remember our McDonalds dates while dad worked graveyard shifts. We had so much fun watching Pongo (101 Dalmations) until that was the only movie he wanted to watch over and over again...so we told him the movie broke!

I remember when he came out of the bathroom and his diaper wasn't on all the way so we had "poop" trails on our living room floor (thank goodness for carpet cleaners).

Happy Birthday Ashton...we are SO glad your are our son.  We are so proud of you and your accomplishments and we know you will go very far in life.  Everything we have done to be parents to you if 100% worth it.

Reflections of Jordan Age 6

Jordan is the child that stole my heart. I loved him the first day we got him. I am not sure if it was the toddler thing in me or the fact that he was so scared and so easy to love. I still remember the first night we got him. We tried to put him to sleep in his toddler bed, which didn't go over well. I wound up sleeping backwards on my bed and he laid on top of my with his head on my chest. Once he settled down, he slept that way the entire night. I didn't. I balled at the bond we were making, at the comfort I hope he felt I was able to give him and just the closeness that we immediately had. He still can just smile at me and it melts my heart. I have a hard time telling him no...and problem is, he knows it! (We're working on that).

This last year he started kindergarten, became a karate guru, lost his first tooth, he learned to read very well and so much more! And still as STUBBORN as ever!

Jordan, my life literally would not have been complete without you. I am so proud of you and the little monster you have become. Happy Birthday Bugs!

some oldies...these were taken within the first months we had him...