Wickedly Good

It has been a "Wickedly Good" Winter! It was filled with family and friends and so much fun. Joseph's family made it in for Christmas and the New Year and than the kids and I made a last minute trip to Oregon to visit my family for a bit. It was so good to be back home. I miss Oregon and all it's simple pleasures. The fresh air, green mountains, beautiful coast line and the best of all family. It was so great to entertain and visit with Joseph's family for Christmas. I decorated the house all festive and made my own stockings. I tried to get real crafty but time slipped away and I did not get all the projects done that I had wanted...in the end though none of that mattered, it was the time spent together with family that made this winter so "Wickedly Good". We all got the chance to see the Broadway show Wicked in Chicago and go to an indoor water park. The play was outstanding, it was good to spend some time in Chicago, we are feeling more and more familiar with it and love to go there. Now we are all back at home. We have had since, a few colds, stomach flu and are hoping we have caught all the viruses that are out this year and are good until next winter:) (Yeah Right) Joseph just celebrated his 29th birthday, we hung out at home and had tacos and cake. Than Kaitlyn was in charge of the entertainment so she organized a game of hide and seek. Joseph is about to head into finals and than start getting ready for his first set of board exams which are in a few weeks. We have a spring break coming up, I am watching 5 kids over the break while some friends head to Hawaii for a vacation. They watched our kids while we went to Spain so we have been planning this for a while. I am gearing myself up to be a "Super Mom" and make having 5 kids look like a piece of cake. I have so many crafts and projects in my basement waiting for me, I like to find ideas off of other woman's blogs, there are a lot of good ones out there. Below are two recipe's I recently found from a magazine my Mom ordered for me. They are simple, easy and turned out great.


Shredded Beef Tacos

Pork Shoulder
Enchilada Sauce
Can Diced Green Chiles
Cilantro
Red Onion
Lime
Corn Tortillas


Put the Pork, Enchilada Sauce and Chiles in a Crock Pot for up to 8-10 hours or until the meat is easy to pull apart. 20 min before serving add some Chopped Cilantro to the Crock Pot let simmer. Also Cut the Onions into thin slices and soak in some fresh lime juice. They will become wilted in 20 min. Stir them occasionally. We like to fry the corn tortillas so they turn a little stiff but you can just warm them up. The recipe just had the tacos having the meat and onions in it but we of course added all the works and they turned out delicious and the best part...SUPER EASY!

Berry Cobbler
oh my gosh this is good

Fresh Berries...I used blackberries and strawberries
Lemon 1 tsp lemon zest and 1 Tbsp Juice
2 Tbsp Corn Starch
1/2 Cup Apricot Preserves
16.5 oz Sugar Cookie Dough (Store Bought)
1/2 cup Oats
1/4 cup pecan pieces

Cut the Strawberries in Half and mix them with the other berries. Add Peach Preserves, Corn Starch, Lemon zest and juice. Mix together until evenly mixed. Pour evenly in a 2 qt baking dish. Knead the cookie dough and oats together. Break into pieces over the berries. Sprinkly with Pecan's. Bake at 375 for 35-40 min or until browned and fruit is bubbling. Put foil on top if it begins to get too brown before finished. Serve warm or at room temperature with ice cream.....

So EASY and So Yummy!

Here are some pics from the many that have been taken this winter.