Good Recipes

I made the following two recipes today - I feel bad always making Steve and Bret eat pizza when he comes up here so I promised to actually make a meal today. It turned out really good and was enjoyed by all! 

Mexican Style Lasagna 

1-1/2 lb. ground beef

1/4 lb.  (4 oz.) VELVEETA Mexican Pasteurized Prepared Cheese Product, cut up

3/4 cup TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Thick 'N Chunky Medium Salsa

6   TACO BELL® HOME ORIGINALS® Flour Tortillas

1/2 cup KRAFT Shredded Cheddar & Monterey Jack Cheese

PREHEAT oven to 400°F. Brown meat in large skillet; drain. Add 1/4 cup water and Mexican VELVEETA; stir until VELVEETA is melted. Remove from heat. Stir in salsa.

SPRAY 8-inch square baking dish with cooking spray. Spread 1/4 of the meat mixture into dish; top with 2 tortillas. Repeat layers 2 times. Top with remaining meat mixture; sprinkle with shredded cheese. Cover tightly with foil.

BAKE 30 minutes. Remove foil. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

I also added a package of frozen sweet corn. I think that I may try it with refried beans or black beans sometime as well. That's why I love recipes like this - you can add as much stuff as you like!

Peanut Blossoms

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, softened

2/3 cup  peanut butter

2/3 cup granulated sugar, divided

1/3 cup  firmly packed light brown sugar

1 egg

2 Tbsp.  milk

1 tsp. vanilla

1-1/2 cups  flour

1 tsp.  baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

48   Hershey kisses, unwrapped

PREHEAT oven to 375°F. Beat butter, peanut butter, 1/3 cup of the granulated sugar and the brown sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed until light and fluffy. Add egg, milk and vanilla; beat until well blended. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Gradually add to butter mixture, beating until well blended after each addition.

SHAPE dough into 48 balls, each about 1 inch in diameter; roll in remaining 1/3 cup granulated sugar. Place, 2 inches apart, on ungreased baking sheets.

BAKE 9 to 10 min. or until lightly browned. Immediately press a chocolate piece into center of each cookie. (Cookie will crack slightly around edge.) Cool on baking sheets 1 min. Remove to wire racks; cool completely.

Grace loved to help by unwrapping the kisses. :) 

Hurrah for Snow Days!

I'm not sure how much snow we got but it was enough to cancel school today! Steve had a 2 hour delay but didn't end up canceling. Grace loved the snow and didn't mind being bundled up. We attempted to make a mini snowman but the snow was pretty fluffy and didn't pack well. You can see our feeble attempt above. :) 

Random Thoughts

We put the Christmas tree up last week. It was fun having Grace help with the decorations. She kept grabbing the ornaments and saying "ball." We bought her a Smores baby's first Christmas ornament last year and have decided to get her a new ornament every year. This is a tradition that my mom started and I am excited to keep it going with my kids as well. 

David and Sara got this cute little card table and chairs for Grace (they also got a set for their girls and Benjamin). Steve and I pulled it out this week and we are glad we did! Grace loves to sit at it and color. It's also nice because the little chairs lock so they don't fold in on the kids if they sit back too far. I couldn't find this exact set online (I'm fairly sure Sara said she got it at Big Lots) but I found a similar one at Amazon. 

Here is Grace sporting her new shoes that Eben and Jill got her for her birthday! I love them as does she! :)

I was told about a website called Free Rice from a friend at work today. You can go there and answer trivia questions (choosing from categories such as Art, Chemistry, English, Geography, Language and Math). For each question you answer correctly they donate 20 grains of rice through the UN World Food Program to help feed the hungry. It adds up quickly! If you are a nerd like me and like trivia you should give it a try. :)

Steve and I are on day 10 of the Love Dare. Jill and Eben got a copy of the book for Mom and Dad, David and Sara, Steve and I, and themselves. We are really enjoying reading it together and completing the dares each day.

Lucky Lady

I just had to brag for a little bit - Steve got cancelled today because of icy roads so he got to stay home with Grace all day (I have to admit I was a bit jealous). When I walked in the door tonight he had supper on the stove ready to go, the kitchen had been swept and the living room was vacuumed. He also does the majority of the laundry...should I keep going or are you already nauseous? :) I just wanted to acknowledge all that Steve does - I probably don't vocalize my appreciation as often as I should. I am lucky to have such a hands-on husband!  

Benjamin's Birthday!

We went to Jill and Eben's over Thanksgiving break. It was fun to all be together - the cousins enjoyed playing with each other. Of course the highlight was celebrating Benjamin's first birthday! I think it's safe to say he likes chocolate cake. :) Thank you Jill and Eben for hosting us all week!