refridgerator shopping looks like...

this is what refrigerator shopping looks like.

find brennan.

such a funny dude.

max screamed a lot.

{it is my life goal to train her to not scream}

chase never made a peep,

not even when we forgot him 

sitting right there 

when we went to see the fridges in white.

not to fret,

we remembered him in a jiffy.

no harm done.

and brennan only spilled my water once on the floor.

note to self: 

when hot dogs are for dinner, 

bring drinks for everyone when you go refrigerator shopping.

i am so glad we eat meat:)

i just am.

{do hot dogs really count as meat???}

dinglehopper {flame}

{grandma gibson's early birthday celebration,

as her birthday falls on valentine's.

valentine valerie.

born on valentine's day.

in st. valentine's hospital.

no joke.}

HAPPY HAPPY VAL!

...

who knew hibachi was so frightening?!
max burst into tears when the flame part came.
i think it was the heat that scared her the most.
it does get hot.
brennan hid in my lap.
and kept asking if there was any more fire part,
and could we please NOT come back to this place?
poor babies!
at one point i had them both in my lap.
kisses, hugs, warm little bodies.
i managed to feed myself with one one free arm.
surprisingly enjoyable.
they loved the steak and rice.
i was glad they didn't want to try the shrimp.
b/c dipped in the white sauce...mmmm
HEAVEN.
all mine:)
and the highlight of my night was when i was OH so lucky to have brennan comb my hair with his fork.
thankfully, a clean fork.
"dingle-hopper," he said.
yep, we have officially been watching too much little mermaid.

wait for it...

wait for it...

BAM!

so funny,

until it wasn't.

am i a bad mom b/c i laughed before i frowned?

my heart ached for her fears.

it really did.

and loved for her hugs and kisses.

to make it all better.

and soothe her worries.

with brennan hiding in my lap.

making little whimpering sounds.

max curved alongside me for dear life.

and a baby kicking in my belly.

oh i love these little babies.

and their innocent little hearts.

there is nothing better.

i'm awesome:)

brennan did more finger painting with his clam chowder tonight than eating.

we just went with it.

you know,

to make up for the four hours of tv i let him watch this afternoon.

after the hour he watched this morning.

two of which that were hosted through pbskids.com so that's kind of like educational games.

i needed a nap.

win/win.

see,

good mom that fosters creativity.

go me:)

lightening mcqueen is IN your mouth.

tonight we told brennan that lightening mcqueen was in his mouth.
i covered my mouth and in a low voice said,
"brennan, this is lightening mcqueen {his eyes lit up}.
i am IN your mouth! {his mouth dropped open in amazement}
i need you to eat a bite of fish to win the big race. can you do it?! {mouth opens, food is shoveled in}"
then it was a tie.
you get where this is going.
parents-1 point.
kids-2 million.
i wonder how long i can use this one...
he of course needed no bribery to eat his candy apple.
a man after my own heart.
oh, and he asks for peanut butter at every meal.
i love this kid.

i am emily.

and i use bribery.

every.

day.

bless me.

risking starvation twice.

why we almost didn't get dinner last night...

i think she may get to keep my eyes:-)
i'm thawing hot dogs tonight.
no need to risk starvation twice.

calling all dream experts!!!

i love going to costco in the afternoon.
the crowds are awful, and the parking stinks.
but the snacks make up for the chaos.
i make sure to stop at every sample station.
sometimes we take it, sometimes we leave it.
i'm not a huge fan of coleslaw.
we usually leave the coleslaw.
i'm ordinarily not a veggieburger type of gal.
i love me some OMAHA'S!
bring on the beef.
but a few weeks ago, i was sold on the garden burgers.
delish i tell you.
have you ever tried them???
so i bought a box, and last night we mixed & mingled the beef and what the beef used to eat.
i couldn't believe how tasty the garden burger was.
i'm not claiming that they tasted the same or better, but they had their own little flair.
and that little flair is something i'm not afraid to add to my weekly menu.
i feel healthier just thinking about it.
the scout master had one of each.
am i becoming a vegetarian?
most definitely NOT.
my dad is from iowa.
i love me some meat.
and rare.
but i am a fan of the garden burger.
and that is that.
...
in other news:
the pork loin's head has taken a beating this week.
three days in a row.
sunday he bonked it on the sport court.
monday he had a fight with the pavement, the pavement won (see nose below)
tuesday he fell off the motorcycle bike at the gateway discovery zone.

my food dreams last night brought even better escapades.

you should have tasted the movie popcorn i ate in one dream.

it was hot, with LOTS of butter and salt.

perfect buttery, salty bites EVERY time.

then came the waffles.

i was at some sort of a breakfast celebration.

i had eggs benedict too, but never ate them b/c i was so full from the popcorn.

to drink?
raspberry lemonade mixed with sprite.

can't WAIT to see what i'm going to eat in my dreams tonight:-)

you dream experts out there, does this mean i'm not eating enough satisfying foods while awake???

i really feel like i do.

just yesterday i treated myself to a bite sized baby ruth from my halloween cauldron.

LA PASTA

the story:
i have no idea what the name of this dish is.
my cousin, shannon, gave me the recipe when i was 16.
i can't keep my fingers off of the leftovers, let alone the day of cooking.
(don't worry, when i make it for others i duct tape my mouth shut to avoid germ sharing)
sean's mission president, now a general authority (church leadership), came with his wife for dinner at our house when brennan was 6 weeks old.
i made this.

after "president" (what sean still calls him) went back for seconds, hermana alonzo asked sean to ask me (she doesn't speak english, made for an interesting night) to get my recipe for "la pasta" b/c "president" never goes back for seconds.

i was beaming in my chair.

and from then on it has been called "LA PASTA" in our house.

from our kitchen to yours,

i give you

LA PASTA!!!

ingredients:

16 oz rigatoni

1 stick butter

1/2 c flour

1 c milk

1 can chicken broth

3 chicken breasts, cooked & shredded

1/2lb mushrooms, sliced

3/4 c half & half

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp nutmeg

1 c Parmesan

3/4 c sliced almonds

directions:

1. cook chicken {3-4 chicken breasts}

2. cook pasta, drain, set aside.

3. while pasta is cooking, melt butter in large sauce pan {keep on low medium heat entire time}

4. whisk milk {not half and half} and flour until smooth, stir into butter once melted, add chicken broth, stirring constantly {if lumpy, use whisk to stir until smooth}.

5. add half & half, stir until smooth and thickened.

6. add salt, nutmeg, chicken, mushrooms, and rigatoni.

7. put into baking greased baking dish.

8. bake COVERED at 350* for 35 minutes, then stir.

9. sprinkle Parmesan and almonds, bake 15 min. more UNCOVERED.

...

mark my words, 

your mouth will love you:)

toffee crumbs in my bed

i had a migraine last night.
they sneak up on me once or twice a year.
never at convenient times of course.
it all starts with the white spots in my eyes.
at which point i must pop some sort of over the counter pill,
banish myself to a dark place,
and try to sleep it off.
fortunately, sean was on his way home early so he stopped by to pick up the pork loin.
they went to the store for dinner supplies.
enchiladas.
extra tasty.
by the time they returned all was well in the head department.
a coke is always a good way to seal the healing deal of migraine invasion.
although bree did have a very coaxing offer of caffeine patches?
after our tummies were filled with enchilada and salad (with poppy seed dressing i might add, mmm), mom and grandma brought out tasty souvenirs from their recent trip to thailand.
butter cookies with toffee crumbs.
homemade from the shop of an old friend there.
as i ate i realized there were no nutrition facts listed on the box.
absent any labels of any sort.
this led me to eat more.
b/c as all goddesses know,
no nutrition facts label, no calories.
we almost ate the entire box.
then it was off to bed with angels and demons.
(i surely hope you're reading with us)
an early night while sean cleaned up the kitchen.
and for the 2nd time in our marriage i was fast asleep before he even got to bed.

you can bbq it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it...

"shrimp is the fruit of the sea. you can bbq it, boil it, broil it, bake it, saute it. there's, um, shrimp kebabs, shrimp creole, shrimp gumbo, pan fried, deep fried, stir fried. there's pineapple shrimp and lemon shrimp, coconut shrimp, pepper shrimp, shrimp soup, shrimp stew, shrimp salad, shrimp and potatoes, shrimp burger, shrimp sandwich...that's, that's about it."

-forest gump

when i got married my mom gave me

her favorite cookbook:

"60-Minute Gourmet."

i have slowly tried some of my favorites that she has made.
the idea is being able to cook a gourmet meal in 60 minutes or less
i give you...

"broiled butterflied shrimp"

i can't tell you how easy this was to make!!! and WAY under 60 minutes. the rice took the longest b/c i spent 30 minutes making my rice in a rice cooker...well, i didn't spend 30 minutes, i spent 5 minutes sticking the rice in the cooker, and then it cooked for 30 minutes all on it's own ;-).
i steamed some broccoli and serve with the rice and...
"vvvwwwaaaaallllaaaaahhh!"

you can do it too!

...

INGREDIENTS:

1-2 lbs. shrimp (the bigger, the better--think costco)

1/2 c. olive oil (evoo is best ya'll)

2 tsp. finely chopped garlic (i use pre-cut garlic from jar)

2 tbls. parsley (or whatever is in your spice rack)

1/8 tsp. crushed dried hot red pepper flakes

1/2 tsp. crushed dried oregano (or whatever is in your spice rack)

2 tbls. fine soft bread crumbs

salt, pepper, and lemon to taste

DIRECTIONS:

1. preheat broiler to high

2. peel shrimp and butterfly (cut down the back side, but not through)

3. throw shrimp in bowl with all ingredients

4. mix shrimp with hands to get "stuff" all over shrimp

5. foil on cookie sheet, spread shrimp on cookie sheet in one layer

6. place cookie sheet w/shrimp 3-4 inches under the source of heat

7. cook 5-6 minutes (yup, that's all!!!)

8. baste shrimp with oil mixture (if there's any left over) or serve as is (i forgot to baste and it still tasted awesome!)

*******

serves 3-4

(depending on how much you LOVE shrimp)

total cost: $14

(and the shrimp was $10 of that)

what did your family eat last night?

this is what we ate:

tostadas. my new favorite dinner b/c:

1. fast

2. easy

3. satisfying

4. colorful, therefore pretty!!!

how to make:

1. cook 1lb ground beef (or any meat) w/onion, 1 can diced tomatoes, 1 can corn, & sliced olives (i crush the olives with my hands)

2. spray pan with Pam and flip corn tortillas back and forth until golden brown and slightly crispy (medium heat)

3. turn heat down slightly, sprinkle cheese and let melt

4. remove from pan and put on plate, cover with meat mixture

5. top with more cheese, sour cream, & green onions (which i didn't have yesterday, but it makes it so much prettier)

6. garnish with limes and squeeze them ALL over, yum