Chicken lasagna and then some...

My husband gave me roses the other day because he was so excited about all the cooking I have been doing lately.  We all get so tired of eating the same things all the time plus I figured we would eat healthier if I cooked more.  So, a couple of weeks ago I went to the internet for some fresh ideas.   Marina made Pho for us once and it was so yummy I decided to try it.  It is pretty labor intensive but I looked for an easier version of it on youtube.  I found Yummies4Dummies.  The girls that does this video blog thing is so cute and she arranges every recipe into 4 easy steps.   My Pho Ga (cuicken noodle soup) went over really well.  Chris ate 3 big bowls and then finished the leftovers the next day.  Personally I don't like cilantro but went ahead and added it because I have gotten used to eating it in Chipotle rice.  Big mistake for me this time.  I could not get past the taste of cilantro and after half a bowl, I had had enough.

That week was Asian food week in our house.  I made Pad Thai and some other stuff I don't remember.  Last week I went to Publix and picked up a couple of recipes there.  The first one was a some sort of pork chili.  It said to buy deli mojo pork.  Well, I can make my own mojo pork so I tossed the recipe and went home and mixed mojo pork with canned chili and served it over rice.  They liked that, too.

Publix recipe #2 was hoisin chicken.  It was yummy.  I stuck pretty close to the recipe.  I misread the card in the store and didn't pick up the garlic and herb cheese it asked for so I substituted what I had - sour cream and garlic and herb seasoning.  Everyone liked this, even me.

This week I went to pinterest looking for chicken recipes because I am getting a whole bunch of frozen chicken breasts this month from Zaycon(look it up online if you don't know what it is) for 1.79/lb.

So this is what I made tonight:  http://livinglifeofriley.com/white-cheesy-chicken-lasagna/
White chicken lasagna.  I wasn't sure about the combo of flavors but it was really good...very meaty.  I did use the meat of one rotisserie chicken instead of 3 breasts and about double the spinach.  I also do not cook the noodles before using them.

She doesn't give a lot of direction so here is how you do it:
Remove all meat from one chicken and set it side in bowl #1.

Mix 2 jars of alfredo sauce with one dry pack of ranch seasoning(found next to the dressing).  Because I don't cook the pasta, I use about 1/4 cup of water in each jar, shake it to rinse the jar and pour into the sauce bowl.  I think the extra water helps the pasta cook.  This is bowl #2

saute the broccoli slaw in olive oil.  when it is softened, add the spinach and cover the pan.  In a minute or so the spinach leaves will shrink up and then you lose the cover, stir them in and remove from heat.  This is bowl #3

Bowl #4 is shredded mozzarella cheese.  

Put a little sauce in the bottom of the pan and then start layering with uncooked lasagna noodles, Bowl 1,2,3,4 and repeat until everything is gone.  sprinkle some croutons on top and cover with aluminum foil.  bake at 350 for 45 min - an hour.  remove foil and bake 5 more minutes.  Remove from over and let it sit 10 minutes before cooking.

It is yummy.  Chris and Renee are at work but Hope and I enjoyed it.  There is plenty left.  It is also very filling.

water is powerful stuff

I was just reading Middle Aged Mormon Man and I realized that I was on Blogspot.  Then it occurred to me that I also have one of these accounts which I never use.  Shame on me.

We have been dealing with a lot of crazy stuff lately.  As usual our ability to be grateful is constantly being tested.  I have told Chris that I think life just continues to be difficult.  Until you learn to show sincere gratitude in times of difficulty, things will continue to be difficult.  I think gratitude is key to opening those windows of heaven.

We have for what seems like forever had a drip in the tub, which lately has been more of a steady stream than a leak.  I hate dealing with plumbing because I have more than once made problems bigger than they originally were.  After months of climbing water bills, I finally got my tools and set to work on the drip.  I changed the seat and washer on the cold side, which is where I suspected the problem was.  I tried to get to the hot side but could not get the handle off.  When I turned the water back on, the stream was still there.  A day or so later our craft/junk room flooded.  I figured it was because I had got the seat in crooked(yes, I have done that before).  So, I started over, used my finger to carefully put the seat in, cleaned up the water, and did some research and found out about a cool little tool to remove the stuck handle.  I love the handle remover.  It is so clever and it works.

I checked the seat on the hot side, saw nothing wrong there, replaced a badly damaged washer, and turned the water back on.  The stream was still there.

A friend came over a couple of days later asking to borrow money.  We have done projects together in the past and I knew he was like me, a jack of all trades, master of none.  I told him about the problem.  He checked it out and could find nothing wrong.  He called Home Depot and they suggested I replace the entire stems.  So I did.  It turned out that the ones I removed were too short and probably not making a good connection (my conclusion, not an expert's).  After I replaced the stems, the old handles didn't fit.  It was the day before Thanksgiving and Chris had the car so I couldn't do anything about it but wrap the ends with rubber tape and use a wrench.  Everything seemed fine, until I turned the water on for Hope to take a shower and noticed water running along the stems.  I don't know much but thought maybe the parts needed to be tightened.  I stewed on that for a day or so until I came home and found Chris standing in the front yard shaking his head.  Two rooms were flooded and he had been dragging stuff out of the house.  The mess was annoying but necessary.  I was able to get to the back of the pipes now and see better what was going on.  I removed and tightened the joints on the stems and replaced them.  I didn't know what else to try.  That was last Friday.  So far so good.  I have kept the back panel clear so I can keep checking it.  I am really paranoid now.

We still have a drip.  I don't know why.  It is not as bad as before and it is preferable to flooding, but it is there.  Anyone have any ideas?

I just took a glance at some of the other posts on here and realized it has been 2 years since Renee graduated from High school. Wow! I can't believe that.

Hope did get to go with her dad and Samantha to the Georgia Aquarium earlier this year. They had a great time. Now she is interested in taking up paddle boarding. Chris and I are really excited about that because she gave up dancing this year and has been drifting. We feel it is important to have interests and outlets that help build self esteem and provide stress relief and all that jazz. I don't know how we are going to afford to buy her the necessary equipment but that is the goal. For now she has her body board that someone found at a garage sale and has been sitting in our shed for years. She has been taking it to the beach. They offer free paddle boarding experiences at Bill Jackson's every Saturday morning as well.

Hope is an excellent saver. She never wastes money on herself. She either gives it away or hoards it for something she wants badly. She saved the money to go to the GA aquarium. She saved to adopt a bunch of animals at the Clearwater Aquarium last year. I think I can give her a little money here and there and trust her to sock it away until she has enough to get her paddle board and paddle and whatever else she needs.

Mothers Day
I want to put a little note on here about Mother's Day while I am here. I usually get really annoyed with Mother's Day, as well as my birthday. I am a big baby and even though I know I should be above it I still really want someone to make a big deal about "My Day". I am usually disappointed. The fact is, if a woman is not in charge of it, it just doesn't happen. I work to make sure Father's Day, and everyone else's birthdays are special. I make Christmas for everyone as best I can. I kind of thought having daughters would ensure I would have great Mother's Days. They are young WOMEN after all and women make things happen. I don't know when that kicks in. It must not happen until they become mothers. I don't know.

So, Saturday Sam tells me that they were going to be giving me an IOU(again) for Mother's Day because they hadn't been able to find anything for me. That ticked me off. I mean, come on, Mother's Day comes every year. It isn't as if you didn't know about it until this week. This happens every year. They wait for someone to work everything out for them and so nothing happens. Last year they said they were going to make dinner for me and make it all about me all day. Then they came home from church, fell asleep and at dinner time they said they couldn't make anything because I hadn't bought the ingredients.

So I was trying to tell myself not to be upset this year when my sucky Mother's Day played out. I heard someone in the kitchen and assumed it was Chris making me breakfast which he does most years(then I have to clean up the mess after church while everyone naps). As it turns out it was Samantha. She brought me an omelet and turkey bacon. It was really good. I asked how she knew how to make an omelet and she told me she had googled it. Then she went and cleaned the kitchen. I was really impressed. She is becoming a woman after all. Then Hope got up and gave me a painting she had done for me. She had made me a really cool card with an awesome note in it as well and a few other things. She had put a lot of time and effort into it. It was the best Mother's Day yet.

Don't get me started about Chris and Renee.

Seminary this morning

I had a moment of coolness this morning in seminary. We were talking about Joseph F Smith. Of course I had taken in all the facts and details available to me the night before in preparation for class but didn't make the personal connections. Standing in class, I asked the kids how seeing his father and uncle dead at 5 years old might have impacted him, testimonywise. One of them said that since he was only 5 he probably didn't even remember it and it wouldn't have had a lot of impact. Right then and there I realized I had a personal connection to that lesson. I told them my mother died when I was 5 and I definitely remember the feelings and thoughts that I experienced then. Those impressions have grown and evolved into a deeper understanding of things than I had at 5 but my experiences at a young age have a lot to do with who I am today. I think seeing that his father had sealed his testimony with his blood must have been a huge faith builder for him just as experiencing the loss of my mother the day after our family was sealed for eternity in the SLC temple has strengthened my testimony of the eternal nature of families and the importance of temple ordinances. There was no way I ever would have married anyone outside of the temple.

We went on to talk about the responsibilities he faced as a young boy - crossing the plains without a father. At 7 he was in charge of one of his families wagons. His mother died when he was 13, leaving him to care for his younger sister.

I recalled how much I wanted to know about a mother I barely knew and imagine that he also sought to learn all he could about his father which probably led to his deep understanding and testimony of the gospel.

I recall taking care of my brother who was 6 months old when my mother died. I didn't think about it at the time but it was a lot of responsibility for a 5 year old. My father worked at night so that he could be home during the day for us. Working nights means he slept during the day and I did a lot of cooking, cleaning and diaper changing while my dad slept. I remember when I was 5 or 6 I got a dishwasher for Christmas and I was really excited about it. It never occurred to me that this was not normal for a kid my age.

I think facing difficulties at an early age and dealing with things most young people don't have to think about prepared Joseph F. to become the prophet he was. He spoke of the importance of using our youth wisely and not wasting that time. He is an example of what can come when youth is not wasted. He instituted the seminary program which is a wonderful way for the youth in the church to make wise use of their time.

As I realize how my own experiences are similar to Joseph F. Smith's I have to also realize that I should be doing a lot more with my life and work harder to be the person I have been prepared to be. Sure I know that the church is true but what am I doing about it? I know that I am strong and smart and capable but what am I doing with that? I really need to pick up the pace.

Ain't it nice?

I was just looking at an old post on our seminary fb page and was reminded of the award that our stake promised all the kids who finished reading the Book of Mormon last year. It has been almost a year and they have not yet received it. Some of them have left for college. Maybe they will get it when they finish college. Probably not.

It took almost 2 years to get the dvd of photos from the trek. The kids were not allowed to take their own cameras so they had no photos at all until last month.

Last week there was a stake dance but no one knew where it was. I wonder how that went. I don't know if its just because our ward is the black sheep of the stake or if this is a stake wide problem but its pretty crazy. I do know I am not going to promise the kids anything on behalf of the stake anymore.

Lost Blog

I knew I had a blog spot somewhere. I have been thinking of some things I wanted to write about lately and got on here this morning to see if I had one and sure enough...

I thought it was a little more recent but, whatever.

Renee is now attending the Art Institute in Tampa. She is very talented and is finally beginning to realize just how talented. She has been at the head of every class since she started there last fall. Her work from her very first art class is on display at the school and she was told that the best of her photos would not be displayed because they were too good for a first year. Weird.

She finished most of her gen ed classes at our community college before she started at AI, thus saving a few bucks but still it is an expensive school and she was unable to get a grant, which sucks, and is paying with a lot of loans. If anyone hears of any art scholarships or contests that could help reduce these loans, please let us know.

Adding to the financial responsibility, Renee moved into an apartment with her friend, Marina, last May. She seems to enjoy the privacy and the extra room she has now. She still hangs out with us a lot, though. She is still my baby girl. She takes the bus to work and school which is a pain. She wants a car but I don't know how she can afford one right now.

She worked at Dunkin donuts for 2 years and for the past year has been working at Chipotle. Sam has been working for Regal cinema for a year this month. They are both good little workers and made good reputations for themselves.

Sam and Hope are now enrolled in full time Florida Virtual School. They are always struggling to stay on pace. Sam is a straight A student but tends to be habitually behind schedule. She says it is not a problem. Its just the way she operates. Hope is adjusting to a much more intense work load. She is getting much better at it. We had a lot of arguments at the beginning of the year but she is working more independently now - most of the time.

Hope has been dying to go to the Georgia Aquarium for months. For Christmas she gave her dad the money to buy tickets for the two of them. She had saved this by collecting cans and hoarding every penny she could find. Sam is going with them on Valentines day. They are all excited. Renee and I are staying here. She has school and can't miss a day. I have seminary and work.


I suppose there is a lot more to write but for now that will do.

Renee's graduation

Renee participated in the PPEA(Pinellas Parent Educators Association) graduation ceremony this morning. It was very nice. She looked so beautiful and poised up on the stage. There were 39 kids participating this year. The kids came to the front of the stage to recieve their"diplomas" and the parents joined them. Dads gave them the scrolls and moms moved the tassles to the other side of the caps and then photos were taken. While the parents and grads stood on stage the MC read a challenge/message that the parents wrote to each child. One boy gave a speech about walking with God through the struggles that will come in life. One girl played her guitar and sang a song which I think she wrote. Another graduate performed with her gospel quintet. That was fun. Then all the grads stood and lit candles while some song about lighting a candle played. The lights were turned off and a lot of people in the audience turned on their cell phones and started waving them. It was pretty funny. Then a prayer for the graduates was offered, which was nice.
Actually there was a opening prayer but we couldn't tell it was a prayer until he said "Amen". Then we felt guilty for not being properly reverent. He was talking about how preachers can't just stand up and offer a prayer without a message and quoting scripture and then he said, "Amen". We aren't used to that kind of praying.
Renee had a little outcast Mormon cheering section. Her friends from church and the neighborhood were there. The YW president was there with her family. Our friends, the Friscos, came. My Aunt and Uncle came and her karate teacher showed up in the parking lot after the whole thing was over with.
He did bring his son and join us at Demen's Landing afterwards for panda Express take-out and cake.
It was fun but tiring. I got a little emotional and of course Chris teased me about it.
Marina is spending the night and we are going to see "Oklahoma" at NEHI tonight.