Bunny Buns

 

 

 

 I saw these cute Bunny Buns on Pinterest and thought I would share the idea! The recipe was found in Friend magazine from last year. I know little Bicho will get a kick out of making these with me for Easter - or any time!

Here is the recipe. Click the source link for additional helpful hints (in the comments).

Buen Provecho!!

Faith Storage

As I contemplate more about starting an organized food storage - with complete meals and such - I realize what an extremely overwhelming task it is. Where do I start?! How much do I store? And how on earth am I going to rotate through it?!
Then the idea to this post came to me. It's not just about the food you buy, but about the faith and preparation you put into it. So here are some faithful steps any latter-day woman (or man) can take towards being self-reliant.

#1. Assume the starting position.

Now, get off your knees and get your rear in gear!

And lets see a little hustle in that bustle!!

Once you start moving, the Lord will start guiding your feet.

"But....but...first I have to get 90 days of food. Then a year's supply. How am I going to do it all?!"

source

#2. No more  weeping and wailing and gnashing of teeth. Now is the time to adopt Nephi's attitude of "I will go and do"! The commandment to be self reliant comes directly from the Lord. And with His help, we can do anything!

#3. Start simple. See those empty juice /2 liter soda bottles/ Gatorade bottles? Wash them out and fill them with water. Put them out of the way on the floor of a closet, or under your kitchen counter. Or buy a case of water at the supermarket or Costco and put that in the closet. There, you've started your water storage. You are awesome!!

source



#4. At the store, instead of buying enough cans to make one meal, buy double. Store the extra on a shelf set aside for food storage. Do this as often as your budget allows you to and your food storage will grow, grow, grow! Shopping the sales and using coupons will help your money stretch even further. Have you used Krazy Coupon Lady's online coupon database? Before shopping, I check to see if there is a coupon for what I have on my list. If so, I print it off (twice!) and I'm good to go!

#5. Start your shopping trip with a prayer. Pray that the Lord will bless you in your efforts. Pray that you will find the right deals and your mind will be open to other impressions on how to build your food storage. Pray, pray, pray! It truly does make a difference, I promise you!

#6. Find online resources that can help educate you in making the most of your food storage. Here are some of my suggestions below. If you have time, watch Wendy Dewitt's  Food Storage seminar (somebody taped it in a set of 9 on YouTube). She is super knowledgeable and willing to share the information for free! (Although she does have a set of dvds for sale at seagull book.) I went to one of her firesides and it was VERY informative and inspiring.

I will prepare

Preparing Wisely

Safely Gathered In

3DHealth

Wendy Dewitt 

#7. Be open to other ideas that don't involve food  but will still help you . I have heard the following: Set aside $5 cash every paycheck in your house (NOT in the bank);
Don't let your car gas tank go below 1/2 full (in case of emergency evacuation);
Make sure to have consecrate oil on hand and stored
monthly temple attendance, daily prayer and scripture study.

Hope some of these ideas have helped! What ideas do you use that help you on your journey to become self reliant? I'd love to hear them!!!

Next week I will be revealing my food storage menu (ooo la la!) and share some yummy, toddler approved (!) food storage recipes. Until then, keep living your life!

My Life in 30 days: January

Confession time. Pretty much up to this point I have had a non-committal relationship with, you guessed it, my blog. It all started with Pinterest, I tell you! Curse you Pinterest - with all your lovely DIY house projects, tantalizing recipes and fashion ideas!

 ::Sigh::

Anyhoo, with a new year I find myself with a deep down desire to do the impossible: maintain a blog.

Regularly.

That's right. You read it. I will blog more than once every 6 months! Not occasionally. Not semi-regularly. Every stinkin' day. Ok, well not every day - I mean let's be realistic.

Oh dear, am I being non-committal again??

So while I was eating popcorn for breakfast (!) with Bicho this morning, I came up with a great idea to keep me from neglecting my blog while helping me reach some personal goals. 

I shall call it "My Life in 30 days".

To be honest with you (yes YOU...that one person that still reads my blog - I LOVE YOU!)...my life is pretty darn boring. My husband works insane hours to build our business and I mostly stay home with Bicho to play doll house a million times in one day. We are kind of fuddy-duddies. But I have an adventurous spirit! And I love a challenge. Thus, "My Life in 30 days" was born. I'm not a very consistent person (hummmm..really, I never would have guessed it!) but I can stick to something for at least 30 days!!

So here's the "dealio". Each month of the year, I will commit to try something new. Something that I believe will help me become a better wife, mother and daughter. Some ideas may not work out so well. Others may work out so well that they become a life-long habits. I will invite you to join along for the ride - but only if you want to! A woman who is progressing, is a woman who can change the world - starting with her family!

So for "My Life In 30 Days: January" I am focusing on....food storage.

:::Gasp:::

So adventurous, I know! But its been on my mind A LOT and I need a kick start to get it going. And don't worry. I'm not an over-achiever. In fact, reading my blog will probably make you feel better about yourself! I'm not out for perfection - just progress! My goal is to set up a food storage system that works for our family's irregular income (read: livin' the commission life, baby!) and storage space. And if there are any ideas that work for your family too, I invite you to use them too!

Have you lived your life today???

Feliz Navidad!

Feliz Navidad!

Christmas Burner style. Clothing optional. Don't worry - we opted to be clothed. I cant say the same for Strawberry Shortcake and her friends, though.

Highlight of Christmas: Kenadee LOVED her Little People farm. Even better, I found it at D.I. for $2 and bought some animals/farmers for $5. With a little (ok, A LOT) of sanitizing and detergent it looks practically brand new.

Downside of Christmas: Once Kenadee saw the Little People farm, she wanted nothing to do with the rest of the toys. Except her Cabbage Patch doll. The rest of Christmas we spend coaxing her to open the rest of her gifts.

Upside of the Downside of Christmas: We are returning the gifts she doesn't want to play with. Money in our pocket - again! Woot woot!

Downside of the Upside of the..you get the drift: We bought waaaaaaaaay too many gifts for Bicho. Even I was overwhelmed. Even though we stuck to a budget, we set aside too much for her! A new parent mistake, I suppose. Lesson learned!!!!

Hope your Christmas was joyous!

:::: Live simply, live well!::::

"Memories are molecules that make up eternity"

I so needed this little kick in the rear on keeping the eternal perspective in life! Far too often I am running around cleaning messes, doing laundry, cooking, doing dishes, changing diapers, cooking AGAIN, doing dishes AGAIN, and all the other mundane tasks of a housewife that I forget the most important thing: to be there in the moment with my family.

Messes will always be there but little Bicho will not always be little. She will not always be tugging at my pants, asking me to take her around the condo to touch all of the light switches she can't reach. She will realize I am not so funny when I make a silly face or do a funny dance. And it wont be long until she grows out of letting me hold her hand and sing to her as she falls asleep in her crib. Instead of letting these moments frustrate me, I will embrace them and be in the moment with her. Instead of working on my "to-do" list, I will focus more on my "to-be" list. I will BE in the moment!

"Its not so much the major events as the small day-to-day decisions that map the course of our living"

Pres. Gordon B. Hinckley

 I love this talk from Oct 2010 conference. I loved it when I first heard it and I love it even more now!

Choo-Choo Your Food

After watching this, I promised myself I would never think (or possibly say - but I would never tell you!) dirty words while waiting in long lines at Costco, Frys, or (bleh) WalMart.

Ok, so maybe I lied about WalMart....

I am shunned (Mexican Lasagna recipe)

My Italian ancestors would shame me for making a faux lasagna that tastes like Mexican food.

:::moment of silence for my sin of omission :::

But truth be told - its freakin' yummy !

 So good that I may give up Italian lasagna forever.

Maybe.

Mexican  Lasagna

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, chopped (about 1 cup)

1 medium green bell pepper chopped (about 1-1/4 c)

1 or 2 garlic cloves, minced

1.5 Tbsp chili powder

1 tsp cumin

1 (15 oz) can of kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1c corn (fresh or frozen)

1c tomato sauce

Nonstick cooking spray

8 corn tortillas

1c low fat cottage cheese

1/2 to 1c reduced fat cheddar cheese, shredded



Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  In a large nonstick skillet, heat oil over medium-high heat. Add onion, bell pepper and garlic. Cook , stirring until tender - about 5 minutes.  Stir in chili powder and cumin. Cook 1 minute, mixing well.



Add beans, corn, and tomato sauce. Mix until combined and remove from heat.

Spread 4 tortillas in a sprayed 8x8 pan. Spoon 1/2 bean  mixture over the tortillas. Top with 1/2 c of cottage cheese. Sprinkle 1/2 c cheddar cheese over the cottage cheese.

Repeat layers.  Bake until casserole is heated and cheese is melted (approximately 20 minutes).

Served with Spanish rice and a green salad.

Buen Provecho!

The Priviledge of Motherhood

Happy Mothers Day! Let us not forget the sacred responsibility that comes with being a mother – in whatever capacity it may be!

Jake's birthday party and Bicho meets a mouse

Yesterday we went to Chuck E. Cheese to celebrate Jake's birthday (Megan's stepson). Bicho had so much fun (as you can tell). She loved Chuck E. until he came near her.  Then she made a beeline straight for me and dug her head into my shoulder until he left. Yes, I guess in reality a human size mouse would be pretty scary.

(Or maybe it was the face I was making in this photo that scared her. It scares me!)

 

(Please disregard the complete and utter chaos on my kitchen counter. I would like to say it was because I spent all morning cooking, but that would be fibbing...)

I found a recipe for a rainbow cake and begged my sister to let me do it for Jake's birthday. I didn't get a picture of the inside of the cake, but it looked pretty much like this...

(Picture courtsey of : http://thefoodieandthefamily.blogspot.com/)

It was super yummy and most of all, fun to eat! Making the cake was SO easy, but very time consuming. Someone please have a birthday soon so I can make it again!

(If you want an awesomely yummy cake made for any occasion, check this girl out!)

Happy 6th Birthday, Jake!!!

Toddler Friendly Vegetarian Tacos

Bicho loves her morning oatmeal!

If I could do college all over again, I would have double majored. I loved my major -Child and Family Studies. But I REALLY love science and chemistry and figuring out how the body works. Yes indeed, I was a science nerd. In fact, when I graduated I was only a science class or two away from a minor in Biology. I wanted to go to dental school SOOO bad until I realized I could not be a super-rockin' orthodontist and a super-rockin' mom at the same time...so I chose the latter - and no regrets about it!!

What would I choose as my second major, you ask? Dietetics (aka become a Registered Dietician). I am seriously facinated at what wholesome foods can do to help heal your body, fight off diseases or even lose weight! But don't cry for me Argentina... with access to the library and world wide web, I can learn all I want about the subject and not have to pay a hefty tuition!

 After reading about how many servings of vegetables children should have daily, I came to the conclusion  we are seriously lacking in the veggie department at our house. So I ran down to my local library and found some clever recipes that incorporate vegetables into everyday, kid-friendly meals. Here's one that we enjoy!

(Confession: we never have hard taco shells at our house. I make our tortillas - if I remember in time... but honestly we have these on tostada flats most of the time.)

VEGETARIAN TACOS (makes 18 taco shells/ tostada flats)

1 (16 oz.) can refried beans (we used food storage refried beans from the cannery and it worked well)

1 (2 1/4 oz.) can sliced ripe olives, drained

1 onion, chopped

2 med. tomatoes

Shredded lettuce

1/2 pkg. taco seasoning

1/2 c. to 1 c grated Cheddar cheese

1 lg. zucchini, grated

Taco shells ( or flour tortillas - or Tostada flats)

If you do tacos:
In a saucepan, combine refried beans, onion, taco seasoning, and half of zucchini; blend well.
Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, 3 minutes. Fill each taco shell with 2-3 tablespoons of the bean mixture. Place filled shells on baking sheet. Bake at 350 degrees for 5 minutes. Top with olives, tomatoes, lettuce, remaining zucchini, and cheese. Serve with a mixture of salsa and diced avocado.

If you do tortillas or Tostada flats:
 
In a saucepan, combine refried beans, onion, taco seasoning, and all of zucchini; blend well. Bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer uncovered, 3 minutes or until throughly heated. Place bean mixture in a tortilla or on a tostada flat. Top with olives, tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, salsa, diced avocado - or whatever pleases your tastebuds! (Sidenote: If you are feeding babies or toddlers tostada flats, be right by their side the whole time they eat!!! They are crunchy and a choking hazard if not chewed properly.)

Super easy, fast and fun! It was a hit with Bicho, who is not a big fan of veggies at this moment. Unfortunately, I did not get a photo of this delish dinner and happy baby.

:::hanging my head in shame:::

Buen Provecho!

 

(P.S. Babies and toddlers have a hard time digesting onions and can cause them to have some really bad gas. Feel free to leave them out!)