Allie's block tower

We have been SUPER BUSY this week :) Building block towers of course. This is Allie's latest beauty. Love my little Al.

Quilting project: Kale's bedding

Didn't know when I would remember again to post Kale's cute bedding! I loved making this quilt last year. My sweet mom took the time to make the bumper and skirt. Finally whipped out my sewing stuff again... Hopefully I will post some more fun projects soon :)

Welcome to North Carolina!

Thought I would take a second to update you all on our new adventure to North Carolina :) It has definitely been an adjustment thus far. We have had lots of fun our first month here. To start off, we came from Orem, UT (80k people) to Coats (2k people). There you go :) Not much to do in Coats, so we generally drive atleast 20 min. to get anywhere, including the nearest shopping mall... Walmart. This is probably good for me, seeing as I CAN be a shopaholic :) We have spent countless days indoors due to enormous amounts of rain, spent a couple heavenly days at the beach, and the rest of the time shooing off bugs as we attempt to entertain Allie and Kale in the humidity :) Every time we come inside we check for ticks. Our background goes all the way back into some thick woods, which I have yet to keep Flint away from.... Hoping to spot some deer. Definitely missing a Utah summer. I wouldn't exactly call the weather and bugs enjoyable out here. I hear the other seasons are wonderful, so I am REALLY looking forward to them :) That being said, I couldn't believe how great Topsail Beach was. The water, sand, shells, pelicans, everything was awesome. The kids were literally in heaven. I plan to make as many trips there as we can, especially with it being less than 2 hrs. away.

Our neighborhood is full of animal life. We have spotted frogs, turtles, rabbits, squirrels, and any insect you can think of right in our yard. There ARE some beautiful butterflies that hang out around a few of our trees. Allie has really enjoyed them :) Flint and Allie also have a tadpole farm going out back as well. As for normal Utah pets, we do have a neighbor dog that thinks she lives here. But the kids don't mind :)

Allie starts a ballet/tumbling class next week and is SO excited. Picked up her first ballet slippers yesterday. It has been fun to see her so excited to do something new. The first week, she kept reminding me that she would find new friends :( Luckily she has! Her favorites being a 4 yr. old boy Browan and a girl her age, Andalee. They happen to be from Utah and are in our new ward. Their dad is going to be in med. school at Campbell too.

Our ward is full of little toddlers, which has been great for us. Although Kale has discovered his strength and thoroughly enjoying pulling everyone to the ground by their shirts.... Not exactly pleased about this :) Okay, it was funny the first time. I am not the assistant nursery leader and Flint is in Scouts. We are glad to be getting involved.

Flint began orientation today and starts class Monday. A few nights ago we suddenly became a little overwhelmed. Not sure what it was... probably the booklist that included about 40 BOOKS that needed to be purchased this week. Between that and his CRAZY class schedule, we definitely have our work cut out for us. Let's just say I am finally going to have to learn how to mow the lawn... and everything else manly.

So here's to the next four years!! It should be exciting :) I will try and keep you all posted on our happenings out here in Coats, NC!

Cheesy Chicken & Rice Casserole

Had a sick little babe this weekend and needed a quick meal to put together before flint and Al got home from church. This worked out perfect and was delicious. not like all of those dry, bland casseroles I have tried before. definitely a keeper :) Enjoy!ingredients

• 1 10 3/4 ounce can  cream of chicken soup

• 1 cup water

• 3/4 cup uncooked regular long-grain white rice

• 1/2 teaspoon onion powder

• 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

• 2/3 c. frozen peas

• 2 frozen boneless, skinless chicken breasts

• 1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

directions

1. Heat the oven to 375 degrees F. Stir the soup, water, rice, onion powder, black pepper and vegetables in a 2-quart shallow baking dish.
2. Top with the chicken. Cover the baking dish.
3. Bake for 70 minutes or until the chicken is cooked through and the rice is tender. Top with the cheese. Recover and cook 10 more minutes. Stir the rice before serving.

Chicken Marsala

Can I just start out by saying that I hate when recipes say they are "quick" and "easy" and they're really not? Well, I must say that this recipe truly was! I found this recipe on allrecipes.com, in search of a yummy way to use up the rest of some mushrooms. Not only was it super delicious, but even my little Allie ate it up, which is quite the triumph lately. My husband loved it as well. I cooked some pasta, that was perfect topped with the wonderful marsala sauce, and steamed some broccoli on the side. I didn't have any marsala wine on hand tonight, so I subbed red cooking wine with a couple pinches of sugar. I also had no sherry, so I subbed white cooking wine. I'm sure it would be even better done right :) Enjoy this dish! So easy and good. 

Ingredients:

1/4 c. flour
1/2 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
1/2 tsp. oregano
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves
4 T. butter
4 T. olive oil
1 c. sliced mushrooms
1/2 c. marsala wine
1/4 c. cooking sherry

Directions:

1. In a shallow dish or bowl, mix together the flour, salt, pepper and oregano. Coat chicken pieces in flour mixture.
2. In a large skillet, melt butter in oil over medium heat. Place chicken in the pan, and lightly brown. Turn over chicken pieces, and add mushrooms. Pour in wine and sherry. Cover skillet; simmer chicken 10 minutes, turning once, until no longer pink and juices run clear.

Peanut Butter Brownies

I got this recipe from my sister-in-law Janetta who I love :) She made them around the same time we found out Kale had a small peanut allergy.... I was breastfeeding the sweet baby boy at the time and let's just say my husband talked me into just tasting one... I then wanted the whole plate!!! Lucky for both Kale and I he has grown out of his allergy. I would hate for him to miss out on wonderful peanut butter brownies and all of their deliciousness! Has NOTHING to do with my OWN love for the stuff.... :) Enjoy! You will LOVE these. So moist and just yummy! Way better than peanut butter cookies.

Ingredients:

1 c. sugar
1/3 c. brown sugar
2 lg. eggs
1/2 c. peanut butter
1/4 c. butter, softened
1 tsp. vanilla
1 3/4 c. flour
2 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 T. milk

Frosting:

1/3 c. peanut butter
1 tsp. vanilla
2 c. powdered sugar
4 T. milk

Directions:

Mix sugars, eggs, butters, milk and vanilla. Combine flour, baking powder, and salt. Mix w/sugar/butter mixture. Spread into lightly greased 9x13" pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min. Cool and frost. Enjoy!

Chocolate Lasagna

I have made this recipe from mandysrecipebox.blogspot.com on numerous occasions. Everyone goes nuts over it, including me.... It is the perfect combination of flavors and textures. Love it. Just a note... I have changed the recipe to my liking by subbing my own whipped cream for the cool whip. Nothing is as good as the real thing! But if you must, you must. No hard feelings :)

Ingredients

1 (15.5 oz.) package of Oreo cookies

1/2 c. butter, melted

2 pkg. (3.9 oz each)  Chocolate Instant Pudding

3 1/4 c. cold milk 

1 pint heavy cream, whipped & sweetened with powdered sugar & vanilla to taste

8 oz. cream cheese, softened

1 c. powdered sugar

Directions

Crush all Oreo cookies in a food processor until crushed. Save 1/2 c. of the crumbs for the topping. Pour the remaining crumbs into a 9x13 dish and add the melted butter. Stir and press into the bottom of the dish to make a crust. In a bowl, whisk together the pudding mix and milk. Set in the fridge for now. Blend cream cheese until smooth. Add powdered sugar. Mix and fold in half of the whipped cream. Spread over the crust. Add pudding and spread over the cream cheese mixture. Top with the remaining whipped cream. Sprinkle the 1/2 c. Oreo crumbs over top. Chill and serve! SO ADDICTING!!!