Summer Dresses

I have been wanting to do some sewing for the girls for a while now. So I went and grabbed my mom's sewing machine and got to work! Here are the two dresses I've done so far. I love them both but the purple one needs some work!

So i'm starting on another one now... I'll post more pics when I'm done!

London Broil

Marinade

So, I stole the following advice off of my cousins blog
Three things that a marinade needs:

1. oil Oil enhances the flavor and bastes the meat.

2. an acid, (vinegar, citrus, wine, buttermilk, yogurt) acids act as the tenderizer

3. seasoning (salt, pepper, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, spices, garlic, onion).

So with that here is the marinade I use for pretty much about everything and its wonderful on chicken, steak, and shrimp.

Ingredients
-equal parts of olive oil and balsamic vinegar (I don't really measure but I would say about 1/4 cup of each)
-2-3 crushed garlic cloves
-2-3 T Worcestershire sauce
-2-3 T Honey
-juice of one lime
-1 cup soy sauce
-1 tsp cumin

Now this is how I did the London Broil that some of you ate the other day. If I had really been on top of things I would have thawed the London Broil the day before so it could marinate for at least six hours before broiling it, but I'm lazy and only marinated it for one hour but it was still great! Though I would recommend marinating it for at least 6 hours so that the meat has time to get real tender.

Before marinating you can tenderize the meet with a mallet or rolling pin and cut little shallow slits all over both sides of the meat so that the marinade can work its magic.

After an hour to 6 hours of refrigerated marination goodness put London Broil on a broiling pan or grill and broil apx 3 inches away from top rack for 5-8 minutes on each side. I did five on each side, because I like it a little red, but cook to your liking.

Yum, this is making my mouth water.

Oh and a tip on buying London Broil: Sometimes Albertsons has great meat sales, so check it out, and try to find London Broil when its on sale. I bought mine when it was a buy one get one free day!

Spring Planting

All the gorgeous sunshine these past few days has me getting so excited to work in my flower gardens. Plants however, can be expensive. Last year I was able to save a LOT of money on flowers and bushes at plant sales.

The one thing that I did wrong was I bought a whole bunch of plants at one sale and took forever to plant them. (It's hard to garden with a toddler.) This year I've decided I'm going to try to go to at least 2, if not more sales and spread out the purchases. My plan is to plant all the ones I buy the same day or weekend! I'll let you know how it goes.

You don't need a huge yard to buy plants, some pots from WinCo can grow you some nice flowers and herbs on your patio. Yesterday I had fresh chives from my garden on our baked potatoes and loved it!

Anyhow - here are some of the plant sales coming up:

Spring Fair Garden Show & Plant Sale

Thursday April 16th - Saturday April 18th

This is part of the Spring Fair at the Puyallup Fairgrounds.

Children's Hospital 85th Annual Garden Sale

Saturday April 18th  9am-5pm

Many of these plants were propagated on the Hospital grounds and their groundskeepers will be there to offer expert advice!

6901 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

Puget Sound Dahlia Association Tuber Sale

Saturday April 18th 10am-4pm

Kent Memorial Park 850 N Central, Kent

Arboretum Foundation FlorAbundance Spring Plant Sale

Saturday April 25th 9am-5pm (Apparently the largest sale in the Puget Sound Region)

Warren G. Magnuson Park (Building 30) 7400 Sand Point Way NE, Seattle

Kubota Garden Spring Plant Sale

Saturday May 2nd 9am-1pm

9817 51st Ave S, Seattle 98118 (Check out their beautiful gardens too!)

Rotary Club Plant Sale

Saturday May 16th (I think it was 8am-3pm Last year)

Kent-Meridian High School

Brandon's Famous Salsa

This is Brandon once again. This time I won't post my wonderful experience with cakes in a box, but I do make a mean salsa that people really seem to enjoy, so I finally published the recipe. Check out our family blog for directions. You won't be disappointed!

Brandon's Salsa

{Image Source}

Consignment Sales

Looking for a cheap way to clothe your child? Need some new toys, cribs, beds, and/or other child related items? Don't want to spend full price? You might want to check out these consignment sales. You can sell there too so you might want to look over your stash of goods! So far I have been able to clothe my son using hand-me-downs, sale items and consignment shopping. I think in the last year I've purchased one item full priced.

These two sales are only once or twice a year so mark your calendars and  get ready for some great deals! 

Just Between Friends

April 24-26th Spring Sale

Puyallup Fair & Events Center Expo Hall

You need to join their mailing list for FREE admission to the sale for you and your friends.  First time parents and military family get in EARLY.

By the way - maternity clothes can be bought and sold at this sale. Might be something to look into. Well I'll be looking!

Creme Brulee Kids Consignment

May 8-9 Spring Sale

Kent Commons

Instructions to sell are available on their site. 

Mt. Rainier Scenic Railroad

Unfortunately we won't be making it to the Easter Bunny Express as we had originally planned, but for anyone interested this sounds like a great activity. Especially if you have a train enthusiast in your home like I do. We'll be trying to catch a ride on pulled by one of these steam engines another time this year!

Hop on over here to find out more information. Happy Easter!

Teaching My Kids

Motherhood is full of wonder and surprise. Some days I am overwhelmed by the brilliance of my toddler, while yet others I am overwhelmed by his needs. I must confess a sick, clingy, grumpy child is not easy to deal with. But my true struggle has been coming up with ways to teach him the gospel on a daily basis. We read scriptures and hold FHE but to me that has never seemed enough. When a friend of mine posted about the blog Teaching My Kids I was so grateful for some new, fresh ideas. I enjoy her posts about fun books, music, FHE, and all the other ideas thrown in. But I really liked her post about Morning Devotionals. As I read it I thought "brilliant, now why hadn't I thought of that already?" Oh well, as her blog states "parenting is a learn as you go kind of thing".

I appreciate that she's sharing what she's learned with the rest of us so we can all benefit. Do any of you have fun ways you teach your kids the gospel? I'd love more ideas!

Spinach Artichoke Dip

My Sister-in-Law introduced my family to this favorite recipe of ours:

Ingredients

1 (8 oz.) package Cream Cheese
1/2 cup Mayonnaise
1/2 cup finely chopped Roasted Red Peppers
3/4 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese
3/4 cup grated Pepper Jack Cheese (I use Tillamook as it's so moist)
1 box frozen chopped Spinach (thawed and strained)
1 large can Artichoke Hearts (drained and finely chopped)
1/3 cup finely chopped Onion
2-3 finely chopped pickled Jalapeños (Optional)

 Instructions

1. Blend together Cream Cheese, Mayonnaise, and other Cheeses until smooth.

2. Stir in all the other ingredients. Place in casserole dish.

3. Bake 20-25 minutes at 350°F (or until lightly browned).

4. Serve with Tortilla chips, toasted breads, pita chips, or vegetables.

White Chicken Chili

I love this recipe... it's super easy and filling! Plus it makes a big batch and is great for leftovers!

Ing. (everything is an estimate)

2-3 cans white beans or 2-3 cups cooked white beans

2-3 cups cubed cooked chicken

1 can cream of chicken soup concentrate

1 jar Chile Verde salsa

1/2 jar reg salsa

1 cup tomatoes either canned or fresh

1 cup corn either canned or fresh
McCormick white chicken chili seasoning packet

3 cups water

Directions: Put everything in one pot on stove, heat to boiling then reduce down to simmer for 30 minutes or until everything is hot.

We like to top ours with shredded cheese, sour cream and fresh avocado.

Enjoy!

Moist Cornbread

For the most part cornbread is dry. Crumbly. After you swallow a bite you have to immediately gulp milk so it doesn't get stuck in your throat. 

I have happy happy news for you. Throw away your old recipe and give this incredible recipe a try. It is so good that I made it twice last week. And I received quite a few requests for the recipe. Here it goes:

                        

Moist Cornbread

Ingredients:

1/2 cup applesauce

3/4 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 cup cornmeal

1 1/2 cups flour

1/2 tsp. salt

2 tsp. baking powder

1 1/2 cups milk

Directions:

1. Preheat oven to 375 F

2. Cream applesauce and sugar, add eggs and cornmeal.

3. In a small bowl combine flour, salt and baking powder. 

4. Alternate mixing milk and the dry ingredients into cornmeal mixture. 

5. Grease and flour a 8x8 dish pan. Pour mixture into pan and cook for 25-30 minutes. When cornbread is golden on top put a piece of foil over the top to prevent burning. 

Now....go ahead. Enjoy!