Cafe Rio recipes....YUM!

Cafe Rio Pork: Yields: a lot (Family Size) can cut the recipe in 1/2 if you want

5 lbs pork roast or chicken breast
12 oz bottle taco sauce
1 TBSP cumin
1 c. brown sugar
1 20 oz. bottle of coke

Place meat in crock-pot and cover it in water half way. Cook until tender on low 12 hrs or high 3-4 hrs. Pour out water. Put all of the remaining ingredients in the crock-pot and loosely shred the meat. Cook another 2-6 hrs on low. Serve hot or cold alone or on salads, burritos etc. Enjoy!!!


Cafe Rio Tomatillo Dressing: (spicy buttermilk ranch dressing)

1 package Hidden Valley Buttermilk Ranch dressing mix
1 c. Buttermilk
1/2 bunch of cilantro
1/2 or 1 small jalapeno (seeded)
1 c. Mayo (can do less) Abby says she does 1/2-3/4 cup (her own preference)
1 tsp. Limejuice
1 clove garlic
1-2 tomatillos (peeled and seeded, use the fleshy/meaty part only)

Put all ingredients in a blender. Blend for about 1 min. It will thicken as it is refrigerated. Tastes better the next day!

Liz!!

Liz, I want you to send me those pictures, too!! PLEASE!! Remember that you have to be good because Santa is coming!!
By the way, Trace, what days are you planning on staying at mom's??
-Linds

LIZ! Please email me the pix you took of Kathryn!!

starting with the ones you took at Halloween! Thanks!
Love, Jenn

Mr. Incredible

it's when he does cute

things like this that i

remember why i love

him so.

This is me a couple weeks ago with my brown hair! Tess and Amanda are being flapper girls on either side of me. This was at my other friend Haley's Halloween party. Mother votes I should get my blonde hair back, but I like the change!

"The majority of us lead quiet, unheralded lives as we pass through this world. There will most likely be no ticker-tape parades for us, no monuments created in our honor.
But that does not lessen our possibe impact, for there are scores of people waiting for someone just like us to come along; people who will appreciate our compassion, our unique talents. Someone who will live a happier life merely because we took the time to share what we had to give.
Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have a potential to turn a life around. It's overwhelming to consider the continuous opportunities there are to make our love felt."
-Leo Buscaglia

Hello Everyone,

I love reading all of your posts!! Good job!! Way cute little ones!!! Don't laugh at my cookies. I have an idea to make them cuter. Just you wait and see what they look like next time!!

LOVEYOUTONSMOM

Mexican Pizza Recipe (finally)

Ingredients
2 tabelspoons vegetable oil
1 old el paso gordita dinner kit
1 lb ground beef
1/2 cup water
1 can refried beans
4 cups shredded monterey jack cheese
1 can sliced olives
Heat oven to 425. in skillet, heat oil over med. heat until hot. cook totillas 1 at a time in oil about 20 seconds, turn and cook other side 10 sec. drain on paper towels.
brown beef, drain. stir in seasoning mix and water. heat until hot. spread 2 tablespoons refried beans on each tortilla. top with 2 tablespoons beef. sprinkle each with 1/2 cup cheese; garnish with olives. place pizzas on ungreased cookie sheets.
bake 5-7 minutes

aaron loves green peppers and tomatos on top. i love to add corn to my ground beef and of course smother with ranch dressing. this is one of our favorite recipes. ENJOY!

Woody and Buzz

Dorney Park

Whose driving the car??

Bushkill Falls

isn't it GORGEOUS!!

BATMAN

Spencer and his friend Taylor Toronto.

Coloring pumpkins (and himself)

Our Beautiful Mother Dear

Baby Kathryn (aka "Li'l Bug")

I can't believe how grown up my little girl is! Just thought I'd put a pix on of her being her cute self! Love you guys! We can't wait to see everyone at Christmas!!!
Love, Jenn (and Fam)

Blue Ribbon Lasagna

2 lbs. Ground Beef
2 Tbsp. Minced Onions
1 Can (28 oz.) Whole Tomatoes
2 Cans (15 oz. each) Tomato Sauce
2 Cans (6 oz. each) Tomato Paste
2 Bay Leaves
2 Tbsp. Oregano
2 Tbsp. Parsley
2 Tbsp. Basil
6* Cloves Minced Garlic
1 tsp. Salt
dash of Pepper
9 Lasagna Noodles
16 oz. Cottage Cheese
2 Eggs
1 Lb. Grated Mozarella Cheese
1 Lb. Grate Monterey Jack Cheese
2 Cups Grated Parmesan Cheese

Start to Saute minced garlic and onions in pan- but without butter. Add Beef. Brown. Stir in Whole Tomatoes (entire can- just pour in), Tomato Sauce, Tomato Paste and Seasonings. Simmer for 2 1/2 hours.
Cook the 9 Lasagna noodles according to package directions. Drain.
Combine Cottage Cheese with 2 eggs.
Grease 9x13 & 9x9 pans.
Layer: Noodles, Meat, Cottage Cheese Mixture, Grated Mozarella and Monterey Jack Cheeses (mix them a bit), repeat. Top it off with the Parmesan Cheese.

Bake at 350 for 45 mins. or until the top is golden and crispy.

Stroganoff (Jenn's Awesome Version of 2 Lion House Recipes)

Saute 1 clove of garlic and a chopped onion in 1 Tbsp. of butter.
Add 1 1/2 lbs. of steak (cut into strips) or 1 lb. ground beef. Brown.
Stir in 2 Tbsp. flour and 1 tsp. salt.
*If you're using fresh mushrooms, this is where you'd add them. I use 1 Cup of fresh, sliced mushrooms then add 1/2 Cup of Water and wait for the water to absorb before continuing...
Add a dash of paprika.
Add 1 can (10 oz.) of Cream of Mushroom Soup (I've never tried Cream of Celery, but I'm sure it'd work.) Simmer for about 10 mins.
Stir in 1 Cup Sour Cream. (for creamier stroganoff, add more. It'll just make the sauce lighter, but way yummy!)
Serve over egg noodles and Enjoy!

I forgot to tell you. I tried Lindsay's Porcupine Meatballs. Bill was very excited. Folks liked them. EASY recipe!! Very motivated by your kitchen efforts. Way to go!! Maybe I will take a picture of my pumpkins!!

Hi Everyone!!

It was so fun to read about Lindsay and Max. I have been busy making pumpkins with my new pumpkin pan. If anyone wants the recipe for pumpkin cake, let me know. They are cute when they are all done. I have done all of the Halloween baking that I am going to. Sugar cookies twice. Thanks again to everyone for my very fun birthday. It is so nice to talk to everyone everyday. This is a nice way to "chat" as well. Love the pictures. You are sure cute mommies. LUCKY babies!!!
LOVEYOUALLTONS

Lasagna and Stroganoff

Jenn-will you post your recipes for lasagna and stroganoff? Are they the same as moms?
Oh, I'm getting really excited for Christmas!! So we're all staying over the 22nd? It's so weird that 1/2 o f us live out of state now. I just wanted you guys to know that it was 80 here today and breezy...I think I'm in for a lovely winter!

Yea, Happy Birthday!!

Mom-did you have a fun birthday??! I hope it was great!!
Liz-how was Mexico?? Any tattoos or piercings we need to know about??
Okay, here is the yummy fudge recipe. I hope you guys like it!!

1 7 oz jar marshmallow creme
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips
1/4 tsp salt
1 c evaporated milk
1/4 c butter
2 1/2 c sugar
1 tsp vanilla
1/2 cup chopped almonds or walnuts (optional)

In a large bowl combine marshmallow creme, chocolate chips, and salt. Set aside. In a saucepan combine evaporated milk, butter, and sugar. Boil for 5 mins. stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Pour over mixture in bowl and stir until dissolved. Add vanilla and nuts, if desired. Pour fudge into a greased 9x13 inch pan. Chill before cutting into 1 inch squares. Makes 2 1/2 pounds.

thanks to everyone

Thanks, mom and jenn for making it so fun up in Utah! Max and I had such a good time and were so sad to go. Well, it was good to get home to Morgan, but hard to get back into the routine of cleaning and cooking again....
Anyone have any good recipes they've tried lately? I made porcupine meatballs the other night and Morgan loved them. They are in the Lion House cookbook.
Mom-have you ordered those pumpkin things on Williams Sonomas website or did those ones I bought you work??
-Linds

1 1/2 weeks to go....

The countdown until I come up to Salt Lake has begun... YAY! I'm SOOOO excited!! Trace-did you like the stroller/car seat mom had? I really don't want to lug a bunch of Max's stuff up there. rrf4xvtytytgf (That was from Max) Mom-thanks for having all of that great baby stuff!! I'm so excited to come up there that I can hardly stand it! Maybe if it wasn't so hot down here it would be harder to leave...and maybe if I got to see Morgan for more than 10 minutes a day....

Good advice!

HELLO!! I love reading the posts!! Sorry I have done such a poor job of adding my thoughts! Great job, Aaron!! I loved your picture and addition. What a guy! As per your request I am posting the recipe for the chocolate cake made in the angel good cake pan. May I suggest that when you serve this, you slice it very thinly. It is very rich. You can top it with drizzled carmel, powdered sugar, or both. 2 and 1/2 Cups sifted flour, 1/2 t. baking soda, 6 squares semi-sweet chocolate, 1 Cup chocolate syrup (from the can-found in ice cream topping isle), 1 T. vanilla, 1/2 t. almond, 1 Cup butter, 2 Cups sugar, 4 eggs, 1 and 1/2 Cups apple sauce, and 1 Cup nuts.

Grease and flour an angel good cake pan. Sift flour and baking soda. Melt chocolate. Stir in chocolate syrup, vanilla, and almond. Cool. Cream butter and sugar and eggs, 1 at a time. Stir in cooled chocolate mix. Stir in flour mix in 4 additions with applesauce alternating beginning and ending with flour. Add nuts. Bake at 325 degrees for at least 1 hour and 15 minutes. After that keep checking with a toothpick. I think it is more like 1 and 1/2 hours. Good luck!

Now your mothering tip! If only I knew then what I know now!! You guys are all GREAT moms by the way!! It seems like it is for toddlers only, but it isn't. There is some very valuable language and advice here.
Here are some tips on ways you can use chores to teach responsibility:

1) Let your child have some choices. Allow your child to choose whether to walk the dog or fold the clothes. Offer choices about when your child works on chores.
2) Do not do anything for your child that she can do for him/herself.
3) Make sure your child picks up after him/herself.
4) Praise your child for effort. Say, "Good job!" (NOT "Good boy/girl!") This is really important. Same for negative responses ("Bad behavior, not "Bad boy/girl") Can you see the difference??
5) Break large tasks into small ones. This is a skill to teach your child for homework as well as for chores.

With the exception of a few side notes, this is not my work. It is from the Parent Institute. Thanks for all of your good work. I LOVE reading what you put up!! SO FUN!! LOVEYOUALLTONSMOM

Artichoke and Spinach Dip

Artickhoke & Spinach Dip

4 cloves garlic
1 (10 oz.) package of frozen chopped shinach (thawed and drained)
1 (14 oz.) can of artichoke hearts (drained and chopped)
1 (10 oz.) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
1 Cup Mozzarella chesse (grated)
1/3 Cup Fresh Parmesan Cheese (grated)
1/2 (8 oz.) package cream cheese (softened)

Preheat oven to 350. Place garlic in small baking dish. Bake for 20-30 mins, or until soft. Remove from heat. When cool enough to tougch, squeeze softened garlic from skins.

In an 8"x8" baking dish, spread roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, pasta sauce, and all three chesses. Cover and bake in preheated oven 30 mins or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm.

RECIPES

Okay, does anyone have a good artichoke/spinach dip recipe (without sour cream)?
And mom, can you post your recipe for that chocolate angel food cake? After seeing my pix you took from down here, I realized that no working out in the world is going to make me a size 6 again, so why fight it?! Just kidding!! My friends and I down here decided that 1x a week we are going to share different recipes and make them at our house while watching a movie. Just something to do while the boys are in school.
And Tracie, you never posted your Taco recipe!?!
I wanted to tell you guys about this thing I saw on the food channel the other day. The lady (no CLUE what her name is, she's italian??) anyways, it was cutting bananas the long way and strawberries just in halves and mixing them in a bowl with a 1/4 cup of sugar, then grilling them until they were golden brown. They looked SO good!! I'm going to try them this weekend when we do hamburgers and I'll let you know how they turn out. I'm just going to grill them on our skillet, I think she did hers on a George Forman grill, so I don't think it really matters.
-Linds

"Lightning Striking again and again and again and again..."

To all of you who missed the roadtrip- here's a little taste of the fun we had in the car. Kathryn and her gramma had such a fun bonding experience! I just hope that she can remember a little of this trip!
Linds, we love you to pieces in spite of your thousand degree weather. Trace, if only you didn't live 36 hours away!!!
Talk to you all soon. My teething daughter is in need of her "yellow" mommy.
Love, Jenn

Can I post on this?

So I know this is the "Lewis Girls" Blog so I hope you guys don't mind me posting to it, but if you do too bad!! I want to post some pics of Spencer for all to see. Here are some pics of him when he got a hair cut and getting ready for the Utes football season...go Utes!!!

Aaron

Nevermind

Back to every two hours, the little stink!! I wish it were the opposite: Once in a while he'd go every two hours instead of every once in a while go 3-4...;) Good thing he's so cute!!

Scroll Down....

I added a pix for Trace... LOVE Y'ALL!
-jenn

Fatso Maxo

I just wanted to let you guys know that my little chubmeister is sleeping pretty good now. For the past 3 nights (the night of our air conditioning fiasco not included) he has slept 3 and 4 hour stretches pretty consistently!! Last night he slept from 6:30 - 8:30, ate, then went until 11:30, ate, then woke up at 3:30 and ate, then at 4:30 woke up but just wanted his binkie, then at 6:30 ate, then at 7:30 was up for the day. HURRAH!!
We have been feeding him green beans with his cereal at night so maybe he just needed a little bit MORE food to keep him sleeping. He's a stinker! Really, he is. He wakes up so gassy!! Must be the beans??

Lime Divine

Lime* Divine

Crust/Meringue: 4 egg whites (save yolks for filling), 1/4 tsp. cream of tartar, 1 Cup Sugar

Beat egg whites until foamy. Add cream of tartar and mix til peaks form. Slowly add sugar (beating constantly). Beat until mixture is stiff and glossy. Grease pizza dish (or 9" glass pie pan) and spread from edge to edge. Bake at 250 for 60 mins. Turn oven off, leave door ajar and cool inside oven. (Crust will be fragile- it softens once the topping is on)

Filling: 4 egg yolks (yellow), 1/2 Cup Sugar, dash of salt, 2/3 Cup Lime Juice (I prefer fresh limes, but you can use the bottled stuff), 1 tsp. grated Lime Rind, 1 pint Heavy Cream (+sugar to sweeten)

Beat egg yolks slightly and add sugar, salt, and lime juice and rind. Cook on Medium heat* until sauce thickens- (or in double boiler for 8-10 mins.) *If you cook on medium heat, you have to watch it closely!! Sweeten and beat cream until stiff. Fold 1/2 of that into lime mixture. Pour onto cool Meringue Shell. Pour the rest of the cream on top of that and spread it around. Refrigerate overnight and enjoy!

*instead of limes, you can use lemons or oranges- I just use the exact same measurements for either. I have yet to figure out how to make strawberry divine...

Hey, guys!! How is everyone? I'm so glad Tracie got on!! Liz, how is your new job going? I hope you like it! I had so much fun! The best is on nights when it's slow, you can have your friends come hang out after like, 6, and it goes by so fast!!
Jenn, how is your new car treating you? Did you get the tint fixed? Is Codye getting nervous to start school??
Mom- Good luck with school! I hope you have a good first week! You, too, Liz!
Anyways, I'm excited to see 4/5 of you next week;) I can't wait for you to see our new place. It's slowly coming together! I won't let morgan paint, though, and that's driving him nuts.
Anyways, love you guys!
Linds

taco pizza

if anyone wants a great recipe for taco pizza's let me know. we just had it for dinner and it was sooooo good. -tracie

Greetings!!!

i think i finally figured this out. i haven't been able to find my camera (surprise...surprise...) so i can't send pictures just yet but i'm not sure if i could figure it out anyway. but yea! i'm glad i can actually write something.
love and miss you guys!!! give the munchkins a kiss for me!
-Tracie

Hi, everyone!
I was just wondering if anybody had any tips for getting Max to go longer stretches of sleep at night without the whole crying thing? Not that I mind getting up every 2 hours, but, for HIS sake;)
Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It's kind of frustrating to read Dr. Brazelton and Dr. Sears book saying that at his age he should be sleeping 10-12 hour stretches. I'm thinking 4 hours on a regular basis would be FABULOUS!
Anyways, thanks for your help:)
Linds

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick Hello to everyone- Mom and Liz- have a fun trip!!! I LOVE YOU!!! P.S. Ally misses you!

Great Recipe for the Crockpot!

Pulled Pork

3 to 4 pound pork roast or pork loin
onion
Sauce:
2 C brown sugar
1/2 C soy sauce
1/2 C catsup
1/4 C honey
2 T vinegar
1 t minced garlic or 3 cloves
1/4 t ginger
1 t salt

Slice onions and place on bottom of crockpot. Add roast. Mix sauce ingredients and pour over roast. Cook 2-3 hours on high, and then 4 hours on low. Shred pork and leave in pot for last hour of cooking. We loved it. It makes quite a bit. If making burritos, warm tortillas and add pork, Mexican rice, black beans, shredded cheese and shredded lettuce. We had it with rice.

Sorry I have taken such a long time to post anything! We can still barely walk through the house without stepping all over boxes. What a mess! Things are going so great here! Our typical day includes Max waking us up at 6:00 a.m., us trying to get him to go back to sleep until 7, feeding him cereal, unpacking/putting things away, Max taking a nap, more unpacking, swimming all afternoon, unpacking, then dinner for Max around 6:30-7:30 p.m., then nighttime for him and more unpacking for me and Morgan!! Bandit is still getting used to it, but he's doing better. He's not hiding in the back of the bedroom anymore at least!! I'm so excited for Jenn, Liz and mom to come down I can hardly wait! Our house is so stinkin' cute and I am excited for them to see it. The people here are so nice, everywhere we go people rave about how adorable chubby Max is. It's so fun to be here!! I hope you like these pictures!!
love you and miss you tons!!

The newest addition to the Cunningham clan. (We got the windows tinted. This was the before picture...) YEAH! I love it!

Well I just got back from EFY this week and I'm sure Mom has told everyone she's talked to how spiritual I am now so yay. I liked it. Annnd... that's about it. Three weeks until school... I just can't wait to be a big bad senior! Oh, and the first picture is of me appreciating modern art, the second one is of me and my roommate!

Kathryn takes charge...

Kathryn had her first ride in a grocery cart yesterday! At 5 1/2 months, she still hasn't figured out just how she can crawl (so close!), but can sit up (almost sans help!!)

We're so proud of her!!

Firm, Fair, and Consistent

I thought my contribution could be sharing ideas that I am going to be sharing with parents at my school. I am focusing this year on parent involvement. This is the first installment. I would appreciate feedback if this is valuable or a waste. THANKS!!

Find the right discipline balance:

Research indicates that being a nurturing parent-not too harsh and not too lenient-helps children behave best. This requires being kind, understanding and helpful. Here are some nurturing messages to send your child:

I care about you.
I will be calm when you tell me difficult things.
I will help you learn from mistakes.
We are learning together.
I have confidence in you.
I hear what you are saying.
I am so happy you are my child.
You are an important part of the family.
I love you.

love/mom/mk

I think I did it! Thanks for how wonderful you all are!! Bill loved his birthday party. Thanks for your support!

Hi ladies!

I had so much fun creating a website for my family that I thought it would be really fun to have one for all the girls! This way we can all add pictures, recipes, and update everyone on what's going on! Realistically I know everyone is really busy but I just think it would be something fun to try. If you are interested you can just log in by clicking on the I Power Blog to the right and using the user name: lewisgirls and the password is diaper diaries. It's free and really simple and if you have any questions, feel free to email me!!

Thanks, guys!!

Linds