Giggles

Sorry about the lack of blogging. It's been a whirlwind around these parts lately. I wanted to show you Olive's first bout with the giggles. Karen was the instigator.



It was so fun to hear her laughing!

And here's what has me smiling these days- I'm having such a good time having my girls around.
These are the good ol' days! Loving it! I'll try to be back again soon- I have lots to show you.

Secret Sauce

Laura went to "play" with a friend of hers and when she came home, she asked what I was making. I told her stir-fry because it was on the menu. She stopped me and said she had a special recipe for the stir-fry. What could be so special about stir-fry? The answer is the sauce! The same friend she was out playing with is where this sauce recipe comes from, so thanks Kate (no, not Kate from OBB).

Stir Fry Sauce1/2 cup Yoshida's sauce (I buy it from Costco in a huge bottle)
1/2 cup pineapple juice (or whatever you can drain from a can of pineapple)
2-4 T brown sugar (alter to how sweet you like things- I used 4 T)
1 T freshly grated ginger
and the "secret" ingredient- lemon gelatin, about 1/2 of a 3 oz box (I used a generic brand)

2 T cornstarch

Create your stir fry by sautéing the vegetables you prefer (broccoli, carrots, peppers, celery, etc.). Add some cooked chicken if you'd like.

Stir all the sauce ingredients together and pour over vegetables when the carrots are tender (but not soft). If the sauce needs to be a little thicker for your preference, mix one more tablespoon of cornstarch in a little water and add to the sauce, stirring over medium-high heat. Serve over cooked rice. Get ready for yummy in your tummy.

This picture is only related to this post because Nora says I can't post without a picture, so here is a picture of Nora's daddy. Isn't he the cutest?

Sunday Activities

This must be her favorite pose. Even though it looks like the same day, it's not.

Sunday a week ago...
And yesterday...
Look at how gorgeous Laura did Agnes' hair. Love it!
Side view-
And sweet girls together.
Other happenings from yesterday was that we went to a missionary farewell. Senior missionaries, actually. They are going to Africa, so they decorated stuff in animal prints, etc. Here we have cake in a jar. Awesome.
Great favor to give away. It was pretty tasty.
I left my camera in the car, otherwise I'd show you a picture of Taylor and Jean with Bud and me. Good luck in Africa, my friends.

On A Break

I'm sorry to leave you with meatballs- but I'm having so much fun with my grandkids being here that I don't have much time to spend at the computer. I'll try to post from time to time, but for the most part, I've got to let this go for a bit while the babies are visiting.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

Are you tired of my talking about OBB's cookbook? No? Well, in either case, they're back in stock at the Murray Costco, in case you've been wondering. LynnEl, I bought you two more because I couldn't bear to part with my six spare copies. Oh wait, I gave one away last week at a wedding reception, so now I only have five spare copies!
These meatballs are fairly basic as far as recipes go, but the sauce was really tasty, especially the next day when Laura cooked up some bowtie pasta to go with the leftover meatballs.

And in completely unrelated news, I just thought I would show you how much fun we were having at our last game night. Those of you who weren't there...and you know who you are, we missed you :)

Sweet and Sour Meatballs (from Our Best Bites Cookbook)

1 lb extra-lean ground beef

2 T dehydrated onion (way to use your food storage stuff!)

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tsp kosher salt

1 egg, beaten

1/4 cup bread crumbs (I used Panko)

Sauce-

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

3 T flour

1 1/2 cups pineapple juice or water

1/4 cup white vinegar

3 T soy sauce

In a medium bowl, combine all meatball ingredients. Shape into 1-inch balls and place on a baking sheet lined with foil which was sprayed with Pam. Place under the broiler for 5-7 minutes or until the meatballs begin to brown.

In a large saucepan, whisk the sauce ingredients together and bring to a boil. Add the meatballs and simmer (covered) for 20 minutes, stirring often.

I didn't cook mine under the broiler because I didn't want to heat up the kitchen (we were actually having a warm day for a change), so I just cooked my meatballs on the stovetop. I added some chopped green pepper (because Samuel wasn't coming to dinner) while the meatballs were cooking. Then I added the sauce ingredients together and poured it over the meatballs. In the final couple of minutes, I added some pineapple tidbits and served it over rice. Yum.

Pretty Girls

No time to talk, just wanted to show you these pretty girls! I love them being at my house!!