CLONE WARS: CAFE RIO TOMATILLO RANCH DRESSING

I love Cafe Rio's House Tomatillo Ranch! I could drink it, it's that good. Several years ago I found different recipes online, then made up this recipe so I didn't have to blend the ingredients.....so I'm lazy sometimes, I admit it! I picked Herdez salsa because it has tomatillos, onions, serrano peppers and cilantro already blended together.

1- 7 oz can Herdez Salsa
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Dressing
1 c mayo
Dressing container (easier than cleaning a blender, but feel free to use a blender if you wish)
1 TB lime juice, optional
I start by layering with the salsa verde on bottom, then the ranch, then the mayo. It makes it much easier to shake and mix together.
It's very creamy, but still has a slightly chunky consistency. It's the perfect amount of heat in my book, but feel free to add tobasco or red pepper as needed for your taste buds. Enjoy!

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS..............

"I'm a piwate Captain Amewica mom!", as Silas walks up with a knight shield in one hand, a spider man mask and a batman cape (camera was out of batteries). "And wike Captain Booty I only haff one leg cuz a beeg t-wex Dinosow ate it all off!"

"Mom I had a dream last night, well it was a nightmare really. I was at school and I was in my class and everyone was looking at me funny and that's when I saw that I was still in my pajamas, but everyone else was dressed in their school clothes, except me cuz I was in my pajamas. They were laughing at me and mom, it was awful!" Poor Logan, I thought we had another 12 years and college before he started to have these dreams!

I was outside early this week and Silas was helping me clean up after a big wind storm. "My flippy, flippy! Yew found et mom, you found my flippy, flippy!" (frisbee)

Mike and Carter have been staying with us for the week. This morning Silas comes upstairs into my room to tell me, "I stepped on deaw poop downstairs mom. Ets all ovo da flow!" Nothing like hearing about poop in the morning to get a mom out of bed. I figured a few pebbles fell out of his pull up since we are forever potty training him! Sure enough, there was a trail of big dried brown clumps from our front door through the mudroom into the garage. "See mom, we had deaw in da house!" Well...I was relieved to find out that it was only a trail of mud left by uncle Mike's work boots!

FAMILY HOME EVENING.....DINNER OUT!

Time it takes to get the kids dressed, ready, loaded into the van and then drive to the restaurant: 30 minutes.

Dinner for 4 at The Training Table (Bleu Bacon Cheeseburger was Awesome!): $24

Time it takes for our meal to make it to the table: 30 minutes. During which we repeat over and over..."Sit down please" "Please stop touching your brother" "DO NOT pick up that phone" "Put down the salt shaker" "NO RUNNING, sit back down" "Put down the fork and get back into your seat!"

Trapping the kids so we could actually enjoy our scrumdidllyumptious hamburgers: PRICELESS!!

LOGAN'S NEW GAP-TOOTH GRIN!

Logan finally lost his third tooth! Poor kid hasn't been able to bite into anything now for over a month. That stubborn little tooth was loose, but just not loose enough. It was definitely hanging on for dear life. Saturday afternoon he came running downstairs, "Mom, mom! My tooth came out. It just fell out!"
(bottom left in the pic)
Jason found a cute little box to put it in and tucked it safely under his pillow. Sunday morning Logan came into our room very upset, "Mom....the tooth fairy didn't come! She forgot about me. Why didn't she come?"
Whoops! Think quick, think quick!
"Oh buddy, I'm sorry. She was probably just really, really, busy last night and couldn't make it. But she always comes, she won't forget about your tooth, I promise."Jason jumped in, "I think I know what happened. It's because we didn't put you to bed on time. Since it wasn't a school night we let you stay up later and I forgot that if you don't get in bed by 8:00 then she can't come because she has a schedule to keep. Don't worry though, she'll come tonight."

Sure enough, early the next morning Logan was jumping on my bed, "Mom! Mom! She came, she did! You were right. Look, I got 3-$1 bills and a pack of big boy gum!"

Looks like The Tooth Fairy finally got her act together
and came through!

FROM THE MOUTH OF BABES.........

Jack (age 3) was watching his mother breast-feeding his new baby sister. After a while he asked: “Mom why do you have two? Is one for hot and one for cold milk?”

Melanie (age 5) asked her Granny how old she was. Granny replied she was so old she didn’t remember any more. Melanie said, “If you don’t remember you must look in the back of your panties. Mine say five to six.”

Steven (age 3) hugged and kissed his Mom good night. “I love you so much that when you die I’m going to bury you outside my bedroom window.”

Brittany (age 4) had an ear ache and wanted a pain killer. She tried in vain to take the lid off the bottle. Seeing her frustration her Mom explained it was a child-proof cap and she’d have to open it for her. Eyes wide with wonder, the little girl asked: “How does it know it’s me?”

Susan (age 4) was drinking juice when she got the hiccups. “Please don’t give me this juice again,” she said, “It makes my teeth cough.”

DJ (age 4) stepped onto the bathroom scale and asked: “How much do I cost?”

Clinton (age 5) was in his bedroom looking worried when his mom asked what was troubling him, he replied, “I don’t know what’ll happen with this bed when I get married. How will my wife fit in it?”

Marc (age 4) was engrossed in a young couple that were hugging and kissing in a restaurant. Without taking his eyes off them, he asked his dad: “Why is he whispering in her mouth?”

Tammy (age 4) was with her mother when they met an elderly, rather wrinkled woman her mom knew. Tammy looked at her for a while and then asked, “Why doesn’t your skin fit on your face?”

James (age 4) was listening to a Bible story. His dad read: “The man named Lot was warned to take his wife and flee out of the city but his wife looked back and was turned to salt.” Concerned, James asked: “What happened to the flea?”

The Sermon a Mom will never forget……This particular Sunday sermon….”Dear Lord,” the minister began, with his arms extended toward heaven and a rapturous look on his upturned face. “Without you, we are but dust…..” He would have continued but at that moment my obedient daughter who was listening learned over to me and asked quite audibly in her shrill little four year old girl voice, “Mom, what is butt dust?”

TIME FOR A WEENIE ROAST!

Woohoo, 51 degrees! We decided to celebrate our bout of warm weather with a backyard hot dog roast.

Okay...so it's not an official open campfire. And yes, if you're wondering that IS a dissected 2x4 as firewood, but we had to improvise on such short notice. This is a desert state and 51 degrees comes and goes in the blink of an eye.

It only took 5 idle minutes, 2 overactive imaginations and sharp weenie sticks for the boys to fill their time wielding swords as "knights and pirates." Luckily nobody was poked, prodded or lost an eye.

Logan: "I'm a good hot dog cooker, huh mom."
Only the best, Oscar Meyer 100% beef baby....we sure do know how to party!

Silas "Look mom, I'm fiyowing (firing) da hot dogs. But I don't wike da smoke, it's stinky."

I think it was a successful roast (toast) to welcome Spring. Bring on summer, a real camp out with tents and an open fire. I can't wait!

MEET THE NEW MAN IN MY LIFE!

I call him Jimmy (trying to create a rapport) but he's better known as Gym.
You might have heard him called by a few other names, some of which I can't repeat. A few words I associate with him lately are: pain, huffing/puffing, sore muscles, suffering, moaning/groaning, sweating....and a few expletives I'd rather not repeat! He and I have a standing date every night....9 pm....basement. It's a love/hate relationship. He's kicking my butt, but he's growing on me. I am bound and determined to finally loose the triplets (one real baby plus lots of chub-a-lub) I've been packing around far too long now. This machine can do it all, work it all and make you bawl! We've had it over a month now, a belated Christmas present to myself. I've been looking for almost 2 years now. Had to be the right price, the right machine, the right size. Thank you KSL classifieds, and thank you Alan (names have been changed to protect the innocent) for buying this brand new $3,500 machine, only to use it a whopping 3 times....then sell me your deeply discounted dream for a fraction of what you paid! You're generous donation to the "Amy Don't Got Back" Campaign will not be forgotten any time soon. And thank you to my rock star husband who hauled it home in the pouring rain, unloaded it, and hauled it downstairs (with the help of Big Mike..aka awesome BIL). My dear husband put it together (with my assistance of course) in only 2 hours, without one cuss word or one mistake! A true engineering feat in my book. Ask me how it's going in 6 months!

THE DIVINITY OF THE "MAGIC" COOKIE BAR!

7 Layer Bars, Hello Dollies, Magic Cookie Bars....whatever you call them, they all amount to the same thing: the fantastical deliciousness that is buttery graham crackers, coconut, chocolate, nuts, and creamy caramel gooey goodness! I imagine Angels eating these on break. It tastes as close to heaven as anything could in my book. It is my ALL TIME favorite goodie. I treat myself twice a year.....and today was one of those days....and no, it was not within my semi-annual timing, but ask me if I care!

One package (1/4 box) crushed graham crackers
1/2 c melted butter
1 c. sweetened/shredded coconut
1 c crushed pecans or walnuts
1 c. semi sweet chocolate chips
1 c. milk chocolate chips
1 can sweetened condensed milk (or use my homemade recipe here)
Using a rolling pin crush one package of graham crackers inside a bread bag (or use a Ziploc, I'm just cheap and save all my bread bags!). Once the crackers are a fine powder dump them into a 9x11 pan and stir in 1/2 c. melted butter, mix really well then press slightly into the pan. Now crush the nuts in the same bag using the rolling pin until the nuts are finely crushed. Next sprinkle the coconut evenly over the graham cracker crust, followed by the nuts, milk chocolate chips, semi-sweet chocolate chips and then drizzle the sweetened condensed milk evenly over the top. Use a fork to gently poke holes 1/2 inch apart throughout the entire pan to let the sweetened milk seep down throughout all the layers. Now let it sit for about 10 minutes while you preheat the oven to 325. Bake for 25 minutes.

ULTRA-CRUNCHY CHICKEN CABBAGE SALAD

This is one of my favorite salads. I've perfected it over time, so here is my personal recipe.
SALAD

3 cooked & diced chicken breasts
1 small-medium head of cabbage, diced
4 finely minced green onions
CRUNCHIES
2 packages crushed Oriental Ramen noodles
3 TB sesame seeds
1/2 c sliced almonds
DRESSING
2 TB sugar
6 TB seasoned rice vinegar (must be this exact type)
2 seasoning packets from the Oriental Ramen
1/4 c. sesame oil (again, very important to the flavor)
3/4 c. salad oil

First things first, the dressing. This is the vital part of the salad. I always make my dressing 24 hours in advance so the flavors have time to meld and enhance. In a dressing shaker or in a bowl using a wire whisk add 2 TB sugar and the 2 Oriental ramen seasoning packets and mix together. Next add the 6 TB seasoned rice vinegar, 1/4 c sesame oil and 3/4 c salad oil. Shake, whisk and mix about 5 minutes until it is thick and smooth (no grains) Refrigerate overnight.
On with the salad. Let's start with the chicken. Everyone always asks me how I pan sear/fry my chicken breasts with so much flavor without any oil or salt. I really don't do anything special, but here in my process: Use a good non-stick skillet. On medium high heat place the chicken breasts into the pan with about 1/3 inch water and sprinkle with onion and garlic powder. Put on the lid and let the water steam cook the chicken, turning it several times. Once the chicken is completely white take off the lid and let the water slowly begin to boil away, keep the heat med/high. Once all the water is gone and the chicken begins to fry and the bottom of the pan collects the chicken drippings, add more water a little bit at a time.
As you add the water it will instantly boil due to the high heat, you want this. Let the water continue to cook the chicken. Repeat the process: let the water boil out, let the chicken fry for a minute or so in the drippings (flip as needed) then add more water until the chicken is golden on all sides and looks like this:
Next, dice the head of cabbage into small pieces and place in a large bowl. Mince the green onion and add to the cabbage. Dice up the chicken into bite size pieces and add to cabbage. Pour in the dressing and mix well. Chill in the fridge. On a cookie sheet place the 2 pkgs crushed ramen noodles, 3 TB sesame seeds and 1/2 c sliced almonds. Broil them in the oven at 375 carefully checking on them every 2 minutes to prevent them from burning. Only add the crunchies when you are ready to serve the salad, or they will get soggy. Enjoy!

KIDS SAY THE DARNDEST THINGS.....

Silas grabs my hand and places it over his heart and says to me, "Mommy I can feel my heart beeping. It's beeping really hard! Feel it?"

...Crack me up!

Logan says, "Mom, what's way past China? Ohhhh...I know what's there. It's Kingdom, right Mom?"
"Kingdom? What Kingdom Logan?"
"You know Mom. Where there's Princesses...and Knights...and Pirates...and...Castles...and...Towers with hidden treasures and skeletons in them. THAT Kingdom."
Sounds like a great place to me!

IN GOD WE STILL TRUST....HERE IN AMERICA!

"Now it's time for all Believers to make our voices heard!"
I love this song! What a great message. This country was built upon the belief that not only does God exist, but that He knows each and every one of us, will guide us when we need direction, and will strengthen us in our darkest hour. We recognize that He is the highest power and that one day we will ALL stand accountable for the choices we make and the path we choose to follow in this life.

You place your hand on His Bible,
when you swear to tell the Truth
His name is on our greatest Monuments,
and all our money too,
And when we Pledge allegiance,
there's no doubt where we stand,
There is no separation,
we're one Nation under Him.

Chorus:
In God We Still Trust
Here in America
He's the one we turn to every time
The goin' gets rough
He is the source of all our Strength
The One who watches over us
Here in America
In God We Still Trust

Now there are those among us,
who want to push Him out,
And erase His name from everything,
this country's all about,
From the Schoolhouse to the Courthouse,
they're Silencing His Word,
Now it's time for all Believers,
to make our Voices heard.

In God We Still Trust,
Here in America
He's the one we turn to every time
The goin' gets rough
He is the source of all our Strength
The One who watches over us
Here in America
In God We Still Trust

Here in America
Here in America
Here in America,

In God We Still Trust
Here in America,

In God We Still Trust
Here in America