Whatcha Got Cooking

The idea came as a last ditch effort to prepare Tennie to nourish herself before moving into her first apartment. I set a summer goal to have the girls take turns making dinner with ingredients I had prepped in the fridge. Well, I got around to prepping those ingredients ONCE before Adele and I left for Hawaii at the beginning of summer and never quite got organized enough to do it again. And the girls didn't make one single meal, except maybe warming some chicken nuggets. Not one of my best goal-achieving summers...

But I did get around to creating a cookbook for Tennie with all of our favorite family recipes, and at the beginning I included this concept of prepping ingredients once a week and making quick whatcha-got meals during the week. It also includes how to divide and freeze ingredients so nothing goes to waste, and some basic recipes using the ingredients. Will she do it? TBD. But I thought I would share it here for future reference.

INGREDIENTS TO HAVE PREPPED IN THE FRIDGE/FREEZER:

Corn tortillas*

Regular tortillas*

Bread*

Bagels*

Pizza crusts*

Costco frozen, cubed potatoes*

Sweet potatoes, cubed*

Cooked rice

Cooked noodles

Chicken, cooked and cubed or shredded*

Ground sausage, cooked*

Bacon, cooked and chopped*

Pepperoni*

Eggs

Cheese, cheddar and mozzarella* (NOTE: Vegan brand Violife is delish!)

Romaine lettuce, washed and chopped (NOTE: to keep fresh once washed and chopped, place a damp paper towel in the Ziplock or container with the lettuce.)

Cabbage (NOTE: buy packed coleslaw)

Red cabbage, washed and chopped (NOTE: a produce person will often cut a cabbage and give you only ½ or even less. Just ask.)

Garlic and Onions, scallions, shallots and/or leeks, chopped (NOTE: buy pre-chopped onions and garlic when available)*

Bell peppers, washed and chopped*

Broccoli, washed and chopped*

Asparagus, washed and broken and chopped*

Zucchini, washed and quartered*

Sugar snap peas, washed and chopped*

Cilantro

Limes

Baby carrots

Celery

You get the idea…

* Divide and freeze in smaller batches. Make sure veggies are dry before cutting and freezing so they don’t freeze in a big clump.

INGREDIENTS & TOOLS TO HAVE IN THE PANTRY/FRIDGE:

Olive oil

Butter 

Balsamic vinegar

Red wine vinegar

Pizza sauce

             Pesto sauce

             OrganicVille BBQ sauce (sugar-free)

             Tamari sauce or coconut liquid aminos (soy free)

Salsa

             Rapunzel vegetable bouillon

             Black beans, garbanzo beans, pinto beans

Amy’s refried black beans

             Canned lentils

             Thai Kitchen Thin Rice Noodles

             Pasta

Coconut milk

Mayo or Veganaise

Dijon mustard

Ketchup

Curry powder, garlic powder, onion powder, Mexican seasoning, oregano, cinnamon

Vanilla

Cashews

Honey

Maple Syrup

Peanut butter

Tortilla chips

GF flour

Oats

Baking powder

Baking soda

Salt & pepper

Parchment paper

Tinfoil

Saran wrap

Ziplock freezer bags, small and medium

Ziplock regular storage bags, all sizes

Kitchen scissors

Can opener

Peeler

Lemon juicer

BREAKFAST IDEAS

Protein smoothie

Sour cream pancakes

Blender waffles

French toast

German pancakes

Fried and ham on toast

Scrambled eggs with sausage and veggies

Mexican scramble or burrito

Quiche

Frittata

Japanese pizza

Kale, egg and wild rice

Veggies and sausage with hash browns

Yogurt, granola and berries

Oatmeal

DINNER IDEAS

Veggie & meat pizza

BBQ Chicken pizza

Asian stir-fry bowl, salad or soup

Fried rice

Curry

Mexican bowl, salad or soup

Tacos

Nachos

Veggie quesadilla

Pasta salad

Bacon, egg & spinach salad

Chicken soup

Lentil soup

  

LUNCH IDEAS

Nachos

Quesadilla with refried beans and/or chicken

Bagel pizza

Tuna melt

Grilled cheese with tomato soup

Veggies with hummus and Ranch

Salami or ham with cheese and crackers

Pesto chicken sandwich

Ham and Swiss on a croissant

Bagel and cream cheese

Turkey & veggie wrap

We bought Tennie the essential tools for enjoyable cooking, filled up her pantry to get her started, and left her armed with everything necessary to eat well. Here's hoping!

Labor Day Weekend

Geoff and Tennie took off Friday morning-ish for Zion National Park, taking a scenic route through Cedar Breaks and arriving in time to enjoy the spectacular Zion scenery at sunset.

When Adele and Ceci finished up school on Friday we headed south and stayed the night at my mom's in St. George, then Adele and Ceci took off for Zion Saturday morning and I stayed for a relaxing and rejuvenating weekend at with my mom.

Their first Zion adventure was a long hike up the Narrows (a walk in water through mostly narrow walls). They rented good shoes, which made all the difference, and marveled at the beauty.

As you can see from Ceci's shirt below, sometimes the water is waist deep and wading is the only way through!

The second adventure was a 4-hour canyoneering trip with a guide. I cut out about 300 pictures, as every turn has an amazing view you want to capture when in that majestic place, but there are still a lot of photos in this post!

Ceci The Climber got herself to this little spot.

Sunday night they happened to get a cabin inside the park, so Monday morning they started the Angel's Landing hike at dawn, beating the crowds the buses would soon be shuttling in.

This hike is strenuous and not for the weak of heart. The beauty in every direction along the way is well worth it, though. I did this hike often as a teenager, but I don't think I would have the guts anymore!

After 2-miles of switchbacks there is a resting spot, a destination for those who don't want to continue on to the more hairy part of the hike.

But these four pressed on. Everyone but Adele had done the hike before, but Adele had the courage this time around, and she LOVED it.

There are chains where the trail is narrow. No fall on this part of the hike is really a safe fall.

Because they rested for awhile before this last part, a lot of other people were on the trail at the same time, as you can see below. Now follow that trail along that narrow incline with the sheer cliff to the side. The other side is the same way.

The views from the top are breathtaking.

And then, after trying to look hard enough at God's magnificent creations, they made their way down.

These four packed a lot in to one weekend!

It was originally a weekend to rock climb in Zion. I'm not sure why that didn't happen, but in the end I missed out on some really fun and memorable adventures! It was really nice to spend so much uninterrupted time with my mom, though. And I went on some bike rides through St. George's own red rock gorgeousness, and we had dinner and played cards with my brother and his wife Sunday night. It was a good weekend.

And it sort of feels like an official end to summer. Onward!

August

I dropped a lot of balls in August, this blog being one of them. There was a lot going on, although nothing seems very notable. In addition to an abnormal amount of tasks and errands, I have been trying new things to overcome my anemia (and my body's struggle to absorb iron) and balance my hormones. This has taken up quite a bit of time this summer, but I think I'm going to make progress. I'm seeing a Chinese herbalist and acupuncturist, which is a new health avenue. It has been very fascinating! I have also taken up road biking and, preferring trails to city roads, I drive to a trail to ride a few times a week. This takes a chunk of time that I haven't taken for myself in a very long time, so I'm adjusting. Getting in shape while anemic hasn't been super fun, but I'm slowly gaining strength.

I also didn't take too many pictures this month. Adele and Ceci went to youth conference and had a great time. Geoff attended Summit Mountain Series in Powder Mountain and loved it. All of us joined him one afternoon and evening, meeting lots of interesting young people doing good things. Geoff really wanted to buy a cabin at the Summit Series community at Powder Mountain. It would be a good investment. We explored the idea at length and decided against it. It sure is beautiful up there though. From there we went to Bear Lake for a day to spend time with Geoff's brother Christian and Heather who were in town.

Christan and Heather blessed their new baby, Jayce, in Salt Lake. It was great to share this event with them.

This is their adorable family...

Ceci continued her physical therapy through August and even tried acupuncture, a first for her.

I'm happy to report she is back climbing as often as she can.

I went to a dinner party with several old friends, which was so fun!

Geoff went to Mexico for a week in there somewhere. He also bought a rode bike and is super excited to have the energy to be active. He'll leave fingernail marks on summer as he tries to hold on to the hot days...

Ceci and I hit an IMAX movie about Apollo 13 and then explored the science museum.

We went to Eli and Kate's sixth birthday party (a kite-making party). Erica didn't bother planning any games knowing Geoff was attending, and he didn't disappoint in entertaining all the little kids for at least an hour. Boy do they all love him!

We had our back-to-school dinner. This year Adele requested we have it in the canyon, so we packed a picnic and headed for the hills. We found a lopsided little site near a stream that was hidden away from the crowds and enjoyed the rare time of us all spending time together. For all being home this summer, we sure ran in different directions! Our theme this year is Let Your Light Shine (based on 3 Nephi 12:16 in the Book of Mormon). This has led us on a serious study of "light" in the scriptures to discover deeper levels of what it means to have light and how to share it. Good stuff.

Our more serious conversations often get overshadowed by these three crazies...

This wasn't our smoothest school beginning. Ceci agonized over whether or not to go to the local highschool or to join Adele at her charter school. Both had some pros and serious cons. Finally, a week before school started, she decided on the local school. Phew. Decision made.

Getting Adele and Ceci both registered in new schools, registering Adele in concurrent enrollment, working to recover lost transcript and seminary credits in the closing of Adele's old school, and persisting with Ceci's counselor to get the classes she wanted took an insane amount of time and energy. But we finally got it all sorted out and Adele started her senior year and Ceci started her freshman year. Here is Adele on her first day of school with her friend Sami...

And I didn't get a picture of Ceci on her first day, but here she is the day we got her student card, and it is more of the student card than Ceci. Oh well.

The reports coming home that first day weren't super positive. Adele was really bummed about how much she didn't like her new school for a variety of reasons, and Ceci came home wanting to homeschool. We encouraged her to give it a week. To add to her anxieties about being lost in a sea (3000+) of kids and not having any flexibility to pursue her individual interests, in addition to a high learning curve of figuring out how high school works, we made her try out for the soccer team. We've never made our kids do anything, so this came with some resistance from Team Sisters. Sometimes you feel something will be good for your child, something they may not pursue on their own. This was one of those times.  She had actually missed the tryouts for the JV team, but there was a development team, which trains and can be called upon to play on JV, when needed. I was really proud of her for submitting to our will on this. And for having the courage to give it a try since she hasn't played soccer since she was 10. She came home from that practice and asked me to take her to a soccer field where she could practice. She was NOT going to be the worst one on the team. Well, turns out the school canceled the development team a few days later and Ceci was off the hook. She was relieved. We'll miss the beautiful evening practices at the park though!

The desire to homeschool persisted those first few weeks and the grueling decision-making process was back in full swing (and still isn't totally snuffed out). We'll see how it unfolds. This isn't the easiest season for Ceci. Luckily in the midst of it all I find pictures like this on my phone to help me see she still has her sense of humor!

One night Ceci was laying on my bed talking to me and I wanted to freeze time as I saw her beautiful girlhood before me. She is growing and changing quickly. I grabbed my camera to attempt to capture her cute freckles, rosy lips and fading girlish body. Oh how I want to hold on!

Adele, who is co-chairing the youth board for Choice Humanitarian, hosted another fundraising carnival. Em, Mike and kids (and a friend) came to support Adele. It was very well organized and thought out. Her organizational and event-planning skills continue to improve!

Tennie finished up her summer of painting houses, spent a week in Lake Powell with a friend and then we moved her down for her second year at BYU. She is happy to be living in a house south of campus. It is old and little on the worn down side, but she loves it and is excited about it. Once almost settled in, we took off for Labor Day weekend. I'll write about that in another post.

Contrary to Geoff, I'm ready for cooler temps! (Especially because our AC is broken and the building says they will fix it in the Spring. Not too helpful now!)