salad recipes

caroline helping me make banana bread last week

the best part of cooking!

i am a salad girl...i love salads and eat one for lunch almost every day. my favorite is italian lettuce mix with sliced deli turkey, chickpeas, green olives, chopped tomato, feta cheese, montreal steak seasoning, hot sauce (i couldn't live without hot sauce), and balsamic vinaigrette spray dressing. i don't like my salads drenched so the spray works perfect and it's healthier, too!! here are 2 cold salads that i love and took to church yesterday for a cookout we had after our service. since it's still in the 90s here, fall soups are not on my mind yet. both of these are yummy and so easy to make!!

asian slaw
1 (16 oz) package of slaw mix
2 (3 oz) packages of beef flavored Ramen noodle soup mix
1 cup sliced almonds, toasted
1 cup Sunflower seeds
1 bunch green onions, chopped
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup vegetable oil
1/3 cup vinegar (i used apple cider vinegar)

Remove flavor packets from soup mix and set aside; crush noodles, place noodles in bottom of large bowl. Top with slaw mix, sprinkle with almonds, sunflower seeds, green onions. Whisk together contents of flavor packets, sugar, oil & vinegar. Pour over slaw mix. Cover and chill for 24 hours. Mix well before serving.

Yields 8-10 servings. This is a great recipe to double for a large crowd


alyson's broccoli salad (click on name to go to recipe) - this one always reminds me of the summer i spent in colorado after i graduated from college :)

birthdays and labor day a little late :)

happy b'day uncle david...somehow i don't have one pic of you looking at the camera :(

papa getting some lovin'

sarah reading to luke and caroline before bedtime

papa taking care of all the kids

susanna checking out abby's loot

happy 4th sweet abby!

caroline helping uncle dave drive the boat

pjs and life jacket

that's caroline tubing with bekah and her friend emily

sorry for how i look...this is post party the next am on very little sleep :)

over labor day weekend, we went home to georgia to spend time with our families. john took the friday before off so it was wonderful to have that extra time and not rush there and back. we celebrated several b'days while we there...my dad, uncle david shaw and abby's 4th. we also had a blast at the annual fortney labor day party. can't wait to be back sometime in october!!

Never Forget

- So many thougts and emotions today. Just havin trouble putting them into words.

John

mowing and walking

caroline "helping" daddy mow

susanna cheering them on :)

look who's walking....this isn't the best video, but it's short and they take forever to load onto blogger :) she's been taking steps for over a month, but has really started taking off in the last few weeks. she pretty much prefers walking to crawling now. it's so cute!! i love the unsteady steps. caroline decided to do another "chore" tonight and help daddy mow the grass. she started out helping push the mower in front of daddy and eventually ended up on his shoulders :)

caroline starts 4K preschool

so happy about the note daddy left her

posing in her uniform - she LOVES it!!

really into posing :)

caroline and her teacher, mrs. kampen

settling in for the first day - caroline's back is to the camera

the first day is over

caroline and her good friend emma, who is in 5K

caroline and her classmate taylor grace

this is how she looked when we got back home...not good!

still not happy, but at least susanna is :)

i've got the backpack, i'm ready for school, too!

her dress uniform - wears it on fridays when they have chapel

it's back to school!!! i for one was not ready for school to start. i have thoroughly enjoyed summer and would just as soon have several more months of it. i usually get excited about fall and all that comes with it, but not this year. caroline started 4K preschool this past thursday. she was pumped! she gets to wear a uniform and has such an awesome teacher who is known to make the kids laugh like crazy :) when i looked back for one last look to the door to the classroom, mrs. kampen was walking in with glasses on that had blinking lights!! caroline is going to love her!!!! she had a great first day, but had a meltdown after i picked her up. she didn't want to go home with me. she wanted to go with a friend and play and she just lost it when i said no. this girl would live with another family if i let her...she loves to be with her friends having fun!! so, by the time we got home, she was headed to timeout and losing privileges fast. hence the pics at the end of her mad face. gotta love it!!!!!!!

chores and recipes

here are a couple of recipes we've enjoyed lately...

Spinach-Black Bean Lasagna

Ingredients

2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 (15-ounce) container ricotta cheese
1 (10-ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and well drained
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
1/2 teaspoon salt
4 cups (16 ounces) shredded Monterey Jack cheese with peppers, divided
2 (16-ounce) cans black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (2-pound, 13-ounce) jar pasta sauce
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
9 precooked lasagna noodles
Garnish: chopped fresh cilantro

Preparation

Stir together first 5 ingredients and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese; set aside.

Mash beans with a potato masher or fork in a large bowl; stir in pasta sauce and cumin. Spread one-third of bean mixture on bottom of a lightly greased 13- x 9-inch baking dish.

Layer with 3 noodles, half of spinach mixture, and 1 cup Monterey Jack cheese; repeat layers. Spread with one-third bean mixture; top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining bean mixture.

Bake, covered, at 350° for 1 hour; uncover and top with remaining Monterey Jack cheese. Bake 5 more minutes or until cheese melts. Garnish, if desired. (very good with some salsa and sour cream)

Yield

6 servings

Southern Living, FEBRUARY 2002


Seafood Angel Hair Pasta

Ingredients
12 ounces uncooked angel hair pasta
1/2 lb uncooked medium shrimp, peeled and deveined
2 garlic cloves, minced
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 1/2 lbs fresh tomatoes (about 8 med) chopped
1/4 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
1 teaspoon sugar
1 teaspoon reduced-sodium chicken bouillon granules
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 package (8oz) imitation crabmeat, chopped (i left this out b/c i didn't have any)

Preparation

Cook pasta according to package directions. Meanwhile, in a large nonstick skillet, saute shrimp and garlic in oil for 5 minutes or until shrimp turn pink. Remove and keep warm.
In the same skillet, combine tomatoes, broth, sugar, bouillon, salt and pepper. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer, uncovered, for 15 minutes. Stir in crab and reserved shrimp; heat through. Drain pasta,; serve with seafood mixture.

Yield: 6 servings

Taste of Home, September 2008

larry king live interview

we don't have cable (just "bunny ears") so i didn't get to see the larry king live interview...below are links to take you to each segment. the last link is larry king's thoughts on the interview. if you have a little bit of time, watch and have a tissue handy :)

part 1
part 2
part 3
part 4
part 5
part 6

Larry King's Comments

***mom, if you watch, notice when they talk about their tatoos...see, even steven curtis chapman and his family have them...more ammunition for my stance on tatoos and piercings :)

chapman family interview on gma

***update - the larry king live interview will be at 9pm(et), 8pm(ct) and 6pm(pt) on CNN tonight...you can find more details here

here is a link to the entire interview that aired this morning on good morning america with steven curtis chapman and his family. there is a small segment with the 3 oldest children. they will also be on larry king live thurs night. i'm so moved by their honesty and trust in Jesus and i know the lost are being drawn to Him because of them. thank you Lord!! (click on the first word "here" to go the video)

1 year stats

stylin' in her dora shades

went to the pediatrician yesterday for susanna's 1 yr checkup, a few weeks late, and here are her stats...

weight - 19lbs, 13 oz (35%)
height - 29 in (40%)
head - 45 in (50%)

a little top heavy with the head, but at least she's fairly proportional and the dr said everything looked great!