"Weird" Recipes

So I guess I should specify that by "weird" I mean they were weird to me.  So here are some of my new favorite recipes that are no longer weird!

Monte Cristo Sandwiches - So it took me months, MONTHS to muster the courage to try this recipe.  I am not even exaggerating the slightest bit. Despite the good reviews I'd heard, it just sounded...weird.  I mean the lunch meat and crescent rolls I could handle, but with raspberry jam? umm no.  But I'm telling you they are YUMMY!  We have had them 3 times already this month. THREE!  Now I like to cook and try to recipes so the fact that we have had them 3 times in this short month says something.  Seriously...just give it a try.  You can find the recipe here.

Taco Salad - Now I know what you're thinking.  Taco salad?  How is that weird.  But if you know me very well you know that I HATE, and I mean DESPISE Tacos.  Just the yucky taco seasoning on the meat and the hard shell and everything put in it is just disgusting.  Whenever my mom would make them I would inwardly cry I hated them that much.  I wouldn't even eat them as a taco I would eat everything separately.  I kid you not.  I'd choke down the mean, break up the taco shell and dip it in salsa and make the lettuce and tomato into a little salad.  Taco salad was just as bad to me.  It was basically a taco crunched down and smooshed.  Disgusting.  I remember when the realization hit me that I was marrying a mexican who came from a mexican family who ate mexican food.  To me mexican=tacos.  I was so terrified that I would have to eat tacos once or more a week for the rest of my life.  I was quickly taught that what I hated were American tacos and I now love authentic tacos.
Anyway, so basically I always hated American tacos and taco salad, so again it took me a few months to want to try this recipe.  But it came from the FAVORITE cooking website Mel's Kitchen Cafe, so I thought I'd give it a try...and it was AMAZING!  Seriously!  I loved it!   You HAVE to make the homemade dressing though.  Its what makes all the difference.  I did find that it makes a lot, so I would half the recipe (unless its more than you, your husband and your toddler) but don't half the dressing.  Trust me.  You can find this recipe here.

Mushroom Lasagna - Growing up I also hated mushrooms.  They were gross and slimy and gross.  I still don't like them in sauces/gravy but I now love them in omelets or BBQ'd.  Mmmm...love them BBQ'd.  I also love them in this lasagna.  It is simply amazing.  Also from Mel's Kitchen Cafe so you should just know it's golden.  You can get the recipe here.

Green Chile Turkey Burgers - Ok turkey burgers aren't that weird.  These are especially amazing though.  Had them twice in 2 weeks. Again, that means something around here.  Here is the recipe.

Swiss Chicken - As I'm sure you can guess by now I also hated swiss chicken growing up...and my parents and brother loved it, so we would get it every so often and I was gag (literally) everytime.  I'm still not the biggest fan of swiss cheese, but we tried this recipe yesterday and I fell in love with swiss chicken.  It comes from Six Sister's Stuff if you've heard of them.  It was really good!  Here's their recipe.

The Song and The Card

Have you heard this song?

Because I have.
Like a MILLION times.
a DAY.
This is E's new favorite thing.  Not Barney, not Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood, not Gullah Gullah Island, not Tangled or Princess and the Frog.  Nothing.  From sun up to sun down all I hear is requests for "let it gooooooo"  and she would watch this from sun up to sun down if I let her.  But I won't.  Because I am trying to be a good mom and not let my kid watch tv all day...but most importantly I would go INSANE!
It really is a good version though.

The Card:
So my mom sent the girls Valentine's cards but because of the snow storm last week the mail was delayed forever and we didn't get them until yesterday.  E's valentine card has been her constant companion since we checked the mail yesterday.

She walks around with it all day.  It comes with us in the car, at the table, heck she tried to sleep with it last night (but daddy wouldn't let her) so it was the first thing she asked for this morning (followed by "let it gooooooo")

 Do you see it hiding in the trees?

She "reads" it every so often.  She calls it her "book."
Maybe when I get the guts to wean the binky at night I'll just give her a pretty card to ease her pain.  :)

Winter Fun

So last week was a crazy snowstorm for the south.  Being born and raised in Utah it was an average storm, but out here it was close to the apocalypse.  We got about 5-6 inches of snow (gasp!) and EVERYTHING shut down.  Seriously.  School was cancelled for 3 days, work was cancelled for 2.  Restaurants didn't open.  Nothing!  We were "brave" and went out to Target one of the days and it was basically abandoned.  There were maybe 5 workers in the entire store.  Half of their lights were off and there were about 10 cars in the parking lot.  It was great. :)  E was is paradise though.  Being born in Decemeber she is a definite snow baby.  I was born in August and am definitely NOT.  (don't really think the month you are born in correlates with your love of snow, but in our little family it does)

Today we are back to how I like it.  60 degrees.  And apparently tomorrow is supposed to be 70 degrees.  I love it here. :)

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day!
Hope you all have a fantastic LOVE-ly Day!!
Love,
The Andersons :)

5 months

L turned 5 months a few days ago.  I find it interesting that if I was a day late on posting about E from month to month I thought it was a sin and I couldn't post the month anymore because she wasn't 3 or 5 or 8 months exactly anymore!  Oh how priorities change when you have two.  Poor third kid and beyond will probably be lucky just to have a post!
Anywhoo...this month L...
1) Found her feet and her voice all in the same week.  She LOVES to suck on her feet.  Which is new to me because E never really cared about her feet.  L loves it when her socks are off and she is just in a onezie so it is easier access to suck on her toes.  Weird child.
And her voice.  Oh her voice.  You just say those 2 words to Tyler "L's voice" and he will roll his eyes and tell you how much her screeching drives him N-U-T-S!  It's like all the sudden she discovered she had a voice so now everything she does: babble, screech, cry, whatever, is in HIGH pitch.  If you ever feel like you want a headache...feel free to come over to our house!  You'll get one!  But in all honesty it is cute when she talks to you or tries to communicate with E.

2) Rolls from stomach to back...but only when she is supposed to be going to sleep I might add!
3) Tried cereal and HATES it.

To this day I just have to show her to spoon and she gives me the "please no mom, that's disgusting" look.
4) Is trying really, really hard to sit up on her own.  Still not quite there.

5) Is still a HUGE mama's girl.  She won't go to her dad, or anyone at church, no one.  She just wants me.  Sometimes I love it and sometimes I could use a break! :)
6) Is in the MAJOR sucking stage.  She will suck on ANYTHING!  Her favorite is till my fingers though.
7) She found the couch.  This is BY FAR her favorite activity to do throughout the day.  I don't know how we discovered this, but she LOVES to blow on the couch.
You can't really hear it too well in the video, but she is blowing and it makes it sound like she has major gas.  It's HILARIOUS in person...but just watch the video...the ending is the best part.  I die laughing every time I watch it (and I have watched it many times now!)

HAHAHAHAHA!!!!  Apparently she was VERY offended that I was videoing her! hahaha!!!  Have I mentioned how she doesn't like to be caught on camera?  Picture nor video it doesn't matter.  She will stop everything she is doing and just stare at the camera (or try and grab it) until you put it away...then she will resume what she was doing before.  I won't even tell you how many videos I had to go through to get one where it showed her blowing on the couch (that's why this one has such amazing filming)
(notice how she has the same expression in every pic?)

Anyway, we love our little bug and even though it is challenging at times we love having two.  Wouldn't have it any other way.