Cooking Day

I had another cooking week.

Yesterday I canned 10 quarts of pears and made some fig-lemon compote. I also tried to make tortillas but wasn't thrilled with the results- so I will be trying a different recipe.

I also read this great idea about using crock pot bags to freeze your meals and then just putting them in the bag in the crock pot- and then you throw the bag away! No cleaning of the crock pot! Freezer meals! I was sold.

I found the bags to not be quiet strong enough to freeze- so I put them in a gladlock container too.

Here are the recipes I used:

First I did two cranberry pork roasts I love- I got the recipe from my Cooking Light Slow Cooker book- so I don't have a picture. But it is pork loin with a can of cranberry sauce a littel brown sugar and some ground mustard. It is one of my favorite meals.

I also did this Brown Sugar Balsamic Glazed Pork Loin I found on Pinterest.

I also made this Roman Style Chicken from Hello Chicago. (also on Pinterist- and I think originally from Food Network in a non Crock Pot form.)

And from the same blog Moroccan Chicken.

And also from her- Bar-B-Que Pork Sandwiches.

This rib dish.

And this dish from 365crockpot- which I hope is good but not to sure. This is a trip-tip recipe with sun-dried tomatoes and feta cheese. I used some sirloin steaks that were cheap this morning at the grocery store- and I used sun-dried tomato pesto because it was on sale and half the price of sun-dried tomatoes. No pictures- because I always find the pictures on her blog off putting.

And from the same cooking light book I made a stuffed flank steak- again no picture.

All told I made 13 meals today. I made multiples of most of the above. I spent probably 3 or 4 hours total.

We have had a week-

Me to Beckett: Honey come here.

Beckett: You no call me that. I big boy.

Me: Call you what? Honey?

Beckett: I no Honey.

Me: I call Daddy Honey.

Beckett" Me no your husband. Me your big boy.

Coen: Jackson has never been kissed.

Me: You have?

Coen: Yes five times. By Alec's girlfriend.

Me: What is her name?

Coen: I don't know. She kissed me on the lips and the cheek.

Me: I think I will have to talk to your teacher.

Coen: Please don't Mom. I liked it and I don't want it to stop.

Beckett continues in his Star Wars obsession. Yesterday he sat on Alma's lap for an hour looking at Star Wars stuff on Ebay - and asked me to help him look again today (I didn't). And this morning he told me "Someday I will have all the ships!!!!!!!!!!" I put that many exclamation points because that is how happy this idea made him. His entire body was glowing.

Coen is loving Kindergarten and I am loving the time with Beckett. He is the easiest kid when he is alone. Happy to play all day by himself- and he finds me several times a morning just to give me a hug and tell me he loves me. He did say this morning - I tired of alone with me.

Beckett goes to Pre school two mornings a week so that he can play and I can help in Coen's class. I love being in his class. The first day he just kept coming up and hugging me super tight (actually he does this all the time) and I asked him after school what was wrong. His reply: I just miss my home and Mom so much when I am at school.

I know I am missing some cute things- They have been on a roll lately- but that is all I can think of this evening.

We are home alone again today. I was a little worried about poor Beckett and how he would fare with Coen being gone all morning. I forgot he is my kid who loves to play alone. He has been in heaven all day. He got to watch Star Wars without a fight. He has been holed up in his room moving furniture and building nests and screaming for mom to go away any time I stick my head in the room. Periodically he runs out, tells me his is playing hide and seek with kiki (his blankie) and Yoda. He then counts, races back to his room yelling I am coming, and then shrieks with laughter when he "finds" his friends. He also has come out to inform me that Yoda is afraid of mouses. I replied "He is afraid of mice?" "NO mommy MOUSES!!!!!". Beckett is a little intense for those of you who don't see him often.

I love this little guy.

While I was making dinner tonight Coen came in the kitchen and asked what the meat was from. I was a little nervous to answer this question. I was making a pomegranate glazed leg of lamb. And though up until now he has been fine with eating chickens and cows I wasn't quite sure how he would take to a cuddly little lamb. But lamb is an important part of my family culinary DNA. I really wanted him to like it. So with a little trepidation I said lamb- leg of lamb. Coen responds "What is lamb- like a baby sheep?". I replied in the affirmative. And then he danced around and around the kitchen for the next half hour begging for sheep leg- when is my sheep leg done? Can I eat sheep leg yet?

And when the meal was carved with his favorite baby rice (couscous) on the side he loved it. He had three servings. So there is another generation of lamb lovers. My Grandpa would be proud.

Alma on the other hand didn't not like it so much. I think it is something you have to eat as a little kid to like. But maybe I will try some braised lamb shank and see if he likes that a little better.

Is it weird I am going to put leftover lamb in Coen's lunch for tomorrow?

TJ is at BYU!!!!

We had a great time taking TJ out to BYU.

There were some highs:

Seeing Nate and Audra.

Walking TJ around campus.

Just hanging out with TJ and Becky.

Meeting JJ's new baby and her extended family.

Sundance- and more Sundance.

Shopping with sisters.

Setting up Tj's dorm.

Silver Lake with Kendra (Tj's very good friend who will be at UofU).

Finding the best green wool military coat for TJ.

Buying way too many books.

And the lows:

A speeding ticket (shhh I haven't told Alma yet) Actually my last speeding ticket was 10 yrs ago on the same part of I-80 with TJ- how weird is that!

Dropping my iphone in the toilet.

Becky forgetting her levoxyl.

Not getting to see Megan or Andrea.

TJ losing her wallet (found quickly).

And I didn't take any pictures because my camera stayed in the trunk until the last day- but I got some great shots the last afternoon. For the other days- you will have to go look at Becky's blog. And here they are:

Ahhhh, memories of Heritage Halls.

We may have been a little excited to be back in the old dorms unpacking TJ's kitchen.

TJ- I can't begin to tell you how proud I am of this young woman. She is intelligent, fun to be with, and a hard worker. I am so excited for all the new and exciting times ahead of her the next several years. I hope she has as many great memories from this time in her life as I do.

After unpacking we took TJ and her roomie (Emily) up to Sundance for one last meal.

Have I ever told you how much I love Sundance? It is a little piece of heaven on Earth.

And then we decided to make Becky deal with the heights and rode the chair lift- but sadly we didn't have time to ride mountain bikes back down. I have always wanted to do that.

Worth every penny. Breath taking isn't it?

And then we stuffed our faces (we may have eaten at this exact table the day before). As usual it was great- but I was a little sad we didn't get to eat at the Tree Room- since we were a little sweaty and too casual. The Grill was good though.

And stuffed our faces some more- peach cobbler- mmmmm.

It is That Time of Year

Today was Coen's first day of school. He was very "anxious and excited" about this new adventure. His teacher is one of Joseph's kindergarten teachers- Ms Mahaffey or- Ms Susan as Coen prefers to call her. We don't really know anyone in his class- so I was a little nervous too.

This was Coen- he was so excited to go to school!

Beckett didn't want him to go.

He was sad Coen was going- until it was time to pick him up- then he didn't want his Star Wars stopped. He said Coen could wait.

Coen has had a hard time with being separated from his brother this summer. When Loretta pointed out that Beckett wouldn't go to Kindergarten with him- he want to his room and cried for half and hour- so I was a little worried about how they would do. But at least today went okay.

This summer while discussing the upcoming adventure Coen asked what he needed to go to school for. I explained that it was to learn to read and write and do math and science and learn English. Coen responded "I already know English so I will study French." He also said he needed to go to school because he "didn't know everything yet."

We had a little 40 min orientation yesterday- and afterwards Coen said that "was okay- but it was too long." And today when i asked him how his day went he told me it was too tiring. And then we had the worst half hour ever- in which he yelled at me and told me I was being horrible to him and making him angry. Later when he had relaxed a little he told me that his favorite part of the day was listening to Peter and the Woof. We even watched it on youtube five more times when we got home- because he wanted Beckett to hear it. He was mad because he only had time to eat his carrot sticks at lunch and dropped his won tons and they wouldn't give him any milk. If you had called us this evening you would have heard a passionate complaint about his lunch time with many details. But when Dad came home all he had to say was that school is great and he can't wait to go back.

Coen was very serious this morning- he was so like me when I get a little OCD and anxious. It made me laugh a little when he was having his melt down over his name tag. He followed every little instruction very seriously and then looked around wondering why no one else was sitting where they were told to go.

And lunch ladies don't judge me- he asked to have the half eaten cob of corn be put in his lunch. That was his work- not mine.

Yesterday they gave us a questionnaire for the teacher to get to know our kids better. It got me thinking- or thinking some more anyways. What I really want for Coen this year is for him to develop a love for school. I want him to feel successful and smart- I want him to know he can accomplish new things with work. I am not concerned with if he is reading- or the smartest kid. Those things I don't care about- they will come with time. I want this year to build a foundation of self worth and a belief in his intellect and skills. I feel like this foundation will be what makes him successful and happy with his education in the future. I don't want him just to believe this because we praise him for any little thing. I want him to build when he feels overwhelmed but keeps working and succeeds in learning something new. I want him to be praised for his hard work and perseverance- not his intelligence or the result. Because and belief in yourself and the knowledge that you can work hard will be the best reward he could get from this first year in school. And some great time on the playground.

Hmm- I wonder if these will be future friends?

Trying to decide what to print for the entry way wall. And I am feeling uninspired. So instead I chose to play around with these two photos-

Vintage Joseph

Dream Girl Charlie

(remember running like that as a kid?)