Good Grub!!!

Last night we decided to have a Yummy Cafe Rio inspired dinner. I love the combination of lime and cilantro so this was the perfect meal for me :). For dessert we decided to have Fried Ice Cream which turned out really good! So I wanted to share these yummy recipes- most of which came from Allrecipes.com (My favorite recipe site)! I do love the cooking blogs that take a picture of every single step, but I didn't have time last night to take pics. Enjoy!

RECIPE for PORK BARBACOA (similar to Cafe Rio's)From my good friend Heather!
2-3 lb. pork roast
1 TBS cumin
1 cup brown sugar
12 oz bottle La Victoria taco sauce
20 ounce Coke

Place pork roast in a crock pot, add water halfway covering roast. Cook on low for 12 hours. Drain water and add remaining ingredients. Cook 4 more hours. Shred pork and cook 2 more hours. Per Serving: Place tortilla in oven safe bowl and sprinkle with cheese. Keep in the oven until the cheese melts. Then add Lime Cilantro Rice, Black beans and Pork Barbacoa. Add other toppings such as tomatoes, lettuce, cheese, avacados and sour cream. YUM!



Lime Cilantro Rice -Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
2 cups water
1 tablespoon butter
1 cup long-grain white rice
1 teaspoon lime zest
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice (Start with 1 TB and add to the taste)
1/2 cup chopped cilantro
Directions:
1. Bring the water to a boil; stir the butter and rice into the water. Cover, reduce heat to low, and simmer until the rice is tender, about 20 minutes.

2.Stir the lime zest, lime juice, and cilantro into the cooked rice just before serving.


Amusement Park Cornbread- Allrecipes.com

(Last night I halved the recipe and used an 8x8 baking dish)

INGREDIENTS:
2/3 cup white sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/3 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 eggs
2 cups all-purpose flour
1 tablespoon baking powder
3/4 cup cornmeal
1 1/3 cups milk

DIRECTIONS:

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Lightly grease an 9 x13 baking dish.
In a large bowl, beat together sugar, salt, butter and vanilla until creamy. Stir in eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition. In a separate bowl, mix together flour, baking powder and cornmeal. Stir flour mixture into egg mixture alternately with the milk. Beat well until blended. Bake in preheated oven for 20 minutes, or until golden brown. Serve warm.


Fried Ice Cream- Allrecipes.com

Ingredients:
1 quart vanilla ice cream
3 cups crushed cornflakes cereal or Vanilla Wafers (place in blender)
1 to 2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3 egg whites
2 quarts oil for frying

Directions:
1.Scoop ice cream into 8 - 1/2 cup sized balls. Place on baking sheet and freeze until firm, about 1 hour.
2.In a shallow dish, combine cornflakes and cinnamon. In another dish, beat egg whites until foamy. Roll ice cream balls in egg whites, then in cornflakes, covering ice cream completely. Repeat if necessary. Freeze again until firm, 3 hours.
3.In deep fryer or large, heavy saucepan, heat oil to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4.Using a basket or slotted spoon, fry ice cream balls 1 or 2 at a time, for 10 to 15 seconds, until golden. Drain quickly on paper towels and serve immediately.

Hiking and Sitting Up!

A couple weekends ago we decided to go hiking as a family. So I looked around on Craigslist and found a decent hiking backpack to carry Madelynn. We had planned on going to Franklin Falls, but when we got up to the hiking spot it started downpouring. So instead we hiked down to the base of Snoqualmie Falls.

Grant and Chris are throwing rocks into the river; Grant's ultimate pastime.

My Cutie Pies after Dinner

Grant kept asking me when we'd be done taking pictures.

Our happy little girl- 6 months!

Sitting Up at 6 1/2 mos!

There's nothing sweeter than a sleeping baby.

Toddler Moments

One of my favorite parts about being a mom is watching my kids develop. I love my conversations with Grant because he's 2 1/2 and is completely irrational sometimes.

1.) A couple of days ago I accidentally hit Grant and he said "Ouchie! You hurt me."
Me: Sorry Grant, it was an accident.
Grant ( a sign that he has been watching WAY TOO much Kung Fu Panda) Mom, there are no accidents! (and then he karate chopped me)

2.) I made Orange Julius for the family and gave Chris and myself larger adult cups. I gave Grant a smaller cup.

Grant: Ew I don't want this!
Me: Ok then don't drink it.
Grant: No, I want to share with you.
(keep in mind we are all getting over ear infections and colds)
Me: Grant I don't want to share germs.
Grant: ( In a super whiney, high pitch voice) But mom, I want to share your germs!

Maddie is almost 6 months old!

I thought I could save time by putting both kids in the tub. It turned out to be much longer and more dramatic. Oh well they're still fun to watch!

On Sunday two kids (3 and 5) rang our doorbell and said "We're selling Gold, would you like to buy some?" Chris was going to give them pretend money when he saw that their gold resembled driveway gravel. But then he noticed that we weren't the first house they visited and they actually had a couple dollars worth of change in their bucket. So Chris, pulled some change out of his pocket and bought this nice piece of Gold that Grant is displaying above. It was cute, but I think we got swindled :)

What's that you say is on the back of Grant's head? Well the Orange oval is a supermarket sticker that says "Thank you for Shopping with us!" which Grant decided to stick to the back of his head. I heard him whining and asking me to help him get it off because it hurt. But by the time I got some scissors I noticed that a napkin got caught in the crossfire as well. Don't know how that happened. Fortunately, due to Chris' Bait and Switch method (showing Grant a pair of scissors in the Right hand and using the left to quickly pull off the sticker and napkin) Grant is now sticker and napkin free.

Trip To New Mexico

This past week I went to New Mexico to "help" my mom recover from a surgery she just had. I intended to help more, but because I brought my two wonderful children their needs usually came first most of the time. Mom, sorry that I made your house noisier and messier. However, I did enjoy the time I spent with my family and having our kids get to know their grandparents a little more. Madelynn just loved my mom, she was very snuggly with her.

Since my sister and my grandma also came to help my mom recover we decided to get a group picture of the event.

Grandma Noyes with 6 of her 8 Great Grandchildren



Grant had SO much fun at my parents house and playing with cousins that we caught him 2x falling asleep while he was eating (a first for Grant)




Madelynn is now 5.5 months old and rolling around like a champ. She loves to sit in her bumbo and watch Grant run around.



A clean cutie!

Where's Waldo? I mean where's Kristen? She's hiding behind the bench- see if you can find her hand.

The weather in ABQ was AWESOME so almost every night we ate dinner outside and then the kids would run around in the backyard!

My brother Jeff caught a lizard for the kids and from then on Grant thought Jeff was the coolest!

Thanks mom and dad for having our family come and visit! We love you and look forward to our next trip!