Recipes to Share!!

I have been asked to share some of my recipes lately, and thought this would be a good way to do it. Today's recipe is really yummy, really easy, and really quick. It's a McCormick pre-packaged spice thingy, but I've made a few changes. I hope you like it!

Quesadilla Casserole

Ingredients:

2 tsp Chili Powder

1 tsp Ground Cumin (I omitted this)

1 tsp Minced Garlic

1/2 tsp Oregano Leaves

1 1/2 lb ground beef (originally 1 lb, but I added a bit more)

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 cans (8 oz each) tomato sauce

1 can (15 oz) black beans, rinsed and drained

1 can (8 3/4 oz) whole kernel corn, half-drained

1 can (4 1/2 oz) chopped green chiles, undrained

6 flour tortillas (8 inch)

2 cups shredded Cheddar cheese (I used Colby-Jack)

16 oz sour cream (this is my addition)

Directions:

1. Brown beef and onion in large skillet on medium-high heat; drain. Add tomato sauce, beans, corn and green chiles; mix well. Stir in all of the Spices except Red Pepper. Bring to boil. reduce heat to low; simmer 5 minutes. Add Red Pepper, if desired.

2.Spread 1/3 of the beef mixture on bottom of a 13x9x2 inch baking dishsprayed with no-stick cooking spray. Top with 2 or 3 of the tortillas, overlapping as needed. [At this point I added a layer of sour cream]. Layer with 1/2 of the remaining beef mixture and 1/2 the cheese. Repeat eith remaining tortillas, beef mixture and cheese.

3. Bake in preheated 350*F oven 15 minutes or until heated through. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

P.S. More recipes to follow in the days to come...

A Journet of 10,000 Miles....

Okay! I recently watched a movie called Julie&Julia-- and I loved it!! It's about a lady who works in a call center, and then decides to cook her way through Julia Child's cookbook in a year. Then she kept track of it all on her blog. I really liked that idea, so starting tomorrow (September 1st) I am going to start a goal. The goal is this: I would like to run/walk 10,000 miles by the end of 2013... which is when I will finish Nursing School. SO. I need to figure out how to put a countdown on my blog here and then I can keep track! Yay!

I figure a really good byproduct of this goal is that I will finally lose all the accumulated baby weight. 125 here I come!

See ya tomorrow!

Nursing school and other updates for 2010

Okay! So, one posting a year is enough, right? Hahaha!

To update:
Casey is about to start 1st grade, Aurora is finally going to start preschool, and Evelyn is 2 -- in every aspect and loving it. The newest screaming meanie is Samuel Mason Fisher, born on April 8th of this year.

I began my Bachelor of Science--Nursing degree on July 12th of this year. While I am mostly enjoying the coursework and my classmates, sometimes I wonder if I've gone insane, attempting school with a newborn and 3 other kids who need me.

Mark's work hasn't been going well for the last 9 months. Work to do is scarce and his income is suffering correspondingly. On the plus side, Jerry Seiner (who owns the parent company) is a very nice man to work for and at least Mark still has a job. We have to count our blessings on that.

I promise to start posting more often. I am trying to set up a goal project and blogging is a good way to keep track of that. Catch you later!

Here I am world!

Have you ever been so confused by people that you try and try to understand the behaviors, but come up getting more muddled? That's how I'm feeling these days. Having drama from Vicky's divorce and the upcoming trial, I understand. Having drama between two of my sisters-in-law, drives me nuts.

Enough complaining! Back to reality!

I swear I can feel the grey hairs growing on my head. Casey starts kindergarten in 3 weeks. In thirteen years he'll be a Senior. Yikes! Where has the time gone? He is way excited.

Aurora should be starting Pre-school this fall, if we can get into one we can afford. ;) She is also very excited by this prospect.

Evelyn is ecstatic about the fact that she can walk and play chasing games with the big kids. She is hilarious.

Mark is doing very well. Graduated from school, and now beginning his career at Christopher Nissan in Bountiful. He is picking up speed and enjoying what he does.

Me? I'm looking for a job, preferably as a Pharmacy Technician, and double-preferably at a hospital. I am looking forward to going back to college next fall to finally get my Nursing degree. And we are hoping to add to our family before that. Not too busy.. just trivial little things, ya know? ;oP

We're loving life, loving being back in Salt Lake among family and friends. Life is mostly good, if we can just get through the next few weeks.....

...And Many More....

Hey Sportsfans, that's right, it's the 5th anniversary of my 22nd birthday. Just like Gramma Barbara said she was 39 forever, I'm 22 and holding. Why 22? Casey was born on my birthday, so I don't have to get any older, right?!? EEEEEEnn! Wrong answer! I wish! Actually, no, I've had some really interesting life experiences and am at least partially glad I'm not as young as I once was.
We're not really doing much for the birthday today, Mark has school this morning and works all afternoon and evening tonight. Casey's not having a party, either, as he has been kinda sick. Also, I don't know enough of his school or Primary friends to know who to invite. Oh well, I think he's going to go to a basketball game tonight in Charlotte with his cousins. He'll enjoy that.
I am getting more excited for our Utah trip by the day. I can't wait to see mountains (REAL mountains!!!) again, see & hug Vicky and her kids again, and enjoy all the other things I've been homesick for for the last year and a half. It might even by nice to see snow again. They don't really get snow here in NC, if they do get even an inch, schools and everyhing shuts down for the day.
Not much news, just a lot of sniffles and coughs from everyone in the fam but me. FYI: I may not post for about 2 weeks...I'll be busy!
Live(fully)~Laugh(out loud)~Love(everyone)!!!

Halloween

Hi!
Not much is going on here, but there's 3 weeks till we fly to Salt Lake and the time can't go fast enough. I know it's foolish, 'cause time is time and the actual length of a minute or a week doesn't change (525,600 minutes... oh, wait, that's Rent:)), but I hope the next 3 weeks go by way fast and the almost 2 weeks that we're actually there go really slloooww.
The kids were really cute Tuesday for the ward Trunk or Treat. Casey was the red Ninja Turtle (Raphael), Aurora was Princess Aurora (original, I know) and Evie was the cutest baby "Who" (as in a Dr. Seuss who) you've ever seen. With tomorrow being Halloween and me not too sure about our neighborhood, I think we won't go Trick or Treating except for at Mark's work and one or two of our neighbors. Basically our average pizza and movie Friday night. But with a Halloween theme. Movies may include a Halloween Thomas bit, Clue, the Mummy (after the kids go to bed, obviously!). Not too much to report here, still a lot of drama from Aurora, insistence on being held from Evelyn, and way too much sillines from Casey.
Love y'all!!

Who took my sweet little girl and left me with a complete drama queen who is rude and then cries and "melts down" at the drop of a hat?!? I don't remember my nieces being quite this challenging at 3, but they probably were. (Past due condolences, Vicky, and Shane) And then there's Casey, who is all of a sudden coloring on furniture at school and at home (but at home he blames everything on Aurora). Yikes! At least Evelyn is being really cute. When I put her on her tummy on the floor, she "airplanes" and starts scootching back and forth by kicking her legs. I'm excited at the prospect of her learning to crawl, but I need to get a little better at keeping things tidy and out of reach. :)
I'm trying to lose weight. I am finally determined enough to try to diet, and I hope it works. Right now I'm just trying to limit calories, especially fat calories. My ultimate goal is to lose 40 pounds. Wish me luck! Anyone know a diet that is really good? South Beach? ADA?
Mark is loving the class he's in right now (pit crew). I'm getting impatient for his school to be done, for a few reasons. 1- he'd be able to get a better job and not be so tired all the time, 2- we'd be able to move closer to family, and 3- I could start school. I really want to go back and get my Nursing degree (BSN, and maybe CRNA later).
Well, I should probably go now.
thanks for reading!!!