An Eggstra Special Family Home Evening (yes, I'm a dork)

Monday night we had our very first family home evening with all seven kids... It was bumpy at first, but actually quite great once we really got going.  Blending two families is never easy and this dating period is wonderful not only for Eric and I to get to know each other better, but for all of the kids to get their feel for things.  We had a great lesson focused on the Savior by my girlies and then we colored Easter eggs!

When I told Eric I was planning Easter egg coloring for the activity, his response was, "That sounds messy"... and it was!  But it was messy fun!

Here are a couple of tips for great Easter eggs:

1- The trick to boiling eggs that will be easy to peel is to cover the bottom of the saucepan completely with eggs.  Don't stack them up, but don't leave much wiggle room either.  Cover them with water by about 1".  Bring to a full rolling boil and then turn off the burner.  Let the eggs sit on the burner in the hot water for about 20-25 minutes then rinse with cold water.

2- You don't need to buy fancy (or non fancy) dye kits for eggs.  1/2 cup of cold water with food coloring and about 1 TBSP of vinegar work great!  If you add a bit of oil to a couple of the colors, the eggs come out fabulously marbled!

3- It's super fun to color on the eggs with crayons before coloring them.  The wax repels the dye so the coloring shows up perfectly.  I discovered Eric doesn't own crayons, but he improvised with wax pieces and the kids still had fun making designs.

4- Let everyone know how many eggs they'll have to color right up front.  The littlest ones may still complain when they run out, but if the limit is set at the start it's easier to deal with melt-downs.  It worked out well for us because Clark whipped through his eggs in no time but one of the other boys decided he only wanted to do half his eggs, so Clark got to do a few more than anyone else.

I love coloring eggs!  It's such a fun Easter tradition... plus then there are leftovers for yumminess like egg salad sandwiches and deviled eggs!  Delish!

We survived our first family home evening/egg decorating! *grin*

Delicious Deviled Eggs

Deviled eggs are one of my favorite parts of Easter.

We always color a dozen boiled eggs for each person in our family to color, so deviled eggs and egg salad sandwiches are a MUST to use up all those eggs. 

I use a dill mix along with dry mustard and mayo in my deviled eggs.  Simple, yet delicious!

Plus they look absolutely adorable on my vintage milk glass egg trays... hehehe
 

Today I'm linking to The Shabby Nest for Frugal Friday!

Gentleman Homemaker

This year has been one filled with a lot of ups and downs already.  It has been surprise after surprise, some good and some not so good.  One thing I've felt impressed to do this year is start dating again.  Last year I slowed down my dating a lot.  It wasn't just my dating that slowed down, it was my social life in general.  I was enjoying staying home quite a bit, even on the weekends when my kids were gone.  Jammies and scary movies became my norm on weekends.  At the first of the year I started to have a strong desire to date again.  It seemed like an odd time because I was also feeling inspired to look towards a move out of state, but when I'm prompted to do something, I do it.  I'm a firm believer in things happening for a reason AND I know that Heavenly Father sees the bigger pictures while we're stuck only seeing what's happening right now.

One night at about 1am I was tossing and turning for no apparent reason and out of the blue I was struck with the thought that I needed to change my dating profile.  My profiles are always fun and creative and get a lot of attention, but this idea was so unique it was quite amazing.  It was a very detailed job posting for the position of being my boyfriend.  It spelled out the qualifications someone one would need, the duties the job would entail, must haves and benefits of the position.  I got more messages and interest and compliments on it than I ever imagined.  I started going on dates and opening myself up to the idea of being in a relationship again, which is something I hadn't had a desire for in a year. 

My favorite response came from a cute local guy telling me he was "overqualified" in every aspect for the job and that he'd like to schedule a phone interview to further discuss the position.  Being very confident myself, his confidence was drawing to me.  Eric and I talked for a couple of weeks over the phone, had Sunday dinner together with my three kids and his four, spent a lot of time talking, texting, bouncing ideas off of each other, spending time with each others kids and then we decided to stop dating other people and get to know each other better exclusively.

I am amazed by this incredible man so I thought I'd introduce him to you.  Eric is a full time father to four boys who are 4, 6, 10 and 13.  He has had some amazing successes and some pretty intense set-backs in his life and especially over the last year, but his cheerful attitude and endless positive energy are infectious.  We are alike in a way that is complimentary to each other... We really balance each other out.  I want you to get to know him and his boys as my children and I get to know them.  I've never done this before on my blog, but he is really special.  Eric has started a blog that I will be co-authoring with him.  It's called the Gentleman Homemaker and I encourage you to check it out.

I spent a lot of time over this past weekend with Eric and his boys while my kids were at their dad's house.  We laughed, we cried, we plotted and planned and it was an fantastic couple of days.  I thought I'd share a couple of pics I took over the weekend so you can put faces to names.

Clark

Ian

Caleb 

(yes, we BOTH have 10 year old Calebs!)

and Austin

My blogland friends are like family to me so if you have any questions for Eric, feel free to post them and he will be more than happy to answer them (((hugs)))

Broccoli Salad

Mmmmm...  I love salads!  Broccoli salad is something I first tried at a "Daughters of Utah Pioneers" luncheon years and years ago.  It had such a unique flavor that I had to go home and recreate it.  If you aren't familiar with broccoli coleslaw, which is used in this recipe, you should be!  It's found in the produce section of the grocery store, but not near the salads or cabbage coleslaw.  I've found it near veggie trays or strawberries or "gourmet" produce depending on the store.  Most stores do carry it.  You just may have to ask where they're hiding it.  Broccoli coleslaw has a fantastic crunch that cabbage coleslaw doesn't and it can be used in a lot of recipes.  It's fairly inexpensive and you can find it on sale often.

This is the perfect recipe to make for Easter dinner OR Easter picnics!  YUMMY!!!

Broccoli Salad 

1 pkg real bacon bits (or cooked bacon pieces)
1 12 oz pkg broccoli coleslaw
½ c dried cranberries
1 c sunflower seeds
3 TBSP white (or red) wine vinegar
2 TBSP sugar
1 c mayo

In a large bowl combine the broccoli slaw, bacon bits, sunflower seeds and cranberries. In a small bowl, whisk together the vinegar, sugar and mayo. Pour over broccoli mixture and toss until well mixed. Refrigerate at least two hours.

Today I'm linking to the Mommy Club! Enjoy!

Young Women's Conference 2012

Last weekend my daughters and I had the privilege of attending the LDS Young Women's General Conference. I have attended this conference a couple of times, including once with Nina two years ago. The difference this year was that Nina sang in the beautiful choir with almost 400 12-17 year old girls. They practiced for weeks and it was a fantastic spiritual experience for all involved. As I sat in the congregation and listened to these wonderful girls sing I was struck by the spirit in a really beautiful way. Both of my girls are growing up. In just a few short years they will be out of the house and away from their mom. I have such love and adoration for the amazing young women Nina and Alyssa are. I went through a rough patch with Nina for about a year and I'm facing that with Alyssa right now, but my love is so strong for them.

Being a mother is the most sacred and humbling experience any women will ever go through in her life. I am so grateful to be a mother to three extraordinary children.

We have really set a goal in our home to put a little more focus on things of a spiritual manner. We have never been amazing at fasting on fast Sunday, but we have decided it's something we want to do. We have also decided to start holding family scripture study. I know that by adding these two things into our lives we will be blessed.  I am proud to report we have been doing family home evening on a semi-regular basis.

Another goal I have made is to start doing my Sunday spiritual postings again. I need that focus on gospel topics in my life and sharing my focus on my blog is a really motivating way for me to accomplish that.

If you have questions about the LDS (Mormon) faith you'd like me to address or a gospel topic you'd like me to write about, please leave me a comment or send me an email.

 Happy Sunday!  I included the videos of the choir Nina was a part of.... these girls went from non-singers to this amazing choir in about five weeks! About four minutes into the Primary Song Medley you get a really nice shot of Nina!

Potatoes with wheat berries (papas con mote de trigo)

An ancient dish from the country side in Chile. Most of the old chilean dishes are vegetarian, since the meat was really expensive and only enjoy on special holidays.
I hate it as a child and refuse to eat it. Now I can not stop thinking how good it is.
The "mote" is not exactly wheat berries, but is the closest substitution. You can also use barley.
Enjoy!

Potatoes with barley/wheat berries
for 4 people
Ingredients:

• 1 tablespoon of oil
• 2 teaspoon of paprika or merkén (chilean dry chiles)
• 1 medium onion, diced small
• 2 cups of squash, such acorn or butternut, cut into small cubes (1/2')
• 2 large potatoes, golden or red if available, peeled and cubed
• 1 cup of milk
• water
• 2 cups of cooked wheat berries/barley

Directions:

1. Cook the barley/wheat berries according to package directions. Drain and rinse with cold water.
2. In a medium saucepan over medium-hig heat warm the oil and add the paprika, let it cook for 1 minute. Saute the onion on the oil for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add the squash and potatoes and cover with milk, season with salt. Cook covered 15 minutes at low heat. Add water if star to dry.
3. When potatoes are al dente, add the cooked barley and stir, cook 5 minutes more, stirring occasionally with a fork and smash some of the potatoes and squash to give the dish consistency.
4. Serve hot.

As is sold in Chile

Spaguetti squash preserve (Alcayota jam)

An old classic, my grand mother was the one in charge of making this preserves every year at the end of the summer. The variety of squash is not exactly the same used in Chile, but the Spaghetti squash makes for a very good substitute.

Spaghetti squash preserve or Alcayota jam
para 4 mason jars
Ingredients:

• 1 spaghetti squash
• Sugar, about 500 grs or 5 cups
• Zest of 1 orange
• 3 cloves
• 1/2 cup of chopped walnuts, toasted in a skillet over low heat for 6 minutes or until they start to smell nutty

Preparation:

1. Bake the whole squash in the oven at 200C or 400F for 45 minutes or microwave until tender. Allow to cool.
2. Split and remove the seeds, with a spoon take away all the pulp and weigh. In my case I got 1100 grams. Add half the weigh of sugar and stir well. Let it stand 12 hours or overnight. This is important for the final texture of the jam.
3. The next day cook over low heat, keep it on a gentle simmer for 45 minutes. Stirring frequently.
4. Add the orange peel and cloves, after the first 20 minutes of simmering. Stir well and continue to cook.
5. Test for readiness allowing a spoonful to cool on a plate.
6. Remove from the heat and add the walnuts, mix well and pour on the mason jars. Allow to cool and refrigerate for until 3 months.

Enjoy!