Winter comfort food

School lunch. Do your kids like it? Mine are not a big fan, but it is nice to have in a pinch. Each month my kids go through the lunch calendar and mark off a few days they want school lunch. They each have a few meals they like, surprisingly it's not the pizza, but for the most part we make lunch each morning.

On the other hand, growing up I LOVED school lunch. To be fair, I wasn't allowed to have it until about fifth grade. I think it was because by this time my parents then qualified for free/reduced lunch so it was probably cheaper to eat at school. I am not a big fan of pre-made sandwiches. It's probably mostly psychological but I don't like the idea of the sandwich all blending together, soaking into the bread and the flavors mixing. I love sandwiches but they have to be made and eaten right away.

Any way, when I got to eat school lunch I liked it-things where hot and fresh! I remember trying refried beans for the first time at school. I couldn't remember ever tasting something like that before. I went back for seconds. I don't think they really let you do that but I'm sure the lunch lady thought, if we have a kid that actually likes them she can have all she wants. I'm wouldn't say refried beans are my favorite today but I think we all have some school lunch foods we remember loving. For me, it was meat turn overs and beef stew.

For the first few years after we where married, I searched and tried a variety of beef stew recipes until I was finally able to find one that I like. My kids say I make soup a lot. They are right, especially in the winter. I love all kinds of soup but beef stew is probably the one I make the most. Here's my favorite beef stew recipe.

Best Ever Beef Stew

(no kidding that really is the name)

1 large onion, halved and thinly sliced
2 medium carrots, peeled and thinly sliced
2 large potatoes, cut into 1/2 inch chunks
1/2 of a rutabaga (how's that for a new vegetable) peeled and diced
1 cup frozen (or fresh) green beans, in bite-size pieces
1 pound beef stew-meat chunks
1 bay leaf
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 clove garlic, crushed
3 cups low sodium beef stock
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons Worcestershire sauce
Pepper to taste
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Put everything but the flour in a slow cooker; stir to combine. Cover and cook on the low setting for 8 to 9 hours or on high for 4 to 5 hours, until the beef is tender and the potatoes are just fork tender. Stir the stew once or twice as it cooks, if possible. About 30 minutes before serving, transfer a ladleful of the broth to a small mixing bowl. Add the flour and whisk until smooth. Stir the mixture into the stew and cook for the remaining half hour. Makes 6 to 8 servings.

Why is a raven like a writing desk?

Last week twelve girls received an invite by order of the Queen of Hearts to Wonderland. They were to RSVP to the Mad Hatter and make sure they weren't late for this very important date.

Upon entrance to Wonderland, they where then properly shrunk and re-sized to enter the garden (thanks to the cooperative efforts of the pre-teen decorating crew).

After being properly confused by the this way, that way and the other way signs, they all sat down to a Mad Hatter's tea party.

Afterward, they helped the Queen of Hearts to trim her roses red by making these  flowers.

I don't think very many flowers stayed in the garden, though, for girls this age can't help but pose.

They then dined on cake and ice cream but not before the special guest blew out her candles. (Well at least attempted to. Thanks to her older sister for videoing, this girl won't ever be able to forget this moment).





After watching the latest Alice in Wonderland movie, the quests were quickly returned home but not without this little thank you to help them remember it really wasn't just a dream.

Let's just hope they don't change size when they eat the treats.

One Year Older and Wiser, Too.

She had a period where she wore 5 or 6 headbands as well.

Ever since Jolly J was little she has loved to do hair! She has a pretty good knack for it has well. In Kindergarten she refused to let me do it for school photos. After   a lot of coaxing she at least let me curl it. It was of course straight and done in the way she wanted it before the photo was taken. She has pretty much been doing her own hair ever since. (If truth be told I thing she does it better than I ever could).

She was also the first one in our family to get her ears pierced (including mom-still don't have them). Long before that she was constantly sporting bling on her ears. Remember Mrs. Potato Head's earrings? Yup, she stole them!

I guess it was only fitting that the majority of her birthday presents this year were either earrings, necklaces or hair supplies. She even went and had a facial and pedicure with Grandma F.

Sunday Down Time

I found this little gem on my computer when I was sorting through photos.

Never Forget

One of the most meaningful experience of our recent trip was stopping at Martin's Cove.

See the wind blown hair

We had been traveling for about 6 hours in a heated car. We pulled into the visitor center parking lot and the first words uttered as we got of of the van were, "It's cold!". After stopping for a brief picture we hurried into the visitor center where we were greeted with, "You decided to stay". We soon learned that most people, at this time of year, just drive in and turn around.

For those unfamiliar with the story, Martin's Cove is a historic site in Wyoming by Devil's Gate.

Devil's Gate from the road

In November 1856, The Martin Handcart Company spent five days at the cove. Members of the LDS church traveled from Iowa or Nebraska to Salt Lake City. Many of the groups used handcarts to carry their supplies. The Martin Handcart Company members were eager to join the Saints and left too late in the season. When they reached this part of Wyoming they found winter had arrived early.

Martin's Cove is a well known area for youth groups to come and do trek experiences during the spring/summer. They dress in period clothing and pull handcarts on trails in this area. It is a wonderful experience and many come away with a new found appreciation and understanding of what this experience was for most of these early saints we have come to call pioneers.

Coming in the summer, though, doesn't give an accurate protrayal of what things were like for the Martin Handcart Company.

We enjoyed the warmth of the visitor center as our children learned about the handcart pioneers from the guides, pictures and a short movie. We were able to find some our of relatives' names on the plaque and receive information on them. Toward the end the guide asked us if we wanted to go see the cove. We were interested but knew our young children would never make the walk in the bitter cold (just the walk back to our car was all Bud Boy could handle). They offered to give us a ride.

Before venturing out, we bundled up in snow pants, coats, glove, hats and boots. As we were dressing, I couldn't help think how we had just learned that a few days before reaching this area the members of the Martin Handcart Company had thrown out items to lighten the load. They had hoped by doing so they could travel faster and make it to Salt Lake City before bad weather hit. They current weather was nice and so many of them tossed extra clothing and blankets. I couldn't imagine walking and sleeping in temperatures that were below freezing without a coat. Many of the children didn't even have shoes, let alone boots.

As we drove the guide told us stories. We stopped to look at the Sweetwater River

See the ice

The company had to cross this river before making their way up to the cove. Can you imagine doing so after already being cold, tired and in a dress no less for the women?

Just days before reaching this area a rescue group sent from SLC  reached the Martin Handcart Company. When they reached the sweetwater river crossing, four young men of the rescue group carried many of the women and children back and forth across the bitter cold river. We stopped to see the monuments that have been erected to tell of this experience.

The Martin Handcart Company pulled their handcarts into the cove for they knew it would be warmer up by the mountains.

As we reached the cove, there was less wind which did help it feel warmer, but it was still bitter cold. We walked a few feet in the snow and by the time we reached these markers our feet were already frozen.

Did you notice the tents?

The handcart company camped here for five days. The first night a strong wind blew many of the tents down and brought in more snow.

The Martin Handcart Company did make it to the Salt Lake Valley on November 30. 145 members died in their journey.

While we didn't pull a handcart, in fact we hardly even walked much, I know we were all impacted and have a personal understanding of just how hard this was for the Martin Handcart Company because we experienced similar weather to what they did. Our few hours made us grateful it wasn't days.

How did you spend the last week of the year?

The week before New Years we traveled to Rapid City, SD for a niece's wedding.

Grandma bought this years Christmas dresses to match her colors.

The whole gang minus four who couldn't make the trip.

The wedding was interesting, but it wasn't the main reason for the trip.


We loved seeing my husband's brother and his wife. The girls were thrilled to see their horses

And loved getting a few minutes to ride (they are already hitting us up to go back so they can ride lots).

We spent plenty of time in some great hotels! Bud Boy's favorite part was swimming.

We figured if we drove all that way we had better see some of the sites

Blowing snow!  (Ask anyone from Rawlin, WY and they'll agree it is a local winter trademark)

Wind Cave-It's the 4th longest cave

and known for it's boxwork

We didn't want to miss this!

What we learned over the Christmas Break

• How warm 20 degrees is!

The girls were pretty excited to see the temperature gauge in our van reach this

and then this

We all sang a different tune when we got out of the car
and added in over 30mph winds. 

Brrrr....... IT WAS COLD  in South Dakota.

• Just how many pictures these two can take in a week.

• A plasma car really will hold over 200 lb. (Just in case your not sure what this is, here's Bud Boy demonstrating his new toy -thanks bud for sharing with all of us).

• The song, Unicorns I Love Them (or this girls personal rendition of Penguins- I Love Them) is really hard to get out of your head.

• Cleaning throw-up thirty minutes into a five day trip is the pits. I guess there is a first time for everything and Bud Boy didn't want us to escape parenthood without this experience.

 

• What a welcome site the mountains are