Chicken Enchiladas

Chicken Enchiladas

1 small onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1 Tblsp. oil
1 lb. boneless, skinless chicken breast, cooked, shredded
1 1/2 cups salsa, divided
4 oz. cream cheese
1 Tblsp. cilantro, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
1 cup shredded cheddar & monterey jack cheese, divided
1 4oz. can chopped green chilies, drained
Flour tortillas

Cook and stir onion and garlic in oil in large skillet on medium heat 2 minutes.
Add chicken, 1/4 cup salsa, cream cheese, cilantro, and cumin. Cook until heated through, stirring occasionally.
Add 1/2 cup shredded cheese and green chilies; mix well.
Spoon about 1/3 cup chicken mixture onto each tortilla; roll up.
Place, seam side down, in 13x9 inch baking dish; top with remaining 1 1/4 cups salsa and 1/2 cup of cheese.
Bake at 350 for 15-20 minutes or until heated through. Makes 4 servings.

Here's a video of Isaac and Natalie singing at Homeschool Chapel.

Chapel Video

October 2010

Dressing up for my costume day at work and for the Harvest Time Fun Night at church.

What will he ask me next??

Funny conversation with Isaac today......

Isaac: "Mommy, do bears and tigers poop?"
Me: "Ummm....yes...."
Isaac: "Do they poop in the grass?"
Me: "Yes.....all animals poop outside in the grass."
Isaac: "But we poop in the toilet, right?"
Me: "Yes!"
Isaac: "And we're God's sheep, right?"
Me: "Yes...."
Isaac: "So, when we're God's sheep, we poop in the grass?"
Me: "NO! We don't ever poop outside or in the grass!"
Isaac: "But, if we're God's sheep, we have to poop outside because we're sheep."
Me: "It's an analogy that we are sheep. It's kind of like pretend. We aren't REALLY sheep. God just calls us his sheep. So, we NEVER poop outside."
Isaac: "Oh....."

Potato Chip Chicken and Pepper Jack Easy Mac

Potato Chip Chicken

1 4oz. pkg. potato chips, crushed and mixed on waxed paper (or shallow dish)
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
Dash of pepper
4-8 chicken breasts or legs
1/2 cup butter, melted

Dip chicken in melted butter. Roll in mixture. Place in pan, skin side up, not touching. Pour remaining butter and crumbs over all. Bake at 375 degrees for 1 hour.



Pepper Jack Easy Mac

2 cups (8 oz.) dry elbow macaroni
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded cheddar cheese
2 cups (8 oz.) shredded pepper jack cheese, divided
1 can (12 oz.) evaporated milk
1/2 tsp. ground black pepper
chopped jalapenos (optional)
1/2 - 1 cup broken tortilla chips (your choice of color)
1/4 - 1/2 tsp. crushed red pepper (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly grease a 2 1/2 quart casserole dish. Cook macaroni in large saucepan according to package directions; drain. Return to saucepan. Add cheddar cheese, 1 1/2 cups pepper jack cheese, evaporated milk, black pepper, and jalapenos to macaroni; stir until combined. Pour into prepared casserole dish. Combine remaining 1/2 cup pepper jack cheese, tortilla chips, and red pepper flakes in small bowl. Sprinkle over the top. Cover tightly with foil. Bake for 20 minutes. Uncover; bake for an additional 10 minutes or until lightly browned. Makes 8-10 servings.

Fan From Day One!

We went to the first game for the Omaha Nighthawks football team last Friday. It was THE best game of any sport that I have ever been to. It was AWESOME! We have season tickets with two other couples from our church. I am looking forward to the next game this weekend!

Some recent videos of Malachi

Malachi eating his 1st birthday cake.

Malachi is finally crawling at 1 year old!

We went to the Hard Luck Diner in Branson, MO., and one of the waiters sang to Malachi. All of the waiters take turns singing while you eat.

Love at first sight???

My friend Jill and I have been friends for several years now. Her daughter Ally is 4 months older than Isaac. We have hung out alot since the two of them were born and they have become good friends too. Almost TOO good of friends. Can love start to blossom at the young age of only a few months old??

~~~~~ Jump ahead 4 years to the present ~~~~~

A conversation that took place tonight between the two of them (as best as I can remember it because Jill and I were laughing so hard through most of it).

Ally: "Isaac says that I'm his girlfriend."
Me (sarcastically): "Isaac, you guys are too young to be talking about girlfriends and boyfriends. Ally is your good friend that is a girl, but not your girlfriend."
Isaac: "But I like Ally."
Me: "That's good that you like her, but she's not your girlfriend."
Isaac: "Yes, she's my girlfriend, cuz I like her."
Ally: "When we grow up we are going to get married."
Isaac to Ally: "But there is another girl that wants to marry me. Her name is Jocelyn."
Ally: "Well when we grow up we are going to get married. And I am going to get a wedding dress. And if she gets a wedding dress and tells you that she is going to marry you, you need to say something to her because I am going to marry you."
Isaac: "I am going to get a black suit and marry you."

At this point, Jill turns to me and says "I think it's time for us to go because we are going to be deciding on cakes soon if we don't break up this conversation!"

Ally: "Isaac, after we get married we have to get a house. We will have to build a house. And then we will sleep together."

And now Jill says to me "OK! We definitely need to go now!"

Isaac and Ally -- 1 year old

Isaac and Ally -- 3 years old

Helping my honey

I made these Homemade Protein Bars last night for Jason. He is really trying to watch what he eats now. So, I'm trying to be a good wife and help him with it. I also found him a recipe for Chocolate Peanut Butter Banana Smoothie that he tried this morning. He really liked it too. He added his protein powder to make it more beneficial for him. I really enjoy opportunities to be the helpmate to my husband that God has designed me to be!

Baby Shower Cake for Diana

Branson Vacation

Our family along with my parents took a vacation to Branson. We had a great time.

Noah Show










Hard Luck Cafe (Malachi loved all the singers)










Silver Dollar City

Jungle Birthday Party

We had the boys' birthday party a couple of weeks ago. Here's some pictures of all the fun!

Independence Day Recipes

One of my friends wanted everyone to post on facebook their recipes they made for the 4th of July. So, I thought I would post mine on here and then post on facebook! We had company all weekend so we only made a couple of things because everyone else who came over brought stuff too!

First I made our Chicken Wings and Sausage Dip (aka Evil Dip) that I posted on here before. They are SOOOOO yummy. There were NO leftovers!! :-)

Then I made my Bacon wrapped 'lil smokies -- aka "Swine on Swine".

Bacon wrapped 'Lil Smokies
2 pkgs. 'lil smokies
1 pkg. bacon
brown sugar

Wrap each little smokie in a quarter of a piece of bacon (cut bacon in half and then cut that piece in half lengthwise). Place them on a large baking sheet. Sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake in a 400 degree oven for about 15-20 minutes or until bacon is cooked.

Also, our friend Olga made guacamole this weekend. I discovered a new trick. Place the pit of the avacodo in your guacamole to keep it from turning brown. I couldn't believe it.....it works! Everyone kept telling her she left the pit in there. She had to keep explaining that she knew that and why she left it there. It was pretty funny.

A Goodly Heritage

I take for granted so many blessings in my life. One of these I realized a few weeks ago at our family reunion. We had our reunion in the Black Hills of South Dakota with my dad's side of the family. It was a great time. We were there over a Wednesday evening. We usually attend church on Wednesdays for our church's Bible Study and Prayer meeting. Since all of our family is Baptist and we have 4 pastors in our family we decided to hold our own Bible Study right there at our cabin. We sang songs and had special music from the 4 girl cousins and also from my dad and uncle. And then my cousin Phil preached to us. He said he was only going to give a devotion.....no....he preached!! It was a great message on God's goodness. But as we were having our little church service, I started thinking of how blessed our family is. Not very many families can have a church service or Bible study during their family reunions. There are so many families who believe SO differently when it comes to spiritual matters. But all of my extended family on my dad's side believes the same. And that is such a blessing! I know Grandpa and Grandma Lydick were watching from heaven and saying "I have no greater joy than to hear that my children walk in truth." 3 John 1:4

"Yea, I have a goodly heritage." Psalm 16:6

Nine years ago......"Will you marry me?"

Jason sent me these flowers to celebrate our engagement nine years ago. I'm not sure if everyone knows how he proposed so I thought I would share the story.

So, we had been talking about marriage so I knew he was going to ask me eventually. He got his job at PayPal in February. And after he got his first paycheck, he bought the ring (I didn't know this at the time!). He kept giving me clues the whole week before, but I didn't have a "clue"! He told me things like "I have no money right now" but I knew he had just got paid. I didn't get it at all. So, on Saturday, he came into the salon and got a haircut right before the salon closed. When he was paying he told me he would give me my "tip" later. I thought he was just being goofy like normal. So, I just ignored him. After the haircut we went back to my parents house. I went into my room to freshen up my hair and makeup cuz we had a church activity that night with our College and Career class. While I was in my room, he was so nervous, cuz he knew he was about to ask me, that he dumped over a vase of flowers that my mom had on the coffee table. My parents knew he was getting ready to ask me, so my mom told him to go in my room and ask me. He came into my room and I asked him what he was doing. (He had never come in my room before). He told me he was coming to give me the "tip" for the haircut. I thought maybe he wanted to give me a kiss or something but I was a little freaked out since we were in my room. So, I continued at the mirror freshening up my hair and makeup. He told me to turn around so he could give me the "tip". I kept telling him no and to leave me alone. After he about drove me crazy, I finally turned around to find him down on one knee holding out a little white box. In my head I thought, "If that is not a ring, I'm going to KILL him". He opened the box and there was the ring and he asked me if I would marry him. I first asked if he had asked my dad, he said "Yes, I wouldn't be here if I hadn't." I asked him if my dad said yes, and again he said "YES, I wouldn't be here if he hadn't. " I then gave him a REALLY big hug and said "YES!" He then asked if he could put the ring on my finger.....I had almost forgot about the ring. "Yes, yes, put it on my finger!"

Happy Birthday to my Honey!

Yesterday was Jason's 28th Birthday. He LOVES cheesecake so I tried a new recipe and thought I would share it with everyone. It was really easy and really good!

Raspberry Swirl Cheesecake Pie
1 (8oz.) cream cheese, softened
1 (14oz.) can sweetened, condensed milk (not evaporated milk)
1 egg
3 Tblsp. plus 1 tsp. lemon juice, divided
1 (9 in.) graham cracker crust
1/2 cup raspberry preserves

Preheat oven to 300 degrees. In large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese until fluffy. Gradually beat in sweetened condensed milk until smooth, add egg and 3 Tblsp. lemon juice; mix well.
Pour 1/2 of the batter into crust. Combine remaining 1 tsp. lemon juice with preserves in small bowl. Spoon half of the preserves over batter.
Pour remaining batter on top. Using knife, swirl remaining preserves into decorative pattern on top.
Bake 55 minutes. Cool. Refrigerate. Enjoy!!