Family Vacation

We took a big trip to Disney World a couple of weeks ago celebrating Madison's graduation from high school. Her friend Morgan went with us and Bailey, Avery & Kendall also went. Here's a few pics from the week.

Knox

I have a new great nephew and his name is Knox. I wanted to make something special for him and thought this up in the middle of the night. It turned out just as I envisioned it and Amanda liked it too!

Here's a picture of Knox - he's even cuter!!

Full Moon Cafe Tortilla Soup

Tonight we had tortilla soup and guacamole. This soup is different from most tortilla soup - try it!
Here's the roux you make to thicken the soup

After adding the roux to the chicken broth, you add RoTel

Here's the tortilla strips, I just use a pizza cutter to cut the strips

The grilled chicken

The finished soup with a scoop of fresh guacamole. Yummmm...

Full Moon Cafe Tortilla Soup

8 cups chicken broth or stock

1/2 teaspoon pepper

1/2 cup butter

1/2 cup flour

1 cup grated Monterey Jack-Colby cheese

1 pint half and half

2 teaspoons diced jalapeno chilies (optional)

1 10-oz can RoTel tomatoes & chilies

1 cup cooked, diced chicken breast (I like grilled with fajita seasoning)

Combine chicken broth and pepper in a soup pot and bring to a boil. Make a roux in another pan with the butter and flour - melt butter and stir in flour. Cook over low heat, stirring constantly until smooth. Stir into chicken stock. Add cheese to stock and stir until melted. Add remaining ingredients to stock and heat. Garnish with thin strips of flour tortillas baked in a 350 degree oven for about 12 minutes until crispy. Then add a scoop of guacamole and enjoy!

1st Birthday Party

Baby M's first birthday was in late December but we didn't have her party until January 16th. We decided on a Minnie & Mickey party. Here's a few pics that are okay for me to post, sorry no pics of her precious face, it's against the rules!

The kids playing, Baby S, Baby M and Mariah

She got a new chair, to help her in her climbing skills!

And Bailey got her a castle (she is a little princess after all!)

Apron

So Bailey wanted to make an apron for her gift at her friends Christmas party exchange. So she cut all the pieces out, started sewing, then asked me for help. It was fun to get my creative juices flowing again, maybe I'll try to do that more in 2010! We thought it turned out cute and Bailey says it was a big hit at the party.