Saturday, May 2, 2009

Cool Ideas

It just so happens that the people that moved out of the apartment we used to live in just before we moved here live just a few doors down from us. How random is that?! It was cool talking to the mom at the park, because we lived under the missionaries and got to know some of them pretty well. Anyway...she gave me this cool idea. During the sacrament she has a book that she gives to her 18 month old son with pictures of Christ that she cut out from the Ensign. It says on the front page, "During the Sacrament, I think of the Savior" in big handwriting. I thought that was so cool, because Shayden understands so much, and they can start to understand what the Sacrament is all about so little. I just wanted to pass the idea along. I made myself one last week and it worked well to keep her busy during that special time, and helped her remember what it's all about.

This is for you, mom. These are some yummy recipes I've gotten a hold of the past while...

Breakfast Bars (from Lisa Sheffer)

2 cups whole wheat flour
1 cup brown sugar
1 cup oatmeal
1 cup butter
1/2 cup ground flax
mix well and push onto bottom of 9x13 in. pan

4 eggs
2 cups chopped walnuts
1 cup chocolate chips
1 cup coconut
mix well and pour over crust

Bake 30-35 min. at 350 degrees.
These taste kind of like homemade granola bars. You can mix things around and do butterscotch chips, or if you like raisins, yada yada. Paul doesn't like nuts, so sometimes I leave those out.

Also here is a yummy Mexican Pasta Salad. I made this for Cody and Lisa when we first moved into our house. It's pretty yummy.

20 oz macaroni or shell pasta
2 cups mayo
2 cups buttermilk
1 packet Hidden Valley Ranch Fiesta Ranch Dip mix
Kidney Beans
Garbonzo Beans
Corn
Green Pepper
Red Onion
Olives

Serve with tortilla chips, avacado, tomatoes and grated cheese.

I add black, or red beans or whatever beans I have on hand. To get rid of too much of an onion taste, I'd saute the onion and green pepper in a little bit of oil before I add it to the salad. You can eat it warm or cold...but it's meant to be cold. Just add enough of each of the ingredients to serve your taste. Yum! Also this makes a ton, so for a family of 5 I'd definitely half it.

2 comments:

Lisa said...

MMMmmm yummy breakfast bars. They freeze so well, too, and make a perfect on-the-go breakfast. My mom and I have also worked on substituting the butter in the crust. You can use peanut butter or even pureed white beans if you want to reduce the amount of fat.

One more little note--the original recipe called for Wheat Germ, not flax. If you don't have flax, that's a good substitute.

Angeli said...

Thanks Raychel. I will try them out! Happy Mother's Day to you. You make a beautiful MOMmy