gamefly.com

Are you like us and have kids that play video games a couple of times, get "tired" of the game then resell it back to the video store? If so, gamefly.com is for you! It's like netflix for video games. Your gamer can make a list of his/her favorites and then they're sent to your house one to two at a time. Genius. It's super cool, check it out!

PS

I forgot to include this chicken recipe- it goes with the previous entry.

Lemon Garlic Chicken

Juice of 1 lemon, approximately 3 tablespoons
3 tablespoons olive oil
1 teaspoon minced garlic, about 2 medium cloves
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 pound chicken breasts (I usually cut really thick chicken breasts down to thin them out and make the pieces a little smaller so they absorb the marinade better)

Combine all marinade ingredients. Place chicken in a Ziploc bag and pour marinade over chicken. Seal bag and place in fridge overnight. Grill (or cook in frying pan). Serve with sides of your choice or cut into bite sized pieces and add to desired recipe Note: If you cut your chicken into smaller, bite-sized pieces and then marinate it, you can get away with only letting it marinate for 5 or 6 hours instead of overnight.

This recipe is like eating at a resturant!

Seriously-I could have eaten the sauce with a soup spoon. The noodles never totally absorbed in the chicken broth. So, I drained the noodles, saved the both and ladle 2-3 scoops back in with the heavy cream.

Lemon Cream Pasta with Chicken
Serves 4-6

3 cups shredded or cubed Lemon Garlic Chicken
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
4 (14.5 ounce) cans chicken broth
1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
1 (16 ounce) package tube pasta (I used rigatoni)
2 cups heavy cream
2 teaspoons grated lemon zest
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese, shredded

DIRECTIONS
In a large saucepan, season the chicken broth with the garlic powder and pepper. Bring to a boil and add lemon juice and pasta. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid is absorbed, about 25 minutes.

Stir chicken into cooked pasta, along with the cream, Parmesan cheese and lemon zest. Cook, stirring, over low heat for 5 minutes. Remove from heat and let stand 5 minutes. Stir thoroughly before serving.




PS Full disclosure- I did not take this picture- it's from the blog I got this recipe from.

He gets the "I am Special Plate!"

Here's 2 recipes you HAVE to try! I made them tonight. Sneezy was over and loved both. He ate like an adult. Impressive!


Proof he put zucchini, walnuts and Parmesan cheese in his mouth! Baby Bear is be hind him mad that I'm not impressed that he ate CHICKEN!


He scrapped his plate!!

Zucchini & Yellow Squash

1 tbs butter
1 zucchini, cut into slices
1 yellow squash, cut into slices
1 clove garlic
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup toasted walnuts
1/2 cup chicken broth

Melt butter, add next 3 ingredients. Cook until done. approx 15-20 minutes. Put in serving dish and top with cheese and walnuts.


Honey Chili Chicken

1 lb boneless, skinless chicken breasts or strips
1/8 cup shallots, chopped
1/3 cup honey, slightly warmed
1/8 cup sherry vinegar
1 /2 tsp. chili powder
1/8 tsp. ground cumin
3/4 cup chicken broth
1 tsp. cilantro chopped

Coat a saute pan with cooking spray and place on medium-high heat. Add shallots and saute until tender. Add honey and vinegar, spices, and broth to the pan. Bring to a boil and reduce to half. Add cilantro and chicken breasts to the pan. Bake at 350 for 20 minutes. Yes, I put the whole pan in the oven.

Wordless Wednesday

He's a "Virtual Social Butterfly"

This is the new look of "play dates". Gone are the days when you would go to each others houses and play. At first glance you might think, "Awe, he's all alone." Think again. Not only is he NOT alone, he's with all his friends.


See that "McDonald's looking" headset he's wearing? That is his life line to friends playing the same games at their houses. Thanks to XBOX Live, kids can sit in the comfort of their own home, he does look comfy, and play each other thru the air waves.

Stimulus Package

Thanks to Mother Goose and Da'Ole Bear our stimulus package came in the mail yesterday. It's a Keurig single brewing system. It's really cool, every cup of coffee/tea or coco is "the first cup". We're having fun playing baresta! Stop by for a fresh Cup O'Joe.

House of Box

If there's an empty box around, you can be sure the creative juices at our house are busy at work. The bears come by it honestly, they had twin babysitters they called "the tent makers" and a neighbor/friend that is CRAZY about boxes.


This week baby bear made a house in the living room out of cardboard.

As I type, it is still there.

He's sooo proud of himself.


How long do we let him keep his house up?

In the 'hood

Oh yeah, and he baked a cake.

Here's a freebie-I have no idea what he's doing! Do you?

Conversation with a teenager

I don't know what it is about being in the car, but it gets my kids talking. We've had some of the best conversations ever.....in the car. I guess it's like home with out the distractions. Yesterday was no exception. The subject of college came up. Teen Bear loves California and would move there tomorrow. So, college can't come soon enough. I say... Hey, maybe we should all move there. I was serious. This was his response....

Why would I leave if you're just going to follow me?

Can you hear /feel my GASP!!!

Hello, when did you grow up??

Buy 2 get 3 Free- Valentines Edition

Our grocery store had cake mixes, frosting AND cookie mixes buy 2 get 3 FREE!!!

I found a new recipe for cake mixes- instead of the water use 1 cup buttermilk add 4 eggs and 1/3 cup oil. Cook as directed. I don't know if it tasted any different but, it was good.

Baby Bear LOVES to cook and he's good at it too! So, this worked out great for him. He will be in business for awhile.


Can you see Lily at his feet?

Ta-Da!

switchflops.com

Check out this site- they have THE cutest interchangable flip flops. So cute! Bye, bye CROCS!

Kid Humor

Home

Papa Bear is coming home tomorrow. He's been with his parents this week while his Mom had hip surgery. We're glad she is better and can't wait to see him!

When did our kids grow up?

These sweet friends took us out for our birthdays at our favorite mexican resturant. The kids look so big!!

Blog Surfing

I think there's a myth that blogging takes alot of computer time.
Snow and I don't think so. We both get all our news/info online. Daily we make the rounds to our favorite websites and blogs. It takes me no more that 10-15 minutes to create a blog entry, if that. No longer than the average person reading the newspaper. But, I've been called a skimmer, so maybe that's not true.

Today on my "daily rounds" I came across this blog. I think it's going to be one of my new favorites. All the recipes look really yummy! See that didn't take long. How long does it take you to blog?

Happy Surfing!

PS click of the underlined words. It takes you to the sites I'm talking about.

#44

Happy Birthday Papa Bear!!

Daddy Toast

If he built it......

Would you come?




Our VERY messy garage provides hours of "inspiration" to our kids. They love to use their imaginations and build "stuff". I'll have to scan some examples!

PS- This video was taken 1/28/09 at 4:00pm- It's warm in the deep south!

I want my kitchen to look like this.....

Weekend Recap

So, both bears were sick! The good thing about having teens is that they hibernate, ALOT. Especially when they're sick. Luckily, they require little more than food, TV and video games.

Yesterday we were able to reciprocate the gracious hospitality shown to us this summer in Henderson. Remember the nice couple that fed us lunch? Ms. J. and I fed them and the Lon Morris choir after they performed at our church. Here are some pictures.




chocolate for the ride home

flowers for the tables

PS I don't' know why the pictures are different sizes!

Sweet Child O' Mine

was home sick today

Thanks Grandma C. - You're the bomb.com

Grandma C. makes the most wickedly awesome crocheted blankets. In our family, we fight each other for them. Especially Papa Bear, his was made "just right" for him. Teen Bear's came in the mail last week. To say he likes his is an understatement. He must have been dreaming about it at the orthodontist office earlier this week because his new bands match!


Oh yeah, and Da' Pups like'em too. Now we're fighting the animals for blankie time???? What's wrong with this picture!?

Home Fun

The new politically correct term for homework- it even looks different! Can you tell what subject this is? It's a game about the history of WWII.

Cousin Camp

You need ammo where we're goin'

The Cousins are Coming, The Cousins are Coming,

The Cousins are Coming...all hands on deck to clean! You can see baby bear's hand in motion with excitement, slapping is head with anticipation of all the day will hold. This is about as much help as I will get from him! He's a 13 year old in training, it's hard work.



Teen McGyver holding up the computer chords so I can clean the pet stains (just keepin' it real) with my new handy dandy oreck orbiter- I'm in LOVE with it!



This picture does not do the new love of my life justice- it is WAY more awesome in person!