Blast from the past

     Since my brother moved to town, we have been nostalgic over movies we used to watch as kids, or sometimes even movies we watched when we lived together in college. It’s been so fun finding these movies and forcing Barry to watch them with us! Last night, we watched “Surf Ninjas”. (Anyone remember that one?) Well it was hilarious! And it’s definitely something I recommend to everyone, (Not surf Ninjas, but watching movies from your past). Nothing is more therapeutic then going back to childhood for an hour and a half!



   
     New topic: I have naturally bad teeth, so I have had to visit the dentist, EVERY Wednesday this month for some work. While there, I got to talking about little baby girls with one of his hygienists, and she mentioned that she loves hair bows. So, I mentioned that I make them. She told me to bring some in and although I’m sure she was just saying that I decided to actually bring some in. So I brought in a few, and by the end of my visit the box had been passed throughout the entire office! And they all begged me to come back with more tomorrow, because tomorrow is pay day! So I came home and made a bunch of bows, and tomorrow we’ll see what happens! I guess it pays to go to the dentist… hahaha! But it’s nice to do hair bows again. Jaye refuses to wear them right now so I stopped making them. Needless to say, I have reeeeally needed a hobby! I’m working on writing a musical, but that’s just a- whenever I get a chance to sit down and fiddle with the piano, and I’m also helping to decorate my brother’s upcoming wedding, but I’m searching for a HOBBY. Anyone? Ideas? (Have I asked for ideas before?)


Anyway, here is the recipe I made tonight. We thought it was scrumdidilyumptious so I thought I would pass it on. I LOVE easy meals so here it is:


FIESTA BEEF ENCHILADAS:


1 lb. ground beef
½ c. sliced green onions
2 tsp. minced garlic (or garlic powder)
1 c. cooked white or brown rice
1-1/2 c. chopped tomato, divided
¾ c. frozen corn
1 c. shredded cheese (Cheddar or Mexican Blend)
½ c. salsa or picante sauce
Corn tortillas
1 can (10 oz) mild or hot enchilada sauce
1 c. shredded romaine lettuce


1. Preheat oven to 375. Spray 13x9 dish with cooking spray. (I covered mine with tin foil and then sprayed, EASY CLEANUP)


2. Cook ground beef in nonstick pan until no longer pink; drain. Add green onions and garlic; cook and stir 2 minutes.


3. Add rice, 1 c. tomato, corn, ½ c. cheese and salsa to meat; mix well. Spoon mixture down center of tortillas; roll up. Place enchiladas seam side down in prepared dish. Pour enchilada sauce evenly over the top.


4. Cover with foil; bake 20 minutes or until hot. Sprinkle with remaining cheese, and bake until cheese melts. Top with lettuce and remaining tomato.


(I filled enough tortillas to feed us, then put the rest of the mixture in a freezer bag for a rainy day!)

I'm back!

A friend of mine told me I needed to blog about all the fun and/or crazy things we do as a family. I’m really grateful for her little shove… it’s been way too long since I have blogged. I have no excuses this time, I guess I just fell off the bandwagon.



But I have had a wonderful summer! My brother’s girlfriend/ fiancé decided to get baptized! That has been the most exciting news of the summer! My parents rented a twelve passenger van and carted us all down to San Antonio for the big day! It was a lot of fun, and I can’t wait for her to join our family in October!


I am taking a math class at the college! All of the assignments are done online and I misread the due dates, so I spent an entire day working on my homework (I thought the due date was during our trip to San Antonio) but then I figured out the REAL due date. So I accidentally finished the 5 week class three weeks early! Only Krystle Ricks would manage a blunder like that! But at least I passed!


I’m trying to get all my credits done by the spring, because (DRUM ROLL!) I will be able to transfer it all up to Western Wyoming Community College and finish my degree from there. YAY! And then my goal is to finish a bachelor’s BEFORE our ten year high school reunion. So I can have bragging rights! 


Anyway, so that’s where life has placed me right now. I really like life.


So Ricks family adventures:


For FHE on Monday, we took the kiddos to see “Toy Story 3” at the drive-in theatre. About 20 minutes into the movie, our car battery died! So we all creeped up to the car next to us and asked if we could sit next to their car and listen to the movie! Luckily, they were really nice, so we laid a tiny fleece blanket on the ground and squished together. It didn’t go as planned, but was a lot of fun!


And for FHE on Tuesday night, we called a lady in town who has a swimming pool and asked if we could “borrow” it. I made a Ham and Cheese braid to take with us, and we had a picnic by the pool and swam for an hour. It was soooooooo fun! They had a big blue fish like Dory painted on the bottom, and for a while Grayson was scared of it. At one point, he floated over it, and said, “The fish is going to bite my bum-bum!” I don’t know where he gets this stuff! Haha!


So that’s it for now! I mentioned on facebook about making pretzels for FHE, so here is the recipe:

PRETZELS:
1 tablespoon yeast
1-1/2 c. water
1tablespoon sugar
1 tsp. salt
4 c. flour
1 egg, beaten
Coarse (Kosher) Salt


(the batter was a little thick so we added a little more water to make the dough more shapeable)

Ham and Cheese Braid (One of the Ricks FAVORITE meals!)
1 loaf Rhodes bread dough
1 stick butter
1 envelope Hidden Valley Ranch mix (not generic)
3/4 thinly sliced ham
1-1/2 c. shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. poppy seeds


(the Rhodes bread is in the freezer section.) thaw loaf on a floured surface. Roll dough out into rectangle shape so it's approximately 1/4 to 1/2 inch thick. Melt butter; combine Ranch mix. Spread about 5 tblsp. of mixture on rectangle. Layer ham and cheese down the center of rectangle. Use a pizza cutter to cut strips along each side of dough (even numbers on each side). Starting at bottom, take each piece, cross and twist. Continue criss-crossing until your dough is braided. Carefullly place on greased cookie sheet. Brush remaining butter/ranch mix over top. Sprinkle with poppy seeds. Bake at 350 for 25-30 minutes.


(This is a good freezer meal too! Instead of baking, wrap loaf in plastic wrap and then foil. )


(You can also use marinara and pepperoni to make a pizza braid! And if you combine two loaves to feed more people, use a BIG cookie sheet. It grows pretty big!)