Last weekend we chased Brian around Murfreesboro, Tennesse for a road race on Saturday.  It was a great race for him, and he did REALLY well.  Without the long story – which I’m sure he’d love to post for those interested in the details, he got 2nd in the Pro/1/2 category.  He got beat by a pro, and won an extra bonus for being the top category 2 rider in the race.  Yea, Brian! 

We drove up Friday and spent the night with Brian’s cousin and his family.  Richard and Christy have 2 kids, Luke (2) and Lily (almost 5).  Analise was really excited when we told her we were going to visit them.  She’s only met them a couple times, but she remembered all the Little People they had, and she talked about going to Luke and Lily’s house non-stop until we got there.  She really enjoyed having a "big sister" to play with, and she and Lily played really well together.  Luke got a little left out of the mix, unfortunately.  I got some cute pictures that I’ll have to post later today, if I can get to it. 

Analise woke up kind of sick on Saturday, with a terrible sounding cough.  She was a trooper for the 3 hour bike race, plus the 1 hour-each way drive.  Thank goodness we had Brian’s parent’s car with a DVD player to keep her entertained!  It was really cold too – 29 degrees at the start of the race, and it wasn’t even 40 degrees by the time it ended.  We went back to Richard and Christy’s house after the race while Brian raced in a time trial (also a fun story… I’ll let him share the details). 

We got back on the road at about 6:30 Saturday evening, but Analise was getting sicker.  Both kids crashed and slept all the way home, but Analise was feverish and coughing the whole way.  Brian took Josiah to church on Sunday, while I took her to the doctor’s office on Sunday, and she’s got a sinus infection.  Even after 3 doses of antibiotics, she’s still coughing terribly and not seeming any better this morning.  Last night was particularly bad as she coughed all night.  To top it all off, Josiah spiked a fever during the night, so now I’ve got 2 sick kiddos.  Some way to spend Brian’s Spring break!  And we had a fun trip to the zoo planned for today.  Hopefully, we’ll feel better enough to go tomorrow. 

We’ll check in later!  

Beautiful sunset sky from a hill in our neighborhood.

Josiah and Kristine smiling at each other on the couch.

Josiah is tired after a messy meal.

Kristine found Josiah playing under the piano the other day.

Josiah’s latest favorite food has been blueberries … yummy, but messy!

Here’s one from the training race on Sunday. I like my teammate’s comment so I’ve included it here:
From: Jacob  … I love this picture. Brian looks like Johan Bruyneel. Or a Jedi Master:
"Young DP, you ahve grown strong in the ways of the Jedi!"

Kristine was busy taking care of Josiah, handing me water bottles during the race, and cheering
really loudly … so we didn’t get any pictures from the Knoxville race of the race itself, but we got
a few good ones of Josiah. Here Josiah entertained himself for almost an hour in the driver’s seat.

Here’s Josiah showing the love for one of our primary sponsors.

We had a rough night in the hotel with Josiah being quite unwilling to go to sleep. Perhaps its because
we let him crawl around explore the room for a while before we tried to put him down. Here he is
demonstrating that he is child prodigy in the area of plumbing. All looks good down here, mom!

Here he is AFTER we put him down to sleep.

Not much new here. I’m just trying to get caught up on some things around the house. We’ve had a quiet week, which is lovely after the busy weekend. No home church tonight, and though we miss meeting together with our friends, it was a relaxing evening at home.

Ok, I had some more memories to capture about Analise, but they’ll have to wait, as I’ve just realize it’s 11:30. Gotta sleep!

Another *super easy* crockpot recipe.  There aren’t even any measurements for this one!  You can make this with turkey tenderloins or boneless pork chops as well. 

Swiss Chicken with Stuffing

• boneless skinless chicken breasts
• swiss cheese
• can of cream of something soup (mushroom, celery, chicken…)
• water
• box of Stove-Top stuffing

Spray the inside of the crockpot with non-stick spray.  Place chicken breasts on the bottom.  Top with swiss cheese.  In a separate bowl, mix soup and stuffing together.  Add one can of water (or chicken broth).  Place in crockpot on top of chicken and cheese.  You can also top this with parmesean cheese before cooking.  Cook on high for 3 to 3 1/2 hours.

I haven’t tried this yet, but I just found the recipe, and thought I’d include it. Couldn’t be much easier, and it sounds great!

Italian Chicken and Parmesean Potatoes

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 cup parmesean cheese
• 1 cup italian salad dressing
• 4 medium baking potatoes

Wash, peel and cube potatoes. Place chicken breasts in bottom of crockpot. Drizzle with 1/3 of salad dressing and sprinkle with some of the parmesean cheese. Pile potatoes on top of chicken. Pour the rest of the salad dressing on top of the potatoes and top with the remainder of the parmesean cheese. Cook on low for 8 hours.

Sounds unbelievable, but you won’t believe how amazing it tastes, especially topped with some vanilla ice cream!

Crockpot Chocolate Cake

• 1 package chocolate cake mix
• 1 cup sour cream (don’t use fat-free)
• 1 package instant chocolate pudding
• 1 cup chocolate chips
• 3/4 cup oil
• 4 eggs
• 1 cup water

Spray crockpot with non-stick spray.  In a medium bowl, mix by hand all of the ingredients.  Pour into crockpot.  Cook on low 6-8 hours or high 3-4 hours.  Serve hot with whipped cream or ice cream.

The perfect use for fresh blackberries, but any berries – fresh or frozen – can be used. 

Sweet Berry Muffins

• 2 c. flour
• 1 t baking powder
• 1/2 t baking soda
• 1/4 t salt
• 1 cup sour cream
• 1/2 c butter, softened
• 1 1/4 c sugar
• 2 eggs
• 1 t vanilla
• 1 cup fresh or frozen/thawed and drained

Mix flour, baking powder, baking soda and salt together in a separate bowl.  Cream butter, adding sugar.  Add eggs, sour cream and vanilla.  Stir in dry ingredients.  Fold in berries.  Pour into greased muffin cups (use 1/4 cup measuring cup) – don’t fill more than 2/3 full.  Top with a mixture of 2 T sugar, 1/4 t cinnamon and 1/4 t nutmeg.  Bake at 400 degrees for 18-20 minutes.

Ok, this is a yummy dish if you crave meatballs. You can use pre-packaged or frozen meatballs, or the recipe for homemade meatballs is below, too.

Sweet and Sour Meatballs

• 6 T brown sugar
• 4 T corn starch
• 1 t salt
• 2 T soy sauce
• 1 cup catsup
• 2-8oz cans crushed pineapple
• 1/2 c vinegar

Combine sugar, cornstarch and salt. Add to rest of ingredients. Cook until thickened, about 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Pour over cooked meatballs. Cook in 325degree oven for 45 min to 1 hour. It can also be cooked in the slow cooker on low for 3-4 hours.

Meatballs

• 1 lb. ground meat (can be any combination of pork, ground turkey or ground beef)
• 1/2 c. milk
• 1 small onion, grated
• 3 slices of bread, crumbled
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp pepper
• dash of nutmeg

Mix all ingredients together. Form into balls. Bake at 350degrees for 10 minutes.

You’re probably wondering what’s with the deluge of recipes today, but my church back in Shell Lake is putting together a cookbook to honor a dear member.  (For those who attended our wedding, it’s for Ray Grahn who cooked meals at church for our out-of-town guests.  What a sweet guy he is!)  I thought I’d get a couple of my very favorites typed up to include.  Enjoy!

This is absolutely the best I’ve tasted.  We love to order this as an appetizer at restaurants, but honestly, this recipe is better than any we’ve had.  It’s a little bit of work to roast the garlic, but definitely worth it for the subtle flavor. (found on Allrecipes.com)

 Hot Spinach Artichoke Dip

    * 4 cloves garlic
    * 1 (10 ounce) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and drained
    * 1 (14 ounce) can artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
    * 1 (10 ounce) container Alfredo-style pasta sauce
    * 1 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
    * 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
    * 1/2 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened

   1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F .
   2. Remove garlic from skins, place garlic in a small baking dish, and drizzle with olive oil Bake in the preheated oven 20 to 30 minutes, until soft.  Mash with a fork. 
   3. In mixing bowl, combine roasted garlic, spinach, artichoke hearts, Alfredo-style pasta sauce, mozzarella cheese, Parmesan cheese and cream cheese.
   4.  Place in a square baking dish, and bake in the preheated oven 30 minutes, or until cheeses are melted and bubbly. Serve warm with tortilla chips or sliced baguettes or french bread.