Dance, Basketball, & Chicken Enchiladas

What a whirlwind of a weekend!  We were lucky to find a sitter for Friday night - a rare treat for the kids :) - so Scott and I could go to our local theater and see "American Sniper". What an amazing movie!  My date wasn't too shabby, either! ;)

Back in the day I was on the Danceline in high school.  Saturday was the annual Danceline Extravaganza where the line performs all of their dances from the year as well as holding a dance clinic to teach girls and boys in Pre-K through 8th grade a routine.  This year was bittersweet for me as both of the girls were old enough to participate.  Keeley and Kate did awesome and made this former Saintette proud!

Sunday was another basketball filled day with a tourney in New Ulm for Jake and his 5th grade team.  They had 3 nail biting games and came home with another 1st place win!  It's so fun to watch them grow together as a team and see their "plays" really starting to work!

I also had a Mom-win this weekend!  Thursday I made a big pan of Chicken Enchiladas with White Sauce so Scott and I would have something good to heat and eat during our busy weekend.  They didn't last as long as anticipated because after suggesting several times that the kids "Just try a bite," ALL 3 decided they liked them!  The original recipe was posted by Zweber Farms but of course I never leave a recipe alone (insert Scott shaking his head), so I'm sharing how we like to eat them.

CHICKEN ENCHILADAS WITH WHITE SAUCE

1 - 1 1/2 pounds cooked and shredded chicken (I also make them using 2 - 12.5 oz. cans of chicken)

1/2 of a medium onion, chopped

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

2 teaspoons taco or fajita seasoning

8-10 flour tortillas (I have used corn, too - they are excellent, but tend to fall apart)

4 cups shredded cheese - we like 1/2 Pepper Jack and 1/2 Colby Jack

1/4 cup butter

1/4 cup flour

2 cups chicken stock (if using canned chicken, pour the juice into a measuring cup and fill with water to get 2 cups)

1 cup sour cream (I like Daisy brand best)

1 can of green chilies (optional)

Lettuce (optional)

Cilantro (optional)

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees.  Mix the chicken, onion, black pepper, and seasoning in a bowl. 

 Lay out your tortillas on the table and place a handful of chicken in the middle of each one.  Take some of each kind of your cheese and sprinkle it over the chicken.

Grease a 9 x 13 pan.  Roll up the tortillas and place them seam side down in the pan.

Melt the butter in a sauce pan over medium heat.  Whisk in the flour and cook until it bubbles (make a roux).  Slowly add the chicken stock to the pan while whisking.  Bring this mixture to a boil continuing to whisk occasionally so it doesn't burn to the bottom of the pan.  When it has slightly thickened, remove from heat and stir in the sour cream.  Also add the green chilies if you want a little extra heat in your sauce.

Pour the sauce over the pan of enchiladas.

Sprinkle the remaining cheese over the sauce.

Bake for 20 minutes.

We like to eat ours on top of a bed of shredded lettuce and topped with cilantro and a side of re-fried beans with Mexican cheese .

YUM!!!

Family Healing

I firmly believe there is nothing better for the heart, body, mind, soul... than love, laughter, and family time.  For those of you who don't know my family's history for the last six months, you can catch up here:  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/clintbrown.  In a nutshell, I'm kid #5 of 6 - all within 10 years.  We all live or work in the same community.  Kid #2, Clint, was hit by a car while biking before work and had a 1% chance of surviving given his skull was separated from his spine.  Clint returned home yesterday after his 4th neck surgery since his accident July 31st, 2014.  It has been a long road and will continue to be, but there is something about having your "Doubting Thomas" thoughts put to rest - at least temporarily.  Tonight Scott, the kids and I had an impromptu EXCELLENT night with Clint, Marj, & Vinnie and kid #3, Josh, Franny, Payton, & Xander.  There is something reassuring about even just 1/2 of us six sitting in a kitchen, having a couple drinks, enjoying Josh's fresh focaccia bread with Clint's favorite dipping oils that is soothing to the soul.  A little medical talk, a lot of stories, and, of course, talk of rock and roll.  Can't think of a better way to end a Wednesday night.  Not to mention that our kiddos all needed to see that Clint was back home and as OK as they've seen him for a half a year - even impressed to see him walk a bit without his crutch!  We'll have some SUPER tired kids in the morning, but you don't get these moments back.  Hugs and "I love yous" all around!  THANKFUL!!!

Spaghetti Tacos!!!

Yesterday was one of those days that by 5 o'clock you are saying to yourself, "Seriously - It's only Tuesday?!?!"  I thought we could use a fun pick me up for supper - a change of pace from the usual winter soups and hot dishes.  A few years ago Keeley was in LOVE with a show on Nickelodeon called iCarly.  They were ALWAYS making spaghetti tacos and raving about them.  We thought it sounded interesting and pasta and tacos are two of our favorite foods so I figured we should probably give it a shot.  The result - DELICIOUS!  I haven't made them in a long time, so we had them last night.  Our 4 year old, Kate, is the pickiest eater of the three and I had a hard time selling her on the idea but after one bite she was hooked!  Best part is they are super simple to make!

If you want to give them a shot, here's how we make them!

SPAGHETTI TACOS

Take a hard shell taco, add some cooked spaghetti and top with spaghetti sauce (of course we prefer ours with browned ground beef mixed in it!)  Then comes the fun part - add your choice of taco condiments!  My kids like the basics - sour cream, shredded cheese, lettuce, and tomato.  I, of course, can never leave well enough alone and add onions, jalapenos, and cilantro - because the taste has grown on me AND it makes the taco look prettier!

Keeley in the Kitchen

Supper is the most important meal of the day at our house.  Dad is already at work by the time the rest of us have breakfast, the kids are in school over lunch, so the only opportunity we have to all sit down together is supper - even if that's not until 7 or 8 at night when Dad gets back home.  Yes, it is eaten at an actual table, in a kitchen, with no TV on...  Monday at supper Keeley suggested we should have meatloaf - I told her "Excellent idea!  You can make that later this week."  95% of the time I use my Grandma Hellickson's meatloaf recipe (which is the most amazing meatloaf I've ever eaten) and the best way to mix it up is with your bare hands.  Keeley is the only one of our three kids brave enough to take on this 'gross' cooking challenge!

While I was getting the ingredients ready for Keeley to mix I got to thinking about all the meat in our freezer.  We are EXTREMELY fortunate to have an entire extra freezer just to store our beef and pork.  As I am at the grocery store almost every day (which Scott totally appreciates!), I continue to be thankful for our abundance of meat - as it is more costly to "buy as you need".  We have the good fortune to live in a community that raises A LOT of hogs and cattle.  I have the added benefit of knowing the local farmers raising the livestock my family consumes.  Also the opportunity to purchase a whole, half, or quarter cow or pig, and have it processed at a local locker.  We get to choose the cuts we'd like (chops, steaks, bacon, roasts, etc.), but very often we choose ground for a large portion as it is more versatile. ;)

Enough about the meat!  On to the recipe!  Enjoy!

The ingredients

Working on her egg cracking skills!

Ready to mix

Eww!!!! ;)

Almost ready for the oven...

Thanks for a healthy, delicious supper, Keel!
Grandma would be proud!

Grandma's Meatloaf

1 pound ground beef
1 cup cracker crumbs (we like saltines but often change it up with Wheat Thins, Ritz, Club, etc.)
1 cup milk/water
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/2 cup chopped onion
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 eggs
2 tablespoons ketchup
2 tablespoons water

Mix ground beef, crackers, milk, lemon juice, onion, salt, pepper, and eggs together and pat into a greased 8 x 8 inch baking dish.  Mix ketchup and water together and spread over top.  Bake 1 hour at 350 degrees.

* Note:  We doubled the recipe for a 9 x 13 pan.

Hello from Southern Minnesota!!!

Hi!  I'm Sam Runge - a southern Minnesota wife and stay at home mom of 3 great kids - Jacob 10, Keeley 8, and Katelyn 4 1/2.  My husband, Scott, and I keep busy with the many hats we wear through work, our community, and kids, but we wouldn't change our small town life for anything (ok, it's January - being honest, maybe a few less 40 below windchill days and blizzards - but other than that we are pretty stinking happy!)  Scott's family owns a trucking company which he works for wearing hats of co-dispatcher, mechanic, and our local coop's transportation manager.  He also helps out when he can on the family farm north of town.  Even though I am at home, I work reviewing driver paperwork, recently became our county Farm Bureau Office Assistant, am President of the ECFE (Early Childhood Family Education) Advisory Board, and President of our elementary public school parent's group.  We also serve as Directors for our County Farm Bureau and are the Young Farmer's and Ranchers Chairmen.  We are passionate about our love, life, and family.  It is not always easy, but with faith we make it through - we know how important it is to raise our children respecting and loving the small town rural life!