the one about my dinner group

I recently joined a dinner swap group. I must say, it has been one of the best things in the world for my family. It is a pretty simple concept.... I cook dinner one night a week for 3 other families. I get food delivered to my house 3 other nights. It is amazing! This is actually the second time I have been involved in a dinner group and I have loved it both times.

I love to cook and I feel like I am a pretty good at it. My problem is that I have a busy family and simply don't have time to fix an elaborate sit-down dinner each night. With my dinner group, I don't have all of the hassle of cooking and cleaning up every night, but I get the benefits of a delicious meal.

The first time I was involved in a group, we all pitched in and got nice dishes to pass around. For 4 families, we bought 6 sets of dishes. (One set of dishes included 1- 13x9 casserole dish, 1- 8x8 dish, and 2- glad ware rectangular containers) When we started, the Monday night cook had 3 sets of dishes. Tuesday night cook started with 2 sets and the Wednesday night cook started with one. Thursday night cook had zero to start. On Monday, the cook delivered 1 full set to each family (even if all dishes were not used) and used her own dishes to cook for her family. On Tuesday, with the set of dishes delivered the night before, the cook has 3 sets of dishes to deliver her food. At this point, the Wednesday cook has received another set, and so has the Thursday cook. By the time it is your turn to cook, you should have 3 complete sets of dishes to pass around. Does that make sense?

My current group does the dishes thing a little differently. We just use the disposable dishes from the dollar store. Whenever you cook, you buy whatever dishes you need. Personally, I like having the real dishes better than the cheap throw away dishes.It cost a little more up front, but was worth it in the end.

I found this GREAT website that will answer all of your questions about starting a dinner swap group. They explain things FAR better than I do!!

I have to say, my favorite thing about being involved in a dinner swap group is the time it saves during the week for me to be with my family. We sit down together and eat dinner as a family at the table nearly every night! I usually set the table, which I didn't always do before. I am not as stressed about "slaving" in the kitchen all night every night, so we actually ENJOY our time together in the evenings. I also love the fact that I work extra hard to prepare a nice meal on my night because I know I am feeding more people. Sometimes we get too comfortable and forget to take care of the ones that mean the most to us, so this type of cooking reminds me to do that. Plus, I know that every other night, the cook is doing the same thing for her family.

I am not even kidding... this has been a WONDERFUL thing for my family!!!

This is a sample menu and recipes from each one of us in my group. "A week in the life of Mandy, Cara, RayDean and Aubrey." :)


Turkey Pot Pie (On Monday, from Me)
Ingredients
1 (15-ounce) package pie crusts
1/4 cup butter
1/3 cup chopped onion
1/3 cup flour
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
1 1/2 cups chicken broth
1/2 cup milk
3 cups cooked, cubed JENNIE-O TURKEY STORE® Turkey Roast
2 cups mixed vegetables

Directions
Heat oven to 425°F. Place pie crust in 9-inch pie pan. In medium saucepan, melt butter over medium heat. Add onion; cook until tender, about 2 minutes. Stir in flour, salt and pepper. Cook, stirring constantly, until mixture is bubbly. Remove from heat. Stir in broth and milk. Heat to boiling, stirring constantly. Boil and stir 1 minute. Stir in turkey and vegetables; remove from heat. Spoon turkey filling over crust. Place second crust over filling; flute edge. Cut slits in several places. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes or until crust is golden brown.


Chicken Zucchini Bake (on Tuesday night, from Cara)
Ingredients
2 (8 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent rolls
2 tablespoons honey Dijon mustard
4 cups sliced zucchini
1 large onion, sliced
1/4 cup butter
2 cups cooked, shredded chicken breast meat
3 eggs
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1 (8 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese

1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.Open the cans of crescent rolls, unroll the dough, and place the dough into the bottom of an 11x15-inch baking pan. Do not separate the rolls. Press the edges of the dough up the sides of the pan to make a shallow crust. Spread the honey mustard over the dough.
3.Place the zucchini and a few tablespoons of water into a saucepan over medium heat, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, and cook the zucchini until tender, about 15 minutes. Drain and set the zucchini aside. Place the onion in a large skillet with butter over medium heat, and cook and stir until the onion is translucent, 5 to 8 minutes. Stir the cooked zucchini and chicken into the onion, and mix well. Let the mixture heat for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Spread the zucchini mixture in an even layer over the crust.
4.In a bowl, beat the eggs with salt, black pepper, basil, oregano, and garlic powder; pour the egg mixture over the zucchini. Sprinkle the cheese over the top.
5.Bake in the preheated oven until the egg mixture is set and the cheese is browned and bubbling, about 20 minutes.


Lasagna (on Wednesday, from RayDean)
Ingredients
1 pound sweet Italian sausage
3/4 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup minced onion
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes
2 (6 ounce) cans tomato paste
2 (6.5 ounce) cans canned tomato sauce
1/2 cup water
2 tablespoons white sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons dried basil leaves
1/2 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 tablespoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
4 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
12 lasagna noodles
16 ounces ricotta cheese
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon salt
3/4 pound mozzarella cheese, sliced
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions
1.In a Dutch oven, cook sausage, ground beef, onion, and garlic over medium heat until well browned. Stir in crushed tomatoes, tomato paste, tomato sauce, and water. Season with sugar, basil, fennel seeds, Italian seasoning, 1 tablespoon salt, pepper, and 2 tablespoons parsley. Simmer, covered, for about 1 1/2 hours, stirring occasionally.
2.Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook lasagna noodles in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes. Drain noodles, and rinse with cold water. In a mixing bowl, combine ricotta cheese with egg, remaining parsley, and 1/2 teaspoon salt.
3.Preheat oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C).
4.To assemble, spread 1 1/2 cups of meat sauce in the bottom of a 9x13 inch baking dish. Arrange 6 noodles lengthwise over meat sauce. Spread with one half of the ricotta cheese mixture. Top with a third of mozzarella cheese slices. Spoon 1 1/2 cups meat sauce over mozzarella, and sprinkle with 1/4 cup Parmesan cheese. Repeat layers, and top with remaining mozzarella and Parmesan cheese. Cover with foil: to prevent sticking, either spray foil with cooking spray, or make sure the foil does not touch the cheese.
5.Bake in preheated oven for 25 minutes. Remove foil, and bake an additional 25 minutes. Cool for 15 minutes before serving.


Stuffed Pork Chops (On Thursday, from Aubrey)
Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
4 thick cut pork chops
3 cups day-old bread cubes
1/4 cup butter, melted
1/4 cup chicken broth
2 tablespoons chopped celery
2 tablespoons chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon poultry seasoning
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed cream of mushroom soup
1/3 cup water

Directions
1.Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
2.In a skillet, heat the oil and brown the pork chops. Place the pork chops in a baking dish.
3.In a bowl, toss the bread cubes, melted butter, chicken broth, celery, onion, and poultry seasoning together. Put heaping mounds of the bread crumb mixture onto the pork chops.
4.Combine the cream of mushroom soup with the water, and pour this mixture over the stuffing and pork chops.
5.Cover and bake for 30 minutes.
6.Uncover and continue baking for 10 minutes longer or until juices run clear. The meat thermometer should read 160 to 170 degrees.

the one about our new family pictures

I am so excited! My super great photographer friend Lindsay did it again and took some awesome family pictures of us! I am so pleased with the way they turned out. I am such a freak and I like to have everything perfect.... right down to socks and earrings. I worried and worried about every little detail and I am pretty sure I was about to drive Lindsay NUTS by the time we were done, but I am so happy with the end result. All of my stress and worry paid off! I will only share a few of my very favorite pix so my post isn't super long and over loaded with pictures. If you are interested though, here is a link so you can see them all. click here

the one about our Lagoon trip

A few years ago, Brett and I decided to take Quayd on a vacation. I know I have talked about this before, sorry, but we went to South Dakota. It was great and wonderful and we still talk about it today. After that vacation, we decided we would take a family vacation every year. No matter what. Brett's family always traveled when he was growing up and they still talk about all of the fun things they have done. My family didn't travel much, but when we did, it was awesome. Quayd is such a good traveler, and Brett and I both love to travel, so we have made it a priority. We went pretty extravagant last year when we cruised the Caribbean. This year, we knew we needed to tone it down a bit, but we still wanted a special vacation where we could make lots of memories. We decided to combine our love of camping and amusement parks and spend a week at Lagoon! They have a really nice campground right next to the park. It has full hook-ups so we had unlimited water and power. And with temperatures being in the high 90's the whole week, we loved the electricity hook-up! We ran the air conditioner at full blast all week! My sweet little nephew, Brayden, joined us as well as Gary and Tara's family, Grandma and Grandpa Galley, Braden and Mya, Gleneita and Talia and the Montgomery's. It was actually supposed to be a two day Galley family reunion, but not many people were able to make it. Gary and Tara and Brett and I decided to make our trips longer. Not everyone was there as long as us. Most of them came on Friday and Saturday. We went Tuesday to Sunday. Anyway, onto the fun stuff! We left Tuesday morning and we were SO excited to get there. Pulling the trailer made it a long drive. We were the first ones to arrive. We set up camp and went straight to the park. For most of the big rides, you have to be 46" tall to ride. With his shoes on, Quayd is about 45 1/2" tall. Seriously, he is that close. Some of the ride attendants would let him ride, some wouldn't. The first few days that we were there, they were much more relaxed about it, but on Friday and Saturday, it was tough. He was getting so upset. I know, I know. The rule is 46". But how do I explain to a 5 year old that sometimes he can ride and sometimes he can't. He did get to ride Wicked once though, and he was so excited about it! He also rode the Colossus, the white roller coaster, Spider, the Bat, Tidal Wave, as well as every other kiddie or family ride. He was hard core! It was awesome. Brett and I both love to ride ANYTHING! So we refused to have a wimpy child. We decided that one day when we strike it rich, we will buy a big fat motor home or a private jet (depending on HOW rich we get) and just travel the world riding roller coasters. Wouldn't that be cool? It was crazy though, we had been on the Colossus 4 times in a row, and the 5th time the lady questioned his height. Stupid. But Talia got in her face and told her that he was fine and he could ride. Same thing happened with the white roller coaster. He actually got so mad at that lady! He ran to his dad and called the lady a terrible name. It's not very blog-friendly, so I won't type it. ;) They never would let him back on Wicked, and he was MAD! I am proud of him for being so brave though. He was so cool. I loved watching his face! It was cute though, he would be on these hard core crazy rides, then he would turn around and go to the kiddie rides and have a blast. Brett and I had to keep reminding ourselves that he is only five. Brayden was pretty nervous to ride some of the big rides, but he finally rode most of them. He never would go on the Rocket. On Thursday, Grandpa Galley came with us to ride rides. He is so stinking funny! He is just as crazy as all of the kids. He didn't even flinch to get on these big crazy rides. The very first one we took him to was Wicked.

Shae and Grandpa waiting in line for Wicked

We also took him to the Rocket. Brett rode with him the first time on the "Launch" side of the ride.

Tara and Grandpa on the Re-Entry

Brett, Braden S., Eli and Shae

We also went to the Lady Bug Bop and Dinosaur Drop. It was so funny! One time, Garrison was taking Mya on the Lady Bug Bop. Quayd decided to go at the last second. Mya was excited for Quayd to go, so they decided to ride together. Garrison didn't really know what to do, so he just sat down. They buckled him in and off they went. It was so funny to see Garrison riding this little kid ride all alone!

Speaking of big people on little rides... I have to tell you this story. Unfortunately, though, I don't have a picture. We had a camera tragedy right before this. Anyway, on Saturday night, Quayd was upset that they wouldn't let him on the big rides. So some of us were trying to be nice to him and offered to go on Puff the Little Fire Dragon. (It's just a mini-coaster.) The riders were Brett, Talia, Brayden and Shae. The ride attendant was making the seating assignments and it was just weird. Quayd and Brayden were going to go in the back, but he said Quayd needed an adult with him to sit in the back. So they were assuming that Shae was his mom I guess because the guy told Shae to sit with her kid in the back. Then they put Brayden alone. And here is where it gets really weird... they put Brett and Talia in a car together. They were crammed in this little tiny car! It was so funny! Well I was sitting on a bench with Gleneita, Gary, Tara and Amelia. When we noticed how they were seated, we were cracking up. Then Brett starts yelling, "Mommy!!! Look at us! We are on Puff!!!" Then he started cheering and screaming at everyone. "Look at me Aunt Tara! I'm riding Puff!" It was so funny. And strange. Lagoon has a new ride this year. The OdySea. It is a fun family type ride. The kids loved it. I rode it a few times with Quayd. But when he knew Grandpa was going, Quayd couldn't wait to ride with him.

(I am so glad I got this picture! Isn't it cute? I felt so bad that I didn't get a picture of these two on Father's Day. I got Quayd with his other Great-Grandpa's, but not Grandpa Galley.) We did a lot of waiting in line. I mean... ALOT! And holy cow... was it ever HOT!!

Brett, Brayden and Quayd waiting to get on the Bat.

Braden S., Shae, Garrison, Brayden, Amelia, Me and Grandpa waiting to get on the Spider

Waiting for the train to start

We went to Lagoon-A-Beach on Friday. Quayd was thinking he was Mr. Brave so he did the lazy river alone with out a life jacket. He was actually mad because they wouldn't let him sit in the hot tub. So he decided he was gonna show everyone and he hopped in the river. Thank goodness Garrison was there! He jumped in right behind Quayd and went with him a few times around. Thanks Garrison! You rock!

We rode a ton of other rides, practically every ride in the park. We did go carts and Brett, Talia and Gleneita did a drag racing thing. You have to pay extra for it and the three of them were super excited to do it. They have 3 drag racing cars, so they were able to race each other. They got three runs. It was actually pretty cool. Brett won once, and Talia won twice. I know this entry is getting really long, but I have to share just a few more pictures. We went to Pioneer Village and had pictures taken. We were able to buy the CD and have the copyright, so I will post a few poses. We ended up buying the one of Brett and Quayd, and the funny one of the family. The funny one was just so... US! We love it. Look at Brayden's funny hat. It has a face and evrything. I saw it and begged him to wear it because it was so funny. He is so awesome!

And here are the last few pictures.

It's always fun to go, but it sure is nice to be back home.

the one about my bad luck at the Burns reunion

So I have been home for almost a week and still haven't posted this stuff. I have been a little sick-ey and just haven't had the energy to do much.

I was SO excited to go to this reunion. The Burns family is Grandma Galley's side of the family. (Her siblings, mostly.) We get together each year and, thanks to grandma, have a WONDERFUL reunion. We always have fun and get to catch up with all of this fun family. Grandma Galley puts so much time and effort into these reunions and they just get better every year. This year was no different. We had a huge turnout. I think the final number was around 102. Everybody had a great time, even me, despite the bad luck I encountered......

The reunion was held in Altamont at Hidden Springs Ranch. It is a beautiful cabin/lodge set up with tons of fun activities. They have a rock climbing wall, paint ball fields, shooting range, horse and pony rides, basketball, volleyball, pool, hot tub, game room and more! We have been here before and had great experiences. There are 5 private suite type rooms (you have to pay extra for those), 2 rooms that sleep 5 and 6 rooms that sleep 12. We were in a room for 12 with Rhonda's family and Gary and Tara's family. That makes 13, actually. (Brett, Quayd and I, Gary, Tara and their 4 kids, Rhonda and her 3 kids. Our room wasn't the only one full either. We were to capacity. The reunion was from Thursday to Sunday. Brett had to work and couldn't come until Friday, so Quayd and I just decided to ride over with Talia on Thursday. She also wanted to go to a store in Roosevelt and we decided to have lunch at a yummy drive in there. We left town at 12:00, on the way called in our food and headed straight for the restaurant. This is where my bad luck started. (Brynn, Beau'D, Cory and Gleneita joined us too.) We waited and waited for our food. We had been there for over an hour when we finally asked what was going on. They informed us that our food had been sitting there done for a long time, but they forgot to call our name. Well all of the food was soggy and nasty. They did re-cook some of it, but we were anxious to get going. Then we go to the store Talia wanted to visit, and it was closed. Strange. Closed on a Thursday afternoon at 2:00. Ok, whatever. A few wrong turns and a flat tire later, we were headed for the lodge.

Remember how I went to the concert? Well I had only gotten about 3 1/2 hours of sleep the night before, so by now, it was really catching up to me. As we got there, we were unpacking, and first of all, I put my stuff in the wrong room and caused a little panic for a second. We got that worked out, and as I was hauling my cooler of diet Pepsi down to my room, I got intercepted and informed of the "no food or drink downstairs rule." Errrrrrrr..... Ok. So I took my cooler back out to Talia's car and grabbed my last bag. As I shut the hatchback of her brand new Mercury Mariner, the back window shattered! Yes. It shattered and I had sharp pieces of glass EVERYWHERE! The glass actually got stuck all over in my brand new ModBe flip flops and I had to chuck them. I couldn't save them. I also had glass stuck in my legs, my feet and my hands. I tried to pick it out the best I could and then I remembered.... "I still have to tell Talia!" She was pretty cool about it, considering what happened. But to my defense, it was decided that the hydraulic things that collapse to close the door malfunctioned, causing the window to break. I still feel bad though. I was about to cry looking at it, and looking at her. Once the mess was pretty well cleaned up, I went down to my room and hid for awhile. I tried to nap, but there was just too much excitement around me. (Remember, still going on 3 1/2 hours of sleep the night before!)

Now, moving onto day 2. We decided to drive up to the activities center and let the kids ride the pony. I rode up with Tara. As we were heading out to the car, I had my camera on my wrist and went to reach in my cooler (that I ended up sneaking into my room! Shhhhhhhh.... don't tell Grandma!) for a ice cold diet Pepsi. Well my camera dangled down and dipped into the ice water and, well, do I need to finish? So thank Tara for these pictures...

Isn't he just adorable though! I mean look at those big brown eyes and that big smile. I just can't resist his cuteness. And isn't Quayd cute too?

So after the pony ride, Quayd, Amelia, Kaylee and Abby wanted to ride the paddle boat. The wind was blowing so hard by this point that they would just get the boat out, and the wind would blow them back to shore. When they were getting off, Quayd said, "That was the suckiest ride ever."
(Tara. Thanks. Pictures.)

That evening, Darlene did the cutest game for everyone and we all got a prize. They made this cool wheel and we all got to spin for a chance at something awesome! I won some nice hand soap and lotion. Quayd got a nerf foot ball thing and Brett got a $2 bill. Quayd wanted to help Grandpa Galley spin!!
(Tara, thumbs up!)

Now back to my bad luck.... Before we left, I lost the top to my brand new ModBe swimsuit!!! Luckily, I got two suits so I was able to wear the other one, but I can't find this top ANYWHERE!!!

So I know I sound like a total downer right now, and don't get me wrong, this was a GREAT reunion. REALLY!!!!! I just had some bad luck. But on Saturday, it got real "explosive" for me. I mean, it all went down the "crapper." My bad luck was "running" wild and "churning" with "real force." Yes, that's right. I got the stomach flu. I ended up coming home alone a day early. It was terrible, and it really held on for most of this week. I have just felt yucky. I am doing better now and I feel like I have caught up on some very badly needed rest! Everybody had a great time at this reunion, and as always, it was PERFECT. This was just my version of my bad luck. Grandma, thank you so much for all of your hard work! You are amazing and I am personally grateful for your hard work and effort to make these things happen. Thank you for including us and always making me feel welcome! I LOVE YOU!!!!