English Language Camp 2015!

It's official! We are going to have another language camp this summer, 2015, with our company, Wasatch Language Camp. Scott got back this week after doing our first recruiting tour in Taiwan. We are excited to announce that we aren't just going to have one camp in July, but we are hoping to fill a SECOND camp in August!

Scott at the airport, heading to Taiwan!

We will be looking for host families to host our students, so if you live in our area and are interested, please check out our host family page and apply. We'd love to have you become part of the Wasatch Language Camp family!

Gratitude and Service

It has been the third week in a row of sick children, little sleep, and few outlets for momma! That is what happens when five kids (and a husband) all take their turns for getting sick. Thankfully, we are blessed to not get sick very often. Phew! This momma couldn't take many more sleepless nights.
After such a rough stretch, I've been feeling a little down and overwhelmed today. Nothing particular was wrong, I'm probably just sleep deprived. So to try to turn my frown upside down, I decided to write down all the reasons I am grateful!
1. After such a rough stretch of sleeplessness and sometimes feeling under-the-weather myself, I should have had an MS attack, but I didn't! My body has felt "heavy" and tired, which is a signal that I am on the precipice of an attack (which is waking up numb, unable to walk and/or use my  hands, etc.). But, partly because I have been working so hard on watching my diet lately, I have been ok.
2. The kids were never bad enough to have to take to the doctor. This is great because I hate going to the doctor. I'm a bit pessimistic when it comes to the medical profession. They usually seem to have less of an idea of what is wrong than I do, and resort to prescribing antibiotics or some other kind of medicine that I won't fill because I don't think it is necessary (or is good to take). I'm sure there are more balanced doctors out there, but I haven't found one yet in my area, at least one that my insurance will cover. (If you know of one, I will take suggestions).
3. I have 5 beautiful children and a wonderful husband!
4. And it is Chinese New Year! Time to go start cooking for my family and our friends. Service always brings a smile!

Kami's Bon-bons

My friend Kami brought these by to me on one of those horrible, no good, very bad days and since then they have become my go-to for a little chocolate fix. The only bad thing about these scrumptious balls is that you will be tempted to eat the whole batch!

1 tsp. vanilla
1 cup coconut (I use Bob's Red Mill unsweetened flaked)
1/2 cup cocoa powder
1/4 cup coconut oil
3 T honey
pinch of salt

Mix into balls and chill (if they even make it to the refrigerator!)
I'll add a picture the next time I make them!

About to add to the party...

Sometime in the next month, we are adding more fun to the party around here. That's right, we are about to be a party of 5. Kids that is. I grew up in a large family (7 kids) and I thought it was a lot of fun, but after my first really difficult pregnancy I wasn't sure that I wanted so many kids anymore. My mantra became, "one at a time...one at a time". Well, after 4 kids and quite a few miscarriages I was done. I was giving away my maternity clothes and baby items. Four kids is quite a handful, especially when you have MS. But, surprise! We found ourselves with an unlikely pregnancy and it has taken clear up until now, my 9th month, to brace myself for it. 

A friend and I were talking about how family sizes have changed over the last generation. What was once a small family now seems large. Seven kids was large in my generation, but not that strange. Now it is newsworthy. We figure that if you double the amount of kids you have nowadays, it would equal what it would have looked like a generation or two ago. For example, a family with 3 kids now is quite large, being somewhat like what having 6 kids would have been not too long ago. So my 5 kids is like having 10 kids when our grandparents were doing it. Yeah. That feels about right. Slightly overwhelming. 

Luckily, we are trying to raise our kids more like our Grandparents raised theirs. So hopefully we will find success raising hard working, moral, contributing members of society. Just like Grandma. 

Money Management for Stress Relief

What are some of our biggest stresses in life? Family? Work? Schedules? Money? Those are definitely in the top 10. One of my obsessions for the past month has been Dave Ramsey. Oh, Dave! Where have you been all my life? No, seriously! Why haven't I discovered him until now? I'm 35 and I've been trying to figure out this money part of life all alone all these years. He's like the financial-guru uncle I never had!
I've heard of him before, and I've even heard of his classes, "Financial Peace University", but I didn't know much about it. A friend of ours lent us Dave's newest book that he co-wrote with his daughter, Rachel Cruze, called, "Smart Money Smart Kids". I don't think I've thought of much else or done anything else in my spare time than pour over this book. Talk about a stress reliever! No really!
Having a plan is half the battle, and that is what Dave has given me. Since I haven't learned these financial lessons yet myself, I've had to internalize the lessons taught in this book before I could make a plan for my kids. But now I have both! My husband and I have ben tight with our finances for a while. Pretty much our whole marriage. Adding another baby has put our stress about them into overdrive. Anyone relate? We have it all. Mortgage, car payments, student loans, and unfortunately up until we got our tax return, we even had a little credit card debt (I hate admitting that). We are like a good share of Americans who are just barely making it paycheck to paycheck. Something like a broken furnace puts us into a tailspin. We are big budgeters, but there's only so much you can do when your incoming just doesn't quite cover your outgoing. We've cut and cut and cut. My husband wears socks with holes in them and until I mended an old pair of slacks I found, he was wearing the same pair of pants to work every day. Our kids have never bought any new clothes, except socks and underwear and the occasional pair of shoes. Hand-me-downs have always been welcome in our house! We make our own laundry soap. I could go on and on. But making ends meet has just been difficult.
Then came Dave! We have a plan now. I love his baby steps. I like baby steps. I can do baby steps. And what a stress reliever it has been. Do you have money stresses? As part of your plan for simplifying your life, I would recommend checking out Dave Ramsey. He could help you get that one area of your life in order. One of my favorite quotes from the book:

"Content people may not have the best of everything, but they make the best of everything."

What do you think? Have you read any Dave Ramsey books? Have you attended any of his classes?

Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa Salad (Original & Vegetarian)

I don't know about you, but I loved last week's Creamy Potato and Leek Soup. I added carrots for color  and sweetness (see updated post), and my kids gobbled it up. This week, my produce basket has all the ingredients for one of my all-time favorite comfort foods: Cafe Rio Pork Barbacoa! Here is my original recipe that I love (see below for my updated healthier version):

Café Rio Salad/Burritos

Sweet Pork

3-4 lb. pork loin roast

1 c. brown sugar

1 bottle red taco sauce

1 Tbs. cumin

1 can coke or root beer

Cover roast halfway wit water and cook on low in crockpot for 6 hours. Discard the liquid and shred the pork with 2 forks. Mix brown sugar, red taco sauce, cumin, and can of coke or rootbeer and pour mixture over pork and put on low in the crockpot for 3 more hours.

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

1 dry buttermilk ranch packet (like Hidden Valley)

1 cup buttermilk

1 cup mayonnaise

2 tomatillos (husk removed & diced)

½ bunch of cilantro

1 clove of garlic

Juice of 1 lime

1 Jalapeno (to taste for spiciness)

Blend all ingredients in blender and refrigerate for 1-2 hours

Rice

Cook according to directions except use chicken broth instead of water, and add a handful of cilantro and the juice from 1 lime.

Assemble

We cook our own black beans and use the uncooked tortillas (making them fresh makes a big different for taste). Then we just add the rice, pork tomatoes, dressing, romaine lettuce, and whatever else we feel like.

Yum! But, here is a healthier version that works great for a plant-based diet with minimal processed foods. Still yum, but with less guilt :)

Vegetarian Cafe Rio Salad

Sweet Beans "Barbacoa"

Cook black beans according to package directions. When done, or nearly done, drain. Add the following and allow to simmer in pot or crockpot on low for an extra 30 minutes or more:

2-3 cloves minced garlic

3 T. molasses or honey

1 T. cumin

1 T. oregano

1 t. salt

dash of chili powder
1 bottle of your favorite salsa, 1 can of diced tomatoes, or 2-3 fresh diced tomatoes

Creamy Tomatillo Dressing

spice mix (replaces buttermilk ranch packet):

1/8 t. paprika

1/4 t. mustard powder

1/2 t. salt

1/8 t. pepper

1 T. fresh parsley

1 t. fresh chives

1/4 t. dill

1 cup soy, nut, or hemp milk with 1 t. lemon juice

1 cup mayonaise, vegenaise, or nayonaise

2 tomatillos (husk removed & diced)

1/2 bunch cilantro

1 clove garlic

Juice of 1 lime

1 Jalapeno (to taste)

Blend the spice mix and the rest of the ingredients in a blender and refrigerate for 1-2 hours.

Rice

Cook according to directions, except use vegetarian broth instead of water, and add a handful of cilantro and the juice from 1 lime.

Assembly for Salad

Use flour or corn tortillas of choice as base. Pile high with mixed green lettuces, and add rice, tomatoes, black beans, and drizzle with Creamy Tomatillo Dressing.

Creamy Potato & Leek Soup

I've been busy over the last couple of months. Holidays ran into work on an English summer camp that my husband and I are hosting (more on that later). But, I've continued to work on my produce co-op and we had an ingredient this week that is a little unusual: leeks. These are great little veggies, related to onions and garlic so they have many of the same nutrients. They are good sources of manganese, vitamin B6, vitamin C, folate, and iron. They can be used in place of green onions in many recipes. In fact, the Chinese family that I have living with me always uses them where we would usually use green onions (i.e. potstickers/dumplings, fried rice, egg drop soup, etc.).
(They are easy to use, but there are just a couple of things you need to know if you aren't used to preparing them.  First, you need to trim off the tough ends of the dark green leaves and also the roots. Then, be sure to wash carefully the leeks. Dirt loves to hide between their layers! Then they are recipe ready.)
We've been having some freezing cold temperatures, rare ice storms, thick fog, and snow that is high enough to hide my mailbox and garbage cans. So I'm craving soup. Here is a fantastic (vegetarian) soup that uses leeks that I love (and that my body loves when I eat it)! I'll post pictures after I get my produce basket and make it tomorrow!
*Update* After I posted this, my cousin Michelle who grew up next to my Grandma, let me know that Grandma Ardis used to have leeks in her garden. So I guess I AM my Grandmother's Granddaughter:)

Creamy Potato & Leek Soup

Serves 4

2 T butter or oil

1 small onion, peeled and chopped

3 or 4 leeks, white part and 1 inch of the green, halved lengthwise, carefully washed, and sliced crosswise

4 or 5 celery stalks, trimmed and roughly chopped

1 clove garlic

3 cups stock

2 medium potatoes, peeled and diced –or- 1 turnip, trimmed, peeled and diced
2 carrots, diced

salt

tarragon or curry powder

1. In a soup pot, sauté onions, leeks, and celery in oil or butter, stirring, until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Add the garlic and continue sautéing until the vegetables are soft, about 10 minutes. Add the stock, potatoes (or turnips), carrots, and 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook until the potatoes are soft when pierced with a fork, about 20 minutes.
2. Remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly, add either tarragon or curry (depending on which flavor you prefer), and then blend in a food processor, or blender, or use a handheld blender to get to your desired consistency.
3. Reheat, if needed, and serve.