During these hot days, the kids enjoy chilly snow cones.

A really easy and delicious mexican dish!

Spicy Mexican Torte

Ingredients

1 pound chorizo sausage, casings removed and crumbled (I used a mixture of ground beef and sausage.)
1 cup chopped onion
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers, drained
8 (10 inch) flour tortillas (some of the layers I used one tortilla instead of two)
2 cups shredded Pepper Jack cheese, divided
1 (16 ounce) can refried beans, divided
1 (7 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, drained (I used mild taco sauce instead; it blended everything well and made the dish moist.)
Directions
1. In a large skillet or frying pan, cook chorizo
2. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Lightly grease a 10 inch pie plate.
3. Place 2 tortillas in pie plate. Spread half of the sausage mixture over tortillas. Sprinkle with half of the cheese. Place 2 tortillas on top of cheese. Spread with beans. Place 2 tortillas on beans and place peppers on tortillas. Place 2 tortillas on top of peppers. Spread with remaining sausage mixture. Sprinkle with remaining cheese.
4. Cover and bake in preheated oven for 40 minutes. Uncover and bake 15 minutes more, or until cheese is melted and center is hot. Cool 10 minutes before cutting. (serve w/corn chips, sour cream, and a cool salad)

Honey Dew, my big baby

Yay!

(The braids are out now.)

HAPPY BIRTHDAY MAMA!

Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her. Proverbs 31:28

Mama, once again you can add one more year to your incredible life. God has blessed you beyond measure. Your hunger for learning more and more about Jesus is a testimony that cannot be more vital for your children, grandchildren and husband. Thank you for giving so much and expecting so little. We love you and depend on you for so much. -Kevin and Kristin

Cheddar Spirals and Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole

These recipes are so extremely easy and my kids loved them and gobbled up the leftovers. The following are the recipes, but add lots of different veggies to the dish to make it extra healthy!
Cheddar Spirals
1 (16 ounce) package spiral pasta
2 cups half-and-half cream
1 (10.75 ounce) can condensed Cheddar cheese soup
1/2 cup butter, melted
4 cups shredded Cheddar cheese
Cook pasta according to package directions; drain. In slow cooker, combine the cream, soup and butter until smooth; stir in the cheese and pasta. Cover and cook on low for 2 1/2 hours or until cheese is melted.
Cheesy Hash Brown Casserole
1 (32 ounce) package frozen hash brown potatoes
8 ounces cooked, diced ham --- Personally, I would much rather put veggies in my meal than meat!
2 (10.75 ounce) cans condensed cream of potato soup
1 (16 ounce) container sour cream
2 cups shredded Cheddar--- or any cheese you want
1 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9 x 13 inch baking dish.
In a large bowl, mix hash browns, ham, cream of potato soup, sour cream, and Cheddar cheese. Spread evenly into prepared dish. Sprinkle w/Parmesan cheese.
Bake 1 hour or until bubbly and lightly browned.

Jean and Ben came over to our house this afternoon. We had fun showing them around our new home!

Kaleb's pet rooster

I think Allyson must work daily w/the chickens to make them tame and unafraid. She told me the other day that one of her hens sits on her shoulder while she does the chores...so today, we all got to see it.

Big Ridge State Park

Today it's raining; but yesterday, we went swimming!

Kevin split pine tree logs for a campfire. Sam and family came over Friday night...we roasted marshmallows and had a sing-a-long around the campfire.

One morning this last week, Kevin saw a doe and her fawn bound out of the barn yard and into the woods...wish I had gotten a picture of that!

A friend of Uncle Bob and Aunt Jo hauled down from Iowa Kevin's grandfather's tractor. Kevin is very excited about using/playing with his new farm toy. :)

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls

Sour Cream Yeast Rolls

• 2-1/2 to 3 cups all-purpose flour (I ended up using more like 3 1/4 cups flour)
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1 package (1/4 ounce) active dry yeast
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup (8 ounces) sour cream
• 1/4 cup water
• 3 tablespoons butter, divided
• 1 egg

1. In a large bowl, combine 1-1/2 cups flour, sugar, yeast and salt. In a small saucepan, heat the sour cream, water and 2 tablespoons butter to 120°-130°; add to dry ingredients. Beat on medium speed for 2 minutes. Add egg and 1/2 cup flour; beat 2 minutes longer. Stir in enough remaining flour to form a soft dough.
2. Turn onto a floured surface; knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-8 minutes. (I let my Kitchen Aid do the work with a dough hook for 6 minutes) Place in a greased bowl, turning once to grease the top. Cover and let rise in a warm place until doubled, about 1 hour.
3. Punch dough down. Turn onto a lightly floured surface; divide into 12 pieces. Shape each into a ball. Place in a greased 13-in. x 9-in. baking pan. Cover and let rise until doubled, about 30 minutes.
4. Bake at 375° for 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.(With mine the tops were brown after 10 minutes. So I just draped foil on top of the rolls and cooked for 10 more minutes. Mine were ready after 20 minutes) Melt remaining butter; brush over rolls. Remove from pan to a wire rack. Yield: 1 dozen.