Living with the Long's

Most people kind of grimace when I tell them that Nelson and I are sharing the house this summer with his parents and two younger siblings, here are my thoughts on the subject.

My in-laws are incredibly kind.  I come home from work and Amy has cooked dinner.  I am starving on campus and they bring me food from Panda Express.  Lance installs a new little door so that we have our own space separated from the rest of the house (so in order to be alone we don't have to go all the way into our bedroom).  I can't stress the food enough, Amy is ALWAYS cooking up something delicious, and it is so nice to be eating so well (I know Nelson especially appreciates it!  I just get too tired most days to really try to cook...).  Since we have our new beautiful puppy dog Beatrice they help watch her and take her out to go potty when we are away.  They are really a blessing in our lives right now and we appreciate them so much!

I wouldn't say a summer living with your in-laws is best for most young couples, but I think we have a nice exception on our hands.  [=

Summer Reading!

When I was a kid my parents made me participate in the summer reading program at the Provo Library. You had to read a certain number of books and if you reached the required number, you got a free t-shirt. I love getting free t-shirts! But, now that I am an old person, I don't get to participate in that program but I do my own summer reading program and it is fantastic.

During the semester it is difficult for me to find the time to read a book for fun because I know that if I do start reading a book, I will forget about the million other things I am supposed to do. Whenever there is a holiday break or if I am not taking classes during the summer, I read as many books as I can. I have been out of school for a week and I have read two books. Rosalia has probably read 20 something books in the past month or so of a lesser quality. I like to open up her books and read them to her out loud while I use sexy voices and act the scenes out. She doesn't enjoy my acting as much as I do. :) Anyways, here are the books I have read so far:

and 

I just started reading this.

Beatrice

 Rosalia has wanted a puppy for a long time. Even when we were dating, we would look at dog books together and cute pups for sale on the interwebs (as Rosalia calls it). Rosalia had told me that we needed to get a puppy or a baby. I finally agreed that it would be fun to get a puppy- my decision having nothing to do with me not wanting a baby.  I like babies. Anyways, here are some pictures of our beautiful pup Beatrice.

This is right after we bought our little labradoodle (or Poobador) on May 27. She was the runt of the litter and extremely shy and quiet. She is now a feisty 9 week old pup.

Initially, we took puppy everywhere. She was so little and sleepy ancuddle. This is Beatrice in Rosalia's purse while we did some shopping at Macey's. We actually put her in the produce scale and she weighed in at just under five pounds.

After a few days of discussing names, we decided she was a Beatrice. We went to Petsmart and made it official with a cute little name tag.

Beatrice loves to cuddle (unless she is on one of her puppy energy rampages). 

Our neighbor gave Beatrice a nice moose to chew on. She loves it!

Beatrice loves playing outside and is a very curious little pup.

She likes to run around in the sprinklers and attack them.

This is Beatrice playing with our friend's dog Peaches. Peaches is faster than Beatrice, but Beatrice is stronger. This picture was taken a couple weeks ago and now I think Beatrice is just as fast as Peaches and  bigger too. 

We take Beatrice with us in the car.

Beatrice and Rosalia cuddling outside on a blanket.

Beatrice likes to lay on the grass and think about puppy stuffs.

She also loves to chew on anything!

Thursdays are ok

Today while I was at work, I needed to take a break from looking at my computer screen because my eyes were killing me. I looked out the window in my office and stared at one of the two 10 story cranes that is being used to build the new life sciences building. It gave me an idea for a poem. Here it is. 

The Crane

There's a crane outside my window

and he's calling my name

He's hovering up in the sky

He tells me to join him

"The weathers just fine

and the view is wonderfully divine!"

I politely refuse and he looks confused

and replies with a sad "Well...Why?"

I look up to him and point to my arms

and tell him "I just can't fly."

"Can't fly?" he yelled from up in the sky

"Have you ever just once even tried?"

"Yeah I did back when I was a kid,

but its been a really long time."

"Now is the time to try again

I just know you'll be able to fly."

"OK I will give it a shot,

I guess there's no reason to be shy."

I step to the edge of the window pane

and my breathing flows in with gasps

I close my eyes and reach out my hands

and leap out as far as I can

It doesn't take long to know this is wrong

cause gravity is pulling me down

I hit the ground with such great force

that I can't even let out a sound

My femur is broken into 3 pieces 

and I'm not sure the shape of my spine

As air flows back into my sad lungs

I scream as I look to the sky

"I guess this proves that I can't fly!"

I lay my face down in the grass

"At least you did your best and tried,

now lets get you off of your leg."

Today I walked to school under the blistering 80 something degree sun with my beautiful Rosalia. She told me I looked like I was going on a hike. I looked at myself and agreed that I did. I was wearing an A's hat, Smiths t-shirt, khaki shorts, and old grey Reebok shoes I got back in high school. I looked at my reflection on the side of a Honda Civic and realized that I was dressed exactly like my father!

(My dad and sister chillin by the ocean)

My dad has a strange obsession with khaki shorts. I am not quite sure when it started, but I can say that he owns at least 11 pairs of khaki shorts. Whenever he goes thrift store shopping he picks up another pair because as we all know, you can never have enough khaki shorts. I wonder if he will continue wearing khaki shorts when he is old?

The other day I was thinking about my dad and had a morbid/silly thought. I imagined I was at my dad's funeral. I walked over and looked into the pine box that my father's body was resting in. My dad was old and grey and wearing his favorite Grateful Dead shirt that says "Make Love Not War" and khaki shorts. I giggled to myself and then called my dad and told him about my little day dream. He loved the idea and said that that is exactly what he wants to be buried in. I heard my mom say "Oh no you won't!" in the background. Yep, khaki shorts for life!

Happenings.

We love food.  We have been doing lots of things lately.  Mainly work and school, but on occasion we have fun!  We are on a soccer team and we are doing pretty well.  Also we eat a lot.  Here are just some random pictures from the past few months. Forgive the terrible picture quality, they were all taken on my (semi) smart phone.

Nelson is so cool.  He likes to chill in outer-space.  He just watched 2001 Space Odyssey and another one about encounters with the third kind?  Alien stuff. 

 Gourmandise is my favorite.  I would like one of their chicken pesto paninis right now.

 Currently missing this little girl and her parents from our lives.  Darn Houston.

Here is Nelson demonstrating how happy we are to be eating at Five Guys.  So tasty.  I love burgers.  

Here is some pasta we cooked up with fresh sauce and yummy veggies.

Our back yard is green!  Yay!  And since this picture has been taken it is even more green and flowers are blooming.  Spring is beautiful.

I almost bought these sunglasses.  Now I wish I had... 

mushroomy spinach pasta with chicken. 

pecan crusted chicken with a mixed green salad with a mustardy-apricoty-and other stuff dressing.  Nom.

The only picture I took of the cinnamon rolls I made...terrible picture and I definitely stuffed too many into one dish...but they were DELICIOUS.  (this was with the recipe on the blog from Amy).

Family Recipes

Long Family Recipes

Amy (my sweet mother-in-law)

                                       Grandma and GrandpaOaks! (Amy's parents)

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Recipes from Grandma Oaks

Grandma loves serving soup.  This began after grandpa was diagnosed with Celiac.  From then on out the whole diet changed for the family, they no longer could eat pasta or bread (that was not home-made by grandma).  Because Grandma wanted to make food that the whole family could eat, she started making lots of Celiac friendly soups for dinner. 


Black Bean Soup

1 lb. black beans soaked overnight (or 4 to 5 cans black beans)

2 yellow onions, diced

2 tsp. cumin

1 tsp. coriander

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 small can green chilis

2 T. oil

½ bag of frozen corn

diced, cooked chicken breast

Toppings: fresh tomatoes, avocado, tortilla chips, lime wedges, chopped cilantro, sour cream

In a soup pot heat oil and cook the onions for a few minutes until starting to brown. Add cumin, coriander, garlic, chicken broth, black beans, and chilis. While the soup simmers, cook the chicken breasts until done. Cut into small pieces. Add to the soup along with the frozen corn. Simmer together for about 30 minutes.  Enjoy with any of the toppings.

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Pozoli Soup

(by (Grandma) Josephine Oaks)
While serving in the Philipines as Mission Presidents, They always asked the missionaries who were going home what food they wanted to eat for their last dinner in the mission field. One missionary said pizzoli soup so Grandma talked to some people and found a recipe and made it. The missionary said it was even better than the pizzoli his mom would make.  They have been making this soup ever since! 

¾ lb. pork loin, cut into ¾ inch chunks

1 medium onion, chopped

5 cloves garlic, minced

5 c. chicken broth

1 tsp. dried oregano leaves

1 T. chili powder

3 (14 ½ oz.) cans hominy, rinsed and drained

1 (7 oz) can diced green chilies

Fry onions until caramel in color. Brown chunks of pork. Put all ingredients together. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, until flavors are blended, about 20 minutes. Serve in bowls with sliced avocados, tomatoes, cilantro, limes, sour cream, cheese, and torilla chips

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Saucy White Chili

(8 to 10 servings)  

1 T. oil

6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves cut into 1 inch cubes

¼ tsp. salt

¼ tsp. black pepper

1 medium onion, chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

5 cans Great Northern beans, undrained (16 ounces each)

2 cans chicken broth (14 ounces)

1 can whole tomatoes, undrained and broken up (14 ounces)

1 can chopped green chilis, undrained (4 ounces)

2 tsp. ground cumin

1 tsp. chili powder

In a soup pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Sprinkle the chicken with the salt and pepper and sauté for 5 to 6 minutes, until browned. Add the onion and garlic and cook for 3 to 4 minutes, or until the onion is tender. Add the remaining ingredients and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer, uncovered, for 5p to 60 minutes, or until the chili thickens slightly, stirring occasionally. This can be served over a bowl of brown rice.

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Recipes from Amy's kitchen.

While some of these recipe's have special significance, most are just tried and true easy recipes that Amy picked up as she was learning to feed her family.  

Butternut Squash Soup

When Amy and Lance's children were young, their dad decided to plant a bunch of butternut squash.

When they harvested it, they had so many that the back hallway was overflowing with squash. Amy (mom) found a good recipe for squash soup and then we slowly ate all of the squash in the hallway.  

 3 lbs. squash (2)

4 T. Butter

4 T. onions, minced

1 ½ tsp. salt

1 tsp. brown sugar

6 c. water

½ c. cream (optional, I never put it in)

 Cut 2 butternut squash in half and place center side down on foil on cookie sheet. Wipe a little olive oil on the center first. Cook for about 1 hour at 300 degrees.

 When the squash is cooked, remove the seeds and throw away. Then harvest the squash into a bowl.

 In a soup pot, melt butter, add onions and cook for a few minutes. Gradually add spoonfuls of the squash and alternate with the water. Add the salt, and brown sugar. Boil on low for about 20 minutes. Put in a blender and puree. If you would like to add cream, do so after the soup is all cooked and stir it in.

 You may top it with fresh nutmeg and/or hazelnuts.

Peach Smoothies


Up at the Long's home we have a fair amount of fruit trees.  One of which is a peach tree.  So this peach smoothie recipe was a must. 

1 c. frozen peaches (if fresh, add more ice)

1 c. Orange Juice

1 c. Yogurt (Vanilla or Plain)

1 tsp. vanilla

Sweeten to taste with sugar, agave syrup, or honey

1 c. ice

If you freeze the peaches prior, make sure they are dipped in orange juice to keep their color and flavor. Put about 1 cup frozen peaches in blender. Add 1 c. orange juice. Add 1 c. yogurt, 1 tsp. vanilla, sweetening, and 1 c. ice. Blend.

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Roasted Vegetables

Take any root vegetables such as red potatoes, yams, carrots, potatoes, beets, etc. cut into pieces of the same size so they will cook evenly. Brush with olive oil and your choice of additional spices such as Italian seasoning, fresh minced garlic, or just salt and pepper.

[For yam fries use 2 medium yams cut into same size pieces. Coat with 1/3 c. olive oil, 3 T. Dijon mustard, 2 minced garlic cloves, 2 tsp. Italian seasoning and salt and pepper to taste. Stir and coat all yam fries before cooking. This should make about one tray of fries]

Bake at 400 degrees on an oiled cookie sheet lined with aluminum foil. Turn after 20 minutes and bake another 20 minutes until roasted.

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Yam Fries

2 medium yams cut into same size pieces.

Combine and toss cut yams in:

            1/3 c. olive oil,

            3 T. Dijon mustard

            2 minced garlic cloves

            2 tsp. Italian seasoning

            salt and pepper to taste.

Bake at 400 degrees on an oiled cookie sheet lined with foil or on a silpat. Turn after 20 minutes and bake another 20 minutes until roasted.

Lime Mayo to dip yam fries in

Combine 1/3 c. light mayo, ½ of a fresh squeezed lime,  1 clove garlic minced

Tortilla Recipes

Fillings: BBQ Chicken

            Turkey, Mozarella cheese, romaine

            Pork, onions, cilantro, spinach, salsa

            Any leftovers!

            Dessert tortillas with butter and cinnamon

These can also be used like crepes and filled with chicken and mushroom sauce, broccoli and cheese, etc.

Challah Braid (Sweet dough used for orange and cinnamon rolls or to braid)

(Amy Oaks Long)

This is a General Conference weekend food.  Amy prepares it along with scrambled eggs every Conference.  Grandma did it for them growing up and so Amy has kept on the tradition.  The orange roll recipe was from Grandpa Oaks' aunt Crystal.  She used to be the cook in the governor's mansion in Utah and it was one of her special recipes.

1 ½ c. warm water               

¾ c. sugar

2 T. yeast

½ c. oil

2 tsp. salt

3 eggs, beaten

6 to 7 c. flour

In large mixing bowl combine water, sugar and yeast. Stir to moisten and let sit until yeast dissolves and rises a little. Add oil, salt and beaten eggs. Add 6 cups flour gradually. Knead the dough, using enough flour to keep it from sticking. Knead until smooth and elastic. Let stand until double in size, about 1 hour. Punch down.

To form braid: Divide dough into three equal parts. Roll each part into 36 inch rope. Braid. Place diagonally on lightly greased cookie sheet. Let rise about 1 hour. When completely risen, whisk 1 egg with 1 tsp. milk. Brush all over dough. Bake 350 degrees for 30 minutes

To make orange rolls: Combine 2/3 c. softened butter with ½ c. sugar and the grated rind of 2 oranges. Spread over rolled out dough. Roll up. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Place on tray. Rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until light brown on the top.

Frost with buttercream icing but orange juice should be substituted for milk in the recipe.

To make cinnamon rolls: Combine ½ c. melted butter, ¾ c. sugar, 2 T. cinnamon. Spread over rolled out dough. Roll up. Cut into 1 inch pieces. Place on tray. Rise until double in size. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes until light brown on top.

Frost with buttercream frosting or cream cheese frosting when cool.

                         Ted and Evelyn Badger (my parents)

Recipes from the Badger kitchen

Chicken Broccoli Curry

This dish makes a regular appearance in the Badger households, but it is different in each one.  My mother and father are the parents of ten children and so recipe's that could go a long way, like dishes that could be supplemented with rice, were a popular meal.


Over the years the recipe has changed and evolved.  I did not realize that it had changed so much until my family was all on vacation together.  We were staying at a cabin and each family had an assigned meal of one of the days to cook, another to clean etc.  (My immediate family totals around 40 people with spouses and their children).  It was the day that we were going to have Chicken Broccoli Curry.  Only there was a problem.  The older sister's wanted to do it a particular way.  The middle children believed it was another way, and of course, the youngest of the ten, I knew that my way was the best way.


My parent's were humored and just acknowledged that yes, the recipe had changed over the years, but they didn't pick sides at who was right.  In the end the ones who were actually preparing the dish go to make it their way.  It was of course...my way.


Serves four people and can be modified 1 part for 1 to feed more:  


Combine:
1 can cream of mushroom
1 can cream of chicken
1 cup of mayo
1 cap full of yellow curry (1-3 tsp) 
1 tsp of lemon juice (optional)
Heat in the microwave until very warm, stirring occasionally.


Cook rice as desired.
Cut and steam broccoli in the microwave.
Cook chicken breasts on the stove stop chopped up in soy sauce. 
Combine the sauce and chicken then serve on rice with broccoli on top or side.