It's the little things

Yesterday I took the boys to the barber shop to get haircuts. We walked in with perfect timing, the man before us was walking out and no one was waiting! Andrew began taking off his coat before climbing into the barber's chair. He said "Sure is snowing out there." I couldn't help but chuckle how he was making small talk about the weather with the barber just like an adult would. It was snowing here yesterday! Just flurries but still! I wasn't really ready for snow, it is really cold - winter-like, where did fall go?

Both Andrew and Carson did so well for their haircuts. The past few haircuts with Carson have been a struggle, he would cry and grab at me. This time he watched Andrew and I kept talking to him about being a big boy like Andrew and getting his haircut. Of course anything Andrew does these days, Carson wants to do too. "Me too, me too!" Carson didn't want to sit on the buster seat in the barber chair, so I held him. He was great. Quiet, held pretty still, just didn't like the tickley hair in his face.

Today as I took Andrew to preschool, I enjoyed our conversation. It started out by Andrew telling me "When I get big I am going to be a teacher." He wants to be the teacher at the class he goes to. Then we saw the school bus picking up a neighbor friend and Andrew wondered "But the teacher won't know my name when I go to kindergarten." I told him that when he goes to kindergarten they will know his name, they might ask him his name and he can tell them Andrew Kauffman. Then we started talking about first, middle and last names. He wasn't really following, so I told him what his first middle and last names were. Then I said, "James, which is that?" He kind of "uhmmed" around and then said "James is when your bad." I guess when he is in trouble, he does hear Andrew James! from me. I got a good laugh out of this comment too.

Carson is having some trouble going to sleep some nights. We will do his routine and put him to bed. Sometimes he goes to sleep fine, other times he will be quiet for a while but then start crying. We go in and hold him in the chair, snuggle with him and sing songs. He is starting to sing some of these songs with us. Then we lay him back down and usually he is fine and goes to sleep.

I remember last year at this time what a struggle sleep was with him. We would have to hold him until he fell asleep and hope he stayed asleep once we laid him down. For me he would really fight off going to sleep. He would push away, arch his back and cry. I think part of this was we were still trying to figure out his milk protein intolerance and reflux as well as he just could not get himself to sleep. I would dread nap/bed time because of the struggle with him for sleep and dread even more the times he woke up during the night upset. He was almost inconsolable at times.

Now I like going in with him. He is so sweet. He curls up into your arms, wants to snuggle in with the blanket. Enjoys the songs, sometimes singing along or just quietly listens. Then we ask him if he is ready to lay back down and he replies his sweet little "ya" behind his pacifier. Just precious.

The other night I was reading books to the boys before going to bed. Carson was sitting in my lap and Andrew beside me. Carson kept turning his head up towards me and giving me a kiss on the cheek. When I kiss the boys, I tend to give them an exaggerated smooch with a loud smack, just to be silly. Both Andrew and Carson try to imitate that smack but they make the smack noise with their tongue on the roof of their mouth instead of their lips!

It's these little things that make my day. I love being a mom to these two little guys.

Pets

Andrew loves dogs. He loves Tricia and Justin's dog Buddy. He asks about Buddy when he talks to them on the phone or if he sees them and Buddy is not there, he wants to know where he is. He has been asking about getting a dog, which we have shot down for many reasons but I do really love dogs too.

Recently he has been tying a string of beads to either the Little People bus or airplane and pulling it around the house calling it "his pet". If it were real, the poor dog!! He runs around and around the one chair in our living room with it. Hence the very blurry pictures I took after church on Sunday. (I think part of the fun of him running this particular time was because he knew I was attempting to get a good, non-blurry picture of him!)


So are we depriving him of the comfort and companionship of a pet? I guess we might be able to handle some fish or something but that just isn't the same, not exactly what I consider a pet.

We used to have a dog, Maverick. He was a good dog. We gave him away when Andrew was a little less than a year. Maverick was a little temper mental at times, had snapped at Chad a few times. He tolerated Andrew, but I was just afraid that he would snap at Andrew sometime. After all, Andrew was not very gentle with him and rarely let him just lay around like a dog wants to do. It was really hard to give him away. Now going away for weekends and vacations are much easier and no more dog hair or dirt! Here are some pics of Andrew and Maverick.


Here are some pictures of Buddy and Andrew. Buddy is so good natured, I am never concerned about him hurting one of the boys unless it is with the accidental whip of his happy tail! Andrew was 19 months in these pictures. He would sit on Buddy's back and then fall off to the side. Buddy just continued to chew on his bone.

Pumpkin Bread

3 cups sugar
1 cup oil
4 eggs, beaten
1 # pumpkin
2/3 cup water
3 1/2 cup flour
2 tsp. soda
2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. nutmeg
1 tsp. allspice
1 tsp. cinnamon
1 tsp. cloves

Cream sugar, eggs and oil together.
Add pumpkin, mix well.
Combine dry ingredients in a large bowl.
Add dry ingredients to pumpkin mixture alternating with water.
Grease and flour two 9x5 loaf pans. Bake at 350 for 1 hour & 15 minutes or until tests done.

I laid down this afternoon to rest while Carson was in bed. This is something I don't usually do, but I feel another cold coming on! I think I was only healthy for a little over a week! I could not go to sleep, I was not blessed with that Stuckey gene that my mom and Tricia have. They can fall asleep just about anywhere at anytime it seems! Not me. So I decided to get up and bake. I love this pumpkin bread recipe. I got the recipe from my sister or mom who I believe got it from Tricia's piano teacher Peg. Enjoy!

"Didn't you get those pants in college?" Was Chad....

simply asking a question - 2 (15%)
hinting that the pants need to be donated to Good Will - 6 (46%)
suggesting I go on a shopping trip - 5 (38%)

Well, Chad asked me this question last week when indeed I was wearing a pair of pants that I had bought during college. I just kind of laughed and said yes and I think we were distracted by whatever the boys were doing, which rarely happens! :) Chad didn't realize I had this on the blog. Last night I asked him about this question. He was rather confused until I showed him the poll on the blog. Even then he couldn't decide which of the three fit best to why he asked the question. He kept saying I don't know and then finally said "I guess suggesting you go on a shopping trip." Which really surprised me, I thought it for sure wasn't that.

I kept bugging him about it and finally he said "I guess I just thought Wow! those are really old, when did you get them?" By this time I was laughing loudly. And he said " I mean those are really old but you still look really good in them." Nice try.

I have a hard time finding pants that fit me. #1 - I am short. Not all women's pants come in different lengths like men. #2 - If I find pants that aren't tight in my legs, then they gap around the waist in the back. So I guess I was holding onto these pants because they still fit (10 or 11 years later after 2 kids) and they were still in good condition but maybe not the most fashionable. They were a pair of army greenish cargo pants from Old Navy. I usually just wore them around the house when I was tired of wearing jeans everyday. I guess I will put this in a pile with other things that need to go to Good Will and maybe I will go on a shopping trip since that is how Chad responded!

Dragon Painting

This is a finger painting that Andrew brought home from preschool yesterday. I believe the kids in his class all did one and these were hanging in the hall at one point. The teachers asked the children about their painting and wrote down what they said. If you can't read it in the picture, Andrew said "I painted a big, big, big dragon. He is a scarey dragon and has fire in his mouth." Chad and I got a chuckle out of this. I can just see him telling his teachers this and being very animated with his "big, big, big dragon" using his arms as he talks.

Sometimes I just don't know what to do with the "crafts" he makes at home, preschool or at story hour at the library. I don't know if I should keep them all (I haven't) but it doesn't feel right throwing them out either. This is one we will definitely be keeping!

Peanut Butter Fingers

I was uploading pictures onto our computer today when I remembered I took these photos last week. I had been planning to share this recipe but forgot.....

This is one of my favorite types of bars. My Mom would make them often. I can remember requesting that she make these when I would have friends over for slumber parties. I can vividly remember playing in the basement of our home out in the country with friends and eating these. (I don't have that great of a memory but I do remember this! Do you Heidi? Most likely with Jill and Dorine) These bars are so good, a combination of peanut butter and chocolate? What could be better?

As I made these last week, Andrew asked what I was making. I told him and no, he did not say "Peanut Butter Fingers. I don't like Peanut Butter Fingers." He simply replied "Oh." and went back to playing. Normally he asks to help, so he must have been pretty serious about what he was doing. It has been a long time since I made these bars, maybe years. (what is wrong with me?) When Andrew ate his, he said "These taste like Grandma's." Later he asked "What are you going to do with all those finger-prints." I think he had finger painting on his mind. (This picture doesn't really do them justice)

Peanut Butter Fingers

Cream together: 1/2 cup butter, 1/2 cup sugar, 1/2 cup brown sugar.
Blend in 1 egg, unbeaten, 1/3 cup peanut butter, 1/2 t. soda, 1/2 t. vanilla and 1/4 t. salt.

Stir in 1 cup flour and 1 cup oatmeal.
Press into a 9x13 inch pan.

Bake at 350 for 18-20 minutes.
Remove from oven and put 1 cup chocolate bits on top. Let stand 5 minutes and spread. Allow to cool.

Combine: 1/2 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 cup peanut butter, 3T. evaporated milk (or regular milk). Mix well and spread on top of cooled chocolate bits.

Andrew and Carson enjoying the "fingerprints".

Andrew saved some of the chocolate and peanut butter layers for last, notice them off the left.

YUM!!!

Busy Weekend

In the blogging world, is it acceptable to be blogging about the weekend two days later? Probably not to the serious bloggers out there, but oh well.

We had a fun and busy weekend. Often our weekends are spent doing chores and just hanging out at the house, if we haven't gone away to visit family or friends. This weekend was full of activity.

Friday after eating supper, Chad headed out to mow the lawn. Andrew now rides the Gator as "his lawnmower" when Chad is mowing, instead of the little toy lawnmower he used to push and try and keep up with Chad. Carson and I were outside too. My parents pulled up just as we were heading inside. I knew they were coming but I hadn't told Andrew. He said "Who is here?" I told him he better go look. Well you can imagine the excitement!! We had purchased some meat from my Uncle Fred, 1/4 of a steer, and Mom and Dad brought it to us. So I sound a bit spoiled that my parents would go pick up meat for us, pay for it (we payed them back) and then drive 3 hours to deliver it to us. But I assure you them driving here had little to do with the meat or with me for that matter. ;) It had more to do with two little boys!! :)

They also brought some pre-Halloween treats for the boys and some Dough Box Monster Cookies! YUM!! If you are ever in Northwest Ohio, you must go there. I am a little partial since my Grandma Short worked there for many years. Some favorites are these Monster Cookies (they are huge!), belly stickers, filled sticks and cinnamon rolls, and pies-Peanut Butter, or Chocolate, or Peanut Butter Chocolate or Pecan or Raspberry Cream - Do you want to go yet?? My parents stayed overnight. We enjoyed brunch together and then they went on to Ben & Kristy's to watch Abby so they could have a night out to celebrate their Anniversary.

Saturday afternoon was spent watching Ohio State football of course! Go Bucks!

Saturday evening we had a get together with the young families from our church. We met at one of the families homes. We had a cookout on the fire; hotdogs by the fire and of course marshmellows. It is fun to get together with these families. The children have such a good time playing together. It was a very nice evening weather wise but some of the kids were a little chilly so we took them inside after it was dark.

Sunday after church, we were invited a Birthday party for two little neighbor girls. They had the party at the bowling alley. This was the first time Andrew has been bowling at an actual bowling alley. He really enjoyed it. They had a "slide" of sorts (I don't know what it is really called) for the young children to put their ball on and push it down this "slide" onto the lane. Andrew was loving this! I could not get him to come eat pizza with Carson and I. Later he did come eat some with Chad. But he only ate a few bites and said he "had to get back to playing golf" - not sure where that came from.

Today when I asked him what he wanted for food at his Birthday Party, he said "Pizza". I asked why. He said "Cause that is what Ella had at her party". It is really hard for me to believe that in less than 2 weeks Carson will be 2 and in less than 4 weeks Andrew will be 4. Crazy how fast they grow up.

Left overs?

Love them - 5 (41%)
Like them - 4 (33%)
Hate them - 0
Indifferent - 3 (25%)

My favorite thing about left overs is that I don't have to cook!! I enjoy left overs. I usually cook most evening meals and then we will have left overs at lunch time or sometimes in the evenings. But when cooking for two adults and two small children, sometimes there is a lot left over, depending on what I make. So after eating the same food for three meals, I get a little tired of it. But I really don't like throwing food out either. Or what about when I try a new recipe and we just aren't that excited about it, again don't like throwing it out but don't really want to keep eating it. Thankfully Chad usually doesn't mind left overs too much, depending on what it is. In fact there are certain things that he thinks are better as left overs. For instance, the Seafood Pasta from Red Lobster. This is what he often orders there and he makes sure to save some to put in a to go box to eat the next day. Now baked goods on the other hand have to be fresh for him to eat them.

Butternut Squash Bake

This is a recipe that our friends' Melissa and Doug shared with us when we were on vacation with them in The Outer Banks. (This isn't actually her recipe, though I think it is pretty similar, I found this recipe in one of my cookbooks from the northwest Ohio area.) Whenever I make this, I think of them and am reminded of the fun times we had on vacation(s) together. We met Melissa and Doug when Chad and Doug were in Residency together. Melissa is quite possibly one of the sweetest people I have ever met and a wonderful friend. She has recently finished 6 rounds of chemo for Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. She will have another scan in a few weeks to determine what comes next. Please keep Melissa, Doug and their three wonderful children in your prayers. (For my family and friends from back home, Doug also grew up in Stryker.)

Andrew is going through a really rough stage with meals. He asks me everyday what I'm making for lunch or supper. When I tell him he says "____. I don't like____" The only time is happy about a meal is when it is a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. He does usually end up eating whatever I make, but not exactly willingly.

Well, tonight when I told him what we were having, he said "Butternut Squash Bake. I don't like Butternut Squash Bake!" I told him that I was tired of hearing him say things like that and that it hurts my feelings, which he has been told before. So we sat down and began eating. Both boys were very willingly moving their spoon to their mouth with food on it!! Then Andrew said "I'm sorry I said I don't like Butternut Squash Bake, Mom. I do like it." The boys and Chad and I all had several helpings of this. It is so yummy and sweet. We nearly ate the whole dish tonight, but maybe that had something to do with the fact that the steaks had to go back in the oven cause they were just a tad pink.

Anyways, the recipe....

Butternut Squash Bake
1/3 cup butter or margarine, softened
3/4 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 (5oz.) can evaporated milk
1 tsp. vanilla extract
2 cups butternut squash, cooked and mashed

Topping:
1/2 cup rice crisp cereal
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup chopped pecans
2 T. butter or margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350. In a mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Beat in eggs, milk and vanilla. Stir in squash, mixture will be thin. Pour into a greased 8x11 baking pan. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes or until almost set. Combine topping ingredients; sprinkle over casserole. Return to the oven for 5-10 minutes or until bubbly.

Do you see anything slightly off in this picture?

Never mind all the toys scattered in the background. And Yes, I had to clear off the table before taking the picture.

In the first week or two of Andrew's preschool, his teachers mentioned that he was having trouble scooting himself up to their little tables that the kids sit around. His teachers were laughing, saying how he ends up pulling the table towards himself instead of pulling his chair closer to the table. (He is mighty!) That leaves the other children with a gap between their own chairs and the table. The other children look around perplexed as to why this has happened.

We noticed that our table at home has moved as well. It is no longer centered under the light fixture. This is because Andrew pushes off on the table to push his chair back when he is done eating. I just re-centered our table and was surprised how far I had to pull it back to get it centered again. When I was taking this picture, Andrew was behind me and said "What are you taking a picture of Mom?" and before I knew it there he was just as I snapped the picture. This just seemed perfect since he is the reason I was taking this photo in the first place.

The past few days I have felt a little "off center". The boys and I came down with colds either Friday or Saturday. And, yes, it is just a cold but I just feel so off! All three of us are off. I feel achey, no energy, sore throat, congestion; which doesn't leave me much reserve to handle two little boys who don't feel very well either. They really have done pretty well, but have their moments when it is obvious that they don't feel well either. Sleep has not been high quality for any of us. Andrew woke up yesterday morning (on our bedroom floor of course) crying, coughing, saying his "nose hurt." Not sure about that one, he said his throat did not hurt. Chad went to church yesterday with out us. That always throws off my week too when we don't make it to church on Sunday, makes me feel like something is missing all week long. Luckily Andrew doesn't have preschool on Mondays, this way we can ease back into the week. Chad mentioned that he felt he was getting the bug too. Hopefully we will all be better soon and feel "re-centered".

I got one!

I may have mentioned a time or two on this blog that I could really use/want a new purse. I really like the 1154 Lill Studio purses. They have many great designs, I was debating between the Ally and Lucy. (yes, I did design those two) And many wonderful fabrics to choose from. I actually liked so many of them that I was having a difficult time deciding what fabrics to use. (difficult time deciding? Kristi? really?) I was having a lot of fun designing my own purse. One thing I didn't like about these purses was the price.

Well I found a great one on eBay! It is the Ally design, which I was thinking about and it is classic, black and ivory with a little bit of tan. It was listed as "new with tags". I won it. It arrived in the mail for me yesterday. I really like it! And I only payed about a third of what I would have had I designed it myself on the website. Had I designed it myself, I might not have chosen this particular fabric, though I do really like it. I was going for something that had more browns in it.

It is a great size. I was able to fit all my essentials (wallet, keys, phone, kleenex, chapstick, lotion) as well as a diaper, wipes and small lap/changing pad for Carson if needed.

Here is a picture of the inside. It is pink with a black slip pocket. Really cute.

I know part of the fun of having a Lill purse is that you design it yourself but I love that I got a great purse at a great price even more. If you like this, check out this other Ally purse on eBay. It is red and black. (I'm not into red, it clashes with my hair. :)

Trapped

Andrew built this yesterday. It seems that he is playing better now, more creative, since he started going to preschool. He took all the couch and chair cushions and pillows, as well as pillows from our three beds and then added lots of stuffed animals. I said "Oh, Andrew are you making a fort?" Andrew replied with much excitement and orneriness "No, I'm making a trap for Carson! He's trapped!" Apparently Carson had been behind this rocker but had left while Andrew was building it. The other side of the chair had their blue chair that can be easily moved, to get out, and then put back into place. He had fun building and playing in this "trap". He did a pretty good job of putting the items back too, at least in the correct rooms.

What is it....

about a rainy day that leaves me with little to no motivation? I woke up this morning to a nice slow steady rain. I love that sound, especially when I wake up to it. Andrew realized Chad was in the shower and crawled into bed with me. He wanted to watch a show, of course. So he watched some of Martha Speaks on PBS (it is about a dog that talks), then Curious George. I heard Carson waking up on the monitor. I went and got him out of his crib and he joined us for a snuggle party in the bed.

We went out to the kitchen and had breakfast. I tidied up the kitchen a little, then did a few things on the computer. It was then 10:00 already! So I decided it was time to get out of my pajamas! Isn't that pathetic. I took a shower, Andrew is still in his pjs at 10:42, Carson has clothes on but only because he spilled milk on his pjs at breakfast.

On these rainy days I enjoy being indoors and watching the rain but I just don't have any motivation to get things done. It is much nicer to sit, curl up in a blanket and watch some TV or read books. I am thankful for the opportunity to be able to be home with our boys without an agenda this morning. I really do enjoy rainy days like this, but not when they happen day after day. I know sunshine is in the forecast for tomorrow, which makes me very happy.

My Moose

Or is it Mooses or Meese, mostly playing, I know it is Moose but isn't that strange! Yesterday the boys were dressed a like, something that very rarely happens on purpose anyways. Some days I will dress them similarly (but not identically) and not even realize it til later in the day.

I purchased these Moose T shirts from a friend. She made them, they are potato prints. The boys really looked cute in them. So I tried to get pictures of them together. I captured some cute pictures of each of them, but just not in the same photo. One was covering his face with his hat or pulling his lips apart with his fingers, or smiling cheesy or just not looking. But I decided to post them anyways! I like the first two the best. The smaller ones, you can click on them to see them larger if you so desire.Completely at ease, relaxed, watching a show.

Carson is saying "Cheese!"

Where did he go? Get your fingers out of your mouth.




What is behind your backs? So precious.

On the side note, parents of young children...have you seen the new show called Sid the Science Kid? It is on PBS, here it is on at 8:30. Andrew and Carson really like this show. The show is about Sid and it always starts off with him in his bedroom each morning and he discovers something he wants to learn about today. Then he goes down to eat breakfast with his parents and little brother. He asks his Mom about whatever it is he wants to learn about, often she will look something up on the computer and then it is off to school. He sings this fun song on his way to school "I love my Mom. My Mom is cool. And now it's time for having fun in school" Then he goes out to the playground and looks for his friends with another song "I'm looking for my friends, I'm looking for you..." Well each of his friends do their own little dance after Sid finds them. Carson loves Gabriella's sounds with her dance.

As I was posting this I could hear Carson through the monitor saying "Ya Ya Wooh! Ya Ya Wooh! Oh, Ya!" just like Gabriella does. So funny. But then since it is 2:00 and he still hasn't fallen asleep, I had to go rock him so that he actually naps before I have to wake him up to go get Andrew at 3:00.

When staying at a hotel, do you take the shampoo, conditioner, lotion, etc. home with you when you check out?

Always - 2 (22%)
Sometimes - 7 (77%)
Never - 0

I would say I sometimes - always take these items home. They just throw them away anyways right? I like them to use for when I travel and I think it would be nice to have and put out when we have guests stay over. The past two time Chad and I have stayed in a hotel, I have taken these items home. In fact, when we were in Arizona and spent the week there, the hotel had Aveda products and I started stock piling them!

Andrew's Room

I recently posted about Andrew's new sheets (which he isn't complaining about anymore. Yay!) and how we were given some wall stickers. Well this past Saturday, Chad painted Andrew's room. Andrew had a request for it to be painted blue. "Blues my favorite!" We chose "dockside blue" from Sherwin-Williams (Thanks for the discount Tim!)

While Chad was painting and Carson was sleeping, Andrew and I took a trip in search of a blue bedspread. There is a bedspread and quilt that match with his sheet set, I just couldn't decide if I liked them or not... a little bold, lots going on. So instead I just got him this cozy blue blanket.

We also switched around the placement of his bed and small dresser with mirror. We no longer have a straight shot from this doorway to his closet, which might take some getting used to.

Today Andrew and I added the wall stickers and signs. Since the wall stickers had been used, a few of them aren't sticking very well. They will just pop off the wall, and Andrew says "Aahhh! Not again!" But I'm sure we can find something to help hold them in place.

View from the door, before above and after below

View from the closet, before above and after below

View from the window, before above and after belowAndrew has this thing with animals...the more that are in this bed the better, or so he says for sleeping purposes. They are supposed to "keep me safe".

Here the boys are watching Chad paint. However they did not sit still on the bed very long and since there wasn't much space to move around in Andrew's room with out running into the wall they were quickly brought out of the room.

The past two nights, the new blue color on the walls and the cozy blanket haven't helped Andrew sleep any better. We shall see if the stickers and signs help. Hey! A girl can hope!

A little something for myself....

"and the glory, the glory of the Lord!"

Being a full time stay at home Mom of two young boys currently doesn't allow much time for me to be alone or much time for me to do something for myself. Well, yesterday I was able to do both of these things with one event.

Every year the Mount Vernon Nazarene University sings The Messiah at Christmas time and the community is invited to sing with them. I considered singing in it last year but we didn't know very many people in this area yet and I was concerned about finding someone to watch the boys. Well this year, I decided to sing in it. Yesterday afternoon was the first practice. Chad was able to be home in time for this first practice to be here with the boys.

I was able to drive in the car by myself to the University. What a peaceful ride. Once there I felt a bit out of place. I have only been out of college for 9 years but boy did I feel old! Another community member asked if I was a college student and she seemed a little surprised when I said no. So maybe I didn't look old to her, but I felt it.

We watched a little bit of the recording from last years performance and then began warming up. It has been 11 or 12 years since I sang with a choir and I kind of forgot about all those warm ups! We sang through a few of the numbers. It was fun to get out by myself and sing with a group of people again. It is such beautiful music and wonderful sounds. I heard one person say "It is like a worship service" and truly it is. I look forward to each Wed. practice and the performance on Dec. 7. Now I need to line up sitters for the next 8 or so weeks!

Baked Chimichangas

Here is one of my favorite Mexican dish recipes. I found this recipe in a cookbook at the house we stayed at in Maine when Chad took a 7 week course there during Residency. I made it a few times while we were in Maine and now when I make it, I am always reminded of that fun summer.

Baked Chimichangas

8 oz. cooked chicken
8 oz. jar salsa
16 oz. refried beans
4 1/2 oz. green chili peppers, drained
3 T. sliced green onions
4 oz. Mont. Jack cheese or cheddar
8 tortillas
sour cream, lettuce, additional green onions and salsa or chopped tomatoes

Shred chicken. In sauce pan, combine chicken, salsa, beans, chili peppers and green onions. Cook and stir over medium heat until heated through. Stir in cheese. Wrap tortillas in foil. Warm in 350 oven for 10 min. Place meat mix. on tortillas. Fold in sides and roll up. Place in 13x9 in. pan. Bake uncovered at 350 for 15-20 min. Serve with sour cream, salsa or tomatoes, green onions and lettuce.

When I make this, I find that I often have more meat mixture than I need for 8 tortillas. My suggestion would be to use 10 tortillas and place in a larger pan or the meat mix is really good used as a dip for chips!