Just a couple of hours to do all this.

After:

Lion House Roasted Parmesan Potatoes
· 4 med potatoes, peeled
· 1 Tbsp oil
· 3 Tbsp parmesan
· 2 Tbsp parsley
· 1 tsp paprika
· ½ tsp garlic powder
· 1 tsp salt
· 1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
Directions: Preheat oven to 450. Line a cookie sheet with foil and spray with nonstick spray. Cube potatoes and toss with oil. Combine rest of ingredients and toss with potatoes. Arrange on baking sheet and cook about 25 minutes.

Lion House Veggie Cheese Egg Scramble- Serves 4
· 1 ½ C frozen California blend vegetables
· 6 eggs
· 2 Tbsp milk
· ¼ tsp salt
· ¼ tsp dried basil leaves
· 1/8 tsp black pepper
· ¼ C green onions, chopped
· ½ C shredded cheddar cheese
Directions: Cook vegetables as directed on package; drain and keep warm. I a medium bowl, combine eggs, milk, salt, basil, and pepper; beat well. Grease and heat skillet over medium heat; add egg mixture. Add warm vegetables and sprinkle with cheese. Cover and cook 2-3 minutes or until cheese is melted.

Spiced Beef Kabobs
· ¼ C soy sauce
· 3 Tbsp vegetable oil
· 2 Tbsp packed brown sugar
· 6 cloves garlic, smashed
· 1 tsp crushed red pepper
· 1 lb boneless beef chuck or sirloin, trimmed and cut into 1” cubes
Directions:
1. In a Ziploc bag, add soy sauce, oil, lemon juice, brown sugar, garlic, and red pepper. Add meat. Marinate. Refrigerate 4-24 hours.
2. Drain beef mixture; discard marinade. Thread beef kabobs on 8” skewers, leaving ¼” between them.
3. Preheat grill to med heat. Cook 10-14 minutes.

Spicy Orange Chicken- Serves 4
· ½ C orange juice
· ¼ C mild-flavored molasses
· 1 Tbsp soy sauce
· 2 tsp cornstarch
· ¾ C all-purpose flour
· ½ tsp salt
· ¼ tsp baking powder
· 3/ C water
· 1 ib boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1” pieces
· Vegetable oil for frying
· 1 tsp chili oil
· 4 whole dried chili peppers
· 2 cloves minced garlic
· 1 tsp ginger
· Rice
Directions: Combine juice, soy sauce and cornstarch in small bowl; set aside. Combine flour, salt, and baking powder in a medium bowl. Whisk in water to form smooth batter. Add chicken; mix well. Heat vegetable oil in wok, and cook chicken over med-high heat until golden brown and no longer pink in the center. Drain oil and reheat wok. Add dried chili peppers, garlic, and ginger. Stir-fry about 30 seconds. Stir in cornstarch mixture and bring to a boil. Serve over rice.

Crepes- Yields 12 servings of 2 crepes 64 calories
2 C all-purpose flour
½ tsp salt
2 C milk
1 C water
1 Tbsp melted butter
4 large eggs

Mix ingredients together. Scoop ¼ C of batter into a skillet over medium heat. Quickly tilt pa in all direction until batter covers pan with a thin film. Cook until slightly browned. (You can fill these with vanilla pudding, cream cheese, etc.)

Crepe Berry Sauce:
· 1 ½ C frozen raspberries
· 1 ½ C frozen blueberries
· 1 C frozen strawberries
· ¼ C granulated sugar
· 1 tsp cornstarch
· 1 Tbsp lemon juice

Directions: Combine first 5 ingredients in a saucepan; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer about 5 minutes until thickened. Remove from heat. Stir in juice. Cool. Serve over crepes.

Sirloin and Vegetable Stir-Fry- Serves 4 (1 ½ C beef mixture with ¾ C rice) 323 calories
· ½ tsp salt
· ½ tsp five-spice powder (I used all-spice instead)
· ¼ tsp black pepper
· 1 lb sirloin steak trimmed and thinly sliced
· 2 tsp cornstarch
· ½ tsp sugar
· ¼ tsp crushed red pepper
· ¾ C reduced-sodium beef broth
· 2 Tbsp low-sodium soy sauce
· 2 tsp canola oil
· 1 C diagonally cut sliced carrots
· 1 C broccoli
· 1 ½ C snow peas, trimmed
· 3 C hot rice
Directions: Combine first 3 ingredients in a bowl; sprinkle evenly over steak. Combine cornstarch, sugar, and red pepper in a medium bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Stir in broth and soy sauce. Heat oil in a large skillet over med-high heat. Add carrots to pan and stir-fry 2 minutes. Add steak and broccoli, stir-fry 1 minute. Stir in broth mixture; cook 1 minute. Add snow peas; cook 30 seconds. Serve with rice.

On Friday Brent's sister Jessica and her husband Matt came from Boise, ID to visit us. We had tons of fun!

Here is a picture of Matt & Jessica


Saturday, us girls went on a shopping spree and bought some cute new clothes and accessories. I will have to model some for you on here sometime.

On Monday we went to the zoo. We have several pictures of cute animals, all of which I'm sure you know what look like, so I chose a couple of my favorite ones.

I am working on combining a book of mine and Brent's favorite recipes that we have actually tested out. I have whole pile to still type up and will put some more on soon. But for now....

Corn and Black Bean Salad
Makes 4 Servings
394 calories per serving

· 1, 15 oz can corn
· ½ C cilantro
· ¼ C cider vinegar
· 3 Tbsp olive oil
· ¾ tsp salt
· Pinch of ground black pepper
· 2, 15 oz can black beans
· 1 jalapeño Chile
· 2 Tbsp chopped red onion
· 2 C chopped tomato

Directions: Combine and serve at room temperature
(tastes good on a cheese crisp)



Spicy Cashew Chicken

· 2 tsp peanut oil
· 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into 1-2” pieces
· 3 Tbsp seasoned flour (* see recipe below)
· 4 tsp seasoned flour batter ( * see recipe below)
· 5 tsp spicy hoisin sauce (* see recipe below)
· 2 oz cashews
· 1 oz green onion chopped into ¼” pieces
· ½ tsp sesame seeds
· ½ tsp parsley
· 10 oz steamed rice
*Seasoned flour
§ 1/4 C flour
§ 1/16 tsp slat
§ 1/32 tsp black pepper
§ 1/32 tsp paprika
§ 1/32 tsp baking powder
*Flour Batter
§ ½ C flour+1Tbsp
§ ½ tsp salt
§ ½ tsp black pepper
§ ½ C cold water
*Spicy Hoisin Sauce
§ ½ C hoisin sauce
§ 2 Tbsp soy sauce
§ 2 Tbsp apple cider
§ 1 Tbsp red wine vinegar
§ 1 ½ tsp chili garlic paste
§ 2 Tbsp sugar
§ 1 Tbsp minced garlic
§ Pinch of crushed red chili flakes

Directions: Place peanut oil in a wok over med heat. In a bowl coat chicken with flour. Ladle in flour batter. Cook chicken 3-4min. on each side. Add spicy hoisin sauce and cashews. Sprinkle with green onion, sesame seeds, and parsley. Serve over rice.

Bowtie and Asparagus Pasta

· 1 package bowtie pasta
· 1/ C butter
· 2-3 cloves minced garlic
· ¾ C parmesan cheese
· 1-2 chicken bouillon cubes
· 1 pint heavy cream
· Salt and pepper to taste
· 10-15 asparagus spears steamed
· ½ C bacon crumbled
· ¼ C toasted pine nuts (optional)
· Parsley to taste
· Parmesan cheese to taste
Directions: Boil bowtie pasta in salted water until soft. In a wok melt butter. Add minced garlic and sauté for 1 minute. Add parmesan cheese and bouillon cubes. When bouillon is dissolved, slowly stir in heavy cream, salt and pepper. Add cooked pasta to cream sauce and toss until pasta is covered. Add asparagus spears. Sprinkle with bacon, pine nuts, parsley, and parmesan. Serve with Paprika Chicken (below).
Paprika Chicken
§ 4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
§ ½ C parmesan cheese
§ 1 ½ C Italian bread crumbs
§ 1 ½ C cubes (3/4C) butter melted
§ Paprika
Directions: Combine parmesan with bread crumbs. Dip chicken in melted butter. Roll in bread crumbs until completely coated. Place in a baking dish and sprinkle with paprika. Bake uncovered for 35-40 minutes at 375 degrees.

Oriental Chicken Salad (serves 2)
§ 1 head of romaine lettuce
§ 8 oz Breaded chicken breast tenderloins (we get them from Costco)
§ 4 Tbsp Vidalia Onion vinaigrette salad dressing (we love Oak Hill Farms from Costco)
§ 2 Tbsp slivered almonds
§ 1 green onion
Directions: Toss ingredients and serve.
Hamburger Stroganoff
· 1 lb ground beef
· 2 slices bacon diced
· ½ C chopped onion
· ¾ tsp salt
· ¼ tsp paprika
· Dash of pepper
· 1, 15 oz can cream of chicken soup
· 1 C fat-free sour cream
· 12 oz whole wheat egg noodles
Brown bacon and beef over med-high heat. Add onion and cook until tender. Drain off excess fat. Stir in rest of ingredients. Serve over hot egg noodles.

Here are a couple of our favorite healty recipes. I'll post more later on.

*Chicken Stir-Dry with Peanut Sauce Over Rice 450kcals
Stir-Fry:
· Cooking spray
· 6 oz boneless, skinless chicken breast
· 1 tsp sesame oil
· 2 cloves garlic minced
· 1 tsp ginger
· 3 ½ C favorite vegetables (broccoli)
Peanut Sauce:
· 1 ½ Tbsp hot tap water
· 1 ½ Tbsp crunchy peanut butter
· 1 tsp low-sodium soy sauce
· 1 Tbsp rice vinegar
· Hot chili sauce to taste (1 tsp)
Directions:

Sauce: Blend hot water and peanut butter. Add soy sauce, vinegar and chili sauce.

Stir-Fry: Cook chicken over med-high heat. Remove from pan. Add oil and sauté garlic and ginger until garlic is golden brown. Add veggies; cook until tender. Return chicken to pan; stir-fry for 3min. Pour sauce on top. Serve over rice.

*Chicken Pot Pie Servings: 3 kcals: 374

· 1/2 (15oz) package of refrigerated pie dough
· Cooking spray
· 1/3 tsp slat
· 2 Tbsp all-purpose flour
· 1 tsp dried rubbed sage
· ¼ tsp salt
· ¼ tsp black pepper
· 8 oz chicken breasts cut into bite-size pieces
· 1 ¼ C water
· 1 ½ C frozen mixed veggies
· 1 C muchrooms, quartered (we don’t like mushrooms so we replaced it with broccoli and cauliflower- same amount)
· One 10oz can condensed reduced-fat reduced-sodium cream of chicken soup
Directions:
· Preheat Oven to 425
· Cut 3 (4”) circles out of pie crust. Place dough circles on a spray coated baking sheet, and sprinkle evenly with 1/8 tsp of slat. Pierce dough with a fork. Bake at 425 for 12 minutes.
· Combine flour, sage, ¼ tsp salt, and pepper in a zip-lock back; add chicken. Seal bag and shake to coat. Coat a pan with cooking spray. Cook chick over med-high heat for 5 minutes until the sides are brown. Stir in 1 ¼ C water, veggies, and soup. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat, simmer for 10 min. Spoon 1 C or chicken mixture into 3 bowls. Top each serving with 1 pie crust.

On Friday we celebrated our 4 year wedding anniversary (our actual anniversary is on Monday 7/27- but we have to work all day.) We went to the Gardens at Thanksgiving Point in Lehi, UT. and then to diner at Texas Roadhouse. On Saturday we went to the SLC Temple where we were married. We had a bbq with the best stea shish kabobs and then went out for ice cream at Leatherby's. We can't believe it has already been 4 years. Here is brief recap of what we have done over the past 4 years:

July 27th,2005 Married in The Salt Lake Temple. Went on our honeymoon in Park City, UT. Went back to Arizona and moved into our first apartment in Tempe. Valerie played volleyball and went to school at South Mountain Community College. Brent mostly worked and went to school part time. May 2006 we moved to Taylorsville, UT. Valerie worked and went to school. Brent went to school. August 2008 we bought our first house in South Jordan, UT. May 2009 Brent graduated in biomedical engineering from the University of Utah. Now here we are. Brent is working as a consultant and looking for a biomedical engineering job here in Utah, and Valerie is teaching Swim Lessons, looking for a personal training job, and going back to school to finish her degree in exercise science.