Apple Orchard Trip x 4

Last Saturday we were able to make our annual trip to the apple orchard. I like going in September rather than October because 1) the apples are better and 2) it's not as crowded. I don't really do crowds. We had a great time eating doughnuts, playing at the playground, and taking a tractor ride. We skipped the petting zoo this time since it annoys me that you have to pay for every little thing. Bryan and I have been eating our apples for lunch, and they sure are delicious. I skipped the apple pie this year to stay on the happy side of health. Pie's not my favorite anyway. I think I would rather go back and have some more doughnuts. Enjoy pictures from this year and all the previous years; it's fun to see how much Anna has changed. I hardly remember her being so little.

It's all about the slide!

My 2 favorite people.

Last year - Queen of the Hill.

2 years ago - I think she tried picking up each and every pumpkin.

3 years ago - Sweet baby in her cherry outfit. I love that outfit.

The sunscreen we put on her got in her eyes and made her hair crazy, but she looks happy hangin' with her pumpkins.

Today I am thankful for:

• 
  
  Chicken Taquitos for dinner - very tasty. I made the chicken in the crockpot this weekend with a jar of salsa and some sriracha hot sauce. I also added a can of black beans to the mix.


• 
  
  OT for Anna - it seems to help her have good days at school and she's somewhat calmer at home too.


• 
  
  a better week at work than last week
  
  

Tex-Mex dinner - yummy

It's been a really nice weekend. I think the (relatively) warm weather played a big part. We took a walk today! Shelby, our dog, gets really jipped (sp?) in the winter. I do not take walks in the freezing cold, so she doesn't either. Anna and I took a walk every nice day last summer, and then we took walks as a family in the fall. She's changed so much since then. Today, she was sitting up in her stroller, really checking out her surroundings. She was babbling - I guess giving us her thoughts on the exciting things she saw!

While we took a walk, and I did a ton of work for school, our dinner was cooking in the crockpot.
Bryan made chicken tacos using the recipe below. I made salsa too. The tacos topped with the salsa made a great dinner. We decided that next time, we would add some spice to the chicken - it had good flavor, but no spice.
This recipe comes from The Everything Tex-Mex Cookbook (p. 150) by Linda Larsen. I found it at Joseph-Beth.

Shredded Chicken for Tacos
2 lbs. boneless, skinless chicken breasts (we used frozen)
2 T. chili powder
1/2 t cumin (next time we will add more than this)
1/2 t dried oregano
1 t salt
1/8 t pepper
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 c chicken broth

1. In a small bowl, combine chili powder, cumin, oregano, salt, and pepper and mix well. Rub this mixture into the chicken breasts and place in a crockpot along with the chopped onions. Pour chicken broth over all. Cover crockpot and cook on low for 4-6 hours, until chicken is completely cooked.

2. Remove chicken from crockpot, shred with forks, and return to crockpot. Mix well and use immediately or refrigerate or freeze for later use.

I got the salsa recipe from Annie's Eats - My Favorite Salsa Ever. The recipe made a ton of salsa - almost 4 cups, so it could be cut in half. It has a little spice, but not overwhelming. I'm not sure what I'm going to do with all the salsa - bring it to work I guess.

We use Old El Paso 'Stand 'n Stuff' taco shells. Bryan won't eat any other type because the other ones fall over and the stuff falls out :(.

Well, if you decide to make the tacos, enjoy!