Try It Tuesday

This is one of my favorite recipes. My kids LOVE it, too. Justin, on the other hand, usually requests meat to go with it, but the rest of us can fill up on just the casserole.

Mixed Grain Casserole

aka Go for the Grains

1 can black beans (15 ounces), rinsed and drained
1 cup sliced carrots (thinly)
1 cup frozen corn
1 cup chicken or vegetable broth
1/2 cup pearl barley
1/3 cup chopped fresh parsley
1/4 cup bulgur
1/4 cup chopped onion
1/4 teaspoon garlic salt
1/2 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Combine all ingredients except cheese in baking dish. Cover. Bake 50-60 minutes on 350, stirring once halfway through baking time. Sprinkle with cheese.

Happy Birthday, Dad!!

Happy Birthday to one handsome guy! My dad is such a great grandpa. My kids absolutely love to spend time with him, and he's always full of good stories and laughs. And he's now just as old as my mom. We hope you have a great birthday, dad, and get an extra piece of German chocolate cake.

Happy Birthday!!

Jackson Hole

On Saturday, we decided to take a little trip to Jackson with some of our friends, the Bruderers, the Cannons, the Daws and the Montanos. We started off the day riding the gondolas to the top of the mountain and having lunch.

Riding the gondola:

Anna, Allie, and Ellie; Ogden and Amber; Amber and Ellie; Justin

After our lunch and gondola ride, we headed to the Alpine slide. The kids had so much fun and the girls got to experience a chairlift without having to go skiing.

Justin and Anna, Amber and Ogden

Ellie got (or had) to ride by herself. She just loved it!

After the slide, we headed to town for some ice cream and a little shopping. Justin was in heaven when he realized they have an Eddie Bauer. Needless to say, we came home with a couple plaid shirts (shocking, I know).

The whole gang hanging out.

I think the people there were shocked to see all of our kids. They made some not so friendly comments, except for the Chinese tourists, they kept taking pictures of us. In all, we had 13 kids and two pregnant ladies.

After the shootout, Anna was dying to meet who she called "the cowgirls." I didn't want to tell her what these girls really were, so we just grabbed a picture with one of them.

We had a fun time. Thanks guys for the fun trip and thanks, Angie, for planning the whole thing!

Chubby Smiles

Happy Birthday to two beautiful girls

Today, my sister-in-law, Melissa, turns 28. Melissa is such a sweet aunt and so much fun to be with. She also looks like she could be Ellie's mother. We hope you have a great day and that all your boys spoil their princess rotten.

Happy Birthday, Melissa!!

Today is also my mom's birthday. I won't give away her age, but it's older than she looks. My mom is the most amazing person with so much energy. She makes me tired just watching her. My kids have loved living so close to her and sure miss her this week while she's in North Carolina. We hope you're having a great time, mom, and enjoying that new granddaughter. We love you!! Happy Birthday!!

Alex is a Teenager

Yesterday, our beautiful niece, Alex, turned 13! I can't believe it. She was just tiny when I first met her. Alex is an amazing girl who loves soccer and is like a second mother in the Hollingsworth home. I think we all hope we have our own Alex someday. We hope you had a great day, Alex. Happy Birthday!!

Happy Birthday, Gabby!

Our sweet little niece, Gabrielle, turns the big 3 today! Gabby is such a sweet little girl. She's kind and quiet, and I've never even seen her get upset like some little three year olds I know (I won't mention any names). We hope you have a great day, Gabby!

Happy Birthday!!

Try It Tuesday

My sister-in-law, Elena, started a "Try It Tuesday" where we post recipes that we've tried and want to share. If you have a tried and true recipe, post it, and leave a comment on my blog so we call all try it. I thought I'd add one that my family enjoys. I know it has some interesting ingredients, but it all comes together pretty tasty.

Turkey Picadillo Tacos


1 T vegetable oil
1 medium-size onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground turkey (don't try substituting beef, it won't taste as good)
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t ground cinnamon
1/4 t ground cumin
1/4 t ground allspice
1/4 t black pepper
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce
18 hard taco shells
1 can Mexicorn (11 ounces), drained
1 can black beans (I added this one because I love beans)
Shredded lettuce, sour cream, shopped cilantro and onion for garnish

Cook onion and turkey in oil until onion is tender and turkey is no longer pink. Stir in garlic salt cinnamon, cumin, allspice, pepper and tomato sauce. Simmer, covered for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
Heat taco shells at 400 for 5 minutes.
Add corn and beans to turkey mixture and heat through.
To serve, spoon filling into warmed taco shells and top with garnishes.

Happy Birthday, Owen!!

Yesterday, our nephew, Little Owen, turned the big #3! Owen is Ogden's little buddy and they have so much fun together. We even got to spend Saturday with him at his birthday party at Ross park. We had such a fun day, Owen, and hope you had a great birthday.

Happy 3rd birthday, Owen!!

I do need to apologize for the late post, my internet wasn't working yesterday.

Happy Birthday, Chris!

Today is our brother-in-law, Chris's, birthday. I won't say how old he is, but the only people in the family who are older are Gregg and Anna. I've always loved having Chris in the Manwaring family, we seem to understand each other so well. We hope you have a great day!

Happy Birthday!!

Camille turns 35! and Scotty's 56?

Today is my oldest sister, Camille's, birthday! Camille is the sweetest, calmest, and most patient mother I've ever known. Anna always reminds me that Camille doesn't yell at her kids. I guess I need to go to Provo for a few lessons. We hope you have a great day, Cami! Happy Birthday!!

Today is also our long time dog, Scotty's, birthday. We've had Scotty for almost 8 years now and can't believe he's still around. I mean, he's as old as MY PARENTS. Here's to another year, Scotty!

What a Weekend!

On Thursday, the girls were ready to start their weekend after their final tennis lesson for the summer.

They had a lot of fun in their little class. Their age group never got to actually play the game, but they did have little skills tournaments during the last few lessons. One day Ellie made it into the tournaments and another time Anna did.
This picture is of Anna in her skills tournament.


Ogden was a little wore out from all of his playing outside one day and this is how I found him sleeping when I walked into the house.Ooh, doesn't that look comfy?

On the fourth, we headed to Idaho Falls to party with all of the Manwarings. The kids had so much fun playing with their cousins. They even got to play on the Banzai Falls for the first time this year, but probably not the last!

Izzie and Truman resting in the shade with Aunt Melissa looking over them.


BANZAI FALLS

Ogden had a blast doing flips on his way down the slide. It was pretty entertaining



And, of course, I couldn't resist another picture of Truman in his red, white, and blue!

On Saturday morning we had family pictures with all of the Manwarings. What a crowd! Afterwards, we had a huge breakfast and headed to the park to play and rest in the shade.

Justin and Truman taking a little snooze.


We had our tennis rackets in the back of the car, so the kids headed to the tennis courts at the park and started playing. Luckily Uncle Jarom used to teach tennis lessons and offered a free lesson to all of the kids. It was so fun to watch!

Sunday was Truman's blessing, and for any of you who were wondering, I managed to stay composed all through the whole meeting. It was such a nice day and Truman looked so sweet in his little blessing outfit.

After church, or at least sacrament meeting, everyone came over for dinner. It was so much fun to spend time with family. None of my brothers and sisters could make it, but I was lucky enough to have my cousins Mitch, Marcus, and Drew come with their wives and girlfriend from Rexburg. It was such a nice day.

The crew enjoying lunch with Ben at the grill for us. Justin was pretty relieved to have Ben and Chris relieve him from the grill. We're not really grilling pros.

Thanks everyone for a fun weekend.

Summer Days

The summer heat is definitely here and the kids now insist on being wet every day. I keep wondering why I even bought summer clothes this year and not just a closet full of swimsuits.

McKinley (our neighbor), Anna, Ellie, and Ogden taking a rest from the water.
We laid sod on our hill last night so I've had a sprinkler going on it all day. I heard the girls screaming and something hitting my back door and this is what I found. Ogden thought it was so funny to spray everyone with the sprinkler. He's pretty smart because I couldn't even open the door to stop him.

And, I couldn't resist posting another picture of Truman. He's such a cutie and just keeps growing!