Ancestry.com

Who has been on Ancestry.com in the last little bit?  I checked this website out a few years ago, did okay with finding some stuff, but kept coming up short at certain spots so I quit.  Fast forward to last week when I decided, on a whim, to check the site out again.  And wow, was I amazed at the changes!

First of all, when searching a particular person.... say, your great grandmother, when her name is found on a census or other documents, a little leaf flags by her name.  Then you can click on the leaf and many times, you can view a copy of that page in the census (or other document)!  It is really amazing to see the older style writing and find your ancestors' name on those pages! 

I was also able to find military documents on some ancestors.  These are much more rare than finding a name on a census, and pretty cool to see an ancestor's signature, where they may have been stationed, draft registration cards, etc. 

One of the clues that would pop up was if that name is in other people's saved family trees.  Which was awesome because it gave you hints about an ancestor's mom and dad in some cases if you were having a hard time finding that information.  It also gave information on brothers and sisters.

Now there was a couple of drawbacks that drive me crazy.  One is that when a document is saved for an ancestor, if you do not remember the person you saved it under it is hard to find.  Even if you do remember the person it is saved under, it is still hard to find!  Seems like it could be a little more simple to find the things you already saved.  Another problem I found is that if there is a misspelling in a name, say, your aunt had a name that was misspelled a few times, then if you did not pay attention, it would pop up that person 3 times, like they are 3 different people.  It is a simple fix, but still a pain.

Overall, this was very addicting over last weekend.  I would stay up and could not help but keep looking for more information late into the night.  If you do get stuck and cannot find information on someone, especially when you are getting way back there in the 1700s and even 1600s, you can Google that name and many times there are other people asking the same questions in various genealogy forums and you may find your answer!  By the way, there is a 14 day free trial you can check out, just remember to cancel before the 14 days are up if you do not want to get charged!

Crock Pot Chicken Tikka Masala

I love Chicken Tikka Masala, especially at a particular restaurant close to me.  But with trying to eat out less, I have been trying to perfect some of my favorite dishes at home (and I love my crock pot and try to use it at least one time a week).  Though this is not exactly like my fave dish at my fave Indian restaurant, it is still pretty darn good!

Ingredients:

• 5-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1"-2" cubes
• 1-2 green bell peppers cut into long strips (I had forgotten this so that is why peppers are not in the photos below!)
• 1 large onion diced
• 3-4 cloves of garlic minced
• 1 28 oz. can tomato puree
• 1 1/2 cups plain yogurt
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 2 tablespoons ginger
• 2 tablespoons Garam Masala
• 1 tablespoon cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon salt, or to taste
• 1/2 tablespoon paprika
• 1-2 teaspoons of cayenne pepper (depending on how spicy you would like the dish)
• 3/4 teaspoon cinnamon
• 3/4 teaspoon black pepper
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 cup heavy cream
• 3 tablespoons corn starch
• Cooked rice

Directions:

1. In a large bowl, mix together chicken, bell peppers, onion,  garlic, tomato puree, yogurt, olive oil, ginger, Garam Masala, cumin, salt, paprika, cayenne pepper, cinnamon, and black pepper.  Make sure there is an even color throughout showing it is all mixed well.
2. Spray your crock pot dish with Pam spray.  Pour mixture into the crock pot and then add your 2 bay leaves .
3. Cover and cook on low for 6-8 hours or on high for 3-4 hours.  During the last 30 minutes of cooking, follow directions from step 4 below after removing the bay leaves.
4. Blend together the heavy cream and corn starch. Add the mixture to the crock pot, ensuring that it is mixed well and the color in the crock pot is consistent.  Cook for an additional 30 minutes.
5. Serve over cooked rice (I prefer brown rice).

Mixture after pouring into the crock pot, before cooking.

After cooking and adding the heavy cream and cornstarch mixture.

Serve over rice!

Big Time Rush and Victoria Justice: Summer Break Tour

A week before school started we had the privilege of taking the kids to their first concert to see Big Time Rush and Victoria Justice.  Of course, Cara was super excited, Alex.... well, not so much.  I was just happy we were able to go as a family as Damien was able to request off for that night.

Getting ready to head into the U.S. Bank Arena in Cincinnati.

The opening act started 5 minutes early, which was awesome... but then after he was finished, there was a long wait and I thought for sure it was time for Victoria Justice to come out!  But no, it was another opening act.  Then another long wait.  Then finally, Victoria Justice!!  By the time we were waiting for Big Time Rush, is was past 9:00 and we probably sat around 30 minutes just for them to get started.  Definitely a long wait for kids!

During one of the many breaks in between acts.

When Big Time Rush finally hit the stage, Alex was pretty much over it.  He made it through a few songs and then complained about the music being too loud and started crying (mind you, this was getting close to 10:00 pm at this time, their usual bedtime is 8:30).  So Alex and Damien left the concert and sat outside while Cara and I finished the concert.  And she lasted the entire time!!  I think she was too excited to complain or think about being tired!  Perhaps if we had seen a band that Alex cared for, he would have lasted longer as well. 

Overall, I am so grateful for the opportunity to go to this concert, it is something Cara will never forget!  I know if I had the chance to see New Kids on the Block at her age, I would have been over the moon!

When Refrigerators Go Bad!

I should have figured when the fridge broke on New Year's Eve and I spent the entire evening defrosting our fridge that it was a sign of the year ahead.  After that, we spent money twice trying to fix the fridge (along with both vehicles needing repairs, issues with the washer, and other things that just seemed to take a lot out of savings!).  We finally found out the fridge had problems with the heater part around the coils so it just kept freezing up.  At the time, we were given an estimate of around $600 to fix it.  We decided to get a new fridge instead, but we did not have much money, so every week and half I had to defrost the fridge until we were in a better position to get a new one.

One of the many times I had to defrost the old fridge.

With school on my mind a couple of weeks ago, I told Damien I could not keep up with defrosting the fridge and everything else too, I was ready to get a little cheap fridge.  So on a whim, we got online to Sears.com and found their cheapest 18.2 cubic ft. Kenmore.  Now I know better than to buy and check reviews after the fact, but that is what happened and I kept reading that the fridge was LOUD.  I thought, how bad could it be?

Alex saying bye to the old fridge.

Our delivery day was a Friday, 2 days after ordering. The good thing about getting a fridge delivered from Sears is that for 10 bucks more they will take and recycle your old fridge. 

So after our big fridge was gone and our new smaller fridge was here and plugged in, I heard what the fridge sounded like when it is running.... and it is LOUD!  I am used to it now, but I am still a little nervous about when we put the house on the market and the potential buyers are hearing this loud fridge.  We will probably be taking it with us, so maybe they will be relieved when they see that the fridge is not to be part of the house!

New fridge, super loud!

Easy Crock Pot Jambalaya Recipe

Okay, so it is not authentic Jambalaya, but it still tastes pretty darn good!  I could not help but keep going for seconds!  Be sure to use the sausage of your choice, the good sausage that you can get in Louisiana is not necessarily something you find regularly in Kentucky, but I ended up using turkey sausage since I am trying to watch my waistline.  It was not as great with the turkey sausage, I was craving more taste from the sausage, but something to consider if you are watching calorie intake, or choose the sausage that you love (perhaps andouille sausage if it is something you can find easily?).  I also recommend cooking the rice separately, I can never get the rice correct when making it in the crock pot!  This recipe is not too spicy to me, but it does have a little kick to it.  Adjust the hot sauce and spices to suit your taste!

Ingredients:

• 1 pound boneless chicken breast, cut into 1 inch cubes
• 28 oz can petite diced tomatoes (drain a little bit of the juice as this recipes becomes very soupy as it cooks in the crock pot)
• 1 large onion chopped
• 1 large green bell pepper chopped
• 1 cup chopped celery
• 14.5 oz chicken broth
• 2-4 cloves of garlic, minced
• 1 tablespoon hot sauce ( I used Tabasco sauce)
• 2 teaspoons dried oregano
• 2 teaspoons dried parsley
• 2 teaspoons Cajun seasoning (I used Ragin' Cajun Fixin's All Purpose Cajun Seasoning)
• 1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
• 2 bay leaves
• 1 pound frozen cooked shrimp without tails (I just pulled mine off after defrosting)
• 14 oz turkey kielbasa sausage sliced (or sausage of your choice!)

Directions:

1. Mix the following ingredients in the crock pot: chicken, diced tomatoes, onion, green bell pepper, celery, broth, garlic, hot sauce, oregano, parsley, Cajun seasoning, thyme.  Place in the 2 bay leaves.  IF YOUR SAUSAGE IS NOT PRE-COOKED, ALSO INCLUDE THE SAUSAGE AT THIS TIME!
2. Crock pots differ in time, my low setting cooks quickly.  If you feel yours cooks slow or fast, please adjust.  For the basic recipe, time it to be about 7-8 hours on low or 3 to 4 hours on high (mine actually cooks on low in about 6 hours, so use your gut and just make sure that chicken is cooked!). 
3. During the last 45 minutes of cook time, take out the bay leaves and stir in the shrimp and sausage (if you did not include the sausage at the beginning of the recipe).  Since I used a simple turkey sausage that is pre-cooked, the last 45 minutes is fine. 
4. Cook your rice separately and place the crock pot mix on top of your rice.  Add as much juice from the crock pot as you like (it turns out a little soupy after cooking).

The Cajun seasoning I used.

The mixture in Step 1 before cooking.

After cooking and adding the sausage and shrimp.

Mixture with juice drained sitting on top of rice.