Four Hours from Anywhere

Easy Taco Chili

2012-02-11T15:11:00.001-06:00

The title says it all - it really doesn't get any easier than this.

Winter seems to have finally arrived in Iowa. It is somewhere under 20 degrees and very windy. We, of course, chose to go out this afternoon to sell Girl Scout cookies in the neighborhood. We hit 5 houses, pulling our little red wagon loaded with cookies, and then came home to warm up in front of the fireplace. Soup or stew really sounds really good for supper and this one is a snap to put together.

This one is another slow cooker recipe that comes from my new favorite cookbook. The original recipe only called for one can of beans but we like beans in our chili (and we don't claim to be Texans) so I often put 2 or 3 cans in. The kids like the chili best when we have it over baked potatoes, topped with grated cheese, chopped green onions and a smidgen of sour cream.

Easy Taco Chili
Slow Cooker Revolution

2 cups onions -- chopped
1 package taco seasoning mix
2 tablespoons tomato paste
2 tablespoons canola oil
6 whole garlic cloves -- minced
15 ounces canned black beans
16 ounces canned kidney beans
15 ounces tomato sauce
14 1/2 ounces diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon brown sugar
1 slice white bread
2 tablespoons 2% milk
1 pound ground beef, 93%
1 1/2 cups frozen corn

Microwave onions, taco seasoning, tomato paste, oil and garlic in bowl, stirring occasionally until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir beans, tomato sauce, diced tomatoes (with juice) and sugar into slow cooker.

Mash bread and milk into a paste with a fork. Mix in ground beef and 1/4 teasponn black pepper using hands. Stir beef mixture into sow cooker, breaking up any large pieces. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 6-8 hours on low.

Let chili settle for 5 minutes and then skim the fat off the top with a large spoon. Stir in corn and let it set until heated through, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.

BBQ Chicken Tenders

2012-02-08T19:04:00.002-06:00

I've been leaning towards making quite a bit of spicy food lately so I thought I'd dig up something that was more appropriate for 2 and 5 year old palates. The kids always like to order chicken tenders when we go out (OK, they order them but then they eat what is on our plates) so I figured that would be a good start.

Growing up we had what my mom referred to as Italian Shake and Bake - dunk chicken breasts in a beaten egg, coat in good ole Progresso Italian bread crumbs and bake. I've made it several times for supper ( a go to quick meal) but I was looking for something a little different.

I found this recipe for BBQ Chicken Tenders off the Eating Well website (meaning it fits in with the 100 day challenge) and had everything already to make them. Personally, I hate cooking chicken tenders at home. They have that *thing* that runs through them that is tough. I just pulled boneless skinless chicken breasts out of the freezer and sliced them up the long way. I will say, I am not sure what the point is in dredging them in flour before dipping them in egg. I did half with flour and half without and didn't notice a difference other than the ones without we a lot less messy to make. Marinating them in the sauce gave them a nice BBQ flavor, even without the excess sauce.

BBQ Chicken Tenders
Eating Well Magazine

1 cup barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
2 tablespoons honey
1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 large eggs
1 3/4 cups coarse dry breadcrumbs, preferably whole-wheat
Olive oil or canola oil cooking spray

Combine barbecue sauce, mustard and honey in a large bowl. Set aside 1/2 cup of the sauce in a small bowl. Cut any large chicken tenders in half lengthwise, then add all the tenders to the large bowl with the remaining sauce; stir to coat. Marinate in the refrigerator for 30 minutes to 1 hour (mine marinated for 3). Preheat oven to 450°F. Coat a large rimmed baking sheet with cooking spray.

Combine flour, salt and pepper in a shallow dish. Lightly beat eggs in another shallow dish. Place breadcrumbs in a third shallow dish. Coat each tender in flour, shaking off any excess. Dip in egg and let any excess drip off. Then roll in the breadcrumbs, shaking off any excess. Place the tenders on the prepared baking sheet. Generously coat both sides of each tender with cooking spray.

Bake for 10 minutes. Turn each tender over and continue baking until the outside is crisp and the tenders are cooked through, about 10 minutes more. Serve with the reserved sauce for dipping.

Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing

2012-02-04T19:41:00.001-06:00

Somewhere along the way I've lost my desire to cook but am working on trying to get back into the swing of things. Two weeks into the challenge and I am only down a pound (although I HAVE been getting on the treadmill 5 days a week). I need to start planning meals.

I dug around in the freezer on Thursday night and pulled out a bunch of meat to turn into ... something. Kids were asking for meatloaf which was fine, but I was hoping for something a little different than mashed potatoes or oven fried, which have been the standard around here lately.

After looking around a bit I settled on a warm potato salad. It complemented the Diner Meatloaf Muffins well, with just a touch of sweetness from both the honey and the carmelized onions. Bonus, I finally got to use the bottle of sherry vinegar that I bought at Williams-Sonoma. David thought it needed more bacon, but then again he thinks everything could use extra bacon.

Roasted Potato Salad with Mustard Dressing

Cooking Light

3 pounds small red potatoes, cut into 1-inch pieces

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper

1/2 teaspoon kosher salt

2 bacon slices (uncooked), chopped

2 cups diced Vidalia or other sweet onion (about 2 medium)

2 garlic cloves, minced

3 tablespoons Dijon mustard

2 tablespoons reduced-fat mayonnaise

1 1/2 tablespoons honey

1 1/2 tablespoons sherry vinegar

1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley

Preheat oven to 400°.

Combine first 4 ingredients in a large bowl; toss to coat. Arrange potatoes in a single layer on a jelly-roll pan. Bake at 400° for 40 minutes or until potatoes are tender, stirring once. Transfer potatoes to a large bowl.

Cook bacon in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat until crisp. Remove bacon from pan, reserving 1 tablespoon drippings in pan; set bacon aside. Add onion to drippings in pan; cook 15 minutes or until golden brown and caramelized, stirring frequently. Add garlic to pan; cook 30 seconds. Add onion mixture and bacon to potatoes; toss gently. Let stand 15 minutes.

Combine mustard, mayonnaise, honey, and vinegar in a small bowl; stir with a whisk. Add mustard mixture and parsley to potato mixture; toss gently. Makes 8 servings

Live Healthy America Challenge

2012-02-02T18:00:00.000-06:00

The beginning of the new year always brings out the resolutions to eat healthy, lose weight and exercise more. I am no exception.

Every year, in order to receive a $25 credit per month for our health insurance, we need to ~~jump through a few hoops~~ complete a couple of activities. In addition to 'knowing our numbers' it usually involves some sort of challenge that extends over a couple of month time frame.

This year, my company teamed up with Live Healthy America for a 100 Day Challenge. Now while I don't know that this will count towards one of our activities, I figured I'd find a team and joined. I man, after all, it is only 100 days. I can do it for 100 days ...can't I?

So with visions of a free t-shirt and free magazine subscription dancing in my head, I nosed around to see if there were any teams forming in my area. I am on a team of nine and so far we are doing pretty well. Day 10 of the challenge and we are in 3rd place for the weight loss portion, with 2.29% of our body weight gone. Not too shabby. As for the activity portion, well, there must be some people who spend every waking moment out of work exercising, since there are teams with over 200 activity hours for the last 10 days.

Let's see what the next 90 days bring!

Sloppy Joes

2012-01-22T08:51:00.000-06:00

Perhaps one of the best purchases, or worst depending upon how you look at it, was a freezer for the garage. When we moved into our house we had a pathetic looking, very skinny, side by side refrigerator. The freezer side was so skinny, David had a hard time getting his beloved frozen pizzas to fit in there (single serving ones too). When we remodeled the kitchen, we went with a French door model with the freezer on the bottom. A step up but honestly, as someone who relies heavily on being able to pull meals out of the freezer for the weekdays, it still wasn't enough.

Enter the Freezerator. David had been coveting this thing from afar for years. It is actually listed as a garage appliance as it is made specifically for the garage. The top compartment can be either a refrigerator or a freezer and it boasts a heater so if you do use it as a refrigerator, the contents won't freeze during the Iowa winters. He finally went ahead and made the purchase when he heard that they were being discontinued. Best. Purchase. Ever.

I went through a spell this Fall where I really wasn't cooking anything. I was in a cooking funk. I'd go to the store, buy meat, end up not cooking in and into the freezer it would go. It got pretty bad around Christmas when I had to convert the top part of said freezer from a refrigerator, because I didn't have room to store my Christmas cookies. Part of my quest since the beginning of the year has been to cook exclusively from the freezer. All I've been buying from the grocery store is fresh fruit and vegetables and milk. It's actually been nice to have $40ish grocery bills for a family of 4!

I pulled a 3 pound package of ground beef out of the freezer on Friday. Honestly, I have no idea why I purchased a 3 pound package in the first place, but I do know that part of it will be used for a batch of Sloppy Joes. This is another recipe that come from the cookbook that helped my love my Slow Cooker, The Slow Cooker Revolution.

We really enjoyed this recipe. Making a panade out of the milk and bread really helps to keep the ground beef soft, especially since I lean towards leaner ground beef that what the recipe calls for. While there is some prep work involved, I love the fact that I can toss this in the crockpot for 6 - 8 hours and not be tied to the kitchen. Chop, brown, dump and then be free to referee the arguments all day. Or maybe catch up on my reading since I upped my Goodreads challenge this year.

Sloppy Joes
Yield: 12 1/2-cup servings

2 slices white bread
1/4 cup whole milk
2 pounds ground beef, 93%
1 tablespoon canola oil
2 small onions -- minced
1 teaspoon chili powder
4 whole garlic cloves -- minced
15 ounces tomato sauce
1 cup ketchup
2 teaspoons brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon hot sauce

Mash bread and milk into a paste in large bowl using a fork. Mix in ground beef, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper using hands.

Heat oil in 12-inch skillet over medium high heat until shimmering. Add onions, garlic and chili powder and cook until onions are softened and lightly browned, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir in beef mixture, 1 pound at a time and cook, breaking up any large pieces until no longer pink, about 3 minutes. Stir in 1 cup tomato sauce, scraping up any browned bits; transfer to slow cooker.

Stir remaining tomato sauce, ketchup, sugar and hot sauce into slow cooker. Cover and cook until beef is tender, 6 to 8 hours on low or 3 to 5 hours on high.

Let meat mixture settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from the surface using a large spoon. Break up any remaining large pieces of beef with spoon. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Spoon mixture onto buns and serve.

French Onion Soup

2012-01-10T19:00:00.000-06:00

I really do like the winter. Snow falling from the sky means 'stay home' days, fires roaring in the fireplace and soup! Here we are, January 10, and we've only had like 5 snowflakes fall to the ground. What is that all about? Never mind that we've had several days in the 50's lately. It's grilling weather not soup weather!

Now before anyone start throwing anything at me, I'm not asking for a blizzard that keeps us house bound for days. I'm just looking for a nice little snowstorm, a foot ought to do, just enough to keep us stuck at the house for a day.

One of my favorite soups to get when we go out to eat is French Onion Soup. I've tried a few different recipes before I settled on this on as my favorite. I've been making this recipe for at least 10 years now and I'm not entirely sure where it came from. It is very easy to throw together and it just involves stirring it periodically so the onions don't burn. I did learn that you can't make a double batch of this recipe as the onions with literally take all day to caramelize. I use my cast iron Dutch oven to make this and it doesn't take nearly as long to get the onions caramelized.

French Onion Soup

3 pounds yellow onions
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/2 teaspoon table salt
1 pinch sugar
8 cups water, plus more as needed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 sprig fresh thyme
1/4 cup dry white wine
1 whole baguette
8 ounces Gruyère or Swiss cheese, grated

Cut each onion into 1/8 inch slices (I make mine a little thicker so the onions don't all dissolve). Melt butter in a large Dutch oven or soup pot over medium heat. Once it has stopped foaming add the onions, 1/2 teaspoon salt, and sugar. Toss to evenly coat. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove cover, and cook stirring frequently until the onions begin to brown lightly, about 90 minutes longer. Stir every 5 minutes and add a couple tablespoons of water whenever the bottom of the pan crusts over with dark colored fond. Continue to cook as directed until the onions are an even dark walnut color, an additional 45 minutes longer.

Add the flour and stir for two minutes. Add 8 cups water and thyme to the onions and bring to a boil. Lower heat to maintain a lively simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Add white wine and simmer 10 minutes longer. Taste for seasoning adding salt as needed. Meanwhile, heat the oven to 325 degrees and adjust a rack to the upper middle position. Cut the baguette into 3/4 inch slices and arrange on a single layer on a cookie sheet. Bake until the bread is dry, crisp and very lightly colored at the edges, about 10 minutes. Remove bread slices and set aside.

Heat broiler and place 6 heatproof bowls in a baking sheet. Fill each bowl with about 2 cups soup. Top each with two baguette slices and evenly distribute grated cheese over the bread. Broil until well browned and bubbly, about ten minutes. Cool for five minutes before serving.

Saugus Santa Ban

2011-12-21T20:27:00.002-06:00

Kind of surprised to see my hometown made it to the O'Reilly Factor. I never thought I'd find myself on the same side of an issue as Bill O'Reilly!

Saugus Santa Ban

Cocoa Spice Crackles

2011-12-19T19:00:00.000-06:00

I have been a cookie baking maniac the last couple of weekends, getting ready for Christmas. The last few years I've made up gift baskets for the daycare teachers and now we've added a kindergarten teacher, kindergarten aide and a bus driver to the list. Madeleine really likes her bus driver ... which is a good thing since the kindergarten kids are required to sit in the front seats and she is first on and last off. Oh to be a part time worker, but I digress.

These are probably my favorite cookies. Not too sweet and they are a combination of chocolate and warm spices. I always make sure to bake a double batch of these so I can have a small stash in the freezer.

Cocoa Spice Crackles
Land O Lakes

1 cup sugar
3/4 cup butter -- softened
1/4 cup firmly packed brown sugar
2 whole eggs
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/3 cup unsweetened cocoa
2 tablespoons crystallized ginger -- finely chopped (or 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger)
1 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon ground cloves
1 cup mini-chocolate chips
Coarse grain sugar or sugar

Combine 1 cup sugar, butter and brown sugar in large bowl. Beat at medium speed until creamy. Add eggs; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add all remaining ingredients except chocolate chips and coarse grain sugar. Beat until well mixed. Stir in chocolate chips. Refrigerate until firm (4 hours or overnight).

Heat oven to 350°F. Shape dough into 1 1/4-inch balls with lightly floured hands. Roll in coarse grain sugar. Place 1 inch apart onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes or until set. Makes 4 dozen.

All-Purpose Gravy

2011-12-18T17:21:00.001-06:00

It is no secret that I like to cook. Even when I was little I loved to help my grandmothers cook. My Italian grandmother wasn't fond of baking but she loved to cook meals. Lasagna, Eggplant Parmesan, Manicotti, etc., I watched her make it all. My Polish grandmother was more of a baker and I remember around the holidays the heat would always be cranked up and the rooms closed off as she had tubs of dough for bread rising everywhere.

Although I don't cook nearly as much as they did, I do cook supper several nights a week and most everything is from scratch. There are some days, however, where I just take shortcuts. Friday night I had marinated some chicken breasts in Italian dressing and threw them in the oven. On my way home I stopped and grabbed a box of Uncle Ben's Broccoli and Cheese Rice to go with it. Served up supper and they started eating and then stopped and looked at the rice and looked at me. Comments ranged from it being bland (really, with a ton of sodium in it?) to it tasting funny. Great, I think I spoiled them.

So when I pulled the beef sirloin roast out of the freezer I figured I'd better not push my luck and decided to make gravy from scratch. This really is an easy and versatile recipe. I use a can of each if I am making this for beef or pork but if it is for a roast chicken, I use 2 cans of chicken broth.

All Purpose Gravy
Cook's Illustrated

1 small carrot , peeled and chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces
1 small rib celery , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces
1 small onion , chopped into rough 1/2-inch pieces
3 tablespoons unsalted butter
1/4 cup flour
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups broth
1 bay leaf
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
5 whole black peppercorns

In food processor, pulse carrot until broken into rough 1/4-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. Add celery and onion; pulse until all vegetables are broken into 1/8-inch pieces, about five 1-second pulses. If you chop them too small you won't be able to strain them all out and then people will complain there are things floating in their gravy. :)

Heat butter in large heavy-bottomed saucepan over medium-high heat; when foaming subsides, add vegetables and cook, stirring frequently, until softened and well browned, about 7 minutes. Reduce heat to medium; stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly, until thoroughly browned and fragrant, about 5 minutes. Whisking constantly, gradually add broths; bring to boil, skimming off any foam that forms on surface. Reduce heat to medium-low and add bay leaf, thyme, and peppercorns; simmer, stirring occasionally, until thickened and reduced to 3 cups, 20 to 25 minutes.

Strain gravy through fine-mesh strainer into clean saucepan, pressing on solids to extract as much liquid as possible; discard solids. Adjust seasonings with salt and pepper. Serve hot.

Festive Cherry Drops

2011-12-16T16:03:00.003-06:00

I've been without my Kitchen Aid stand mixer all week. I didn't realize I wasn't supposed to put the paddle (which is not coated) into the dishwasher. I took it out of the cabinet and went to put it in the mixer and noticed that my hand had turned black. Hmm. I called Kitchen Aid in a panic (yep, they answered at 8 PM on a Friday night) and told me that it started to oxidize. A little Bar Keeper's Friend and I should be back in business. Only problem is I either keep forgetting to pick it up in the store or when I do remember, they don't carry it.

So, I've been baking double batches of cookies using a hand mixer. At one point, Christopher wanted to *help* me and the mixer ended up on the floor and cracked. I was able to get it back together but I swear if I hold it a certain way it shocks me. Maybe I need to make a list and put Bar Keeper's Friend at the top of it.

I love the combination of fruit and chocolate so that may be one of the reasons why this cookie is at the top of my list. I found it in one of those Land O Lakes supplements years ago and have been making it ever since. I make sure to leave a tablespoon or so of the cherry juice and it tints the cookies a light pink. They freeze well as long as the drizzle has a chance to dry before putting them in there.

Festive Cherry Drops
Land O Lakes

Cookie
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup butter -- softened
1 whole egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
6 ounces maraschino cherries -- well drained, chopped

Drizzle
2/3 cup real semi-sweet chocolate chips
2 teaspoons shortening

Heat oven to 350°F. Combine sugar and butter in large bowl. Beat at medium speed, scraping bowl often, until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; continue beating until well mixed. Reduce speed to low; add flour and baking powder. Beat, scraping bowl often, until well mixed. Add cherries; stir into dough.

Drop by rounded teaspoonfuls onto ungreased cookie sheets. Bake for 9 to 11 minutes or until edges begin to brown. Cool 1 minute on cookie sheets; remove to wire cooling rack. Cool completely.

Place chocolate chips and shortening in small microwave-safe bowl. Microwave on HIGH (100% power), stirring occasionally, until melted (30 to 45 seconds). Drizzle cooled cookies with melted chocolate. Let stand until chocolate is set.

Yield: 3 1/2 dozen

Double Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies

2011-12-09T19:29:00.001-06:00

Inhale. Exhale. Inhale again. Exhale. Madeleine and I are sitting upstairs watching Frosty the Snowman and all I can smell is peanut butter and chocolate.

I started my Christmas cookie baking tonight and decided to start with an easy drop cookie so I can feel like I accomplished something. I have 6 dozen fresh-out-of-the-oven cookies taunting me from downstairs. Maybe I shouldn't have started with my favorite flavor combination.

I found this recipe a few years ago on the Hershey website when I was looking for something to do with peanut butter chips. These really are a snap to put together and they are a great cookie to freeze. The only flaw is that fact that one batch only makes 3 dozen. Three dozen is great when you're just making cookies for the family. Three dozen is not so great when you are on a cookie baking spree for Christmas.

Each bag of chips has just about 2 cups in it, so I made a double batch and use a full bag of each. I decided to try out the convection bake feature on my oven and it was great not having to rotate cookie sheets halfway through. Each sheet took just 12 minutes to cook. I even searched the cabinet and broke out the parchment paper so the bottoms wouldn't burn - watch out Betty Crocker!


Double Peanut Butter and Milk Chocolate Chip Cookies
Hershey's Kitchen

1/2 cup butter, softened
3/4  cup sugar
1/3 cup peanut butter
1 egg
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 cup milk chocolate chips
1  cup peanut butter chips

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat butter, sugar and peanut butter in medium bowl until creamy. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir together flour, baking soda and salt; add to butter mixture, blending well. Stir in milk chocolate chips and peanut butter chips. Drop by rounded teaspoons onto ungreased cookie sheets.

Bake 12 to 14 minutes or until light golden brown. Makes 3 dozen cookies.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie

2011-11-26T17:48:00.001-06:00

This year I let Madeleine decide what dessert we made for Thanksgiving. Since it was just the 4 of us for dinner, I figured I'd just make one and we'd have leftovers through the weekend. Not so much.

Madeleine wanted to make a pumpkin pie 'like the Pilgrims did mommy'. I had my doubts that she'd like the taste of pumpkin, and I don't particularly care for plain ole pumpkin pie, so I wanted to make something that I hoped wasn't going to go straight into the trash.

The King Arthur Flour website is a website I frequent mostly around the holidays. Great for ideas for new cookies, bread and candy to try out for the baskets I make up at Christmas. They have lots of delicious looking recipes that I wish i had the time to make. I would love to be able to bake all our bread, but that requires organization. Sigh, one day.

This was pretty quick and easy to put together when you don't make your own pie crust. I substituted pumpkin pie spice for the laundry list of spices they used. Even though the HyVee pie crust declared it was a deep dish pie, it wasn't, and I had some leftover pumpkin filling that I cooked in a little ramekin. Both kids enjoyed it.

Pumpkin Cheesecake Pie
Adapted from King Arthur Flour

Deep dish pie crust (I am incapable of making pie crust so I use frozen)

Cheesecake Filling
8 ounces cream cheese, softened
1/3 cup (2 ounces) sugar
1 large egg, lightly beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/4 cup (1 5/8 ounces) diced candied ginger

Pumpkin Filling
3/4 cup (5 1/4 ounces) sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 15-ounce can pumpkin
1 cup (8 ounces) evaporated milk
3 large eggs, lightly beaten

Cheesecake Filling: Remove the cream cheese from its wrapper, and place it in a mixing bowl. Allow it to warm to room temperature (this will make it easier to beat), then add the sugar and beat till fairly smooth. Stir in the egg, vanilla and ginger, and spoon the filling into the pie crust.

Pumpkin Filling: In a medium-sized mixing bowl, whisk together the sugar, salt and spices. Add the pumpkin, cream or evaporated milk, and eggs, and whisk gently until smooth. Gently spoon the pumpkin filling atop the cheesecake layer, filling within 1/4-inch of the top of the crust. Note: Do this carefully at first, so as not to disturb the cheesecake layer; once you've covered the cheesecake, you can be less careful. Depending on the exact depth of your pie pan, you may have leftover filling. Simply pour it into a custard cup or other small baker, and bake it along with the pie, removing it from the oven when it appears set, and a cake tester inserted into the center comes out clean.

Place the pie in a preheated 425°F oven, and bake it for 15 minutes. Reduce the oven temperature to 350°F, and continue to bake for 40 to 45 minutes, covering the edges of the pie with a crust shield or aluminum foil if they seem to be browning too quickly. The pie is done when it looks set, but still wobbles a bit in the center when you jiggle it. Remove the pie from the oven, allow it to cool to room temperature, then refrigerate it till serving time. Serve with lightly sweetened whipped cream flavored with a pinch of ginger and teaspoon of vanilla.

Yield: 10 rich servings

Happy Thanksgiving!

2011-11-24T08:38:00.001-06:00

It may be cloudy and gray outside this morning but it is warm and cheerful inside. It is nice to sit and relax with a hot cup of coffee and a blueberry muffin while alternating between watching the parade and 'turkey tv'. Never would have guessed that an oven light could occupy two kids as much as it does.

My turkey, stuffed with a Bacon, Apple and Caramelized Onion Stuffing has been in the oven for over an hour and smells great. The rest of the stuffing along with our side dishes are all ready to go in the refrigerator when the turkey is close to being done. David is estimating we'll be eating at 4 .

So this Thanksgiving I am thankful for my family and friends, both near and far. A roof over my head and a job to go to everyday. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!

There's a monster in my refrigerator

2011-11-21T19:00:00.000-06:00

Oh wait, that's my turkey!

I may have gotten a little carried away this year when I bought my turkey. In my defense, I was in a rush, trying to get home before the bus did. I was at the local HyVee looking at all the frozen turkeys in front of me, trying to find one that wasn't injected with a salt solution so I could brine it. There were a ton of small looking one (to me anyway). I found one that looked to be of a decent size and tossed it in my cart. Sure, the cart shuddered when I dropped it in and listed to the left when I pushed it but eh, I was in a rush.

I got home and couldn't get it in the refrigerator without having to take out one of the shelves. I checked out the tag and was a little shocked - 23 pounds. Whoops. I just went back and checked my blog post from last year and saw that my turkey was *only* 16 pounds. Did I mention it is only the 4 of us for dinner?

While I do not regret the size of the turkey (although than means I need to get up at least an hour earlier on Thanksgiving) I DO regret not cutting the tag off. Not cutting the tag off means I get to listen to someone (everyday, several times a day) mention the size of the bird. Funny thing though, he'll be the first one digging into the leftovers.

Spiced Pumpkin Bars

2011-11-20T14:56:00.001-06:00

Fall is my favorite time of year. Fires in the fireplace, cool weather, football and brightly colored leaves on the trees. Of course I can't leave out apples, pumpkin and the smell of cinnamon.

This is one of my favorite recipes. I have no idea where I found it, but I used to make them for Thanksgiving every single year. After I moved away from home I still made them every year, bringing them into work so I could get my fix. Haven't made them in a few years and was thisclose to making them today until I realized I didn't have the right size pan anymore.

Too bad someone is still napping otherwise I think I could talk myself into going shopping for a pan.

Spiced Pumpkin Bars
Yield: 24 bars

2 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons baking powder
2 teaspoons pumpkin pie spice
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon salt
4 whole eggs
15 ounces canned pumpkin
1 2/3 cups granulated sugar
1 cup canola oil
8 ounces cream cheese -- softened
1/4 cup butter
1 teaspoon vanilla
2 cups sifted powdered sugar
Pecan halves (optional)
In a medium bowl stir together flour, baking powder, pumpkin pie spice, baking soda, and salt; set aside.

In a large mixing bowl beat together eggs, pumpkin, sugar, and oil with an electric mixer on medium speed. Add the flour mixture; beat until well combined. Spread batter into an ungreased 15x10x1-inch baking pan.

Bake in a 350 degree F oven for 25 to 30 minutes or until a wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool completely in pan on a wire rack.

In a medium mixing bowl beat together the cream cheese, butter, and vanilla until fluffy. Gradually add powdered sugar, beating until smooth. Frost pumpkin bars. If desired, top with pecan halves. If I don't have pecan halves I'll often sprinkle nutmeg on top. Cut into squares. Store, covered, in refrigerator up to 3 days.

Shredded Barbecue Chicken

2011-11-16T19:00:00.000-06:00

Everyone in this house has their likes and dislikes but I know that there is one thing I can make that will make everyone at the table happy - barbecue. Summer is long behind us and the grill has been covered up and, I am sure, our resident chick-a-munk family has moved back in.

This is another one that is quick and easy to throw together from my new favorite cookbook. I actually threw this one in when I got home from work and cooked it the four hours. I stored the meat and the liquid separate in the refrigerator so the next night I could easy get the fat off the top. Reheated the whole thing in a saucepan with some extra sauce. I wouldn't say it was too hot, but the kids did have an extra cup of milk with their supper that night.

Shredded Barbecue Chicken
Slow Cooker Revolution

1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken thighs
1 1/2 cups barbecue sauce
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon paprika
1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Mix chili powder, paprika, cayenne pepper, 1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/4 teaspoon pepper together. Rub over chicken. Place in slow cooker. Pour 1/2 cup of barbecue sauce over chicken and toss to coat. Cover and cook on low until chicken is tender, 4 to 6 hours.

Transfer chicken to bowl, let cool slightly and shred into bite-sized peices. Cover to keep warm. Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes, then remove fat from surface using a large spoon.

Warm remaining barbecue sauce. Toss shredded chicken with hot barbecue sauce and 1 cup braising liquid. Add more liquid as needed to keep meat moist.

Per Serving: 144 Calories; 3g Fat (21.3% calories from fat); 24g Protein; 4g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber

Where did my me time go?

2011-11-15T19:00:00.000-06:00

I used to be able to grocery shop by myself. Yep, every week I got a whole hour of *me time* while I walked up and down the aisles of our local grocery store.

I am afraid that my *me time* has become a thing of the past. For the last 6 weeks or so I have found myself grocery shopping with my smallest helper. Down the dairy aisle:

"Is that butter mommy? What are you going to do with that butter? Yogurt mommy, we need yogurt. I like that berry. Oh look - milk! We need milk, can we buy milk? I like milk! Do you like that milk? Daddy no like that milk. Cheese mommy, buy that cheese now!"

Doesn't help that the people around us encourage him by smiling and saying 'hi' to him. That's just an invitation to start a conversation:

"Look I have cheese! See my cheese? They gave me cheese! You want cheese?"

Even better is the argument at the register about who is going to pay:

"Move, mommy. I need a pen. I need card. I pay. I sign name. Move mommy. MOVE."

Too bad he really can't pay!

Pork Loin with Cranberries and Orange

2011-11-14T19:00:00.000-06:00

Weekends around here have been pretty busy. There always seems to be someplace to go, something that needs to be cleaned or something that needs to be organized.

This past weekend I am spent my time dragging out the warmer blankets and down comforters, washing all the summer stuff and putting it away. I also have a pile of sweaters that whisper "wash me" every time I walk by, but I am trying my best to ignore them. One thing at a time...

When I was growing up we went to one grandmother or another for Sunday dinner. Sunday dinner at my mom's mom meant Italian. Sunday dinner at my babci's house usually meant a roast of some sort. Didn't matter which house we went to - Sunday dinner was always an all-day affair that someone started cooking early Sunday morning.

Admittedly there are times that I would like to be able to spend a good chunk of my day cooking, but those days are few and far between (although Thanksgiving is right around the corner). I do like to have a bigger meal on Sunday for dinner like I did growing up, but I can't spend every Sunday in the kitchen.

This pork loin recipe is another one from Slow Cooker Revolution. I put this in the slow cooker late morning and by dinner it was done. I just so happen to have an over abundance of cranberries in the freezer, so for the sauce I made the one on the back of the Ocean Spray bag, substitiuting orange juice for the water. The pork was so tender even the little guy was able to cut it with his fork. I think I also passed on my love of cranberries to one of my kids - he was putting the sauce from the roast all over his rice and carrots as well.

Pork Loin with Cranberries and Orange

4 pounds pork loin, lean, boneless
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
14 ounces cranberry sauce
1/2 cup dried cranberries
1/2 cup orange juice
3 strips orange zest -- trimmed of white pith
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon

Dry pork with paper towels and season with salt and pepper. Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Brown pork on all sides, 7 to 10 minutes.

Stir cranberry sauce, dried cranberries, orange juice, orange zest and cinnamon into slow cooker. Nestle browned pork into slow cooker. Cover and cook until pork is tender and registers 140-145 degrees on thermometer, about 4 hours on low.

Transfer pork to cutting board, tent loosely with aluminum foil and let rest for 10 minutes. Let braising liquid settle for 5 minutes then remove fat from surface using a large spoon. Discard orange zest. Transfer braising liquid to saucepan and simmer until reduced to 2 cups, about 12 minutes. Season with salt and pepper to taste.

Slice pork into 1/2-inch thick slices and arrange on serving platter. Spoon 1 cup sauce over meat and serve with remaining sauce.

Woody and Jessie come to town

2011-11-13T14:33:00.001-06:00

Bullseye wasn't available so they had to take the Barbie car.

That House

2011-10-28T20:53:00.002-05:00

I think it is safe to say we are turning into *that* house in the neighborhood. Wasn't so bad last year with the just pumpkins.

Then someone was online and decided we needed something else in the yard. Personally, I think the face on the pumkin looks like the Grinch.

Black Bean Soup

2011-10-07T18:00:00.000-05:00

In our house, this is known as a 'Maria recipe', as in, nobody but Maria will eat it. I don't make as many of these kinds of recipes as I used to.

I like Panera's black bean soup, but the last couple of times I got it I thought that the cumin was very overpowering. This recipe is also from Slow Cooker Revolution and it is as close to an 'open and dump' recipe as this cookbook gets. Nothing too involved though. I cut up the onions and garlic the night before so all I had to do was microwave and dump in the next morning.

The original recipe called for a ham hock but I had a ham bone in the freezer from Easter (or maybe Christmas) and I figured I should use it before the next one gets tossed in. I used the new Chili 3000 spice mixture I got from Penzey's since I knew it had some more spice to it than regular chili powder. I added more carrots and celery than what was called for and checked the beans after 9 hours of cooking - perfect! Cookbook recommends serving with chopped red onion and sour cream.

Black Bean Soup
Yield: 11 1-cup servings

3 whole onions -- minced
6 whole garlic cloves -- minced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 tablespoons chili powder
3 cups chicken broth
3 cups water
1 pound dried black beans
3 stalks celery -- minced
2 whole carrots -- minced
2 whole bay leaves
1 whole ham bones
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro

Microwave onions, garlic, oil and chili powder in a bowl, stirring occasionally, until onions are softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

Stir water, broth, beans, celery, carrots and bay leaves into slow cooker. Nestle ham bone in. Cover and cook until beans are tender, 9 to 11 hours on low or 5 to 7 hours on high.

Transfer ham bone to cutting board, let cool slightly and shred meat into bite-sized pieces, discarding bone. Let soup settle for 5 minutes and then remove fat from the surface using a slotted spoon. Discard bay leaves.

Transfer 1 cup of beans to a bowl and mash with a potato masher. Stir shredded ham and mashed beans back into soup and let sit until heated through, about 5 minutes. Stir in cilantro and season with salt and pepper to taste.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 223 Calories; 5g Fat; 13g Protein; 32g Carbohydrate; 8g Dietary Fiber

Apple Picking

2011-10-06T18:00:00.000-05:00

Last weekend I took the kids apple picking to Honey Creek Acres, which is an orchard not too far from our house. I had been there a couple of years ago on a preschool field trip but we really didn't have a chance to pick any apples so we could test them out.

It was a nice, warm sunny day. We went around 11 o'clock and it wasn't too crowded. I was concerned that there would not be a whole lot of apples left, but we were given one of those apple picker thingies so I could get the apples up at the top of the tree - being 6' tall does have some advantages.

Of course everyone had to have their own bucket although I somehow ended up carrying them all back as the kids were busy snacking on an apple. We got a bit more than I had intended but they've been wanting one every night after supper. I think some apple sauce is on the agenda for this week as well as some apple bread.

I think I can reach the apples, Mommy!

I did it!!

Someone else needed to give it a try.

He decided eating was better than picking.

Our haul.

Italian Meatball Soup

2011-10-05T18:00:00.000-05:00

I am working hard these days to establish a harmonious relationship with my slow cooker. In the past I have tried recipes that people have raved about, only to be disappointed in the watery, usually overcooked mess that awaited me. It would just be so nice to have a nice, hot and GOOD meal waiting for me when I come home from work.

Cook's Illustrated is one of my favorite magazines. I find the man himself to be a little pretentious, so I can't watch the episodes of America's Test Kitchen on the weekend. I will freely admit that their dedication in trying 50 different lemon meringue pie recipes have saved me the trouble of trying to find what I think to be THE ultimate recipe. Rarely have one of their recipes steered me wrong.

This year they came out with a first for them - a slow cooker cookbook titled Slow Cooker Revolution. I admit it, I was sucked in by the title: One Test Kitchen. 30 Slow Cookers. 200 Amazing Recipes. I'm thinking if you have 30 slow cookers lined up to test out the same recipe, then perhaps I can put my trust in the results.

Madeleine is a fan of Italian Wedding Soup so when I saw the recipe in the book I decided to give it a try. Now, I've tried the 'open a can and dump in' type recipes and have been disappointed in the past. I was willing to throw a little more effort into it so the meal wouldn't get pushed to the back of the refrigerator and then eventually thrown out. This recipe didn't take any less time to throw together than a normal soup recipe but the bonus was I was able to leave the house while it cooked.

The original recipe called for meatloaf mix and kale. I used ground beef since it is easier to find and spinach instead of the kale to make it more kid friendly. It really came out very good and I never would have guessed it came from a slow cooker. Even better, both kids cleaned their bowls. You can't beat that kind of recommendation!

Italian Meatball Soup
Slow Cooker Revolution

2 slices white bread
1/2 cup milk
1 pound ground beef, 93%
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese -- grated
3 tablespoons minced parsley
1 whole egg yolk
6 cloves garlic -- minced
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 whole onion -- minced
1 tablespoon olive oil
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
8 cups chicken broth
5 ounces spinach leaf, whole -- chopped
6 ounces orzo

Mash bread and milk into paste in a large bowl using a fork. Mix in ground beef, Parmesan, parsley, egg yolk, 3 garlic cloves, oregano, 3/4 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper using hands. Pinch off and roll into tablespoon sized meatballs (about 30 - 35 total).

Microwave meatballs on plate until fat renders and meatballs are firm, 3 to 5 minutes. Pour off fat and transfer meatballs to slow cooker.

Microwave onions, remaining garlic cloves, oil and red pepper flakes in bowl, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 5 minutes. Transfer to slow cooker.

Add broth, cover and cook until meatballs are tender, about 4-6 hours on low.

Let soup settle for 5 minutes and then remove fat from surface using a large spoon, Stir in orzo, cover and cook on high until tender, 20 - 30 minutes. Add spinach to wilt. Season with salt and pepper to taste and serve with additional Parmesan.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 229 Calories; 8g Fat (33.3% calories from fat); 19g Protein; 19g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber

Turtle Cake

2011-09-26T17:01:00.001-05:00

Yesterday was my birthday (boy they come around fast) and David disappeared with the kids on Saturday for about 4 hours and came back with a covered metal tin. Didn't take long for the kids to tell me that it was a cake, the cake was for me and it was a Turtle Cake. "Don't worry though, mommy. It doesn't have any real turtles in it." The kids didn't want to wait until yesterday to eat it (twist my arm) so we kicked off our celebration after supper.

Wow. Talk about a rich cake. Considering the chef (Paula Deen) I am not too surprised. It was very good BUT it is one of those cakes that requires a big glass of ice cold milk to go along with it. It is also a good cake for portion control because one little piece is more than enough. Cake is best stored in the refrigerator so the caramel is easier to cut through. I put it out on the counter for 10 minutes to soften up and it was too long. This one is going into the files for another special occasion!

Turtle Cake
Paula Deen's Just Desserts

Cake:

1 18.25-ounce box German chocolate cake mix (plus ingredients to prepare)

1 14-ounce package caramel candies

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1 14-ounce can sweetened condensed milk

1 6-ounce package semisweet chocolate chips

1 cup chopped nuts (they used pecans)

Frosting:

3 tablespoons cocoa

1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter

1 tablespoon light corn syrup

2 cups confectioners' sugar

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease a 13x9x2 inch pan.

Prepare cake according to directions on box. Pour half of batter into prepared pan. Reserve other half. Bake for 15 minutes. Remove from oven and cool completely. (Don't turn off oven.) Meanwhile, melt caramel candies with butter in a saucepan. When completely melted, remove from heat and stir in condensed milk until smooth. Let mixture cool completely. Add chocolate chips and nuts. Spread mixture over cooled cake. Pour remaining batter over mixture and return to oven for another 25 to 30 minutes.

While cake is baking, prepare frosting. Mix together cocoa, butter, milk, corn syrup, and salt in a saucepan over medium heat. Bring ingredients to a full rolling boil and allow to boil for approximately 3 minutes, stirring occasionally. Remove from heat. Using a hand held electric mixer, beat confectioners' sugar and vanilla into cocoa mixture; beat until smooth. Pour icing over warm cake.

Operation Baking GALS

2011-09-11T17:25:00.000-05:00

I am sure I was one of the millions of Americans who watched the remembrance ceremonies that were all over the television this morning. There were so many moving tributes and I didn't catch them all (trying not to let the little people see what was on the TV) but one that really struck we was the one by Peter Negron, who was remembering his dad, a Port Authority project manager. After watching for a few hours I turned off the TV and Madeleine and I got busy baking.

A year or so ago I saw an article in Taste of Home magazine for Operation Baking GALS (Give a Little Support). I subscribed to their website and 'liked' them on Facebook so I'd receive their updates. For almost a year I watched the announcement of new rounds starting up before signing up for one. I think the upcoming anniversary was enough to give me the push I needed to do it. The Iraq War started in March of 2003 (8 years ago!) and I figured it was about time I said 'thank you' to some of those serving overseas and away from their families.

Madeleine and I decided to keep it basic. In addition to some Ocean Spray drink mixes and some deodorant, we decided to make good ole Nestle Chocolate Chip Cookies and some Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Bars. The cinnamon chips can be seasonal, so when I see them I grab a couple of bags and toss them in the freezer. I am a bit of a cinnamon freak.

Oatmeal Cinnamon Chip Cookies

1 cup (2 sticks) butter, softened

1 cup packed light brown sugar

1/3 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract

1-1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

2-1/2 cups quick-cooking oats

1-2/3 cups (10-oz. pkg.) HERSHEY'S Cinnamon Chips

3/4 cup raisins

Heat oven to 350°F.

Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in bowl until creamy. Add eggs and vanilla; beat well. Combine flour and baking soda; add to butter mixture, beating well. Stir in oats, cinnamon chips and raisins (batter will be stiff). Drop by heaping teaspoons unto ungreased cookie sheet.

Bake 10 to 12 minutes on until lightly browned. Cool 1 minute; remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. About 4 dozen.

BAR VARIATION: Spread batter into lightly greased 13x9x2-inch baking pan. Bake at 350°F. for 25 to 30 minutes or until golden brown. Cool; cut into bars. About 3 dozen bars.

I was disappointed that the 'large' flat rate shipping box I got from the post office wasn't very large. Didn't give me much room to pack all the cookies and bars that we baked! We get our share of deliveries to the house though (online shopping just may be another addiction of mine) so I just need to make sure I put some away before David flattens and burns them (David's addiction). Both kids know (and often state) that daddy isn't allowed to burn anymore without 'adult supervision'. That is a story for another time!

First day of School

2011-08-18T20:52:00.000-05:00

Today was a pretty big day in our house - it was Madeleine's first day of Kindergarten. She has been alternating between being excited and being nervous. More nervous the last week or so as many of her friends from daycare have been leaving.

So proud of her though. She got up this morning, put on her new outfit and headed right down for breakfast. She ate, we had time for pictures and then on the bus she went! She claims to have had a good time but we'll see what happens when she has to get back on the bus Monday for the first full week!

All dressed up and ready to go!

Posing with her little brother

No My-nee! Don't go!!

Excited to be home

"What did you do today Madeleine?"

"I don't remember Mommy"

Pittsburgh Zoo

2011-08-16T18:00:00.000-05:00

I have always loved going to the zoo. Not entirely sure why, but I do love walking around and seeing all the different animals. When I was little, my mom would take me to the Stone Zoo quite often, which really was a pathetic little zoo but it was only a couple of towns over. Now that the kids are getting older, I can ~~indulge my love of the zoo~~ enrich my children's lives by exposing them to animals from all around the world. Up until this summer, Madeleine had been to the zoo in Denver, Minneapolis and St. Louis. Not bad for a 5 year old. Since we've only ever been to Pittsburgh in the winter, it is the first opportunity I've had to take them here.

We went the day before the 4th of July, right before the heat wave descended on most of the United States. It was pretty warm when we went, but Nana bought them hats and fans at the first gift shop and they were happy campers.

We saw the typical lions and tigers ... the bears were being lazy and hiding indoors. My favorite was the elephants. I got some really nice shots:

We also got to hang out with a new friend named Victoria.

This guy had the right idea as it did get a little toasty:

"Big teef mommy! Bite you!!"

All in all we had a good day. We were able to cover the whole zoo in about 3 hours before it got really crowded and the heat kicked in. It was a good start to a great vacation. Next stop: Sesame Place.

Mashed Potaotes with Blue Cheese and Parsley

2011-08-15T18:00:00.000-05:00

One thing I am very fortunate for is the fact I have 2 kids that are really not picky eaters. Sure, given the choice they would claim they want to eat french fries all the time but they are very good about trying new things.

Madeleine's favorite salad dressing is blue cheese. Kind of odd that 1) she does eat a big ole plate of salad willingly and 2) it has to have blue cheese dressing on it. The little guy is following right in her footsteps, and always has to make sure it is on the table in case he has something he needs to dip.

This recipe is not for those that don't like blue cheese. With a whole cup of crumbled blue cheese in there the flavor is pretty prominent. These go great with grilled steaks and sauteed mushrooms.

Mashed Potatoes with Blue Cheese and Parsley
Cooking Light, January 2001

2 pounds red potatoes -- cut into 2-inch chunks
2 garlic cloves -- peeled
1 cup crumbled blue cheese
1/3 cup 1% low-fat milk
2 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Place potatoes and garlic in a large saucepan; cover with water. Bring to a boil; cook 15 minutes or until tender. Drain. Place potato mixture and remaining ingredients in a large bowl. Mash to desired consistency.

Yield: 8 1/2-cup servings

Summer Vacation 2011

2011-08-14T17:03:00.001-05:00

For the first time in a LONG time we actually went away someplace for longer than a weekend. At the beginning of July we embarked on the Northeast Tour which took us east to PA and then over to Boston and even up into Maine. We were gone for a glorious 17 days and there was no cooking, no cleaning and best of all no work involved! We must have had a good time since I had 600+ pictures to go through and edit and I am only about halfway done.

We started off by spending 4 days outside of Pittsburgh where David is from. We essentially relaxed at his parents house, went to the zoo and to a 4th of July party. The weather was nice and the kids had the opportunity to spend a lot of time lounging by the little pool.

Striking a pose:

He needs to use his belly to shoot the water gun:

Resting from a hard afternoon of swimming:

Attempting to keep his post swim snack of Cheez-balls away from Gus:

I'm already plotting a course for a two week vacation for next summer.

Quinoa, Corn, and Tomato Salad with Chive-Infused Oil

2011-07-30T20:59:00.002-05:00

I have been making the effort lately to clean up our eating. Not that we eat bad, but we should probably be incorporating more whole grains into our diet. David is against rice (really, rice?) and claims he doesn't like couscous (but eats pasta - can't figure that one out). I've been seeing recipes for quinoa for a few years but never made the plunge.

Most of the recipes I've found online that appealed to me were salads. Yeah, I'm not ready to form the stuff into a burger, for which I am sure my family is grateful. I skimmed through the recipes I found and simply went with the one for which no trips to the grocery store were needed.

From what I've read online, if you didn't purchase pre-rinsed you needed to rinse it or else it could taste bitter from the coating left on it. Since I purchased mine from a bulk bin I went ahead and rinsed it thoroughly and discovered in the process my mesh strainer wasn't as fine as I needed it to be.

This recipe was quick and easy to put together. I made it after lunch so it would be nice and cold by suppertime. I really liked the way the chive oil tasted and was happy to find another use for my overgrown chives plant. I only made 1/2 the oil recipe and have enough to make this salad again. I'm thinking it would be good for lunch with some grilled chicken or beef mixed in.

Quinoa, Corn and Tomato Salad with Chive-Infused Oil

Brightly colored flavored oil coats the quinoa grains and lends the salad fresh chive flavor. Refrigerate leftover oil to use as a dressing to drizzle over grilled fish or summer vegetables. Garnish with whole fresh chives, if desired.

1 1/2 cups water
1 cup uncooked quinoa
1 cup fresh corn kernels (about 2 ears)
1 cup cherry tomatoes, halved
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh flat-leaf parsley
2 tablespoons Chive-Infused Oil
2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
2 tablespoons white wine vinegar
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 garlic clove, minced

Combine 1 1/2 cups water and quinoa in a medium saucepan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes or until liquid is absorbed. Remove from heat; let stand 10 minutes. Fluff with a fork.

Combine quinoa, corn, tomatoes, and parsley in a medium bowl. Combine Chive-Infused Oil and remaining ingredients, stirring with a whisk. Drizzle over salad; toss well to coat. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2/3 cup)

Calories: 179

Calories from fat: 34%

Fat: 6.7g

Saturated fat: 0.7g

Monounsaturated fat: 4.1g

Polyunsaturated fat: 1.3g

Protein: 5.2g

Carbohydrate: 26.1g

Fiber: 2.4g

Chive-Infused Oil

3/4 cup extravirgin olive oil
1/2 cup (1-inch) slices fresh chives
1/2 teaspoon salt

Place all ingredients in a blender; pulse 6 times or until chives are very finely minced. Strain mixture through a fine sieve into a bowl, and discard solids. Store in refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

Yield: 3/4 cup (serving size: 1 1/2 teaspoons)

Calories: 63

Calories from fat: 100%

Fat: 7g

Saturated fat: 1g

Monounsaturated fat: 5.4g

Polyunsaturated fat: 0.6g

Grilled Salmon with Tomatoes & Basil

2011-07-28T18:00:00.007-05:00

It has been hot hot hot here and the last thing I want to be doing is heating up the house cooking. I dug around the freezer and found a few salmon fillets and remembered the recipe I tried out last summer from Eating Well magazine at the height of tomato season.

Well, we certainly aren't at the height of tomato season at my house (my plants are so pathetic this year) but my basil plant was in desperate need of a trim. I dug out some cedar planks to soak (although I don't know why I bother since they always go up in flames) and the rest was a snap to put together. The tomatoes came from the local farmer's market so they were grown locally by somebody - just not me. As always I used extra garlic and they took about 15 minutes on the grill. The *corn man* has returned to the 4-way stop by our house, so I soaked and threw a couple ears on the grill as well. David complained at the lack of carbs but I told him if he wanted to HE could heat up the house making some sort of side dish.

Grilled Salmon with Tomatoes and Basil

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 teaspoon kosher salt, divided

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil

1 whole wild salmon fillet (also called a “side of salmon,” about 1 1/2 pounds)

1/3 cup plus 1/4 cup thinly sliced fresh basil, divided

2 medium tomatoes, thinly sliced

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper

Preheat grill to medium.

Mash minced garlic and 3/4 teaspoon salt on a cutting board with the side of a chef’s knife or a spoon until a paste forms. Transfer to a small bowl and stir in oil.

Check the salmon for pin bones and remove if necessary. Measure out a piece of heavy-duty foil (or use a double layer of regular foil) large enough for the salmon fillet. Coat the foil with cooking spray. Place the salmon skin-side down on the foil and spread the garlic mixture all over it. Sprinkle with 1/3 cup basil. Overlap tomato slices on top and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and pepper.

Transfer the salmon on the foil to the grill. Grill until the fish flakes easily, 10 to 12 minutes. Use two large spatulas to slide the salmon from the foil to a serving platter. Serve the salmon sprinkled with the remaining 1/4 cup basil.

Per serving: 248 calories; 10 g fat ( 2 g sat , 5 g mono ); 80 mg cholesterol; 3 g carbohydrates; 0 g added sugars; 35 g protein; 1 g fiber; 367 mg sodium; 799 mg potassium.

Storm Damage

2011-07-27T20:11:00.001-05:00

About 2 o'clock this morning a thunder storm started getting closer. Thunder, lightening and then the pouring rain started. I was laying there trying to fall asleep, when it suddenly seemed like we were in a wind tunnel of some sort. Howling winds followed by a weird sucking sound and then all was quiet. The power went off a little while later.

Fast forward to early morning. Overslept a bit since the alarm didn't go off. Trying to get everyone up, dressed and out of the house so they'd make it on time for breakfast at daycare. I opened the front door and the kids went out and stopped. Christopher piped up "Bye bye tree". Pretty accurate assessment:

Thankfully the tree (or two, I can't really tell) was the worst of the damage. The kids' blow up pool ended up halfway down the hill to the woods. The trellis I have supporting my cucumbers was blown back and took some of the cucumbers with it. The yard was littered with branches from all over the place.

We have such great neighbors though - came home to find a couple of the kids on our street getting some of the branches in the woods. David is out there now with the guy across the street, 'supervising' the cutting of the portion that is on the lawn. I am hoping that we'll be able to keep the rest of the tree, but I guess we'll have to call in a *tree guy* and see what they suggest.

Strawberry Picking 2011

2011-07-24T12:00:00.042-05:00

As we have the last 2 years, Madeleine and I took a day off during the week to head out strawberry picking. We went up to Bagge Strawberries as we typically do one Friday late in June. Due to the rainy and cool weather, it opened up a little later than it usually does.

The morning we went was nice and sunny and somewhat warm, but by the time we arrived in Independence it was only 63 degrees. After a brief stop at the local Walmart up there to pick up a sweatshirt for Madeleine, we found ourselves on the back of a golf cart being taken out to the fields. This year the plants were full of strawberries and they were bigger and sweeter than in years past.

We ended up picking just shy of 20 pounds of strawberries. They were so sweet this year, that a good portion of them were just eaten as is. We did make 3 batches of strawberry freezer jam though, so we can enjoy it through the year.

My enthusiastic helper (for the first batch at least):

Mashing away:

This is about 1/4 of the strawberries that we had picked:

Our smaller containers hold 1 cup, the slightly bigger one holds 2 and the last one holds a quart. My babci (grandmother) had a recipe for raspberry bars using jam. I am hoping that using strawberry jam will work just as well:

Our own strawberries did not do so well this year. We had a berry or two that we could pick each day during June. We came home from vacation to discover the deer trimmed them back for me - down to the ground. They have already started to recover and are still putting out runners, so I am hoping it was all just cosmetic damage!!

Quad Cities Airshow

2011-07-23T21:33:00.000-05:00

I've started the monumental task of going through all the pictures I've taken over the last month. Considering that involves 2 weeks of vacation, there are quite a few to go through and edit.

I found some pictures I had forgot about on the camera. A week or so before we left on vacation we trekked out to the Quad Cities to go to the Quad Cities Airshow. It was HOT. It was hotter than hot, but we had fun.

Here are some pictures I managed to take. It was the first show of the season where the Blue Angels were back performing and it was quite good. Enjoy!

Bobcat!!

2011-07-17T15:17:00.000-05:00

We just got back last night from a wonderful two weeks (yes, 2 whole weeks!) away. While we were away, our neighbor across the street had a visitor in his backyard. He emailed some pictures out to the neighbors:

Kind of glad we weren't around as I would have been paranoid everytime I let Sophie outside. As you can see by the pictures, it was still light outside and he was brazen enough to be on the wall right outside their porch. Makes me wonder where he came from.

The Brass Verdict

2011-06-17T06:00:00.007-05:00

Everybody lies.

Cops lie. Lawyers lie. Witnesses lie. The victims lie.

A trial is a contest of lies. And everybody in the courtroom knows this. The judge knows this. Even the jury knows this. They come into the building knowing they will be lied to. They take their seats in the box and agree to be lied to.

Michael Connelly, where have you been hiding all this time?

I had picked up Lincoln Lawyer to read simply because I saw the previews for the movie and I wanted to read the book before I saw the movie. A bit of a quirk I have. It also helped that it was the first book in the Mickey Haller series - another little quirk I have. I have to read a series of books in order or it will bother me. Loved Lincoln Lawyer. Loved it.

I downloaded The Brass Verdict to my Kindle hoping that the first book wasn't just a fluke. Nope. Once again Connelly has proven himself to be a master at combining engrossing plots with compelling characters. It kept me entertained from the opening sentence through all the twists to the end of the book.

Checking out his website, Michael Connelly has at least 25 books for to me to add to my 'to read' list out on Goodreads. I hope that each one I pick up is as good as the last!

Kalamata-Balsamic Chicken with Feta

2011-06-16T06:00:00.003-05:00

I think summer is officially here! Summer = grill in this house. Truthfully I'd grill all winter long too but we have this pesky wind chill thing in Iowa where it gets pretty cold.

I was perusing the magazine aisle at Target one day last week and saw a new supplement put out by Weight Watchers - 15 minutes and 5 ingredient recipes. Something along those lines anyway. 15 minutes for a meal sounded pretty good to me so I tossed a copy in my cart.

We had this one for supper the other night. Rather than using a grill pan, I pounded the chicken and threw it on the grill, cooking the tomato mixture on the side burner ... all while watching the kids in the sandbox. Can I multi-task or what??

This was a snap to put together and it tasted great. Even better, I had everything I needed to make it, with the exception of the tomatoes. Next time I'll double the tomato mixture as the kids gobbled it up.

Kalamata-Balsamic Chicken with Feta
WW 5 Ingredients, 15 Minutes supplement

4 6-oz boneless skinless chicken breast halves
1/2 teaspoon black pepper
1 cup cherry tomatoes -- halved
16 whole kalamata olives
3 tablespoons light balsamic vinaigrette
3 tablespoons crumbled feta cheese
2 tablespoons basil leaves

Sprinkle chicken even with pepper. Combine tomatoes, olives and dressing in a medium bowl.

Heat a large non-stick skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Cook chicken 6-7 minutes on each side or until done. Transfer chicken to a serving platter and cover to keep warm.

Add tomato mixture to pan and cook 1 to 2 minutes or until tomato softens. Spoon over chicken and top evenly with cheese and basil.

Yield 4 servings (1 chicken breast half, 1/4 cup tomato mixture and 3/4 tablespoon cheese)

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 254 Calories; 8g Fat (28.3% calories from fat); 41g Protein; 3g Carbohydrate; trace Dietary Fiber; 105mg Cholesterol; 431mg Sodium. Exchanges: 0 Grain(Starch); 5 1/2 Lean Meat; 1/2 Vegetable; 0 Fruit; 1 Fat.

Happy Belated Birthdays!

2011-06-15T19:29:00.000-05:00

I'm a little behind the times these days, but I wanted to make sure I got my little people's birthday wishes out there.

Happy 5th Birthday!

Happy 2nd Birthday!

This year their birthday party was all about Mickey and Minnie. A Mickey Mouse cake pan is pretty simple to find but it was a bit tougher to find a Minnie Mouse cake pan. The only place I could find them was Ebay and I was not about to pay $80 for a cake pan. I improvised instead:

Not bad, if I do say so myself! I do think that next year I'll pick something without black frosting though. It does a pretty good job staining your teeth!

Garlicky Vegetable Pasta Salad

2011-05-30T00:00:00.000-05:00

*Not sure why this was saved and not posted from a couple of weeks ago, but better late than never I suppose. :)

I am a huge fan of leftovers. Huge. Between working 40+ hours a week and having 2 kids that NEED to eat by 6 and NEED to be in bed by 7:30, I don't have a whole lot of time to cook supper when we get home. As soon as we walk in the door the little guy starts chirping. Cheese stick! Cheese stick! CHEESE STICK! Thankfully splitting one between the 2 of them tides them over for about a half hour.

However, Rachael Ray I am not (and really, can anyone really make any of her meals in 30 minutes) but I do try my best to not used any processed foods. Don't get me wrong, I throw a hot dog or two at the kids every once in a while (and feel less guilty about it after finding nitrate free dogs) but overall we are pretty healthy eaters here despite the fact I am having a huge craving for nachos at the moment. Not sure where that one came from but they sound soooooo good right about now.

I had the leftovers from dinner the other night to play with but didn't really have any carbs to serve with it - Man Food Rule #4 - must have carbs with meals. Since I didn't think I could get away with tossing another loaf of bread on the table (OK, reality was it was getting moldy), so I threw together this pasta recipe from the same Cooking Light issue.

It reuses quite a bit of the vegetables that we grilled the other night, but was different enough that it didn't seem like we were eating the same thing again. I tossed in some extra vegetables and some extra olives for the kids since they love them. I mixed the cold vegetables with the hot pasta so it was room temperature when I served it with some leftover tenderloin. Another supper where the kids cleaned their plates and another new recipe to add to the files.

Garlicky Vegetable Pasta Salad
Cooking Light, August 2002
Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

4 cups cooked fusilli (about 8 ounces uncooked short twisted spaghetti)

3 cups Grilled Antipasto Vegetables

3/4 cup (3 ounces) crumbled feta cheese

1/2 cup chopped fresh basil

1/4 cup Chile-Garlic Vinaigrette

3 tablespoons chopped pitted kalamata olives

Combine all ingredients in a large bowl, tossing gently.

Nutritional Information: calories: 405, fat: 12.5g, protein: 15.2g, fiber: 6.8g, carbohydrate: 60.1g

Tonsillectomy Times Two

2011-05-28T21:40:00.000-05:00

Friday was the big day: both kids were scheduled to get their tonsils and adenoids pulled. We had an appointment earlier this month with an ENT and he had no qualms about taking them out in either child. Surprising, since Christopher isn't quite two, but I suppose 6 bouts of tonsillitis in 5 months tipped the scales in our favor. I was younger than he is when I had mine taken out, but that was back in the day when we rolled around in the back of the station wagon sans seat belts. Back when we played outside in the summer all day long and only had to come home when the street lights came on. The good ole days ... another whole post in itself.

I wanted it done as soon as they could schedule it and even better it could be done right before a long weekend since we were told there was a week long recovery period. They were scheduled for 7:30 and 8 AM and we needed to be there at 6 AM for registration. We arrived on time and they staff was really good with the kids. They each got tiger pajamas to wear as well as a hat they could wear to cover their hair during surgery. They were loaded up with stickers and each received a coloring book and some crayons to use while we waited.

I'll admit it, I didn't like that I couldn't go back with them and I couldn't be in recovery when they woke up. We were stuck waiting in the little room until they were ready to be moved to the Woman's and Children's Center. They were being kept overnight since Christopher had to given his age. They both did really well and were pretty out of it when we walked over with them.

I have to say the doctor was right when he said Christopher would be the fast recoverer. Unfortunately that realization came at 3:30 this morning when he was jumping in the crib in the hospital room "I jumping mommy! I jumping!" Madeleine is having a tougher time of it but we are keeping on top of the Tylenol with codeine and she is coming along.

Hopefully this will help with all the sickness that they have had over the last winter. I'm betting it'll be hard to have tonsillitis if you don't have your tonsils anymore.

Tenderloin with Grilled Antipasto Vegetables

2011-05-11T00:00:00.004-05:00

I've learned a lesson or two over the years. Mother's Day was last Sunday and I really wanted to go to brunch at the local winery that isn't far from our house. I knew, however, that request would be met with sighs and comments about how packed it was going to be, blah, blah, blah. So, I bought myself a beef tenderloin roast with the thoughts of having a nice meal at home.

I've made this meal a few times in the past and it is very good. I couldn't find a Serrano (hit or miss in these parts) so I subbed a jalapeno, making sure I scraped out all the seeds so it wouldn't be too hot for the kids. I didn't have to worry though as it was a pretty wimpy jalapeno. Both kids loved the tenderloin (of course they have expensive taste) and ate the vegetable with gusto. I really am lucky to have kids that will eat pretty much anything I put in front of them.

Tenderloin with Grilled Antipasto Vegetables
Cooking Light, August 2002

1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
1/8 teaspoon garlic powder
1 1/2 pounds beef tenderloin, trimmed
Cooking spray
2 1/2 tablespoons Chile-Garlic Vinaigrette
4 cups trimmed arugula
8 cups Grilled Antipasto Vegetables
1/4 cup (1 ounce) shaved Parmesan cheese

Prepare grill.

Combine first 4 ingredients; rub over beef. Place beef on grill rack coated with cooking spray; grill 6 minutes on all 4 sides or until desired degree of doneness. Cover loosely; let stand 5 minutes.
Drizzle 2 1/2 tablespoons Chile-Garlic Vinaigrette over arugula; toss gently to coat. Cut beef across grain into thin slices. Arrange beef, 8 cups Grilled Antipasto Vegetables, and arugula on a platter; top with cheese.

Nutritional information: calories: 343, fat: 13.2g, protein: 33.5g, carbohydrate: 26.5g, fiber: 9.3g

What happened to Spring?

2011-05-10T19:29:00.000-05:00

It was so nice here this past weekend. Sunny and in the 70's with a nice breeze. Saturday I pulled the kids around the neighborhood in thier wagon (75 pounds total thankyouverymuch) and we stopped to visit the horses that live at the end of our street. Sunday we went out to breakfast, hit the farmer's market in a neighboring town and then played at the park for a while. Absolutely beautiful.

Today when I got into my car after work the thermometer read 96 degrees and it is humid. More of the same tomorrow and then it drops back down to the 60's. Ah, Iowa. Was that the extent of our Spring this year - two days? Oh wait, I think it was nice one day last month too.

At least when I was living in Phoenix I could pretty much count on it being over 100 from May through October. It's a dry heat though, right?

Easter Egg Hunt 2011

2011-04-24T11:24:00.000-05:00

We made our yearly pilgrimage down to the Amana colonies yesterday to partake in the annual Easter Egg hunt that the Amana Heritage Society holds every year. Pilgrimage probably isn't the right word to use since it is all of a 20 minute drive but it makes it sound like a greater event than it actually is!

This year Christopher joined in the fun as well. He wasn't too sure of everything that was going on and was most definitely NOT fond of the Easter Bunny but was quite pleased with the candy he received!

Petting the rabbits

Waiting for the hunt to begin

Meeting the Easter Bunny with Nana

We found our baskets

Spring!!!!

2011-04-11T06:00:00.003-05:00

Aren't they beautiful and a sure sign that Spring is on the way? I'll admit it - I cheated and bought then at our local grocery store, but I just couldn't resist having fresh cut flowers in the house.

Marinated Balsamic Bean Salad

2011-04-10T20:49:00.001-05:00

I am going to go out on a limb here and say that Spring has officially arrived. The signs of Spring are popping up everywhere: we had our yearly 'take cover' drill at work, my Irises are starting to poke through the ground on the side of the house, those nasty Asian beetles are moving into my house and twenty-something tornadoes were spotted in Iowa last night. Thankfully of them were in our area but scary nonetheless. As for the Asian beetles, I'll admit to having a bit of fun this weekend using the BugKwikZap. You invade my house, you pay the price.

I am working on using up what I have in the freezer so I pulled out some boneless skinless chicken thighs. I coated them this morning with this rub from Penzey's and let them sit in the refrigerator. I was hoping to be able to use the grill but it didn't get cleaned, so I threw them into the oven and then with about 10 minutes to go, slathered them with barbecue sauce and broiled. They really came out good.

It was pretty warm here today, with our thermometer measuring temps in the low 80's. The house already seemed pretty stuffy (kids had the door to the porch open) so I wanted to make a side dish that wouldn't heat up the kitchen. This bean salad is one that I have been making for a few years and it does get better as it sits in the refrigerator. The only change I make to the original recipe is to cut the amount of thyme in half. I think it overpowers quickly. I was the only one who didn't pick out all the chickpeas, so I'll probably use a different white bean next time.

Marinated Balsamic Bean Salad
Cooking Light Magazine

1 cup frozen whole-kernel corn
1 cup frozen cut green beans
1 (16-ounce) can kidney beans
1 (15-ounce) can chickpeas (garbanzo beans)
1 (15-ounce) can black beans
1 cup diced red onion
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar
1/4 cup water
2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 tablespoon dried basil
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 teaspoon sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground white pepper
2 garlic cloves, minced

Combine the first 5 ingredients in a colander; rinse and drain. Combine onion and remaining ingredients in a bowl; add corn and beans, tossing gently to coat. Cover and marinate in refrigerator at least 4 hours, stirring occasionally. Serve with a slotted spoon. Yield: 7 1-cup servings.

The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks

2011-03-26T16:40:00.002-05:00

It all started back in the early 1950's, when a sample of cancerous tissue was taken from a poor African American woman, without her knowledge or her consent, a common practice in those days. Today those cells are still alive, having survived for 60 years in labs all over the world. The HeLa cells were instrumental in discovering the polio vaccine and have even traveled to the moon. In contrast, Henrietta's family lived in poverty and often without health insurance. They were not even aware until decades later that there was a small part of their wife and mother still alive and being sold to labs all over the world for research.

I really enjoyed the book. Rebecca Skloot did an excellent job revealing the woman behind the cells as well as examining the medical ethical issues behind the way in which the cells were obtained and used throughout the years. Who owns human cells once they are taken from your body?

Perhaps one of my favorite lines in the book came from one of Henrietta's sons: “She’s the most important person in the world, and her family living in poverty. If our mother so important to science, why can’t we get health insurance?” Although there were some scientific blurbs that dragged a bit, overall this book was extremely well written and helped tell the story of the woman who, without a doubt, made one of the greatest contributions to science.

Feeling like a hamster running on a wheel ...

2011-03-19T17:51:00.000-05:00

I just can't seem to catch up with anything these days! Cleaning, laundry, cooking, reading, organizing and even blogging .... I've gotten nothing accomplished since we were all sick.

Whew, well I guess I can cross blogging off the list now. Perhaps it is time to tackle those mounds of clothes I have sorted. Pretty sad when the little guy has 14 pairs of socks and not a clean pair in his drawer :P

What a week!

2011-02-28T18:17:00.001-06:00

I guess one can choose to look at the positives that occur and the picture above would be one - Christopher loves using his nebulizer and likes to wear the mask around the house.

Seems like Influenza A is pretty contagious (a reason, one would think, to include it in the vaccine) so of course I was not surprised to get the call at daycare on Thursday afternoon that he was running a fever. I picked him up and took him straight to the doctor where they tested him for everything and took a chest X-ray since he was sounding raspy. Ever seen the medieval looking chamber they use to keep them still? Poor thing was stuck in there with his arms stuck up in the air.

So I was not too surprised to wake up on Saturday morning with a runny nose, that turned into a cough, that turned into a 101 fever with a few hours. Wonderful but I suppose it cannot be avoided when you have the little guy coughing and sneezing on you.

Today is Monday and it was Madeleine's first day back at daycare. Christopher and I are still running fevers so we were home today and will be tomorrow. David so far has remained untouched, so fingers crossed that he manages to avoid this one. In the meantime, I'm taking advantage of having another pair of hands to help as I snuggle deeper into my blanket, waiting until I can take my next round of meds.

Influenza A ... who invited you into our home???

2011-02-21T20:46:00.000-06:00

I knew it was too good to be true. After the last round of strep throat everyone was on the mend and back at daycare 5 days a week. Yesterday Madeleine came into the kitchen wearing three layers of clothes and aksing where a blanket was because she was freezing. She curled up in one of the recliners and was out cold in no time. Not a good sign at 11 AM.

103.9 fever. Here we go again. A trip to the doctor involved some throat swabs, nose swabs and a finger prick for a blood test. I figured she had strep throat again. Nope, the flu. Doctor's orders include Madeleine staying home from daycare the whole week - considered to be that contagious. Sweet.

What ticked me off though, when I called daycare to let them know she's be out, her teacher said 'oh yeah, we have Influenza A and B in Pre-K'. Really? Where are the posted signs? It would be nice to know what she's being exposed to.

So the rest of us are waiting, wondering who is next on the list. After all, I've taught my kids to share and so far Madeleine has really taken that one to heart and shares everything!

Madeleine-ism's

2011-02-14T00:00:00.002-06:00

I really need to keep better track of the stuff that comes out of her mouth!

Watching her brother screech as he runs laps around the island in the kitchen: "Mommy, you should have told them at the hospital you wanted a quieter baby."

Driving by an empty farm yard on our way to work when it was below 0: "Mommy, it is so cold outside they chickens can't lay eggs and the pigs can't lay ham."

General observation about her brother: "Mommy, didn't you ask them for a neat baby at the hospital? The one we got is too messy."

After the Superbowl: "Maybe we need to get daddy a Patriot's shirt so he'll stop cheering for the Steelers. They make him too mad."

Chicken Pastina Soup

2011-02-13T15:23:00.000-06:00

My thermostat is telling me it is 54 degrees outside but I am absolutely frozen. Christopher was generous enough to share his latest cold with me and I have a sneaking suspicion I am running a fever. I searched the garage freezer last night and pulled out a gallon of frozen chicken stock and a couple of chicken breasts. David chopped all the vegetables up and the chicken (suspicious of that as well) and I have a pot of this Chicken Pastina Soup cooking on the stove.

I found this recipe on the back of the box of Progresso's chicken stock and it caught my eye. Pastina is a small pasta that looks like little balls. Very small and it cooks in all of 5 minutes. Growing up we would get Pastina with butter and Parmesan cheese - total Italian comfort food when it was cold out or when we were sick. Prince is the company that made it and if you grew up in the Boston area then you know that Wednesday was/is Prince Spaghetti day. I remember the commercial that they used to have - a little Italian grandmother yelling through the streets of the North End, calling Anthony home for supper. But I digress.

It has only been within the last year or two that I have actually been able to find Pastina here in Iowa, so of course I have a supply in the cabinet just it case it disappears. This soup is super easy to put together, with the most time consuming part being the chopping of all the vegetables. If you don't eat it all in one sitting (makes 10 good sized servings) and store it in the refrigerator, you'll notice that the pasta tends to soak up a lot of the liquid. When I reheat it I add in additional chicken broth (usually just a can) so it gets back to its soupy state. Personally I don't have a problem with thicker soup but there are some people in this house that do!

Chicken Pastina Soup
http://www.progresso.com/

1 tablespoon butter or margarine
2 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into 3/4-inch pieces
1/2 cup chopped onion (1 medium)
1/2 cup diced carrot (1 medium)
1/2 cup diced celery (1 medium stalk)
1 cup crushed tomatoes
2 cartons (32 oz each) Progresso® chicken broth
1/2 teaspoon gray salt or sea salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 dried bay leaf
1 cup uncooked acini di pepe pasta or other small round pasta (8 oz)
2 cups chopped, lightly packed mustard greens, spinach, Swiss chard or other greens
1/3 cup shredded Parmesan cheese

In 5-quart stockpot, melt butter over medium-high heat. Add chicken, onion, carrot and celery; cook 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occasionally, until vegetables are tender.

Stir in tomatoes, broth, salt, pepper and bay leaf; heat to boiling. Stir in pasta; reduce heat.

Cover; simmer 15 minutes. Stir in greens just until wilted. Remove bay leaf. Serve with a twist of additional freshly ground pepper and sprinkle of cheese.
10 servings (1 1/2 cups each)

Kitchen Helpers

2011-02-05T13:34:00.000-06:00

This would be one reason why it is so hard to cook a meal when I get home from work ...

Hot Crab Dip

2011-02-04T20:43:00.000-06:00

I'll admit it - I am a shopper. OK, I am a big shopper but, in my defense, I rarely ever pay full price for anything. I have been known though, to stock up on things when they are on sale, hence the good sized storage room with shelving units we have downstairs.

I have about 6 cans of crab downstairs on the shelf and I knew I had a recipe for a hot dip somewhere that would use up 2 of them. It is just as added bonus that it also uses up 2 of the 5 blocks of cream cheese I have in the refrigerator. In my defense, I didn't buy the cream cheese just because it was on sale. I had planned to make a cheesecake at Christmas but the sides of my springform pan are MIA.

This one is a snap to put together but it does taste best warm. I mix this up beforehand and store in the refrigerator. When the first guests arrive, I spread it in the pie plate and then bake. I once tried keeping it warm in a crockpot but it dried out pretty quickly. I serve with whatever crackers I have on hand - usually Wheat Thins.

Hot Crab Dip
Philadelphia Cream Cheese Cookbook

2 pkg. (8 oz. each) cream cheese, softened

2 cans (6 oz. each) crabmeat, drained, flaked

1/2 cup shredded Parmesan Cheese

1/4 cup sliced green onions

1 tablespoon horseradish

1 teaspoon hot pepper sauce

Preheat oven to 350°F. Mix all ingredients with electric mixer on medium speed until well blended. Spoon into 9-inch pie plate or quiche dish. Bake 25 to 30 min. or until lightly browned. Serve with assorted crackers.

Antipasto Squares

2011-02-03T19:54:00.000-06:00

Superbowl Sunday is rapidly approaching. While I couldn't care any less about the game this year, we are having a few friends over to watch the ~~commericals~~ game, which means I get to search through my recipe files and come up with some appetizers and some main dish to eat.

The appetizer part is pretty easy. I have a few different ones that always go over well and it's always hard to decide what to make. If anything, I am one that always makes too much, but I figure it just means I don't have to cook for the rest of the week.

This one is thinly sliced meats, cheese and thinly sliced roasted red peppers, baked in a crescent roll crust. It is easy to mix and match the ingredients to suit your taste. Sometimes I use all provolone cheese or substitute prosciutto for the ham. I've also added a touch of garlic powder and a little Italian seasoning to the egg mixture, but honestly most times I don't change a thing.

Antipasto Squares

2 (10 ounce) cans refrigerated crescent dinner rolls
1/4 pound thinly sliced deli ham
1/4 pound thinly sliced provolone cheese
1/4 pound thinly sliced Swiss cheese
1/4 pound thinly sliced Genoa salami
1/4 pound thinly sliced pepperoni
1 (12 ounce) jar roasted red peppers, well drained, cut into thin strips (I lay them on paper towels before I start)
3 eggs
3 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Unroll one package of crescent roll dough, and cover the bottom of a 9x13 inch pan. Prebake the crust for approximately 5 minutes (this has helped issues I had with the bottom layer getting a little soggy). Layer the ham, provolone cheese, Swiss cheese, salami, pepperoni, and red peppers, on top of the dough.

In a bowl, beat the eggs lightly, and stir in the Parmesan cheese and black pepper. Pour 3/4 of this mixture over the peppers. Unroll the second package of dough, and place over the top of the peppers. Brush with the remaining egg mixture. Cover with aluminum foil.

Bake for 25 minutes in the preheated oven. Remove foil, and bake another 10 to 20 minutes, or until dough is fluffy and golden brown. Cut into squares. Serve warm, or at room temperature.

2011 Goal 4: Swap one electronic device for another

2011-01-30T12:12:00.001-06:00

It has been a rough couple of weeks in our household as we all managed to come down with something this month that required a z-pack. Not all of us tested positive, but we're pretty sure we managed to pass strep throat around. Hopefully that's out of the way for the rest of the season .

I thought a good way for me to keep track of my goals would be to assess them monthly to see where I am. I thought I'd tackle #4 first since I am pretty confident I won't get another book read this month. Looking at the tally in the Goodreads Challenge box in the sidebar, I read 5 books for the month of January.

Before I look at what I've read, I'll clarify why all the books I read were written by the same author. I'm a huge fan of TNT; they've introduced a lot of new shows that are of much better quality than the basic networks these days (The Bachelor is STILL on - really?). I've gotten hooked on quite a few: The Closer, Leverage and Hawthorne, just to name a few. They introduced one last summer with Angie Harmon and Sasha Alexander (of NCIS fame) called Rizzoli and Isles.

Names sound familiar and I couldn't quite place why but then I remembered in my stack (OK, box) of paperback books I had a few of the Rizzoli and Isles series, written by Tess Gerritsen. I read the first 3 or 4 in the series and I was hooked. I am a fan of police procedural novels anyway, but Gerritsen has a way of pulling you in and keeping you in until you reach the end of the book. I have an account on paperbackswap.com and some credits to use up, so I ordered the next ones in the series. Here is what I managed to get through this month:

Body Double: I gave this one 4 stars on Goodreads. The excerpt of the back of the book was enough to pull me in. A woman is found shot in front of Isles home and she could be her double. Couldn't wait to get through to the end.

Vanish: I also gave this one a 4 star rating. Nine months pregnant and in labor and Rizzoli finds herself a hostage in the hospital. Another page turner that kept me engrossed until the end.

Memphisto Club: This has been my least favorite of all her books so far and got a whopping 2 star rating from me. The book itself focused way too much on religious symbolism (in my opinion). I found my eyes glazing over and I started skimming over a lot of it just to get to the end to see who the serial killer was.

The Bone Garden: This one was OK. I didn't realize that it wasn't truly a Rizzoli and Isles book - Isles shows up for about 4 pages and that's it. This was more of a historical romance mystery that kept jumping from the 1840's to present day. Honestly I think the jumping around kept the characters (from either century) from really being developed. You learned a little about one - whoosh - back in time you go. Book was OK though, just not what I was expecting.

The Keepsake: I was very happy that in this book Gerritsen was back to doing what she does best - weaving a riveting story. What was thought to be a centuries-old well preserved mummy turned out to be a present day murder victim. Another one that kept my attention through the end.

All in all, I didn't do too bad with this goal. Granted none of the books I read were classics, but I have 11 more months to read 5 of them!

Approximately 28 days ...

2011-01-17T00:01:00.001-06:00

... until pitchers and catchers repor for Spring Training. Football seaon is officially over for me! GO BO SOX!!

Cheesy Beef and Rice Casserole

2011-01-16T15:27:00.001-06:00

There is a lot of football watching going on in our house this weekend. Yesterday we watched the Steelers win (eh) and at the moment I am waiting for da Bears to hurry up and win so the Patriot's game (the important one) can start. Although, honestly after the way Seatlle played last week I kind of hoped they would have shown up for the game today.

So the menu focus this weekend was quick and easy. Last night for supper I threw together the following recipe that I've had floating around in my 'to try' pile for years. I cooked everything up in the morning and just tossed it in the refrigerator and then put the casserole together right before I baked it. It took about a 1/2 hour for it to start bubbling. We had it with steamed broccoli (frozen that you just toss in the microwave) and a salad.

I did change it up a bit. I used brown rice in the base and regular sour cream as I hate the funky taste of the fat free. I added a can of black beans to the skillet with the ground beef and called it six servings instead 4.

GO PATRIOTS!!!!!!!

Cheesy Beef-and-Rice Casserole

Yield: 6 servings
1/2 pound lean ground beef
1 cup chopped onion
1 cup chopped green bell pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon chili powder
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1 (14.5-ounce) can diced tomatoes, undrained
1 (4.5-ounce) can chopped green chiles, drained
1 (15.5-ouce) can black or kidney beans, rinsed and drained
3 cups cooked long-grain rice
1 cup sour cream
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/4 cup skim milk
3/4 cup (3 ounces) reduced-fat sharp cheddar cheese
Preheat oven to 375°.

Cook first 3 ingredients in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat until meat is browned, stirring to crumble. Add water and next 6 ingredients (water through beans); bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 10 minutes. Uncover and simmer an additional 2 minutes. Remove from heat; set aside.

Combine the rice, sour cream, sliced green onions, and milk in a bowl. Spoon rice mixture into a baking dish. Top with beef mixture; sprinkle with cheese. Bake at 375° for 10 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 438 Calories; 12g Fat (29.5% calories from fat); 17g Protein; 48g Carbohydrate; 9g Dietary Fiber; 33mg Cholesterol; 387mg Sodium.

Turkey Chili

2011-01-11T10:57:00.002-06:00

I am home from work today with Madeleine who has strep throat. I took her to the doctor after work yesterday for a cough that has been lingering for a week along with a gross nose that led me to believe she had a sinus infection. I was right on the sinus infection but was surprised when the strep test came back positive, since she never once complained about her throat and she hasn't had a fever.

Good little employee that I am, I logged on to work this morning to get a couple of hours in but I kept losing my connection, so I gave up for a while. I'm not having an issue with any other websites so I am taking the opportunity to do a little sale shopping (shhh, don't tell) and a blog update.

I made Pat Monahan's Turkey Chili (lead singer for Train) from the latest issue of Rachael Ray's magazine over the weekend. I haven't been able to eat ground turkey since I was pregnant with Madeleine, so I subbed in the same amount of boneless skinless turkey tenderloins that I cut into chunks. Three tablespoons of oregano scared me a bit so I decreased it to 2 and upped the amount of chili powder and I also cut the oil back a bit. By the time 2 hours were up, the turkey chunks had started to fall apart and the chili itself was a nice deep red. Yum. This went over well with the kids, although I did catch the little guy piling up the black beans on one side of his bowl. Maybe next time I'll use kidney beans instead.

Pat Monahan's Turkey Chili
Modified from Every Day with Rachael Ray

1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
3 pounds boneless, skinless turkey breast, cut into chunks
2 red bell peppers, chopped
1 green bell pepper, chopped
1 large onion, chopped
8 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 tablespoons dried oregano
3 tablespoons chili powder
4 teaspoons ground cumin
Three 14.5-ounce cans diced tomatoes
Two 15.5-ounce cans black beans, rinsed
1/4 cup dry red wine
4 bay leaves
Shredded cheddar cheese, for serving

In a large dutch oven, heat 1/2 tablespoon olive oil over high heat. Working in batches, add the turkey and cook until browned; transfer to a bowl.

Lower the heat to medium-high and add the remaining half tablespoon olive oil to the pot. Add the bell peppers, onion and garlic and cook, stirring occasionally, until crisp-tender, about 5 minutes. Stir in the oregano, chili powder, cumin and 2 teaspoons salt and cook until the vegetables are softened, about 3 minutes. Add the tomatoes, black beans, wine and bay leaves. Stir in the turkey and 1 cup water, lower the heat to medium and simmer until thickened, about 1 hour and 45 minutes. To serve, top with the cheddar cheese.

Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette

2011-01-06T18:35:00.002-06:00

Here is another recipe from the latest issue of Cooking Light that we liked. I served it with the Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis I made the other night. This came together quickly; I was able to get it together during the 25 minutes it took the meat loaf to cook. Be warned though, if you are not a fan of garlic then this is not the vinaigrette for you! I was afraid to take the leftovers (which held up OK in the refrigerator for 2 days) to work as I didn't want to stink up my cube.

Spinach with Garlic Vinaigrette

1 1/2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 tablespoon white wine vinegar
1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/8 teaspoon salt
2 garlic cloves, minced
6 cups baby spinach leaves (about 6 ounces)
1/4 cup vertically sliced red onion

Combine the first 6 ingredients in a large bowl, stirring well with a whisk. Add 6 cups spinach and red onion; toss to coat.

Yield: 4 servings (serving size: 1 3/4 cups)

CALORIES 66 ; FAT 5.1g (sat 0.7g,mono 3.7g,poly 0.5g); CHOLESTEROL 0.0mg; CALCIUM 31mg; CARBOHYDRATE 5.2g; SODIUM 147mg; PROTEIN 1.1g; FIBER 1.9g; IRON 1.3mg

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis

2011-01-04T20:05:00.002-06:00

I'm working on those New Year's Goals I posted about!

My subscription to Cooking Light ran out last year and I did not subscribe again because I thought the magazine started to decline. Issue after issue was making its way into the box for Half Priced Books without even one recipe marked to try. Last weekend I decided to check out the magazine index online and see what the Jan/Feb issue looked like.

I'll say I was pleasantly surprised. There were a handful of recipes that looked pretty good and the Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis was one of them. Meat loaf in any form tends to disappear off of the kids plates although I'll admit to chopping the onions pretty finely in my food processor; Madeleine has decided lately that she doesn't like onions because one of her daycare friends doesn't like them. I'm sure she'll catch on pretty soon but until then the food processor is my friend.

These were good and we'll go into our meat loaf rotation. I did make sure that none of the diced cheese was showing so all of it wouldn't ooze out while cooking. Served this with some potato salad (courtesy of the HyVee deli) and a spinach salad.

Cheesy Meat Loaf Minis
Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 1 meat loaf)

1/2 cup fresh breadcrumbs (about 1 ounce)
Cooking spray
1 cup chopped onion
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 cup ketchup, divided
3 ounces white cheddar cheese, diced
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley
2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 tablespoon prepared horseradish
1 tablespoon Dijon mustard
3/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 pounds ground sirloin
1 large egg, lightly beaten

Preheat oven to 425°.

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Add breadcrumbs; cook 3 minutes or until toasted, stirring frequently.

While breadcrumbs cook, heat a large skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add onion and garlic; sauté 3 minutes. Combine onion mixture, breadcrumbs, 1/4 cup ketchup, and remaining ingredients. Shape into 6 (4 x 2-inch) loaves on a broiler pan coated with cooking spray; spread 2 teaspoons ketchup over each. Bake at 425° for 25 minutes or until done.

Nutritional Information
Calories:256
Fat:11.6g (sat 5.7g,mono 3.9g,poly 0.9g)
Protein:28.5g
Carbohydrate:11.2g
Fiber:0.9g
Cholesterol:112mg
Iron:2.6mg
Sodium:620mg
Calcium:159mg

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T14:23:00.002-06:00

It is THAT time of year. The new year has arrived which means, among other things, that parking will be hard to come by at your local gym. Until at least February ... that's about the time of year those pesky new exercisers tend to slide back into old habits .

Along with millions of other people, I took a look back at the last year and came up with a list of things I would like to achieve. I like to think of them in terms of 'goals' and not 'resolutions' though. A resolution is more of an intention where a goal requires me to make some sort of effort in order to achieve it. So, whether you are into making resolutions or goals, here is my list of goals for 2011:

1) I'll start with the one that is probably on the top of most people's lists: Lose weight. Specifically after stepping on the scale this morning I have decided I would like to be 25 pounds lighter than what I currently am. That would put me in the low-mid area of my height/weight range instead of in the mid-high area.

2) Get back to exercising regularly. I was plagued with back pain through most of 2010 and fell far off of the exercise wagon. Hopefully this goal will help me achieve the first one!

3) Get back into cooking. I have an abundance of cookbooks in my kitchen that have been neglected over the last couple of years. My goal is to cook at least 3 new recipes a month over the course of the year.

4) Swap one electronic device for another. I received a Kindle for Christmas as well as a gift card to use towards books. I used to love to read and often find myself logging on to the computer rather than picking up a book. It is my goal to read 25 new books this year AND since most classics are free to download, my goal is to read at least 5 classics.

5) Get financially organized. Top on my list is getting us on a budget so we can work towards paying off the home equity loan that we've had for a while. While I don't want to go all Dave Ramsey on our finances, I do think we can benefit from being a little more organized. I'd love to pay my car off this year but this is supposed to be a list of goals not dreams!

6) Find a hobby and work on honing the skill. Over the years I have tried many different things: knitting, crocheting, rug hooking and basket weaving (yes, basket weaving). I even picked up a cross stitch bookmark set (for a whole $2.50 on clearance) thinking it might be something I might like. I'd just like to be able to start and complete a project this year. Doesn't sound like too lofty of a goal ...

I could probably sit here for the next hour and come up with an even longer list of goals that I'd like to accomplish. Faced with too long of a list however, and I probably wouldn't even accomplish one. Although I do like to think I work better under pressure, the point of the list is not to stress myself out :)

Wishing all of you a happy and healthy 2011. I am off to work on Goal #4 while the little ones are still napping ... too late ... someone is peeking out their bedroom door looking at me. Sigh.

New Year .... New Look

2010-12-30T20:54:00.000-06:00

I thought the blog was in need of a facelift.

I didn't much care for the all white, so I was playing with the templates and decided to try this one out for a bit. I like the dark background BUT I think this means I'll need to post more pictures in order to brighten it up a bit. All gray and white text is a bit blah.

Christmas Pictures 2010

2010-12-11T17:26:00.000-06:00

I am under the illusion that if I pay someone to take pictures of my kids, they'll actually take better pictures than I. Afterall, I am paying for the. One wonders when I'll learn that is not the case, especially since I recently decided to upgrade from a basic point-and-shoot to a Canon EOS Rebel T2i. The picture quality is awesome. Love it so far.

Anyway, I dragged the kids out last Sunday in their Christmas finery to the local Picture People to have their picture taken. There were at least 15 people in the tiny store along with three huge strollers. Kids were screaming, you could tell there were several parents on the edge and it had to be 80 degrees in there. When it was our turn we were crammed in a room that was too small for the kids and I and the photographer. it was like they decided they needed to turn their storage closet (that was what the photographer told me it was used for the rest of the year) into a studio.

Thirty minutes, two tantrums and 15 minutes of endless pleading for someone to smile this is what we ended up with:

Really, do you have to keep kissing me?

Sticking me in this train isn't going to make me smile:

Note the finger starting to come up as he begins to say the word "No":

Do I have to sit close to her?

May LOOK like a cute picture however, he had a death grip on her hair and this was seconds before the tears started flowing:

So now on to Plan B. Not sure what that is, but since Christmas is a mere two weeks away I better get busy snapping some pictures around the house. I really don't think I'm asking too much ... both kids looking at the camera and smiling at the same time. Maybe I'll just stick a Santa hat on Sophie and she can be our Christmas card this year. At least she sits still for the camera.

Symphony Brownies

2010-12-05T15:50:00.000-06:00

Last night was my department's Holiday Party. The main course was provided but we needed to provide either a salad or a dessert. I wasn't feeling very creative in the salad category so opted instead to go with a deseert. Based off a Paula Deen recipe, these brownies always go over well when I take them places. They are also pretty simple to put together.

Symphony Brownies

2 brownie mixes that can be cooked in a 9x13 pan (I used Dunkin Hines)
1/2 cup chopped walnuts (I skipped since my candy bars had almonds)
3 4.5 ounce Hershey's Symphony Bars (I use the toffee and almond ones)

Preheat oven according to brownie mix. Spray a 9x13 inch pan with nonstick cooking spray. Mix up one box of brownie mix following the recipe on the back of the box - I use the 'cake-like' recipe when I make these bars. Spread the batter in the pan. Lay the 3 chocolate bars side by side on top of the batter. Mix up the second brownie mix and pour on top of the chocolate bars. Bake for 40 minutes.

These will slice up a whole lot neater if you wait until they are completely cool. If you live in Iowa and it is winter time, stick 'em out on your back porch for a hour or two.

Dominick The Italian Christmas Donkey song

2010-12-02T17:57:00.002-06:00

OK, I'll admit it. This one is one of my favorite Christmas songs. I remember my grandfather playing a record (yes, I said 'record') of all Italian Christmas songs. This was one of the only ones that was in English. C'mon, you have to admit it is kind of a catchy tune. :)

Turkey Stock

2010-11-29T21:10:00.000-06:00

When the little guy looks at you, looks at the plate in front of him, points his finger at you and says 'NO' then it may be time to start thinking about ditching the Thanksgiving leftovers.

I opted to get a smaller turkey this year - a mere 16 pounds for the 4 of us. It was small enough to stick in a stockpot to brine (rather than dealing with the brining bags) but big enough that we had turkey for .... 8 meals.

Yesterday I took what was left of the turkey: the carcass, drumsticks and assorted skin and bones. Threw it in a pot with some water and vegetables, let it simmer and perfecto! Two big containers of stock in the refrigerator waiting to go into the freezer for a future meal or two of Turkey Noodle Soup. I think Madeleine got a little nervous when she walked into the kitchen - "Mommy it smells like you're cooking a turkey again. We aren't eating MORE turkey, are we?"

Turkey Stock

Leftover turkey carcass with a bunch of the good stuff still attached
2 onions, quartered
3 stalks celery
3 carrots, peeled
3-4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 tablespoon black peppercorns
Handful of parsley, chopped
salt

Break the turkey carcass in half and toss in a tall stockpot. Fill pot with water until carcass is almost fully submerged. Add the vegetables and seasonings. Cover and bring to a boil, reducing the heat and let it simmer gently. I let it simmer for an hour and a half with the cover on and 30 minutes with the cover off so it would reduce a little.

Strain the stock into a bowl (or two) discarding all the solids. Let cool before placing in the refrigerator. I typically let it sit in the refrigerator overnight and then skim off the top layer of fat before either using right away or freezing in quart sized containers. Careful when taking it out of the bowl. As you get to the bottom of the bowl, a lot of time some of the 'stuff' that passed through the strainer will have sunk. I typically use a ladle rather than pouring it right from the bowl to a pot or container.

Smashed Sweet Potatoes

2010-11-25T11:30:00.003-06:00

Happy Thanksgiving all!!! It's been a while since I've posted and I have no excuse other than just being busy. Taking a break at the moment while waiting for the turkey to cook and the football game to start (GO PATS!!) so I thought I'd post on of my favorite Thanksgiving recipes and pretty much the only way I'll eat sweet potatoes.

I am a huge fan of the Barefoot Contessa. She is one of the few I can stand to watch on Food Network these days and any of her recipes I have tried have been a success. This one is no exception. Simple to put together and the end result is oh so good not too sweet and just the right amount of spice. Here's hoping everyone is enjoying a wonderful dinner with their loved ones!

Smashed Sweet Potatoes

4 pounds sweet potatoes (about 6 large)
1/2 cup orange juice
1/2 cup heavy cream
4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted
1/4 cup light brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.

Scrub the potatoes, prick them several times with a knife or fork, and bake them for 1 hour or until very soft when pierced with a knife. Remove from the oven and scoop out the insides as soon as they are cool enough to handle. Place the sweet potato meat into the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment and add the orange juice, cream, butter, brown sugar, nutmeg, cinnamon, salt, and pepper. Mix together until combined but not smooth and transfer to a baking dish.

Bake the potatoes for 20 to 30 minutes, until heated through.

L5/S Microdiscectemy

2010-10-02T17:59:00.000-05:00

Sounds exciting, doesn't it? Isn't that how everyone would like to spend their Friday?

The sciatic nerve pain I was talking about in my last post came back with a vengeance (on my birthday, no less) the day after I started physical therapy. I spent the weekend in bed, since anytime I tried to stand I had a hot, burning pain traveling from the top of my leg to my ankle. Hmm, worse than before. Couldn't be a good sign.

Monday: a phone call to my doctor asking for pain meds and an order for an MRI. Tuesday I got in for the MRI (I now think I am claustrophic) and the results a few hours later showed a ruptured disc. The nice nurse at my doctor's office found a neurosurgeon that would see me on Wednesday and the next thing I knew I was being scheduled for surgery for Friday. Let me tell you, by the time Friday rolled around I was more than ready to have surgery, despite my apprehension about the whole thing. I liken it to having a baby - by the time Week 40 rolls around you are so big and tired and miserable you just want that baby OUT. But I digress.

Got to the hospital at 8 although my surgery wasn't until 11:30. They were 'ahead of schedule' so I actually went in about 11. One minute there is a pair of eyes asking me to take a deep breath, the next I am trying to figure out why my eyes won't open as I am listening to the nurse's recap of the previous mights Grey's Anatomy.

Surgery was a success. The doctor was able to remove the ruptured part of the disc from my spinal column and my leg is PAIN FREE. Cannot tell you how unbelievable it was to be in such pain and waking up to none. I am sure the drugs helped immensely but even as I hobble around today I am still expecting the pain in my leg and there is none.

My back is a different story though. Pretty sore where the 2-inch incision is and I am finding I can't sit at all. I was told to spend today walking a little bit around the house building up each day. I go back on Friday to have the staples removed (they even gave me a staple remover at the hospital to take with me - weird) and I am supposed to take it easy until then. No twisting, only sitting up for short periods of time and no lifting anything over 30 pounds.

I've already spent one week doing pretty much nothing and I don't know if I can handle another week of it. After playing Mr. Mom for a week, I am sure David doesn't think he can handle another week of me not being able to do anything either!!

Just laying around ...

2010-09-05T14:24:00.002-05:00

One would think that when you haven't been able to do anything but lie flat for a week, you might get some things accomplished - updating the checking account in Quicken, uploading the latest pictures to myphotoalbum for the grandparents or even updating the blog once or twice. It's been 8 days now ... I'm tired of our bank kicking me offline, can't find the camera (can't really look for it either) and well, here is my first post in a couple of weeks. WAH. OK, got the whining out. :)

I'm really not even sure what I did. I worked out in the garden one night, just picking vegetables and such. Woke up a little sore Friday morning and by Friday night I could hardly put weight on my left leg, it was hard to sit and it alternated between sharp pain and a burning sensation from the base of my back to my knee. Being a Saturday, I consulted Dr. Google which confirmed my though it was sciatica and was debating going to the walk-in clinic or not. A trip to the doctor on Monday got me some muscle relaxers and an anti-inflammatory and the instructions to lay on the heating pad, limited sitting and standing until I was feeling better - should be back to 'normal activities' by Friday I was told.

Fast forward to Friday and me attempting to get into my car to go to work. I couldn't sit in my car at all and couldn't put weight on my left leg without all the pain. My doctor was out of town and a trip to the walk-in clinic was useless "you need to call your doctor when she gets back from vacation so she can refer you to someone". Perfect ... can't sit, can't stand and I am supposed to wait 5 days just to get the number of a doctor to call??

Off to St. Luke's ER we went. If Leo Sternbach were still alive he'd be getting a thank you card from me. Seriously. Between the valium and the vicodin for pain I am at least able to navigate around the house (when I am not sleeping that is) and get things to eat and drink. ER doctor confirmed the sciatica but said at this point there isn't much they can do for it until the inflammation goes down ... in a month or so. A month.

I will say, David's not making too much fun of me anymore for having a well stocked freezer. If it wasn't for that, we wouldn't have much of anything to eat. He's been the one getting meals together and taking care of the kids. He is also getting a taste of what it is like trying to put supper together while having someone climbing up your leg. Not so easy, is it?

It was a little easier to get out of bed this morning so I am hoping that means the inflammation is going down. I've had issues with my lower back before but never have had anything like this. Fingers crossed that some physical therapy is going to fix whatever the issue is!

On that note ... I feel another nap coming on.

Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

2010-08-22T20:18:00.005-05:00

In years past, by late August, we have been buried under a ton of produce coming form our little garden. Not this year. Other than cucumbers (of which I have picked well over a hundred of regular and pickling combined) we haven’t had much of anything. Hasn’t been very hot and we’ve had way too much rain this year.

Faced with mounds of cucumbers, I had to find ways to use them up without making the family sick of them. Canning is out, as the whole process scares me and I fear poisoning the family if it isn’t done properly. So my focus is on refrigerator pickles. They’ll stay for a good month in the refrigerator so I don’t have to worry about eating them up within a week.

I found this recipe on Allrecipes and since we all like spicy I thought I’d give it a try. I had quart sized jars so instead of putting them in whole (plus I didn’t want to wait 10 days) I cut them into spears and stuffed them in 2 jars. I mixed up the brine and it filled both jars all the way up to the top, with 1/4 cup left over. Perfect.

I let them sit for a week in the refrigerator and we tried them this weekend. They were really good – slightly spicy and very garlicky with just a hint of sweetness. Probably could have used a touch more dill, but my dill plant died last month and I had to go to 3 different stores before I found any fresh.

Spicy Refrigerator Dill Pickles

Ingredients

12 3 to 4 inch long pickling cucumbers
2 cups water
1 3/4 cups white vinegar
1 1/2 cups chopped fresh dill weed
1/2 cup white sugar
8 cloves garlic, chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons coarse salt
1 tablespoon pickling spice
1 1/2 teaspoons dill seed
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste
4 sprigs fresh dill weed

Directions

In a large bowl, combine the cucumbers, water, vinegar, chopped dill, sugar, garlic, salt, pickling spice, dill seed, and red pepper flakes. Stir, and let stand at room temperature for 2 hours, until the sugar and salt dissolve.

Remove the cucumbers to three 1 1/2 pint wide mouth jars, placing 4 cucumbers into each jar. Ladle in the liquid from the bowl to cover. Place a sprig of fresh dill into each jar, and seal with lids. Refrigerate for 10 days before eating. Use within 1 month.

Strawberry Picking 2010

2010-07-18T07:22:00.000-05:00

A little late (since we went about a month ago) but I thought I'd post this years pictures from our trip strawberry picking. This year I took a day off from work and we dropped Christopher off at daycare before heading up to Independence. We managed to get our strawberries picked just before the storms rolled in. They were behind on picking them because we have had so much rain that a lot of them were overripe. We ended up with about 10 1-cup containers of freezer jam and the rest were eaten.

Getting ready to walk out to the fields:

I think I picked enough mommy!

Finally finished - just as the thunder started!

Do you think she ate any??

First Garden Harvest

2010-07-17T20:36:00.003-05:00

We've had a ton of rain this year and I was beginning to believe that the garden was going to fizzle out like our garden did last year. Up until Friday, I had picked and tossed 5 or so zucchini which were rotting where they touched the ground. We've had a couple of nice and HOT days and when Madeleine and I checked it out after work on Friday we were pleasantly surprised:

Between Friday night and this morning we ended up with 15 cucumbers, 8 zucchini/summer squash, one eggplant, 2 jalapenos and 2 cherry tomatoes. I think pickles (although my dill died) and some zucchini bread are on the horizon.

One of the potatoes - my 'test vegetable' of the year:

Pickling cucumber. At least I think it is. I planted one pickling cucumber and one regular that I THOUGHT was a bush cucumber, meaning (in my mind) grows on a bushy plant. The two cucumber plants have spread out everywhere and are attaching themselves to everything else.

A green pepper that is supposed to be red. Had to convince Madeleine we couldn't pick this one yet.

My one eggplant.

Christopher checking out the squash. At least he didn't take a bite out of one like Madeleine did the first time she saw one.

Grilled Meatloaf

2010-06-29T21:25:00.003-05:00

I took out 2 pounds of ground beef out of the freezer and was trying to figure out what to do with it. I wasn't in the mood for hamburgers and I was at a loss at what to do with it. Meatloaf always goes over well here with the kids, but I didn't want to heat up the kitchen. I remembered a recipe I saw someplace for meatloaf burgers but then wondered if I couldn't just make a regular one and cook it on the grill.

Good ole Google had a gazillion hits for 'grilled meatloaf'. I wasn't looking for a recipe as much as a method. Found one that simply called for cooking it on top of a piece of aluminum foil. Seemed easy enough to try.

With the 2 pounds of ground beef I ended up making 2 meatloaves. I sprayed the foil (one for each loaf) placed them on cookie sheets before putting the meatloaf on, hoping for an easy transfer to the grill. The grill heated up to 600 degrees (guess I didn't need to have all 4 burners in high). I transferred the meatloaf on the foil to the grill, cooked them for 10 minutes then reduced the burners down to low under the meatloaf but left the other one on high. About 35 minutes later (while the kids splashed in their pool) supper was done.

I thought it was a success. There was a nice crust on the bottom and the meatloaf was nice and moist. The little guy scarfed it down, then again he has been caught eating both dirt and dog food so I am not sure how much one should trust his taste buds!

Mini Meat Loaves
Cooking Light Magazine, 2003
Yield: 4 servings

1/2 cup ketchup
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
1 pound ground sirloin
3/4 cup finely chopped onion
1/4 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon dried oregano
1/8 teaspoon black pepper
1 large egg, lightly beaten
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 400°. Combine ketchup and mustard, stirring well with a whisk. Reserve 2 1/2 tablespoons ketchup mixture. Combine remaining ketchup mixture, beef, and next 6 ingredients (beef through egg) in a large bowl, stirring to combine.

Divide beef mixture into 4 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 4 x 2 1/2-inch loaf; place loaves on a jelly roll pan coated with cooking spray.

Spread about 2 teaspoons reserved ketchup mixture evenly over each loaf. Bake at 400° for 25 minutes or until done.

What a week ...

2010-06-24T21:36:00.000-05:00

I started to get suspicious last weekend when my normally cheerful two and a half foot tornado turned into a clinging fusspot. Yep, another fever. My hopes that it was maybe the next tooth coming in were dashed when he woke up Monday morning sounding like a barking dog.

So off to the walk-in clinic we went since his doctor didn't have an available appointment until late afternoon. One hour later we walked out of there with the familiar diagnosis of a respiratory infection and headed over to Target to get his prescription filled. Seventy-two dollars and a full cart later ...

Got a call from daycare that afternoon that Madeleine was running a low fever. It was her turn to go to the doctor yesterday and she has strep throat. Doctor also said (again) her tonsils are pretty big. I am guessing they'll be coming out in the near future.

David and I have been switching off going to work - one does the early morning and the other does afternoon into evening. Thankfully both are back to normal (whatever that may be) and are going back to daycare tomorrow. Just in time for the weekend!

Jerk Shrimp with Grilled Onion, Avocado, and Mango Salsa

2010-06-17T21:13:00.001-05:00

Summer is here! I love the warm weather but I hate heating up the kitchen to cook. Back in the day, when I was a carefree single person, I lived on salads in the summer. A lot of that had to do with living in Phoenix though. By the time July rolled around and we were in the 110 range you weren't going to catch me turning on an oven OR standing in front of an open flame. I think if I tried to serve them salads for supper every night they'd start rebelling by the end of the week.

This one was fairly easy to put together but the next time I will be more than happy to fork the extra $2 a pound for the already peeled and deveined shrimp. I'm not even sure what I was thinking when I bought them with the shells on. I would also peel them entirely instead of leaving the tails on. I am not a fan of having to pick them up one by one to eat, especially when you have the salsa to eat them with. Plus they turn your fingers an orangey red color - not all that attractive!

I only use 1/2 of the cayenne pepper so there wouldn't be too much heat for Madeleine. I'd also double the salsa next time. The sweetness was great with the spicy shrimp.

Jerk Shrimp with Grilled Onion, Avocado, and Mango Salsa
Coastal Living
Yield: 4 servings

1 mango, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 avocado, finely chopped
1/4 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 tablespoon fresh lime juice
1 teaspoon sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
2 pounds unpeeled large raw shrimp
1 red onion, cut into 1/4-inch-thick slices
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 tablespoons Jamaican Jerk Rub
Combine first 7 ingredients in a medium bowl, and set salsa aside.
Peel shrimp, leaving tails on; devein. Toss shrimp and onion with oil in a large bowl, sprinkle with Jamaican Jerk Rub, and toss to coat. Grill shrimp and onion over medium-high heat (350° to 400°) 6 minutes, or just until shrimp turn pink, turning once. Chop onion and add to salsa mixture, stirring gently. Serve shrimp with salsa.

Jamaican Jerk Rub
1/3 cup paprika
2 tablespoons ground allspice
4 teaspoons sugar
1 tablespoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon salt
2 teaspoons freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine all ingredients in a bowl; mix well. Store in an airtight container.

Sizzling Beef and Scallions

2010-06-12T21:30:00.003-05:00

Who doesn't want to get something relatively healthy AND tasty on the table in 30 minutes or less? While I like to cook and actually enjoy spending time in the kitchen there are days that I just want to get something on the table fast without having to go through a drive-thru.

So I turned to the stack of Rachael Ray magazines I have next to the bed (OK, there are a lot more than just Rachael Ray but she IS the queen of 30 minute meals) and picked out a stir fry recipe I had all the ingredients for. It took me an hour and 15 minutes. Rachael Ray must not have a 4 year old holper and a 1 year old trying to climb her leg while she cooks.

I couldn't bring myself to use 6 tablespoons of oil so I sprayed my pan with PAM and only used a little bit of oil when adding the eggs. My holper decided we needed to use the peas and carrot frozen mix and I added 8 oz of sliced mushrooms. My rice was cooked at the same time so I skipped the last step altogether.

Once I got everyone either coloring with or eating crayons (kidding - I caught him before he swallowed any) it did come together rather quickly. It is best to have everything all cut up and ready to go as a stir-fry goes pretty quickly.

Sizzling Beef and Scallions
Everyday with Rachael Ray

8 ounces London broil, sliced into short, thin strips (I used sirloin)
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons vegetable oil (used less than 1 T total)
10 scallions, green parts thinly sliced, white parts cut into 1-inch pieces
2/3 cup chopped red bell pepper
1 tablespoon finely chopped fresh ginger
2/3 cup frozen peas, thawed
3 large eggs, lightly beaten
1/2 teaspoon sugar
4 cups cooked white rice, chilled

1. In a medium bowl, toss the beef with 1 tablespoon soy sauce. In a large nonstick skillet, heat 2 tablespoons oil over medium-high heat. Add the beef and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; transfer to a bowl.

2. In the skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high heat. Add the scallion whites, bell pepper and ginger and cook, stirring, for 2 minutes; stir in the peas. Push the vegetables to one side of the skillet, add 1 tablespoon oil and pour in the eggs. Stir the eggs until they begin to set, then stir in the vegetables. Add the egg-vegetable mixture to the beef; stir in the sugar and the remaining 1 tablespoon soy sauce.

3. Heat the remaining 2 tablespoons oil in the skillet over medium-high heat. Add the rice, breaking up any clumps, then cook, without stirring, until heated through, 2 minutes. Stir in the beef mixture and scallion greens.

Birthday Fun

2010-06-07T20:19:00.002-05:00

This weekend we had 2 birthdays to celebrate. Madeleine turned 4 on June 4th and Christopher turned 1 on the 6th. I thought it would be great to be able to celebrate both at the same time (since our families are spread out all over the US) but I didn't take into account the fact that I would need 2 cakes.

Growing up my mom always made our birthday cakes. Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, the infamous Panda disaster of 1979, etc. I wanted to do the same for the kids. Worked out well the last couple of years with one child. This year, not so much. Trying to decorate 2 cakes with the humidity was daunting.

Madeleine picked out this castle cake:

I decided to make a circus big top for Christopher. Not one of my better choices, especially with the humidity (frosting was melting pretty fast, even with the air conditioner on). I also learned that I can't really decorate cakes free form; I do much better using the character pans where all I have to do is fill in the spaces.

I don't think Christopher minded much. He really got into his own little cake and even wanted to share it with me:

All in all, I think we had a pretty successful party. David smoked some ribs (which went fast) and he also grilled up some burgers, hot dogs and chicken legs. We had enough left over that I didn't have to cook on Sunday and I am estimating I can get us through Wednesday without me having to cook.

While Madeleine is all about princesses and castles, she got a new dress-up outfit in honor of Toy Story 3 coming out. I think she makes a pretty cute cowgirl.

Happy Birthday Madeleine!! Happy Birthday Christopher!!

Kansas City Rub

2010-06-01T16:41:00.004-05:00

As I sit here with my laptop and a notebook try to come up with a menu (and shopping list) for the kids birthday party (all while fending off a rambunctious 11 month old who wants to pound on the keyboard) I realize I neglected to post the rub recipe that goes with the barbecue sauce. They really do go together.

Use less cayenne (or leave it out) if you aren't a fan of spicy. We've used this on ribs, pork and even a whole chicken I attempted to rotisserie (which was an experience in itself).

Kansas City Rub

3/4 cup firmly packed dark brown sugar
1/4 cup mild New Mexico red chile powder
1/4 cup mild paprika
2 1/2 tablespoons kosher salt
2 1/2 tablespoons freshly-ground black pepper
1 tablespoon granulated onion
1/2 tablespoon granulated garlic
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Combine sugar, Chile powder, paprika, salt, pepper, onion, garlic and cayenne together and rub about 2/3 of the mixture well into the ribs (or chicken or pork for pulled pork). Wrap in plastic and refrigerate overnight.

This covers about 4 racks of ribs.

Spring Traditions - Barbecue Sauce

2010-05-16T15:59:00.003-05:00

There are a few things that happen around our house each Spring that lets you know that summer is on the way: our vegetable garden gets planted, the garage freezer gets defrosted and reorganized, the familiar cloud of smoke that encompasses David as he mows the lawn with the tractor. Our neighbor across the street knows it's Spring when he gets a call from David telling him he and the tractor are stuck in the mud again ... but I digress.

A number of years ago, when David first got his smoker, we started experimenting with it and one recipe which we've come back to time and time again is a Kansas City Style barbecue sauce that he found as part of a ribs recipe. We've gotten to the point where we just make a double batch at the beginning of the summer and freeze it, so we'll always have some on hand. David decided he wanted to smoke some ribs for the kids birthday in a few weeks, so I have a triple batch brewing on the stove now.

The ingredient list is long but it really is a simple recipe. It tastes sooo much better than bottled sauce. I started leaving out the habanero sauce so it wouldn't be too spicy for Madeleine.

Kansas City Barbecue Sauce

1 cup Coke
1 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup dark brown sugar -- firmly packed
1/2 cup dark molasses
1/2 cup white vinegar
1 can tomato paste -- (6 ounce)
1/4 cup butter
1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
2 tablespoons maple syrup
1 tablespoon dry mustard
1 tablespoon New Mexico red chile powder
1/2 tablespoon kosher salt
1/2 tablespoon black pepper -- freshly-ground
1 tablespoon wasabi powder
1 tablespoon summer savory
1 tablespoon marjoram
1 tablespoon granulated garlic
1 tablespoon onion powder
2 dashes Tabasco Habanero Sauce

Mix all ingredients together and simmer over low heat until thick enough to coat the back of a metal spoon.

Welcome May!

2010-05-01T12:14:00.003-05:00

It was a nice, sunny morning when we got up this morning so I packed up the kids in the car, grabbed the stroller and headed over to the town next door. They were having city wide garage sales, the first Farmer's Market of the season and there was a book sale at the local library.

We bought about 15 new strawberry plant to add to our garden, 12 or so new books (cookbooks, kids books and a few books for me), orange juice, a cookie and tattoo and Madeleine had a flower painted on her face all for about $20. Not bad for a Saturday morning.

The Farmer's market was pretty small but it was only the first of the season. I hope it grows as the season goes on because it is literally 10 minutes from the house which is nice. I have limited space to grow anything so it is nice to have a place close by to supplement from. Or in the case of last year, the entire garden tanks and you have to buy all your vegetables anyway. Seriously, even the zucchini didn't grow last year, that's how bad it was. It never really got very hot, which was nice for being at home with a brand new baby but not so good for the garden.

Know what I think?

2010-04-27T22:04:00.002-05:00

Last night Madeleine was sitting at the kitchen table after bringing me her dirty dish.

"Know what I think, mommy?"

"No, Madeleine, what do you think?"

"I think little girls who eat all their supper, except for a few carrots, should get to have dessert. I think they should get to have ... chocolate for dessert. What do you think mommy?"

I think that if my almost 4 year old is coming up with this stuff already, I'm in trouble later on. We compromised and she had yogurt for dessert.

Easter Egg Hunt 2010

2010-04-03T13:30:00.008-05:00

The annual Easter Egg Hunt down in the Amana Colonies was this morning so Madeleine, Christopher and I went down, along with David's mom and sister who are in town for Christopher's baptism. They had been forecasting rain for today all week but when we got up this morning the sun was shining. A little cold but it really was nice.

We got there and had time to snap a few pictures with the Easter Bunny and stop and pet the live bunnies they had.

They let the kids under 4 go a minute or so before the rest of the kids, so Madeleine was ready to start looking as soon as she let them go. We walked about 3 feet into the backyard ... and she spotted a little basket. Tried to convince her that maybe she could leave that one and we'd find another out in the yard but nope, she was done. Whole thing took about 37 seconds.

A rare picture of the 3 of us since I am always the one behind the camera.

Can't take all the sickness!!!!

2010-02-23T19:55:00.003-06:00

I got the dreaded daycare call this afternoon. Christopher is warm, they can't get a good temp reading on him (they do it under the arm) but it was in the range of 98 - 101. He was also Mr. Fussy, which he rarely is. So, I called the doctor before I left and found out I could get in if I could get there in 30 minutes. They really wanted to see him since he had the RSV diagnosis earlier this month.

I debated picking up Madeleine and weighed the hassle of going back to daycare with entertaining both of them while we waited. She's been sniffly and hovering around 99 so I thought maybe we'd get home and get them to bed early. I've been feeling off and battling a sore throat myself so early to bed sound good to me.

We all go to the same doctor so when she knew I went to the walk-in Sunday, and was sent away with no drugs, she checked me out too. Official tally: 3 fevers, 3 ear infections, 1 case of tonsillitis and 1 case of some variation of strep throat. Lovely. We are all on the same z-pack of varying dosages.

David and I talked and he called his mom to see if she could come out here for a week. We'd like to make sure the kids are back to 100% (not just fever free) before bringing them back to germ-infested daycare. Since he can't stay home with him for long periods of time (can't wheel around with him on his lap - Christopher doesn't know to hold on!) I'd be the one to stay home .... and I was already home with him for 8 days earlier this month, a few days last month, a few days the month before. It has been one looooooooong winter.

So, his mom arrives late Thursday morning. I should be staying home from work anyway tomorrow since I am running a temperature and I'm the one with strep. It'll give her the opportunity to spend time with them AND them the opportunity to spend time with her AND maybe mommy will have the opportunity to get a few things done around the house since I'm pretty invisible when Nana comes to town!

English Toffee

2010-02-20T07:45:00.006-06:00

We live about 5 miles away from a local community college that offers lots of Continuing Education classes. I've taken a few classes here and there and signed up to take a candy making class last Saturday. English Toffee, Old-fashioned Rock Candy and Truffles were on the agenda.

By far, the toffee was my favorite. No surprise though, since I love the stuff. I've only attempted to make candy once and that was a disaster since the thermometer broke on me in the pan and I had to throw it all out. All I need to do is invest in a decent thermometer and I have another 'tried and true' recipe to add to my must-make Christmas baking list.

David laughed a me for taking a picture, but I don't care. I was proud that it set up correctly! My batch ended up being a lot thicker than it should because we only used one pan per batch. We were supposed to share a batch between 2 people but there were only 4 people in the class. YUM, more for me.

Three pounds is a LOT of toffee. I need to dig out my rollig pin and chop some more up and bring it into work. Whacking the toffee into small pieces is a great stress reliever too - bonus!

English Toffee

1 1/2 pounds unsalted butter
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 cups brown sugar
1/4 cup corn syrup
1/2 cup water
2 cups pecans -- chopped
1 1/2 tablespoons vanilla extract
2 teaspoons salt
18 ounces chocolate

Melt butter in a pot on the stove top, Add sugars and corn syrup to the melted butter. Stir in water. Cook mixture over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it reaches 240 degrees. At 240 degrees add about 3/4 of the chopped pecans. At 260 degrees lower the heat and finish cooking until it reaches 300 degrees, stirring constantly. Should take 15-20 minutes. Mixture should be a beautiful, bubbly, golden brown color. At 300 degrees remove from heat.

Add vanilla and salt. Stir quickly. Pour the mixture out onto 2 rimmed baking sheets (approximately 10 x 15). Smooth out the toffee to 1/4 inch thickness. After 5 - 10 minutes, sprinkle chocolate chips on top and let sit 5 minutes or until they start to melt. Spread with spatula to smooth over toffee. Sprinkle with freshly toasted nuts that have been chopped fine and allowed to cool. Break into bite sized pieces and store in an air tight container for up to a month in the refrigerator. Will keep for a week or so at room temperature before it begins to break down. Makes about 3 pounds.

Growing up so fast!

2010-02-19T21:46:00.009-06:00

Last week Christopher finally figured out how to crawl forward and nothing has been safe since then:

This morning he was playing quietly with a few toys while I got ready for work. I stepped into the closet to grab my clothes, 30 seconds later I stepped out to see this:

When I picked him up from daycare this afternoon he was standing at one of the toy boxes. I called his name and he turned around, smiled when he saw me and threw both hands up in the air and shrieked. Scary part? He was able to balance and stay standing until he realized what he was doing and grabbed back on to the toy box.

What's next?

Diner Meat Loaf 'Muffins'

2010-02-11T20:08:00.005-06:00

I've had enough cooking bombs in the last week that I decided to stick with an old favorite for supper tonight. Supper can be on the table in under an hour, unless you have to stop every couple of minutes to fish comeone out of a cabinet, drawer or out from underneath a chair when they get stuck. Christopher finally figured out how to go forward yesterday and hasn't stopped exploring.

I served them with oven fries and broccoli. Madeleine has been randomly complaining about onions, so I threw it in the food processor and pulverized it instead of just chopping it up. They are soft enough that even those with no teeth can gum them. Plates and high chair trays were cleared.

Diner Meat Loaf 'Muffins'
Adapted from Cooking Light, 2006

1 teaspoon olive oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1/2 cup finely chopped carrot
1 teaspoon dried oregano (I only use 1/2)
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 cup ketchup, divided
1 1/2 pounds ground beef, extra lean (raw)
1 cup finely crushed fat-free saltine crackers (about 20)
2 tablespoons prepared mustard (skipped, never seem to have any)
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
2 large eggs
Cooking spray

Preheat oven to 350°.

Heat the olive oil in a large nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add chopped onion, chopped carrot, dried oregano, and minced garlic; sauté 2 minutes. Cool.

Combine onion mixture, 1/2 cup ketchup, and the remaining ingredients except cooking spray in a large bowl.

Spoon the meat mixture into 12 muffin cups coated with cooking spray. Top each with 2 teaspoons ketchup. Bake at 350° for 25 minutes or until a thermometer registers 160°. Let stand for 5 minutes.

Yield: 6 servings (serving size: 2 "muffins")

CALORIES 276 (28% from fat); FAT 8.6g (sat 3g,mono 4g,poly 0.8g); IRON 3.9mg; CHOLESTEROL 131mg; CALCIUM 48mg; CARBOHYDRATE 21.7g; SODIUM 759mg; PROTEIN 28.7g; FIBER 1.8g

Mmmmm ... waffles

2010-02-10T08:21:00.004-06:00

Christopher had a great doctor appointment yesterday. Fever is still gone and the doctor said his lungs are sounding so much better. He is still coughing a bit but even those episodes are starting to dwindle. I never had to use the nebulizer, which I am very grateful for.

I need to keep an eye on him for the remainder of the week to make sure his fever does not come back. They often see secondary infections pop up in the lungs once the RSV goes away. Keeping fingers crossed the worst of this is over.

I've been home for the lat week, so I thought that I'd do a bit of cooking since I don't have much of an opportunity to cook during the week. The other day I grabbed some ham leftover from Christmas and a bag of split peas I had in the drawer and decided to make some spilt pea soup. Recipe was not designed for the crock pot but I ended up having to throw it in there because I had a fussy baby on my hands. Big mistake. It came out VERY watery.

Last night I decided to make a recipe I found on Recipezaar for Crock Pot Swedish Meatballs. I remember my aunt making them all the time for family gatherings and thought I'd give them a whirl. Another mistake. I baked them prior to putting them in the crock pot and I kept them on low. After 3 hours I had a pasty, tasteless mess. Usually I worry about too much liquid. Not a problem this time.

What have I learned from these experiences? The crock pot goes back into the basement and only gets used for the 2 or 3 recipes I know will come out good.

Is it Spring yet?

2010-02-07T12:42:00.004-06:00

This has been one tough winter in our house. Poor Christopher has been sick once a month since September. Last Wednesday he was up a bit in the middle of the night coughing and when he woke up he was looking a little 'off'. His temperature was 99.7 and while he could go to daycare, I had a feeling I'd just be picking him up in a couple of hours. So I kept him home and ended up having to drive up and pick up Madeleine from daycare with a 101 fever at lunchtime.

Friday morning I called and got doctor appointments for the both of them. Madeleine has strep throat and would be good as new after a couple of doses of antibiotic. Christopher, on the other hand, tested positive for RSV. RSV is a respiratory virus and while it would be a bad cold to you and I, it poses a risk to those under 1 as they tend to develop pneumonia. I also learned daycare has a 7-day exclusion policy from the date of diagnosis, that is how bad it is for the little ones.

I was given a lesson on using the nebulizer (had to rent one) and we gave him his first treatment in the office. Oh yeah, trying to keep an oxygen mask on an 8 month old. Good times. He was so ticked he pulled on the elastic that you use to tighten the mask and let go - you can imagine how happy that made him and he ended up with a nice red welt on the side of his face.

They checked out his oxygen levels after the treatment and sent us on our way with the instructions to call if he breathing worsened and if we had to use the nebulizer. Knock on wood, we have not had to use it thus far. We have an appointment on Tuesday morning to go back so they can check and see how he is doing. His fever broke this morning, so I am taking that as a good sign.

It's about time!

2010-01-16T20:51:00.004-06:00

YAY! I have my laptop back AND it is working! Last post was over a month ago and the laptop stopped working shortly after I wrote it. The baking has been finished (and handed out and consumed) and the holidays are over.

I have truly felt lost without my laptop at home and I was quite surprised to find how much I relied on it. Checking email (how many people get electronic statements these days?), checking bank accounts, shopping and just random surfing. My recipe software is on my laptop and I felt lost not being able to look up some family favorites. I balance our checking accounts using Quicken and I'm the treasurer of our homeowners association - I wonder if anyone has noticed the dues notices haven't gone out. Of course, most importantly, I haven't been able to get recent pictures out there to the family! Insane how much we rely on our Internet connection these days.

I wish I could say that not having a laptop for the last month has made this house more organized, you know, since I have all this free time on my hands. The office is still in dire need of some organization as is the "storage closet" in the spare room. If anything, we are looking a bit more disorganized since Christmas. There are toys, games and books everywhere it seems. Perhaps next on my to-do list is a trip to Goodwill.

Happy Belated New Year to all!

Chocolate Chip-Banana Bread

2009-12-13T16:33:00.004-06:00

Holiday baking has started! I am a little late getting going this year but I finally started some Christmas baking today. I've always made Christmas cookies and started putting together gift baskets for daycare when Madeleine was born. With the addition of Christopher this year, I realized the number of daycare teachers doubled, so I best get busy.

I was at HyVee Drugstore (I liked when it was called Drugtown better) the other day and they were selling ripe bananas for 75 cents a bag. Perfect. Only needed a day or so before they were overripe and perfect for bread. Yes, I hate bananas with a passion but I've found that banana bread seems to be universally liked.

Only got through one recipe today (realized too late someone used quite a few eggs to make breakfast) but it is cooled and in the freezer. I've made this recipe from Fine Cooking quite often, sometimes subbing milk chocolate or cinnamon chips for the semi-sweet. I made a double batch, so I got 4 mini loaves and one regular sized loaf I'll bring into work tomorrow. I still have about 8 bananas left ... may have to make another double batch when I get some more eggs. Hate to waste food - even bananas!

Chocolate Chip-Banana Bread
Yield: 16 servings

1/2 cup unsalted butter -- softened
10 1/2 oz. all-purpose flour -- (2-1/3 cups)
1 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. table salt
1 cup granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 cup mashed banana
1/2 cup buttermilk
1/2 cup semisweet chocolate chips

Position a rack in the middle of the oven and heat the oven to 350°F. Lightly butter and flour four mini loaf pans, one 12-cup Bundt pan, or one 9x5-inch metal loaf pan.

Combine the flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a medium mixing bowl. Whisk the ingredients well to combine.

In the bowl of a stand mixer or in a medium mixing bowl, mix the butter on low speed with the stand mixer's paddle attachment or on medium-low speed with a hand mixer until smooth. Add the sugar gradually and continue mixing on low speed until slightly fluffy. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing until smooth between each addition. Add the bananas, scrape down the sides of the bowl, and mix until blended.

Stop the mixer and add half the flour mixture. Mix on low speed (for either mixer) until the flour drifts are almost gone. Add half the buttermilk. Mix until blended, and then repeat with the remaining flour and buttermilk. Continue mixing until smooth, scraping the bowl to make sure the batter is even. Stir in the chocolate chips by hand.

If using mini loaf pans, divide the batter evenly among the four pans (the pans should be about two-thirds full). If using a Bundt or full-size loaf pan, spread the batter in the pan (again, filling the pan no more than two-thirds full.) Smooth the top of the batter. Bake until the loaves are golden and a skewer or toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean, about 40 minutes for mini loaves (60 minutes for a Bundt pan and 60 to 70 minutes for a full-size loaf pan).

Let the loaves cool in the pans on a rack for 10 to 15 minutes to give them time to set and then turn them out onto a rack and flip right side up to cool completely.

Per Serving (excluding unknown items): 222 Calories; 9g Fat (33.9% calories from fat); 4g Protein; 34g Carbohydrate; 1g Dietary Fiber; 56mg Cholesterol; 166mg Sodium.

Spending some time in PA

2009-11-24T20:39:00.003-06:00

Last Saturday morning at 1 AM we packed up both kids and Sophie and hopped in the car, destination Pittsburgh, PA. David wanted to leave in the middle of the night figuring that both kids would sleep at least the first half of the trip. Once again, the joke was on him. Christopher pretty much slept the whole time (despite coming down with the croup Friday night). Madeleine slept for a whole half hour. Yep, 12 hour ride, 684 miles, left by 2 AM and she slept for 30 minutes.

I figured with the grandparents keeping the kids occupied I'd have more time to blog, but we have been pretty busy. Sunday we went to go see a Rockettes Christmas show. Madeleine really enjoyed herself and was really well behaved, even though she had no nap.

Monday we hit the Children's Museum. At 3, she was just on the cusp of being too old to be with the younger kids in what they called The Nursery. She was also slightly young to be with the older kids in the rest of the museum. She had a good time but I think she was a bit intimidated by some of the older kids, although she did tell one he needed to take turns.

She is having a blast here and we'll have a lot of deprogramming to do when we get home. I have a few pictures to post but the camera batteries are recharging at the moment. Going to do a little bit of shopping tomorrow, but wondering how we are going to get everything home. Downside of the van - the extremely small trunk.

Sigh ... 40

2009-11-12T20:15:00.002-06:00

I turned 40 at the end of September but kind of forgot about it. Yep, it was that memorable. Actually, that was Christopher's first fever (and a high one at that) and I spent about 4 days with a cranky infant who felt like he was on fire. Trips to the doctor and the ER that weekend.

Truth be told, I don't feel 40, although admittedly I don't know what 40 is supposed to feel like. I spend most of my days yawning but then again I have a 5 month old who doesn't seem to need to sleep.

Perhaps I didn't find it too bad since so many people I know turned 40 this year. Yep, courtesy of Facebook, I am *friends* with about 20 people I graduated high school with and 2 I graduated college with, all who have turned or will be turning 40 this year. Add to that the 4 or 5 *friends* who graduated a year behind me and turn 40 next year ... well everyone seems to be doing it!

So, to put into perspective exactly how long ago 40 years was, here are some notable events of 1969:

Richard Nixon Becomes President of the United States
250,000 march on Washington in protest at the Vietnam War
Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first men to walk on the moon
PBS established (and Sesame Street debuts!)
Chappaquiddick
Charles Manson
Woodstock
Creation of ARPANET, the predecessor of the Internet
The Beatles' last public performance

Hmm, maybe 40 years WAS a long time ago!

Halloween 2009

2009-11-09T21:16:00.009-06:00

So I'm a little late with the Halloween pictures, but my laptop was out for repair and came back with a stuck space bar and a dead battery. Sigh.

We've indulged and ordered lobster quite a few times this year. In fact, if you scroll down to the bottom of The Lobster Guys website, you'll see that Madeleine is one of his biggest fans. So it seemed a given that Christopher would be a lobster for Halloween:

I finally found the costume, in stock, online at Target. They only had a 12-18 months, but I figured if it was a little big, that was OK. I was lucky I could zip it shut and he just had pajamas on underneath. There is a reason I call him Tank. :)

Madeleine was very receptive to being a chef. She loves helping me in the kitchen, so it wasn't a stretch:

It was about 6 o'clock when everyone was dressed and ready to go. Unfortunately, Christopher thinks 6 o'clock is his bedtime:

Of course, he had to wake up right after this picture was taken ...

I piled them both in the wagon and we went next door and across the street. I had to keep stopping to set him right in the wagon (he was sound asleep and leaning) so we brought him home. Madeleine and I went back out to hit the rest of the houses on our street before going home. She did well - she was the first trick or treater our neighborhood saw, and one of 3 for the night, so at every house we went to (all 7 of them) she got several treats.

As we were walking home, she complained that her bucket was too heavy for her to carry. I offered to carry it for her, but she declined. I don't think she trusted me!!!

I have my laptop back!!

2009-11-03T20:42:00.001-06:00

Now the battery doesn't hold a charge - even when plugged in. Dell is just awesome. All I have time for before I once again lose power ...

Never a dull moment ...

2009-10-02T17:25:00.003-05:00

"Mommy, we need tattoos. When can we go get one?"

David (from downstairs): "Madeleine, can you bring me a shirt?"
Madeleine (to me): "I can't bring daddy a shirt. I have to go potty. He is just going to have to deal with it."

Me: "Can't everyone pick up their stuff and stop making more work for me??!?"
Madeleine: "Welcome to my world mommy."

Remember when ...

2009-09-23T11:57:00.004-05:00

Christopher is a very happy baby. He babbles, squeals and gurgles quite freequently, usually starting at 4:30 AM. If left alone, he'll fall back asleep about 6.

Yesterday morning he was pretty vocal, to the point I pulled the plug on the monitor but we could still hear him quite clearly from across the hall. Since their bedrooms share a wall, I wondered if Madeleine heard him too. She came out of her room at 6 and came into our bedroom where I was getting ready.

"Mommy, do you remember when you went to the hospital to get my baby brother or sister"

"I remember."

"Why did you bring home the noisy baby, Mommy? We need a quiet baby at our house."

I guess she heard him.

Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

2009-09-06T20:33:00.004-05:00

I have been in a huge cooking slump for, oh, I'd say almost a year. It was hard to cook anything the first 4 months I was pregnant since I spent most of the time nauseous. Never really got back into it once the morning sickness passed.

I am back to work and am now faced with the challenge of making sure Madeleine is bathed and in bed by every night by 7:30 . I need to get back into the habit of planning meals so it is either ready to go into the oven when we get home or we can reheat leftovers.

The recipe below was really quick and easy. The original from allrecipes was pretty rich as written - I eliminated the olive oil and swapped half and half for the heavy cream and figured it as at least 8 servings instead of 6. I also used basil instead of the parsley called for. Both Madeleine and David ate without comment so I assume it was a hit with them.

Pasta with Sausage, Tomatoes and Cream

16 ounces pasta
1 pound Italian sausage -- casings removed and crumbled
1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/2 cup diced onion
3 whole garlic cloves -- chopped
28 ounces tomatoes, diced
1 1/2 cups half and half
1/2 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons minced fresh basil

Bring a large pot of lightly salted water to a boil. Cook pasta in boiling water for 8 to 10 minutes, or until al dente; drain.

Spray a large, deep skillet with cooking spray and place over medium heat. Cook sausage and pepper flakes until sausage is evenly brown. Drain. Stir in onion and garlic, and cook until onion is tender. Stir in tomatoes, cream, and salt. Simmer until mixture thickens, 8 to 10 minutes.

Stir cooked pasta into sauce, and heat through. Sprinkle with basil.

My Sister Tracey

2009-09-05T20:50:00.003-05:00

David's parents came for a visit a couple of weeks ago. A couple of days before they were to leave, Madeleine came down for breakfast:

"My sister Tracey likes bacon too. We need to save some for her."

"Your what?"

"My sister. Tracey is my sister. She lives with my mommy's mom."

Some of the stuff that comes out of her mouth just amazes me. A sister? Named Tracey - or is that Tracy or Traci? Not exactly a popular name among the kids these days and the only Tracy I can think of that we know here is male.

Talk of Tracey faded after a week or so. I can only imagine what she will come up with next.

Flaming Fish

2009-08-10T20:40:00.003-05:00

A year has gone by since I last brought out the planks and tried to grill some salmon. I soaked the planks overnight this time, but as seen in the picture, it still did not work out exactly as planned. At least this time, they waited until the salmon was almost done before they caught fire.

I decided that maybe the problem was the planks were too old, so I bought some more. If at first you don't succeed ...

He told me mommy ...

2009-08-02T20:30:00.003-05:00

Madeleine, why does Christopher have princess stickers all over his legs?
He told me he wanted them on mommy.

Why does Christopher have all the cards from Memory with him in the swing?
He told me he wanted to play with me mommy.

Madeleine, why is your brother wearing your sunglasses?
He told me the light is too bright and it hurts his eyes.

Who put all the bibs on your brother?
I did mommy. He told me he wanted them all on so he doesn't get all dirty.

Where are all the pacifiers?
I hid them mommy. He told me he doesn't like them.

Madeleine, why are you resting your head on his chest?
I hugging him mommy. He told me he loves me.

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