Everyday Gourmet

A great way to start February by making Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies.

2012-02-01T12:01:00.000-08:00

So happy that it is now February! January seemed like a really long month to me. I found this recipe today and couldn't wait to try it. The dough turned out great and I can't wait to see how they taste. I might have to do a tasting of these with the kids when they get home from school.

The dough turned out really dark from using all brown sugar.

These cooled for 15 minutes before I took them off the pan.

My little book worm!

Butterscotch Chocolate Chip Cookies

1 cup unsalted butter, at room temperature
1 cup light brown sugar, firmly packed
1/2 cup dark brown sugar; firmly packed
3/4 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 egg
1/8 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
2 cups semisweet chocolate, cut in small coarse chunks (Lindt or Ghiradeli
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Line two baking sheets with parchment paper.
In a mixer, cream the butter with both sugars until very well blended. Mix in the vanilla and the egg very well. Then fold in the salt, flour and chocolate chunks.
Form into small or large balls (walnut-sized or golf-ball-sized, as desired).
Place on the baking sheets and press down slightly. Bake on upper rack until done, about 10 to 12 minutes. Cool on racks.
Makes about 2 dozen large cookies
Disclaimer-
I love fresh baked cookies from the oven. I froze half of the dough for a later use. I also let the cookies cool and placed them in ziplock bags to go with the kids lunches later on this week. We all tried a warm cookie with cold milk and loved them! Yum!

Christmas Vacation

2012-01-03T13:08:00.000-08:00

We were able to go home for the first time in 7 years at Christmas time. It was so nice celebrating Christ's birth with extended family. We had such a great experience with both sides of our family. We were able to go on lots of family outings, watch our niece's Christmas program, celebrate 2 family Christmas parties and have many lovely, family dinners. We even got to go to downtown Portland for a date night and movie! I loved getting to go on running dates with Mark, hiking with family and enjoying the beautiful weather in Central Oregon. It would be chilly in the morning and up to 50 by mid-day. The most important part was just being together. I continue to be amazed by my sister Steffy and how well she is doing. Thank-you God for the special time we had with our families! It was such a blessing to all be together.
Now back to school and the real world as of tomorrow morning!

Anna and her sweet cousin Calvin

One of my favorite memories was sitting and talking with my precious sister.

Jonathan and Sawyer were great buddies.

My handsome boy!

My sweet and lovely sisters!

Hiking in Central Oregon

Beautiful day with my family.

Cousin time at the top of Beacon Rock

Hiking at Beacon Rock in Wa.

A week to cherish...

2011-11-02T13:01:00.000-07:00

Cuddling..

Ready to go to Radiation

This little boy melts my heart!

Love this family so much.

My Sisters

Love the darling Pixie cut!

I recently returned from a trip from Oregon to see my sister. I spent 10 glorious days with this precious family. I am so glad I had the opportunity to spend so much time with my sister. I drove her to radiation every day, spent countless hours talking to Steff and playing with my precious nephews. I was able to see for myself how she was "holding up"! She is doing remarkably well. All of the Dr's. are amazed at how her body is handling chemo and radiation and how her spirit is handling cancer. She is truly the example of a godly woman. She is finding joy through this trial and coming out victorious.

Lovely

Tomorrow

2011-10-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the big day. Tomorrow my sister starts radiation. My sister is at such peace about all of this. She is truly putting to test all that we have been taught about trusting God through trials in our lives. I am so proud of her. Steffy recently had a friend offer to take family photos for them. I love how they all turned out! It captures her spirit and the joy that radiates out of her. Love you sister.

My sister

2011-09-23T08:44:00.000-07:00

It has been a rough month on our family. My beautiful sister was diagnosed with Glioblastoma Mulitforme Brain Tumors at the end of August. I had just posted about the wonderful time I had at home visiting our family. It is crazy, shocking and unbelievable. How does such a HUGE change happen in just a few short weeks? There is no answer. Sometimes this just happens to young, healthy people.

I am standing on Gods Word. God does not change his character no matter what happens in our lives. I am believing and trusting in my Saviour for the days, weeks and months ahead. My sister is amazing. She always has been from the time Jenny (my baby sister) and I were little. She is the best story teller and would make up amazing stories to tell us. She is kind, encouraging and such a wonderful Mom. She is humble and graceful. I always wanted to be just like her when I was little.

My beautiful sister and her husband.

When friends come to town...

2011-08-25T04:32:00.000-07:00

Making Brownies with Anna

Girls night

Enjoying a visit and espresso

My friend Holly came to visit this week. I had such a great time catching up with her. She moved away a couple months ago and left a big hole in my life. She has been one of my running friends for the last couple of years. It worked out that she was able to stay a couple days with me. We did so many fun things together. We got to go on several runs. She has become quite the speedster. We definitely challenge each other in our runs. We also got to do one of our favorite things. Goodwilling! When she lived her we would go several times a week after the gym. It was such a fun day. On Tuesday night we had our friends over for an appetizer/wine evening. Holly and I both love to cook and share recipes. We spent the afternoon preparing for our special dinner. She made Ina's Brownie Pudding with Anna. YUM! It was an absolutely lovely evening visiting with friends. I did something that I never do on a "school night". I went to a 9:30 movie with several of the ladies. We all wanted to see the movie "The Help" and didn't think our husbands would enjoy it very much. I am glad I drank the espresso at 3:00 PM to keep me awake for the movie but I wish that I had been able to fall asleep before 2:00 AM. I guess that is the side effect of coffee too late in the day. Holly had to head home today. It was such a good visit and I can't wait for the next one!

The many adventures of summer on a farm.

2011-08-21T16:25:00.000-07:00

We just got home from a two week vacation to Oregon and Wa. We go home every summer to visit our families. It is definitely one of the hard things about being so far away from "home". Our kids don't get to spend a lot of time with there grandparents. The kids had an especially good time this year.
Anna loves helping in the garden, gathering eggs, riding the neighbors horse and feeding the sheep at my parents small farm. It is so fun seeing her having so much fun with her baby cousins and soaking up time with my parents. They even took the kids camping and on a fishing trip.
At the other grandparents house they played with cousins, picked blueberries from some of there many bushes, rode the four wheelers and played in the woods. Marks parents live on a wooded lot and it is great for building forts or just having adventures with the cousins that are all the same age.

Oregon Coast

The cousins at the beach

Farmer Anna gathering eggs

Mark got to borrow Papas jeep for some adventures.

Jonathan and his cousin Sawyer. They became wrestling buddies!

feeding the sheep

My sweet sister met us at the airport for our last "goodbye"!

Anna and Addy 2 peas in a pod!

Grandpa with his two oldest grandkids.

Anna and our precious Calvin

Celebrating Steff's birthday. Check out her beautiful kitchen.

Dinner with Papa and Grammy.

Cowgirl Anna

Family time

Anna and Calvin

My darling niece Laura!

The cousins!

It would be great to live closer to our family and maybe one day it will happen. I am so thankful that we can go home to visit and pick right up where we left off last summer.

Cheesey Pasta = perfect comfort food

2011-07-26T04:52:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was the kind of day when you need a bowl of comfort. Yes, it was a hot and humid but we have been eating so many salads and fresh vegetables over the last few weeks. We needed a change. I found this recipe on Pioneer Woman's blog and did a little tweaking. Mark ate the entire bowl of gnocchi with cheese, pesto and cherry tomatoes. I served with a side of farmer markets marinated fresh tomatoes. It was so good!
Gnocchi with Pesto, Cheese and Cherry Tomatoes
I used a package of Gnocchi and cooked according to directions. Save 1/2 cup cooking liquid.
1 (8 oz) cream cheese
1/4 cup fresh basil
2 TBS fresh pesto
1/2 cup cooking water
2 cloves garlic minced
1/4 cup chopped cherry tomatoes
1/2 cup Parmesan
salt and pepper to taste
Transfer hot gnocchi to large bowl and add cream cheese, water, cherry tomatoes, garlic, pesto and basil. Mix well so cheese melts. Season with salt, pepper and add Parmesan. Enjoy.

Changes

2011-07-25T11:14:00.000-07:00

Our last Runner Girls lunch before Holly left.

Last day of school!

My sweet neighbor Karen

This past month has been full of changes for me. I have had to say goodbye to several dear friends and neighbors. I also had my running partner move to another state. The kids are out of school and home all day. It really is nice having lots of freedom in the summer but I miss my routines. We joined a swim team this month and have gotten to participate in several swim meets. A big first for the kids! My son is no longer in Elementary School. He celebrated his birthday and is now 11. I feel a little lost right now. Not sure what direction I should be heading, I start to feel like this once we get close to moving. I am trying to stay connected and remember we still have a year before our next move but it is hard. I miss my friends and the routine that I had last year. I loved going to the gym in the morning and running with the same ladies. We shared so many miles together. I am trusting God through all the changes and trying to see where he is leading me next. My verse is:
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the LORD, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

When brownies fail, make trifle

2011-07-25T10:51:00.000-07:00

My Taste Testers

Brownie Trifle

For the Brownies—

Melt:
4 oz. unsweetened chocolate, chopped
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, cubed
2 T. cocoa powder
1 T. instant coffee granules
Stir in:
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 t. vanilla extract
1/4 t. table salt
3 eggs
Fold in:
1 cup all-purpose flour
Preheat oven to 350° and coat an 8" square baking pan with nonstick spray.
Melt chocolate, butter, cocoa powder, and coffee for brownies in a bowl in a microwave on full power, stirring every 30 seconds (or in a heavy saucepan over low heat). Remove when chocolate is nearly melted and stir until totally smooth.
Stir in sugar, vanilla, and salt. Add eggs one at a time, blending well after each addition.
Fold in flour. Spread batter in prepared pan.
Bake 350 for 30-40 minutes
Salty Caramel Topping
1 cup sugar
1/4 cup water
couple drops of lemon juice
cook in heavy duty pan until color of tea. Swirl to dissolve sugar but do not stir with spoon. Off heat add 6 TBS butter and 1TBS rum. Add 1 cup salted peanuts and pour over warm brownies. Sprinkle with sea salt.
Cool brownies in pan; cover and chill overnight. To cut, coat a knife with nonstick spray and slice into small squares.
If recipe fails cut into chunks and layer with whipped cream, chocolate pudding and toffee bits.

I have made this recipe from Cuisine at Home many times. I love the magazine and have given so many subscriptions over the years to friends. I don't know what happened the other day. Was it the high humidity or was I not paying enough attention to the directions? The brownies failed me. The salty caramel topping was yuck! It turned out hard and way too chewy. I had the best of intentions for these treats. I was making them for a swim meet BBQ to share with friends. I decided it would be best to turn them into a trifle instead. It worked so much better! The bad news is that due to a freak thunder storm, our BBQ was cancelled and rescheduled for days later. I now have a huge bowl of trifle in the fridge calling my name every time I open the door. Glad that I got a long run in so I can enjoy this without too much guilt.

Birthday Boy

2011-07-17T12:46:00.000-07:00

We had a good time celebrating Jonathan's birthday. Can't believe how big our first born is! I took some pictures when our good friends came to visit last month. I was comparing the two buddies from when they were little till now. They have grown-up so much. What hasn't changed is the fun they have together! They have been best buddies since birth. I think it might have something to do with Jen and I having so many play dates together when our kids were little.

I made a really yummy cake for Jonathan's birthday. The frosting is the BEST part.

Peanut Butter Frosting

3/4 cup peanut butter

1 stick butter

3 cups sifted powdered sugar

1/4 cup milk

2 tsp vanilla

Beat Peanut Butter and butter in bowl until light and fluffy (about 5 minutes). Add powdered sugar, milk, vanilla, mixing until smooth and creamy. Enjoy!

We ate this on the cake with raspberries and then used the leftovers for dipping graham crackers in.

Happy Birthday Jonathan!

Always goofy!

The boys at age 10

When the boys were 4.

Girl Scout Camp

2011-05-09T15:56:00.000-07:00

Saturday was another fun day for the Friesen ladies. Anna and I headed off to Camp Whip-Poor-Will for Girl Scout Camp. We chose not to overnight camp since it was over Mothers Day weekend. We took 5 of our 8 girls with us.This was our first year as Leaders and we got to decide the activities for the kids. We did the Climbing Wall, Capture the Flag, Obstacle/Relay Course,Outdoor Cooking and Domino Diva Crafts. We were so thankful that the rain held off for most of the day.
We had a few mishaps along the way. Anna slipped during the Capture the Flag game and fell into a mud hole. She wasn't thrilled about being covered in mud. Luckily, we brought an extra change of clothes for her. We also had most of the girls drop there food in the dirt during Outdoor Cooking.
We all came home happy and tired. Next year we are talking about camping overnight. I don't know how I will do without my coffee. There are rumors that Leaders are not allowed to use the kitchen to make coffee in the morning. Maybe we will just go for the day again.

The 5 divas!

Anna getting ready for the Climbing Wall

All the Girls got at least part way up the wall.

Anna loved it and made it to the top!

5 Girl Scouts ready for there day to begin!

Easter Egg Treats

2011-04-21T05:08:00.000-07:00

Anna wanted to make some special Easter Egg Treats to give to her teachers at school. Her friend Anna came over yesterday to help decorate all of the mini egg cakes. She got them decorated, packaged and wrote notes to send along with them. Happy Easter!

Corn and Tomato Soup with Goat Cheese

2011-04-14T11:07:00.000-07:00

I had some friends over and wanted to make a healthy lunch for us. Yesterday was the perfect opportunity to try this recipe! It turned out great and we had enough leftovers to use for another meal. The lunch and the time with girlfriends was so much fun. I did a little tweaking of the recipe and added extra garlic and chili flakes to my bowl.

Tomato and Corn soup with Goat cheese
1 TBS olive oil
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup corn
1/2 cup grape tomatoes
2 cups water
2 cloves garlic minced
1 32oz can chopped tomatoes
3 TBS chopped Cilantro
1 tsp hot sauce
3 TBS goat cheese
2 TBS nonfat Greek yogurt
Heat oil in pot. Add onion, and saute for 7 minutes. Add garlic, tomatoes, corn, 2 cups water, hot sauce. Cook for 15 minutes until reduced a little. Add cilantro, goat cheese and yogurt right before serving. I served this with the goat cheese on the side and crackers from Trader Joe's.

My favorite view in the kitchen!

Helping Dad with projects

2011-04-04T10:21:00.000-07:00

The helper

Mark decided to put in a new floor in our laundry room. He has been talking about it for awhile but finally decided to get started on it last weekend. I came home Saturday morning from a run and found the two of them diligently working on the floor. I had to snap a few pictures of this darling little helper! I love the finished project. I had a hard time not being able to do laundry for a week and living with the washer and dryer in the kitchen. I am now caught back up on laundry and enjoying our beautiful new floor. Mark is talking about doing the bathrooms next. I wonder how it will go with 4 of us sharing 1 bathroom for a week?

our new slate floor

Our boy is growing up!

2011-03-22T05:30:00.000-07:00

This past week Jonathan crossed over from Cub Scouts into Boy Scouts. After 6 years of being a Cub Scout he is now into the big kid group. That means my sweet baby is growing up! He will be in middle school next year. I found this picture of Jonathan the other day and almost cried. So much has changed in the last 10 years of his life. We are on to new adventures and a completely new stage of life. I hope the next 10 years slow down a little...

NYC Girls weekend

2011-03-04T17:12:00.000-08:00

This past weekend I met up with some friends in NYC for a long weekend. The girls I met over 10 years ago when we first joined the military. They have been through births of 5 kids among the 3 of us and holidays when we couldn't get home to see our families. It was WONDERFUL getting to have an entire weekend to just us. We ate at lovely restaurants including Bobby Flays Mesa Grill. We got up at 5:30 to get ready for Regis and Kelly and actually got tickets because we were there so early. We found a place to get pedicures together in Greenwich Village. We did tons of shopping in China town and strolled along 5th Avenue. We took the Ferry to see Statue of Liberty and visited Ground Zero. We went to an indoor flea market and shopped for hours. We went to an offbroadway show "The Fantastics" and to see "Mary Poppins" on Broadway. We also ate cheesecake from Juniors at 12:00 at night. My friends and family know that this is usually way past my bedtime : ) We had a third friend take the train in for the day and we explored Chelsea Market. We found the hidden elevator to Food Network Studios but got in trouble from the security guard when we started to go on it. We talked for hours on end and never ran out of things to share with each other. I was so blessed to have these amazing friendships! The 4 days were an adventure and so much fun. We even got on the wrong bus and ended up in Harlem (the opposite way that we were supposed to be going to the airport). I think it should be once a year occurence.

Mexican Meatball Chili

2011-02-21T16:55:00.000-08:00

Cuisine at Home Mexican Meatball Chili

I made this Mexican Meatball Chili for our Superbowl party. I also made an Italian Wedding with Turkey sausage. The Mexican Chili was Marks favorite. I thought I would share the recipe. It used several ingredient's that I have never cooked with before.

8 Anaheim Chili's
1/4 cup oil
4 cups diced tomatillos
3 cups diced onions
1/4 cup diced jalapenos
1 TBS garlic minced
1 TBS ground cumin
2 tsp oregano
1 TBS chopped Cilantro
3 corn tortillas finely shredded
4 cups chicken stock
1 cup corn
1 cup pinto beans
1 TBS lime juice
salt and pepper to taste

For Meatballs
1/2 cup rice
2 eggs beaten
1 TBS chili powder
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp salt
1/2 ts each garlic powder, oregano, and chopped cilantro
1 lb ground pork
Stir together rice, eggs, chili powder, cumin, salt, oregano and cilantro/ Add pork and mix until combined.
Shape pork-rice mixture into balls about the size of a walnut. Roll until smooth and chill until ready to use.

For Soup
roast chili's over a burner or on a baking sheet under the broiler until charred, turning often. Transfer chili's to a bowl and cover with plastic wrap for 10 minutes. Peel, seed and dice chili then set aside.
Brown meatballs in batches in oil using a dutch oven or large pot. Drain on paper towel and set aside.
Sweat tomatillos, onion, jalapenos, cumin, oregano and cilantro in same pan used for meatballs. Takes about 10 minutes. Add shredded corn tortillas, chilli's and chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and add meatballs. IT needs to simmer 35 minutes to finish cooking meatballs. Off heat add beans, corn, salt and pepper. Serve with sliced green onions and sour cream. We also had good tortilla chips to dip with.

Book signing with Pioneer Woman

2011-02-19T07:01:00.000-08:00

On Friday I went to Cincinnati with a group of friends to meet my favorite cookbook author/blogger Ree Drummond. We went down last month to get advance tickets for the signing at Rookwood Commons. I brought my beloved cookbook and her newest novel to be signed. It was such a wonderful night hearing her talk and meeting her in person. She is lovely! So elegant and sweet. She was laughing and joking with everyone she met. I was able to show her my cookbook and how well loved it is (aka messy)! It was such a great night for all of us. After the signing we went to Sur La Table and picked out a few things and then headed to YAGOOT for frozen yogurt. This was definitely a favorite night.

An interesting combination and my obsession with the recipe until I finally made them!

2011-02-16T11:43:00.000-08:00

I saw this recipe on a cooking blog a few weeks ago. It has been on my brain ever since. It has all of the elements of a perfect cookie. Sweet, salty, crunchy and yummy! I decided that I needed to just make them and so I would stop thinking about it. They were even better then I thought they would be. My favorite part is the cookie dough. There is something almost obsessive about these cookies. I have to admit I made them twice this past week. I took them to places and shared both batches after they were cooked but I did eat my share of the wonderful cookie dough! Enjoy with cold milk. I found out the dough does freeze well.

White, Dark Chocolate and Pretzel Peanut Butter Cookies…with Sea Salt
1 stick softened butter, 8 tablespoons
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup packed light brown sugar
1 cup white chocolate chips, to melt
1 1/4 cups creamy peanut butter (reserve 2 tablespoons to add to melting white chips)
1 large egg
2 teaspoons vanilla
1 1/4 cups all purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 teaspoon kosher salt
1 cup broken pretzel pieces

1 Cup dark chocolate chips

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Cream butter and sugars until light and fluffy. Melt white chocolate chips and 2 Tablespoons peanut butter over a double boiler until melted. Add melted chocolate chips and remaining peanut butter to beaten butter and sugars. Beat in egg and vanilla.

2. Place flour, baking soda and salt in bowl; mix to combine. Add to wet ingredients until just combined then pour in pretzels and additional white chocolate chips. With a cookie scoop, scoop dough onto a silpat or parchment lined baking sheet. With the palms of your hand, gently press down each cookie to about 1/2 inch in thickness. Sprinkle each cookie with a touch of sea salt. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until edges become golden and slightly crisp. Let cool for 10 minutes on baking sheet before removing.

3 dozen cookies

Minestrone Soup

2011-01-14T10:53:00.000-08:00

This was a great day for homemade soup. I found a recipe from Ellie Krieger that I have been wanting to try for Minestrone Soup. I did add some extra vegetables to the original recipe. It turned out great. Enjoy!

Minestrone Soup
Recipe courtesy Ellie Krieger for Food Network Magazine
Prep Time: 15 min Inactive Prep Time: -- Cook Time: 30 min Level:
Easy Serves:
6 servings Ingredients

2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, diced
4 cloves garlic, minced
2 stalks celery, diced
1 large carrot, diced
1/3 pound green beans, trimmed and cut into 1/2-inch pieces (about 1 1/2 cups)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
Kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1 28-ounce can no-salt-added diced tomatoes
1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 15-ounce can low-sodium kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup elbow pasta
1/3 cup finely grated parmesan cheese
2 tablespoons chopped fresh basil
Directions
Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add the onion and cook until translucent, about 4 minutes. Add the garlic and cook 30 seconds. Add the celery and carrot and cook until they begin to soften, about 5 minutes. Stir in the green beans, dried oregano and basil, 3/4 teaspoon salt, and pepper to taste; cook 3 more minutes.
I also added 1 bulb of sliced fennel, 1/2 cup homemade pesto, 1 leek thinly sliced and 1 cup roasted butternut squash.
Add the diced and crushed tomatoes and the chicken broth to the pot and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer 10 minutes. Stir in the kidney beans and pasta and cook until the pasta and vegetables are tender, about 10 minutes. Season with salt. Ladle into bowls and top with the parmesan and chopped basil.

Happy Birthday Anna

2011-01-13T03:54:00.000-08:00

My baby girl just celebrated her 9th birthday on New Years Eve. I can't believe that she is almost in the double digits. It really does just feel like yesterday that we brought her home from the hospital. She had a good birthday celebrating and then had her big party the following weekend at a gymnastics center. One of her presents was a gift certificate to Lot 26 Anna had so much fun picking out decals for her room. I love the owls that she chose. They are adorable and reusable. I am loving groupon and all of the great deals you can get there.

Salted Caramel Sauce

2011-01-10T11:05:00.000-08:00

I love salted caramels. I first tried it a few years ago and the combination is amazing. I found this recipe for homemade caramel sauce and tweaked it a little by adding some sea salt at the end of the cooking process. It is spoon licking yummy. It would be great on ice-cream or just out of the jar! Hope you enjoy.
Salted Caramel Sauce
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
1 ts vanilla
1 ts sea salt
melt sugar in heavy bottom pan until dissolved. Watch because it will burn. Add butter and let it melt before adding cream. It freezes up once the cold cream is added and you have to remelt it. Stir continuously with wooden spoon and smooth. It takes a few minutes to come together. Add vanilla and salt off heat. Allow to cool before placing in jars.
I can't get my camera to download pictures right now. Not sure what is going on but that is why the last few posts haven't had pictures attached....

So many blessings....

2010-12-27T17:57:00.000-08:00

There have been so many wonderful things to report over the last few months. The first and most important is that Mark returned home from his deployment. It was a long 7 months and we missed him like crazy but reunions are wonderful. So are post deployment vacations. We have wonderful friends that kept our kids for a week while Mark and I took a vacation to Jamaica. Pure bliss! We barely left the resort. There was so many things to do there. Mark even got to go on 5 scuba dives. I think it was one of his favorites things. The weather was allot warmer then in Ohio but neither of us came back with any tan. We did enjoy delectable meals from the many 5 star restaurants on the 2 Sandals resorts. We tried to stay active and took advantage of the nice gym there. I discovered this drink called the "Hummingbird". It was so good and I indulged on several. We can't wait to go back someday in the future. We have had some company this month as well. We had some good friends come and visit for a day. It is always special to meet up with friends that we were previously stationed with. I love how God brings people back into our lives!
My sister and her family came for a visit last week. It was fun catching up with them and spending time with my niece's. Anna loved being a little "mommy" to the girls. Jonathan started coming down with something a few days before Christmas. He was in bed most of Christmas. Poor kid had strep throat but is getting better with antibiotics. The rest of us had a touch of something as well. We are anticipating Anna's birthday on the 31st. Can't believe my baby is going to be 9~ Hope everyone has a Happy and healthy New Year!

Fall and Apples

2010-10-26T11:20:00.000-07:00

Jonathan and I apple picking!

It hs been such a lovely Fall in Ohio.
We have had warm weather and beautiful Fall change of colors. The kids and I have been staying busy with soccer, school and anticipation of next month! We went Apple picking and have been making lots of goodies with our abundance of apples. Hope everyone else is having a "Happy Fall" as well!

Caramel Apple Muffins

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup brown sugar
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
2 apples - peeled, cored and chopped
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/3 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup butter, cubed
1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1 TBS chopped candies ginger
Directions
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F (200 degrees C). Grease six muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners.
Stir together 1 1/2 cup flour, 3/4 cup sugar, salt, baking powder, ginger and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Mix in oil, egg and milk. Fold in apples. Spoon batter into prepared muffin cups, filling to the top of the cup.

In a small bowl, stir together 1/2 cup brown c sugar, 1/3 cup flour, butter and 1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon. Mix together with fork and sprinkle over unbaked muffins.
Bake in preheated oven for 20 to 25 minutes, until a toothpick inserted into center of a muffin comes out clean.
To make caramel
1 cup sugar
1 stick butter
1 cup heavy cream
Melt sugar in heavy pan. Stir with wooden spoon. Watch carefully or it will burn. When melted add butter and allow to melt, then add cream. Stir until comes together. It takes about 3-4 minutes for this to happen.
When muffins are still warm cut slit in top and pour 1-2 TBS of caramel down into hole. I add more caramel once muffins have cooled. Enjoy!

Its been way too long.....

2010-10-12T11:53:00.000-07:00

I have really been slacking on keeping my blog updated. I think that I was even kicked out of my Barefoot Bloggers club since I haven't participated in such a long time... My parents are visiting this week and have been doing lots of fun Grandparent outings with them. I took my parents down to Holmes County to visit the Amish Community. I tried a new recipe for pumpkin muffins with cream cheese frosting today. I took them to my Womens Bible Study. They were such a hit all I came home with was an empty container. I wanted to share this easy Fall recipe.
Pumkpin Muffins
1 yellow cake mix
1 can trader joes can of pumpkin
1 ts cinnamon
Mix these 3 together and bake at 350 for 25 minutes.
Frosting
1 8 oz cream cheese
1/2 cup butter at room temp
2 cups powdered sugar
1 ts. vanilla
These were so quick and easy. Thanks for the recipe Ellyn!

Lazy Sunday afternoon

2010-08-29T07:24:00.000-07:00

We headed to the park with some friends last weekend. It was such a pretty place to visit on a Sunday afternoon. We visited the ButterFly house and checked out some of the trails. It was such a warm day we that we had to go and visit Ritas on the way home. I am now ready for Fall! School has started and we are settling into a nice routine with school and soccer.

What to do with an over abundance of tomatoes...

2010-08-21T13:03:00.000-07:00

make homemade tomatoe sauce and wonderful salads!

Tomatoes, caramelized onions, garlic, basil, celery and olive oil

Heirloom Tomatoes with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing

Please, I beg you, even if you don't like tomatoes, please try this. It just might be the best salad in the whole wide world.
Heirloom Tomatoes with Creamy Gorgonzola Dressing
adapted from the recipe by Ina Garten
The best place to find heirloom tomatoes is probably your local farmer's market, and I thought they were delicious. Whatever you do, just make sure that the tomatoes you choose are fully ripe when you eat them; if they are white or mealy in the center, they are not worth eating.
Ingredients
3 pounds heirloom tomatoes, mixed colors and sizes
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper
1/2 pound Gorgonzola cheese, divided in half
1 cup good mayonnaise
1/2 cup heavy cream
2 teaspoons white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons chopped fresh flat leaf parsley
slice and core tomatoes, cutting the large ones into thick slices, and halving cherry tomatoes. Arrange on platter, and sprinkle liberally with salt, pepper, and parsley.
In the bowl of a food processor, combine half the Gorgonzola, 1 cup mayonnaise, 1/2 cup cream, and 2 tablespoons vinegar, as well as 1 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper. Process until combined, but still chunky.
drizzle the dressing over the tomatoes. Crumble the rest of the blue cheese, and serve at room temp. Enjoy! I ate this for every meal until all my tomatoes were gone!

Camping this summer

2010-08-08T06:31:00.000-07:00

We went along with some friends on a camping trip this past week. I have never taken the kids camping by myself before. We tagged along with a few families and there kids. The kids had a blast riding bikes, hiking the trails and just playing for hours on end with each other. We did have a few problems once bedtime hit. We didn't know we had to hide the coolers or raccoons would get into them. We figured if they were locked that was good enough. Wrong! We woke up to raccoons eating all the food from the coolers. They had a good time throwing eggs, eating all of our meat and drinking Capri Suns. There were a couple skunks that decided to come and check out our campground. They ended up camping under the car for the night. I am really glad that we didn't get sprayed! It would have made the night a whole lot worse. Besides the huge spiders in the shower and bathroom, the raccoons eating all our food and skunks spending the night, the kids said they had a great time!

BLT Pasta for 2 or Summer Pasta

2010-08-02T09:03:00.000-07:00

I haven't been doing allot of cooking over the last few months. I have been making easy meals for us. I found this recipe in Cuisine at Home and had to try it. It is a wonderful pasta dish made with whole wheat noodles, grilled chicken, caramelized onions, garlic, tomatoes and garlic bread crumbs. I left out the bacon and added basil and arugula at the end. Anna and I loved this dish. It says it is enough for two but we still have leftovers for lunch today. YUM!
BLT Pasta
Pasta:

2 strips thick-sliced bacon, diced ( I used 2 grilled chicken breast instead)
1 cup grape tomatoes, halved
1/2 tsp sugar
1/2 cup onions, thinly sliced
2 cloves garlic chopped
1/4 cup dry white wine
1/2 cup chicken broth
1 tsp red wine vinegar
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
4 oz dry bucatini or whole wheat spaghetti
1 cup fresh spinach leaves ( I used Arugula instead)
10 basil leaves thinly sliced
For garlic bread crumbs:
1 cup French bread, cubed (about one 1/2 inch thick slice)
1 T olive oil
salt to taste
How to make it
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bring a pot of salted water to a boil for the pasta.
Mince the garlic for the bread crumbs in a food processor, add the cubed bread, and process until coarse.
Heat oil in a nonstick skillet over medium: add crumbs and toast until golden, 3-4 minutes, stirring often. Season with salt and set aside.
Saute the bacon in a large skillet over medium heat.
Cook until crisp, then drain on paper-towel. Pour off all but 1 T. drippings.
Caramelize the tomatoes and sugar in the drippings over medium heat.
Cook until beginning to brown, about 5 minutes.
Add the onions, saute until wilted, 3-4 minutes.
Deglaze with wine; simmer until liquid is nearly evaporated.
Add the broth, vinegar, and pepper flakes and simmer until reduced by 1/3, about 5 minutes.
Cook the pasta in boiling water according to package directions.
Add the spinach or whatever green you are using, basil, and bacon pieces to the sauce.
Transfer the cooked pasta from the pot to the pan using tongs.
Toss to coat.
Season with salt, then transfer to large serving platter or individual plates.

Sprinkle with garlic bread crumbs before serving.

Our trip to the Oregon Coast

2010-07-30T07:50:00.000-07:00

We have been gone for the last month to Oregon and Washington to visit family. We had a whirlwind trip with our families. The kids loved getting time with all of there cousins and grandparents. We were able to take the kids to the Oregon Coast twice. It is always one of my favorite things to do in Oregon. We visited Pacific City and played on the sand dunes all day building sand castles, eating a sandy picnic lunch and playing in the water. We went to Seaside and Cannon Beach and ate at one of our favorite restaurants.We also took a trip to Tillamook to the famous cheese factory to sample the best icecream ever. I lived in Tillamook for 4 years as a kid. It brings back allot of memories of our trips to the coast with my family. My parents would love to get fresh oysters, crabs and muscles from the ocean to eat. I didn't enjoy it as a kid but I love it now! It was a great month long vacation but we are happy to be back home. I can't believe that school is starting in 3 weeks.

Summer is on its way

2010-06-08T18:08:00.000-07:00

We have had our share of fun moments since Spring arrived and now Summer is on its way. Today was the last day of school for the kids. It was a bittersweet moment for all of us. The kids had wonderful teachers this year and are going to be greatly missed. Soccer ended as of 2 weeks ago. The kids had fun playing but being at the soccer field 4 days a week was a little much for me. The kids were in the talent show together. They did a great job holla-hooping to an Alvin and the Chipmunks song! Anna was in the end of year regional Art Show at the highschool. The end of school always includes field trips. I chaperoned both kids classes (on seperate days) to go to the same park. Carillon Park is a great place for school age kids. They have one of the Wright brothers planes displayed for the kids to see and walk completely around. It was a very educational for me too. Softball is in full swing at the moment. The kids are excited to get to sleep in, have lots of playdates with friends, visit Kings Island quite often since we bought Seasons Passes, visit some of our local Metro Parks, summer reading program at the library and swim as much as possible!

Getting to know you...

2010-06-06T16:48:00.000-07:00

Its Sunday! Time for "Getting to Know You Sunday". Link up over at Mannland5 if you want to play along.

The questions..

1. If a person has a booger in their nose. and you can see it, do you tell them?
I would have to look away. That has happened before and I just feel to bad to mention it to them.

2. What are you passionate about?
God, my husband and kids, running, cooking, spending time with good friends!

3. How long have you been blogging?
A little less then 2 years. I started so I could join Ina Gartens Barefoot Bloggers. I am a huge fan of hers!

4. What is your favorite "summer" drink?
I would have to say strawberry lemonade. I really love the homemade lemonade my mom made as a could where you slice the lemons really thin and muddle them with the sugar to get the most flavour out of them.

5. What is your favorite type of music?
I like huge variety of music. I really love Christian uplifting, love songs, country, stuff from the early 90's and late 80's.

6. Something I do before I go to bed is.
I try to read a couple chapters in my Bible before I fall asleep. I also always watch foodnetwork in bed and use a lotion that I keep beside my bed.

7. My Summer vacation plans are...?
To go and visit family for a month, take the kids swimming, library, bought passes to a local amusement park and lots of activities with friends.

8. My favorite must have, can't live without, beauty product is?
Sunscreen! I love thick body lotion without too much scent. Trader Joes has a good one. I have also started using a lemon perfume that I am addicted too.

Take me out to the ball game...

2010-06-06T09:53:00.000-07:00

We went to a Dayton Dragons game with some friends for Military Appreciation Day. The kids had a blast but we got to have lawn seats and sit in the muddy grass. Fun day with friends and the kids got to help carry the flag for the ceremony.

Girl Scout Camp

2010-05-17T15:17:00.000-07:00

Girl Scout Camp was so much fun! I wasn't sure what to expect with this being the first year Rhonda and I have ever gone as leaders or even taken girls to the camp. We have 4 girls in our troop. Only 1 was missing that day. It was very well organized and had 5 different stations planned throughout the day. The kids got to make shirts, do crafts, have an outdoor cooking class, go creeking, and have an hour of skits and songs. It was a cold day and I defintaly missed my second shot of espresso for the day. We had a great time and can't wait for more activites with the girls. Maybe next year we will even camp there!

My good friend and her darling baby!

2010-05-07T08:41:00.000-07:00

I had the pleasure of getting to meet up with Ellyn and her adorable baby Ally for lunch in Indianna on Wednesday. I got to visit with her last summer in Colorado when she was pregnant but this was my first time meeting her baby! I left as soon as the kids went to school and made it back by there pick up time {almost}. Ellyn and I met in Montana over 7 years ago and became fast friends. It was such a special time getting to catch up with her and hold her little darling. Ally is quite the cutie and so sweet! She is 6 months and at the smiley/happy stage. I got so many toothless grins and she has the cutest bald head ever! I really wanted to take her home with me.. Thanks Ellyn for driving to meet me half way! I hope you get stationed a little closer then Wy next time around.

Spring is here!

2010-04-17T09:06:00.000-07:00

We have had a busy last couple of weeks. We were able to head to Niagra Falls for Spring break. We had never gone before and enjoyed a couple days in Toronoto, Ca and Buffalo, NY. We found the darling chocolate shop in Toronto and enjoyed hot chocolate from Soma. I think that the hour walk to get there was worth it but I might have been the only one to agree with that statement... Marks parents and brother decided to meet us in Cleveland on the way home for a few days to enjoy some time with Mark. It was really nice getting to have them visit. We hope some day that we will live closer then a plane ride to our parents and family. Jonathan and Anna both started soccer this month. We have 2 practices and 2 games a week for each kid. I think I understand the term "Soccer Mom" now! CRAZY! Hope you are enjoying the sun like we are in Ohio. I hope the warm weather stays. I love getting to run outside again on the many bike trails we have here. Happy Spring!

My little helper!

2010-03-21T17:04:00.000-07:00

Anna has decided that she really likes to help me in the kitchen. For her birthday a friend gave her a Williams Sonoma cookbook. She has spent a lot of time pouring over the recipes and deciding what she wants to make. This weekend we had friends over for dinner. I made Pioneer Womens Pot Roast. This was such an amazing recipe. I have made a few pot roasts in the last 12 years and this one topped all of them. I think it might be caramelizing the veggies and cooking at such a low temp for such a long time. If you haven't it then I would highly recommend this recipe! I served it with PW's spinach salad, roasted green beans, cheesey bread and salty caramel brownies with ice-cream and espresso.

French Onion Soup Round 4

2010-02-28T16:05:00.000-08:00

My husband loves French Onion Soup and I love my husband so I have been trying different recipes to find the "perfect recipe". It is all just a matter of preference to what you really want in your soup. After using 1/4 of a cup of chopped garlic in todays recipe, I am not sure if anyone will want to be close to me at the gym tomorrow. Todays recipe was really good! It had the right balance of wine, caramelized onions, garlic and broth. I think one of the keys is to really cook the onion over low for40 minutes. They should be a dark, rich color. I found the recipe from Cuisine at Home Splendid Soups.

Sweat in Olive Oil and butter then caramelize:

2 yellow onions and 2 red onions sliced thin

1/4 cup chopped garlic

2 TBS Olive Oil

1/4 cup butter

Add And Reduce:

1 cup dry wine

1/3 cup dry sherry

Stir In: Add and Simmer

3TBS flour

3 Cups Beef Broth

3 Cups Chicken Broth

1 TBS thyme

salt and pepper to taste

8 slice french bread

1 cup gruyere cheese

1/2 cup parmesan

Sweat onion and garlic in oil and butter for 40 minutes. Add wine and sherry, cook until wine evaporates, stirring often.

Stir in flour and cook 1 minute. Add broths, thyme, salt and pepper: bring to simmer and cook another 10 minutes.

Toast bread under broiler. Ladle soup into bowls, arrange on baking sheet and then top with bread and then cheese. Broil another 1-2 minutes or until cheese melts. Enjoy!

Our New Kitchen

2010-02-12T18:11:00.000-08:00

Mark spent the last few days tiling a backsplash in our kitchen! I love how it turned out. I am so glad that I married such a "handy" man. He has big plans for the rest of our house as well. I will post pictures later of our bathroom that he tiled. It has been a crazy week in Ohio. We have only had school 2 of the 5 days. We took the kids to COSI today. What an amazing childrens museum it is! We would highly recommend a day at this fun Science Museum!

Our big snowstorm!

2010-02-08T15:06:00.000-08:00

We have had so much snow! It is always so much fun the first time it snows. The kids want to play outside, build snow forts and go sledding. The favorite way to warm up is with hot coco and lots of marshmallows. Anna also celebrated her 8th birthday at Barnes and Nobles with a book party. She had allot of fun picking out books and doing a craft with her friends.

Shrimp Bisque

2010-02-05T15:46:00.000-08:00

Jennifer of Blessed Home chose this months recipe from Barefoot Bloggers for Shrimp Bisque. I am in great need of a new camera. I don't think you are supposed to have to hit the camera for it to turn on?! Please ignore the fuzzy photo! This was such a wonderfully delightful soup. I had a little problem assembling all of the ingredients’. We went to the store twice for tomato paste. It was one of those days that nothing seemed to go as planned. I served this with crusty French bread and roasted garlic. Between my husband and self we consumed an entire head of the roasted garlic. I bet that is why the treadmills on both side of me were empty at the gym the next day... Definitely a hit in our household and we will be making this again in the near future. I don't think I enjoyed peeling all the shrimp but it really did add allot of flavor to the stock.

Tuesday is the new Thursday for me....

2010-01-26T08:16:00.000-08:00

I am supposed to post for Barefoot Bloggers on Thursdays but for some reason I can't seem to get it together and make it on time. I have decided that Tuesday will be my new Thursday that way I am always ahead instead of behind.... Todd of A Cooking Dad has chosen Indonesian Ginger Chicken. This is the kind of recipe that 75% of my family will eat. All I needed to do was add some brown rice and a fresh salad and dinner was served. I enjoyed the flavours of the ginger, soy, garlic and honey. I also used a little brown sugar in my marinade. My husband and I both love spicey food. We always have chili oil made ahead of time to add to our food. It was a definite "must" for this dish. I would say that this recipe is a keeper. How can you go wrong on a 5 ingrediant meal? I chose to use thighs since it was the only chicken that I had in the freezer with the bone in it. I will go for the white meat next time. I would also add some gingered carrots from Trader Joes for some extra vegies. Thanks Todd for the great choice!

Learning how to make Curry Chicken...

2010-01-10T14:47:00.000-08:00

We have friends/neighbors living here from Australia. I have been wanting Thili to show me how to make her famous Chicken Curry. She showed me how to prepare three of her special dishes and then we enjoyed a great dinner together. Our dinner consisted of Thai beef salad, Chicken Curry with steamed rice and Dahl (red lentils with chilis, garlic and tumeric). The combination of flavours and spices were amazing. She has promised to show me how to make Butter Chicken next! It was a fun evening enjoying there company and eating wonderful food! Thanks for the cooking lesson Thili!

Paris and why I love it!

2010-01-02T13:37:00.000-08:00

I received the movie Julie and Julia for Christmas. I really love this movie! It has so many of my favorite things in it; cooking and Paris too name a few. After watching the movie and discussing it with Mark, I decided to pull out my Ina Garten Barefoot in Paris Cookbook and make the Boeuf Bourguignon. I have got to admit I didn't know how good it was going to be. An entire bottle of red wine seems like an awful lot to someone that will drink half a glass and be done.... This was AMAZING! The best part was that it tastes even better the next day as leftovers. We had this along with a Arugula Salad and crusty sourdough bread. YUM! YUM! This got me started on a French kick. I love Paris. We celebrated our 10 year anniversary there. I had to find more recipes to try. I then made the steaks with Bernaise sauce for Anna's birthday. This was absolutely decadent. Whipped egg yolks and lots of melted butter come together in a wonderful sauce that is almost the consistancy of homemade mayonnaise. I know that I need to cook French food in moderation or neither of us will be able to fit into our clothes : -) ! But we are having fun enjoying some new recipes and a completely foreign cuisine.

Ina's Stuffed Mushrooms

2009-12-28T09:05:00.000-08:00

I have been really slacking in my Barefoot Bloggers group. I am always really excited to see what recipes we are going to make and then never get around to making them. This month I vowed to make at least one of the recipes. I lucked out and the recipe was perfect for Christmas Dinner. These really were divine. Michelle of Welcome to the Club chose stuffed mushrooms. I did have a little extra stuffing leftover but added it to the pan to cook. My daughter loved the stuffed but didn't want the mushroom. Thiswas another great recipe by Ina. In my hustling and bustling I never got around to taking a picture. You can check out what other bloggers did here.

Christmas is almost here....

2009-12-22T11:52:00.000-08:00

It has been a fun month for all of us. We always head out the weekend of Thanksgiving to get our tree. This year we went to a u-cut tree farm about 15 minutes from us. The kids fell in love with "Shaggy" our tree. It is a pine tree but has soft needles. It wasn't my choice this year so that is all I can say about our tree.... We also went to a Polar Express party at Barnes and Noble. The kids heard the story, had hot chocolate and cookies. Anna had a birthday party sleepover with friends from her school. The theme was pet parade. It was so cute seeing the kids and there beloved stuffed animals. We have had friends come and visit from out of town this past weekend. We had so much fun catching up that I didn't get any pictures. Christmas is right around the corner. I have done some baking and caramel making, the presents are wrapped and the house decorated. We can't wait for Christmas. Merry Christmas!

Disney World Family Fun

2009-11-21T09:22:00.000-08:00

We had such a great time in Disney World. The kids got to meet some of there favorite characters at a special dinner we went to with Chef Mickey. We had two days in Disney World and hit our favorites spots Epcot Center and Magic Kingdom. We have found that Fall and early Spring are the best times to go. We had no lines and little crowds. We enjoyed a wonderful dinner in Epcot Center at Chefs De France. Another highlight was the fireworks show in Magic Kingdom. I wish that we lived a little closer.

My crafty Hero

2009-11-20T13:55:00.000-08:00

This is my darling friend Jeni! She is my crafting hero!!! We met in Germany and became kindred friends. We only got to live close to each other for a year before she moved back to the States. There is something about Jeni that draws you in. She taught me all about stamping and embossing. She loves running, sewing and cooking. She also makes the best caramels ever!!! She showed me how to add touches here and there to make a house a home. She also has inspired me be a better mom and wife. Her husband has deployed four times since her kids were little and still she smiles and gives so much to everyone she meets. We now live 8 hours apart. I have had the pleasure of getting to see there family 3 times in the last year. Our kids are the same age and enjoy each others company too. I don't know what more I could ask for in a friend.

Halloween and yummy soup

2009-11-02T07:38:00.000-08:00

We had such a fun Halloween. The kids had fun going to a Harvest party and trick-or-treating. Anna was a sunflower and Jonathan was Anakin Skywalker. I made this yummy soup for dinner and wanted to share the recipe. I hope you enjoy too.

Tom Ka Kai (Chicken Coconut and Mushroom Soup)
Prep Time 15 Minutes
Cook Time 20 Minutes Servings 8 Difficulty Easy
Ingredients
•2 whole Chicken Breast, Cut In Chunks
•1 whole Onion, Chopped
•6 cups Water
•1 cup Chopped Shiitake Mushrooms (regular Mushrooms Work, Too)

•14 ounces Canned Coconut Milk
•1 Tablespoon Red, Yellow, Or Green Curry Paste
•2 Tablespoons Fish Sauce Or Soy Sauce
•¼ cups Sugar
•1 piece Lime Wedges
•½ teaspoons Red Chili Flakes
•2 whole Tomatoes, Cut In Wedges
•¼ cups Fresh Basil, Chopped
chili oil for top
Preparation Instructions
In a large sauce pan, cook the chicken in a little bit of oil until done, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the onion and cook until translucent. Add the remaining ingredients except for the tomatoes and basil. Bring to a boil and then let simmer for 10 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and basil and cook until warmed through. Taste and adjust seasoning. I like mine a bit sweeter, so I add about 1/4 cup more of sugar. If it needs more salt, add a little more fish sauce. This is a strong ingredient so be gentle with it. If you like it a bit more spicy, add a little more red chili flakes.
This is a really uniaue soup, but it is good!

Neighborhood Halloween Party

2009-10-31T07:48:00.000-07:00

We had a Halloween Neighborhood party on Friday night. It was such a fun time with our friends. My neighbor Donna co-hosted with me. She really knows how to throw a spooky party. We had lots of food and a great time visiting with friends. It was also the debut of our almost finished basement. It can't believe how quiet it is when you have a basement for kids to play in. We got so busy during the party that I didn't take nearly the pictures that I wanted too. I didn't even get any of my own kids. Luckily they get to wear there costumes again for a birthday party and then trick or treating tonight.

Barefoot Bloggers Corn Chowder

2009-10-22T07:16:00.000-07:00

Jill from My Next Life chose Ina's Cheddar Corn Chowder for our Barefoot Bloggers group. This was a great week to make this recipe. It has started to turn cold and a hot bowl of thick chowder is perfect for a busy school night. I did end up halving the recipe and still had leftovers to freeze for husbands lunch. My daughter decided that is was delicious and ate all of her helping! I did leave off the bacon and didn't add extra cheese like I normally would. I served this with hot popovers. I can't get enough of popovers and moms apple butter right now! Thanks Jill for the great choice and we will be making this throughout the winter.

New York New York

2009-10-13T13:03:00.000-07:00

I have always wanted to visit New York. There is something about being in a big city when it is so very different from normal life in Ohio. We had the opportunity to visit this past weekend. My Mom kept our kids and we had a long weekend in the Big Apple! What an adventure we had. My favorite part of the trip was getting to see a live taping of Saturday Night Live! We have a friend that works for the show and got us tickets. It was such a fun evening for Mark and I! The best part beside being in a live audience was having Tyler Florence sitting behind me! I didn't get an autograph since he snuck out at the end. We ater at the best restaurants. Mark and I both agreed that Carmines was our favorite. We found the Serendipity Cafe but there was over 50 people waiting to get into the tiny store for frozen hot chocolate. We decided to pass and hop on over to Dylans Candy Bar. This would have been Jonathan and Annas favorite store ever. Mark enjoyed visiting the Financial District and seeing Wall street. I loved walking around Manhatten and all of the different districts. We also got to go running in Central Park! It was neat getting to see the Statue of Liberty and visiting the Empire State building. Our only regret was we didn't make it to Ground Zero or see a Broadway show. I guess we will just have to go back at some point! This was a great trip with lots of good food and fun sites to see.

Sewing fun

2009-09-17T14:24:00.000-07:00

I received a sewing machine for my birthday. I made my first purse today with some girlfriends. We had such a good morning sewing and enjoying one anothers company. I was inspired to try and make Anna a skirt. Jeni and Jill are always whipping up something new. This was my first try at sewing Anna an article of clothing. It is a cute polka dotted corduroy skirt. It looks a little like a tent on but I am learning from my mistakes. This is a whole new adventure for me! I can't wait to try some more sewing projects.

Barefoot Birthday cake!

2009-09-10T06:11:00.000-07:00

I was so excited that this was my turn to choose the recipe for Barefoot Bloggers. I had such a hard time choosing what I wanted to make. There are so many wonderful recipes that our group has not made yet. Cake was on my mind since I had a birthday this month. I finally let the kids help me decide. They wanted to decorate the Birthday Sheet Cake. Once I started to make the batter I realized how big it was going to be! I had to make two cakes for parties this weekend and decided to use 4 rounds instead of the big sheet pan. It worked out great this way. I made two different kinds of cakes. The first cake was a carmelized apple filling with caramel frosting. This is my favorite kind of fall cake. The caramel frosting is so easy and tastes wonderful. The second was Ina's way with chocolate ganache filling and frosting. I was a little disappointed in how each cake iteself tasted. I thought the cake was too dense and not moist enough. Not sure what I did wrong. I loved the ganache frosting and could eat this by the spoonfull if my waistline would allow. My daughter had allot of fun decorating the chocolate cake with m&m's. I forgot to bring my camera to the party and didn't get a picture of the finished cake. Thanks to everyone who decided to bake along this week with me. You can check out what my fellow bloggers did here.

Frozen Yogurt

2009-09-02T12:16:00.000-07:00

This summer I found out I had to watch my cholesterol intake. I have been trying to find alternatives to ice-cream that actually tastes good. I came across a tart frozen yogurt from Trader Joes! I love the tart flavours of this yogurt. It is just as satisfying as ice-cream with zero cholesterol and zero fat! My Food Network magazine came in the mail last month and there was a recipe for Almost Famous Frozen Yogurt. It is supposed to taste like PinkBerry. I love this recipe and have made it twice in the last month. My favorite way is with sliced berries or frozen blueberries. YUM!

Barefoot Pizza

2009-08-31T09:08:00.000-07:00

I love Pizza! I have tried many varieties of this dish. My favorite so far has been Italian Style pizza with a thin and crunchy crust. I am always up for trying a new version of this wonderful comfort food. I was excited to try White Pizza with Arugula for my Barefoot Bloggers group. As I started to make the pizza I realized I was out of a few main ingrediants such as goat cheese and Arugula. Since this was the last day of the month to post the recipe, I decided to go ahead and make it using what I had on hand. I made the dough ahead of time and stuck it in the fridge until closer to dinner time. I made the salad dressing and added tomatoes and lettuce and a little extra cheese to the salad. I also used part of the dough for plain cheese pizzas for the kids. Everyone ate all there dinner and I got to use these cool pizza plates that I bought last year. Our picky son even told me he liked it! Thanks to Andrea of Nummy Kitchen for choosing a great recipe.

First Day of School

2009-08-25T12:22:00.000-07:00

Today the kids started back to school. It was a bittersweet moment for all of us. The kids both got the teachers that we wanted and they have friends in there class from last year. This always helps! I enjoyed my day of going to the gym, cleaning house and rearranging furniture all by myself. I was glad when it was time to pick them up. I missed my kids today! So another school year begins......

Mango Banana Daquiris

2009-08-17T16:07:00.001-07:00

I was looking forward to trying this months selection from Veronica of Supermarket Serenade She chose Mango Banana Daiquiris as the 1st Ina Garten recipe for the month of August. These were super simple to make. I threw everything into my blender and started it up. My kitchen Aide blender made a funny sound and stopped working. I took the blender off to find that all of the black rubber had been worn off the bottom. After 11 years of always being there for me, it finally broke! I guess this means that I get to choose a color that is NOT cobalt blue.

I ended up making the drinks in the food processer and they turned out fine. I skipped the simple syrup step and bought simple syrup from Trader Joes. I think it was a little too much rum for me but then I usually only have a half a glass of wine with dinner. You can check out Barefoot Bloggers to see their take on this drink.

Summer Vacation

2009-08-17T08:41:00.000-07:00

Garden of the gods in Colorado Springs

Grammy and the kids and the kissing cousins.

My niece loved the birds at the beach. We went to the beach to escape the heat wave Or was having. It was 112 a couple days in a row.

A great hike into the high lakes of the Wallowa Mountains. This turned out to be a alot longer then we thought (about 13 miles round trip).

hiking in the Wallowa Mountains

the cousins having some play time at our family reunion

Anna learned to drive the 4 wheeler.

Everyone enjoyed DQ after playing at the park all afternoon. The boys enjoying a fun water park.

Jonathan celebrated his 9th birthday while in Wa.

We arrived home from such a wonderful summer vacation. 6 weeks is a long time to travel around the U.S. We got to visit so many friends and family members. It was a great way to spend our summer. We are already talking about next summer : -)

Blueberry and Peach Crumble

2009-07-23T14:01:00.001-07:00

Our family has been on vacation for the last 3 weeks. I am out of my normal routine and enjoying this extended vacation in Oregon and Washington. I was so excited that the this month's second Barefoot Bloggers recipe--picked by Aggie of Aggie's Kitchen--was the Contessa's Peach and Blueberry Crumbles. My in-laws just happen to have over 100 blueberry bushes on there property in Washington. My darling niece and daughter picked the berries for me for this recipe. I ended up taking this to our family reunion in Eastern Oregon last weekend. There was not any leftovers so I figured it turned out fine. I did make a few changes to the recipe. I tripled the amount of blueberries in the recipe and I baked in a 9X13 pan. I really liked the addition of lemon and lemon zest as well. I am excited to see what other people did with this recipe. I know it would have been amazing hot out of the oven with vanilla ice-cream on top.

Here is this tasty recipe:

Peach & Blueberry Crumbles (from Barefoot Contessa at Home)
For the fruit
2 lbs firm, ripe peaches (6-8 peaches)
2 tsp grated lemon zest
2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup fresh blueberries (1/2 pint)
For the Crumble
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/4 cup light brown sugar, lightly packed
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1/4 lb (1 stick) cold unsalted butter, diced
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
Immerse the peaches in boiling water for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until their skins peel off easily. Place them immediately in cold water. Peel the peaches, slice them into thick wedges, and place them in a large bowl. Add the lemon zest, lemon juice, granulated sugar, and flour. Toss well. Gently mix in the blueberries. Allow the mixture to sit for 5 minutes. Spoon the mixture into ramekins or custard cups.
For the topping, combine the flour, granulated sugar, brown sugar, salt, cinnamon, and the butter in the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with a paddle attachment. Mix on low speed until the butter is the size of peas. Rub the mixture with your fingertips until it’s in big crumbles, then sprinkle evenly over the fruit.
Place the ramekins on a sheet pan lined with parchment paper and back for 40 to 45 minutes, until the tops are browned and crisp and the juices are bubbly. Serve warm or at room temperature. If you want to make these early, store the unbaked crumbles int he refrigerator and bake before dinner. Serves 5 to 6.

Frozen Lemon Pie with Berries

2009-07-01T11:55:00.000-07:00

We had guest over for dinner the other night. I wanted a light and refreshing dessert to complete our meal. I found this recipe in a cooking magazine and couldn't wait to make it. It was a hit!

Frozen Lemonade Pie

Graham Cracker Crust:
2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/4 cup sugar
7 tablespoons butter, melted
Lemonade filling:
1 (14 ounce) can sweetened condensed milk, chilled
2 cups whipped cream
1 (6 fluid ounce) can frozen lemonade concentrate, keep frozen
1 teaspoon lemon zest
Berry topping

frozen raspberries

frozen blueberries

2 T sugar

1 T lemon juice

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In medium bowl, combine cracker crumbs, 1/4 cup of sugar, and the melted butter. Press firmly on bottom and up sides of pie plate. Bake for 7 minutes and let cool completely.
In a medium bowl, add chilled sweetened condensed milk and whipped cream and fold gently. Add frozen lemonade and continue to gently fold. Stir in lemon zest. Do not let the mixture become soupy. Pour mixture into the pie crust and freeze overnight. Mix berries, sugar and lemon juice together.

Little baby bunny found

2009-06-30T15:32:00.001-07:00

The kids found a baby bunny in our yard on Saturday. We don't know what happened to the mama. It was only a day old and still has its eyes shut. We have been feeding it kitten replacement milk twice a day with a dropper and keeping it warm on a heating pad. It has survived the last 4 days so maybe it will have a chance? We hope it makes it. The kids loved taking care of it and would check on baby bunny multiple times a day. We found a wildlife shelter that took the bunny for us since we are leaving for vacation on Friday.

Ina's Gazpacho

2009-06-29T10:08:00.000-07:00

I am a few days late in posting my recipe for Barefoot Contessa Gazpacho. I have never attempted Gazpacho before. I don't know if I was scared of a cold tomatoe based soup or too much chopping involved. I am so happy that Delta of Delta Whiskey chose this recipe. My husband and I both loved it so much. This was a perfect lunch for a hot hot hot day! I did add a little extra spice to it. I loved the addition of olive oil at the end. This tasted like something we would have eaten in Italy with some crusty bread. The only thing that I would have added was some shaved Parmesan and more basil!!! This is my idea of summer food.

2009-06-18T09:30:00.000-07:00

I love all of the wonderful produce that summer provides us with. Strawberries are on the top of the list. I picked up some beautiful strawberries the other day and needed something to go with them. I would usually make a shortcake and whipped cream but decided on something a little lighter this time. I never got around to making this Barefoot Contessa recipe for Meringue Chantilly with berries. It looked good and I had everything that I needed. It was a hit with the family. My kids ate every bite of the meringue shell. They thought it tasted a little like cotton candy since it melts in your mouth. I loved the combination of blueberries, raspberries and strawberries. Another new and healthy dessert to add to my files : )

Whole Wheat Pasta

2009-06-12T15:37:00.000-07:00

I recently discovered a treasure at a local thrift store. This is the exact pasta machine that my mom used growing up. After giving it a good cleaning, I got busy. We really enjoy whole wheat noodles in our house. I tried to find a good ratio of white to whole wheat flour. My daughter was a great helper and really loved rolling out the noodles. We made fettucine noodles and 3 cheese ravioli from a Tyler Florence recipe. The ravioli filling started coming out but still tasted good. I am learning and my second attempt went better. I am excited for all of the healthy noodle dishes I will be trying out on my family.

Vanilla Cupcakes with Vanilla Bean Frosting

2009-06-12T06:23:00.001-07:00

This is my second time making this wonderful frosting from Tyler Florence. I needed a frosting for my vanilla bean cupcakes and chose my new favorite. It has vanilla bean pieces in the frosting. I love it! These cupcakes were great with some fresh strawberries and vanilla sugar.

Vanilla Bean Butter cream Frosting

(Adapted from his recipe)

1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened

1 vanilla bean, scraped

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1/2 tsp. salt

1/3 cup milk

4 cups confectioner's sugar (1 pound box), plus more if necessary

Cream the butter in a medium-size bowl until very smooth. Stir in the vanilla-bean seeds until they're evenly distributed. Add the salt, milk and vanilla extract, and stir until combined. Sift the sugar over the butter mixture and stir the mixture until it's perfectly smooth. If the frosting is too loose, add a few more tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap until you're ready to use; mix well just before using. You can see what other TFF members did here.

Curried Couscous

2009-06-11T06:32:00.000-07:00

This week for Barefoot Bloggers my good friend Ellyn of Recipe Collector and Tester chose this recipe. She was my neighbor when we all lived in Montana. Both of us love to cook and shared lots of recipes with each other. I was so excited to hear it was her turn. We talked each other into joining Barefoot Bloggers last summer and it has been so much fun! I love couscous and curry. I thought the flavours were great and enjoyed the crunch from the almonds and sweet cranberries. I would disagree about it tasting better the next day. I made this ahead for a party and loved the flavour the day I made it. The following day I discovered the flavours had mellowed too much and it was lacking something??? This was a healthy recipe that both Mark and I enjoyed. I served this with chicken, feta dip, whole wheat pita's and tomato cucumber salad. Thanks Ellyn for choosing such a great recipe.

Strawberry Summer Lemonade

2009-06-04T15:04:00.001-07:00

I love Strawberry Lemonade. There is something about cold lemonade, BBQ 's and a hot summers day. I wanted to try a new recipe for Tyler Florence's lemonade for my neighborhood's BBQ this past weekend. I made this kid friendly by omitting vodka and adding lots of crushed strawberries into the punch. This was so sweet and refreshing at the same time. I added some limes and 2 extra lemons for a little more sour flavour. I wanted to try out my lemonade pitcher that has been in the box since I bought it last summer. I can't believe how much this held. It was a fun party and a wonderful drink. Next time I will be trying the grown-up version. You can check out what my other Tyler Florence friends did here.

Ultimate Samosa Pie

2009-05-29T10:17:00.000-07:00

My husbands Man sized portion of Samosas. My cooked lentils with garlic, onions and raisins.

The Spicy filling! I loved adding cinnamon to this.

I was looking for a good recipe to try for dinner using what I had on hand. I found this recipe by Tyler Florence for Ultimate Samosas (little handheld pies). These were wonderful for dinner. I made the pie crust into 1 large pie instead of the 8 minis. We enjoyed with lentils instead of the chickpeas and spinach. Here is the recipe if you would like to try this Curry flavored meal! I don't think I have tried anything from Tyler's recipes that has tasted anything but great. You can check out what my other Tyler Florence Fridays friends made this week too.

Outrageous Brownies

2009-05-28T13:14:00.000-07:00

These are my favorite rich and gooey brownie. Since it calls for 1 pound of butter and over 2 pounds of chocolate I would call these my decadence brownies. I have made this recipe a handful of times and each time it turns out different. I halved the batter and made mini brownie bites one day and then used the rest of the batter for a dessert for my Bible Study Brunch. I made breakfast brownies and added a cup of chopped chocolate covered coffee beans to my batter. Goodness Gracious! These were very good. Here is the recipe and you can check out what my other Barefoot Bloggers did as well. Thanks Eva for indulging us with this great brownie!

Mackinac Island

2009-05-26T17:36:00.001-07:00

Tulips in front of the Grand Hotel

What a view!

biking around the Island

We drove to Mackinac Island this weekend for Memorial Day. This was our first time in Michigan. The drive was a little over 450 miles. We parked in Mackinaw City and took the ferry to the island. We decided to take our bikes along and I am so glad we did. We biked all over the Island. It is a car free Island with only bikes and horses for transportation. We enjoyed allot of exploring, biking, swimming, running and great food. The fudge was so good and we ate more then our share while there. We had really good weather with the high being around 70. What a beautiful place to visit.

Shrimp Scampi Tyler Style

2009-05-22T13:00:00.000-07:00

My husband has been asking for Shrimp Scampi for the last week. I found a recipe for Shrimp Scampi from Tyler Florence. It looked easy and I had all the ingredients on hand. This took minutes to make and tasted great for a quick dinner. I used whole wheat pasta noodles from Trader Joe's. I also grated a little Parmesan on top and served with a green salad.

Shrimp Scampi with Linguine
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Prep Time:
20 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
10 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 pound linguine
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
1 large shallot, finely diced
5 cloves garlic, sliced
Pinch red pepper flakes, optional
20 large shrimp, about 1 pound, peeled and deveined, tail on
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 lemon, juiced
1/4 cup finely chopped parsley leaves
Directions
For the pasta, put a large pot of water on the stove to boil. When it has come to the boil, add a couple of tablespoons of salt and the linguine. Stir to make sure the pasta separates; cover. When the water returns to a boil, cook for about 6 to 8 minutes or until the pasta is not quite done. Drain the pasta reserving 1 cup of water.
Meanwhile, in a large skillet, melt 2 tablespoons butter in 2 tablespoons olive oil over medium-high heat. Saute the shallots, garlic, and red pepper flakes (if using) until the shallots are translucent, about 3 to 4 minutes. Season the shrimp with salt and pepper; add them to the pan and cook until they have turned pink, about 2 to 3 minutes. Remove the shrimp from the pan; set aside and keep warm. Add wine and lemon juice and bring to a boil. Add 2 tablespoons butter and 2 tablespoons oil. When the butter has melted, return the shrimp to the pan along with the parsley and cooked pasta and reserved pasta water. Stir well and season with salt and pepper. Drizzle over a bit more olive oil and serve immediately. Enjoy! Check TFF to see what everyone else made!

Mango Bread

2009-05-19T12:10:00.001-07:00

I have never heard of Mango bread before this week. I wasn't sure what to expect. Would it taste good? Was is a moist, tropical bread or more of a coffee cake? It had lots of cinnamon, ginger and lime zest in addition to the mangoes. I think it would have tasted better with out the cinnamon. I had a hard time getting the center of the bread completely cooked. It took over the 1 1/4 hours mentioned in the recipe. I also found it needed a lime glaze for a little extra flavour. I shared it with my Bible Study. I don't think I will try this recipe again. It wasn't great and a little on the dry side. I think I should have measured my mangoes a little better instead of guessing how many cups I added. I don't think I had quite enough. Thanks to Kelly of Baking with the Boys for choosing this recipe. Don't forget to visit the TWD Blogroll to see what everyone else did!

Popovers and going back in time

2009-05-18T12:23:00.000-07:00

My Mom would make popovers for us growing up. I have tried in the past to make them and they never would get very big. I was at Target the other day and found a popover pan on clearance for $3.00. I snatched it up and have made two batches of these yummy delights. I love them right out of the oven while they are piping hot. They start to deflate when cooling. I found this recipe and love the results. I used the special pan and only got 5 out of my batch.

Cold Oven Popovers

3 eggs
1 cup milk
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
DIRECTIONS
Grease 12 muffin cups or line with paper muffin liners. Chill muffin cups in refrigerator while mixing batter.
Break eggs into bowl and beat well. Add milk, flour and salt. Beat with a wire whisk or spoon, disregarding lumps. Pour batter into prepared muffin cups, filling each cup three quarters full.
Place popovers in cold oven. Set oven to 450 degrees F (230 degrees C). Turn oven on and bake for 30 minutes, until golden and puffed. Serve immediately. If you must hold them, pierce, and keep warm in a 170 degree F (75 degrees C) oven.

Fossil Hunting...

2009-05-18T12:09:00.001-07:00

Fossil hunting!

Jonathan and his buddy!

The boys on the nature hike.

Jonathan and his sweet teacher

Mrs. Carf!

My group of students hunting through

the pond muck to find tadpoles, eggs

and dragon flies.

I am so glad that I am able to go with my kids on there field Trips. Today Jonathan's class went to the Fossil Beds. We had the Ranger take the kids on a nature hike, searching through swamp muck to find tadpoles and dig for fossils. The fossil hunting was Jonathan's favorite part. He came home with a small bag full of treasures. We had great weather and lots of fun. I am ready for some caffeine after the busy day.... Anna's class is going to the dairy at the end of the month. I can't wait to go with her class full of darling First-graders.

I don't know if I can ever go back to regular canned tuna again!

2009-05-14T13:37:00.000-07:00

This week for Barefoot Bloggers, Kate of Warm Olives and Cool Cocktails chose Tuna Salad. This was amazing! I found tuna at Trader Joe's ( I know that I buy everything at Trader Joe's but it is my favorite store : ). The combination of Asian Soy dressing and lime was a hit! I served this with a salad of cucumbers and carrots. We loved it! I found Wasabi powder in the grocery store. I also added a little ginger since we love the flavour of ginger with Wasabi. I forgot to take a picture before we ate it and there was no leftovers with this meal. I wasn't sure how my family would like the tuna seared and then added to the dressing. This was a mouth tingling meal that we will be enjoying again in the near future!

Our day in Colombus

2009-05-02T14:26:00.000-07:00

I am so proud!

The kids are looking a little grumpy

by this time!

My husband is really against

wearing a shirt while running.

HAHA!

We drove up early to Colombus on Saturday for Marks first half marathon. He did amazing and the kids and I were so proud of him. He really lucked out with perfect running weather and the last mile being all down hill! I found out there is a big difference in our preparation for races. I follow all the rules about drinking plenty of water, making sure to get all the long runs in and lots of sleep before the race. Mark on the other had is so casual about his training and schedule. He was not a bit nervous this morning for his first race. Being the good wife I am, I decided to get nervous for him! Did he drink enough water, eat enough carbs last night and was he truly prepared for this race??? He did amazingly well. We found a good spot to wait for the guys. When Jonathan saw Mark he jumped in and ran the last half mile with them! His buddy Dan is a pro at races and they ran together. He enjoyed it and wasn't even tired afterwards. The official time hasn't come in yet but he thinks it was around 1:56. This was my first race as a spectator. I really missed being out there with all of the runners. We did manage to hit Easton on the way home and find a HUGE Trader Joe's. All my favorite things in one day : ) I even got to have Starbucks while waiting for Mark. When we arrived home I spent the rest of the afternoon looking up races online and finding many to choose from in our area!

Does it count if I forgot to take the picture?

2009-05-01T06:28:00.000-07:00

I realized on Tuesday night that I needed to make dessert for my Wednesday night Small Group. So I turned to my favorite cooking man, Tyler Florence. I chose to make his incredible Vanilla Bean frosting for my cake. I went on a search for Vanilla Beans since that is an important part of the recipe. My Grocery store was out and so I settled on a good Vanilla extract. I did restock my pantry with Vanilla Bean paste from Williams-Sonoma yesterday. I made the boxed Vanilla Bean cake from Trader Joe's and added fresh strawberries and ice-cream. This was a simple dessert but turned out fine. I realized afterwards that I had forgotten to take a picture of my cake. I hope it still counts for my TFF group : )
Vanilla Bean Butter cream Frosting
(Adapted from this recipe)
1/2 cup (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1 vanilla bean, scraped
1 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. salt
1/3 cup milk
4 cups confectioner's sugar (1 pound box), plus more if necessary
Cream the butter in a medium-size bowl until very smooth. Stir in the vanilla-bean seeds until they're evenly distributed. Add the salt, milk and vanilla extract, and stir until combined. Sift the sugar over the butter mixture and stir the mixture until it's perfectly smooth. If the frosting is too loose, add a few more tablespoons of confectioner's sugar, and stir until smooth. Cover with plastic wrap until you're ready to use; mix well just before using.

Nashville is over, so what next?

2009-04-30T07:13:00.000-07:00

Waiting for me to arrive.
The kids are still waiting....
Is Mom ever going to get here?

Then my family left when I did come by since they thought they had missed me.

I have been busy this last week. Our family took a trip to Nashville for the Nashville Marathon on Saturday. My friends Jeni and Jill did so well! Nashville is such a beautiful city. The weather was extremely warm for this time of year. It ended up being 88 by the end of the race. The hills were rolling for the entire 26.2 miles! I had some stomach problems after the race and so we have zero pictures of me with my medal. I am very disappointed about that! This was my hardest and slowest marathon yet. I am hoping that my next one will go better.

This race has been my excuse for making desserts and eating them every week (especially my TWD baking group). That is over and I am on a two week running break. I have been trying to find other ways to stay active at the gym. I have tried yoga, weight training class, elliptical machines (we have 3 different kinds at the gym) free weights, biking and walking. Nothing has given me the "Runners High" but I am enjoying my recovery time.

Croque Monsieur for dinner

2009-04-29T12:53:00.000-07:00

This week I made Croque Monsieur for my Barefoot Bloggers group. This recipe was from Ina's Barefoot in Paris cookbook (one of my favorites)! A Croque Monsieur is a fancy ham and cheese sandwich with a rich cheese sauce poured over the top and then broiled for perfection. This brought back so many memories of our trip to Paris a couple years ago.
I found a great crusty french bread to use. I sliced it on the thicker side too. I had read from other peoples blogs that the bread makes or breaks this sandwich. I toasted the bread, added the cheese and ham and then poured over the sauce. It broiled for about 5 minutes and then dinner was served.
I chose the perfect day to make this, since it rained for most of the day. I served this along with a roasted red pepper soup from Trader Joe's. What a great dinner for a busy night. Thanks to Kathy of All Food Considered for this months pick.

Tyler Florence makes amazing potatoes

2009-04-23T12:53:00.000-07:00

I was looking for an easy potato recipe to complete our Easter Dinner. I came across this easy recipe for scalloped potatoes. It should be labeled potatoes in cream! We really enjoyed the flavours and there weren't any leftovers. That is always a good sign that it was enjoyed.

Scalloped Potato Gratin
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
50 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 to 6 servings
Ingredients
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 sprig fresh thyme
2 garlic cloves, chopped
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
Butter
2 pounds russet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch thick slices
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 cup grated Parmesan, plus more for broiling
Directions
Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F.
In a saucepan, heat up the cream with a sprig of thyme, chopped garlic and nutmeg.
While cream is heating up, butter a casserole dish. Place a layer of potato in an overlapping pattern and season with salt and pepper. Remove cream from heat, then pour a little over the potatoes. Top with some grated Parmesan. Make 2 more layers. Bake, uncovered, for 45 minutes. Sprinkle some more Parmesan and broil until cheese browns, about 5 minutes.

Nashville here I come....

2009-04-16T13:39:00.000-07:00

I am running the Nashville Marathon next weekend with a couple of friends Jill and Jeni. I have been training since January for this race. It has had its ups (completion of my 20 mile run) and then some downs (finding out my marathon is rolling hills then entire way). Through all of this I found that if I stay positive and focus on my goal I can overcome. While looking for some good articles on motivation on race day I came across this video of a Father and Son Iron Man team. What an amazing relationship these two have together. I am hoping that next weekend I will be able to do just what this verse says! "I have fought the good fight. I have finished the race. I have kept the faith."
2 Timothy 4:7

Chinese Chicken Salad for dinner

2009-04-14T15:18:00.000-07:00

McKenzie of Kenzie's Kitchen chose Ina's Chinese Chicken Salad for Barefoot Bloggers. I know that I am a few days late in making this recipe but its better late then never. We had this for dinner tonight. I LOVED it as well as my husband and daughter. My husband did eat the entire bowl of Chinese Chicken Salad.

I made a few changes to the original, Ina recipe. I chose a spring green salad mix along with shredded carrots, toasted almonds, and sliced radishes to complete the meal. The roasted chicken was really good mixed with the peanut, garlic and soy sauce dressing. I had to eliminate the toasted sesames seeds since I was out of them. I have lots of dressing left over and can't wait to find ways to use it :- ) I see vegetable stirfry and Asian noodles in the near future.

Here is the recipe Chinese Chicken Salad Recipe from Ina Garten,

Barefoot Contessa Parties! and Food Network

4 split chicken breasts (bone-in, skin-on) (I used boneless, skinless chicken breasts)

Good olive oil

Kosher salt

Freshly ground black pepper

1/2 pound asparagus, ends removed, and cut in thirds diagonally ( I didn't add any)

1 red bell pepper, cored and seeded

2 scallions (white and green parts), sliced diagonally

1 tablespoon white sesame seeds, toasted

For the dressing:

1/2 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup good apple cider vinegar

3 tablespoons soy sauce

1 1/2 tablespoons dark sesame oil

1/2 tablespoon honey

1 clove garlic, minced

1/2 teaspoon peeled, grated fresh ginger

1/2 tablespoon sesame seeds, toasted

1/4 cup smooth peanut butter

2 teaspoons kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Place the chicken breasts on a sheet pan and rub with the skin with olive oil. Sprinkle liberally with salt and pepper. Roast for 35 to 40 minutes, until the chicken is just cooked. Set aside until cool enough to handle. Remove the meat from the bones, discard the skin, and shred the chicken in large bite-sized pieces.
Blanch the asparagus in a pot of boiling salted water for 3 to 5 minutes until crisp-tender. Plunge into ice water to stop the cooking. Drain. Cut the peppers in strips about the size of the asparagus pieces. Combine the cut chicken, asparagus, and peppers in a large bowl.
Whisk together all of the ingredients for the dressing and pour over the chicken and vegetables. Add the scallions and sesame seeds and season to taste. Serve cold or at room temperature.

The best pizza ever!

2009-04-13T12:56:00.000-07:00

While my sister was visiting she taught me how to make the most delectable pizza. I was a little skeptical when she told me I needed to pre-heat my pizza stone at 500 for an hour. But she was right and the pizza turned out just like in Italy. It has a crisp, crunchy crust and wonderful toppings. We started with the pizza dough from Trader Joe's. We made two varieties: bacon, tomato and cheese and a pepperoni/salami. The BLT was awesome and my favorite. We served it just like at California Pizza Kitchen with the salad on the top. We also made a homemade garlic Ailoi for dipping. I need her to come back and show me how to make more wonderful meals like these ones. Thanks Steff for teaching me how to make the best pizza ever!

Banana Cream Trifle....

2009-04-07T07:08:00.000-07:00

Amy of Sing for Your Supper chose this week's recipe: Banana Cream Pie. I have been under the weather for the last week, so my lovely sister (who is visiting from Oregon) helped me prepare this recipe for our family.

I had previously read that some people found the custard too thick, and I agree. To remedy this, we folded in extra whipped cream after the custard had cooled completely. (Yum!) We also decided to mix things up a bit by changing it from a pie to a trifle--alternating layers of fluffy custard with chunks of Trader Joe's Vanilla Bean cake, sliced bananas, and more whipped cream. A certain family member (I am not mentioning names) even added some Brandy to give it an extra kick!

Thanks, Amy, for the wonderful choice! I would like to try this again with a graham cracker crust. Now what do I do with the 6 egg whites in the fridge...

Brownie Pudding

2009-03-25T09:23:00.000-07:00

I have been putting off trying this recipe. It didn't look great to me. I thought the texture would be too soft almost like a creme brulee. I was totally mistaken! I made this on Friday evening. Fridays are my long run days and I usually eat what I want afterwards. I halved this recipe since I didn't want 8 servings. I could not believe how delicious this was. I baked it in the water bath and let it cool to room temp. I sampled it a couple hours later. I could not stop eating it. I even ate a serving for breakfast the next day. It was that GOOD! I know that others enjoyed this amazing dessert too. It was crunchy on top and then soft and gooey inside. Tia of Southern, Eh? chose Brownie Pudding. You can find Ina’s recipe here or in Barefoot Contessa’s latest book, Back to Basics. Thanks Tia for the amazing recipe choice. This is one of my new favorites recipes. Next time I will make this for a dinner party so there won't be any leftovers.

Blueberry Crumb Cake

2009-03-24T04:47:00.000-07:00

{Sorry I am without a camera this week so my posts won't have any pictures.}
This week Sihan of Befuddlement chose Blueberry Crumb Cake for Tuesdays With Dorie. This looked so amazing to me! I had to make this the night before since it takes 50-55 minutes to bake. I made the recipe with my daughter. She is quite the helper in the kitchen. She was in charge of the crumb topping and getting it evenly distributed over the cake. I have always loved this type of dessert. The crumb topping was an added bonus! I made it to share with my Women's Bibles Study. I found fresh berries at the store and followed the directions exactly. I am hoping it will taste as good as it looks. It baked up perfectly and is cooling on the counter.

P.S. My Son woke up sick with Strep Throat this morning. I dropped off my Crumb cake at the Women's group and never tasted it. I will have to make this again on a weekend and enjoy fresh from the oven.

Picadillo in PIta Bread

2009-03-20T16:17:00.000-07:00

I came across this recipe while cleaning out my recipe file today. It brought back memories of when my Mom would make this growing up. She always served this with pita bread, sour cream and avocado slices. I don't know anything about where the recipe came from but this is what I found out about picadillo. Picadillo is a dish mainly consisting of ground beef typically found in Puerto Rico, Costa Rica, Cuba [1], Mexico, and other Latin American countries. I did have to cook my mixture for closer to 30 minutes to get all of the liquid out. Mark and I both really enjoyed this unique dinner. Our daughter liked it too. The spice combination made it very good.

1 pd ground beef

1 garlic clove crushed

1 onion chopped

1 apple peeled, cored and sliced

1/4 beef broth

1 T balsamic vinegar

1 can tomato sauce ( I used a large can)

1 ts salt

1 ts cumin

1/2 ts cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins

1/3 cup sliced almonds

3 pita pockets

sour cream and avocado on side

Cook beef, garlic and onion. Brown and then drain fat. Stir in apple, vinegar, beef broth, tomato sauce and spices. Cook 15-30 minutes to reduce and eliminate liquid. Stir in raisins and almonds. Fill each pita 1/2 full and add garnish.

TFF Chicken Pot Pie

2009-03-19T11:35:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting to try this recipe for Chicken Pot Pie for awhile. It is a great comfort recipeand when you have a sick family it seems to "help" everyone start to feel better. Kind of like a good Chicken Soup does. We made a few changes to Tyler's basic recipe. I didn't have any Parmesan so I added a combo of Jack and Cheddar to the top of the pie. I made a mini pie and then also a larger pie for the family. We really enjoyed this. We loved the chunks of chicken and vegetables all baked together. Our family is better now and looking forward to trying another one of Tyler's recipes next week. You can check out everyone else's recipes at http://tylerflorencefridays.blogspot.com/

Chicken Pot Pie Recipe courtesy of Tyler Florence

Prep Time:
15 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
1 hr 20 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
4 servings
Ingredients
Chicken Broth:
1 whole chicken, 3 pounds
1 gallon cool water
2 carrots, cut in 2-inch pieces
2 celery stalks, cut in 2-inch pieces
1 onion, halved
1 head garlic, halved horizontally
2 turnips, halved
4 fresh thyme sprigs
2 fresh rosemary sprigs
1 bay leaf
Pot Pie:
1/4 pound (1 stick) unsalted butter
1/2 cup all-purpose flour
Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
3 carrots, cut in 1/2-inch circles
1 bag frozen or fresh pearl onions, see note
1 box frozen or fresh peas, see note
Leaves from 4 fresh parsley sprigs
2 frozen puff pastry sheets, thawed
1 egg mixed with 3 tablespoons water
1/4 cup shredded Parmigiano-Reggiano
Directions: Put the chicken in a large stockpot and cover with 1 gallon of cool water. Add the vegetables and herbs and bring the pot up to a boil over medium-high heat. Skim well; then simmer, uncovered, for 45 minutes, skimming frequently as the oil rises to the surface. What we're doing here is not only cooking the chicken but also creating the base sauce for the pot pie. Remove the chicken to a platter to cool. Continue to cook down the chicken broth for another 15 minutes to condense the flavor; you should have about 8 cups when you're finished. Using a colander, strain the chicken broth into another pot and discard the solids. When the chicken is cool enough to handle, shred the meat and discard the skin and bones. Wipe out the stockpot and put it back on the stovetop over medium heat. Melt the butter and then whisk in the flour to form a paste. This is a roux, which will act as a thickener. Now, gradually pour in 8 cups of the chicken broth, whisking the entire time to prevent lumps. Whisk and simmer for 10 minutes to cook out the starchy taste of the flour and thicken the broth; it should look like cream of chicken soup. Season with salt and pepper. Fold in the shredded chicken, carrots, pearl onions, peas, and parsley. Stir to combine and turn off the heat. Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Lay the thawed puff pastry sheets on a lightly floured, cool surface. Invert individual crocks on the pastry sheet and, using a sharp knife, cut circles around the outside of the bowls, slightly larger than the bowl itself. Fill the crocks 3/4 of the way with the chicken mixture, making sure each serving has a nice amount of chicken, vegetables, and broth. Carefully cap each crock with a pastry circle, pressing the dough around the rim to form a seal. Lightly beat the egg with 3 tablespoons of water to make an egg wash and brush some on the pastry. Sprinkle the pastry with the Parmigiano. Set the crocks on a cookie sheet and transfer to the oven. Bake for 20 minutes, until puffed and golden. Notes: If using fresh pearl onions, blanch for 2 minutes in salted boiling water; then pinch the skins off -- if using frozen, run under cool water for 2 minutes to thaw. If using fresh peas, blanch for 2 minutes in salted boiling water--if using frozen, run under cool water for 2 minutes to thaw.

French Yogurt Cake for TWD

2009-03-17T12:35:00.000-07:00

Liliana of My Cookbook Addiction chose this weeks recipe for the French Yogurt Cake with Marmalade Glaze. This is a great recipe and requires one bowl! I had trouble finding Lemon Marmalade so I made my own version of it with lemons and tangerines. I poured it over the warm cake and let it all soak in. WOW! I couldn't believe how tasty this was and how simple as well. My Baking cookbook is starting to "show" that I have been using it. I have never made so many recipes out of one cookbook before. It is really fun to try recipes that I would normally pass over. It is even better when we enjoy them. Thanks Liliana for the simple cake! I would like to try this again warm out of the oven.

Spring is here?

2009-03-15T16:55:00.000-07:00

Today was one of the nicest days we have had this year. It was sunny and warm! It hit almost 60 today. Mark and I took the kids and dog on a hike today. I love Spring and am so excited that it is just around the corner. I am getting really close to my marathon in Nashville and need to get more outdoor running in. I love being able to run at the gym when it is freezing outside but nothing beats running outside. My sister is coming in 2 weeks and I can't wait to hit the trails with her. She shares allot of the same passions that I do. We always have a blast running and cooking together! I tried a new recipe tonight from Cuisine at Home. It was so good that I wanted to share the recipe. I served this with fried egg and rice noodles.

Basic Egg Rolls
Makes: 10 Egg Rolls
Total Time: 40 Minutes
Rating: Intermediate
Combine; Set Aside:
1 cup pork loin, julienned
1 T. dry sherry
1 t. dark sesame oil
1 t. sugar
1/4 t. kosher salt
Stir-Fry in 1 T. Peanut Oil; Remove:
1 1/2 cups cole slaw mix
2 scallions, white and green parts, thin bias slices
Stir-Fry in 1 T. Peanut Oil:
2 t. fresh ginger, minced
1 t. garlic, minced
Reserved pork mixture
Mix Together:
2 T. low-sodium soy sauce
1 T. water
2 t. cornstarch
Add; Heat Through and Chill:
Stir-fried vegetables
Fill and Roll:
10 spring roll wrappers
Seal with:
1 egg, beaten
toast in peanut oil
Related Recipes:
Combine pork loin, sherry, sesame oil, sugar, and salt in a bowl; set aside.Stir-fry cabbage and scallions in 1 tablespoon oil in pan until they wilt, 2–3 minutes. Remove from the pan and set aside. Stir-fry ginger and garlic in last tablespoon of oil for 5 seconds. Add pork mixture; stir until opaque, 2 minutes. Mix soy sauce, water, and cornstarch together in a small bowl. Add cooked vegetables, and then soy sauce mixture to pork stir-fry. Heat through. Spread the filling out evenly on a baking sheet so vegetables stop cooking quickly and remain crisp. Let it chill in the refrigerator for 5–10 minutes. The filling must be cool before rolling or the wrappers will turn soggy.Fill each spring roll with 1/3 cup filling onto the wrapper. Form the filling into a cylinder about 1 x 3". Roll the bottom edge over the filling; use your hands to tightly tuck the corner over the filling. Seal the outer edges of the wrapper by brushing with beaten egg using a pastry brush. Fold corners of the wrapper towards the center, keeping sides at right angles to the bottom. Brush the top edge with egg, then continue to roll toward the top—keep it very tight. Heat oil on medium high to 375°. Drop a scallion in the oil. If it dances furiously without burning, the oil is ready. Using tongs, carefully put 3 egg rolls into the oil. Fry until golden brown, about 2 minutes. Don’t get them too dark—they continue to cook even out of oil. Flip egg rolls over, and fry other side until golden. Drain on paper towels. Serve immediately with dipping sauces.
Continue to roll toward the top—keep it very tight. The egg roll should look like a neat cylinder enclosed in a tight wrapper.
http://www.cuisineathome.com/
I also made the chili oil for dipping. It was quite hot!

Chicken Picatta

2009-03-12T08:52:00.001-07:00

I was not going to pass up trying this weeks recipe for Barefoot Bloggers' blog.. Lindsey of Noodle Nights and Muffin Mornings chose Chicken Piccata. It was a lightly breaded chicken breast served with a very lemony sauce. We loved it except for the amount of lemon. It was a little too much for our family. I wasn't sure how thin to pound the chicken. I used plastic wrap since I didn't have any parchment paper on hand. I served this with a nice green salad and couscous with tomatoes, garbanzo beans, roasted garlic and more parsley. I wanted to add some capers but my husband does not like them. Nest time I will only use 1 lemon and add a little extra wine. I love Ina's recipes and always enjoy trying something new. Thanks Lindsey for choosing this recipe.

Disney World Family Fun

2009-03-08T16:52:00.000-07:00

My favorite view of the castle

Main Street

The Magic Kingdom

lovely weather for jumping waves

In Melbourne, Florida

We just spent the last week in Florida at Disney World. They have amazing specials for military families right now. We also got a chance to spend time at Sea World. What a great week it was for all of us. It even was warm enough to play in the water on Friday. By the end of the week the kids were asking for the roller coasters esp. Space Mountain.

Now we are back to the real world of laundry, homework and I even did my long run today. It is always sad when vacation is over but we get to go to Nashville next month for the marathon : -)

TWD: Caramel Crunch Bars

2009-02-24T15:49:00.000-08:00

What's Left on the Table chose this weeks

recipe for Caramel Crunch Bars. Whitney let her kids choose this weeks recipe. These looked fantastic. It has all of my favorites things in it. Who doesn't like chocolate, toffee and shortbread? I love toffee bits but couldn't find them at these store so I substituted Heath bits. I have been busy this week but I HAD to make these. I was very disappointed in these bars. I am not sure what I did wrong. The dough looked good but after it baked it was very greasy. I did not like the addition of cinnamon in this recipe. I added the heath bits after they cooled and overdid it on these too. I baked for 27 minutes and they were still soft. It was an off baking day for me. I must have over mixed my dough.... It seems everyone else had better luck with these cookie bars. Maybe adding ice cream would have helped. Thanks Whitney~

Triple Ginger Cookies

2009-02-20T12:35:00.000-08:00

The last time I ate ginger cookies was at my moms house, a couple summers ago. I remember how much I loved the ginger bite that they had. I was at Trader Joe's and they were selling chocolate covered ginger. It reminded me of the wonrderful cookie. I found this recipe and love how they turned out. These are quite spicy but our kids both liked them. I think they are best right out of the oven and still warm and gooey.

Triple Ginger Cookies with Chocolate chips
3/4 cup butter
1 cup packed brown sugar
1 egg
1/4 cup molasses
2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
2 teaspoons ground ginger
2 teaspoons baking soda
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger root
1/2 cup chopped crystallized ginger
6 oz chocolate chips

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, cream together the butter and brown sugar until smooth. Beat in the egg and molasses. Combine the flour, ground ginger, baking soda, and salt; stir into the molasses mixture using a wooden spoon. Mix in the fresh and crystallized gingers. Cover, and refrigerate dough for at least 2 hours, or overnight.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 degrees C). Shape dough into 1 inch balls, and place about 2 inches apart onto ungreased cookie sheet.
Bake for 10 minutes in the preheated oven, or until lightly browned. Cool on wire racks.

Italian Wedding Soup

2009-02-18T06:06:00.000-08:00

I was watching Ina Garten make this soup on her show last week. It looked so amazing and healthy. I had to try it for dinner last night. We loved it. I didn't make 40 tiny meatballs but made 25 larger ones. This was a wonderful winter nights dinner. I will be making this again. I did add the spinach to each bowl and then ladle the hot soup on top instead of wilting the spinach into the soup.
Italian Wedding Soup
2008, Barefoot Contessa Back to Basics, All Rights Reserved
Prep Time:
30 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
45 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
8 servings
Ingredients
For the meatballs:
3/4 pound ground chicken
1/2 pound chicken sausage, casings removed
2/3 cup fresh white bread crumbs
2 teaspoons minced garlic (2 cloves)
3 tablespoons chopped fresh parsley leaves
1/4 cup freshly grated Pecorino Romano
1/4 cup freshly grated Parmesan, plus extra for serving
3 tablespoons milk
1 extra-large egg, lightly beaten
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
For the soup:
2 tablespoons good olive oil
1 cup minced yellow onion
1 cup diced carrots (3 carrots), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
3/4 cup diced celery (2 stalks), cut into 1/4 inch pieces
10 cups homemade chicken stock
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 cup small pasta such as tubetini or stars
1/4 cup minced fresh dill
12 ounces baby spinach, washed and trimmed
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
For the meatballs, place the ground chicken, sausage, bread crumbs, garlic, parsley, Pecorino, Parmesan, milk, egg, 1 teaspoon salt, and 1/2 teaspoon pepper in a bowl and combine gently with a fork. With a teaspoon, drop 1 to 1 1/4-inch meatballs onto a sheet pan lined with parchment paper. (You should have about 40 meatballs. They don't have to be perfectly round.) Bake for 30 minutes, until cooked through and lightly browned. Set aside.
In the meantime, for the soup, heat the olive oil over medium-low heat in a large heavy-bottomed soup pot. Add the onion, carrots, and celery and saute until softened, 5 to 6 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the chicken stock and wine and bring to a boil. Add the pasta to the simmering broth and cook for 6 to 8 minutes, until the pasta is tender. Add the fresh dill and then the meatballs to the soup and simmer for 1 minute. Taste for salt and pepper. Stir in the fresh spinach and cook for 1 minute, until the spinach is just wilted. Ladle into soup bowls and sprinkle each serving with extra grated Parmesan.

Devils Food White Out Cake

2009-02-17T12:07:00.000-08:00

The perfect chocolate round!

My frosting was perfect at this time.

Stephanie of Confessions of a City Eater chose Devils Food White Out Cake for today's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. This is such a gorgeous cake and I had high hopes for how this would turn out. I used a combination of ghirardelli dark 80% and milk chocolate from the store. I loved the cake batter and how perfectly chocolate it was! I also thought the frosting turned out great right after I made it but then something happened while trying to frost the cake. My layers were small and the frosting became droopy after several hours. It was still eaten but not the "WOW" cake that I had imagined. It tasted allot like a ding dong with the filling and devils food cake. I think that I prefer butter cream over this seven minute frosting and I should have done something more to dress it up. Thanks Stephanie for choosing this recipe. It was a unique cake.

Real Meatballs compared to Fake...

2009-02-14T05:25:00.000-08:00

This week for Barefoot Bloggers Rebecca of Ezra Pound Cake selected this dinner recipe, Ina's Real Meatballs and Spaghetti. These were so filling and hearty! I had a special Valentines dinner made by my husband and daughter. It was so sweet of them to cook for us since it has never happened before! They substituted whole grain penne with flax seed pasta, whole grain bread crumbs and used a lower fat hamburger. He has never made pasta sauce but it still had a good flavour. The meatballs were my favorite part of the dinner. I loved them as a kid and have made lots of varites over the years. These reminded me of my mothers type of meatballs. The kids and I all enjoyed this dinner! The meatballs were a little crunchy due to overcooking but it was the thought that counts and the recipe is definitely a good one that we will be making again.

TFF Mexican Pork Chili

2009-02-13T15:49:00.000-08:00

I decided to try this Mexican Pork Chili for my Tyler Florence Fridays group. It was so good and filling. I had a few problems along the way with finding Tomatillas. They were not at our grocery store. Maybe they are out of season? The pork chili turned out great without roasting my own. I found a Tomatila Chili Verde at Traders Joes and substituted that in its place! I loved how the roast pork shredded apart and melded into the soup. This was awesome with sour cream, crisp fried corn tortillas and shredded cheese. I left off the cilantro this time around. My husband was on a work trip and I had this ready when he got home last night. It was quite an enjoyable dinner together.

Mexican Pork Chili
Recipe courtesy Tyler Florence
Prep Time:
20 min
Inactive Prep Time:
hr min
Cook Time:
2 hr 30 min
Level:
Easy
Serves:
6 to 8 servings
Ingredients
3 pounds boneless pork shoulder
Kosher salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon toasted fennel seeds, ground
3 tablespoons ground cumin
Extra-virgin olive oil
15 whole tomatillos, husked
3 poblanos
2 white onions, quartered
4 garlic cloves, peeled
1 bay leaf
2 limes, halved
1 big bunch fresh cilantro
1 quart low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup masa harina, to tighten it up
Chili bar toppings:
Crispy fried tortilla strips, fresh corn tortillas cut into strips and deep fried in vegetable oil
Mexican crema, store-bought with lime zest
Shaved radishes, radishes shaved vertically on a mandoline
Crumbled queso fresco
2 limes, each cut into 8 wedges
Directions
Preheat oven to 325 degrees F.
Season the pork shoulder with salt, pepper, fennel and cumin. Take a large roasting dish and place over medium-high heat. Add a 3-count of olive oil and sear pork shoulder all over until golden brown on the outside, 3 to 4 minutes per side. Add vegetables, spreading out tomatillos, poblanos, onion, garlic and bay leaf around the seared pork shoulder. Drizzle with olive oil, squeeze lime juice all over and season with salt and pepper. Cover the whole tray with aluminum foil and roast in the oven for 2 to 2 1/2 hours until the pork is falling apart. Remove from oven, set the pork aside and pull apart. Rake all the other ingredients into a blender (a bit at a time) with the bunch of fresh cilantro and process until smooth. Pour into a large Dutch oven. Set over medium heat and add chicken stock. Bring to a simmer and whisk in masa harina to thicken the sauce up. Fold in shredded pork shoulder and season with salt and pepper to finish. Serve with toppings.