Getting Older

She is a Ham.

She dresses herself every day.  She is wearing 2 shirts, 2 pairs of pants, and 2 pairs of socks.

He is making leaps and bounds with arm control and can grab so many things now. 

Why are they getting big so fast?

Lynn and I went for lovely massages tonight so I'm feeling all nice and relaxed and don't want to sit at the computer.  We had a quiet day here at home listening to On the Banks of Plum Creek and playing Legos.  The girls love Legos!  Tomorrow looks like it shaping up the same:)

Little Photographer

Pnut has recently been wanting to take pictures.  She enjoys it just as much as hamming it up in front of the camera:)  Here are her recent photos:

I love the one of Pilly.  She smiled nicer for Pnut than she does for us...that is because she is a Pill:)

W is for Wig

This afternoon I tried to work.  But this little boy was laying on his bug mat and he wasn't happy.  He cried and fussed so I turned off my programs and got down there beside him.  What did he do then you ask?  He beamed at me like the naughty, spoiled little boy he is.  Apparently, he just needed some attention.

Sissy likes to give him some, and sometimes it is enough, but not this day!

And his other sissy runs around and makes her mommy nervous that she is going to trip over baby.

And then later on, this happened:

Don't ask me, I wasn't involved.  This was his daddy's doing.

York Peppermint Patty Cupcakes

These cupcakes are delicious...but they are a lot of work.  I was really impressed with how moist the cupcake was.  Joel also commented on that.  You are to serve them cold so I have them in the fridge, but they are best if they are out for a little while before eating.  The girls love them too, and they think that they should get one for every meal.  The recipe says it makes 24.  After borrowing our neighbors' 12-cup muffin tin and getting 32 cupcakes with enough batter for at least 12, I had to just throw the rest away.  I didn't have time to deal with it.  I'm not sure what is up.  The topping also made enough for that, and if I had been less liberal with the glaze, it might also have stretched to cover 4 dozen cupcakes.  Crazy!  The picture is not the best...sorry!

This is from the January/February 2010 issue of Food Network Magazine.

Cupcakes
 3 sticks unsalted butter, cut into pieces
1 c cocoa powder
3.25 c packed dark brown sugar
3 call-purpose flour
1 t baking powder
1/2 t baking soda
3/4 t salt
1.25 c buttermilk
2 large eggs, room temp
2 vanilla

Preheat oven to 350 and make sure your top rack is centered so that cupcakes will fit on the bottom.  Line all of your cups with papers...it really does make it easier!  In a large microwavable bowl, put butter pieces, cocoa powder, and 3/4 c water and cover with plastic wrap.  Microwave until butter is completely melted.  I think it took about 4 minutes or so.  When melted, put brown sugar in and stir until brown sugar basically dissolves.  The butter will probably be hot enough that it won't take long.

Whisk flour, powder, soda, and salt in mixer bowl.  Add in cocoa mix and stir until well combined.  Make sure to scrape the sides and bottom well as it sort of forms a ball of cocoa sugar butter stuff that keeps the flour out remarkably well!  In separate bowl, combine buttermilk, eggs, and vanilla.  Add to the mixer and stir until combined but don't over-beat.

Divide batter among cups, filling about 3/4 of the way.  Bake 30-35, switching the pans on the top and bottom racks about halfway through.  Allow to cool completely before putting on the other things.  If you are impatient (like me), put in fridge to speed up the process!

Topping
1 lb box 10x sugar (about 4 cups)
1/2 c light corn syrup
1/4 c shortening or cocoa butter, softened
2 t peppermint extract

In mixer bowl, beat all of the ingredients until a paste-like mixture forms.  Mine was all crumbles and not coming together so I did add a little more corn syrup.  Place between 2 pieces of parchment paper or wax paper and roll out until about 1/4 in thick.  Use the mouth of a cup to cut out circles to top each cupcake.  Reroll scraps until you get enough for each cupcake.  Place on cupcakes.

Glaze
8 oz bittersweet chocolate, finely chopped
1/4 c light corn syrup
1.5 T unsalted butter

Put the ingredients with 1/4 c water in microwave-safe bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Cook on 50% power for about 2 minutes or until the chocolate melts.  Stir to combine completely and then allow to cool a little (if you have the time and patience...I didn't).  Swirl some on top of each cupcake.  Place cupcakes in fridge for about 20 minutes to set.

Enjoy!  Try not to eat more than one at a time.  It can be difficult:)

Just Some Pictures

Some Chobani love!

Some of us don't even bother with a spoon!

Soon enough, buddy, you too will be able to eat this delight!

I was ordered to take a picture of this.  She is a ham!

Chocolate Banana Bread

When I first saw this recipe, I just wasn't too sure about it.  I know some people like bananas dipped in chocolate, but I never have because they are usually frozen.  I decided to go ahead and try it anyways.  Heavens!  This stuff is good:)

3/4 c banana chips
17.1 oz package banana-nut muffin mix
3/4 c unsweetened cocoa powder
3/4 c chocolate milk
1/4 c vegetable oil
2 large eggs
3/4 c semisweet choc chips
3/4 c 10x sugar
2-3 T heavy cream
1/2-1 t banana extract

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray two 6-by-3 pans with cooking spray.  Combine cocoa powder and muffin mix in large bowl.  Put banana chips in a bag and roll with rolling pin to crush.  Add chocolate milk, oil, and eggs and combine until well mixed.  Stir banana chips and choc chips.  Divide batter between pans.  Bake for 50-55 minutes.  Cool for about 20 minutes.  Meanwhile, make the glaze by combining the 10x sugar, heavy cream, and banana extract.  Drizzle glaze over loaves and then let cool completely.

I didn't use the banana chips.  I couldn't find a small package of them, and I don't overly enjoy banana chips to just eat.  I also used a banana bread mix...no nuts.  My package was only 14 oz, and it worked just fine.  My tins were 3 x 5 instead of 6 x 3 and I used 3, the last loaf was just a little smaller.

I'm on a baking kick and have a delicious cupcake recipe to share!  Hopefully I post some pictures of the children this week too:)

Rosemary Bread

Every month Food Network Magazine does a Copy That page where they try to replicate a popular restaurant recipe.  This month happened to be Macaroni Grill's Rosemary Bread, which we happen to love.  Before kids, Joel and I used to go there and just eat bread and then get their Chocolate Ravioli, which they no longer serve.  It was good stuff.  Anyways, I was really impressed with this bread and thought it turned out tasting very similar to their bread.  Joel thought it was a little more dense but still delicious.  The girls probably would have each eaten a small loaf themselves if we had let them. 

1 packet active dry yeast
2 t sugar
2 T EVOO, plus more for brushing and serving
2.5 c flour
2 T dried rosemary
1 t fine salt
1/2 t kosher salt
freshly ground pepper

In mixer bowl, place yeast, sugar, and 1/4 c warm water.  My mom told me if the water feels neutral on your wrist, not hot or cold, that is a good temp for yeast.  Let it get active, about 5 minutes.  It will get foamy.  I bother mine a lot and have a hard time waiting 5 minutes for it.  Add 1 T EVOO, flour, 1.5 T rosemary, the fine salt, and 3/4 c warm water.  Stir with dough hook.  Let knead with hook for about 8-10 minutes.  If it seems to stick, add a little more flour.  Preheat your oven to 200 in the meantime.  Brush the inside of a bowl with a little EVOO and place dough ball inside.  Cover with plastic wrap, turn off oven, and place inside oven.  Let it rise for about 2 hours.  Remove from oven, which you will again set to 200 for another rising session.  Place dough on generously floured surface and divide into 4 equals parts.  For little square loaves by bringing ends toward middle and then flipping it over.  I just kind of shaped mine into a loaf with my hands and it kept its shape well.  Brush baking sheet with olive oil and then place a loaf in each corner.  Allow to rise for 2 hours in oven after you have turned the oven off.  Preheat oven to 400.  Bake for 10 minutes, brush with some more EVOO, sprinkle with kosher salt and rosemary.  Bake another 10 minutes.  Try to allow it to cool before you tear into it.  We dip ours in more EVOO with salt and pepper.  Good stuff!

Bacon and Cheese Stuffed Shells

This is probably the richest and one of the most delicious things I have ever made.  I cannot even begin to describe its yumminess to you:)  It is from the Taste of Home October/November 2010 edition, page 38. I cut the recipe in half because it made 12 servings.  I don't even want to know the calorie count on this.

24 jumbo pasta shells
1 c chopped fresh mushrooms
1 c finely chopped onion
1 T plus 1/4 c butter, divided
1.5 c ricotta cheese
8 oz cream cheese, softened, divided
1.5 c shredded Asiago cheese, divided
1 c shredded Parmesan cheese
1 c crumbled cooked bacon
2 T minced fresh parsley, divided
1/2 t garlic salt
1/2 t ground nutmeg
1/4 t pepper
2 T flour
2 c heavy whipping cream
1/2 c chicken broth
1/2 c milk
2 c shredded Romano cheese
1.5 c shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook pasta until al dente.  Meanwhile, in a skilled saute mushrooms and onion in 1 T butter until tender.  In mixer, combine ricotta and 4 oz cream cheese until well mixed.  Stir in 1/2 c Asiago cheese, Parm, bacon, 1 T parsley, garlic salt, nutmeg, and pepper.  Stuff shells with mix and place in greased 9 x 13 pan.  In a large saucepan, melt butter and add flour.  Stir until smooth and bubbly.  Add milk, broth, and heavy whipping cream.  Bring to a boil and boil for a minute to thicken.  Turn off heat and add remaining Asiago, Romano, and 4 oz cream cheese and parsley.  When melted, pour sauce over shells.  Sprinkle top with mozzarella.  Cover with aluminum foil and bake at 350 for 30 minutes.  Uncover and cook for 15 more minutes. 

*This recipe was very involved.  I started right after the girls went down for nap by shredding all my cheeses.  I combined the cheeses and spices in a bowl for the stuffing and also the cheeses for the sauce in another bowl so that I could just dump them in when it was time.  I also made sure to set out my cream cheese well ahead of time so that it was nice and soft.  I warmed my chicken broth (it had been in the refrigerator), milk, and cream in the microwave so that it wouldn't take as long for them to come to a boil because that can really take quite a while if they are cold.  I would suggest cubing the cream cheese that is added to the sauce because it can take a while to melt if it is a big chunk.  The 12 shells I did were relatively crowded in a 9 x 13 pan so if you are doing the full recipe, you may need 2 pans. 

Tomorrow I'll share the recipe for the awesome bread we had with it!

And then there was this...

At least our bouncy seat can hold quite a bit of weight.

What...

...is there that I can possibly say about this:

That is a lemon...not an orange.

Because...

I haven't posted one single picture of LB all week, I give you these:

Tonight when Joel was putting the girls to bed, he told them to have good dreams.  Pnut asked what good dreams would be about.  Joel said, "Going to the zoo or beach or something."  Pilly answers with:  "I like Walmart."

Embroidery

Pnut has done this before, but I let Pilly do it for the first time today.

They take their work pretty seriously:)  Instead of just letting them poke the needle all over the place this time, I drew hearts on their fabric for them to do.  Pilly required a little more guidance than Pnut.  After they did their hearts, they drew their own pictures on to start working on.

This is Pill's.  Her red animal is a cat and the gray one is a dog.  I'm not sure why he has 5 legs.

Pnut drew 2 tiny cats that should be lots of fun to do.  They plan to work on these a little bit each day!

Parmesan Chicken

Joel made this for supper tonight, and it was really good!  It was nice because he made it so I didn't have to worry that he wouldn't like it:)

1 clove garlic, minced
1 stick butter, melted
1 c dried bread crumbs
1/3 c grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 t salt
1/4 t garlic salt
pinch Italian seasoning
1/8 t ground black pepper
2 lb of skinless, boneless chicken breast, cut into pieces no lager  than 2 x 2 in

Preheat oven to 450.  Pat chicken dry.  Combine all the seasonings, bread crumbs, and cheese.  In a separate bowl, combine garlic and melted butter.  Dip chicken into butter and then crumb mix to coat.  Place chicken pieces in a baking dish with a little room between each piece.  Drizzle with remaining garlic and butter and bake uncovered for 15 minutes or until cooked through.

Delicious!

Getting Better

No pictures but good news.  LB is feeling much better.  He is mostly over his cough and sleeping better.  I don't hear the wheeze in his chest often.  We are so thankful!  I spent a lot of time just holding him last week.  We are still trying to keep him mostly home to make sure he isn't exposed to any unnecessary germs until he is totally recovered.  Apparently once he gets this, it is easier for him to catch it again.  We are the back-up teachers for several Wednesday night classrooms this week, and I am just praying that everyone can be there!  For us, church is one of the germiest places we go! 

I'm busy working on sewing projects now.  Randa and I are doing a craft show at the end of April (not sure if I mentioned that), and I have quite a bit to get done between now and then.  I'll probably list stuff in my etsy shop too.  I can always sew more if it sells out of there!  Right now I am working on getting all of the receiving blankets done.  I also need to do flannel washcloths, nursing covers, baby kimonos, and checkbook covers.  If there is time, I'm going to work on fabric flower hair clips and pins.  We'll see!

So I need to scoot to drink my tea and sew!  Have a great night:)

Not Blogging

The LB is sick so I won't be blogging this week.  He has bronchiolitis and really is feeling rough.  As long as his oxygen remains above 90% and he isn't having trouble breathing, we should be alright.  If his breathing gets labored, we have to go to the ER and they will probably admit him.  So I will be holding my baby for the next few days pretty much all the time.