7 Quick Takes

~~1~~
iPhone photo dump:

 L-R from top: each of the kids at the park on Friday night when Steven was gone (we went to the park, Little Caesar's drive-thru, and Petco!), next row is Thomas at Petco, him holding his new helicopter, his favorite thing of climbing on the potty with toilet paper then getting right down and flushing (no success yet), and again him with his bday treats (including a lollipop), 3rd row is me reading Pride and Prejudice eating Oreo bark, Ellie doing her Spelling in the closet in her PJs, T with his shades, and E at a park.  Last row is Javelina at that park, T at the park on his bday night with moon behind him, SJ biking at that park, and the list of all the hawks seen there since August I believe.  The park we visited yesterday hosts hawk-watchers from all over the country!  We can't wait to go back again!

~~2~~

Oreo Bark

 I saw this somewhere online this week and made it the other night using this recipe as a guide.  I used less Oreos (maybe 10 altogether) and white candy bark instead of chocolate chips. YUM! It was eaten up quickly by the girls and me!

~~3~~
Camera Bag

 

Wow, a camera case made for a DSLR makes carrying a camera so much easier!
 I know my Cammie is safe in there, and aren't the polka-dots so cute?  Bought at Walmart!

~~4~~
 Some favorite recipes the past few weeks/months:
 I have probably linked these two before, but at least they will all be in one place, since my "Main Dishes" board on Pinterest is filling up!
Calabaza Con Pollo--We make this dish with rotisserie or chicken roasted in the crockpot, and serve with yellow rice and fresh tortillas.
Skinny Chicken Broccoli Alfredo  is a favorite, for Mary Clare in particular!  She loves broccoli and is our most adventurous eater!

Okay these others are probably way high in calories and a major reason of my huge midsection issues at the moment.  But oh so good!
Crescent Roll Chicken--Made with shredded crockpot chicken and used my homemade cream of chicken soup.  A big hit; should've used two cans of crescent rolls!
Crockpot Cream Cheese Chicken--Again, another artery-clogger, but you could use low-fat additions and add it to healthy pasta or rice, or one of those other healthy grain options that I'm not familiar with.  We did use my homemade cream of chicken, so I'm sure that negates all the cream cheese, right?  I made enchiladas with this chicken the next night!

~~5~~
Nutcracker
The girls have been excited about the Nutcracker Ballet since we moved here.  Their previous ballet school didn't put on this performance, but our current one does, so all year they have looked forward to it.  The auditions were held last weekend.  Cue: Bad memories of screaming toddler during the "mandatory" parent meeting.  All eyes were on me, so yes I walked out of that meeting!

So, they had their hearts set on being Party Girls or Polichinelles (Mother Ginger Children), but they found out that they were both cast as mice.  To say they were disappointed would be an understatement.  "Horrified," is how Mary Clare described it.  Now, keep in mind the mice are like the villains in the scariest scene of the production, and they run around without really getting to dance much.  It's just not what they had in mind for their first Nutcracker experience!

But as the day went on, they calmed down, and Mary Clare has even said that she "knows it's the right part for her!"  She is handling it with grace and has decided that no, she won't quit ballet or refuse to perform in the show.  We've come a long way this afternoon.  And it's been a loooonnnng day!  As wise Daddy reminded me, this is a great character-building experience.  I agree.  But it's still hard.

~~6~~
MY tongs!

Some toddlers have pacifiers.  Some have "lovey" blankets or stuffed animals.  Our son carries around metal kitchen tongs!  I guess it's a compliment that he wants to grill like Daddy and fry bacon like Mommy!  He's actually asleep holding them right now.  Silly, silly boy!

~~7~~

Reading/Watching
I've read 2 books this past week (Sense and Sensibility and Pride and Prejudice), and just started Emma!  I'm on a Jane Austen kick!  Also still loving episodes of White Collar and the newest season of Downton Abbey, found in various places that are probably not very legit.  But SO happy it's back on.  Oh how I've missed Mary and Matthew!

From my friend who is a true Jane Austen fan, and who found out I was starting to read the books.  

Her movie recommendations:

'Pride and Prejudice' - (a wonderful 6 hours) BBC 1995 - Colin Firth Forever!!
(Just say no to Keira Knightley (2005 version). But, many may argue that point.)

'Sense and Sensibility' - (3 hours) 2008 BBC. My favorite Austen movie. The older version with Hugh Grant, Kate Winslet and Emma Thompson (1995) is okay, but those two have NO chemistry, and Emma Thompson is just too old for the role. AND it's too short.

'Emma' - (4 hours) BBC 2009!! Just about perfect!

'Persuasion' - I prefer 1995, but the 2007 one is good, too. '95 is truer to the book, and a little longer.

'Mansfield Park' - 1999 takes some liberties that I do NOT like, so I guess I'd the 2007 one. But the 1999 one is probably a better film in general.

'Northanger Abbey' - 2007, but one of my least favorite Austen movies (and books)

FYI - 'Jane Austen Regrets' and 'Becoming Jane' are mostly fictitious. 

 

Have a lovely weekend, friends!  We have some fun surprises up our sleeves, can't wait to share!

Patriotic Cake Balls

I had some success making cake balls this time, and I think they were a favorite at our July 4th Party, if I do say so myself!  So I thought I'd share how I made them...

Started with a boxed cake mix.  I actually made two of them.  Then I crushed it up and put it in the mixer bowl with a little less than half a tub of frosting.

I just kept adding large spoonfuls of frosting to the mix, until I got a consistency like cookie dough.

On previous attempts, I've done this mixing step by hand.  Using the stand mixer made it so much easier!

After mixing, I rolled the dough into small balls, about 2 inches in diameter.  I put them on cookie sheets or cutting boards and placed them in the freezer for about 5-10 minutes to set.

Here's my little helper!  Everyone else in the family was taking a nap during this time, so he was my assistant and was so happy to help!

Now here's where we lose the camera images.  Of course I couldn't take pictures during the hard part!

I used a pot on the stove to heat up the candy melts (also called white candy bark found near the baking chocolate).  Last time they burned in the microwave, so this time I kept the stove on low, kept stirring, and removed the pan as soon as the candy was melting.  I think a double boiler works best, but I didn't even have anything to use on top at that point...lots of dirty dishes!

Once the candy is melted, I used two spoons to dip the balls into the candy coating.  I tapped the spoons on the side of the bowl to remove some excess, and then carefully placed them back on the tray.  After making about 3-4 balls, I added the sprinkles.  If I waited longer than that, the candy was already starting to set and the sprinkles wouldn't stick!

I put them back in the freezer to set, again 5-10 minutes, then stacked them in a tupperware container with the large pretzel sticks I made (also a party hit!).  I wish there were some leftover to take home!

Making it Count Tuesday, Birthday Cake!

This week, I'll share a bit about my first big birthday cake project.  My inspiration came from the cake on this blog post while I was searching for ideas for Ellie's Art Party.  I figured it would be an easy first attempt to bake a cake using fondant, but without using it to cover the entire cake.  A local friend is a very talented cake artist and let me borrow her supplies and even gave me the frozen fondant to use!

I didn't take a lot of photos, but pretty much the girls and I spent a long time just kneading the fondant and adding a bit of water, using corn starch on our hands and the countertop.  I added in the gel food coloring to our liking for each of the "ROY G. BIV" colors, and then we made the little balls and the artist palette for the middle.  For the cake, I baked two 9x13 cakes using a boxed cake and adjusting it a little (added sour cream and a bit more oil).  I made one chocolate and one vanilla, and then sliced them in half and stacked them so that half the cake was chocolate and half vanilla.  They needed to be sliced a bit to make them the same height.  I made buttercream frosting using this easy recipe.  I needed three batches to frost between the layers and also frost a light crumb layer (and then refrigerated it), before covering it all with a think layer of buttercream.

The kids all enjoyed this part, putting the balls around the bottom of the cake!

 

I'm having lighting issues while photographing with my iPhone (looks fluorescent here), but here is the finished colorful cake which I put on a piece of cardboard wrapped with the polka dot gift wrap.  I also put some cardstock paper under the cake because it was making the gift wrap soggy!

Here's the whole set-up with colorful fruits and veggies.  We love making the ranch dip using the dry ranch dip seasoning and sour cream.  It tastes great with potato chips and veggies!  Ellie also picked out cheese puffs and I made candy popcorn with sprinkles.  I also made my own punch concoction using Simply Lemonade with lime sherbet.  A pretty yummy, and sugary spread!  Just wish we would've found matching paper goods and put the fruits and veggies in rainbow order, oh the perfectionist in me!

And again, here's the very happy birthday girl!  We're still enjoying some cake treats here and there.

The cake was a lot of work and I'm not sure I'd want to do it again anytime soon, but maybe every few years we can try a fondant cake.  The girls are really becoming good helpers, so they might be taking over cake-making soon anyway!

Thanks for hosting Making it Count, Pam!  Go visit her there for more.

Making it Count Tuesday: 5 Recipes!

I'm so glad that Sarah and Pam are going to continue their Tuesday link-up to inspire us to use our Pinterest pins, or other links we've found online.

I've been using lots of recipes that I've pinned on Pinterest the past week, so I thought I'd just post them all here, so I can go back and find the links easily. 

Thanks for continuing the link-up,  Sarah and Pam! As usual, please excuse my iPhone photos.  Maybe one day I'll learn to use the camera phone a little better!

***

I'll start with the Easy Garlic Chicken.  I followed the recipe except adding diced onions after seeing that suggestion in the comments.  It's a great option for a quick baked chicken dinner with a sweet taste.

I also tried to make these Ultra-Crispy Roast Potatoes with it.  As Steven said, "we're fresh out of duck fat," so I used butter instead.  And we were rushing out for our Dave Ramsey class and didn't have enough time to let the potatoes get "ultra crispy."  But they were still good!

This is Cherry Berries on a Cloud.  And it's heavenly.  It was recommended by an online friend and I made it for our friends from Houston who came over for dinner last week (Steven grilled fajitas).  It takes a bit of prep making the meringue and such, and calls for an overnight or 12-hour stay in the oven after baking.  I made the meringue that morning and left it in the oven while we were at the beach all afternoon (maybe 8 hours?).  The cream cheese topping is also supposed to sit for 12 hours in the fridge after being spread on the meringue, but I didn't have time for that so I just put it in the freezer for about half an hour and then let it sit in the fridge during dinner.  It was very, very yummy.

This was my second try at this Man-Pleasing Chicken.  The first try ended up tasting really mustard-y, so this time I used a suggestion in the comment section to cut the amount of dijon mustard in half and add BBQ sauce for the other half.  I also used cut-up boneless chicken breasts instead of thighs, since they were cheaper.  And I added fresh rosemary from the garden.  It was much better this time! We ate it with leftover mashed potatoes and salad.  Don't forget to line your glass baking dishes with foil with these recipes at 450-500 degrees or they'll be really hard to clean up!  Ask me how I know.

Finally, tonight was the Skinny Chicken & Broccoli Alfredo.   It uses Greek yogurt, milk, and chicken broth to make a great white sauce.  I cooked the chicken in the iron skillet and roasted the broccoli in the oven with garlic and olive oil.

You can see that Mary Clare couldn't wait; she enjoyed this recipe a lot, as did Ellie!  If half the kids, and Daddy, like it then I'll probably make it again.

Lots of successful recipes we'll be adding to our rotation.  It's nice to find quick and easy dinner recipes with ingredients I'm likely to have on hand.  I'm loving having the boards on Pinterest as a go-to a few nights each week to find something new to feed my family!

Happy Saint Valentine's Day!

I set up a fancy table the night before Valentine's Day with goblets for OJ, scrapbook paper placemats and namecards, and the fun Valentine's letter download from Hallie for Steven.

The orchid was from friends who came to our house blessing!  (Steven brought me a pretty pink flowered plant for the yard today :)

This was another Pinterest idea, to form cinnamon rolls into hearts.  I just used the canned ones, and unrolled them to make the heart shapes!

They turned out so cute!

We woke the kids up for a 6:30am breakfast with Daddy!  Everyone was tired, but not too tired for cinnamon rolls, strawberries, and OJ!

We let Thomas sleep through the breakfast party, but he was still thrilled for his strawberries later in the morning!

We went to the local nursing home down the street with our homeschool group to do some Valentine crafting with the residents.

The kids enjoyed it although not many of the elderly residents came in for craft time!

We had a pretty big group and did get some encouragement from some of the ladies on just how much they love having the children run around their home and how much it means to them that we visit.

We came home for lunch, and somehow I was able to snap a Valentine photo of our happy crew!

We had a restful afternoon, with one child feeling a bit under the weather.  Steven brought home Chinese take-out and I went to Zumba!  A fun Valentine's Day!  We're still looking forward to our homeschool group's big party on Friday where the festivities will continue.

Hope your Valentine's Day was filled with lots of love and laughter!

Pinning it Down Tuesday

 

I tried two recipes off Pinterest this week.  They aren't the healthiest, but they are crowd pleasers!

The first was Crispy Cheddar Chicken.  It was one of those baked "fried" chicken recipes where you dip the chicken in milk and cracker crumbs.  But the difference here was that you dipped them in shredded cheddar before the cracker crumbs.  Made for a very tasty and moist crust!   My hard-core chicken finger lovers turned their noses up a bit, but I think it might grow on them!  (As usual, excuse the horrible phone photos!  I'm hoping to find a new little camera very soon, like on my birthday this weekend!)

The next dish...I just wasted a half hour of my life trying to find it again!  It was based on this recipe which I had pinned.  But somehow I did some searches and came up with this recipe, which is what I used, but can't be pinned since there's no photo!  I halved it since I wasn't sure how well everyone would like it.

As you can see below, it was very well received and I shouldn't have halved it!  The sauce was great and reminded me of the alfredo dish at the Cheesecake Factory.  I liked that it uses chicken broth and regular milk, since many of these creamy pasta dishes use heavy cream.  It also uses mozzarella, which I usually have on-hand.  I'll post the recipe below with some adjustments so I can have it for safe-keeping, because my family will want it again!  I'll write it for a full recipe in a rectangular baking dish, not the square one like pictured here.  We ate it with salad, but I think it would be great with broccoli in the dish, or on the side, too!

Creamy Chicken Pasta with Sun-Dried Tomatoes
based on this recipe on food.com

Ingredients:
1/2 c butter
1/2 c flour
1/2 t salt
1/2 t pepper
1 t minced garlic (I used 2 cloves for our half recipe)
20oz chicken broth (I used about 1/3 of a garlic-flavored box, for our half recipe)
1 1/2 c milk
1/2 T basil
1c shredded mozzarella cheese
2 grilled chicken breasts, cubed
1 c sun-dried tomatoes, sliced
1 box/bag penne pasta

Directions:
1. Set oven to 375 and cook pasta according to package directions.
2. Melt butter, then stir in flour, salt, pepper, and garlic.
3. Stir in chicken broth, milk and basil.
4. Bring to a boil. Boil for one minute.
5. Stir in mozzarella until melted.  Add sun-dried tomatoes.
6. Place cooked and drained pasta at the bottom of a greased 9x13 glass baking dish.
7. Top with chicken, then pour cream sauce over chicken.
8. Add a bit more shredded mozzarella if you like, and bake until bubbly (about 25 mins).

7 Quick Takes Friday!

~~1~~
As a surprise, Steven planted some colorful pansies in the window box outside the kitchen window a few weekends ago. They are still making me smile!


~~2~~
Recently we've made Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Toast and Quickie Homemade Chicken Strips. The toast was a little too rich, but you can never go wrong with chicken fingers in this family!




~~3~~
We've completed 3 days of homeschooling! It's getting a little bit easier. The girls are starting to get into the "groove" and SJ was finding things to keep himself busy too (like playing with the box of non-frozen Pop-Ice popsicles and biting them open!).

~~4~~
Note to self: Don't read and respond to urgent emails, or make phone calls in the middle of the Wal-Mart toy section with your 3 children. It's not pretty. Aside from a birthday gift, a few homeschooling things, and items for a silent auction basket, we somehow made it out of there with only a $1 pack of silly bands (apparently the hip new bracelets), a $1 miniature butterfly kite, and a $2 foam sword. This is why I like Wal-Mart.

~~5~~
Tonight is the big dance recital! Well technically we're not allowed to call it a recital, it's a "show" or "performance" and the girls and I are so excited! We enjoyed watching the older girls rehearse the other night and it was really interesting to see how they're interpreting the Book of Revelation through dance. We'll have some family members coming from across town and even staying overnight, so it should be a really fun weekend! Here are the girls at the stage rehearsal the other night.

~~6~~

Mary Clare is the girl "Shark of the Week" for her age group at swim team this week! That means she took off the most time for one of her strokes last weekend, 17 seconds off her freestyle! She gets to use a special kick-board. We missed 2 practices this week and they'll probably only swim one event for the last dual meet on Saturday since we'll have family visiting. I hope we can make it to practice in the morning; it's so hard to get there at 7:30am for Ellie's group!

~~7~~
Speaking of Ellie, she was so proud to help bring up the gifts at our End of the Year Homeschooling Mass last night. What a big girl she is getting to be! I am proud to say I survived the mass with my out-of-control toddler and no husband to help (working late), and also made two special treats for the dessert social afterwards...Cheesecake Sopapilla Bars and Candy Covered Pretzels! We had a fun evening with friends, but I forgot my camera :(

~~~~~
Hope everyone has a great weekend!
Check out Jen's Conversion Diary for more Quick Takes!

Baked Potato Soup

2 tbsp. butter
1/4 of a large onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
4 large potatoes
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
4 cups milk
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 cup chopped green onions, divided
6 bacon slices, cooked and crumbled

1. Peel, slice, boil, and drain potatoes until falling apart (or bake, peel, and mash if you have time!), meanwhile fry bacon
2. In a large pot, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté until soft, about 8 minutes.
3. Add flour into the vegetable mixture; gradually add milk, stirring with a whisk until blended. Cook over medium heat until thick and bubbly (about 8 minutes).
4. Add potatoes, 1/2 cup cheese, salt, and 1/2 tsp. pepper, stirring until cheese melts. Remove from heat.
5. Stir in 1/4 cup green onions. Cook until thoroughly heated (do not boil)
6. Ladle soup into bowls and sprinkle with cheese, green onions and bacon. Yum!

(modified from YumSugar, which modified from Cooking Light)

And last night was a modified Pioneer Woman's Monday Night Stir Fry (didn't have stuff like Ginger or Arrowroot or Peanut Oil and used the fresh veggies I had on hand). Hubby gave it a thumbs up!

Now...what for dinner tonight...I've got three chicken breasts defrosted and ready for something new! Maybe I'll update with my concoction later today!

Apple Pie!

Daddy has been out studying a lot. Last night we entertained ourselves baking our first apple pie. Yum Yum!

Here are my little chefs:


Ellie decided to dump the bowl of sugar all over herself and the table. They went straight into the bathtub after this! If you notice a recurrent theme, it's Ellie in diaper-only. She screams when I put a bib on her so it's just easier to strip her when she eats or plays messy!


Finished product (recipe from Better Homes cookbook), very tasty!