The Gift of Music

 

Thank you for the fun surprise Julie!

Angel Art

 

Southwestern Macaroni Salad

• 1 package (16 ounces) uncooked elbow macaroni
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, quartered
• 1 cup frozen corn, thawed
• 1 medium green pepper, chopped
• 1 small red onion, chopped
• 1 can (2-1/4 ounces) sliced ripe olives, drained
• 1/2 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1 tablespoon red wine vinegar
• 1 tablespoon chili powder
• 1 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions; drain and rinse in cold water. In a large bowl, combine the pasta, tomatoes, corn, green pepper, red onion and olives.
• In a jar with a tight-fitting lid, combine the lime juice, oil, vinegar and seasonings; shake well. Pour over pasta mixture; toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for 1 hour or until chilled. Yield: 16 servings.

Obituary:(

ATTENTION!SO SAD!! Please join me in Remembering YET ANOTHER great icon of the entertainment community. The Pillsbury Doughboy died yesterday of a yeast infection and trauma complications from repeated pokes to the belly. He was 71. Dough boy was survived by his wife Play Dough, three children, John Dough, Jane Dough, and Dosey Dough, plus they had one in the Oven. The Funeral was held at 3:50 for about 20 minutes.

 

What About Socialization?

Kids in The Kitchen

I have a child who LOVES LOVES LOVES being in the kitchen!  She plans on going to culinary school and someday opening her own bakery/cafe'!  Today she was even dreaming up food combinations that she will serve in her bakery/cafe; for example, mango yogurt with coconut sauce and mango brownies---these are her VERY own concoctions because I don't think I've ever worked with mango before!  Pictured, Little Angel is patting down the bottom crust as we make coconut mud bars for a baby shower I will be attending.

What is Your Morning Routine Like?

Kiddism

"Liar Liar pants for hire!" (Little Angel, age 7:)

Garlic-Infused Oil and Dipping Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• Balsamic vinegar
• Pinch red pepper flakes
• Pinch salt
• Freshly ground black pepper
• Finely grated Parmesan or Romano cheese
• fresh parsley
• Hot crusty loaf Italian or French bread, sliced

Directions

To make the garlic oil, in a small saucepan, gently heat the oil over medium heat. Add the garlic and cook until it is fragrant but not colored, 3 to 5 minutes. Remove from the heat and let cool. Cover and let steep for 1 hour. Strain into a sterilized bottle or jar and discard the garlic. Use within 24 hours. (Or store in a sterilized container in the refrigerator for up to 1 week.)

To make the dipping sauce, place the oil at room temperature in a shallow bowl or decorative plate. Swirl a drizzle of balsamic decoratively into the center. Sprinkle with the pepper flakes, salt, and ground black pepper, and top with a light coating of cheese.

Serve as a dip for hot bread.

Pasta with Garlic Butter Sauce

Ingredients

• 1/2 (8 ounce) package spaghetti
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon dried parsley
• salt to taste
• ground black pepper to taste
• 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese

Directions

1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook pasta until al dente. Drain.
2. In a small skillet over medium heat saute the garlic in olive oil.
3. Toss pasta with olive oil and garlic mixture. Add the parsley, salt, and ground black pepper to taste. Serve with fresh grated Parmesan cheese.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 478 | Total Fat: 29.4g | Cholesterol: 4mg

White Wine Sauce

This delicate white wine sauce from Cooking Lightuses dry white vine, chicken broth and a splash of white wine vinegar.

Yield: 6 tablespoons (serving size: 1 1/2 tablespoons)

Ingredients

• Cooking spray
• 1/3  cup  finely chopped onion (or shallots)
• 1/2  cup  fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1/4  cup  dry white wine
• 2  tablespoons  white wine vinegar
• 2  tablespoons  butter
• 2  teaspoons  finely chopped fresh chives

Preparation

Heat a skillet over medium-high heat. Coat pan with cooking spray. Add finely chopped onion to pan; sauté 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in chicken broth, white wine, and white wine vinegar; bring to a boil. Cook until reduced to 1/4 cup (about 5 minutes). Remove from heat; stir in butter and fresh chives.

**top on linguini with vegetables

Linguini with Roasted Vegetables

• 1 cup reduced-sodium chicken broth
• 10 large cloves garlic, peeled and cut in half
• 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
• 1 pound cherry tomatoes, cut in half
• 1 pound asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch lengths
• 2 small zucchini, (8 ounces total), quartered lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 small summer squash, (8 ounces), quartered lengthwise and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 1 large red bell pepper, cored, seeded and cut into chunks
• 8 scallions, white and tender green parts only, cut into 2-inch lengths
• 1 tablespoon extra-virgin olive oil
• Salt & freshly ground pepper, to taste
• 1 pound linguine

1. Preheat oven to 450°F. Combine stock and garlic in a small saucepan. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until garlic is tender.
2. Place broth, garlic and vinegar in a blender or food processor and puree until smooth. Return to the saucepan and keep warm over low heat.
3. Meanwhile, combine tomatoes, asparagus, zucchini, summer squash, bell pepper and scallions in a large bowl. Drizzle oil over the top, season with salt and pepper and toss to coat well. Place on a baking sheet and roast, stirring occasionally, for 15 minutes, or until tender.
4. Meanwhile, cook linguine in a large pot of boiling salted water for 6 to 8 minutes, or until tender but firm. Drain and place in a large serving bowl. Toss with the roasted vegetables and garlic puree. Season with salt and pepper and serve immediately.

Linguini with Vegetables

Ingredients

• 1 pound linguini pasta
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 small zucchini, thinly sliced
• 1 yellow squash, thinly sliced
• 2 carrots, sliced thin
• 1 red bell pepper, thinly sliced
• 1/2 onion, sliced
• 1 tablespoon salt-free herb and spice blend
• 4 cloves crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice

Directions

1. In a large pot with boiling salted water cook linguini pasta until al dente. Drain well.
2. Meanwhile, in a large skillet heat olive oil and add thinly sliced zucchini, squash, carrots, red bell pepper, onions, salt-free spice blend, and minced garlic. Cook on medium-high for five minutes, stirring frequently. Add white wine and lemon juice and continue cooking until vegetables are crisp-tender and liquid has reduced, about 5 to 10 minutes.
3. Toss cooked and drained pasta with sauteed vegetables and serve.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 739 | Total Fat: 17.4g | Cholesterol: 0mg Pow

Pickled Beets

Ingredients

• 1 bunch (4 or 5) beets
• 1/4 cup cider vinegar
• 1 Tbsp sugar
• 1 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon dry mustard
• Salt and pepper

Method

1 Remove greens from beets, save for future use (see beet greens recipe). Cut beets to uniform sizes so they will cook evenly. Steam or boil around 30 minutes or until done. (Alternatively, you can roast them by wrapping them whole in foil and cooking them in a 350°F oven for about an hour.) A fork easily inserted into the beet will tell you if the beets are done or not.
2 Drain the beets, rinsing them in cold water. Use your fingers to slip the peels off of the beets. The peels should come off easily. Discard the peels. Slice the beets.
3 Make the vinaigrette by combining the cider vinegar, sugar, olive oil, and dry mustard. Whisk ingredients together with a fork. The dry mustard will help to emulsify the vinaigrette. Adjust to taste. Add salt and pepper to taste. Combine beets and vinaigrette in a bowl and allow to marinate for a half hour at room temperature.
Serves four.

Mexican Three Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 15-ounce can black beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 15-ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
• 1/2 pound green beans
• Salt
• 3 tablespoons olive oil
• 3 green onions, sliced
• 1-2 jalapenos, seeded, chopped
• 1 large garlic clove, sliced thin
• 1 cup Cotija queso seco cheese, crumbled
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
• 1/3 cup lime juice
• 1/4 cup sugar

Method

1 Cut the ends off the green beans and slice into pieces about an inch long. Fill a medium sized pot halfway with salted water. Bring to a boil. Add the beans to the pot and boil for 5 minutes, or as long as it takes for the beans to get tender. Green beans can be highly variable in how long it takes to cook them to tenderness. More mature beans can take longer, up to 20 minutes.

2 Drain the green beans and put in the bowl with the pinto and black beans. Drizzle the olive oil over everything and toss to combine. Mix in the green onions, jalapeño, garlic, and Cotija cheese.

3 In a separate bowl, mix the lime juice and sugar until the sugar dissolves, then add it to the salad. Coat the beans well and let marinate for at least 1 hour, preferably several hours. Right before you serve, toss in the cilantro. Add more salt to taste if needed.

Wild Rice Cranberry Pecan Salad

Ingredients

• 1 cup brown rice wild rice mix
• 2 1/3 cups water (see package instructions)
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1 teaspoon butter

• 1/2 cup dried cranberries
• 1/2 cup chopped pecans (toasted or un-toasted, your choice)
• 1/4 cup sliced green onions

• 1 Tbsp lemon juice
• 2 Tbsp olive oil
• 1/2 teaspoon sugar
• 1 teaspoon grated orange peel
• Salt and freshly ground pepper

Method

1 Use the amount of water for the rice according to instructions on the rice package. Typically straight brown rice is a 1:2 ratio of rice to water. Straight wild rice is a ratio of 1:3 of wild rice to water. For this brown rice wild rice mix that I got from a bin (no package) I used a ratio of 1 cup of rice to 2 1/3 cups of water. Bring rice, 1/2 teaspoon salt, butter, and water to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover and cook for 50 minutes. Do not stir. Do not uncover. Remove from stove and let sit, covered for 10 minutes. Then uncover, fluff up with a fork, and let cool to almost room temperature.
2 In a medium sized serving bowl, mix the rice, cranberries, pecans, and green onions together.
3 In a separate jar, mix the lemon juice, olive oil, orange peel, sugar, and salt and pepper to taste. Just before serving, mix dressing in with the rice mixture. Serve warm, chilled, or room temperature.
Yield: Serves 4 to 6.

Wild Rice Salad

Wild Rice Salad Recipe

Ingredients

• 1 cup long grain rice
• 1 cup wild rice
• 4 cups chicken broth*
• 4 stalks celery, sliced
• 8 green onions, sliced
• 2 cups thawed frozen peas
• 1/2 cup pine nuts
• 3/4 cup dried cranberries
• Salt and pepper

• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 2 Tbsp red wine vinegar
• 1 teaspoon sugar
• 2 Tbsp dark sesame oil

*If cooking gluten-free, use homemade chicken stock or gluten-free packaged broth.

Method

1 Put the chicken broth in a medium sized saucepan. Add the rice and wild rice, bring to a boil, reduce heat to low, cover. Let cook for 40 minutes. Remove from heat. Cool completely.
2 Heat a small skillet on medium high heat. Add the pine nuts. Cook, stirring frequently, until lightly toasted. Remove pine nuts from pan and let cool.
3 Whisk together the olive oil, red wine vinegar, sugar, and sesame oil.
4 In a large bowl gently mix together the cooled cooked rice, chopped celery, green onions, peas, dried cranberries, pine nuts, and dressing. Add salt and pepper to taste, if needed.
Chill completely before serving. Serves 8-10.

Mexican Bean Salad

Ingredients

• 1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can kidney beans, drained
• 1 (15 ounce) can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 (10 ounce) package frozen corn kernels
• 1 red onion, chopped
• 1/2 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons fresh lime juice
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• 2 tablespoons white sugar
• 1 tablespoon salt
• 1 clove crushed garlic
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
• 1/2 tablespoon ground cumin
• 1/2 tablespoon ground black pepper
• 1 dash hot pepper sauce
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder

Directions

1. In a large bowl, combine beans, bell peppers, frozen corn, and red onion.
2. In a small bowl, whisk together olive oil, red wine vinegar, lime juice, lemon juice, sugar, salt, garlic, cilantro, cumin, and black pepper. Season to taste with hot sauce and chili powder.
3. Pour olive oil dressing over vegetables; mix well. Chill thoroughly, and serve cold.

Nutritional Information

Amount Per Serving  Calories: 334 | Total Fat: 14.8g | Cholesterol: 0mg

This is One Hip Cake!

Ok, so I admit I stole this photo from a friend's FB page, because I couldn't get this incredible cake out of my head---they make really cool cakes for their family/friend events!  So, this is my inspiration cake!  I purchased a really cool acryllic two tier cake stand.  Why acryllic?  Because we pretty much leave and take some sort of cool vacation for our birthdays now (like Disney, or camping in the Smokey's!); but that doesn't mean I should forget about putting some sort of fun cake together, especially for the girls!  So, this is my inspiration photo, because as far as cakes go, in my book this one is groooooooooovy!

New Neigbor!

Creamy Pasta Primavera

Ingredients

• 2 cups uncooked gemelli or spiral pasta
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, trimmed and cut into 2-inch pieces
• 3 medium carrots, cut into strips
• 2 teaspoons canola oil
• 2 cups cherry tomatoes, halved
• 1 garlic clove, minced
• 1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
• 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream (or cream cheese?)
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Cook pasta according to package directions. In a large skillet, saute asparagus and carrots in oil until crisp-tender. Add tomatoes and garlic; cook 1 minute longer.
• Stir in the cheese, cream (cream cheese?) and pepper. Drain pasta; toss with asparagus mixture. Yield: 6 servings.

Cooking for 2: Creamy Pasta Primavera for Two

Nutrition Facts: 1-1/3 cups equals 275 calories, 12 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 33 mg cholesterol, 141 mg sodium, 35 g carbohydrate, 3 g fiber, 10 g protein. Diabetic Exchanges: 2 starch, 2 fat, 1 vegetable.

Bean and Barley Salad

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup quick-cooking barley
• 1 can (16 ounces) kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (15 ounces) black beans, rinsed and drained
• 1 can (11 ounces) whole kernel corn, drained
• 1 large sweet red pepper, finely chopped
• 6 green onions, chopped
• 1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
• 
  DRESSING:
• 3/4 cup olive oil
• 1/3 cup red wine vinegar
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1-1/2 teaspoons chili powder
• 3/4 teaspoon salt
• 3/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
• 1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions

• Prepare barley according to package directions. Transfer to a large bowl; stir in the beans, corn, red pepper, onions and parsley. In a small bowl, combine the dressing ingredients. Pour over salad; toss to coat. Chill until serving. Yield: 12 servings (3/4 cup each).

Nutrition Facts: 3/4 cup equals 246 calories, 14 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 0 cholesterol, 350 mg sodium, 24 g carbohydrate, 6 g fiber, 6 g protein.

St. Patrick's Day

Well, hello and Top O' da Day!  We had a fine St. Patrick's Day celebration.  Our celebratory dinner consisted of some very authentic and traditional St. Patrick's Day cuisine: pizza, bow tie pasta with olive oil, cheese ravioli, and garlic knots, followed by cannoli and cheese cake!!!  Ok, at least some of us wore some green?  

Oh, and I believe the luck of the Irish really was with us, as we got pulled over!  (for the record, I was chatting, yes...but J was driving!)  So, he was going 42 in a 30 mph zone (and the speed limits change every couple blocks here, seriously!  and it was a four lane:D)  So, on top of that crime, I couldn't locate our SC registration (which was in the van, I did find it when we got home)---but I located a WI one, and we handed it to her--(and upon inspection, I realized it belonged to the previous car owners!  Of course, we had to turn ours in when we got our SC license plates (the jeep still has WI plates:O); and if that wasn't enough law-breaking for one night--we found out that in SC you are supposed to get a state driver's licence within 10 days of residency!  Ok, we did not know that--and we could somewhat justify still having WI licences...we were home-owners in WI, until Dec. 26th!  At that point we were 1.5 months away from closing on our new home in SC--so even if I had been aware of the law, it still wouldn't have made sense, to get a license, just to go back a month later to get a new one.  So there:D  So, those were our crimes.  How much do you think the ticket was?  Any guesses?  Oh, back to the license...property taxes in SC are VERY reasonable--especially compared to Wisconsin's which are fairly high.  But, there's a catch--we found this out at the closing of our home---if you don't fill out this property assessement form and have it in by the end of the year (and this requires a valid South Carolina driver's license)---your property taxes will triple---so, the law is not enough incentive for us---but the $$$$$$ sure is:D


Ok, so what was your guess on the ticket amount!  I was shocked--seriously, with all of our "bads" I was seriously shocked that he only received a warning!  The luck O' da Irish was truly with us.  My grandma always said, "everybody's a little Irish on St. Patrick's Day!"

Wanted!

Mer Painting

My Little Angel LOVES to do artwork; and if I may say so myself, she's very good!  However, I haven't always been good about getting paints out for the girls, so the few times I've complied, their little master-pieces were admittedly blobby messes.  But, as I truly believe, the love and fun lie in the process not in the finished product:)  Well, now that we have our beautiful backyard studio, there's no excuse not to let them paint!  On Friday, we headed to our favorite Michael's and stocked up on paints, brushes, glitter paints, and large pieces of paper.  Today, Little Angel created her very first non blobby, actual picture painting--and would you be surprised to find out it's one of her token mermaids:)

A Plea from Piper

Naughty Gnomes!

 

And I quote: "Daddy, can we get this....to protect our garden!!!????"  (Fairy Girl, age five)

Beach Day! Ok, brrrrrr, a tad chilly

Lisa's (my cuz) Mini Apple Pies!

**(she always doubles the recipe)

You will need to have Oven preheated to 400.
Parchment paper, good non stick cupcake pans, cookie sheet, DON’T FORGET MUFFIN CUPS.
I use the roll out pie crust in the box (by the readymade Pillsbury cookie rolls) Get two boxes just in case you need them
I use the big bags of frozen peeled apples (only at woodmen’s frozen fruit section by pie crusts) You need ½ bag per recipe here. I double recipe and use a whole bag.

1.)First mix Ingredients for apple pie mix in a bowl and set aside. (Don’t mix the apples in till later or the apples and the mix gets runny).
¾ mix white sugar
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp nutmeg
¼ cup brown sugar
1.5 tbsp.butter

2.) Next mix the dry ingredients that go on top of the little apple pies. Cut in the butter, you want little chunks of butter. I usually triple this. I make extra to put on top.
½ c sugar
¾ c. flour
1/3 c flour

3.) Roll out dough between parchment paper, makes life lots easier, no flour needed! Cut circles from the dough bigger than the size of cupcake cups. I used a big cup bottom. Cut out circles and put them in the non stick muffin pans.

4.) Put in apples mixed and coated with apple mix you made in muffin cups up to 3/4 and cover with a good scoop of the white topping mix you made. (this is what makes your pies yummy) Place a cookie sheet under the muffin pan as it can tend to over flow while baking. Cover the pan with tin foil or the crust gets to brown. Bake ½ the time 15 min with tin foil on and half 15 with it off. Let cool in pan for a while and then use a spoon to slide under each one and place in muffin cups. They don’t turn out as well baked in muffin cups.