You May Be Confused, But We Are NOT Related to Tony Hawk

Santa brought E a new skateboard this year.  D got some sweet hi-tops and a jacket that actually has an iPod hook up in the pocket and the ties for the hood are the earbuds. 

If you judge a girl by her Christmas gifts, then we have two, future skateboarders.   If that's your future, there's not better time to practice that Christmas morning.  You've got to get the sweet riding skills in before you go back to school!

You're supposed to stand on it without it moving out from under you.

That's really hard, so we'll practice sitting down first.

Then the master has to show them how it's done.

I'm pretty sure he can't stop.

Nope, the girls had to go get him.  They tried warning him how hard it was!

The ole, "don't try that girls, it's only for the pros" talk.

Apparently now that she's seen N fly down the sidewalk, she is totally able to do the same.

D's turn!  I think she may be leaning a bit too much.

Yep.  That darn wheel caught the edge.  Good thing for helmets.

At least they look the part. 

She Got Like Three Feet of Air That Time

Christmas Day was filled with lots of wrapping paper, cool presents and play time.  The morning always seems to be hectic as we do our annual breakfast bar after all the presents are opened.  By noon things have settled down, the girls can play with their toys and we can just enjoy the day as a family.

Typically that evening my mom comes over for dinner and anyone else we know that doesn't have a home to go to and we eat. 

Because the food isn't ready the second the girls sit down, they entertain themselves.  This year that included mini skateboards.

Can you see it in the TV? 

While the older girls were trying to hit the ceiling fan with their skateboard, Zoe was practicing her princess wave.

A girl can never have too many accessories!

'Twas The Night Before Christmas

Christmas Eve is the big day in my family.  Since my sister has a couple stops to make on Christmas day, our family does our celebration on Christmas Eve.  Usually we come in jammies or armed with jammies, so we can rush home, set out cookies for Santa and sleep for a very short time before we all do it again.

Some fond memories have been made at these gatherings.  Like the time when MJ was 2 and I was videoing him playing with his Monsters, Inc. Scare Factory and he informed me he was pooping.  You can't forget moments like that.  Ever!

Or moments like this:

T-Dog is always ready to pose for a picture for me.  I spent most of the night trying to get a smile out of him.  It wasn't until he opened an MP3 player that I got the golden nugget I was looking for.  Rather than this type of golden nugget.  I'm just sayin'!

For my first two nephews, my sister had a strict no guns or swords policy.  She didn't want anything that promoted violence.  The two older boys, MJ and T-Dog go for the disgusting instead.  While CJ has different rules.  Maybe my sister has just been worn down with all the bodily functions that she doesn't have it in her anymore to enforce the rule.  We got CJ a sword.  That makes noise.  He's already a pro.

I'm pretty sure it's like that Red Rider BB Gun and he did put someone's eye out before the holiday was through.

None the less, it was a great time had by all.  I even got to try out my new camera a bit (a Canon Rebel XSi).  For a brief moment got the whole family to look somewhat in my direction and smile. 

Except for CJ because he's defending the family and you can't let your enemy think you're soft.

Because that picture turned out so well, I wanted one of N, Zoe and me.  T-Dog somehow flashed that smile I begged and pleaded for and asked to take our picture.  I handed over the new camera, ran to the couch and got ready for our big smiling picture.

I think he caught our best side.

Three Angels

We have so much to be thankful for this year.  Here are our top three reasons we feel so blessed.

Merry Christmas.  May God richly bless you this holiday season and in the coming year.

C Is For Captain

Winter is one of my favorite times of the year.  I loved to see the trees covered with snow.  There is just something about getting all bundled up to go outside and play in the fluffy stuff.

It's also the time of year my absolute favorite sport is played.  Hockey and I go way back.  It was 1992 and I was a young girl.  It was a Friday night and my mom said, "let's go to the movies, they're showing a double feature."  Four of us ended up going to see a little movie called "Cutting Edge."  It was about a hockey player and a figure skater coming together to skate as couples in the Olympics. 

It's one of my all time favorite chick flicks, but that D.B. Sweeney is a cutie.  From then on I was hooked on hockey.  Even though he wasn't a real hockey player!

Our town has a great Western Hockey League team that has won the Memorial Cup a few times.  I'm not gonna lie, I love the speed, the game and the fights.  Hockey has bonded my family.  I used to have season tickets with my sister and her family.  It was tradition that we would get together every weekend and watch some hockey. 

During all this bonding we learned to love the Canadian National Anthem as much as our own.  So much so we've all sang it to our kids in the dark of night just to get them to fall asleep. 

Apparently it had some effect on them.  All three of my nephews play the game well.  MJ is on a rep team that travels all over the Pacific Northwest and Canada to play.  They even won a championship game against a Canadian team.  Those boys up north are basically born with DNA that makes them great hockey players.  To beat them is a real victory.

My youngest nephew Con-Man is just starting.  He's a great skater and equally amazing snow angel maker on the ice, when the puck it as the other end of the rink.  It makes his mother crazy, but he's truly following in the traditions set before him!

Yet, it's T-Dog, my middle nephew, that had his moment to shine this past weekend.  He's been playing hockey for as long as he could walk.  He's both talented and fast.  I got to see a side of him this past weekend that I knew he had, but am so glad it's finally recognized:  leadership. 

This past Saturday he was named Captain for one game.  He got the coveted "C" on his jersey.  Behold Captain T-Dog.

Doesn't that look awesome on there?

I also got to see a side of him that made me even more proud.  As a captain you get to name your assistant captains.  I'm sure it's similar to sitting at the cool kid table at lunch.  One of his choices was the goalie.  It's rare that goalies get picked as captains or assistants simply because they aren't the player that skates all over the ice either trying to make a shot or defending the goal.  Their whole purpose is to protect the net and it's rare that they leave the area for anything. 

Yet T-Dog recognized their goalie as an assistant. 

He's got all the skills on the ice and the heart to motivate and lead.  He is truly Captain T-Dog even if he only got the "C" on his jersey for one game.

We're Like the Partridge Family, But Without A Bus

Our family is all fairly talented in the arts.  We all have talents that entertain.  Some of us sing, some of us act and some of us play instruments.

The best part of this is we all get to be on stage.  Our girls sing when given the chance.  I love to act and am actually known as Ronda because of a character I played at church during the 40 Days of Purpose. 

N is musical.  He plays the trumpet and bass guitar.  He's never gotten the opportunity to play. 

That is until this past Sunday. 

He's joined the worship team at our church.  I don't think I've seen his face light up as much as it did this past Sunday.

The best part is our brother-in-law Chris was in town from Austin.  He plays the drums.  Since he used to be on our worship team, they handed over the sticks and let him work his magic. 

We are so blessed to be part of a church that encourages us to use our talents to bring Him glory. 

I'm also equally blessed to be married to one very handsome and talented bass player.  Maybe I can convince our worship director to allow my family on stage for a little "C'mon Get Happy" as a prelude.  Nothing gets people ready for church quite like a 1970's song.

Happy Birthday Jesus

We are the family that celebrates Christmas as Christ's birth.  We also do the whole Santa thing too.  One way we keep the focus on Christ rather than Santa and presents is to celebrate the holiday as Jesus's birthday.  We get a cake and this year Zoe requested we have party hats too.  We get our cakes made at Happy Cake Company.   They are also delicious and beautiful. 

This year we served it next to the I Can't Believe It's Not Butter, which is always a special treat this time of year!

We did a celebration early as N's parents were in town AND N's twin sister Bev and her family were here too.  It was a bit like the Griswolds and a bit like The Christmas Story, except without the leg lamp.

One of the great things about having Bev and her family here, was Micah.  Last time we saw him was at Easter.  Several things have changed.  He has hair, teeth and can walk.  Next time we see him he'll be singing carols and probably doing advanced calculus. 

One thing he loved was Zoe.  Being an only child he doesn't get to see too many people his size.  Even though she outweighs him and is a bit taller, he still thought it was totally fun tackling her.

She wasn't too keen on it.  Anytime he'd come near, she'd yell, "NO, TOO BIG!"  Fortunately she's faster, so she'd run away and he was spared any hitting that might of come out in self-defense of the ole' cousin tackle.

Then her back-ups came.  D and E loved to chase, hug and love on Micah.  That was until present time came.  Then they were all about opening and posing.  Until they opened their gifts from G.G.  A cookbook and an apron.  They immediately channeled their inner Rachael Rays and started planning our meals for the next year and a half.

It looks like we'll be living off gelatin blocks and some french toast.

The best part of the whole thing was sharing the joy of family.  It's rare that we are together in the same place, let alone around any holiday.  Typically it takes a birth to get us all together and usually the mommy in that situation isn't ready to party. 

Thanks Mom and Dad for coming up to the icy north for a visit.  We had a blast.  Next time we're coming to you and we can party it up with some sunshine and temps above freezing!

We Are A Musical Bunch

I'm a bit behind in updating because N's parents are in town and we've been having fun! 

On Sunday D and Zoe participated in the Sunday School program at church.  Zoe's group was up first.  Those 2 year olds always steal the show.  This year it was Zoe's turn.  She started off the group with Away In A Manger and then lead the audience in applause. 

D's class did three songs.  She was totally nervous before going up there, but she nailed it.  Both N and I couldn't be more proud of her.  It was the first time she's ever been on stage.

It was such a joy to see our oldest and youngest daughters share the stage, singing about Christ's birth.  It was especially awesome to share it with Grammie and Grandpa.

You Just Haveda

So I'm one of those crazy people who love Costco.  It's not really because I like to buy mayo in bulk, but for all the deals.  Plus I like to always have a big supply of toilet paper around.  I fear running out.

My other favorite part is all the electronics.  One computer I noticed a few months ago was this awesome, AWESOME computer that had a touch screen.  Because I don't have an iPhone or an iTouch, this fulfills my need to move things around on a screen with just the touch of a finger.  I drool over this HP TouchScreen every, single, stinkin' visit to Costco.  It's one of my happy places.

I was reading BooMama's blog and she's giving one away.  Go check it out if you like to have a computer that MacGyver himself would've owned.

Or James Bond.

The Laundry

This weekend I spent many hours cleaning, laundering clothes, wrapping presents, cooking and sleeping.  N's parents arrive in T minus 2 days.  We are beyond excited. 

I had a helper with all the wrapping.  Zoe loves to wear some curled ribbon in her hair or as a scarf, then she will put the sticky bow on the package, walk it over to the tree, put in the pile and declare it "perfect." 

Apparently all that sticking and making things perfect is exhausting because I found her in bed.

Who needs a Laz-E-Boy when you have a laundry hamper, a Red Wings blanket and a Wubbzy pillow?

All the Skype

Over Thanksgiving N's parents insisted gently persuaded us to try Skype.  I'm not one to shy away from technology.  As Kip from Napoleon Dynamite said, "I love technology."  What I am against is trying to find a small webcam in the mountain of boxes that we call storage in our garage.

N remembered, after about the 1,500th eye roll of the do we or don't we look for the webcam debate, he had one built into his netbook.  Ah problem solved.

Until we had to figure out all the Skype-ing.  Do we talk on the phone?  Do we talk through the computer?  Does it have a microphone with the webcam?  Does the camera really add 10 pounds?  Are these ratty sweatpants appropriate for a Thanksgiving chat with your parents? 

Okay, so the last two were really my issues, but still, they rattled around in my brain while N set us up on all the Skype.

During the call N and I appeared to be new to the whole technology things as we made comments like "this is so cool."  "I shouldn't pick my nose while I'm talking to you because you can see me."  "What am I doing now?  Can you see me now?"  "Oh what are you watching on TV?"  You'd think they just invented sliced bread and the live picture show on thee tel-lee-vision box in our livin' room. 

In all reality we aren't new to the whole technology thing.  This whole webcam/talk through the computer is what we did for the first 5 months of our dating life, but without the fancy name of Skype.  He was in South Korea defending our freedom.  I was single, living in my own apartment, free to join a bowling league and go out dancing when the mood struck.  Oh yes I did join a bowling league.  It was fun.

What we didn't expect was all the other old-timers in our family to get hooked on all the Skype.  N's twin sister Bev called and set up a Skype call (which I unfortunately missed because I was doing so much chatting with a dear friend that we lost track of time for 4 hours.  Oh yes, us girls can talk!)

When the call happened with Bev, a certain little person in our home was all about the talking.  And the seeing.  And the waving.  And the funny face making.

She's already addicted to the Skype.  Watch out Aunt Bevie, Grammie and Grandpa, you may be getting video calls like the Jetsons. 

Make sure you have your face ready.

With Your Nose So Bright

It seems like the Thanksgiving weekend starts the crazy holiday season.  I'm one of those devoted people who head out before dawn on Black Friday to do some shopping.  It's actually a tradition for the girls in my family to do that.  To say we're die-hard is an understatement. 

This year was no exception.  Except that it's taking me longer to recover from Black Friday hours that it used to.  Thankfully N understands and let me nap a little that afternoon.  Which needs to become a tradition since we also put up the Christmas decorations on the Saturday after Thanksgiving.

For some reason I seem to have more Christmas decorations than I know what to do with.  I'm having a hard time remembering when or where I got some things. 

This year, instead of throwing plastic ornaments into the tree, Zoe was more than happy to learn how to put them on the tree.  If they had a Disney princess, Tigger, Pooh or Piglet on it, she knew it was hers to put on the tree. 

While I was helping N get some things for him to hang the outside lights, Zoe also found something else she wanted to lay claim to.

It actually blinks.

Looks like our Rudolph is ready for the season.

A Little Gobble Gobble

Thanksgiving is a time of utter chaos for us.  It's not a stressful chaos, it's a good chaos.  My sister has three sons and we have three daughters.  They are all fairly close in age, so you can imagine the fun that begins when we put them in the same house together. 

It's not uncommon to see a dog pile in the kichen.

Or a kid's table with 6 heads, all with some kind of food or beverage coming out of their mouth. 

We had about 20 people for Thanksgiving.  The kids wore themselves out, the pumpkin pies were devoured and the blessings of family enjoyed.

A Little Kitchen Bonding

Every year it's N's job to make the pumpkin pies.  I usually make a cheesecake because I don't like pie, but N takes care of everyone else with his perfect pies.

It's been a tradition since our first Thanksgiving and one I'm more than happy to keep going!  What's better than a man doing all the cooking?

Maybe having him share that moment with our daughter.

I think it's safe to say that there is a new tradition on the horizon.

Blessed and Thankful

Today is a day where I truly cherish the opportunity to be thankful.  I know I am thankful most days, but today provides an opportunity to tell people I'm thankful for them, show them and soak them in. 

Photo by Jaidean Baker

I'm thankful this man chooses to love me every day, that he chooses to love our girls every day and he does it all sacrificially.  I'm thankful he puts up with my crazy.

Photo by Jaidean Baker

I'm thankful for her.  She has taught me about what kind of example I want to be. 

Photo by Jaidean Baker

I'm thankful for her.  She has taught me to enjoy life and laugh at the silly things.

Photo by Jaidean Baker

I'm thankful for her.  She has taught me about a love so deep I sometimes think I might burst.  She brought me back to the feet of Jesus. 

I'm thankful to the Giver of all my blessings. 

I See Plenty of Parades in Our Future

It was a quite night on Sunday.  I wasn't feeling great and Zoe was getting over some fever thing, so we decided to lay low.  You can only lay low for so long with a 2-year old before they start to go a little stir crazy.  Because I wasn't feeling great, sewing and cooking were out. 

Fortunately N came to the rescue and asked Zoe if she wanted to play his trumpet.  I don't think I've ever seen her jump up fast than I have at that moment.

He brought out his trumpet and showed her how to hold it.  She was a little too excited/nervous to try.  He played a few notes and then she decided she could do better.

I was amazed.  She can actually play it.  She knew exactly what to do.  She may look like me, but she's all daddy's girl on the inside.  After a few tries of composing her own song, she asked N to get his trumpet too!  Apparently she feels this is her trumpet now.

Of course N, who is a great trumpet player, has two.  Although one is called something else, but don't ask me what.  I played flute from 4th through 7th grade and don't think I could tell you how to read music nor how to play the flute.  I blocked most of that out after having to march in a parade, fake play a song and wear a green and white polyester band uniform.  It was not a highlight of my junior high life.

They played their duet for the rest of the night.  When it was time for jammies, Zoe kept sticking her tongue out to feel her lips.  I'm sure they were numb and tingly. 

N wore a perma-grin.  I'm sure he was dreaming of their future duets.

A Little Behind

This is a post I should've done last week, but I was too into Twilight to come up for air.

N's aunts Mer and DeeDee enrolled the girls in a book of the month club.  Each month we get a new package in the mail with books for each of them.  It's a highlight to say the least.

What is equally sweet, is they also send books for N and I to read.  The most recent one is next up after I finish re-reading the Twilight books.

Zoe loved the card. She would lay on the couch, read it, then get up and carry it around. It wasn't until this week that she realized she has a new book about Thanksgiving.  Her Veggie Tales bible from them is still something she carries around when she isn't re-reading the card.

E is still working on reading her last book, but was totally ready to leave that one behind and start the next. 

D about jumped out of her skin when she realized it was the second book in the series.  She immediately went to get the first to finish reading it AS.SOON.AS.POSSIBLE.  This girl LOVES to read.

Thank you Aunt Mer and Aunt DeeDee for these books.  They are cherished almost as much as we cherish you!  Love you both.

I'm Over The Moon

I know last week I was a bit distracted by all things New Moon and Twilight.  When you find a book that can totally make you forget all time and reality, you go with it.  There is no point in avoiding it.  It will suck you in.

That's the Twilight series for me.  I used to read 3-4 books a week when I was single.  This was the first series since motherhood and marriage that I got into.  I'm forever grateful.

After Twilight I was a bit nervous for New Moon.  For starters it was my least favorite book of the 4 since it's so dark.  Plus I was a little gunshy after the midnight viewing experience of the first one (oh yes I di-id Jamie!). 

Becca and I arrived at the theater about an hour before showtime.  Actually the line wasn't too bad.  I was way better than getting a number and being assigned to one of 4 lines at the midnight showing of Twilight.  We each got a mocha since 7:00 pm on a Friday night is way to late for us old ones.

We chatted and began to notice that most people in line were our age or at least old enough to drive themselves to the theater.  We began to think this experience might not be so bad.  Maybe all the swooning and screaming when Edward or Jacob came on the screen would be minimal.

We got great seats, turned off our phones and set our expectations low.  We also decided that if you can't beat 'em, join 'em.  When the audience swooned, we did too.

It was a great experience.  I loved this movie WAY better than the first one.  It stuck to the dialogue in the book, stuck to the storyline and brought the book to life.  They did add a fight scene to the movie, but it didn't bother me.  I think it worked well the the story and set us up for the next couple movies.

Both Becca and I, true Twi-Hards, left the theater ready to see it again.  New Moon wasn't our favorite book, but the movie made us want to read it again.

I'm glad I went.  Thank Becca for encouraging me to give it a shot.  I'll be ready for Eclipse!

I Twi-Hard To Lower My Expectations

I'm not one to hide the fact that I love Stephenie Meyer's Twilight books.  It took two friends trying to convince me that I would love them for me to even contemplate reading them.

A teenager girl, a teenage vampire and a teenage werewolf.  I think Michael J. Fox did the Teen Wolf thing as well as it could be done quite frankly.  I wasn't about to get sucked into a Teen Wolf wannabe.  These friends continued with their peer pressure and pleaded "just give us 30 pages.  If you don't like it, we'll stop hounding you." 

I gave them 30 pages.  Six days later I emerged from the fourth book totally in love.  I love with Edward, Bella, Jacob, the Cullens, Mr. Swan and Stephenie Meyer (and happily eating crow).  The books are about vampires and werewolves, but it's also about some really great characters.  People you grow to love.  Stephenie Meyer brings you into her world with these characters, makes them your friends and gives you a deep connection to her fantasy world.

During that 6 day marathon of reading I lost serious amounts of sleep.  Not only because I couldn't put the book down, but also because I would dream about flipping through the pages and wondering what I read next.  It was exhausting and exciting.

I officially became a Twi-Hard.  I stood in line for a midnight showing of the Twilight movie.  I was seriously disappointed.

Now I've got tickets to New Moon.  Becca, my midnight viewing Twi-Hard sister, got tickets.  There is a new director, some sweet special effects on the previews and maybe, just maybe that will help.  The New Moon book was my least favorite in the series.  My expectations are low.

If things on ye olde blog are quite for the next couple days it's because I'm re-reading New Moon. 

I am a Twi-Hard afterall, spidermonkey.

We Lost Our Money Tree Crop This Year

D & E came over to spend the weekend with us.  It's always great to spend time with them, but especially as the holidays are approaching.  I love asking them what they want for Christmas.  I play a little game each time I ask.  I try to guess how many things will change on the list and how much the bottom line rises.

For instance, a couple years ago E and I were in the kitchen and I asked her what she wanted.  She informed me she wanted a Wii.  Because they were new that year and the chance of me fighting in a Black Friday line to get one of those was slim, I asked if there was anything else.  She looked around the kitchen, saw the trash can and said she would indeed also like a trash can for Christmas.

The lists for both girls tends to change with their surroundings.  I'm sure if we were at the zoo they would HAVE TO HAVE a tiger or something equally non-domestic.

Last year D wanted a cell phone, laptop and her own room.  It ended being a $42,000 list (with renovations) for her last year.

This creates several issues.  Mainly that we have no idea what to tell the family to get them if they ask.  Not to mention we have no idea what to get them.  I like to ask multiple times because a garbage can is totally within the budget and it takes 10 times of asking to get that affordable, if not practical item on the list.

This year the stakes have totally gone up.  Granted the year D wanted her own room still goes as the largest sum total for the list, but if I've learned anything, it's that I cannot assume I've seen it all.

Here are the lists this year:

D
1.  A mechanical puppy to play with at our house because then Zoe wouldn't get bit.  Specifically she would like one with a bunch of wires on the inside that she can control with a glove-like controller.
2.  A pet fish.  (Thankfully N squashed this idea right away.)
3.  $200 worth of gift certificates to the mall.
4.  Cell phone, but one that flips or slides because those are the coolest.
5.  A manicure and pedicure appointment.  Her toes would alternate between blue and red and her fingernails would alternate between red and green for Christmas.

E
1.  Her very own, very real laptop (she got one of these two years ago, but it was a V-Tech, so it was geared toward learning and she wants to play non-learning games). 
2.  A camera so she can take her own pictures (she got one of these last year, but it needs new batteries or something,  Apparently a whole new camera is better than replacing the batteries).
3.  A pair of high heels.  Not too high because she could fall and hurt herself.
4.  A manicure.
5.  $100

I guess this year they're going for the sophisticated, career woman approach to Christmas.  Which is good because at the rate their tastes continue to increase, they're going to need to contribute.

Plain Tuckered Out

I was going to have some really great, week-ending, life changing recipe to share today.  I know the one person that reads this blog has been absolutely dying to know what we eat at our house and how they can live exactly like us.

I'm also positive that after they've read the recipes this week, they are beginning to question why on earth they come to read me little blog.

I don't have a recipe, unless you want to know how we make grilled cheese sandwiches at our house.  It includes more than a little butter, some white bread and cheese.  Loads of glorious cheese.

That's what we're having tonight.  I'm too exhausted to even pretend to cook.  I did have one incident where, in my awesome tiredness, I almost lit the house on fire. 

This week had been hard.  N and I both have many stressors in our life that seem to be hitting all at once this week.  We are plum tuckered out. 

My prayers is that we are going to sit on the couch tonight, eat our grilled cheese and just love on one another.  It is most needed this week.

Hope your weekend is full of comfort food and all the love you can handle!

We Are Not Above Copying

When I was a little girl I always remember my grandma in the kitchen.  As I look back, I think I can count on one hand all the times I saw her in a room other than the kitchen.  It was rare.  In fact I don't think I ever even saw her go into the bathroom.  I'm not sure how reliable my memory is now. 

The point is, she was a cook.  An amazing cook.  One of the dishes I remember her making was sweet and sour spare ribs.  It was a favorite dish of my grandparents from a local restaurant.  My grandma was convinced she could duplicate it at home.  To this day if you have two dishes of those spare ribs, one from the restaurant and one made by her recipe, you cannot tell the difference.  She nailed it.

Since N and I stopped eating all frozen, all the time, I've gone to replicating restaurant dishes.  It's one of the best ways, in my opinion, to try experimenting with ingredients and seeing what works and what doesn't.  One of our favorite restaurants is a lovely Italian-American joint called Tomato Street.  If you are ever visiting, I highly recommend this place.  You can even write on the tables, so it's very kid friendly!

My favorite dish there is called Baked Mostaccioli with Roasted Chicken.  It's a baked pasta dish that is as close to heaven as you can get with pasta.  I decided to attempt this dish.  While mine is still missing a little something, it's still quite tasty.

Baked Mostaccioli with Baked Chicken

2 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
Olive oil
1 box mostaccioli noodles
1 regular jar of marinara sauce (I use traditional Ragu, it has the closest taste to the base flavor at Tomato Street)
1 regular jar of alfredo sauce (I use Classico Roasted Garlic Alfredo)
3-4 Tbsp pressed garlic
5-6 basil leaves, chopped
Crushed, red pepper flakes to taste
1 1/2 Cups shredded mozzarella cheese
1/2 Cup grated parmesan cheese
1/2 Cup grated provolone cheese

Bake chicken for approximately 30 minutes at 350 degrees.  Once cooked, cut into bite sized pieces and set aside.  You can cook the chicken days before, just make sure you re-heat it a bit before you use it in this dish as it won't be in the oven long enough to heat through.

Use olive oil to grease bottom and sides of a 9x13 baking dish and turn oven onto broil.  I use the high setting on my broiler, but if you aren't one to watch your food closely, you might want to use low.

At the same time you start the boiling water for the noodles, combine the marinara, alfredo, garlic, basil and red pepper flakes into another sauce pan.  Place it on low heat to warm the sauce through.  I like a strong garlic flavor, so I try to find alfredo with a roasted garlic infusion, but that's a personal preference.  Regular alfredo works just as great, without the offensive breath!  I can't impress enough the importance of fresh basil in this dish.  It totally brings a flavor that you can't duplicate.

Cook pasta to al dente according to package directions. If mostaccioli noodles aren't available, we like to use Ziti instead.

Drain pasta and place back in pot.  Add the bite-sized chicken to the pasta, then pour the sauce mixture over the chicken and pasta.  (I always add the sauce last since it tends to splatter the other way around.)  Stir to coat.  Pour this mixutre into the greased 9x13 pan and spread evenly.  Cover the top with a mixture of the three cheeses.  We like ours extra cheesy!

Broil until the cheese is bubbly and brown.  Serve with salad and garlic bread.

The best thing about this dish is the reheating factor.  If you don't want to have leftovers that week, this stuff freezes gloriously. 

The Recipe That Bonded Newlyweds

One of the things N and I loved doing in our newly-wedded bliss was to lounge on the couch with our reheated Ore-Ida fries and Dino nuggets and watch The Food Network. We’d look at all the great foods they made and think that someday we might do the same. You know, after we’d been married for several years and grilled cheese didn’t hold any appeal as our Tuesday night staple. We were ambitious people. Highly ambitious.


You know what happens when you see great food being made. You actually begin to think you are a chef. That you could also whip up a five course meal in 30 minutes, not have a ton of dishes and everyone, absolutely everyone would be standing in line to have some of your great cooking. We started small. We bought all the ingredients to make Emeril’s Essence. We began putting that on chicken and in breading for chicken strips. That Emeril knows how to season food!

Once we tasted great seasoning, the frozen food didn’t cut it anymore. We knew it was time we actually cooked something beyond grilled cheese and taco meat. Just to clarify, we didn’t eat those together. I went online and got some recipes. We both would work in the kitchen, making meals together, salivating over our newest creation. Then we’d sit down, look at each other in a stare down of “who is going to try it first.” Usually N went first and didn’t come back up until he had totally cleaned his plate.

I’m not going to lie. We’ve had some dishes that are less than stellar. We may have used our grilled cheese back-up when things didn’t turn out okay.

Since that first attempt with seasoning, we’ve got a fairly good repartee of dinners. Stir Fry Chicken and Bell Peppers was one of our first attempts at cooking in our very own kitchen. I remember coming home with the recipe and asking N if he thought it sounded okay. Then we went and bought a wok because we had to cook it exactly as they said! It has become a staple in our monthly meal planning. I believe I got this recipe from Rachael Ray, but I’m not entirely sure. The best part is that it can easily be expanded to feed more people or some for leftovers. We usually double this recipe so N and I have some leftovers for the week. Also, if you have little ones who aren’t too fond of all the spiciness, you can take some chicken out before you insert the spicy.

Stir Fry Chicken and Bell Peppers

2 Cups of rice, cooked
2 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 skinless, boneless chicken breasts cut into bite-sized pieces of even size
2 Tbsp minced garlic
2-3 Tbsp hot chili oil
Crushed red pepper flakes to taste
1 red bell pepper, sliced
1 yellow bell pepper, sliced
1 Tbsp soy sauce

Cook the rice per package instructions and set aside. Typically I start the rice the same time I start the chicken and peppers so they are done about the same time. I find this dish to be excellent with brown rice, but I have to pretend we don’t have any white rice if N is going to eat brown rice.

Heat the vegetable oil in the wok over medium to medium high heat and add the chicken to the heated oil. Cook until chicken is done and starting to turn slightly brown on the outside. There will be quite a bit of chicken liquid in the bottom of the wok, but don’t fear, it will evaporate.

To the cooked chicken add the garlic, hot chili oil (you can always add more or less of this) and crushed, red pepper flakes. You can omit the red pepper flakes if you wish. I’ve even used a dash or two of cayenne pepper and it tastes great, with less intense heat. Stir and let cook for about a minute until the chicken is coated and the garlic has a chance to cook a bit. To this add the bell peppers, turn the heat down to medium or medium-low and stir together. Cover the wok with the lid and let the peppers cook for about 3-4 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the soy sauce to the chicken and peppers to add a little liquid to the mixture. You can add more or less of the soy sauce to the wok, depending on how dry the chicken and peppers seem.

Serve over rice.

It’s a two pot cooking experience and a one bowl eating experience. That the kind of clean-up math I like.

The Extra Hour is the Gift That Keeps On Giving

I'm still trying to recover from Daylight Savings Time.  In my younger days, I loved the fall back part of DST.  You gained a whole hour.  You could stay up until midnight, but it was really only 11:00.  I could go to bed at normal time and gain that extra hour of sleep.  The options were endless and I can assure you I never took the "fall back" part of DST for granted. 

Now that Zoe is alive, DST doesn't hold any of the same meaning.  We tried keeping Zoe up until 10 o'clock because it was really 9 o'clock, which is her bedtime.  She was up at 6:45 the next morning as though she didn't miss an hour of sleep.  Ever since then it's been a downhill slide. 

Our girl normally slept until 8:30.  Now it's sometimes before 7:00.  This mamma likes her sleep.

Do you like how I'm making excuses for how sad the blog is lately?  I'm tellin' ya, it's a gift.

Because I'm still in a DST cloud, I thought I would continue to share some recipes that we've been making at home.  I've found The Pioneer Woman's site called Tasty Kitchen.  It is an online community of home chef's that share recipes.  It's like the best Baptist potluck in the world.  I highly recommend if you're looking for something specific, go to Tasty Kitchen.  It will totally be worth the 3 hours of sleep you miss because of all the goodness that comes pouring off the screen!

Lately I've been trying to replicate some of our favorite restaurant dishes at home.  We sometimes like to be both frugal and anti-social.  Plus the holidays are coming up, family is coming over and I have this OCD tendancy to really impress people.  Not to mention food is my husband's love language.

There is a deli here that makes the best Sesame Noodles.  They are equally spicy as they are delicious.  The best part is they're great cold.  It's the perfect side dish to a sandwich or a BBQ.  I couldn't figure out what they used.  I went to Tasty Kitchen to see if anyone had a recipe out there for them.  Don't you love how strongly I'm linking you to the site!  You can search by recipe or ingredient.  If you have extra cream of tartar that you're just not sure what to do with, this site can help you.  Seriously, it's genius.

I found this recipe for Funky Chicken and Sesame Noodles.  I haven't been able to make the funky chicken part of this recipe yet, but I have a feeling it's coming.  And fast! 

Having said that, I also tweaked the recipe just a touch because I like my sesame noodles to have a kick to them.  Surprisingly so does Zoe.  The girl eats these noodles up.

Here's my version of the sesame noodles, minus the funky chicken.

1 box of thin spaghetti noodles (I prefer the whole wheat ones in this recipe and the thin noodles)
1/3 Cup soy sauce
1/4 Cup toasted sesame oil
2 Tbsp hot chili oil
1/3 C Sugar
1/2 tsp fresh ginger, finely grated (I use my microplane for this)
1-2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
Crushed, red pepper flakes to taste
1/4 C sesame seeds, toasted (watch carefully because burning them doesn't smell good, not that I know of course)

Cook spagetti according to directions, drain and rinse.  In a bowl (or large mixing cup like I use), add the soy sauce, toasted sesame oil, hot chili oil (a little goes a long way), sugar, ginger and garlic.  Whisk until well blended and the sugar is dissolved.  (If you have a toddler who wants to help, the whisking is a hit at our house.)  Once it's blended, then I had the crushed, red pepper flakes.  (It all depends on how much help I've had the prior ingredients and how hot the sauce already is.)  Pour this over the pasta and toss.

In a skillet, over medium heat, toast the sesame seeds.  Once toasted, pour over noodles and toss.

You can also add scallions to the top of the dish to make it look pretty, but I find they just get picked out at our house. 

The best part of this is that you can serve it right away or refrigerate it.  They last for quite awhile.  We also add some BBQ pork to it and eat it with that too.  All depends on how much time you have and if you're carbo loading!
Enjoy.

We Represented with Tortilla Soup

This past weekend was exactly what the doctor ordered.  Friday night we enjoyed some time with our small group at church, Saturday was a lazy day and Sunday was church and nothin' else.

It was just what the doctor ordered.  Rest, relaxation, quilting, good soups and a toddler who keeps both N and me in stitches.

Because I like to have some substance to ye olde blog, I'll share with you one of the soup recipes we had this weekend.  It's from Big Mama and that girl knows her stuff...or the right people!

In the spirit of Big Mama, we represented with some Tortilla Soup.  A reader of her blog gave her the recipe for Tortilla Soup from The Mansion in Dallas.  While I've seen the website of The Mansion and am totally impressed, I cannot confirm nor deny if this recipe is from there.  However, if it's not, they should totally take credit because it's one of the best soups in the whole category of soup.

Without further ado, Mansion Tortilla Soup (it's totally on the menu on the website)

Tortilla Soup from The Mansion


3 tablespoons olive oil
4-6 corn tortillas, diced
1 tablespoon of minced garlic
4-5 tablespoons of chopped cilantro (All the cilantro I could find was sketchy at best)
1 tablespoon of cumin
2 tablespoons of chili powder

Saute all of the above until tortillas begin to crisp.

Add the following to the above and simmer:

1 cup onion puree (I rough chopped an onion and then put it in the food processor until it was liquidish - that's totally a word.  This, in my opinion makes the soup).
1 large can (29 oz) of tomato puree (or tomato sauce as we call it in the north)
2 quarts of chicken stock
Salt and pepper to taste
Cayenne pepper to taste

I also added diced chicken (got the rotisserie from Costco and diced that bad boy up), a can of corn drained and a can of black beans drained & rinsed. 

You can top it with avacado, cheese, sour cream and crispy strips of tortillas. 

Mine ends up being more chunky than I'm sure The Mansion does, but it's so good.  Plus it's healthy and flavorful and totally diet friendly.

Not to mention it also cleanses your sinuses.  It's win-win really.

Even without cilantro.

You Can Now Smell Like a Horse

On Tuesday of this week I went to the doctor for a cough and shortness of breath.  I realize I don't really like going to the doctor.  Normally they figure out what's wrong with me, give me some drugs and I'm on my way.  However, this visit they threw out words like "heart disease" or "pulmonary embolism" and I started to see spots, got a little light headed and started planning my funeral.

Fortunately they ruled all those things out and concluded that I have bronchitis.  Which seems like I'm a total sissy for thinking I was sick. 

I had to go to the pharmacy for some cough syrup and antibiotics.  The pharmacist told me it would be about 15 minutes and they would call my name when it was ready.

I went looking through the store and realized we needed shampoo.  As I was looking for something fruity-smelling that would provide me with that "just stepped out of the salon" look, this caught my attention. 

I wasn't sure if the horse and reference to a "mane" was because this was for your livestock or for you and they had a clever play-on-words-and-picture thing going on.

The have two directions on the back:  For Human Use and For Animal Use.

That's right you can use this product on you and your favorite steed.  Plus it not only acts as shampoo and conditioner, but body wash.

I'm not sure who takes showers with their horses, but apparently there is a large enough demographic that a company exists to make such a product.  What's even better is that two bottle of the shampoo/body wash are missing. 

If you're looking for a clever Christmas idea, might I suggest a bottle of the Mane and Tail shampoo with a copy of Horse and Hound.  It's sure to make someone's Christmas a little more special.

She Has Found Her Calling

On Tuesday Grandma Lily came over to play with Zoe for a bit in the morning.  Grandma Lily has hamsters at her house and Zoe isn't a fan of all things rodent.  I'm proud to say that's one of the traits she inherited from my DNA. 

Grandma Lily thought Zoe needed a new outfit.

She is officially a princess.  I was home sick from work with bronchitis on Tuesday, so Zoe and I held court all day.  She reluctantly took it off for nap time.

However, when she woke up, she insisted that she put her "princess dress" on before leaving her room.

I'm so glad she's finally found her calling.

Wordless Wednesday: Every Child's Dream

Because a New Puppy Doesn't Fit in Her Candy Bag

Halloween night was something I was anticipating, but also concerned about.  Zoe LOVED her costume and she loves candy, however, she's not so keen on strangers.  Trick-or-treating could've gone either direction. 

We all went to Grandma Kathy's (my mom's) house for some pre-trick-or-treating fellowship.  She also lives in a neighborhood with loads of grandparents, so they were bound to give out some good candy and not be too scary.

Zoe had her trusty horse Kisses and was dressed for action.

The she realized she had to have her coat on and carry her candy bag.  I got horse duty while grandma snapped pictures.  N stayed behind to pass out candy.  I really think he just wanted a few minutes to watch some history of The Real Wolfman. 

After her first house, Zoe was an old pro.  As we walked down the stairs, she would say, "next house.  More candy!" 

That was until she got tired of walking, we put her in a stoller and then she just wanted to send me or grandma to the door to get her candy.  We had to bribe her with candy to get her out of the stroller. 

Then it was off to Aunt Becca's and Uncle Josh's house.  She was totally excited because they have a black dog named Tucker.  After about 5 minutes of Uncle Josh holding poor Tucker in what I can assume is a hold off UFC, did Zoe feel like she would approach Tucker. 

It was an instant bond.  He would let her pet his tail, she would let him "kiss" her cheek with his nose.  He was the highlight of her Halloween.  She cried for exactly 1/2 mile (the distance to our house) and about 10 extra minutes just so I would know that she REALLY REALLY REALLY wants a Tucker of her own.  I had to bribe her with a play date at Aunt Becca's house. 

Then I got out the candy bag and the size of her loot made her temporarily forget her favorite puppy in the whole world.

She switched to nuzzling M&M's like her mom does when talk of puppies comes up.