Lip Gloss

My girls love chapstick, lip gloss, lip stick - anything to do with lips. So I couldn't help but chuckle when I saw this drawing lying around. (Courtesy of Kiersten)

Questions

I was washing dishes and Little K was eating breakfast. She asked me to come to her because she wanted to see me while she talked to me.  I walked over and she said, "What's my question?"  I said, "I don't know. It's your question."  She became quite agitated.  I said, "It's okay, you can ask me when you remember."  She cried, "But I can't remember still."  Suddenly her face lit up and she said, "I remembered my question!  It's something I don't know!"  And that was it. End of conversation.

Overheard at Breakfast

Annika, "Kardynn, I know you might not remember this but how come you didn't turn upside down in Mommy's tummy?"
Kardynn, "Because it hurt my arm."

Valentines

Earlier today my sweet friend called me up and asked if I had plans.  She said that she was going to doll me up for Valentines Day.  She was going to sexy-ify me for the evening.  Cool.  So she did - she came over and prettied me up.  My favorite quotable was when she said something to the effect of "Heather, just try to be girlie."  *haha*  It's true. I'm so not a girlie-girl.  I have three daughters and I'm still a huge tomboy.  Yikes!  Anyway, she made my hair all pretty and put make up on me and then rushed out the door for a date with her own hubby.



And then I checked my phone and there was a text from the hubby, "I'm going to Hunters game. I tried to call you like 5 times :-( anyway, I'll c you tonight."

Story of my life.

Things Are Not Always What They Seem...

A few months ago my five year-old started getting into food. We've tried various tactics to get her to stop, with moderate success. She's mostly stopped doing it but every now and again we see that she's slipped into old habits. Just last night I discovered a tupperware of pretzel treats at the foot of her bed, under the sheets. We had a talk with her and explained that we don't want her getting into food because she could get into something dangerous - something that she shouldn't be eating. Unbeknownst to us, she'd already learned a lesson about things that look like food but aren't food.

This morning I found an empty wrapper in her room and the subsequent investigation lead me to a trashcan, where I found this:


Not-so-yummy soap, originally uploaded by hezro.

Apparently she thought it was a chocolate bar.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze, originally uploaded by hezro.

Apparently I like taking pictures of food. Ha!

That means my family is benefiting from the food I've been photographing and you guys are benefiting from the recipes I've been posting.  Or you SHOULD be - I can't help you if you don't try making all these delicious foods.  :)

This recipe actually comes at you from the Jen that I mentioned in my Play Dough post. I just found it online as well so this is text that I've copied from myrecipes.com.

Coconut Banana Bread with Lime Glaze

The tangy lime glaze cuts the sweetness of the bread. Substitute apple juice for the rum if you prefer.

Yield: 1 loaf, 16 servings (serving size: 1 slice)
Ingredients

* 2 cups all-purpose flour
* 3/4 teaspoon baking soda
* 1/2 teaspoon salt
* 1 cup granulated sugar
* 1/4 cup butter, softened
* 2 large eggs
* 1 1/2 cups mashed ripe banana (about 3 bananas)
* 1/4 cup plain low-fat yogurt
* 3 tablespoons dark rum
* 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
* 1/2 cup flaked sweetened coconut
* Cooking spray
* 1 tablespoon flaked sweetened coconut
* 1/2 cup powdered sugar
* 1 1/2 tablespoons fresh lime or lemon juice

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

Lightly spoon the flour into dry measuring cups, and level with a knife. Combine the flour, baking soda, and salt, stirring with a whisk to combine.

Place granulated sugar and butter in a large bowl; beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended (about 1 minute). Add the eggs, 1 at a time, beating well after each addition. Add banana, yogurt, rum, and vanilla; beat until blended. Add flour mixture; beat at low speed just until moist. Stir in 1/2 cup coconut. Spoon batter into a 9 x 5-inch loaf pan coated with cooking spray; sprinkle with 1 tablespoon coconut. Bake at 350° for 1 hour or until a wooden pick inserted in center comes out clean. Cool 10 minutes in pan on a wire rack; remove from pan. Combine powdered sugar and juice, stirring with a whisk; drizzle over warm bread. Cool bread completely on wire rack.
Nutritional Information

Calories:   193 (21% from fat)
Fat:   4.6g (sat 2.8g,mono 1.1g,poly 0.3g)
Protein:   2.9g
Carbohydrate:   35g
Fiber:   1.1g
Cholesterol:   35mg
Iron:   1mg
Sodium:   179mg
Calcium:   15mg

Cooking Light, SEPTEMBER 2003

Play Dough

Feb 10, originally uploaded by hezro.

This is the recipe I got from my daughter's preschool.

2 cups flour
1 cup salt
2 cups water
4 tsp Cream of Tartar
3 or 4 tbsp oil
Food coloring, if desired

Mix all ingredients in pot over stove until proper consistency. Stir throughout cooking process. Store in plastic Ziploc bag.

I actually do something a little different, thanks to a tip from my friend Jen. Instead of food coloring, I add a packet of Kool Aid mix. It adds wonderful color and smells great too.

Cream of Broccoli Soup

Cream of Broccoli Soup, originally uploaded by hezro.

We went to Dwight's aunt's house for Thanksgiving. One evening she made Cream of Broccoli soup and it was so yummy! I asked her how she makes it and she said, "Oh...I don't follow a recipe...a little of this, a little of that." Which of course didn't really help me make my own Cream of Broccoli soup. Her daughter told me that she puts lemon and sour cream in so I googled for a recipe that had lemon and sour cream.

I never did find that but I did find a recipe which I've now made several times and I think it's pretty darn good. The kids even like it so that says A LOT. In fact, even Dwight will eat it which really says a lot.  Honestly though, that shouldn't be a surprise since the reicpe has a 4.5 star average after 499 reviews on AllRecipes.com.

It's good just the way it is but I've also modified it a little just because of what we had in the fridge and it seems to be a pretty forgiving recipes. I tried to do it ala Aunt Esther with lemon and sour cream and that was good. I've used heavy cream instead of milk - yummy. I've used half evaporated milk and half regular milk - yummy. Today we had it for lunch and I threw some shredded cheese on top - yummy.

If you like cream of broccoli soup, definitely give this a try:

Ingredients

* 2 tablespoons butter
* 1 onion, chopped
* 1 stalk celery, chopped
* 3 cups chicken broth
* 8 cups broccoli florets
* 3 tablespoons butter
* 3 tablespoons all-purpose flour
* 2 cups milk
* ground black pepper to taste

Directions

1. Melt 2 tablespoons butter in medium sized stock pot, and saute onion and celery until tender. Add broccoli and broth, cover and simmer for 10 minutes.
2. Pour the soup into a blender, filling the pitcher no more than halfway full. Hold down the lid of the blender with a folded kitchen towel, and carefully start the blender, using a few quick pulses to get the soup moving before leaving it on to puree. Puree in batches until smooth and pour into a clean pot. Alternately, you can use a stick blender and puree the soup right in the cooking pot.
3. In small saucepan, over medium-heat melt 3 tablespoons butter, stir in flour and add milk. Stir until thick and bubbly, and add to soup. Season with pepper and serve.

Source:
http://allrecipes.com//Recipe/best-cream-of-broccoli-soup/Detail.aspx

Pomegranate Chicken

Okay, I'm going crazy posting recipes.  I tried making a vegetarian version of Mrs NilsenLife's Pomegranate Chicken.  I thought it was pretty yummy though I have to be honest and tell you that part of what makes it memorable for me was the vibrant colors.  Yummy!

Cabbage and Veggie Soup

Someone also asked for my soup recipe. Mom? Was it you Mom?

I'm addicted to this soup. My brother makes an awesome cabbage soup and mine pales in comparison, but I'm addicted nonetheless. I googled for a cabbage and beef soup recipe so I used that as my base but now I've ventured away from that one a bit. Here's my version of Danny's soup:

1 pkg frozen morningstar recipe crumblers (or whatever they're called). I've used the Boca ones too but I prefer the Morningstar ones.

8-12 cloves of garlic sliced thin...well some of it chopped up but some of it sliced.

1 onion (I always use sweet onions because they don't make me tear up like yellow onions do)

2 stalks celery, chopped (if a stalk is an entire "bunch" then I don't use a stalk. But if a stalk is just one stick then I use more. Probably about 4 sticks.)

1 (16 oz) can kidney beans, undrained

1 head cabbage, chopped (not too small) and don't remove the stem. Only cut off the dry, dark part on the bottom because otherwise, it's the best part of the soup.

1 (28 oz) can diced tomatoes, liquid reserved

1 can tomato paste (I usually use the small but I've used the big too and it was still good - just a little more tomato-y)

Several cans of water or broth. I sometimes use vegetarian broth (I like the Wolfgang Puck one) but almost always add water too. Basically just get it to the consistency you want. And then add some GW Broth or McKay's or whatever seasoning you like. Even when I use broth, I still add some seasoning. My brother doesn't do the seasoning and adds a de-veined jalapeno but I'm too lazy for all that. My brother adds green pepper. I'm not a huge green pepper fan but I don't mind it in this. He also adds a little olive oil and vegetable oil. Sometimes I saute the onions and garlic and those times I'm more likely to add the oils. Other times I don't add any at all. The recipe I have calls for garlic salt, garlic powder and black pepper. Sometimes I add some/all of those...sometimes I don't. I guess you can add parsley. Never tried that. My brother adds five bay leaves so sometimes I throw in a few of those.

This is a very forgiving soup, as you're probably realizing. *hehe*

1. In a large pot (very large!! I was using my 8 QT pot and was unable to put as much water as I wanted because it wasn't quite big enough) or dutch oven, brown beef and onion (not necessary for vege burger).
2. Add all ingredients except parsley.
3. Bring to a boil.
4. Reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 1 hour. (Danny only does 45 minutes and I'm always impatient to get eating so I only do 45 minutes too).
5. You may add extra water if you like a thinner soup. (Well this recipe only says one can of water so you're already doing that, if you're following my instructions.)
6. Garnish with parsley to serve.

Great Apple Cake

 This is probably my favorite cake. And people who try it always seem to like it. I was recently asked to share the recipe so here it is. Thank you to my friend Christina for sharing this cake - and recipe - with me a decade ago.  The last time I made it I actually managed to get it out of the pan but I didn't think to take pictures.  Oh well.

Cream:

1 cup oil

2 cups sugar

Beat:

3 eggs

1 tbsp vanilla

Mix:

3 cups flour

1 tsp salt

1 tsp baking soda

Fold in:

1 cup walnuts

3 cups chopped (& peeled) apples

Optional:

1/2 tsp each of cloves, cinnamon & nutmeg

Bake in an angel food cake pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour. After cooled 10 minutes pour sauce on top.

Sauce:

1 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup milk

3/4 STICK of butter

Bring to a boil, then cook for 3 minutes. Pour over cake (still in pan) and let stand overnight for 24 hours.

Fire the Hole

The girls are playing down in the basement.  I heard one of them pushing the buttons on their fire truck and then A Girl shouted, "Fire in the hole".  Where do they learn these things?

Last night Auntie A came over to watch the kids.  She had some funny conversations with the kids.  They're fascinated about their new cousin-to-be so many amusing conversations revolved around that.  See below for a picture K Girl drew a picture for Auntie A of the four kids spending time with her and Uncle D (and the new baby, of course).

She also wanted to give Auntie A stickers for the baby.  Auntie A explained that it's still a long time until the baby will be born.  O Boy pipes up, "Well, you could eat the stickers so the baby could have them right now."  Auntie A decided to just accept the stickers and not field additional - and perhaps more delicate - questions on that topic. 

In the meantime, Little K has been telling us that her new baby doll came from her tummy.  Last night she informed Auntie A that her baby doll is named "Baby Jesus".  Ahh...the danger of giving your child a doll for Christmas.

A Girl got a doll too.  She has named her doll "Annika G".
I said, "Oh, it's good that your doll has a different last name." 
A Girl, "No, she has the same last name.  But I'm Annika E. and she's Annika G. so that you can tell us apart."

Savoring the Moment

I made the girls some brunch (because lunch is served at 10:30 am for my PM Kindergartener) and had the following conversation with Kiersten:

K: Thanks Mom!
H: Thanks for what?
K: Thanks for everything you do.

Warms a mother's heart.