First Day of School & Homemade Corn Dogs

Today Adrianna started Kindergarten. I was worried I was going to cry... but nope, not today. Now yesterday, ya, tears were happening. Well, she went in just fine. At first she didn't want me to leave, she was shy and was trying to sit on my lap. I got her to sit by a little girl whose name was similar to hers, but still, she was shy. I stayed for probably 10-15 minutes and talked to her and the little girl next to her, trying to ease the shyness and when I told her I was going to go she was A-O-K.
Yay for first days! ((OK seriously, when I went to kindergarten we didn't have a billion things in the room, I remember desks, a circle rug with the letters of the alphabet and some closet doors where we kept our jackets and backpacks... How do you remember your kindergarten classroom??))

Sitting at the coloring table.



First day smiles!



Lookin a little nervous and a lot too grown up.

So today was supposed to be meatless Monday, but I did not do too well on the planning, plus I wanted to make something cool on the first day of school.
 So.... instead of meatless Monday we ate homemade corn dogs! They were pretty good. Not too impressed because I don't like hot dogs and it used a lot of oil--->>>> unnecessary oil. Well, I did not take a picture of tonight's dinner, oh well, it wasn't picture perfect anyways.

Make again? No, it used too much oil when I could have had my roommate make hot dogs instead (with BACON!) mmm.
Rating:3/5 probably because I am biased against hot dogs. I don't usually eat them.
Times I spilled/dropped things: 1, I dropped a hot dog on the floor.
Lesson learned: I should have made fried fish, w/ hush puppies and coleslaw instead. Corn dogs are not my thing, not even homemade.
Price of dinner: About $7 total. I purchased 1 package of Angus Hot Dogs, 1 thing of canola oil and two baking potatoes. To fry the corn dogs I made a mixture of flour, milk, egg, baking powder, oil and salt and dipped the hot dogs in a tall cup filled with the mixture. It was quick and easy, but I still cannot get over the amount of oil used just for corn dogs. Ick! I mean if I'm going to fry something in almost 2 inches of oil in my large pot I will fry some chicken or some fish... NOT hot dogs. BLEH.

Gotta love it!

God blessed our first day, may he bless the rest of the year as well!

Monday's Meatless Pasta!!!

YAY for Mondays! lol
Well, I found this great recipe for Pasta Primavera and thought I would try it for our meatless Monday meal... I've been trying to get better at designating one day every week for meatless meals, but it turns out that I make a few meatless meals each week and they aren't planned the same day each week. OK, so I'm trying the meatless Mondays thing, leftover Thursdays, and crock pot Wednesdays. :)

Tonight I used:
ten sliced mushrooms
some broccoli
three carrots
a dozen or so grape tomatoes, halved
not quite a whole bag of snow peas
half a box whole wheat fettuccine
1 (8oz) carton of heavy whipping cream
maybe 1 cup Parmesan cheese
1 clove of garlic, diced
3 tbsp butter or margirine
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil (from my balcony garden) :) :)
and a few sprigs of parsley from  my garden (I didn't measure)
I forgot the salt and pepper, which would have improved the taste, but this was great. The mushrooms I thought tasted like meat. :)

How I made it:
First, I prepped my veggies.
Next, I cooked the pasta according to the box.
Third, I blanched the veggies.
Fourth, I drained the veggies and pasta.
Fifth, I quickly sauteed the mushrooms and garlic in the butter.
Six, I poured in the cheese and whipping cream into the sauteed mushroom mix. Once that started bubbling I dumped in the veggies and the rest on the ingredients and mixed, mixed, mixed.
Seriously, This was SOOOOO easy. I was very impressed. I would have been a little better if it had some onions, but this was GREAT!!!!!!!!

Well, I am babysitting my little niece and she ate all her food, with the exception of the mushrooms, which I don't blame her. As a kid mushrooms look disgusting. She did so good. I did not think she would eat the carrots or peas, but I got her to eat them! YAY! The kids of course ate theirs, they are used to my healthy cooking. lol OH and for dessert they are the Layered Buttermilk Carmel Frosting Cake! And boy DID THEY LOVE IT!!!! My niece was trying to stuff the entire piece in her mouth... hahahaha Riley was stoked as soon as I put the cake in front of her. Her eyes lit up like firecrackers!

The veggies after I blanched them. :)

Sauteing the mushrooms and garlic in butter.

 

Almost done, now to add the noodles.

 

The finished product.

My plate of yummies!

Adri's bento lunch today. She ate so good with her chop sticks.

She wanted a biscuit, boiled egg in the hello kitty shape, broccoli and carrots, and sausage.

Kid sized slice. ;)

The riley bug... she's mad about cake. LOL

Stuffing her face. :)

Taste: 4/5 just a little flavorless, I think that the tomatoes made it a little watery. I think next time I will use more basil and some red onion and maybe even some of my fresh oregano.

Will I make this again? YES! I loved this recipe, and the kids loved it as well. What I especially loved about it was that I didn't had mounds of leftovers... I don't like having leftover pasta. It isn't the same once reheated, esp. if there is broccoli in it.

Lesson learned: Don't forget to put salt and pepper. 1/4-1/2 tsp of each should do fine.

Experience needed: beginner. This was as simple as boiling water and chopping basil and garlic. E-Z!

How many times I spilled/dropped things: One. I dropped a piece of broccoli on the floor when I was draining the veggies. No big mess ups today (besides my lack of S&P in the food).

Gotta love it!

God made such yummy/colorful food!

Buttermilk Cake with Carmel Icing!!!

OH! WOW!

So last night I made this buttermilk cake. I made it in three round cake pans. This morning I made the homemade Carmel icing, and wow is it amazing! I have never made Carmel icing. I was almost praying it would turn out right.

This was a crazy adventure because when I went to pour the carmelized sugar in the rest of the carmel mix it started to bubble, big time. So, I slowed up on the pouring, while reading the directions, again. (Mixture will begin to bubble)-it said. When I was FINALLY done icing the cake I placed it in the freezer for about 20 minutes to set, some more. After it had set I took some to the apt office to share with the lovely office folk. :) I wish I had some disposable platters I could use to give desserts away. I guess I should look into that because I love sharing my experimental desserts! :) :) :)
OK. So I have a lot of pictures for this because the icing took at least half an hour to prepare. AND then actually icing the cake took even longer because I had to do a crumb coat for each layer. BLAH. In between each coat I would shove the cake back in the freezer so it would set... Good thing I did. I forgot to level the cakes. DOH!!! So here are all the pictures...



caramel after its done mixing

Bottom layer, after iced

bottom layer, again

Top layer, crumb coat.

Finished product. It was kinda messy, but it was OK for my 1st try.

Here you can see the messy sides...

I wish I had remembered to level all the cakes...

This is the frosting.... YUM!

Cooking the frosting to 240 degrees F... I need a better AC or should do this only in the winter time.

This is the sugar...melted. I had to melt 3/4 cup sugar in a sauce pan and then pour it into the rest of the frosting mixture...blah blah blah

the sugar, as it clumps then melts.

This is the sugar being poured into the carmel mix (I jumped at first, it freeked me out).

Well, I don't know why my computer is being a bit slow today, but its not loading the rest of the pictures. I guess I will try and load them tomorrow.

Taste: 5/5 I never thought I would like caramel frosting... But this is delicious!
Try again? YES. Maybe after I take a cake class though. This caramel was a but tricky since it was warm. I don't like using warm icing (it was right off the stove, I let it cool for a little bit but I did not want it to thicken or harden...).
How many times I spilled: Um there is a little caramel on the stove and the cabinets, but that's because I wasn't being too careful about the spoon dripping when I was icing the cake... Not too bad today. I did not drop anything.
Level of experience needed: Probably expert... I have baked many cakes and have made homemade chocolate icing many times and this was still tricky. Plus whenever I was pouring the sugar into the icing it turned all carmely and I was getting worried. I thought it wasn't going to turn out right. But it did!
Lesson learned: Don't forget to level your cakes. ~sigh~

Gotta love it!

God made me a baker!

Crock Pot Nacho (toppings)

Yesterday I made this recipe called Chalupa Dinner Bowl... PROPS to the southern living cookbook, I based my recipe off of.
It turned out amazing! I will tweak it next time, but it was really excellent. I have been trying to use my crock pot more often now because it is so extremal hot outside, I can't bear to turn on the oven and my stove has been NUTS lately. Well, yesterday while I was putting all the ingredients into the crock the guy came to fix my stove!!! YA! After working on it for-Ev-er! he finally succeeded! YAY! I have FOUR working burners, finally! Thank you stove guy!

I forgot to take a picture of the big plate I made for myself, I was starving, but here is the kids plate.

Recipe: (how I made it)
1 (3 lb.) Boneless Pork Loin Roast
1 lb. dry pinto beans
1 (7oz) Can diced green chilies
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp. organic garlic spice (I was out of fresh garlic, EGD!)
1 tsp salt
8 fresh oregeno leaves, diced or torn
1 tsp ground cumin
1 small can Rotel w/ lime and cilantro
1 (32 oz) carton of Chicken Broth(reduced sodium)

Toppings:
2 Cups monterey jack cheese, shredded (duh)
3-4 diced jalapenoes
sour cream
1/2 head of lettuce shredded
1 Bag of organic blue corn chips

Directions:
So first I sorted and rinsed my pinto beans.
Then I layed the pork loin over the beans.
Next I dumped the next SIX ingredients in the pot and proceeded to pour the chicken broth on top.
I covered the pot and cooked on High about 2 hours then switched it to low, because I didn't gauge my time correctly. After about 1 hour on low I put it back on high so it would be done by 4pm. So I think I cooked it on high for 6 hours, low for 1 hour and at 4 pm I dumped in the Rotel. I switched it back to low and let it simmer for about another 1/2 hour. Then... I got my grub on. LOL

This dish was delicious. (I think Next time I will cook it on low all day and I will probably use a few more oregeno leaves and a bit more chili powder. I was really good!)

Taste:4/5 only because it was a little too wet, I think next time I will drain the rotel so as not to add any liquid at the end of cooking.
Will I make this again? YES! It was super easy. It took no time at all to assemble and the kids and I loved it!
Times I dropped things: uhhhh I should really write this part down, like keep a tally because I honestly don't remember this time. Oh well.

Gotta love it!

God made me special!

Pictures!

Who has a ball pit now days?
Today we went to Dow Park to play and visit their skate park... BUT the skate park was ClOsEd!!! So instead of Prince E riding his skate board I rode around with him on Princess Peaches scooter... Bahaha

After the park we got to go to the Dairy Queen that had the BALL PIT!!!!! The kids were stoked! They always want to go to that DQ, but it it too far away.

Yesterday I let the kids play with some gel marker things... they had a blast. Too bad I had cleaned my kitchen floor the day before and it got wrecked... Oh well.

My bro is coming in town tomorrow. That means I get to see my adorable niece! I can't wait!

Well, here's a buncha pictures that I just had to post. I am so blessed!


Making two kinds of jello with fresh peaches too!



The mess lol



My cilantro sprouted!

Sky picts

Monkey gal

Somebody hijacked my phone and was taking pictures...

Can u see the seagal poo?

I see some legs back there

I see two monkeys!

Can you find them?

Dinner... Princess took the pict so its kinda...

Organic Romaine, Iceburg Lettuce, Red Bell Pepper, Yellow Bell Pepper, 2 Carrots, Egg is on the side container, and Olive Garden Dressing!!! NOM NOM NOM!

Our linkin log master piece

We had a pool, a log cabin, of course and

a big bon fire with some peeps standing 'round. :)

Well, making some amazing pork meat for nachos tomorrow in the crock pot, excited, cause I love nachos. SOoooooo, I'll have some more recipes tomorrow.

Taste: (of the salad) YUM! 4/5... it needed some tomatoes and avocado, and I forgot to add the banana peppers. EGD!

Make again: Yes, I love salad with tons of veggie toppings!

Lesson learned: Don't pick the peppers and put them in the fridge, because you'll forget them.

Times I spilled: Hummm I think I only dropped some carrot peeling on the floor. So, 2 x's.

Gotta love it!

God made such beautiful foods! I love all the different colors on my plate, it makes me happy!

Crock Pot Black Beans and Bolios

Today I had planned to make Black Beans in the crock pot. They turned out pretty good.
Recipe:
1 lb. dry black beans
1 (14 oz) can chicken broth
1 (small) can tomato paste
2 1/2 cups water
1 tsp. cumin
2 jalapenos, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, diced and sauteed
1/2 yellow bell pepper, diced and sauteed
4 cloves garlic, sauteed
1 onion, diced and sauteed
1 tsp olive oil, to saute above 4 items
fresh ground pepper to taste

OK, so what I did was rinse and sort the black beans and put them in the crock pot on low this morning at about 7am. I was up at 6:30 unfortunately. :/
I poured in the chicken broth, tomato paste, water, cumin and jalapenos and set to low.
After setting that up, I diced my peppers and garlic and onion. I sauteed my bell peppers separately so I could put them in the last half hour of cooking so they would not be soggy. I sauteed the onion and garlic and put them in the crock as well. I was gone till almost 1 with the beans on low. When I got home I turned them on high and proceeded to cook them till about 4pm. Thirty minutes prior to eating I poured in the bell peppers which I had placed in the fridge, and made some Spanish rice. Mmm. I served the beans with rice, crema, queso fresco and homemade bolios, which did not turn out as poofy as I would have preferred. I had a recipe in my cook book for bolios but they did not rise as much as I would have liked so I am not going to post about them until I get them right, although one is pictured with my dinner.
Hope you try this recipe, it turned out quite nice. I think next time I'll just use water instead of chicken broth.

Dinner!

Black Beans, bolio, Pace Picante Sauce (Hot), Carrot Juice.

Since dinner was pretty simple tonight, we got to get out the blocks and make "tunnels!"

Taste: 4/5 I think the consistency was a little too thick from the tomato paste and the Queso Fresco was the wrong brand... My bad

Try again? Yes, I love black beans. Whats left over from these are going in the enchiladas I'm making this weekend. YUM!!!

Times I dropped things? I think I dropped the spoon twice on the floor, DOOOOH!

Lesson learned: It doesn't really neeeed the chicken broth, I think that just added unneccary fat and salt.

Gotta love it!

God made me and I LoVe to cook!

Stuffed French Toast

This morning I made stuffed french toast. It is the only french toast I have ever liked. Ever!
Usually french toast is tasteless and bleh... but when I tried this recipe from Americas Test Kitchen... I WAS AMAZED!!!
So I had a HUGE miss-hap today... I burned my forearm. It was NOT cool, in any way, well besides the fact that I have some pretty gnarly scars from it. HAHAH Well, I was flipping one of the stuffed french toasts and the butter splattered. EDG! Not fun. They were very tasty, as always though.

 Cook till browned on both sides

I don't know why the picture won't rotate, but here is the finished product. YUM YUM YUM!

Stuffed French Toast and organic eggs. NOM! NOM!

 This is the bread I used this time...

 

My burned arm 3 hours later...

My burned arm after I got burn spray.

Soooo... I love STUFFED french toast! But I do NOT love burning myself. EGD! Thank you Lanacane First Aid Spray, you really saved the day. And thats to my Best Friend for buying it for me when I was too stubborned to get it!

Recipe:
For the filling I use:
6 oz reduced fat cream cheese
2 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp cinnamon
(mix them all up real smooth and put in bread... I make about 5-7 sandwhiched which this much filling)
Stuff to dip them in:
1/2 cup organic flour
1 tsp. vanilla
1 organic cage free egg
(mix these three ingredients together in a pie plate, then dip two sandwhiches in at a time. Heat a 12in skillet with 2 tbsp real butter and fry two sandwhices at a time, flipping after browned, about 3 minutes per side. Serve warm with powdered sugar and/or syrup. I cut them into triangles because well its FUN.)
Note to self: Be very careful when flipping. Butter burns!!!

Rating: 5/5
Lesson learned: Be easy when flipping, butter can and will scald you if you are not careful, DUH!
Will I make this again? YES! I love making these!
Times I dropped something... ZERO actually, but burning myself was pretty bad.

Oh how we love to be crazy! o_0

Gotta love it!

God is sooo good to me!