tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-88975025849125882582024-02-29T21:40:06.653-08:00Our Beautiful MessPennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.comBlogger668125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-83753128075919057222019-06-13T15:17:00.000-07:002019-06-13T15:17:55.243-07:00A Song That was a Hit Before Your Mother was Born<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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If you can name the song lyrics used for the title of this blog post without the help of Google, you will earn major respect points from me!<br />
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Matthew recently discovered the Beatles and their music while perusing our little library in the office. Back in high school, the Beatles were my music obsession. I knew every lyric from every song they ever recorded as well as every published detail from their lives and careers. During this time, it was not uncommon for me to receive Beatles paraphernalia as gifts from friends and family members. As a result, I have quite the collection of biographies, discographies, coffee table books, and even children's books about the Beatles. Matthew started out reading a biography of the Beatles written specifically for children. Next, he shuffled through my extensive vinyl collection and pulled out all the Beatles records and listened to them intently. Then, he began reading through my more extensive biographies. Soon enough, I had a Beatles historian in the making walking around the house, spouting off various facts like, "John Lennon had a skiffle band when he was a teenager and then he met Paul McCartney when he was 15. Paul was a better guitar player and John didn't like that he was a better musician than him but he wanted to make the band better, so he let him join."<br />
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Matthew has declared his favorite Beatle to be Paul because he tends to like more of Paul's songs. His least favorite Beatle is George because "he looks scary in a lot of their pictures." His favorite Beatles song by far is "Ticket to Ride" and he has questioned the legitimacy of the Grammy Awards when he discovered that they did not award the Beatles Best Song of the Year for that single. When I showed him that the Beatles DID win the 1967 Song of the Year Grammy for "Michelle" and played that song for him, he balked: "Ticket to Ride is WAY better than THAT song. They're not even singing in English!" </div>
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Maybe he will appreciate the artistic beauty of that song one day. It's one of my favorites. But then again, I could probably count over 100 of the Beatles' songs as my "favorites".<br />
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Emma and Lucy have also become quite enraptured with the Beatles' music because Matthew has been playing so much of it around the house. Emma and Lucy both love the song "Lucy in the Sky with Diamonds" just because they love to pretend that the song is about our Lucy. They request that I play it often while I'm preparing dinner so they can sing and dance.</div>
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I actually didn't realize how deep the Beatles influence was with my children until the other day when Lucy kept reminding everyone that love is the only thing necessary for life. She actually really annoyed her siblings at several points because any time anyone would request anything, she would respond with "All we need is love!"</div>
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Emma: "Mom, can I have a glass of water!"</div>
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Lucy: "We don't need water...all we need is LOVE!"</div>
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Matthew: "Mom, I'm hungry. When are we having lunch?"</div>
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Lucy: "But Matthew, we don't even need food! We just need LOVE!"</div>
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Me: "Lucy, it's time to get dressed for the day!"</div>
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Lucy: "We don't need clothes - <i>Just Love</i>!"</div>
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Finally, I just had to ask her where the heck she got all this love nonsense from. Not that I'm disagreeing with it, but she was so insistent. Her reply: "Oh! Mom! It's from that song! Remember?"</div>
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She then proceeded to sing, with a little dance and dramatic, widespread hand movements: "All you need is Love! Duh duh duh duh duh! All you need is Love! Love! Love is all you need!"</div>
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The Beatles influence runs deep in this family. I'm actually getting a lot of joy out of seeing my children discover and enjoy their music as much as I did as a child.<br />
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Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-619525124725427402019-06-10T14:34:00.001-07:002019-06-10T14:34:21.040-07:00Love Notes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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The school year has finally come to a close and my children are thrilled to begin their summer vacation! Little do they know that they will not be allowed to forget all the lessons they have learned throughout the school year during these lazy summer months, for I am determined to schedule in "schoolwork time" each and every day during the week. I am especially excited to tutor Emma throughout the summer as she continues to develop her reading and writing skills. She ended the school year on a very high note, earning top honors and marks on her report card. Her teacher wrote a lovely assessment of her work throughout the year, praising her for her literacy and budding interest in writing.<br />
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Emma is turning into a mini-Harriet the Spy with her writing. For the past few months, she can be seen carrying a notebook and a pencil or pen around with her. While the other kids are off playing various games, Emma is quietly off to the side in a little corner scribbling a note out furiously. Her notations are often just things she is observing or thoughts that she holds in her mind and heart. She is very private about her writings and does not like to show me her notes, but every once in a while she will leave her notebook out and I can't help but take a peek. Her spelling is very phonetic; the words are often misspelled but if you read it aloud you can see that she has reproduced the spoken sound of the word. I recently shared a note of hers on Instagram that I found next to her cereal bowl one morning. It read:<br />
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<i>"I love you Dad.</i></div>
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<i>Hapee Fathrs Daye.</i></div>
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<i>you love evreeone in yoor famlee.</i></div>
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<i>I love you sow much Dad.</i></div>
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<i>you hav love me yoor...."</i></div>
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She trails off at the end of her note, but I imagine she was going to write "you have loved me your whole life" because this is something she says frequently to Paul and me. I think these notes are so dear, so sweet, that I couldn't help but share one of them on social media. Of course my sweetheart of a sister Amy just had to comment: "I take it spelling isn't her strongest subject?" For Pete's sake, she just turned SIX!</div>
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I found another note this morning outside next to the water table where she had been playing with Daniel. I believe she took a break from playing with him to scribble down the following message (my translation of certain words is in parenthesis):</div>
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<i>"God made you. God made me. God made evreeetheen (everything).</i></div>
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<i>God made chrees (trees). God made wrms (worms).</i></div>
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<i>God made evreetheen (everything).</i></div>
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<i>Jesus I trust in you.</i></div>
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<i>I love the nachr (nature).</i></div>
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<i>I love God. </i></div>
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<i>I love you."</i></div>
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In addition to her constant journaling, Emma loves to sketch quick little drawings and give them as "presents" for her friends and family. Of course, not everyone is completely appreciative of her art. This afternoon, Emma scribbled off a quick sketch and handed it to Matthew: "Look! I made this for you! It's a picture of me and you!"</div>
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Instead of a "thank you" or a "how nice", Matthew's reaction was one of indignation, "EMMA! Why did you draw me SO FAT???" </div>
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Not sure if it was intentional or not, but the Matthew of her sketch does look a wee bit short and pudgy. </div>
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These children of mine are growing up way too fast. The phrase "the days are long but the years are short" truly applies to my experience raising these crazy kids. </div>
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Here's to a wonderful summer learning, laughing, and loving together!</div>
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Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-50083875960247165052019-04-25T08:08:00.002-07:002019-04-25T08:08:26.858-07:00The Baby the World Forgot<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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On Easter Sunday, I posted a few pictures on my Facebook wall of our family that we had taken following Easter Morning Mass. The kids all looked sweet in their pretty spring outfits, including Daniel who was sporting a pair of white pants, with a light blue collared shirt, suspenders, and a polka dot bow tie. One of my sisters commented on the photo - "Daniel has hair now! You need to share more pictures of him!" And that's when it hit me. I really have not been taking nearly as many pictures of Daniel and he is walking, talking, and throwing tantrums like a big kid! I have almost been keeping him hidden away with little update on his growth or maturation. He's the baby the world forgot.<br />
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This was his facial expression in every single picture we took on Easter Sunday. <br />He really was showing a lot of personality for the camera.</td></tr>
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I believe that I'm experiencing with the addition of each child how hard it is to take time to record memories and unfortunately Daniel follows three very demanding children who eat up a fair amount of my time. Some of my lack of free time is Daniel's own fault too. He is a terrible napper and I rarely have a moment without him clinging to my pant leg or handing me a toy drenched in drool or completely dismantling my pantry multiple times a day, which takes me a lot longer to clean up than it took him to tear apart. I'm pretty sure he doesn't mind the lack of pictures or the absence of a baby book, but he might in a few years.<br />
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Matthew recently was raiding our cabinet in the family room and found a baby book that I filled out. It recorded all my thoughts during pregnancy with him and all his major milestones up until about the age of two. There were ultrasound pictures, copies of medical records, footprints, handprints, and lots of pictures of him scattered throughout this fairly thorough record of his babyhood. He was so happy while paging through it - commenting on how cute he was, how adorable he was, and reading all of my loving thoughts about how happy I was to have him as a son. Emma was nearby looking through the book with him and then walked over, tapped my shoulder with purpose, and asked, "Mama...where's my baby book?"<br />
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I think you know where this is going. Matthew got the baby book, hundreds of photos, and lots of individual attention that we are still paying for to this day. Emma, Lucy, and Daniel did not get a baby book. To my credit, I did purchase a baby book while pregnant with Emma, having every intention of completing it upon her arrival, but I didn't get much further than recording her initial birth stats. So, sorry Emma, you don't have a baby book. She wasn't too happy with that response.<br />
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Lucy didn't even bother asking. I think she knew the answer. At least Emma and Lucy have their babyhood fairly well recorded on this blog. I didn't begin writing regularly until Matthew was over a year old and Daniel, as mentioned above, has been fairly ignored. I like to think that it's not all bad news though. With each additional child, I think I have grown as a mother. I am more patient, more relaxed, more happy to just spend time doing simple things with my children. I have learned to soak in the little moments - like watching Daniel attempt to fit Mr. Potato Head's eyes into his body or helping Lucy build a puzzle - because I know, having done this rodeo before, that these moments are fleeting and childhood is very transient. I've been far less concerned with my own agenda the past few years as much as I have been with trying to give more of myself to my kids by simply being present to them. Maybe memories of having me around to play with them, take them to the park, plan picnics in the sunshine, make crafts, and read books will mean more to them down the road then having a baby book detailing when their 4th tooth finally broke through their gumline.<br />
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Don't worry, I'm still taking pictures of my precious little Danny. But I'm also taking the time to soak up his babyhood so that I never forget this precious time of his life.<br />
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And on that note, I should probably share that we celebrated Daniel's 1st birthday this month! He is now officially a one year old and I'm almost certain that his siblings were much more excited for this momentous occasion than he was! They were so sweet to him - Emma in particular had spent the entire week leading up to his birthday making little presents for him with the sewing machine she had received for her birthday. Matthew, Emma, and Lucy were also allowed to "purchase" a few little gifts for him at the store - Matthew chose a wooden pull-behind train, Emma a cute little xylophone, and Lucy a squeezable pink unicorn toy which busted shortly after the birthday boy unwrapped it. It was very sweet to watch the older siblings celebrate their baby brother. Daniel loved each and every gift he received - he really did! He played with each toy and even became super possessive of them because he realized that they were HIS. He will be in a completely different room, but if he hears someone pounding on his xylophone, he will scurry towards it as fast as his tiny little legs can go, shrieking all along the way, and rip the mallets out of the perpetrator's hands. It's both amusing and slightly alarming to see our baby evolve into a bit of a brat.<br />
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This year with Baby DJ has flown by! He is so dear, so affectionate, and such a happy little boy. Daniel, you are so loved and cherished by all of us!<br />
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<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-90153978389597779512019-03-27T15:16:00.001-07:002019-03-27T15:16:22.617-07:00Buttermilk Pancakes with Fruit and Streusel<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I mentioned in my previous post, Paul made his triumphant return home from Anaheim a changed man. He had just finished listening to an audiobook that touted the benefits of a low glycemic index diet for overall mental and physical health as well as increased energy levels. Paul had been feeling very sluggish as of late and after gleaning the wisdom this book had to offer determined that his diet was probably the culprit. I personally would have blamed the 60+ hour work weeks and extensive travel schedule, but sure his diet could be playing a part.<br />
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So, Paul has announced a new beginning! He will no longer be drinking beer since it doesn't fit into a low-GI diet. Nor white wine. Nor eating white carbohydrates. Nor dessert. Potatoes, popcorn, and pineapple are his enemies. Lentils, sweet potatoes, and oatmeal are his new friends. All meat is welcome. Overall, it doesn't sound like a diet that is too terribly difficult to live by but I have my doubts. How long can Paul really go without a cool bottle of beer enjoyed after a long day at work? I give him five days.<br />
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Warning: the following recipe does not fit into a Low-GI diet. Paul can cook these pancakes, but he can't eat them.<br />
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Sundays are typically the day that we take our time with breakfast. We get up early, head to church, enjoy a donut (everyone except Paul!) and a bit of coffee with our fellow parishioners, and then head home where we gradually prepare and enjoy a late brunch before heading off for a family activity in the afternoon. Paul is almost always in charge of brunch on Sundays which makes it extra enjoyable for me. We typically brew coffee (we drink a lot of coffee on Sunday mornings) and chat while he slowly prepares the meal because the kids are typically off playing together - or, more accurately, fighting - and we are in no rush to gather them to the table. Paul usually alternates a carb-centered breakfast one week with a bacon/sausage/egg featured meal the next. He has been making the same recipe for pancakes and waffles for years but recently upgraded his pancake recipe after sampling the delicious gourmet ones offered by a local brunch chain here in Colorado. Lucky for him, the restaurant shared its recipe for their fluffy-as-a-cloud pancakes. I think they tasted even better at home. Filled with the fruit of your choice and topped with a crunchy granola topping, you couldn't ask for a better pancake.<br />
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<b>Buttermilk Pancakes with Fruit and Streusel</b><br />
<i>recipe courtesy of Snooze </i><br />
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<b><i>For the Buttermilk Pancakes</i></b>:<br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1/4 cup sugar<br />
2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1 teaspoon kosher salt<br />
2 large eggs<br />
3 cups buttermilk<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted and cooled<br />
Fresh blueberries or thinly sliced banana<br />
Butter, for cooking<br />
Maple syrup, for serving<br />
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<i><b>For the Streusel:</b></i><br />
1/2 cup old-fashioned oats<br />
1/4 cup all-purpose flour<br />
2 tablespoons light brown sugar<br />
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted<br />
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First, make the streusel. Preheat oven to 350°. Combine oats, flour, and brown sugar on a small rimmed baking sheet; drizzle with butter and toss to coat. Bake, stirring occasionally, until golden brown, 15–20 minutes. Let cool. The streusel can be made up to a week ahead of time and stored in an airtight container.<br />
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Whisk flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, and salt in a large bowl. Whisk egg, buttermilk, and butter in a medium bowl, then whisk into dry ingredients.<br />
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Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat and lightly coat with oil. Working in batches, pour 1/4 cupfuls of batter into skillet and top each with 2 tablespoons berries or a few slices of banana. Cook pancakes until bottoms are golden brown and bubbles form on top, about 3 minutes. Flip and cook until golden brown and cooked through, about 2 minutes longer. Serve pancakes topped with syrup and streusel.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-48123963722479966582019-03-24T11:12:00.001-07:002019-03-24T11:12:08.150-07:00Garlicky Shrimp Pasta<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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It's been almost a month since my last post? I'm the worst blogger ever - but things have been so busy!! Quick update on the kids as I probably have approximately 3 1/2 minutes before Daniel awakens from one of his freakishly short naps. The kid is allergic to sleep, I swear. So, here are a few quick updates followed by an excellent recipe.<br />
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Let's start with the youngest child...<br />
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Daniel has developed a high pitch shriek that can break windows, explode ear drums, and summon all the dogs in the neighborhood. I have nicknamed him "The Baby Ringwraith" since his cries are reminding me of the screams uttered by the spooky characters from the Lord of the Rings series. Fellow dorks will understand the reference. This shriek/scream/torture has made it incredibly difficult to take Daniel anywhere since everyone turns their heads as soon as they hear his supersonic wails. There is no rhyme or reason to when he screams - it happens when he's happy, sad, curious, etc. He's still cutting a lot of teeth, so I'm hoping it's related to the teething? Probably just wishful thinking on my part.<br />
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Emma has been practicing hard and now can finally whistle....sort of. She makes whistling noises but it takes way too much effort for the result. However, she is very proud of herself as is evidenced by the fact that this is exactly what she wanted me to type here for her update. I'm also going to add that this week she will be turning six. This is the most highly anticipated day of the year for her, second only to Christmas, and I hope her expectations won't be too high since this slacker of a mother has planned nothing for her big day. I better get on that.<br />
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Matthew has started playing baseball for his school and for a kid as uncoordinated as he is, he is not half bad. He's no superstar for sure, but I appreciate how hard he tries and how enthusiastic he is about playing. I have already seen massive improvement since practices started a couple weeks ago. Baseball is my absolute favorite sport to both watch and play, so I'm excited that Matthew is so happy and determined to play!<br />
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Lucy my little water baby is back in the pool. This girl loves to swim and I signed her up for swim lessons at our local gym so we can get a jump-start on summer pool season by reviewing some water safety basics as well as trying to encourage her to actually try swimming. For a child who loves being in the water so much, she still hates getting her head wet. Bloodcurdling screams are always heard when I am washing her hair. I'm really hoping that lessons will encourage her not to be so afraid of having water anywhere near her head.<br />
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Paul has been out of town quite a bit as of late. He recently came back from a trip to Anaheim, CA and announced the beginning of a new lifestyle for himself after gaining inspiration from a book he was reading while traveling. I'll provide more details later, but rest assured that it involves dietary changes only. I felt the need to clarify that since announcing a "new lifestyle" has so many connotations nowadays.<br />
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And me? I have been doing a lot of reading and not a lot of sleeping thanks to Daniel. But I know it's a phase and a short-lived one at that. Daniel brings me so much joy in so many other ways that it is easy to look past all the hardships involved with his care and keeping and to give thanks that I am privileged enough to be his mother. Things are so much more difficult when Paul is out of town making me really respect single parents - it's so hard! When it's just me and the kids, I barely cook. We survive on cereal, yogurt, eggs, and raw fruits and vegetables because I just don't feel like preparing a big meal for just us. So, as soon as Paul comes back to town, I am dying to make something a little more substantial, fancy, and delicious.<br />
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Enter this Garlicky Shrimp Pasta. We had dinner at a friend's house during a Friday in Lent a couple weeks back and they made this for us. It was so darn delicious, that I immediately asked them for the recipe and made it for our family after Paul's triumphant return from California. It's easy, relatively quick,, and something the entire family - nearly toothless Daniel included - really enjoys eating. Take advantage of all the deals on shrimp around this time of year and make this fantastic dish. It's so much tastier and healthier than Shrimp Scampi!<br />
<br />
For our family of seafood lovers, I doubled the shrimp and the marinade. Paul and I also like to toss our portions with a bit of fresh arugula to add a bit of peppery bite and an additional nutritional boost. Fresh spinach would also be a great toss in too at the very end - just stir until it begins to wilt. Or just serve as is and enjoy!<br />
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<br />
<b>Garlicky Shrimp Pasta</b><br />
<i>from Cook's Illustrated </i><br />
<br />
<b><u>Note:</u></b> Marinate the shrimp while you prepare the remaining ingredients.<br />
<br />
5 medium garlic cloves, minced or pressed through garlic press (about 5 teaspoons), plus 4 medium cloves, smashed<br />
1 pound large shrimp (21-25), peeled, deveined, each shrimp cut into 3 pieces<br />
3 tablespoons olive oil<br />
Table salt<br />
1/4-1/2 teaspoon red pepper flakes<br />
1 pound pasta in short, tubular shapes, such as fusilli, campanelle, or mezze rigatoni<br />
2 teaspoons unbleached all-purpose flour<br />
1/2 cup dry vermouth or white wine<br />
3/4 cup clam juice<br />
1/2 cup chopped fresh parsley<br />
3 tablespoons unsalted butter<br />
1 teaspoon lemon juice plus 1 lemon, cut into wedges<br />
Ground black pepper<br />
Fresh baby arugula, for serving (optional)<br />
<br />
Toss 2 teaspoons minced garlic, shrimp, 1 tablespoon oil, and 1/4 teaspoon salt in medium bowl. Let shrimp marinate at room temperature 20 minutes.<br />
<br />
Heat 4 smashed garlic cloves and remaining 2 tablespoons oil in 12-inch skillet over medium-low heat, stirring occasionally, until garlic is light golden brown, 4 to 7 minutes. Remove skillet from heat and use slotted spoon to remove garlic from skillet; discard garlic. Set skillet aside.<br />
<br />
Bring 4 quarts water to boil in large Dutch oven over high heat. Add 1 tablespoon salt and pasta. Cook until just al dente, then drain pasta, reserving 1/4 cup cooking water, and transfer pasta back to Dutch oven.<br />
<br />
While pasta cooks, return skillet with oil to medium heat; add shrimp with marinade to skillet in single layer. Cook shrimp, undisturbed, until oil starts to bubble gently, 1 to 2 minutes. Stir shrimp and continue to cook until almost cooked through, about 1 minute longer. Using slotted spoon, transfer shrimp to medium bowl. Add remaining 3 teaspoons minced garlic and pepper flakes to skillet and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 1 minute; stir in vermouth and cook for 1 minute. Add clam juice and parsley; cook until mixture starts to thicken, 1 to 2 minutes. Off heat, whisk in butter and lemon juice. Add shrimp and sauce to pasta, adding reserved cooking water if sauce is too thick. Season with black pepper.<br />
<br />
We like to serve this with the extra lemon wedges for drizzling and a handful of baby arugula tossed with a bit of olive oil and then mixed in with the rest of the pasta. It's so good. Then again, this pasta would be great eaten straight out of the pot without any garnishes. Enjoy!<br />
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Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-31901724415391484132019-02-21T12:25:00.004-08:002019-02-21T12:25:42.260-08:00Mediterranean Meatballs with Orzo Salad<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This was one of those meals that I was certain would be hated and detested by all my children. As I was rolling out the meatballs and seeing the flecks of white from the feta cheese and the bits of green from the parsley and spinach, I could just envision all the children balking and gagging and possibly picking their food apart so as to avoid the suspicious flecks and specks. I met Paul for lunch shortly after I had finished forming the meatballs and left them to rest in the fridge and told him, "I don't know what I was thinking making this for dinner tonight. I know everyone is going to hate it!"<br />
<br />
But, you know what? Nobody hated it. Well, except Lucy. And even she didn't exactly hate it, she just didn't eat anything but she rarely eats dinner even when it's pizza, so she doesn't count.<br />
<br />
Matthew praised the meal and called me "a genius" and "an amazing chef." He might have been trying to earn an extra story at bedtime or possessing some ulterior motive like that, but I don't care. I took the compliments and ran with it. Emma even praised the Orzo salad and I normally can't get her to touch anything with lettuce, olives, or vinaigrette with a 10-foot pole.<br />
<br />
Daniel was a fan. This kid. He so has my heart. I can't get over how voracious his appetite is. Even without teeth, he gobbles down as much meat as we are willing to give him. He's so different than my other kids who far preferred carbohydrates at his age. But he's all about the meat! Although in this picture, I'm obviously trying to distract him with applesauce and cheerios. Notice he's not eating them. He's waiting for me to fry up some bacon.<br />
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The beauty of this dinner is just how adaptable it is. I love Greek flavors and have lately been throwing them together with every protein I can and then serve it on top of a salad of some sort. That's what I did with these meatballs - I put together an Orzo salad with Mediterranean flavors and serve the meatballs over top. However, these would also be amazing served stuffed inside a pita along with lettuce, tomato, red onions, and Tzatziki sauce. You can also use ground turkey instead of ground beef for a healthier option.<br />
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<b>Mediterranean Meatballs with Orzo Salad</b><br />
<br />
<b><i>For the meatballs:</i></b><br />
2 pounds 90% ground beef<br />
4 ounces crumbled feta cheese<br />
1 cup chopped fresh spinach<br />
1/4 cup chopped fresh parsley<br />
1 egg, beaten<br />
1 cup seasoned breadcrumbs<br />
1 teaspoon onion powder<br />
1 heaping teaspoons salt<br />
1 heaping teaspoon garlic salt<br />
1 teaspoon pepper<br />
1 teaspoon oregano<br />
1/2 teaspoon cumin<br />
1 tablespoon chopped fresh mint<br />
Zest of one lemon<br />
<br />
Preheat oven to 450 degrees. Cover a baking sheet with foil. Grease thoroughly.<br />
<br />
In a large bowl, combine all ingredients and mix thoroughly with clean hands. Shape into walnut<br />
sized meatballs. Place meatballs in prepared pan so they are just touching.<br />
<br />
Bake for 20-25 minutes, or until meatballs are browned and cooked through, flipping once during cooking. Serve with the Mediterranean orzo.<br />
<br />
<b><i>For the Mediterranean Orzo:</i></b><br />
16 ounces orzo pasta<br />
1 large yellow or red pepper, diced<br />
1 medium tomato, chopped<br />
1/2 cup kalamata olives, chopped<br />
1 cup fresh spinach, finely chopped<br />
1/2 cup fresh basil, finely chopped<br />
1/2 cup herbed feta crumbles<br />
1/2 cup extra virgin olive oil<br />
1/2 cup balsamic vinegar<br />
The zest of 1 lemon<br />
Salt & pepper, to taste<br />
<br />
Cook orzo according to package directions. Rinse with cold water and drain.<br />
<br />
In a large bowl, toss pasta with chopped bell pepper, olives, spinach, basil and feta. Season with salt and pepper, to taste. You will need a generous amount of salt and pepper.<br />
<br />
In a medium bowl, whisk together olive oil, lemon zest, and vinegar. Season with additional salt and pepper. Pour over pasta vegetable mixture and stir to combine. Chill before serving.<br />
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<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-86280360820465575792019-02-18T16:06:00.004-08:002019-02-18T16:06:57.553-08:00Cheeseburger Chowder<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
Looking back on my life over the past ten years, I realize that I have changed in one, very distinct way. I'm not referring to the obvious changes like an increase in wrinkles, a prominence of gray hair suddenly sprouting on the temples (actually that's Paul, not me...but my day is coming!), an inability to sleep for more than two hours at a time without being awoken by a hungry little midget, or being the not-so-proud owner of a large, non-sexy vehicle that can cram as many human beings inside as possible without being a city bus. What I want to talk about today is why, ten years ago, I never once would have considered serving something called Cheeseburger Chowder for dinner.<br />
<br />
Ten years ago, I was a complete food snob. This was mostly because I didn't have any children and had loads of time to plan, execute, shop for, and make all kinds of gourmet recipes. Risotto, chicken Milanese, fresh french baguettes, fresh pasta, homemade sushi...all of these wonderful dishes were made in my tiny apartment kitchen! It was great actually because it was during that time that I learned how to cook and I am so very grateful that I had that brief time without picky little eaters to really develop my skills as a cook and baker so that, ten years later, I could retire and rely on boxed macaroni and cheese, frozen pizza, and hot dogs.<br />
<br />
Because, dear readers, that is where my life is right now.<br />
<br />
I might spend hours preparing a meal, only to serve it and then proceed to eat it myself while hearing the groans, wails, and protests from the little minions I helped create as they question my rationale behind serving them this swill! This has been such a frustrating experience that I actually cave on days where I am feeling the most vulnerable and weak and unable to take the taunting my children give me each time I try to feed them something delicious, nutritious, and homemade, and I actually give them what they want - the hot dogs, the macaroni and cheese, the frozen pizza.<br />
<br />
The events of the following Calvin and Hobbes comic strip are a daily occurrence.<br />
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<br />
But I know that this is a really short phase in life, for soon my kids will grow up and their taste buds will grow along with them. We can have sushi later. We can eat risotto later. But for now, while they are little, I have to serve things that might tickle their palate while still being approachable to them. That's where this Cheeseburger Chowder comes in. Matthew spied a recipe for it and the name is what caught his eye. The recipe had the word "cheeseburger" in the title. To his little 9-year-old mind, of course it had to be delicious! Emma and Lucy were also equally intrigued, for they too would include cheeseburgers in their small list of foods that they will actually eat without complaint. As I said before, ten years ago I never would have even thought twice about making a recipe for something called Cheeseburger Chowder, but since my kids were actually asking for something different, I practically sprinted to the store to find the ingredients to make this for them. A mother's love knows no bounds.<br />
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And you know what? Shame on my snobby, 10-years-younger self, for Cheeseburger Chowder really is something delicious, comforting, and wonderful. No sashimi-grade fish, imported ingredients, or fancy, expensive seasonings that can't be found at a typical grocery store. This is American comfort food. Paul reveled in this soup, for it contains everything he loves - meat, cheese, and potatoes. He complimented me on it no less than four times while eating it. I should note that all the kids ate it as well, without complaint, although Lucy was disappointed that it did not contain any pickles (to her that vinegary condiment is essential to any decent cheeseburger). <br />
<br />
So break out the ground beef, cheese, and potatoes and make yourself a piping hot bowl of Cheeseburger Chowder. The most important part of our jobs as personal chefs to these little ones is that they do eat and that the food they eat isn't too terribly awful for them. This meal does just that...it's nothing fancy, but it certainly makes a good, homemade meal.<br />
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<br />
<b>Cheeseburger Chowder</b><br />
<br />
1 pound ground beef<br />
1 teaspoon garlic salt<br />
¾ cup chopped onion<br />
¾ cup shredded carrots<br />
¾ cup diced celery<br />
1 teaspoon dried parsley<br />
4 tablespoons butter, divided<br />
3 cups chicken broth<br />
4 cups peeled and diced potatoes<br />
¼ cup all purpose flour<br />
2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, plus extra for serving<br />
1½ cups milk<br />
¾ teaspoon salt<br />
½ teaspoon pepper<br />
1/4 cup heavy cream (optional)<br />
<br />
Brown the ground beef in 3 quart saucepan. Drain and set aside.<br />
<br />
In the same saucepan add 1 tablespoon butter and add onion, shredded carrots, parsley flakes, and celery. Saute until tender.<br />
<br />
Add the broth, potatoes and beef and bring to a boil. Reduce heat, cover and simmer 10-12 minutes or until potatoes are tender.<br />
<br />
In small skillet melt remaining butter (3 T) and add the flour. Cook and stir for 3-5 minutes or until bubbly. Add to the soup and bring to a boil. Cook and stir for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to low.<br />
<br />
Stir in the cheese, milk, salt and pepper. Cook and stir until cheese melts. Stir in the heavy cream, if using. Taste and adjust seasonings as necessary. Serve, passing extra cheese to sprinkle on top.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-90445256798014940842019-02-13T12:11:00.000-08:002019-02-13T12:11:09.492-08:00An Unwanted Luncheon Guest<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
When a product fails to meet your expectations, do you ever contact the company and let them know?<br />
<br />
Don't worry, the puppy photos have nothing to do with this post. He's not the product that we are disappointed in. Same goes for the children.<br />
<br />
Recently, Paul and I were enjoying lunch on a Saturday while the kids played outside with the dog. We decided to "make" a package of organic stew that is both healthy, due to its high vegetable content, and economical. It's one of the only prepared foods we ever purchase on a regular basis because it is incredibly delicious. Paul says he doesn't even normally miss the meat since it's so yummy and filling on its own.<br />
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<br />
Well, we sat down to eat and Paul was just about to take a spoonful when he noticed something unexpected, unwanted, and rather disturbing floating in his bowl of stew. He gingerly picked it out, placed it on a napkin, and passed it over to me so that I might confirm that the thing was in fact what he thought it was.<br />
<br />
It was.<br />
<br />
So, I grabbed the package of stew out of the garbage and turned it over to find where the company might be contacted with any questions or concerns. This was definitely concerning. Only an email address was provided, so I sat down to type the following message out. To preserve the identity of the company in question, certain items have been redacted.<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
*****</div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Hello there,<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I have been a huge fan of the <span style="background: black; mso-highlight: black;">Tasty Bite Indian Madras Lentils</span> for several years
now. I buy them in bulk at Costco and eat them at least once per week. They are
fabulous.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
HOWEVER, my fondness for this product has now been spoiled
because I prepared a bag for lunch and enjoyed 3/4 of the product before
discovering, to my horror, that there was a large beetle in my bowl among the
beans. I instantly wondered if this was a poisonous beetle and did a little
research and found that it is probably a subspecies of the common Leaf Beetle
which enjoys feasting on legumes. While I generally support your mission to
bring whole, organic food to the table, this is going a bit far, don’t you
think?<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I want to alert you to this fact so you can work on quality
control in packaging this product in the future so as not to lose more fans
because otherwise it's a pretty tasty product.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
For your reference, the barcode number on the infected
package is <span style="background: black; mso-highlight: black;">8273300002</span>.
The expiration date is <span style="background-color: black;">September 30th, 2019</span> and the timestamp on it is
<span style="background-color: black;">08:23:31</span>.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Should I be pitching the rest of the box? Please advise as
to my next actions. I'm unsure if I am willing to continue purchasing <span style="background: black; mso-highlight: black;">Tasty Bite</span> products in the
future if I am going to be eating bug protein. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Attached is a couple pictures of my six-legged luncheon
companion. I have more should you need to see additional photographic
confirmation.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thank you for your attention to this matter,<o:p></o:p></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
Monica<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
*****</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: center;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
As I was typing this out, admittedly giggling a bit while doing so - the majority of this was written to be very tongue-in-cheek, Paul was conducting a little research of his own seeing if he would die after eating his bowl of stew. He claimed that his mouth was feeling a bit numb. His primary concern was that the bug in question may have consumed some fertilizer and died as a result of poisoning and perhaps some of the poison had leeched into the stew. And he thinks I'm the worry wart.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
I should note that the company in question immediately responded to our inquiry and launched an investigation of the contaminated batch. They were extremely responsive and very courteous. </div>
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<br /></div>
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Here is a picture of our little friend, just in case you were curious.</div>
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<br /></div>
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Cute little guy, isn't he?</div>
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<br /></div>
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Don't worry, I shan't be posting a recipe because I imagine all appetites have been spoiled by this post.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: left;">
But tell me true, would you complain to the company if this had happened to you?</div>
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Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-51265891233346160982019-02-11T09:40:00.000-08:002019-02-11T09:40:17.071-08:00Pork Carnitas with Salsa Verde<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<b><br /></b>
All the best parenting books claim that you should strive teaching your children from an early age how to responsibly complete chores and contribute to the general maintenance of the household. Ever since Daniel started crawling, his favorite place to be is underneath the kitchen sink, rummaging through the contents within.Of course he WOULD choose the place where all the harshest chemicals and cleaning agents are kept. It was during one of his raids that he discovered the Swiffer duster, which has quickly become his new favorite toy. Whenever I see his diapered little butt quickly moving towards the kitchen sink cabinet, I quickly intercept him and hand him the duster because that's what he was looking for anyway. He likes to wave it around and tickle his own face with it and occasionally accidentally whack Lucy with it. Since he was showing such an attraction towards household cleaning products, I figured it was high time we put that little guy to work and get him started with earning his keep around here.<br />
<br />
He thought it was one big joke...<br />
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We started with trying to teach him how to actually dust with the duster. He can pull himself up very efficiently and at a staggering two feet tall can reach a respectable height. I showed him how to run the duster over the top and sides of furniture to try to trap dust particles. He smiled his most enchanting toothless, gummy grin and seemed to generally get the idea. He grabbed the duster back from me and began making the general motions that I had just showed him by moving it back and forth. I complimented him and then went back to making dinner. When I looked over to check on his progress, he was sitting on the floor dusting his own toes. Obviously that lesson failed.<br />
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Considering my school-age kids can't seem to remember where to hang their coats day in and day out, I'm not really sure what my expectations were with Daniel. (Please note that this whole thing was written with extreme sarcasm. I know perfectly well that a 9-month-old cannot be expected to clean).<br />
<br />
My best helper is Lucy by a long shot. Ever since I bought a new mop about a year ago, Lucy has been obsessed with it and is constantly begging me to let her wash the floor. The thing is, she actually does a decent job of it - so I am more than happy to let her wash away!<br />
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Then there is Emma, who is honestly a very detailed-oriented individual who can be of the greatest help when she puts her mind to it. For example, we instructed Emma to clean up her craft table in the basement since she had made quite the mess of it when she was cutting up paper to make snowflakes. She whined and moaned about it for a while and then got down there and finished the job. We only intended for her to clean up her table, but she ended up straightening up the entire basement and she did a fantastic job. Everything was in its place, right down to the perfectly placed throw pillows on the couch. She's also very good about keeping her room clean. This is a stark contrast to her brother Matthew who can't seem to keep anything clean. However, he is very good at scooping up and throwing away Peyton's poop in our backyard.<br />
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My goal is to one day train one of these little people I helped create to cook dinner for me. I love to cook, but cooking dinner every night can get tiresome and stressful at times. This is especially true when there is a little baby crawling around on the floor, rummaging through all the kitchen cabinets, and whiny kids who are simultaneously hungry, tired, and unwilling to finish their homework. I'm usually helping with homework while cooking and making sure the baby doesn't eat dried up macaroni and cheese off the floor.<br />
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That's why I generally like meals that can be made in steps, even if there are multiple steps to be done, throughout the day. Like this recipe for Pork Carnitas. The steps to complete this authentic staple of Mexican cuisine can be spread out throughout the day. First, the pork is prepped and then braised in the oven for 3 1/2 hours. Then, everything is strained, the juices from the pork are reserved, and the pork is shredded and stored in a refrigerator until ready to be served.<br />
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A basic tomatillo salsa is made from the reserved liquid and then that is refrigerated until serving time. To serve, the pork is heated under a broiler, which also serves to crisp it a bit. Easy! Serve with the salsa, cheese and pork piled high on tortillas. Throw a bag of chips on the table and call it a meal! Even better, this makes enough for us to have leftovers the following day. This is one of Paul and Matthew's favorite type of dinners. The leftovers the day after are one of mine.<br />
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<br />
<b>Pork Carnitas with Salsa Verde</b><br />
<i>from The Food Lab</i><br />
<br />
2 medium onions<br />
1/2 cup chopped cilantro<br />
3 pounds boneless pork butt (shoulder), rind removed, cut into 2-inch cubes<br />
Kosher salt<br />
1 medium orange<br />
6 cloves garlic, split in half<br />
2 bay leaves<br />
1 cinnamon stick, broken into three or four pieces<br />
1/4 cup vegetable oil<br />
6 medium tomatillos (about 1 1/2 pounds), peeled and split in half<br />
2 jalapeño peppers, split in half lengthwise, stem removed<br />
3 limes, cut into wedges<br />
1 avocado, thinly sliced or cubed<br />
1 cup crumbled queso fresco or feta<br />
24 corn or flour tortillas (we love the street taco size)<br />
<br />
Adjust oven rack to middle position and preheat oven to 275 degrees. Cut one onion into fine dice and combine with cilantro. Refrigerate until needed. Split remaining onion into quarters. Set aside. Season pork chunks with 1 tablespoon salt and place in a 9 by 13 glass casserole dish. The pork should fill the dish with no spaces. Split orange into quarters and squeeze juice over pork. Nestle squeezed orange pieces into casserole. Add 2 onion quarters, 4 cloves garlic, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick to casserole. Nestle everything into an even layer. Pour vegetable oil over surface. Cover dish tightly with aluminum foil and place in oven. Cook until pork is fork tender, about 3 1/2 hours.<br />
<br />
Set large fine-meshed strainer 1 quart liquid measure or bowl. Using tongs, remove orange peel, onion, garlic, cinnamon stick, and bay leaves from pork. Transfer pork and liquid to strainer. Let drain for 10 minutes. Transfer pork back to casserole. You should end up with about 1/2 cup liquid and 1/2 cup fat. Using a flat spoon or de-fatter, skim fat from surface and add back to pork. Shred pork into large chunks with fingers or two forks. Season to taste with salt. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Transfer remaining liquid to medium saucepot.<br />
<br />
Add tomatillos, remaining 2 onion quarters, remaining 2 garlic cloves, and jalapeños to saucepot with strained pork liquid. Add water until it is about 1-inch below the top of the vegetables. Bring to a boil over high heat, reduce to a simmer, and cook until all vegetables are completely tender, about 10 minutes. Blend salsa with hand blender or in a stand-up blender until smooth. Season to taste with salt. Allow to cool and refrigerate until ready to use.<br />
<br />
To serve: Place casserole dish with pork 4-inches under a high broiler and broil until brown and crisp on surface, about 6 minutes. Remove pork, stir with a spoon to expose new bits to heat, and broil again for 6 more minutes until crisp. Tent with foil to keep warm.<br />
<br />
To serve, add two to three tablespoons carnitas mixture to center of tortillas. Top with salsa verde, sliced avocado, chopped onions and cilantro, and queso fresco. Serve with lime wedges.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-25233925740886779502019-02-09T10:59:00.002-08:002019-02-09T11:03:03.832-08:00Blog Hopping! <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Hello Friends!<br />
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Today, I am guest posting at my friend Maddy's blog. Maddy and her husband Joel just welcomed their 4th child, a precious little baby Boy they have named Blaise. He's the sweetest little thing and I know he will be absolutely spoiled by his big sisters and big brother. Congratulations, sweet Pidel Family!<br />
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Maddy is a hard-working, energetic Mom and health coach who runs her own blog and community encouraging mothers to be their best selves for their families through proper nutrition, exercise, and routine self-care. Her blog is a wealth of information on how to achieve this lifestyle. I was honored to be asked by Maddy to write a guest blog post for her while she takes a much needed break to bond with her brand new baby. I happily complied by sharing a recipe for a rich and creamy Wild Rice and Mushroom Soup.<br />
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Please head over to Maddy's blog to see the post. While you're there, please take a look around and see all that she has to offer! Head on over to by clicking on the link: <a href="http://maddypidel.com/2019/02/06/wild-rice-and-mushroom-soup-and-life-with-4-littles/">maddypidel.com</a>.<br />
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Have a wonderful weekend!<br />
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<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-86857477351391587712019-02-06T21:40:00.000-08:002019-02-06T21:40:17.903-08:00Kouign Amann<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Who doesn't enjoy watching The Great British Baking Show? All those super nice, happy contestants just baking away under a little tent in the English countryside. No backstabbing. No drama. Just a group of people who legitimately enjoy baking trying to do the very best they can with the challenges thrown at them. It's a nice relaxing change of pace from most American cooking competitions, like Hell's Kitchen (which is ironically run by a Brit who couldn't be more different than Mary Berry).<br />
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For those of you who love the GBBS as much as I do, I wanted to tell you about the exciting new project that my recently married sister has undertaken. She has started a blog where she will be tackling each of the technical baking challenges on the Great British Baking Show and providing honest feedback about the difficulty of each recipe. So far, she has made Mini Pear Pies, Princess Cake, Ciabatta, Tiramisu Cake, Florentines, Cherry Cake, and an interesting pastry called Kouign Amann (pronounced "queen- a-mawn").<br />
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Sophie texted me while she was making these weird little pastries that are made from a laminated dough and then baked in a muffin tin. I had never once heard of them and neither had she, but after having a rough week making the detested Princess Cake recipe, she was thrilled to report that this recipe actually was turning out perfectly as it was supposed to. Basically, they have a soft, croissant-like texture on the inside and a crunchy, caramelized crunch on the outside. I did a quick little internet search on them and found that the New York Times dubbed it "the fattiest pastry in all of Europe." Wow, that's saying something.<br />
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When Paul heard that review, he wanted me to make it. Butter is his first love. Cheese is his second. I'm his third. It's ok, I've come to terms with that.<br />
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After Sophie raved about how breezy and relaxing the recipe was to follow, I tackled it one gloomy Sunday afternoon while I was not exactly feeling very well but thought some therapeutic baking might lift me out of my doldrums. The recipe was a breeze to put together. There is lot of waiting between steps and none of the steps are overly complicated. While I was waiting between turning my dough, I actually went back and watched the episode of the GBBS where these were featured as I couldn't imagine they were all that troublesome to the contestants. On the show, a few individuals had some minor issues, but overall I think they were all pretty successful attempts. This is a simple pastry as long as you have the patience to wait between steps.<br />
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Well, the Kouign Amann baked up beautifully. Brown, puffy, and piping hot when I grabbed them from the oven, I nearly burnt my fingers trying to pry them out of the muffin tin. Paul and I bit into one while it was still warm and swooned at the rich, buttery flavor. However, I tried one the next morning alongside my cup of coffee and thought they tasted even better at room temperature. My kids were all over these as well. The recipe only made 12 and they all vanished by the time my kids discovered them. My only complaint about these pastries is the mess they created when eaten by my angelic children - the pastries were so flaky that little bits of buttery crumb littered the floor where my children sat stuffing their faces full of buttery dough.<br />
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I shall be making these weird little things again! They were a different, interesting, and delicious new pastry that I had never before heard of and am now happy to welcome into my recipe archive. Thank you, Sophie for introducing me to this treat!<br />
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You should head over to Sophie's blog to read about her experiences attacking all the technical challenges from The Great British Baking Show. Her blog name is Piece of Cake and can be found <a href="https://pieceofcake.home.blog/">here</a>.<br />
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Also, try your hand at Kouign Amann! It's a great recipe to start with if you have never before worked with a laminated dough before (like croissant dough). Guarantee you'll be able to produce a treat even Paul Hollywood would be happy to eat!<br />
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<b>Kouign Amann</b><br />
<i>from <a href="https://www.bbc.com/food/recipes/kouign_amann_09102">Paul Hollywood of The Great British Baking Show</a></i><br />
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<b><u>Note</u></b>: I am presenting this recipe exactly as written on the BBC Food website. You will need a food scale to complete this recipe.<br />
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300g/10½oz strong plain flour, plus extra for dusting<br />
5g fast-action yeast<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
200ml/7fl oz warm water<br />
25g/1oz unsalted butter, melted<br />
250g/9oz cold unsalted butter, in a block<br />
100g/3½oz caster sugar, plus extra for sprinkling<br />
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Put the flour into the bowl of a freestanding mixer fitted with a dough hook. Add the yeast to one side of the bowl and the salt to the other. Add the water and melted butter and mix on a slow speed for two minutes, then on a medium speed for six minutes.<br />
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Tip the dough onto a lightly floured work surface and shape into a ball. Put into a lightly oiled bowl. Cover with cling film and leave to rise for one hour.<br />
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Sandwich the butter between two sheets of parchment paper and bash with a rolling pin, then roll out to a 14cm/5½in square. Place in the fridge to keep chilled.<br />
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On a lightly floured surface, roll out the dough to a 20cm/8in square. Place the butter in the centre of the dough diagonally, so that each side of butter faces a corner of the dough. Fold the corners of the dough over the butter to enclose like an envelope.<br />
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Roll the dough into a 45x15cm/18x6in rectangle. Fold the bottom third of dough up over the middle, then fold the top third of the dough over. You will now have a sandwich of three layers of butter and three layers of dough. Wrap in cling film and place in the fridge for 30 minutes. This completes one turn.<br />
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Repeat this process twice more, so you have completed a total of three turns, chilling the dough for 30 minutes between turns.<br />
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Roll the dough into a rectangle as before. Sprinkle the dough with the caster sugar and fold into thirds again. Working quickly, roll the dough into a large 40x30cm/16x12in rectangle. Sprinkle the dough with caster sugar and cut the dough into 12 squares.<br />
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Grease a 12-cup muffin tin well with oil. Gather the dough squares up by their four corners and place in the muffin tins, pulling the four corners towards the centre of the muffin tin, so that it gathers up like a four-leaf clover. Sprinkle with caster sugar and leave to rise, covered with a clean tea towel, for 30 minutes until slightly puffed up.<br />
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Preheat oven to 220C/200C(fan)/425F/Gas 7. Bake the pastries for 30-40 minutes, or until golden-brown. Cover with foil halfway through if beginning to brown too much. Remove from the oven and leave to cool for a couple of minutes before turning out onto a wire rack. Be careful not to burn yourself on the caramelized sugar, but don’t leave them to cool for too long, or the caramelized sugar will harden and they will be stuck in the tin.<br />
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Serve warm or cold.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-58530275367907353612019-02-04T21:37:00.000-08:002019-02-04T21:37:22.164-08:00Weeknight Greek Chicken<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Lucy has a very strange way of singing her current favorite song "Old MacDonald". She loves to get audience participation, so she always solicits the crowd when deciding what animal to sing about next. Usually this is when I'm busy trying to make dinner and Lucy will come up and ask on repeat, "And on that farm he had a.....what, Mommy? What did he have? What's on his farm? Mommy? Mommy?"<br />
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But that's not the strange part. After you name an animal, let's say a duck in this case, she will then proceed to sing the rest of the song but always adds her own lyric at the end:<br />
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With a quack quack here,</div>
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and a quack quack there,</div>
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here a quack</div>
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there a quack</div>
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and everywhere a seagull.</div>
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Old MacDonald had a farm. </div>
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E-I-E-I-O!</div>
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Did you catch it? And she legitimately thinks that is part of the song. Believe me, Emma, the resident Lyric Nazi, has tried many a time to set Lucy on the path of righteous knowledge but Lucy will not be swayed. She insists that the lyric is in fact "and everywhere a seagull." And you know what? She's been singing it so often like that that I have found myself with the song stuck in my head while in the shower or driving and I am also singing it <i>with that lyric in my head</i>.<br />
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But you know, I see how it frankly makes sense to a three-year-old. Lucy thinks Canadian Geese are seagulls. That is another hot point of contention among her know-it-all siblings. These "seagulls" are everywhere - in the parking lots, in the playgrounds, even near my kids' school. Why wouldn't they be hanging out on Old MacDonald's farm?</div>
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And on that farm he had a chicken...</div>
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..and we ate it for dinner!</div>
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Musings on children's songs aside, I have a great weeknight recipe that is easy, simple, yet delicious enough to serve to guests! This Greek Chicken is made by marinating chicken thighs in a lemon and herb mixture and then baked in a cast-iron skillet until done. The thighs are then given the broiler-treatment to render the skin crispy and crunchy. The resulting juices blend with the marinate to create a magnificent pan sauce that can be drizzled over the chicken once served. I like to serve this with a side of couscous - which takes about five minutes to prepare - and a Greek salad. It's a meal that my kids all enjoy eating. It's an easy meal that tastes like you worked on it all day.<br />
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<b>Greek Chicken</b><br />
<i>from Cook's Countr</i>y<br />
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1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil<br />
2 tablespoons chopped fresh rosemary<br />
2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme<br />
5 garlic cloves, chopped<br />
6 (3-inch) strips lemon zest, chopped, plus 1 tablespoon juice (or use 1 tablespoon grated zest)<br />
1 tablespoon kosher salt<br />
1½ teaspoons dried oregano<br />
1 teaspoon ground coriander<br />
½ teaspoon red pepper flakes<br />
½ teaspoon pepper<br />
3 pounds bone-in chicken thighs</div>
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Combine oil, rosemary, thyme, garlic, lemon zest, salt, oregano, coriander, pepper flakes, and pepper in large bowl. Cut three ½-inch-deep slits in skin side of each chicken breast, two ½-inch-deep slits in skin side of each thigh, and two ½-inch-deep slits in each drumstick; leave wings whole. Transfer chicken to bowl with marinade and turn to thoroughly coat, making sure marinade gets into slits. Cover and refrigerate for at least 30 minutes or up to 2 hours.<br />
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Adjust oven rack 6 inches from broiler element and heat oven to 425 degrees. Place chicken, skin side up, in 12-inch cast iron skillet. Using rubber spatula, scrape any remaining marinade from bowl over chicken. Roast until breasts register 160 degrees and drumsticks/thighs register 175 degrees, 30 to 35 minutes.<br />
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Remove skillet from oven and spoon pan juices over top of chicken to wet skin. Heat broiler. Broil chicken until skin is lightly browned, about 3 minutes, rotating skillet as necessary for even browning. Let chicken rest in skillet for 10 minutes. Transfer chicken to shallow platter. Stir lemon juice into pan juices, then spoon over chicken. Serve.</div>
Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-41416477879041406042019-01-31T12:00:00.000-08:002019-01-31T12:00:17.865-08:00Oreo Whipped Cream Layer Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Matthew surprised me immensely this year when it came to choosing a dessert for his birthday. You see, as I've written before, this kid HATES cake. Legitimately hates it. He will tolerates certain flavors but rarely can finish a whole piece. At birthday parties, he accepts cake only as a gateway to get ice cream. For the past few years, he has only requested fruit desserts, specifically apple pie, for his birthday.<br />
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So, much to my shock, when I approached him and asked if he wanted me to make him my Caramel Apple Pie for his birthday, he shook his head and said that he wanted a cake. And not just any cake...he wanted an Oreo cake. For some reason, Matthew developed an intense and passionate love for all things Oreo over this past year. I think it started when his 3rd grade class were learning about opinions and debates by having an Oreo taste test where they got to try six different flavors of Oreo cookies and then had to debate the merits and flaws of each one. In the tasting process, Matthew discovered that he loved all Oreos and pretty soon I found myself being suckered into buying fancy flavor packs of Oreos to stick in his lunch - Red Velvet, S'mores, Birthday Cake, Peanut Butter, Peppermint Bark, Lemon, and Apple Pie. Thus, I enabled my son to become an Oreo connoisseur of sorts.<br />
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So, really, I should have seen the Oreo cake request coming. But there was more to his request than that.<br />
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"I really don't like sugary frosting or anything. It gives me a headache and makes me feel sick," he added.<br />
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So, one Oreo cake without super sweet frosting or icing. Got it. The first thing I thought of was an old fashioned icebox cake where layers of cookies are sandwiched between whipped cream and chilled until the cookies soften and breakdown, almost forming a "cake like" texture between the soft whipped cream. Actually, that didn't sound like a half bad idea....let's just turn it into a layer cake form!<br />
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A good quality chocolate cake would be the first component of this cake. It has to be chocolaty and rich on its own yet sturdy enough to hold up to being chilled while sandwiching a whipped frosting. And the frosting would be a simple mixture of whipped cream, a touch of sugar, and lots of chopped Oreos folded together. I really like the "Hershey's Perfectly Chocolate Cake" with coffee as a substitute for the boiling water. It's fantastic. So, that's what I used for the cake layer, only I halved the recipe to make a single cake layer. After cooling, I sliced that cake layer in half and then filled it with the whipped Oreo filling. After sandwiching the cake layers back together, I "frosted" it with the remainder of the filling. Then, into the fridge it went to chill and allow those cookies in the whipped cream to soften. Right before it was time to serve, I added a few simple embellishments - a piping of whipped cream rosettes around the top border that are topped with halved Oreos. And, of course, for my future paleontologist, a model T-Rex skeleton for the center of the cake.<br />
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Matthew was thrilled.<br />
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The whole thing looked pretty cool all lit up with birthday candles. Paul purchased trick candles because you can never have too much birthday boy spit sprayed all over the cake.<br />
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Everyone loved the cake. It was quite rich yet simultaneously not heavy (if that's even a thing). We all enjoyed pieces for dessert, then again for breakfast the next morning. Because why not? I should note that I don't think Paul actually had a slice of cake because he was going through a bit of anti-sugar phase at the moment. But the most important thing is that Matthew loved and enjoyed it!<br />
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<b>Oreo Whipped Cream Cake</b><br />
<i>adapted from Hershey's and Serious Eats</i><br />
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<b><i>For the Cake Layer:</i></b><br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
3/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour<br />
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
3/4 teaspoons baking powder<br />
3/4 teaspoons baking soda<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1 large egg<br />
1/2 cup buttermilk<br />
1/4 cup oil (vegetable or canola oil)<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
1/2 cup very hot coffee (heated in microwave if necessary)<br />
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<i><b>For the Whipped Oreo Filling:</b></i><br />
50 double-stuffed Oreo cookies<br />
4 1/2 cups heavy cream<br />
2 tablespoons granulated sugar<br />
1 tablespoon pure vanilla extract<br />
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Heat oven to 350 degrees. Grease, flour, and line the bottom of an 8-inch round baking pan with parchment paper.<br />
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Stir together sugar, flour, cocoa, baking powder, baking soda and salt in large bowl. Add eggs, milk, oil and vanilla. Beat on medium speed of mixer for 2 minutes. Stir in the very hot coffee. The batter will be thin - no worries! Pour batter into prepared pan.<br />
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Bake 30-35 minutes. Let cool in pan for 10 minutes and then remove to a wire rack to cool completely.<br />
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Meanwhile, make the whipped cream Oreo filling and frosting. Carefully cut 6 Oreo cookies in half and set aside. Chop remaining cookies into 1/4-inch pieces and set aside. In the bowl of a standing mixer fitted with the whisk attachment, whip 2 cups cream on medium-high speed to soft peak, spoon into large bowl and refrigerate. In same mixer bowl, whip remaining 2 1/2 cups cream, sugar, and vanilla to soft peak. Fold into already whipped cream.<br />
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Place about 1 cup whipped cream in bowl and refrigerate until ready to decorate cake. Fold chopped Oreos into the remaining whipped cream.<br />
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Split the cake into two layers by cutting horizontally. This might be easier if you pop it into the freezer for about 30-60 minutes.<br />
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Place one cake layer on a serving platter. Spread about 1/3 of Oreo whipped cream onto cake. Top with second cake layer and use remaining Oreo whipped cream to frost top and sides of cake. Chill in refrigerator for at least 2 hours to allow cookies to soften.<br />
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Place reserved whipped cream in pastry bag fitted with star tip (I had to rewhisk it a bit to "fluff" it up). Pipe 12 whipped cream rosettes around perimeter of cake and garnish with reserved Oreo cookie halves. Add a dinosaur to the center (optional).<br />
<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-60755379753251099082019-01-29T19:51:00.000-08:002019-01-29T19:51:44.296-08:00Crispy Baked Buffalo Wings<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Every January, my eldest child gets another year older. I have tried to prevent this from happening but alas time marches onwards and the little boy I used to know as a toothless, grinning, drooling baby who refused to even attempt to crawl until he was 14 months but still managed to roll across the floor and raid my pantry cupboards just to steal an entire head of garlic (true story) is now a tall, smart, funny 9-year-old boy with quite the mouth full of large, fully grown adult teeth.<br />
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Although another year older with some continually developing tastes, there are some things that haven't changed when it comes to Matthew. He still enjoys Thomas the train. He still wants to be a paleontologist when he grows up as his obsession with dinosaurs has not waned over the past four years. He still hates unmelted cheese for some strange reason. He will never turn down the opportunity to build a good puzzle. He still hasn't mastered making his bed as soon as he wakes up each morning. He still snuggles with monkey every single night and occasionally sneaks him along on various outings by ensconcing him inside his pocket.<br />
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Then there are other things that are continually changing and evolving about Matthew that show me and Paul that he is in fact growing up. His love of reading has continued to blossom as he has moved away from picture-heavy books and now reads larger chapter books and biographies. After watching The Greatest Showman, he wanted to learn more about the real P.T. Barnum and checked out a biography on his life from the library and devoured it within a few days. His current favorite fiction author is Roald Dahl. One of the items we purchased for his birthday was a big boxed set of all the Roald Dahl books and it was his favorite gift!<br />
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Matthew's sense of humor is also really starting to blossom. He has been known to make some truly witty observational remarks that have left Paul and me in stitches. He's also been more adventurous with activities. He's always up for a new experience or activity, whether it be a hike, a bike ride, a new sport to try, skiing, you name it. He always throws himself in 100% with full enthusiasm and confidence. A most recent example of this is skiing. Paul is so proud about how Matthew just throws himself down the mountain, determined to race everyone in sight to the bottom of the hill. Never mind that he has suffered crash after crash, including a few "yard sale crashes" where the impact dislodged all his ski gear - gloves, skis, goggles, hat, etc. - to litter the side of the mountain, Matthew's confidence will not be swayed. We love this about him.<br />
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I also love how Matthew laughs first and hardest at all my jokes, even the ones that are over his head. At prayers every night, we always go around the room and have everyone name something they're thankful for. Matthew has thanked God "that Mommy is so funny" on more than one occasion.<br />
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For his birthday this year, all Matthew wanted to eat was meat. Meat, meat, and more meat! I remember when he was a toddler and we couldn't get him to eat a single piece of meat. It was all fruit and carbohydrates for the first few years of his life. But now that he is a growing boy, he loves to stock up on protein. He loves barbecue - especially ribs - and hot wings. So, we took him out to a barbecue joint that had caught his attention due to the name "Rib City" so he could get his fill of ribs. I was alarmed by how much he did eat. About twice as much as Paul. And he licked those bones clean. Makes me fearful for what his eating habits will be like when he's a teenager!<br />
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Since we had a late lunch, most of us were less than enthusiastic at the prospects of dinner, but Matthew insisted that we make Buffalo Wings for his birthday dinner. Even Paul wasn't hungry. But, being the good father he is, he dutifully made some baked wings for Matthew and they were phenomenal! Matthew ate probably a good two pounds of wings, leaving the little bones piled in a bowl as a showcase of the spoils of his meal. At one point while eating, Matthew turned to Paul and said, "You know what I bet goes great with wings, Dad? An ice cold beer."<br />
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Excuse me, what?<br />
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Either way, Paul took the hint and helped himself to a selection from his current stock of beer from New Belgium brewing company. And he agreed that it went great with the wings (duh). But those wings would have gone great with anything. They were out-of-this-world fantastic. Matthew dipped them in ranch dressing and we bought one of those veggie trays from Costco and just served that along with the wings and we had a meal! Easy and very, very delicious! Since the little girls do not like anything hot, we served a pound of the wings untouched by the spicy Buffalo sauce and they ate them with a side of barbecue sauce for dipping.<br />
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I'm out of town for the Superbowl and already Matthew and Paul are making big plans for making a huge batch of these wings for the game. I love how they bond over licking the tiny bones of chickens clean.<br />
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Happy Birthday to my growing son, Matthew! We are proud of you! But your Dad is probably most proud of how much of a carnivore you've turned out to be...<br />
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<b>Baked Buffalo Wings</b><br />
adapted from <a href="https://cafedelites.com/crispy-buffalo-chicken-wings-baked/">Cafe Delites</a><br />
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<b><i>For the Chicken Wings:</i></b><br />
4 pounds chicken wings cut, wing tips removed and cut into drummetes and flats<br />
1 tablespoon baking powder (NOT baking soda)<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon smoked paprika<br />
1/2 teaspoon onion powder<br />
2 teaspoons garlic powder<br />
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<i><b>For the Buffalo Sauce:</b></i><br />
1/4 cup unsalted butter, melted<br />
1/2 cup Frank's Original Red Hot Sauce<br />
A generous dash of honey<br />
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Adjust oven rack to upper-middle position and preheat oven to 450°F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with aluminium foil and set a heat-proof wire rack inside.<br />
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Pat dry chicken wings liberally with paper towels, squeezing out as much moisture as you can. Transfer them to a large bowl.<br />
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In a small bowl, combine the baking powder, smoked paprika, onion powder, garlic powder, salt and pepper together, whisking well to combine, and sprinkle the mixture over the wings. Toss wings through the baking powder mixture until evenly coated.<br />
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Arrange on rack, leaving about 1-inch of space between each wing.<br />
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Bake for 30 minutes; flip and continue to cook until crisp and golden brown, (about 20-30 minutes longer), until golden browned and crispy.<br />
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While wings are cooking, whisk together hot sauce, butter and honey. Toss wings through the sauce to evenly coat.<br />
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Serve wings immediately with ranch dressing or blue cheese dressing and plenty of crudites.<br />
<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-53479562519974012312019-01-25T11:16:00.000-08:002019-01-25T11:16:11.739-08:00White Chocolate and Blueberry Panettone<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Christmas baking was a challenge once again this year. The holidays normally take me surprise, but the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas seemed like a few days rather than weeks! I did manage to crank out the normal favorites for the kids - the sugar cookies, the seven layer bars, the gingerbread. However, the holiday breads are normally what i crave this time of year - Babka, Stollen, Walnut Twist, and Panettone.</div>
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I used to make Panettone every single Advent and Paul would look forward to enjoying it for breakfast with jam and coffee in the days leading up to Christmas Day. Of all the Christmas breads, it was his absolute favorite. It was certainly a labor of love - the recipe I used at the time was a very traditional one that involved a couple days devoted to the project, some tricky steps, and prolonged rising times for the very sticky dough. So, when we kept adding crazy kid after crazy kid to our tribe, the need to make Panettone around Christmastime took a back burner to making sure everyone had clothes on and stayed alive, but not necessarily in that order.</div>
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This year was no exception. I did not make Panettone for Christmas and frankly I didn't really regret that I didn't get around to it, although I had every intention of doing so. But then, once the kids headed back to school and I frankly had a tiny bit more time on my hands, I thought <i>why not make it now?</i> We had finished off all our other Christmas sweets and certainly had not enjoyed enough sugar over the past month, so naturally it was the <i>perfect</i> time to concoct a white chocolate and blueberry laced Italian cake. </div>
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But I wanted to finish the Panettone in an afternoon. No more ridiculous rise times, or hanging upside down papered loaves after baking (for real, it's a thing with traditional Panettone). This time, I was going to use a non-traditional recipe and bake it in a non-traditional mold, and finish it in a non-traditional period of time. And you know what? I did. And it turned out awesome.</div>
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I had bookmarked a recipe from Cook's Country months ago that promised a quicker, easier way to Panettone. It involved an easy mixing stage, a shorter rise phase, and promised that the bread would bake up into the traditional dome shape perfectly in a standard round cake pan. I gave it a shot and couldn't have been more pleased with the results.</div>
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The original recipe called for chocolate and orange to be the flavor additions to the dough. I really like a fruity panettone, so I went with chopped white chocolate and a combination of dried blueberries and cranberries - but mostly dried blueberries. Blueberry and white chocolate is one of my favorite flavor combinations. But really, you could put anything into this bread/cake/thing. </div>
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As promised, the recipe was simple and I was able to complete the majority of it while Daniel happily played on the kitchen rug next to me. He's been doing this thing lately where he will "summon" whomever's attention he desires by pointing at them. Then, the person, usually me, must point back at him and walk towards him until his fingertip is touching their fingertip. We call it the "tractor beam finger" and it delights him to no end when we respond to his summons. However, when we don't, as is usually the case when I am cooking, he gets <i>very</i> upset, <i>very </i>quickly. However, that was not the case while mixing this dough - not once did he employ his "tractor beam finger" demanding my attention, so it was a very non-stressful experience!</div>
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If you have been dying to try Panettone - and really, you should because it's delicious - then I highly reccomend this recipe as a starting point. The flavor was wonderful, soft and delicious but not quite as deeply developed as a traditional recipe. No surprise there given how much shorter the rise times were, but it was delicious none-the-less. Unfortunately for Paul, he still did not get to enjoy a piece since he was traveling for work at the time and this loaf was devoured by my ravenous school-age children for a snack within 12 hours of its removal from the oven. Matthew ate 1/2 the loaf by himself while practicing multiplication. Sorry, Paul. At least this easy-peasy recipe is so simple that I can make it all year long. But then, it wouldn't really be all that special of a treat anymore, would it?</div>
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<b>White Chocolate and Blueberry Panettone</b></div>
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<i>adapted from Cook's Country</i></div>
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3/4 cup warm whole milk</div>
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2 large eggs plus 2 large egg yolks</div>
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3 tablespoons light corn syrup</div>
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2 teaspoons vanilla extract</div>
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2 3/4 cups (13 3/4 ounces) all-purpose flour</div>
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2 1/4 teaspoons instant yeast</div>
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1 teaspoon salt</div>
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8 tablespoons unsalted butter, cut into 8 pieces and softened</div>
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1 tablespoon orange zest plus 1/4 cup white sugar</div>
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1 cup chopped white chocolate or white chocolate chips</div>
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1 cup dried blueberries</div>
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Whisk milk, 1 egg, egg yolks, corn syrup, and vanilla in a 2-cup liquid measuring cup until combined. Using a stand mixer fitted with dough hook, mix flour, yeast, and salt on medium-low speed until combined, about 5 seconds. With mixer running, slowly add milk mixture and knead until cohesive dough forms and no dry flour remains, 3 to 5 minutes, scraping down bowl and hook as needed.</div>
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Use your fingers to rub the orange zest into the 1/4 cup of white sugar until softened and fragrant. Set aside. </div>
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With mixer running, add butter 1 piece at a time until incorporated. Increase speed to medium-high and knead until dough pulls away from sides of bowl but still sticks to the bottom, about 10 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add the white chocolate, orange sugar, and dried blueberries, and knead until fully incorporated, about 2 minutes.</div>
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Turn out dough onto lightly floured counter and knead until smooth, about 1 minute. Form dough into tight ball and transfer to greased large bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise at room temperature until doubled in size, about 2 hours.</div>
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Grease 8-inch cake pan. Pat dough into 12-inch disk on lightly floured counter. Working around circumference of dough, fold edges of dough toward center to form rough square. Flip dough over and applying gentle pressure, move your hands in small circular motions to form dough into smooth, taut ball. Transfer ball, seam side down, to prepared pan. Cover loosely with greased plastic and let rise at room temperature until center is about 2 inches above lip of pan, 2 to 2 1/2 hours. </div>
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Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly beat remaining egg and brush over dough. Bake until golden brown, 15 to 20 minutes.</div>
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Rotate pan, tent with aluminum foil, and continue to bake until center of loaf registers 190 degrees, 30-40 minutes longer. Transfer pan to wire rack and let cool for 15 minutes. Remove loaf from pan and let cool completely on wire rack, about 3 hours. Serve.</div>
Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-15754463030135762822019-01-23T12:32:00.000-08:002019-01-23T12:32:35.057-08:00Christmas Time is Family Time<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Sometimes we just don’t want Christmastime to end. That’s how I felt this year after this Christmas. It was so relaxed and chill and pleasant that I continued to ride the sleepy high of it well into the third week since the kids started back at school. Now that the final box of decorations have finally been packed away and stored back in our basement, I figured it was high time that I actually posted some pictures of the joyful time we enjoyed as a family during the twelve days of Christmas and beyond!<br />
Nothing truly monumental or exciting was planned other than lots of togetherness. And that’s exactly why it was so wonderful! Have you ever experienced the completely freeing feeling of not having anything pressing to do or anyplace you had to go? That was what we enjoyed for an entire week! We didn’t even have to hit up the grocery store because there was so much food in the house leftover from our Christmas Eve and Christmas Day feasting. We stayed inside drinking coffee, playing board games, reading books, conversing with one another. It was truly lovely and I want to go back.<br />
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Christmas Eve we enjoyed the company of Elisabeth, our first Denver friend, for our annual fish dinner. Elisabeth has always been so great with our kids and they were excited to host her. She brought gifts in the form of three games for the kids and proceeded to patiently spend the hours after dinner leading up to Midnight Mass continuously playing games with them. Emma was especially enthusiastic about the new games. The activities kept the kids active and wide awake all the way until it was time to leave for Mass around 11:00 PM. Midnight Mass is one of my favorite Christmas traditions and we were excited to see how the church would be decorated at our new parish since this was our first Christmas there. We were totally not disappointed! Everything was beautiful, glowing, and bathed in the gentle glow of candles. We sat right in front of the large crèche and the children were so very well behaved. Only Lucy ended up succumbing to sleep midway through Mass in Elisabeth’s arms. Even Paul managed to refrain from snoring and drooling for the entirety of Mass!<br />
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Attending Midnight Mass is rewarding in a lot of ways, but it certainly has its drawbacks. We did not get the kids to bed and asleep until well past 2:30 AM. Then Paul and I had some Santa business to do which meant we were up until around 3:30 AM. You’d think the kids would be so tired that they would perhaps sleep in a bit later than normal, but our children are like roosters and at the first sign of day they must arouse the troops to rise and shine. This arousal came in the form of Matthew standing unnaturally close to Paul’s face at 6:00 AM. That’s a fun way to wake up, I’ll let you know.<br />
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Pretty soon, the girls were up too and everyone was excited and bouncing about ready to see what Santa brought. When Paul and I still appeared slightly comatose, all three kids climbed into our bed and began whispering “Merry Christmas!” in our faces with their fish-scented morning breath until we couldn’t continue the charade any longer. “I’ll make coffee…” Paul mumbled as he stumbled out of bed. Actually, he fell out of bed because he asked the kids to help pull him out and lost control of the fall and ended up whacking his back pretty hard on the edge of the bed, leaving a nasty bruise.<br />
Anyway, we stumbled downstairs and the kids happily began to unwrap gifts. We unwrap slowly, focusing on one gift at a time so that everyone can see what everyone received. The kids were thrilled with all their gifts. Daniel was thrilled with all the empty boxes and piles of wrapping paper to explore and possibly consume.<br />
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After unwrapping gifts and eating a delicious breakfast of strata and cinnamon rolls, we announced to the kids that a very special gift was on its way, set to arrive at any minute. The kids were all bewildered and wondering what this surprise could be when who should walk in the door but Uncle Jacob, fresh off the airplane all the way from Honolulu.<br />
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The kids were delighted! Matthew immediately wanted to blare “Mele Kalikimaka” from the stereo as an effective greeting to our Pacific Islander relative but was sad to learn that we did not have it on CD. Actually, we might, but Paul and I didn't really feel like trying to find it right then. It was a nice idea anyway, Matthew.<br />
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The kids enjoyed every minute of having their beloved “Uncle Jakey” stateside for Christmas with them. Jake was extremely patient with all the kids, spending hours and hours and hours playing board games with the little girls and indulging a few other hours with Matthew, Paul, and me playing some more involved strategy games. He and Paul also went to a few distilleries, spent an afternoon hiking in the snow, and took the oldest kids to the movies. Paul and I also gifted Jake a sous vide machine for Christmas and spent a little bit of time teaching him how to use it. Jake and Paul made the most delicious brisket I have ever tasted in addition to the prime rib we enjoyed for Christmas dinner. We all ate way too much, but it was incredibly enjoyable for everyone.<br />
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When it came time for Jake to leave, Emma clung to his ankles and begged him not to leave. Both girls sobbed as Paul drove away with their current favorite uncle in the passenger seat, headed to catch the plane that would fly him back to Hawaii. They really bonded with him during the visit.<br />
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Soon after Jake’s departure, Daniel started crawling at a wicked fast pace, and we have been struggling to keep him safe from his own destructive habits ever since. He especially enjoys sucking on power cords and attempting to lick light sockets. No cabinet is safe from his rummaging. His new favorite toy is the Swiffer duster. I taught him how to actually use it but he tends to dust the same side of the cabinet over and over. On the bright side, at least one side of the cabinet is clean. He definitely grumbles less than the other three when it comes time to doing chores!<br />
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And here we are! Back to school, back to work, back to wishing away the winter cold and dreaming of warm summer days. Lucy is already looking forward to the pool opening up and Emma is compiling her list for Santa for next Christmas (the greedy child).<br />
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One thing is for certain, our first Christmas in Denver was a happy, healthy, and restful one. As a family, we look forward to a new year of adventures in our not-quite-so-new home. We chose the word “gratitude” to focus on together in the coming months. We have so much to be grateful for: our families, our friends, our health, our beautiful home and all the amazing possibilities that come with living in such an incredible part of the country. We are also grateful for life and love, especially as we watch our baby Daniel grow and thrive. He brings us all such joy. May we never lose sight of how much we have all truly been blessed in this beautiful life.<br />
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<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-62868307355929504232018-12-22T14:47:00.001-08:002018-12-22T14:47:08.529-08:00The Perfect Gift<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Christmas is just days away! Are you ready?<br />
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Christmas shopping can be incredibly stressful, but overall I really enjoy picking out gifts for people. Well, most people. The one exception to this rule is my dear husband. The most difficult people to shop for are the ones who tell you, "Oh, I'd like anything! I'm easy!" And that's exactly what Paul says: "Surprise me! I'll love anything! You know I'm not picky!"<br />
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The thing is, he is kind of picky. Actually, he's very picky and<i> quirky</i> about what he likes. But he just doesn't know it until something he most certainly did not want is staring him in the face. But ask him ahead of time what he does want in order to spare him disappointment and he's really not sure what to say!<br />
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Each year, I'm tempted to put bows on our children and tell Paul, "I've already given you the greatest gifts you can ask for!" But I'm worried one of them will have an accident or talk back or something and spoil the whole charade. Plus, Paul is a materialistic little miser and enjoys getting stuff.<br />
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For our first Christmas, I hit the gift-giving out of the park by buying Paul a pair of slippers. He wore them every day from the moment he got home from work until the tread wore down so badly that I got him a new pair seven years later. Since then, it's been slightly downhill and most of the things I buy for Paul get returned or used as an expensive closet placeholder. And I normally think REALLY hard about what to get him. Some of the gifts I look back on and wonder why I thought they would be such a good idea, like the miniature ping-pong table. I have no clue why I thought he would like that. Neither did he. He unwrapped it and looked at me with a confused expression and said: "I don't get it."<br />
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There were other things that I thought he legitimately wanted. One such example was that time Paul pined for a miniature Keurig that was introduced the year that k-cup brewers really started becoming popular. I saw that Kohl's was having an incredibly sale on them that lasted only four hours on a single day. They also noted that the number of coffeemakers they had in stock were very limited. I bundled a then-baby Matthew up and took him out to Kohl's in the middle of snowstorm while Paul worked late at GE. I managed to snag the very last one they had in stock and then waited in line for nearly two hours to purchase it while Matthew whined and complained. I was so proud of myself for finding such a great sale and for actually securing one of the coveted Keurigs! Then, Christmas morning came and Paul opened his gift and then told me that he had done the research and had determined that Keurigs just keep accruing costs because you have to keep buying the pods and it wasn't worth it to him. So back to the store it went.<br />
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Then there was the Christmas when I bought Paul a hand held back massage machine thingy. He was always asking me for backrubs and I figured this way he could do the work himself. He looked pretty freaked out when he opened it and mistakook it for a shower head at first. I tried to explain my logic but could tell by how high his eyebrows remained stuck to the top of his forehead that he wasn't thrilled with it. Come to think of it, that might have been purchased the same Christmas as the miniature ping-pong table. I must have been pregnant or slightly out of my mind in some other way because that was obviously not a great year for me.<br />
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After sharing with you some of my gift giving blunders with Paul, let me tell you about a time where I truly gave Paul what he wanted for Christmas. That was the year that I gifted Paul with 50 pounds of salt. And this was by his request.<br />
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Paul had become curious about the new fad of cooking on a salt block. Large blocks of Himalayan Pink Salt were being sold and marketed as having wonderful cooking properties due to its ability to retain very high temperatures of heat, making it a great tool for simultaneously searing and flavoring meat, vegetables, or what have you. When I heard that Paul was interested in this, I thought he was just plain crazy. But, I didn't really have any better ideas so I ordered a large block of salt off of Amazon along with a cookbook to guide Paul in his cooking journey and it was easily one of the least researched yet bet received presents I have ever given anyone. Paul was thrilled. The first thing he made with that block of salt was some ice cream. That was <i>no bueno</i>. He followed up that failure with some seared scallops and shrimp. Those were fantastic.<br />
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A block of salt. Who would have thought?<br />
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Since receiving that gift, Paul has served many good meals from his salt block. A few bad ones here and there as well, but that salty ice cream will always be the absolute worst. The other day, Lucy requested quesadillas for dinner and Paul decided to break out the salt block again and host an unconventional dinner spread: Build-Your-Own-Quesadillas-on-a-Salt-Block!<br />
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We had all the trimmings for quesadillas arranged: the avocado, the cheese, the chicken, tomatoes, peppers, onions, salsa, and chips! Paul had the salt block heat up in a 400 degree oven for two hours (it takes a while to get it fully hot - but once it's heated, it stays hot for hours!). Then, we brought the hot salt block to the table and set it in the center. Everyone was able to assemble their quesadillas and then melt the cheese and sear the outside of the tortilla on the salt block. They were delicious and the kids had a blast cooking their own dinner right at the table!<br />
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I guess the whole point of this blog post is that if you, like me, are never quite sure what to get your significant other for Christmas, consider a salt block. Maybe they are a weirdo like my husband and will absolutely adore it! Then you can make your own salty ice cream in the comfort of your own home! If that isn't an incentive to buy one, I don't know what is!<br />
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Merry Christmas, everyone!Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-25557882890386551932018-12-19T07:15:00.004-08:002018-12-19T07:29:10.490-08:00Gingerbread Cookie Butter Oatmeal Cookies<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This time last year...<br />
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Most of our possessions were in boxes. We knew it was to be the last Christmas in our Pennsylvania home and we were preparing ourselves for the mental and emotional heartbreak that comes with saying goodbye to people and places that had come to be a part of us. I was pregnant with Daniel and on rest for placenta previa, rest that was much easier to accomplish since my foot was also still on the mend from a break that made mobility a bit more cumbersome. My knee scooter was my best friend. Our home was for sale, and we were having open houses every weekend leading up to Christmas. We also had found our current home and were in the process of purchasing it with the help of our amazing realtor who has become one of our dearest friends here. There was so much unknown on the horizon. Would we like our new home? Would the children adjust well in their new school? Would we be able to find a community like the one we enjoyed in Pennsylvania? How would I adjust being even further away from my family?<br />
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And now here we are...<br />
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The tree is trimmed, the winding banisters leading upstairs are covered with lights and garland, and we are eagerly preparing to celebrate our very first Christmas in Colorado. When we look back on how chaotic and stressful our lives were at this point last year, we can't help but feel so grateful that we not only survived that period in our lives but that we came out on the other side so happy and adjusted in our new home. We have been loving it here in Colorado - the sunshine, the beautiful scenery, the kind people. We are still forming our community and working on making friendships, a process that is innately slow and cannot be hurried, but we have already made some wonderful connections that we feel so blessed to have.<br />
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The kids are disappointed that we do not have as much snow on the ground as Erie would have had by now. In fact, we have no snow at all. What little snow that does fall from time to time quickly melts in the bright sunshine that beams down on us daily. I love it, but the children lament that they are unable to build snowmen, forts, or snow angels. However, Matthew did get to travel into high country to try his hand at skiing as I mentioned in a previous post. I promised that I would update you on what he thought about the skiing experience and all I have to report is that he did not complain about it one bit. He came back tired, exhausted really, but had very little to say about his day on the slopes other than that he wanted to go to bed and sleep. Believe it or not, that is a very good sign. If he had absolutely hated it, we would have heard about it. Matthew is much more vocal about complaints. He'll get back on his skis a few more times this season with Paul. The girls will take lessons together next winter and hopefully I'll get to ski with them as well. We are hoping that skiing will give them a whole new appreciation for the snow.<br />
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One thing I never did with the kids in Pennsylvania was go out of my way to visit Santa and have our pictures taken with the big guy. My kids have never been all that into Santa, mainly because Matthew has always said, "Santa creeps me out." And I had absolutely no problem with not going to the mall or somewhere and standing in a big long line to take a picture of my kids crying while sitting on the lap of an old guy dressed in red. No, thank you.<br />
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SO I have no idea what possessed me this year to take my kids down to the historic district of our little suburb where a Christmas market was being held and one of the most realistic looking Santas you will ever see was present hearing the Christmas requests of the children of Denver. Lucy announced that she wanted to visit Santa and I, being the sucker that I am, decided to do bundle everyone up and take them down there. When we arrived, about 20 minutes before Santa was supposed to arrive, the line of parents and kids was stretched out up and around the town square. I was informed that from where I was standing in line that it would be about an hour until we actually had our turn with Santa. I told the girls to forget it, but Lucy acted so disappointed and heartbroken that I was once again bamboozled into staying put.<br />
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So, we waited for over an hour and slowly inched our way closer and closer to meeting Father Christmas. The kids also became more and more tired and grumpy with every minute we had to wait. There were carolers entertaining the crowd and a real estate company was also passing out free hot chocolate so it wasn't complete torture to wait. But, it still was a long time.<br />
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Then FINALLY, we were next in line. I yanked Lucy out of the double stroller to prepare her for the big, highly anticipating meeting with Santa and what do you think she angrily tells me?<br />
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"I don't want to see Santa!"<br />
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You've got to be kidding me. After waiting in line for over an hour because LUCY was the one who wanted to see Santa in the first place? Oh, HO HO HO....you're definitely going to be seeing Santa, young lady.<br />
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When our turn was called, Emma happily leaped forward into Santa's arms and began feeding him lies about how well behaved and angelic she has been all year. Lucy, however, proceeded to burst into tears and yell: "I DON'T WANT TO SIT ON HIS LAP! HE'S SCARY! NO! NO! NOOOOOOOOOO!" She wouldn't stop wailing as she collapsed into a heap at my feet while simultaneously completely wrapping her little body around my ankles.<br />
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At this point, I pretty much hated my life.<br />
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The elf helper was yelling at me to start taking pictures to capture this beautiful moment with Santa. I couldn't move because Lucy was so tightly wound around my legs and my camera was buried in the diaper bag in the back of the stroller. I awkwardly shuffled over towards it, slowly dragging a little limp Lucy along with me, and pulled the camera out to hopefully snap a quick photo of Emma with Santa before leaving the wretched place with my tail between my legs. Without even looking into the viewfinder, I snapped a couple quick shots and then encouraged Emma that we had to beat it. She happily waved goodbye to Santa and I shoved everyone else out of the way to make way for the next parents.<br />
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And these were the treasured shots I captured...<br />
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At least we got a coupon for free cookies and a couple candy canes out of the deal. And I will never, ever, ever be doing that again.<br />
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And speaking of cookies, it's time for a cookie recipe! What clever segue that was! Not much really to say about today's recipe except that they were a new recipe I decided to try this Christmas season and they certainly paid off in flavor. In a word, these are simply scrumptious or "scrummy" as Mary Berry would say. My kids love everything gingerbread or molasses flavored. When I asked them what cookies they wanted to help make for Christmas, ALL of them wanted "gingerbread men" and nothing more. As a child, I don't remember being particularly drawn towards gingerbread flavors, so this fetish must come from Paul who also adores molasses anything. Another thing Paul adores is cookie butter - particularly the Trader Joe's variety. So, when I spied this recipe and noted that it not only contained ginger and molasses but cookie butter as well, I knew it had to result in a tasty treat. This recipe has quickly found a spot in the "favorites" file. The kids have already eaten a dozen or so and would have eaten more had I not cut them off, stashed the remainder into a tupperware, and hidden it atop our refrigerator where they all are fortunately still too short to reach.<br />
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If you get your hands on a jar of cookie butter, make these! You can find the Biscoff brand of cookie butter in the aisle with the peanut butter at most major grocery stores or, of course, if you are blessed enough to live near a Trader Joe's, their cookie butter is pretty amazing. Lucy enjoyed a few spoonfuls before the rest was dumped into the cookie dough.<br />
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<b>Gingerbread Cookie Butter Oatmeal Cookies</b><br />
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1 cup (2 sticks, 8 ounces) butter, softened to room temperature<br />
1 2/3 cup (14-ounce jar) cookie butter (see note)<br />
3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) granulated sugar<br />
3/4 cup (5.5 ounces) packed light brown sugar<br />
1 teaspoon baking soda<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
3/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger<br />
1/4 cup molasses<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla extract<br />
2 large eggs<br />
2 cups (10 ounces) all-purpose flour<br />
2 cups (7 ounces) quick oats<br />
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Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Line baking sheets with parchment paper. (Just always always always do this for cookies)<br />
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In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment (or in a large bowl using a handheld electric mixer), cream together the butter, cookie butter, granulated sugar, brown sugar, baking soda, baking powder, salt and ginger until creamy and fluffy, 1-2 minutes, scraping down the sides of the bowl as needed.<br />
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Add the molasses, vanilla and eggs and mix until well-combined, 1-2 minutes, Scrape down the sides of the bowl. Add the flour and quick oats and mix until combined (don't over mix, just mix until evenly combined and no dry streaks remain).<br />
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Scoop the dough into balls about 2 tablespoons each (I use my #40 cookie scoop) and place a couple inches apart on the baking sheets. Bake for 10-12 minutes until set around the edges with a few cracks on top but still soft in the middle. Let the cookies rest for a few minutes on the baking sheets.<br />
Remove the cookies to a cooling rack. The cookies stay soft for a couple days stored well-covered at room temperature and freeze well, too, for several months.<br />
<br />Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-71300329867648657662018-12-17T20:30:00.003-08:002018-12-17T20:30:58.888-08:00Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Next to Christmas and their birthdays, our kids look forward to their Feast Days more than any other day of the year. For those who are not Catholic and unfamiliar with the concept of feast days, each of our children is named after a saint of the church who functions as their patron. In our case, we have Saint Matthew the Evangelist, Saint Emma of Lesum, Saint Lucy, and Daniel the Prophet. When a person is declared a saint, a certain day during the calendar year is designated to function as the "Feast Day" of that saint, or a special day designated to acknowledge, commemorate, and remember them. Typically, a saint's feast day is the day of their death as it is the day in which they joined God in heaven. Saint Matthew's feast day is in September and Daniel's is at the end of July. Lucy and Emma's saints both have their feast days in December.<br />
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On their feast day, our children have the privilege of selecting their favorite meal for dinner as well as a dessert of their choice. Typically, without fail, every single one of our kids chooses not to have their loving mother who is actually a decent chef prepare dinner by requesting takeout pizza. I actually make pretty dang good pizza but they always explicitly request that the pizza must arrive at the dinner table packaged in a greasy cardboard box. Maybe their tastes will evolve one of these days.<br />
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But Lucy's feast day, which falls on the 13th of December, gets an extra-special event each year because hers is a particularly important feast day in both the eyes of the church and my family. Since I was a little girl, we always celebrated the feast of Saint Lucy, one of the greatest female martyrs, with a special candlelit breakfast. While I was growing up, usually the youngest girl helped Mom serve the rest of the household a breakfast in bed, but that slowly evolved into everyone awakening for a candlelit breakfast complete with a fully set table, some type of sweet bread or coffee cake. My protein loving husband required that I add in an egg dish of some sort because apparently we cannot survive on bread and sugar alone.<br />
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I typically change up what sweet we serve for Saint Lucy day. My Mom always made this Cherry Almond Coffee Cake growing up which still has my heart but I can't help but try new sweets when given the opportunity. So, this year I made these Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns that I spied on the Smitten Kitchen website. I love the combination of cranberry and orange and still had half a bag of frozen cranberries leftover from Thanksgiving that I knew I had to use up before someone accidentally spilled them all over the bottom of the freezer.<br />
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I loved how easy these, like any cinnamon roll, were to prepare and bake the next morning. Paul and I are typically up before 5:30 most mornings, so this did not require me to skimp on my sleep to ensure they were ready in time. The scent of orange zest and butter wafting through the house was a calming way for the children to awaken. Matthew was the first to wander downstairs: "OOOooooh! Mom! What are you making? It smells so good!"<br />
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When it came time for feasting, the girl of the day - Miss Lucy - felt very special indeed and loved her breakfast. Along with the Cranberry-Orange Buns, we served scrambled eggs, thick cut bacon, and hot cocoa. Everyone left the breakfast table filled to the brim. Except Matthew, who begged me for another one of these buns to eat. I can't blame him for trying to have another, these rich little sweets were certainly delicious and we all loved them. It was a nice change from the typical cinnamon roll and, in my opinion, possibly even better tasting. A very special treat indeed to be enjoyed on a special feast day!<br />
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<b>Cranberry-Orange Breakfast Buns</b><br />
<i>from Smitten Kitchen</i><br />
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<i><b>For the Dough:</b></i><br />
4 large egg yolks<br />
1 large whole egg<br />
1/4 cup (50 grams) granulated sugar<br />
6 tablespoons (85 grams) butter, melted, plus additional to grease pan<br />
3/4 cup (175 ml) buttermilk<br />
Zest of 1 orange, finely grated (to be used in dough and filling, below)<br />
3 3/4 cups (470 grams) all-purpose flour, plus more for dusting counter<br />
1 packet (7 grams or 2 1/4 teaspoons) instant dry yeast<br />
1 1/4 teaspoons coarse or kosher salt, or more to taste<br />
1 teaspoon oil for bowl<br />
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<b><i>For the Filling:</i></b><br />
1 1/2 tablespoons (20 grams) butter<br />
1 cup (190 grams) packed light brown sugar<br />
1 cup (115 grams) fresh cranberries<br />
Orange zest leftover from above<br />
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<b><i>For the Icing:</i></b><br />
3 1/2 tablespoons (55 ml) orange juice<br />
2 cups (240 grams) powdered sugar<br />
Zest of 1/2 an orange<br />
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In the bottom of the bowl of a stand mixer, whisk the yolks, whole egg, sugar, butter, buttermilk and 3/4 of the orange zest together (saving the rest for the filling). Add 2 cups of the flour along with the yeast and salt; stir until evenly moistened. Switch to the dough hook and add the remaining 1 3/4 cups flour and let the dough hook knead the mixture on low speed for 5 to 7 minutes. The dough should be soft and moist, but not overly sticky. Scrape the dough into a large, lightly oiled bowl (I usually scrape my dough briefly onto the counter, oil the mixing bowl, and scrape the dough back into it) and cover it with plastic wrap. Let dough rise at room temperature until doubled, which will take between 2 and 2 1/2 hours.<br />
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Melt the butter and set it aside. In a food processor, pulse the whole cranberries until they’re ground to a coarse rubble, but not fully pureed. You’ll need to scrape the machine down once or twice. Set them aside.<br />
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Assemble the buns: Butter a 9×13-inch baking dish, a heavier ceramic or glass dish is ideal here. Turn the risen dough out onto a floured work surface and roll it into a rectangle that is 18 inches wide (the side nearest to you) and 12 or so inches long. Just estimate. If it is a little longer and thinner, it'll be just fine! Brush the dough with the melted butter. Sprinkle it with the brown sugar. Scatter the ground cranberries over it, then the remaining orange zest.<br />
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Roll the dough into a tight, 18-inch long spiral. Using a sharp serrated knife, very gently cut into 12 pieces. Arrange the buns evenly spread out in your baking dish. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate overnight or up to 16 hours.<br />
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The next morning, take your buns out of the fridge 30 minutes before baking and allow them to sit on the countertop to warm a bit.. Heat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake your buns until they’re puffed and golden (or read 190 degrees on an instant read thermometer), approximately 30 minutes.<br />
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Transfer pan to a cooling rack and let cool slightly. Make the icing by whisking the orange juice and powdered sugar together. Spread a little on each bun, or drizzle it over the whole pan. Serve immediately.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-85741825175624258422018-12-13T08:56:00.001-08:002018-12-14T11:18:12.286-08:00Cranberry Pear Crumble<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let me tell you a story about the time Matthew conquered the Thanksgiving Day Turkey Trot.<br />
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Our little neighborhood association, like so many others, puts on a largely informal Turkey Trot the morning of Thanksgiving. I enjoy running as my workout of choice. I enjoy the challenge of increasing mileage and bettering my pace. Paul hates running. To his credit, he did try to run with me a couple of times and concluded that he, unlike every other person on the planet, was not built for running. He could be an awesome runner, but his genetics prohibit him from realizing his potential. So, I'm used to running alone for the most part.<br />
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Then, Matthew grew up and decided that he wanted to run with me. We would go for jogs here and there and even did a few races together. At his school, he joined the running club and did very well there. His coach even called him out as being one of the better distance runners in his grade. So when I decided to do a Turkey Trot on Thanksgiving Day, I assumed that Matthew would have no problem running it with me. I signed him up and told him about it later.<br />
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Matthew was very excited to hear about the race. But, his excitement quickly turned to concern: "But...I haven't practiced running around here."<br />
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He had a reason to be worried. We live in a very hilly area. We have lots of high ridges and very little flat ground. The race course around the neighborhood looked to be quite difficult with all its elevation changes. Matthew was used to running flat courses for the most part.<br />
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"You'll be fine!" I assured him. And I really thought he would be.<br />
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So, bright and early on Thanksgiving morning, we registered and got a free t-shirt and did a few stretches in preparation for the great race. There were a couple hundred other people gathering by the starting line and Matthew excitedly began pointing to each and every person, "We are going to beat that guy, and that lady with the weird hat, and that guy and that guy and those kids...."<br />
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I cut him off and told him not to be overconfident. I'm certainly not the fastest person in the neighborhood and I'm pretty sure he's not either.<br />
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When it was time to start, Matthew and I lined up towards the front and then...we were OFF! We flew through the first half mile, well ahead of the rest of the pack. I was so proud at how hard Matthew was working. His arms were pumping, his legs were flying, and he was chatting, laughing, and having a grand old time. Then, suddenly he fell silent and his pace began to slow. I slowed right along with him but continued talking to him to try to encourage him. Suddenly, he burst into tears: "I HATE this! This is horrible! Why would anyone do this for fun?"<br />
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I told him that he's done this before and reminded him that he enjoys running. He spat back: "Yeah, but I HATE all these hills!! They are so hard!"<br />
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I told him to walk if he needed to, but he didn't really slow. He just kept going, complaining about how much his lungs hurt (although he was talking really well so I could tell that he was hardly gasping for breath) and how cold it was outside. The whining continued for the next mile or so until Matthew announced flat out that he wanted to quit. I told him that we were still a ways from home so we would have to walk a fair distance to get back there anyway, so he might as well finish the race, walking, running or otherwise. He decided to stop and walk for a bit at that point. Only his definition of walking was akin to a very slow crawl. It was at this point that I grabbed his arm and began pulling him along with me up the last big hill. And he had the audacity to ask: "Mommy, can you carry me? I can't move any more!"<br />
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I told him he had to be joking. Besides, the finish line was less than a quarter mile away. So, I made a deal with him. Let's run as hard as we can to the finish line. The faster we go, the sooner this perceived ordeal will be over.<br />
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"Ok...." he sniffed. Then, we began to sprint. We sprinted down the block and circled around our neighborhood park. Matthew began whimpering again but I egged him onward. When he saw the finish line, he suddenly regained his enthusiasm and triumphantly ran across. When his time was read, I informed him that he had beat his last 5k by nearly five minutes.<br />
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"WOOO-HOO! I did AWESOME Mom! That was so much fun! Let's do it again! Oh, and I BEAT you Mom because I crossed the finish line FIRST!" Matthew crowed as he fist pumped the air.<br />
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What a difference 20 seconds makes. He went from being defeated, beaten, and exhausted to cocky, triumphant, and arrogant. He had beaten incredible odds to become a running legend in his own mind. He actually asked me if he had earned a trophy. No trophy, but he did earn a banana and a bottle of water.<br />
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And that is how Matthew conquered the Turkey Trot and secured his new PR in a 5K of 31 minutes and 33 seconds. I also managed to secure my worst time in a 5K. It was a historic day for all.<br />
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Since this monumental feat of athleticism occurred on Thanksgiving Day, it seems fitting to share with you a new dessert I tried for our post-turkey sugar binge: Cranberry Pear Crumble. This recipe was so good, so delicious, so refreshing, so festive that it will most certainly make an appearance at future Thanksgivings. I'm actually debating about serving it as part of our Christmas dinner. There is just something magical and festive about the combination of sweet pears and tart cranberries. I love the light pink color the cranberries lend to the dish - so pretty to look at as you scoop individual portions. I loved this slightly warm with a large scoop of vanilla ice cream but it honestly didn't even need it as it was so delicious on its own. I baked the crumble in pie pans to make it look like pie since I didn't make an actual pie this year - I simply ran out of time! Thank goodness this recipe was easy and quick to prepare or we might not have had a dessert for Thanksgiving this year.<br />
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BUT, the single best part about this crumble was the leftovers! We enjoyed them for breakfast in the days following Thanksgiving. I was so sad when it was finally all gone. But like I said, I might be making another batch for Christmas.<br />
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If you love pears or just want to try a different dessert this Christmas season, give this easy crumble a try!<br />
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<b>Cranberry Pear Crumble</b><br />
<i>adapted slightly from Mel's Kitchen Cafe</i><br />
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2 to 3 pounds ripe pears, peeled and diced (6-7 cups, about 5 medium pears)<br />
12 ounces (about 3 cups) fresh or frozen cranberries, chopped in half or lightly pulsed in food processor or blender<br />
1 cup (7.5 ounces) granulated sugar<br />
3 tablespoons cornstarch<br />
1 tablespoon orange zest<br />
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon<br />
Pinch of freshly grated nutmeg<br />
1/4 cup orange juice (can use fresh juice from orange), apple juice or cranberry juice<br />
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<b><i>For the Crumble Topping:</i></b><br />
2 1/2 cups (12.5 ounces) all-purpose flour<br />
1 teaspoon baking powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1/3 cup granulated sugar<br />
1/3 cup packed light or dark brown sugar<br />
14 tablespoons butter, melted<br />
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Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Lightly grease a 9X13-inch baking pan. Set aside.<br />
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In a large bowl, combine the pears, cranberries, sugar, tapioca flour or cornstarch, orange zest, and cinnamon. Stir well. Add the juice. Stir to combine.<br />
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Spread the fruit mixture evenly in the pan.<br />
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For the crumble topping, in a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, salt, granulated sugar, and brown sugar. Add the melted butter and stir until the mixture forms pea-size and slightly larger clumps.<br />
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Crumble the topping evenly over the fruit.<br />
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Bake for 45-50 minutes until the fruit is bubbling and the topping is golden. Once removed from the oven, let the crumble rest for 15 minutes (the filling will thicken a bit as it sits). Serve warm with vanilla ice cream.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-37410089825429725242018-12-07T12:35:00.000-08:002018-12-07T12:35:16.096-08:00Mojo-Roast Pork and Cubanos!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mWGvw7UcgKL6kB8J0xh6KNzgZaI1vL90R0WkFpXvJjzqAjkEbUHCLZG8JNFuLWOqHLJqUcxSJ1App4ilXiMlaqwQlspG9Qs-WVqG7IK9vQOJ9qZH9vk5p-oQ9HbnoTZHuwzY5RykkbU/s1600/030b.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1125" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj1mWGvw7UcgKL6kB8J0xh6KNzgZaI1vL90R0WkFpXvJjzqAjkEbUHCLZG8JNFuLWOqHLJqUcxSJ1App4ilXiMlaqwQlspG9Qs-WVqG7IK9vQOJ9qZH9vk5p-oQ9HbnoTZHuwzY5RykkbU/s640/030b.jpg" width="448" /></a></div>
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Tomorrow will be Matthew's first day on skis. Here in Colorado, little kids ski for free during the winter season and the resort of your choice will even provide them with free lessons if they are complete novices. Paul and I both grew up in Montana where learning to ski at a young age is a necessity as it is so ingrained in the culture up there. When we moved here, one of the perks of being so close to the mountains, we assumed, was that we could get back on skis more easily and teach our children how to ski as well. Paul in particular is an excellent skier who has been out to the Montana slopes several times since we have been married. Last time I went skiing was when I was pregnant with our first baby. The conditions were terrible - very icy - and I took a bad fall. A couple weeks later, I lost the baby. The doctors assured me that the fall while skiing had not disrupted the pregnancy, but I wasn't so sure and as a result haven't been back on skis since. Paul is determined to get me back on the slopes next winter when we can leave Daniel for longer periods of time. But for now, Paul's focus is getting Matthew learning to ski and, hopefully, also learning to love it.<br />
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When Matthew first found out about skiing, he was excited to learn. He was practically bouncing off the walls when Paul took him to the sporting goods store to purchase ski gear and lift tickets. We found it was less expensive to purchase kid skis and boots than it is to rent them, so Matthew walked out of the store the proud owner of his own pair of bright red ski boots and skis. He tried them on at home for his sisters and me and then carefully propped them up in his closet in anticipation of the day he would get to use them. We purchased him a slightly used, high-quality ski coat, gloves, thermal underwear, and goggles to keep him warm and protected at 12,000 feet elevation. Matthew was just about ready to get out and ski. His first, all-day lesson was scheduled and set for December 8th.<br />
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Last night, at dinner, a few days before his scheduled lesson, Matthew announced that he no longer wanted to ski. "You never asked me my opinion! You just signed me up without my permission!" he whined.<br />
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Paul just about blew his top: "What do you mean?? You have been excited! What about all the time you spend parading around in your new ski gear in front of your sisters and Mom? At any point you could have said you didn't want to go!"<br />
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Matthew continued reiterating that he didn't want to go: "I'm afraid I'm going to be blown off the mountain!"<br />
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At this, we all laughed and attempted to quell his fears because they were ridiculous. Then Emma piped up: "You can take me! I want to learn how to ski. I'm going to be a good skier because I never give up!"<br />
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This is true. She is exceptionally stubborn.<br />
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Emma's enthusiasm enraged Matthew. If we ever want to motivate Matthew to do something, all we have to do is ask Emma to do it first and suddenly Matthew will spring to action. This even works for household chores, like taking out the garbage or picking up the dog poop.<br />
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"Emma, you can't learn to ski! I'm going to ski first!" Matthew snapped at her. The fight didn't stop there, and soon enough a grumpy Matthew was sent to his room for berating his sister.<br />
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While we cleaned up the dishes, Paul began to lament about whether we should be encouraging Matthew to ski or not. More than anything, Paul really wants Matthew to have a good experience on his first day so that he will enjoy skiing. A bad first day could taint his perception of skiing for life. That's when I suggested that maybe we should have signed Emma up at the same time so they could take lessons together. Those two are in constant competition with one another, in this case their combativeness could actually do some good. They could possibly drive one another to greater success.<br />
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Too late for that now. So Matthew will be hitting the slopes alone (Paul will be skiing too) on Saturday. We will see if he takes to skiing as much as his father hopes, or whether he will be sitting out the remainder of the season with his mother and his cute baby brother who is just so adorable right now that all the photos are about HIM.<br />
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Also, I shamefully have to put in a plug for my beloved alma mater and her football team. The Fighting Irish are headed to the playoffs! Daniel is particularly excited about it. This was taken during the USC game, which Daniel watched intently in between chewing on a package of diaper wipes.</div>
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So let's transition to the recipe for today. Actually it's a bonus day, for I have TWO recipes for you. This snowy, chilly weather is perfect for my favorite combination of foods - soups and sandwiches! My favorite sandwich in the world is one that incorporates all my pregnancy cravings between two slices of bread: pickles, mustard, and cheese. What sandwich is that? The Cuban Sandwich, or Cubanos to some people.<br />
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A good Cuban Sandwich consists of delicious roast pork, shaved ham, swiss cheese, pickles, and mustard piled high on a special, slightly sweet and chewy Cuban bread. The sandwich is pressed and toasted on a griddle until the cheese is all melty and the outside of the bread is golden brown and crunchy. It is the greatest combination of flavors in the world.<br />
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In order to have a good Cuban Sandwich, a good recipe for roast pork must be used. Anyone ever see the movie Chef? If you haven't, it's basically the story of a chef who leaves his career working in an upscale restaurant to make cuban sandwiches on a food truck. In the movie, they show him making this amazing citrus marinated, slow roasted pork that he uses on his sandwiches. The recipe was developed for the movie by famed chef Roy Choi and it is one of the greatest ways to use pork shoulder ever. I usually use his recipe to roast a large pork shoulder and then serve it sliced with mojo sauce and potatoes and salad one night for dinner and then use the leftovers to make Cuban sandwiches the next night.<br />
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If you don't have cuban bread, and really it is pretty hard to find unless you make it yourself, just use french bread. Actually, you can buy day-old bread from Jimmy Johns for practically nothing and it works PERFECT in this recipe.<br />
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In summary, make the roasted pork one night for dinner. Then, use the leftovers to assemble into the best cuban sandwiches this side of Miami. It's the perfect stay-inside-while-looking-at-the-snow-falling type of meal.<br />
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Have I mentioned that I'm so thankful I'm not the one freezing on the ski slopes this weekend?<br />
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<b>Mojo-Marinated Roast Pork</b><br />
<i>from Roy Choi for the movie Chef, as seen on RecipeTin Eats</i><br />
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<b><i>For the Marinade and Pork:</i></b><br />
3/4 cup extra virgin olive oil<br />
1 cup cilantro / coriander, lightly packed<br />
1 tbsp orange zest<br />
3/4 cup orange juice, fresh<br />
1/2 cup lime juice<br />
1/4 cup mint leaves, lightly packed<br />
8 garlic cloves<br />
1 tbsp fresh oregano leaves, packed (or 1/2 tbsp dried oregano)<br />
2 tsp ground cumin<br />
1 tsp salt<br />
1 tsp black pepper<br />
4 lb pork shoulder, skinless and boneless<br />
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<i><b>For the Mojo Sauce:</b></i><br />
2 tbsp lime juice<br />
1/4 cup orange juice<br />
Salt and pepper<br />
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Combine Marinade ingredients in a food processor and blend until the herbs and garlic are finely chopped. Alternatively, you can finely chop/mince the garlic and herbs then mix all ingredients in a bowl.<br />
Place in a large ziplock bag with the pork. Place in the fridge overnight (in a bowl, just to be safe).<br />
Remove the pork from the Marinade and bring to room temperature. Reserve the Marinade.<br />
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Preheat oven to 325 degrees.<br />
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Place the pork on a rack in a roasting dish (or on a couple of onions have, to elevate the pork). Cover with a lid or double layer or foil, slightly tented so it is not pressed tightly against the pork.<br />
Place in the oven and bake for 2 hrs 30 minutes. Then remove the foil and return to the oven for a further 30 minutes to brown.<br />
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Remove from the oven and place on a plate, loosely covered with foil. Rest for 20 minutes before serving with the Mojo Sauce on the side. I decorated mine with pan fried slices of oranges and extra cilantro/coriander leaves.<br />
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To make the Mojo Sauce, place the reserved Marinade, the Mojo Sauce ingredients and 2 tbsp of the roasting pan drippings into a small saucepan. Bring to boil and add salt and pepper to taste. You might also want to add more lime juice or even a touch of sugar. Turn the heat down and simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the stove and set aside. Serve with the Pork!<br />
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<b>Cubanos</b><br />
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2 thin slices ham<br />
4 thin slices Mojo Marinated Pork<br />
2 pieces of white baguettes , sliced in half (I used Jimmy John's Baguettes!)<br />
Yellow mustard<br />
2 thin slices Swiss cheese<br />
2 or 3 dill pickles , thinly sliced<br />
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Heat skillet over medium heat. Add ham and pork slices, and cook each side until slightly browned then remove to a plate.<br />
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Butter cut sides of baguettes then place in the skillet, cut side down, for 2 minutes until lightly browned. Remove onto work surface.<br />
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Layer the bottom of the baguettes with pork, ham, then cheese and pickles. Cut, break or fold the ham, pork and cheese so they fit. Spread the cut side of the bun tops with mustard then place on the sandwich.<br />
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Butter the bottom AND top of the outside of the baguettes.<br />
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Heat skillet over medium high heat. Place the baguettes in the skillet, top with a sheet of baking paper then weigh it down with a heavy skillet or pot (use cans if necessary for extra weight so the sandwich compressed). Cook for 3 minutes on each side, until dark golden brown and crispy, and the cheese is melted.<br />
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Let sandwiches stand 1 minute before cutting in half. Serve IMMEDIATELY.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-42589348178584947622018-12-05T12:42:00.000-08:002018-12-05T12:42:03.246-08:00Lemon Lavender Cupcakes<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Let me tell you about one of my favorite people in the whole wide world. This person is not one of my children nor my goofy husband; I give them plenty of feature time here and will pick up with discussing them tomorrow.<br />
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Today, I want to talk about my little sister Amy.<br />
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Amy, to put it eloquently, is simply the best. She is upbeat, easy-going, and smart. She also has a great sense of humor and infectious laughter, loves music, animals, and children, is a blossoming Beatles fan, possesses a great eye for photography and art in general, and has a faith life that is pretty deep for a kid her age.<br />
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But the best thing about Amy is her compassionate, loving heart. She has such a big capacity to love and cares deeply about each and every person she meets. Legitimately cares. You would be hard pressed to find someone with a bigger heart than Amy.<br />
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I'd like to think that Amy's beautiful nature is largely due to the fact that I supplied her with an impeccable role model while growing up. I was fifteen when Amy was born and my parents asked me to be her godmother, a role that I continue to take very seriously. But in all reality, I have pretty much nothing to do with how awesome Amy is. Even as an infant, she was always so sweet, so patient, and so ready to please. While growing up, she always tried her best to follow rules, obey her parents, and give her all at school. She also fostered a relationship with God that she has continued to grow and I have no doubt that her spiritual growth is the dominant force shaping her into the adult she is quickly becoming.<br />
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The weekend before Thanksgiving, Matthew was scheduled to receive the remainder of his sacraments of initiation: Confirmation and Communion. As part of the Confirmation process, he was instructed to select an adult sponsor, someone whom he greatly admires who will be able to help guide him in his faith journey. He took only a few minutes to think before deciding upon Amy. His choice did not come as a surprise to me and Amy was thrilled that he thought of her. I thought it was kind of neat because I had also been Amy's Confirmation sponsor just a few years earlier.<br />
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So, my Mom flew out along with my three youngest siblings - Amy, Susanna, and Bruce - to witness Matthew's reception of the sacraments. Amy got to sit with him throughout the entire 2 hour long Mass and held tightly onto his shoulder as Matthew walked up to be confirmed. Amy also was the one who informed the priest what name Matthew had chosen for his Confirmation - Saint Francis of Assisi - and got to watch close up as her eldest nephew was anointed with the blessed chrism oil. It was an emotional moment for me as a mother. I remember when my little baby boy was baptized and now here he was old enough to receive our Lord in the Eucharist and the Holy Spirit in Confirmation. I also remember my baby sister receiving all three of her sacraments of initiation and now she gets to stand as a witness and role model to my son. How quickly time passes.<br />
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It was beautiful - every bit of the Mass. And when it was over, we had a little party with lots of cake.<br />
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Oh, and there is one more thing about Amy that I'd like to share. She likes to cook. More specifically, she like to bake. When she came out to my house this past summer, she baked quite a bit. One of the most amazing things she made were these Lemon Lavender Cupcakes. I am in love with lavender in cakes and cookies, so when this recipe intrigued her, I encouraged her to try it. Amy discovered after trying her confection that she was not in love with lavender flavored frosting. However, I found it delicious and so did Paul and the kids. Amy might be able to bake, but I'm beginning to suspect that she lacks properly formed taste buds. These were amazing.<br />
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If you're like Amy and are suspect of lavender in baked goods, keep away. However, if lavender-scented sweets are your jam, give these elegant cupcakes a go!<br />
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<b>Lemon Lavender Cupcakes</b><br />
<i>recipe from <a href="https://thepioneerwoman.com/food-and-friends/lemon-cupcakes-with-lavender-frosting/">Jessica Merchant</a></i><br />
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<b><i>For the Cupcakes:</i></b><br />
1-1/2 cup All Purpose Flour, sifted<br />
1 teaspoon Baking Powder<br />
1/4 teaspoon Salt<br />
4 Lemons, Zest Freshly Grated<br />
1/2 cup Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature<br />
1 cup Sugar<br />
1 Large Egg<br />
2 Large Egg Whites<br />
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract<br />
1 teaspoon Lemon Extract (optional)<br />
1/2 cup Milk<br />
1/4 cup Freshly Squeezed Lemon Juice<br />
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<i><b>For the Lavender Frosting:</b></i><br />
3/4 cups Unsalted Butter, At Room Temperature<br />
3-1/2 cups To 4 Cups Powdered Sugar<br />
1 teaspoon Dried Culinary Lavender, Finely Chopped<br />
1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract<br />
1 Tablespoon Milk Or Cream If Needed<br />
1 drop Purple Food Coloring (optional)<br />
Fresh Lavender, For Garnish (optional)<br />
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Preheat the oven to 350ºF. Line a cupcake tin with liners.<br />
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In a small bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Zest the lemons and set the zest aside.<br />
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In the bowl of your electric mixer, beat the butter until creamy. Add in the sugar and beat on medium speed, scraping down the sides if needed and increasing it to high speed for 2 to 3 minutes, until the sugar and butter is fluffy. Beat in each egg and white until incorporated, then add the vanilla and lemon extract (you can also use a lemon baking emulsion) and lemon zest until combined. Beating on low speed, add in half of the dry ingredients until combined, then add in the milk and lemon juice. Add in the remaining dry ingredients and beat until combined.<br />
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Using an ice cream scoop or 1/4 cup measure, scoop the batter into the liners filling them 3/4 of the way full. Bake for 16–18 minutes, or until the tops are set. Let cool completely.<br />
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For the lavender frosting:<br />
Add butter to the bowl of your electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment and beat until creamy. With the mixer on low speed, gradually add the powdered sugar and lavender. Increase the speed of the mixer, scraping down the sides if needed, beating the frosting until fluffy and combined. Beat in the vanilla extract.<br />
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If the frosting seems too thick, beat in the tablespoon of milk. If it seems to runny or too thin, you can beat in more powdered sugar ¼ cup at a time. Once the frosting is a spreadable consistency, drop in the purple food coloring and mix until evenly colored. Frost the cupcakes and top with a few lavender flowers if you wish.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-2510142753366475202018-11-16T14:21:00.003-08:002018-11-16T14:21:43.312-08:00Halloween Candy Cookie Cake<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This week was brutally busy. I'm not even sure with what but I went to bed exhausted every single evening. Part of the reason was due to the fact that Paul was traveling for work this week and being the sole caretaker for the kids really does take a toll on me. When Paul comes home, it at least gives the kids another body to annoy, complain to, or climb all over besides me! Plus, Daniel has been going through a super fussy period at night. He used to be the best sleeper and is now waking up multiple times at night. My guess is teething but that's pretty much what I blame any fussy behavior on at this age. I know it will pass, but right now it seems as if I will never experience a restful night of sleep every again!<br />
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So, that's what's up with me. Here's a little update on each of the kids because they've all had pretty interesting weeks.<br />
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Let's start with Lucy. She woke up bright and early on Tuesday of this week and decided from here on out that she was no longer a little girl, but a puppy. Not just any puppy, but a puppy named "Ruff Ruff." In fact, she will correct me any time I refer to her as "Lucy" and not "Ruff Ruff." Now, Ruff Ruff is very specific about how she wants to be treated. She has been known to give me prompts "Pet my head" or "Tell me to do some tricks" or "Put my water on the floor so I can lick it like a dog" (I decline to indulge that request). She loves to play fetch and initiates the game by scratching my leg while I am working in the kitchen until I bend down and toss whatever toy she has in her mouth into the next room so she can chase after it. Just like any overly-energetic puppy, Ruff Ruff never seems to tire of this game. The worst part about having Ruff Ruff around, at least in my humble opinion, is that I never know when I am going to be gifted with a wet, warm, saliva-drenched lick on the back of the leg. Ruff Ruff strikes at any time with this sign of affection - while I am making dinner, nursing the baby, or reading a book - and it makes me cringe every single time. I personally will be very happy when Ruff Ruff leaves and Lucy returns. But, as I type this out, it is Friday morning and Ruff Ruff is rolled in a ball, pretending to sleep at my feet, occasionally letting out a bark. Really hoping Lucy returns before we have to go to church tomorrow for Matthew's First Communion.<br />
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Matthew is very excited about receiving his First Communion and Confirmation on Saturday. He has been looking forward to this day for a long time and has studied very hard to prepare for it. He chose Saint Francis to be his Confirmation saint because Saint Francis loves animals and, in the words of Matthew, that means "he probably loved dinosaurs too and since I want to be a paleontologist, Saint Francis would be a good patron saint for me." I failed to tell him that I actually did a little research to see if there was a patron saint of paleontology and there is, but it isn't Saint Francis. It's Saint Augustine. Who ironically is the son of Saint Monica, my saint namesake. But regardless, Matthew has his heart set on Francis. He actually had to write a short paper about Saint Francis for his Confirmation class. In order to properly research his paper, I bought a biography of Saint Francis for him and he read it eagerly, cover to cover. When it came time to write his paper, I sat him down in front of the computer and urged him to type out what he had learned. The result was a plethora of information about the good saint but in a jumbled format and order that gave me a glimpse into the manic nature of Matthew's third-grade brain.<br />
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One of my favorite lines read as follows: "Saint Francis saved a village from a wolf. He told him to stop doing bad things and the wolf was fed by the people for the rest of his life. We actually don't know if it was a girl or a boy wolf. So we should just say it was a girl/boy wolf."<br />
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It's the little details that he obsesses over.<br />
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Matthew is actually turning into quite the little writer. He has been avidly writing a bunch of short stories, inspired by the sights, sounds, and experiences of his daily life. My favorite project of his, a short story he wrote for creative writing class in school, is called "Every Fig." If you are familiar with the Bible, you may recall a story in the Gospel where Jesus rebukes a fig tree. Matthew decided to write that story from the fig's perspective. It was hilarious stuff. Basically, in the story, the hardworking figs receive a promise from an angel that their tree will never catch fire. But then, Jesus came along. I was in stitches as Matthew retold what he wrote. It was pretty creative. I've been very proud of him this school year. He had been excelling in his schoolwork and even won the music award this quarter.<br />
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Emma is also excelling at school. Socially that is. She is a bit of a troublemaker at school because she so loves to make others laugh. The result is that she is often disruptive at inappropriate times in her classroom. She has been sent to the Principal's office on more than one occasion. Matthew, whose classroom is directly next door to Emma's, has been able to witness his sister being reprimanded on more than one occasion. This actually helps me out a bit because I can obtain all the juicy, gossipy details from Matthew before confronting Emma about what happened.<br />
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Despite her troubles, Emma is very well liked by both students and teachers alike at the school. Matthew has actually been very annoyed at how much the girls in his class baby and adore Emma, often "taking care of her" during recess. Emma has a knack for getting others to do favors for her. An extra example of this would be when some men came to our house to deliver our new kitchen table. They arrived at the same time I pulled in with my carload of kids fresh from school pickup. I asked them to give me a minute as I carried in Daniel, Lucy's shoes, and an assortment of mail we had just collected from our mailbox. When I came back outside, I saw Emma walking between the two delivery men, one of them carrying her backpack, another carrying her shoes and coat. She was instructing them where to put her things once they got inside. She's a bit of a prima donna.<br />
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Emma made my week very eventful by feigning illness three out of five days. The first day, the school nurse called to tell me that Emma had been complaining all morning that she felt like she was going to throw up. After a nap in the sick room, she still wasn't feeling perky, so I was asked to bring her home. The minute she got into the car, she began requesting to dip into her Halloween bucket, followed by a high intensity game of chase with Lucy (I'm sorry, I mean Ruff Ruff). Obviously she wasn't feeling too awful. I should also mention that she ate plenty during her "sick time" at home so I was pretty sure she was manipulating people as usual. So, when I got another call from the school two days later stating that Emma was making the same complaints, I told them to tell her to knock it off and get back to class. And (surprise, surprise) she never once threw up.<br />
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On a positive note, Emma has been spending all her free time paper crafting. She's been working diligently making many beautiful paper flowers that are now decorating our home. She also made a crown for Pumpkin Bear. She's a crafting maniac.<br />
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And little Daniel...he's rolling everywhere he can and getting frustrated that he's not more mobile. He shall be crawling any day now and I can already forsee the destruction! Even with his limited mobility, he still manages to roll over to a cabinet of choice, open it, and expel all the contents! I'm going to be in big trouble when he really starts going!<br />
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He's wearing some of his Dad's old clothes in these pictures. So cute.<br />
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The kids also had rosary club this week. It's held once each month at their school and basically involves them spending an hour after school making rosaries for missionaries while praying the rosary with their teachers and friends. Matthew and Emma both love it. I had promised the kids that I would send in some snacks for club this month, so I raided the candy bags once again and came up with this lovely Halloween Candy Cookie Cake. It made for a fun and eye-catching treat for the kids and they all raved about it! They loved finding different fun-size candy bars in each bite - apparently each kid had two slices (I did try to cut them as thin as I could!). This was a fun way to use up some of that candy...although I honestly feel as if I haven't made a dent! There is still so much left!!<br />
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<b>Halloween Candy Cookie Cake</b><br />
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<b><i>For the Cookie Cake:</i></b><br />
2 sticks (8 ounces) unsalted butter, melted<br />
1 cup light brown sugar, packed<br />
1 cup granulated sugar<br />
1 large egg plus 2 egg yolks, at room temperature<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla extract<br />
2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1/4 cup cornstarch<br />
1/2 teaspoon salt<br />
2 cups leftover Halloween candy, roughly chopped (use mini candy bars, m&ms, peanut butter cups, etc)<br />
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<b><i>For the chocolate frosting:</i></b><br />
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, very soft<br />
1 and 1/2 cups confectioners sugar, more if needed<br />
1/3 cup plus 2 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
2 tablespoons heavy cream, more if needed<br />
1/4 teaspoon salt<br />
1 teaspoon vanilla<br />
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Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Lightly spray a 9" pie plate with non-stick baking spray; set aside.<br />
In a large bowl add the melted butter, brown sugar, and granulated sugar; beat well until combined. Cool for 5 minutes, then beat in the egg, egg yolks, and vanilla. Add in the flour, cornstarch, and salt and mix until just combined. Be sure not to over mix here! Fold in the chopped candy bars. Spread the mixture into the prepared pie plate (it will be very thick), smooth the top, and bake for 35 minutes, or until the top is golden brown, the edges are completely set, and the center of the pie is only slightly jiggly.<br />
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Top the warm cookie cake with extra candy, if desired. Transfer cookie cake to a wire rack to cool for at least one hour before topping with frosting (if using) and slicing.<br />
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To make the chocolate frosting, sift together the confectioners sugar and cocoa powder, whisking well to ensure it is free of lumps.<br />
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Using a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter on medium-high speed until creamy; about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low and slowly add the sifted sugar/cocoa powder, alternating with the cream, then add the vanilla and salt. Once all of the ingredients have been added, beat on high speed until light and creamy, about 2 minutes.<br />
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Scrape frosting into a piping bag fitted with an large star tip or other decorating tip of choice and pipe onto the cooled cake. Enjoy the sugar rush!Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-10426786998240938682018-11-08T09:58:00.001-08:002018-11-08T09:58:48.377-08:00Twix Blondies and a Halloween Recap<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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This begins my annual Halloween post. The post I write every year detailing what my kids wore on Halloween night, what their Jack-o-lanterns looked like all lit up and glimmering spookily in the night, and, at the end, a recipe utilizing a small portion of the pounds and pounds of candy they collected from our neighbors. This recipe for Twix blondies is definitely one of my absolute favorite ways to use candy bars in baking. My kids collected an exorbitant number of fun size Twix bars this year and they are more inclined towards the sugary sweets rather than the chocolate so they were more than happy to donate their Twix for this recipe. Plus, I just portion the blondies out and freeze them individually wrapped to use in their lunches in the coming months. So, they still get to eat their candy, just in a re-purposed manner. So don't feel too sorry for them. My sisters always tease me about using my kids' candy for baking.<br />
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But before we get to this incredible recipe, lets recap how the kids looked in their costumes. We actually trick-or-treated three separate times because we're insane and really enjoy standing in long lanes while waiting for our turn to beg for candy. Instead of putting together new costumes for the kids, I just told them to hunt through their dress up box and find something to wear. Unfortunately, that didn't work too well for Matthew who has grown so tall over the past year that nothing fit him. He had his eye set on dressing up as Spider-man after seeing a costume at Costco while we were shopping. I told him that he could earn the costume dollar by dollar by performing extra tasks around the house. Matthew diligently pulled weeds, raked the yard, picked up dog poop, and dusted furniture, eventually earning enough to purchase his costume. He was proud.<br />
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Emma also wanted to earn enough money to purchase a new costume. She had spied a fairy costume at Costco and I told her that she could do the same as Matthew and perform extra chores to earn it. She worked hard for a day and earned a total of three dollars before deciding that it was just too much work and abandoning the project. She chose to be Princess Belle while trick-or-treating at the zoo and then switched to wearing Matthew's old dragon costume when the weather got more chilly. She was perfectly happy with her choice and the dragon costume strangely fit her personality.<br />
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Lucia, my sweet little girl, was the only one of my children who did not complain for a new costume. Rather, she was more than happy to wear a different costume from her dress up box for each trick-or-treat outing. First, she was Doc McStuffins, wearing the same costume she wore last year, at the Boo at the Zoo. Then, she decided to be Minnie Mouse, complete with wearing a pair of my pumps. I really had to talk her out of shuffling around in those. Finally, for the chilly Halloween night, she wore a baby elephant costume she had found in one of our clothing bins that I had completely forgotten about.<br />
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And baby Daniel was a character from the 100 Acre Wood each time, Tigger first and Eeyore second. Paul wasn't too happy with the Eeyore costume since it was a pink and purple color and little old ladies kept coming up and telling us how beautiful our baby girl was, but it didn't bother me. Eeyore is a boy after all and someone telling me my baby is beautiful is always a welcome compliment.<br />
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And once again, I could not get Paul to dress up in a costume so he just went as a grumpy old man. I went as a tired Mom.<br />
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As typical, we began Halloween night with a simple dinner of subs and pizza. Lucy picked out decorations for the table, including "spooky spider" napkins and plates. Emma made a hand out of popcorn and candy corn at school that she just had to have displayed in the center. The kids ate well before lighting our jack-o-lanterns on the front porch. I actually helped carve the pumpkins this year, but I'm really not so great at it. Emma wanted me to make a spooky cat and while I was carving it I accidentally cut out the ear and dislodged the whole body from the circle meant to hold it intact. I propped it up with toothpicks long enough to have it lit, but by the end of the night the entire thing had fallen out of the pumpkin. Epic fail.<br />
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The kids drew their own designs for the pumpkins. Lucy adamantly wanted a sad pumpkin.<br />
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Matthew went with a big, happy pumpkin. With eyebrows. He was very adamant about it having eyebrows.<br />
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And Emma wanted to the pumpkin face adorning the front of her favorite stuffed animal "pumpkin bear", a teddy bear inside a jack-o-lantern that she has been sleeping with the for the past couple of years.<br />
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It was a freezing cold night. The kids did great despite the frigid air with the exception of Daniel. He wanted none of it and made his opinion known. He lasted a grand total of three blocks before I turned around to take him back home. Lucy chose to join me. Daniel was much happier once we got him in front of a roaring fire which is where he wanted to be in the first place. I was secretly glad that he gave me an excuse to get home.<br />
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Matthew and Emma did a few more blocks with Paul before they also retreated inside. Not that they had any lack of candy. I don't think we have ever collected so much candy. I'm crying just thinking about all the cavities.<br />
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So when I took about 30 mini Twix bars to make these blondies, it did not make so much as a dent in the actual candy collection of these kids. And between you and me, I would gladly buy a bag of mini Twix just to be able to make these blondies. They are sweet, salty, and extremely addictive. They have a bit of a different texture than other blondies thanks to the shortbread cookies in the Twix bars and I personally just love it! So did Paul and all the kids. Way better than eating a Twix bar straight up.<br />
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<b>Twix Blondies</b><br />
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3/4 cup butter, melted<br />
2 cups light brown sugar<br />
3 eggs<br />
2 teaspoons vanilla<br />
2 teaspoons baking powder<br />
1 teaspoon flaked (or coarse) sea salt<br />
2 1/2 cup all purpose flour<br />
30 mini Twix bars coarsely chopped - about 2 cups worth.<br />
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips<br />
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Preheat oven to 350°. Line a 9×13 baking pan with foil and coat with nonstick spray. Set aside.<br />
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In the bowl of your stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment combine the butter and brown sugar on low speed. Add in the eggs, vanilla, baking powder and salt and mix until smooth.<br />
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With the mixer still on low add the the flour and mix until just combined.<br />
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Stir in the Twix and chocolate chips until evenly incorporated.<br />
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Spread batter into prepared pan and bake 25-30 minutes until the edges are set and the center is almost set.<br />
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Cool completely before cutting into bars.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8897502584912588258.post-47023005028429127202018-11-06T12:30:00.000-08:002018-11-06T12:30:15.338-08:00Concord Grape Pie<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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After spending a few hours harvesting Mr. Wheeler's garden, we took home quite the bounty of fruits and vegetables, but had an especially large box full of concord grapes. Now concord grapes are delicious on their own, but I personally hate eating them because of their seeds. To me, they are hands down the best grapes for jam. Paul and I had already been planning to make a big batch of jam with them, but when we selected a recipe we realized we had enough grapes to make a quadruple batch, approximately 3 gallons of jam, with another couple quarts of fresh grapes leftover.<br />
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What to do with all those extra grapes?<br />
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That's when a very special memory that I had subconsciously tucked away somewhere in the deep trenches of my brain suddenly came to the forefront. When I was four months pregnant with Matthew, I attended a simple gathering at the home of a friend in Erie. Although Paul and I had been living in Erie for about a year, we still had not really made any close friendships. My boss at the time had tried to connect me with various families in the area and that was how I somehow got on the invite list for this particular party. Regardless, while snacking on zucchini bread and chicken salad, I struck up a conversation with a very friendly, bubbly, and intelligent woman named Jessica who was there with her husband Jesse. They had been married the year before me and Paul and, as I learned through our conversation, had a daughter named Sophie who was almost 18 months old. Jessica was so very excited to see that I was expecting and we chatted endlessly about pregnancy, birth, and parenting. I felt a great connection with her immediately but did not even think to get her number at the time.<br />
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Thankfully, Jessica's husband Jesse visited my office on business later the next week and I took the opportunity to slip him a note that I had quickly and rather sloppily written out with my name and cell phone number on it. I instructed him to give it to his lovely wife and have her call me.<br />
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A few days later, she did.<br />
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Jessica invited me to attend the annual Halloween night at the local zoo with her and Sophie. Jesse had to work that night and she really did not want to attend alone. I thought it would be fun especially since I really had nothing going on since Paul was also working late that night. We met up at the very crowded event and had a wonderful time walking baby Sophie through the trick-or-treat lines ensconced in various locations around the dark zoo with what seemed about half of Erie's other youngsters. When Sophie had tuckered out from all the walking and candy collecting, Jessica invited me to come to their apartment to continue our conversation. I figured that Paul wasn't going to be home for another two hours, so I agreed.<br />
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At her apartment, I left my cell phone in the car - I still am terrible about keeping it on my person - and headed inside where Jessica and Sophie served me my very first slice of grape pie. I did not even know you could make grapes into pie! But then again, I had never lived anywhere where concord grapes, the plump, juicy, ultra-sweet grapes used to make jam, jelly, and Welch's grape juice grew so abundantly. That pie was a revelation. At first, I wasn't sure what I would think of grapes in a pie, but it was pretty fantastic. Jessica gave me a slice to take home to Paul who, unbeknownst to me, had come home early only to find our home totally dark and me missing. He had proceeded to drive all over the city, calling my cell phone over and over but receiving no answer since I had left it sitting in my car. He was filing a missing person's report with the police when I finally walked in. Paul sure wasn't happy with me, but that slice of pie served as a nice peace offering.<br />
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Through the years, Jessica has remained one of my dearest friends. From that first meeting, we have watched our families grow and now have eight children between us. Jessica was one of the first people to hold three out of my four children, and I'm certain if there wasn't 1,500 miles between us she would have been at the hospital shortly after Daniel was born as well. Our children are close friends with one another and my kids often think of Sophie, Bella, Maddie, and Francis more as cousins than friends. She and Jesse are the godparents of our daughter Emma and continue to have a wonderful, impactful presence in her life even with the distance between us. Our family misses seeing them on a regular basis, but I know that we will always remain close. They are family to us!<br />
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So, when debating what to make with all those concord grapes, I texted Jessica and asked for her recipe for that delicious grape pie because that recipe is more than just a list of instructions and ingredients to me. Rather, it's a precious memory of the day I met one of my best friends.<br />
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<b>Concord Grape Pie</b><br />
<i>adapted slightly from Jessica's recipe</i><br />
<br />
1 recipe or your favorite double crust pie dough prepared<br />
1 1/2 lbs of Concord grapes (after removing from stems)<br />
3/4 cup + 2 tbsp (6.0 oz) sugar<br />
2 1/2 tbsp cornstarch<br />
1 1/2 tbsp freshly squeezed lemon juice<br />
1 tbsp unsalted butter, softened<br />
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On a lightly floured work surface, roll 1 half of a double crust pie dough into a 15-inch round. Fit dough into a 9-inch pie plate, pressing it into the edges. Trim to a 1-inch overhang all around. Cover with plastic wrap; chill pie shell until firm, about 30 minutes. Repeat process for rolling out dough for the top crust. Transfer to a baking sheet, cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate until you are ready to assemble the pie.<br />
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Wash grapes and discard any that are under-ripe, damaged and blemished.<br />
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Remove the skins from the grapes by pressing them between your thumb and forefinger. Put the skinless grapes in a medium saucepan. Reserve the skins in a small bowl.<br />
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Gently mash the grape pulp in the medium saucepan to release their juice. Cook over medium low heat until grapes come to a full boil, and simmer, covered, for 5 minutes.<br />
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Remove from heat and allow to cool completely. Press the grapes through a fine sieve and discard the pits.<br />
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In a heavy bottomed pot: combine the grape pulp, grape peels and all the remaining ingredients . (You’ll have about 1 1/3 cups of pulp – add everything else and you’ll have about 2 cups) Bring to a simmer over low heat, stirring continually until the filling is slightly thickened and bubbly. Remove from heat and allow to cool completely.<br />
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Preheat the oven to 400°F with a rack in the bottom third of the oven with a pizza stone or baking sheet on it.<br />
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Transfer the cooked filling to the prepared pie shell. Moisten the edges of the pie crust with water and attach the top crust, crimping the edges to seal the crust.<br />
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Cut six small slits in the crust to act as vents. Place pie on the pizza stone, protect the edges with a pie ring, and bake for 30 minutes at 400° F and then reduce heat to 375° F and bake an additional 25-30 minutes until the filling is bubbling. Cool on a wire rack for at least 3 hours before cutting.Pennylane4647http://www.blogger.com/profile/06193275758700357864noreply@blogger.com1