Happy Birthday Tyler!!!!

Wow! I cannot believe that Tyler is 12 years old today!!! It has gone by so fast! I feel as though I was just a newly wed of almost 2 years, working my first social work job and found out that I was pregnant with Tyler. The last thing on my mind was to be a mom but obviously someone else had things in store for us.

Tyler has grown from a boy of little words to a young man that is so hilarious. The little comments that he comes up with crack us up everyday! He is caring - loves to spend time with his sister (most of the time), loves his cousins especially his little cousin Ian. He treats him like a little brother - it is so cute! He loves music his favorite right now MJ. He has the dance moves down pretty good. He is a die hard U2 fan - we have video of him at 4 years old signing to Elevation. It feels as though that was just yesterday. This kid loves food - he might just be a food critic when he is older. He has a great palette for a 12 year old.He enjoys trying most foods. Spicer the better! Not that he is spoiled with a mom, aunts and ammachi that love to cook!

Words cannot explain what I feel for this young man. He has touched our lives in so many ways. I am proud to be his mom.
Happy 12th Birthday Tyler!!

We love you!!
Mom, Dad and Mira


Tyler at four:


Tyler at six


Tyler at nine:



This summer at VA Beach: ( I do have to say this kid could be a model i might be a little biased since I'm his mom)

I was craving a yummy chicken sandwich to make for dinner last night. Not deli chicken but GRILLED! With tasty toppings like spinach, pepper jack cheese, roasted red peppers, avocado and caramelized onions! Really you can choose whatever toppings fancy your palette.
I didn't think my husband would want to grill on a rainy January day in MN! So, I improvised the grilling to broiling the chicken. I marinated the chicken in Italian dressing before broiling it. I served the sandwiches with roasted potatoes and served it with seasoned sour cream ( i couldn't resist, i did use LIGHT sour cream).Of course veggies were also served. All mouths were HAPPY!

Here are the toppings for the sandwiches:



Yummy Chicken Sandwich:

Another Lost Tooth

Finally, after months and months of wiggling this tooth it has come out! It has been the most stubborn tooth, poor Mira wiggling and wiggling it everyday.
I cannot deal with the whole losing a tooth - the noise of the tooth, the pain, the blood - gross! Thankfully Ron has taken this job of pulling the kids teeth. Saturday was the day for Mira!! She got that tooth with the help of her dad.
She put the tooth in her little tooth fairy box and under her pillow it went. The next morning she came to our room with a $5 bill (seriously Ron, its a tooth I was thinking $1). She was so excited and said "I know the tooth fairy was in my room, she must have stepped on my slippers because they were not in the same spot I put them in".
When do we tell her there is really no tooth fairy??

Comfort Food!

I love to watch the PBS cooking shows on Saturday mornings, Ron even likes to watch them with me. Primarialry so he can say that looks really good and hopes that I will make it. I made this last Sunday for dinner. The kids did not like it at all. Ron and I enjoyed. I added a little more seasoning to the dish. It does not look that pretty but it did taste good.




Ingredients

Serves 4
2 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1 large onion, chopped
3 sprigs thyme
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
3 links spicy Italian sausage (3/4 pound total), casings removed
1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 can (28 ounces) whole peeled tomatoes
8 ounces medium shell pasta
1 bunch broccoli rabe (about 1 pound), trimmed and coarsely chopped
6 ounces fresh mozzarella, cut into 1/2-inch pieces
1/4 cup grated Parmesan
Directions

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. In a large skillet, heat oil over medium-high. Add onion and thyme; season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden brown, 15 minutes (reduce heat if browning too quickly).
Add garlic and sausage. Cook, breaking meat up with a wooden spoon, until browned, about 5 minutes. Add flour and cook, stirring constantly, 30 seconds. Add tomatoes, breaking them up with spoon. Cook sauce until slightly thickened, 5 to 8 minutes. Season with salt and pepper. Discard thyme.
Meanwhile, in a large pot of boiling salted water, cook pasta 4 minutes less than package instructions. Add broccoli rabe to pot and cook 15 seconds. Drain pasta and broccoli rabe and return to pot. Stir in sausage mixture. Transfer to a 3-quart baking dish or divide among four 16-ounce gratin dishes. Top with mozzarella and Parmesan. Bake until cheese has melted and liquid is bubbling, about 15 minutes.
From Everyday Food, November 20

Cafe Latte's Turtle Cake

I made this cake for christmas a few years ago and made it this year for dessert at the Young's at christmas. Of course it never tastes as good as Cafe Latte's but it is still yummy.



Café Latte’s Famous Turtle Cake
Cake Ingredients:
• 1 Egg.
• 2/3 cup Vegetable oil.
• 1 cup Buttermilk.
• 2 cups Flour.
• 1 3/4 cups Sugar.
• 1/2 cup Good quality cocoa.
• 1 tsp. Salt.
• 1 tbsp. Baking soda.
• 1 cup Hot coffee
Frosting:
• 1/2 cup Milk.
• 1 cup Sugar.
• 6 tbsp. Butter
• 2 cups Good-quality semisweet chocolate chips.
• 3/4 cup Caramel.
• 1 1/2 cups Toasted pecans.
Prepare oven and pans: Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease 3 (9-inch) cake pans.
Cover each bottom with disk of parchment paper.
To make cake: In bowl, combine egg, oil and buttermilk. In large separate bowl, mix
together flour, sugar, cocoa, salt and baking soda. Gradually add wet ingredients to dry
until well mixed. Gradually add hot coffee. Scrape batter into prepared pans.
To bake cake: Bake for 25 to 30 minutes, or until toothpick inserted into center comes
out clean. Let cake rest in pans for 10 minutes. Turn out onto wire racks to cool.
To make frosting: Mix sugar and milk in saucepan. Add butter. Bring to a boil.
Remove from heat. Add chocolate chips to pan. Using wire whisk, mix until smooth. If
frosting is too thick or grainy, add 1 or 2 teaspoons hot coffee.
To assemble cake: Place one cooled cake layer, top-side down, on cake plate. Spread
with one-third of frosting, pushing it out gently from edges to make a petal effect.
Sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans, Drizzle with 1/4 cup caramel. Add next layer, again
top-side down. Repeat frosting and sprinkle with 1/2 cup pecans and drizzle with 1/4 cup
caramel. And final layer top-side up, frost with petal effect and finish with remaining
pecans and caramel.
Call your friends and enjoy!

Holiday Treats

Holiday Treats that I made for the kids teachers this year and passed out to my staff at work.

1) Ritz Peanut Butter Cookies

CHOCOLATE DIPPED RITZ PEANUT BUTTER
COOKIES
Ritz Crackers
peanut butter
chocolate almond bark
Sandwich 1 teaspoon peanut butter between two Ritz crackers. Make as many as you want and set aside.
Melt chocolate bark in a double boiler. Dip the sandwiched crackers in the chocolate with tongs.

Place on wax paper until cool. White Chocolate Almond Bark may also be used).

2) Rolo Turtle Pretzels

Rolo Pretzel Turtles

Rolo chocolate candies
Mini pretzels
Nuts – toasted pecans/almonds/hazelnuts/walnuts

Preheat your oven to 350

1. Upwrap your Rolos. Place pretzels on baking sheet. Top with a Rolo.

2. Bake in oven for 3-5 minutes, until the chocolate just begins to melt. The Rolo should be soft but not completely melted.

3. Remove from oven, place on cooling rack and immediately squish the chocolate with a nut. Watch the caramel oooze out.

3) Spritz Cookies ( from Betty Crocker)


1 cup butter, softened
1/2 cup sugar
2 1/4 cups Gold Medal® all-purpose flour
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 egg
1/4 teaspoon almond extract or vanilla
Food color, if desired
Currants, raisins, candies, colored sugar, finely chopped nuts, candied fruit or fruit peel, if desired

1. Heat oven to 400ºF. Beat butter and sugar in large bowl with electric mixer on medium speed, or mix with spoon. Stir in flour, salt, egg, almond extract and a few drops of food color.
2. Place dough in cookie press. Form desired shapes on ungreased cookie sheet. Decorate with currants.
3. Bake 5 to 8 minutes or until set but not brown. Immediately remove from cookie sheet to wire rack. To decorate cookies after baking, use a drop of corn syrup to attach decorations to cookies.

4) Chewy Chocolate Gingerbread Cookies (Martha Stewart)
7 ounces best-quality semisweet chocolate
1 1/2 cups plus 1 tablespoon all-purpose flour
1 1/4 teaspoons ground ginger
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/4 teaspoon ground cloves
1/4 teaspoon ground nutmeg
1 tablespoon cocoa powder
8 tablespoons (1 stick) unsalted butter
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
1/2 cup dark-brown sugar, packed
1/2 cup unsulfured molasses
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/4 cup granulated sugar
Directions

Line two baking sheets with parchment. Chop chocolate into 1/4-inch chunks; set aside. In a medium bowl, sift together flour, ground ginger, cinnamon, cloves, nutmeg, and cocoa.
In the bowl of an electric mixer, fitted with the paddle attachment, beat butter and grated ginger until whitened, about 4 minutes. Add brown sugar; beat until combined. Add molasses; beat until combined.
In a small bowl, dissolve baking soda in 1 1/2 teaspoons boiling water. Beat half of flour mixture into butter mixture. Beat in baking-soda mixture, then remaining half of flour mixture. Mix in chocolate; turn out onto a piece of plastic wrap. Pat dough out to about 1 inch thick; seal with wrap; refrigerate until firm, 2 hours or more.
Heat oven to 325 degrees. Roll dough into 1 1/2- inch balls; place 2 inches apart on baking sheets. Refrigerate 20 minutes. Roll in granulated sugar. Bake until the surfaces crack slightly, 10 to 12 minutes. Let cool 5 minutes; transfer to a wire rack to cool completely.
From Martha Stewart Living, December/January 1997/1998

5) Snickerdoodles (Tasty Kitchen)

2-¾ cups All-purpose Flour
2 teaspoons Cream Of Tartar
1 teaspoon Baking Soda
¼ teaspoons Salt
2 sticks Unsalted Butter, Softened
1-½ cup Sugar
2 whole Eggs
2-½ teaspoons Vanilla Extract
3 Tablespoons Sugar
2 Tablespoons Ground Cinnamon
Preparation Instructions
1. Line baking sheets with parchment paper or a baking mat and put in refrigerator to chill.
2. Whisk together the flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt in a bowl. Set aside.
3. Cream together the butter and sugar until pale and fluffy, it should have a very light and fluffy texture (think mousse, kinda).
Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition (just when you think you’ve beaten the eggs well enough, beat some more).
Beat in the vanilla.
4. Gradually stir in the flour mixture, slowly beating just until the flour is blended.
5. Chill the dough for at least 30 minutes (it will make forming the dough much easier).
6. In the meantime, mix together the sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
7. Heat the oven to 350 degrees.
Scoop 1-inch balls of dough and roll in the cinnamon and sugar mixture to coat.
8. Place on chilled cookie sheet about 2 inches apart and bake for 10 minutes.
9. Chill the dough and cookie sheets between batches.
10. Let cookies set on baking sheet for 2-3 minutes and then remove to a cooling rack.

I also added the Oatmeal Toffee Cookies ( see recipe from last post)

These are my favorite christmas time cookies - Oatmeal Chocolate Chip Cherry Toffee Cookies by Martha Stewart
I substitute cranberries instead of the cherries.

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, room temperature
3/4 cup granulated sugar
3/4 cup light-brown sugar
1 egg
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1 1/2 cups oatmeal
1 cup dried cherries
1 cup bittersweet chocolate, coarsely chopped
1 cup toffee pieces, (5 1/2 ounces)
Directions

Heat oven to 350 degrees. Sift together flour and baking soda, and set aside. In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream butter and sugars on medium-high speed until light and fluffy, 2 to 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides of the bowl once or twice during mixing. Add egg, and mix on high speed to combine. Add vanilla extract; mix to combine. Scrape down the sides of the bowl.
Add the sifted flour a bit at a time on a low speed until well combined. Add oatmeal, cherries, chocolate, and toffee pieces; mix to combine.
Divide dough into three equal portions, and roll into logs using plastic wrap, approximately 1 1/2 inches in diameter. To bake, cut logs into 3/4-inch pieces. Bake on parchment-lined baking sheets, until golden brown, 8 to 10 minutes. Remove from oven, and transfer to a baking rack to cool.