Pp is for...

Our preschool letter this week is P. There are SO many fun P words so, I decided to do two posts this week. This is the first.

While in his pajamas, Sam easily came up with precisely 23 P words. My favorite that he came up with is, "Pow!". He learned the word from these comic book inspired pj's he has.

Sam made a purple do-a-dot P and polka dotted pig. I had intended for him to use our pompom magnets but he preferred the do-a-dot markers (These have gotten so much use since Christmas! Ray uses them too. I highly recommend them! You can find them at Michaels or order them from amazon.).

Monday night, after our long adventure home in the snow, I made pancakes for dinner. Sam wasn't feeling well so he didn't help out with the measuring and mixing. Last night, we made up for it and had a Pizza Party! Sam helped me add all the ingredients to the mixer and we talked about how yeast makes the dough grow bigger after you let is rest for a bit (We use this dough recipe from Kitchenaid.). He even took these pictures to compare and contrast the growth (yes, that counts as science experiment for a three year old!).
Here are two Pizza picture books that we like.

Pete's a Pizza by William Steig

Pizza! Pizza! Pizza! by Gwyneth Williamson. I found this book at Big Lots, a local discount store, and gave it to my husband last year for Christmas or Father's Day or something. He loves pizza and I love when he reads it in this really thick (made up) Italian accent.

So, just in case anyone is still reading... What is/are your favorite pizza topping(s)? Mine are cheese and mushroom or cheese, mushroom, green pepper and onion. All three of my guys prefer pepperoni.

Tuesday Recipe - Health Salad

In Toledo, where I grew up, there was a chain of grocery stores called, Churchills. In the deli you could get Health Salad. Sometime we would buy it and other times just make it but it is the only way I will eat cottage cheese. I got a craving for it over Christmas break and my Mom made some and I bought the stuff to make it at the grocery the other day since it makes for a quick and healthy lunch.

Health Salad
- Carton of cottage cheese
- Various finely chopped veggies*
- Wheat Thin crackers**

*Today I used half a green pepper, a handful of baby carrots, a 1 inch slice of red onion, and two stalks of celery. You can use whatever you have on hand keeping in mind that some veggies (tomatoes and mushrooms for example) will get mushy quickly.

** I'm not sure why we started eating this with Wheat Thins but that is always the way I eat it. Obviously you could eat it plain or dip celery or potato chips or make lettuce cups or whatever you want.

Tuesday Recipe

We arrived at my parents house on Friday night and have been "busy" relaxing and spending time with family hence the lack of blogging. I've done a little cooking but haven't taken any pictures which makes for a boring blog post...

Saturday night, I made Martha Stewart's lighter sesame chicken (again) for the fam.

Sunday, we went to my Dads house to reconnect with my brother and his family who have been out of the country the past year. They had requested a pecan pie so, I agreed to make one. Two things should be noted: 1. I don't even like pecan pie. 2. I've never made one before. I followed the first recipe I found online (after misplacing the recipe I had my aunt send me) which simply enough was at www.pecanpierecipe.com - This made me chuckle a little. I didn't hear any complaints about the pie.

Monday night, I made taco salad for dinner which is a staple in our family. We all like it and the boys always ask for seconds. Anything two toddlers will ask for seconds of becomes a staple.

Tonight, I made the most amazing Oatmeal Raisin cookies - EVER. They are from Paula Deen's cookbook, "The Lady and Sons, too!". And , yes, the cookies had 2 sticks of butter in them... I couldn't find the recipe online but you can probably check the cookbook out from your local library* or, borrow it from my Mom.

Merry Christmas baking/cooking!

* Aren't libraries the best thing ever?

Tuesday Recipe - Chicken and Dumplings

Mike requested Chicken and Dumplings for dinner when I was making up a grocery list. Since I have never made them, I went straight to Martha (I've been finding lots of great recipes on her site). I made a few substitutions in the recipe: I swapped frozen peas for frozen mixed vegetables; I left the dill out of the dumplings because I don't have any; I used bread flour instead of AP flour because I am out of it but I don't think that makes a difference with dumplings.

The kids weren't big fans but Mike seemed to enjoy it and I thought it was good.

Tuesday Recipe - Martha's Meatballs and Sesame Chicken

My goal was/is to only do one big grocery trip between the time we returned from Thanksgiving to the time we leave for Christmas break (about 3 weeks). This made me have to get a little creative with produce and meal planning which, I already do anyways.

I have also been wanting to experiment with some recipes you can make ahead of time and freeze for the days I just don't feel like cooking or we are too busy. This led me to try out a recipe from Martha Stewart's website for meatballs that can be made ahead and frozen for up to 3 months. I risked it and made a double batch. Thankfully, we all enjoyed them. I typically am not a big meatball fan but I think the garlic and bacon in these gives it a flavor I enjoy.

I also made Lighter Sesame Chicken from the Martha Stewart website. Mike and I both agreed that this was fan-frickin-tastic! Seriously good... seriously easy... seriously.

Tuesday Recipe - Tofu

I am a big fan of Tofu but can never seem to get it right at home (I'll plug for Northstar Cafe's tofu once again). I keep trying. Last night was the best I had ever had at home!

I pressed the tofu as normal (set it on paper towels, covered it in paper towels and put a heavy bowel on top to "press" the water out).

I cut it into 1 inch (aprox.) cubes.

I brushed each cube with hoisin sauce and baked them in a 350 degree oven for 10 minutes. Flipped the cubes over and brushed them with sauce again. Baked for another 10-15 minutes.

Then, added them to my stir fry vegetables at the last minute.

This picture doesn't make it look very tasty. Apparently, I was too busy eating to take a picture of it with the veggies!

Tuesday Recipe - Chocolate Peanut Butter Candy

1 pound white candy bark
1 1/2 C peanut butter
1 package chocolate chips


Melt white candy bark in microwave according to package directions. Stir in peanut butter until melted and smooth. Pour mixture into a 9x13 inch pan lined with wax paper. Melt chocolate chips in microwave (30 seconds at a time). Pour melted chips over peanut butter mixture. Swirl with a spoon or knife.

So, I just made this. It's in the fridge cooling. I'll let you know how it tastes tomorrow. I just wanted to stick with my Tuesday recipe routine and I made it with 26 minutes to spare! :)

EDIT: Wednesday morning - It's good! This picture is only a portion of the candy. It made a 9x13x1 inch piece. It's very rich so, cut in to small pieces.

Weekly Recipe (week 2)

Tonight for dinner we are having black bean burgers and some spanish rice.  I've already posted the recipe on my blog before, right here!

Look Who's Coming for Dinner!

RAY!!  While Mike was away in SLC, Ray took his place at the table in the booster seat.  Last night was our first night at the table as a family of four!  For such an occasion as this I made homemade french bread (see above and the right of Ray's head) and minestrone soup.  I saved all the cans from making the soup to make cool lanterns for trick or treating.

Cinnamon Chip Bread

Tonight, I made cinnamon chip bread for the first time.  I used the recipe out of "The King Arthur Flour Baker's Companion: The All-Purpose Baking Cookbook" which I am certain is going to get lots of use this fall and winter!  Special thanks to my Sister and Brother in law for the book and my Aunt for the cinnamon chips.  I need to stock up on the chips since they are seasonal (My Aunt found them at Meijer).

I would call this bread a quick yeast bread.  It is not a quick bread but it also doesn't require as much time as other yeast breads (it only has one resting period before baking rather than two).  It was very simple to make however, I did not follow the direction about waiting for it to completely cool before slicing - can you blame me?!

Another plug for King Arthur:  Request a catalog!  It's free and has a few recipes in it and lots of products I'd love to own.

If I had a large basil patch...

If I had a large basil patch (like someone I know) I might eat this everyday.

I present to you a grilled pesto, mozzarella, tomato sandwich on homemade honey oat bread. The bread recipe is from the Kitchen Aid cookbook that came with my mixer; it's one of my favorite to make. The rest was store bought. Our basil died in the garden and the tomatoes aren't looking so hot either; we need a little rain and a gnome to pull some weeds.

Mike and I had this for dinner last night along with some fresh berries. I managed to save half of one of the sandwiches for lunch today (pictured here)! It was good even reheated.

Black Bean Burger Blog - BOP!

I just wanted one more "B" word so, that's why you get the BOP!

Here's a quick, easy, super cheap, delicious dinner idea for you. I found a recipe online and then altered it to our liking. I can't find the original recipe but here is my alteration.

Black Bean Burger Recipe

2 cans black beans (drained and rinsed well)
1/2 C whole wheat flour (I use King Arthur)
1/4 C yellow Corn Meal
1/2 C Salsa of your choice (we tried Giant Eagles organic)
2 tsp of Cumin
1 tsp of Garlic Powder

Put half of the beans and the rest of the ingredients in a food processor and process until smooth. Meanwhile, mash the rest of the beans slightly with a fork. Combine the two and form in to patties. Put on a plate. Spray a piece of Saran Wrap with baking-spray and cover plate. Let sit in the over for at least an hour (I'm sure you could make these the night before if you wanted or even freeze them). Pan fry patties in a little bit of Olive Oil and enjoy. Makes about 6 patties.

Tonight we topped them with avocado, tomato and red onion. The picture is from the first time we had them and topped them with Munster cheese, onion, tomato, mustard, and ketchup.
The boys love these too!

Let me know what you think if you try them.