Cook or Be Cooked + A Recipe

I have not asked for a video game for Christmas since I was a kid. This year my most watched television channel the Food Network has been running nonstop ads for the "Cook or be Cooked" video game. I guess the subliminal messaging worked and I added it to my list. I am so glad I did! It's so much fun AND I am learning new recipes to try at the same time! In each level you make a different recipe (so far I have done bacon and eggs, chicken quesadillas with salsa and guacamole, and a bacon sandwich). You earn points for multi-tasking, following steps correctly, and speed. At the same you are learning actual cooking tips and recipes that you can try. The first one I tried was an easy way to create chicken quesadillas at home. They were delish, give it a try!



Chicken Quesadillas

Ingredients

Flour tortillas

Shredded cheddar

Cook/cubed chicken (I purchased the mexican style perdue shortcuts)

Butter/margarine

Directions

1. Heat skillet to medium high.

2. Melt butter

3. Place 1 flour tortilla flat into the pan. Sprinkle with shredded cheddar and chicken (this should be based on taste. Allow to cook for 30 seconds, cheese will melt.

4. Fold quesadilla half. Cook 2 minutes on each side.

5. Serve with preferred dipping items (we chose sour cream and Trader Joe's salsa).

Two Delicious Recipes

This week I have been experimenting with some new recipes since I actually have time! I'm also trying to get back on track with my diet since I've cheated quite a bit in the last month! I don't want to wait to the new year, with me being home 24/7 that is too dangerous! Below are two recipes, one that is healthy (and delicious) and one that is not as healthy but a favorite in my family for parties!


Chicken with Snow Peas

Ingredients

1 cup low-sodium chicken broth

1 tablespoon cornstarch

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 teaspoon ground ginger

1 tablespoon olive oil

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breast helaves cut in 1x1/2 inch strips

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped (this was the first time I used real garlic in a recipe!)

6 oz. fresh snow peas

Directions

1. Combine the broth and cornstarch in a small bowl. Stir until dissolved. Stir in the soy sauce, sesame oil and ginger.

2. Heat the olive oil in a 12-inch skillet over medium-high heat. Add the chicken and the garlic. Cook, stirring occasionally, for 3-5 minutes. Add the snow peas. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the chicken is cooked 3-5 minutes longer.

3. Add the broth mixture to the skillet. Cook, stirring occasionally, until the sauce is thickened and bubbly, 1-3 minutes. Serve hot.

I served this over rice. When I make it again I will probably use more cornstarch to make the sauce a bit thicker!

Mexican Taco Salad

Ingredients

1 pound ground beef

Taco seasoning

1 package cream cheese

Shredded lettuce (I am lazy and buy preshredded dole brand)

1 jar salsa

1 package shredded cheddar

Nacho chips

1. Prepare ground beef as directed on taco seasoning package, use only half of the seasoning packet in the ground beef however.

2. Blend cream cheese and the reserved taco seasoning together. It is easier to do this if cream cheese is softened, I typically let it sit out for 30 minutes before I blend it.

3. Spread cream cheese mixture in the bottom of a pie plate. Sprinkle ground beef on top of cream cheese mixture. Spread salsa on top of ground beef. Sprinkle shredded lettuce on top of salsa. Sprinkle cheddar cheese on top of lettuce.

Serve with nacho chips!

Christmas 2009!

We had an awesome Christmas Eve and Christmas this year! (Although to be honest I can't think of a "bad" Christmas that I've had!)

On Christmas Eve my family came over for a luncheon of shrimp salad and roast beef sandwiches. Then in sticking with tradition my brother, sister, and I exchanged Christmas gifts. We started this when we were younger. I guess we were so excited about Christmas when we were younger that this was a way to make it to Christmas morning!

After our luncheon we all headed over to Community Christian Church for what was the best Christmas Eve service of my life! I had heard from others all year how amazing the service was and it definitely did not dissapoint. There is just something amazing about having all the lights out and celebrating Christ's birth by singing by candlelight!

Caleb and Blake and their matching Christmas outfits before church. They wound up in childcare, they aren't quite ready for an hour long service!

My sister, brother, and I after the service.

After church we headed to Jason's Uncle and Aunt's house for his family's traditional Christmas Eve dinner. We always look forward to his Uncle's delicious crab dip! Every year the local fire department brings Santa by on their firetruck as we are there. This year Caleb was afraid!

After an eventful Christmas Eve Jason read the boys "The Night Before Christmas" and I read the story of Jesus' birth from the bible. I worried that Caleb would be so excited that he would stay up all night, but after the busy day he pretty much passed out!

On Christmas morning we woke the boys up at 7:30. I was sure Caleb would be in our bed very early, but he was still exhausted from Christmas Eve!

It was a lot of fun to have two kids open presents on Christmas morning! Blake isn't quite ready to open his own presents so Caleb helped him a lot. I don't think Caleb minded this too much though as he has been playing with Blake's toys!

Here is Blake with all of his presents. We went crazy for Caleb's first Christmas but decided to tone it down a little for Blake for many reasons! First, we were on a tight budget. Second, when we look back at Caleb's first Christmas all of those things have been donated to Purple Heart ages ago!

Caleb with his presents. The big toys he asked for were the Imaginext Dragon Fortress and the Handy Manny toolbench. He has gotten a bit spoiled and asked "Where's my toolbench?" as soon as he came down the steps. Santa decided to hide this present and hold it off to the extreme end in hopes of humbling Caleb. Any other suggestions on how to humble a child like this? LOL

After presents I dressed Blake and laid him down. He fell asleep immediately even though it was only 9:45 a.m. This poor baby (and his poor parents) were up multiple times the night before as he was running a fever and coughing! So, unfortunately Blake was sick for his first Christmas!

After presents at home we headed to Jason's parents for their traditional Christmas morning breakfast and more presents.

Even though Blake wasn't feeling his best, he still managed to smile for pictures!

My niece Hanna opening the fingerpaints (aren't I an awesome aunt?!) that we got her for Christmas.

After Jason's parents we headed to my parents for lunch (it wouldn't be Christmas without my Grandmom's marshmallow salad) and even more presents! These kids are too spoiled!

Part of Caleb and Blake's Christmas present was this folding table that will stay at my parents' house. I thought it was funny when Caleb sat at the table with his feet propped on it!

Blake with his presents!

By the end of the day my poor Blakey was too sick and tired to even enjoy his new car!
After leaving my parents we came home and began the daunting task of unloading our car! This is what our living room looked like afterwards, crazy!

Well, I still have one week left of Christmas break! With last week's snow in our area I am looking at nearly 16 days off from work! I only had to go in for a few hours last Wednesday and only half of my students showed! I am honestly anxious about going back to work as I worry about how my kids will react to a half a month of from school!

For now I am going to try my best not to think about that! We have a fun week planned... I am trying some new recipes and will post the good ones here. Today my mother in law is watching the kids while I indulge in haircut (I haven't had time to do anything for myself lately, not even a haircut!). I am going to a friend's house for dinner on Tuesday. On Thursday we will celebrate Jason's 30th birthday by having dinner with family at Longhorn Steakhouse. I hope you are having a wonderful Christmas vacation too!

SNOW Ice Cream Recipe!

Mix SNOW with vanilla extract, sugar, and milk! Caleb thought this was hilarious! Fun stuff!

There are more elaborate recipes at: http://www.bellaonline.com/articles/art38570.asp

Snickerdoodles

I just tried a new Snickerdoodle recipe that my Mom found for me on the internet (from North Pole recipes). She couldn't find my Grandmom's original recipe but thinks this one is pretty close. I'd have to say they are spot on! We are enjoying being snowed in and I will blog more about that tomorrow, for now here is the recipe if you'd like to try it!

Snickerdoodles

Ingredients
1 cup soft shortening (I used butter flavored Crisco, a suggestion from my Mom)

1 1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 3/4 cups flour

2 teaspoons cream of tartar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoons salt (optional)

Directions
Combine shortening (margarine), sugar and eggs. Sift together and stir in flour, cream of tartar, baking soda and salt (optional). Then chill dough for about 20 minutes. Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Roll dough into balls the size of small walnuts. Roll into mixture of 2 tablespoons of sugar and 2 tablespoons of cinnamon. Place about 2 inches apart on ungreased baking sheet (you can also use aluminum foil). Place in preheated oven for about 8-10 minutes or until golden brown.

The Sing Off

I have a new television addiction... finally a healthy reality television show for me that does not involve 8 kids! THE SING OFF! If you haven't seen this show, watch it NOW! (And really... where have you been, it's the big buzz this week!?) It's a competition for acapella groups. No band, no back up track, just their voices.

Right now I am routing for Maxx Factor. Mainly because they are from Baltimore! I also like that they are older and the only group of 4. I also like Nota. The main singer is AMAZING!

What a great way to get warmed up for my favorite music competition that starts in January, Idol! Not sure how I feel about Idol without Paula this year, but we'll see!

My Birthday Weekend :)

It's Sunday night and we are finishing what has been an extremely busy but fun three day weekend. On Friday (my 28th birthday, yuck!) Jason and I both took off of work and had a fun day with the boys. The highlight of the day was a visit to Build a Bear where Caleb built a Frosty the Snowman.

Caleb putting the "heart" in Frosty. He had to jump up and down three times and spin in a circle three times to put "magic" in it.

Blake enjoyed watching Caleb. The next time we go Blake will have to be big enough to make something too!

Giving Frosty a bath!

The finished product!

Though a little expensive, I highly recommend Build a Bear to any one with a little one! I did feel better about spending the money because I had a $5 off coupon!

After visiting Towson Town Center I ran into WalMart and picked up the Little People Nativity Set that I have had my eyes on for a long time. Again, I got a deal because I mentioned that I had seen it advertised for $15 cheaper on the internet. Just by mentioning this they took this amount off. I debated for a while if having a toy nativity set was sacrilegious, but in the end I decided it wasn't. It has already provided many opportunities to discuss the true meaning of Christmas with Caleb and Blake (although he is a little young to understand) as we play together with it.

Blake playing with the nativity set.

On Friday night Caleb spent the night at my parents and then on Saturday he went with them to a Christmas Tree Farm in Manchester, Maryland to get a live Christmas tree. I am not into live Christmas trees, but I'm glad that he at least got to experience this with my parents. It has always been an important tradition to my Mom. While Caleb was with my parents Santa's elves were extremely busy wrapping presents. In fact I wrapped until 9 p.m. Saturday night! I am exhausted, but it's a good feeling to know that the house is clean and decorated, the presents are bought, and the presents are wrapped. I was very proud as I realized how much money I have saved this season. By buying throughout the year, waiting for sales, and going out on Black Friday I saved hundreds of dollars this year. In previous years I just grabbed things as I saw them, but this year I had to be more thrifty. Even if we are better off in the future (the far future) I think I will continue to do this.

Today, Sunday, we enjoyed a great service at Community Christian Church on "Defining Moments." Jason and I each have dominoes that were given out at the service. It's a reminder that defining moments can be that "first" domino to a ripple effect. I was also reminded that I still need to work on increasing God and decreasing myself.

Tonight we went to Jason's parents to celebrate his brother Christopher's birthday. My fingers hurt from our crazy weekend. I'd like to say that next weekend will be slower, but with three holiday parties it's not looking hopeful. However, I am getting better at not being too distracted by the world. No matter how much "stuff" I have to do, my God and my family need to be the number one priorities. I thought of this as I held both of my boys on the couch a few minutes ago and snuggled as we watched "Polar Express." Despite the busy holiday season being upon us, I hope you too get a few moments to enjoy life in the next weeks!

Pretzel Candies

Pretzel Candies

Ingredients:

Pretzel Snaps (or square pretzels)

Wilton Candy Wafers (milk chocolate or white chocolate)

M&M Candies

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees

2. Spread the pretzels out on a cookie sheet.

3. Place 1 candy wafter in the center of each pretzel

4. Place in oven 3-4 minutes (until candy wafer is soft but not melted)

5. Press 1 M&M candy in the center of each candy wafer/pretzel

6. Allow time to cool. I typically place them in the freezer or refrigerator to speed up this process.

Taco Casserole

Taco Casserole

1.5 pounds lean ground beef or turkey
1/4 Taco Seasoning Mix
1 15-16 ounce can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 15 ounce can tomato sauce
1 11 ounce can tomato sauce
1 cup shredded cheddar cheese
1 cup coarsely crushed tortilla chips

Assorted toppings: Sour cream, sliced green onions, shreeded lettuce, and chopped tomatoes (optional)

1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees F
2. Brown meat in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Drain off the fat.
3. Stir in the seasoning mix, beans, tomato sauce, and corn. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low; simmer for 5 minutes.
4. Spoon the mixture into a 2-quart baking dish. Sprinkle with cheese and tortilla chips.
5. Bake for 5-10 minutes, or until the cheese is melted.
6. Serve with assorted toppings, if desired. Makes 12 servings.

I found this recipe in a free book that was given to me at Costco yesterday. It turned out to be very tasty, even my picky Caleb enjoyed it! I made it a little healthier by using ground turkey and reduced fat cheese. Enjoy!

10 Most Dangerous Toys

http://toysafety.org/worstToyList_index.shtml

I read this on Jack and Erin's blog (WRBS deejays). Fortunately I haven't purchased any of these items for my children this Christmas. I figured I would share since a lot of you, my friends, have children or will be buying gifts for a child!

Operation Christmas Child

As a service project the MOPS (Mothers of Preschoolers) group at church decided to participate in Operation Christmas Child. This program sends shoeboxes filled with personal hygiene items, toys, candy, etc. to extremely needy children in third world countries.

This was a great experience for my 3-year old Caleb. At first it was difficult for him to understand why we were buying toys for a little boy that wasn't him! Eventually he began to understand the concept and even picked out a Spiderman watch to send to the "African big boy!" Too cute! This holiday season is the toughest holiday season ever for us financially. I still feel that doing things to help others that aren't as blessed is a must though.

It's not too late to participate (the drive is November 16-23), if you're interested you can head to their website at:

http://www.samaritanspurse.org/index.php

I know that area Chick Fil A's are even giving free chicken sandwiches for delivering the shoeboxes!

Pizza Meatloaf

Pizza Meatloaf (Taken from my favorite recipe website cooks.com)

1 1/2-2 lb. ground chuck
1 c. bread or cracker crumbs
1 onion, diced
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp. oregano
1 c. milk
2 eggs, slightly beaten
3/4 c. Parmesan cheese1 green pepper, diced
Mix all together.

TOPPING:
1 can or sm. jar pizza sauce
MushroomsMozzarella cheese

Bake meatloaf at 350 degrees for 1 1/2 to 2 hours. 20 minutes before done top with pizza sauce, mushrooms and cheese. Bake 20 minutes until cheese is melted.

What's on Your Bucket List?

Last month I finally got around to watching "The Bucket List" for the first time (I know, I'm way behind the times). I loved it and it left me wanting to make my own list! Jason and I recently discussed our bucket lists. From doing a mission trip in a third world country (maybe doing some teaching since it is what I am good at), to seeing the Christmas tree in New York City, to seeing my kids graduate from college my list is pretty full! I also mentioned how much I would love to meet the cast of my favorite television show "Ace of Cakes!" Little did I know that I would be checking this item off my list so soon!

Last week I was playing around on the Charm City Cakes website (www.charmcitycakes.com) and I clicked on the "events" link and saw that they would be signing their new book "Ace of Cakes: Inside the World of Charm City Cakes" at a bookstore in Baltimore! I freaked!

Tonight we went to the book signing and it did not dissapoint! All of the cake makers were friendly and allowed us to take pictures (Jon & Kate Gosselin wouldn't let us!). There were people that came from Louisiana and California just for the book signing, apparently I'm not the only cake nut! I didn't even mind standing in the rain for over an hour!

I told Mary Alice about my bucket list and she gave me a high five! She was just like she is on television in person, I love her!!! I didn't say much to Geof as I was nervous that Jason would call me out on my crush in front of him!

And the greatest moment of all... I met the Ace of Cakes himself, Duff Goldman! I was more excited than a 12 year old girl at a Jonas Brother concert! I may even put this on our Christmas card!

As you can see I had a great time! I hope you get to check some items of your list soon too!

Trunk or Treat!

This year we are hoping to start a new Halloween tradition! After having our family over for our yearly Halloween party, we are headed over to church for "Trunk or Treat." We will be decorating our trunk and handing out candy. There are also going to be free games and a free moonbounce. Apparently it's a pretty big event as we have been told to bring candy for 300 trick or treaters! I am very excited! If you live in White Marsh or nearby and would like to come, check out the CCC website for more information: http://www.communitycc.net/

Chapel Hill Nursery

Those of you who know me well know that my favorite season is fall and my favorite holiday/day of the year is October 31st! There's something special about this time of year that I struggle to put into words. From the red, orange, and yellow leaves (beautiful even as they are dying), to the crisp air, to the fragrances in the air, I can't get enough!

Part of our fall traditions include visits to local pumpkin farms for some "agritainment." This weekend we ventured to Chapel Hill Nursery in Perry Hall. Much more affordable (than Webers, sorry Webers!) and less crowded, I am glad we went even if it was drizzling on and off. We enjoyed a hayride through the "scary" woods (this is the best local hayride as far as I am concerned), farm animals (my personal favorite were the newborn baby pigs), a petting zoo, and little train ride. Below are some pictures of our fun!

Caleb and Blake ready to head out to the farm. Caleb wore his "trick or treat" shirt. Caleb wore his pumpkin hat, "too cute to scare" shirt, and Halloween socks.

Caleb in the petting zoo. There were goats, gigantic bunnies, chickens, and baby pigs (although they were impossible to pet).

The gang on the little train ride.

Hailey (Caleb's daycare friend), Caleb, Hanna (my niece), and Blake.

My boys on the hayride, Mom Mom Carr is in the background

Blake enjoying his first hayride.

Chapel Hill Nursery is located at 4350 Chapel Hill Road in Perry Hall, MD. Their phone number is (410) 256-5335. Tickets are $2 a piece or 12 for $20. Each ride/event costs 1 ticket. We bought $20 worth and didn't use all of them.

Blake Feeding Himself for the First Time!

Fun Weekend :)

We are finishing up a fun 3 day weekend today!

On Saturday we spent 4 consecutive hours with no television and it was spectacular! We did play doh, fingerpainting, coloring, board games, and puzzles. Blake even semi participated from his high chair. He seemed happy just watching his big brother play.

On Sunday Caleb went with his Uncle Allen to the Renaissance Festival. It was pirate weekend and he got into the spirit! It was a big deal for me to let him go somewhere like this without me. I was so worried that he would get lost! In the end he had a great time and there were no big problems. He was so tired and dirty that he tried to climb into bed in his birthday suit after his shower. I should let him go out like this more often!

While Caleb was at the Festival, Daddy went to Dover to see the Nascar race with my Dad and brother. This left an entire day for Mommy and Blake to be together, it was wonderful. We went to church in the morning (he wore the adorable "I Drool" outfit above) and then spent the afternoon playing, snuggling, and napping.

Today we are off of school for Yom Kippur. Caleb and Blake are starting to "play" together. It's interesting to say the least! Caleb is still very territorial and gets upset when Blake touches his things. We have a lot to learn, but have made so much progress!