Saturday, April 30, 2011
A Cinderella Story
At school Jacob had to write a "Fairy Tale". I thought this was so cute since most all of his stories are about baseball and football! And pretty good spelling for a First grader if I do say so myself! :)
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
Easter and stuff
Pretty creative blog title huh? That's about as creative as it's gonna get today, folks. I'll just post a few pics, and be on my way.
Baseball Opening weekend! (mind you, this was weeks ago when Bebe was here...I've just gotten around to downloading them off my camera...)
Then there was the teacher luncheon that I help with every year. This year I was in charge of hors devours, and dessert. I made stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, and apple dumplings. Then for 'thank you' take home gifts, I made little 4 inch Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes that looked like this.
YUM. I made 12 of them! ***See below for recipes...
Then there was the pink eye epidemic that lasted weeks. In case you are wondering, yes, I still have it. Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha? I know you do. Sorry, you don't get a picture of me, although this is exactly how I have been looking and feeling! (complete with the Shakeology stache..)
Next up was the whole Easter celebration at school. Parker didn't have to get so dressed up did he? Also, I'm not sure the smiles could have been faker. But OF COURSE they had so much fun..
Finally was Easter weekend. We had a fabulous day, really. We started with The Easter Bunny
Then moved on to 'Cinnabunny's' for breakfast
After Cinnabunny's came an awesome church service and an Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt at Gentle Creek Golf Club, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us all pretty. After that wrapped up, I came home and GOT IN BED! One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is nap and we have been so incredibly busy with baseball that I haven't done that in so long. Mike woke me up just in time for dinner. It was awesome and much needed.
I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter filled with love!
------------------------------------------
**recipes
Stuffed Mushrooms
24 ounces, weight White Button Mushrooms
⅓ pounds Hot Pork Sausage
½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
⅓ cups Dry White Wine
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese (I use light)
1 whole Egg Yolk
¾ cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Wipe off or wash mushrooms in cold water. Pop out stems, reserving both parts.
Chop mushroom stems finely and set aside. Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on a plate to cool. Add onions and garlic to the same skillet; cook for 2 minutes over medium low heat. Pour in wine to deglaze pan, allow liquid to evaporate.
Add in chopped mushroom stems, stir to cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool. In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese.Add cooled sausage and cooled mushroom stems. Stir mixture together and refrigerate for a short time to firm up. Smear mixture into the cavity of each mushroom, creating a sizable mound over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool at least ten minutes before serving; the stuffed mushrooms taste better when not piping hot.
---------------------------------------
Pomodoro Fresco Sourdough Bruschetta
1 (12 to 16-inch) sourdough baguette
2 garlic cloves, halved plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish
2 cups diced Roma tomatoes
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the baguette in half lengthwise, place on a sheet tray and bake in the oven until lightly brown. Rub with the garlic cloves. Drizzle with 2 ounces of the olive oil and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Return to oven to melt cheese.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, vinegar, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and let sit for 5 minutes at room temperature.
Remove baguette from oven and top with the tomato mixture. Garnish with basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
---------------------------------------
Apple Dumplings (Pioneer Woman's!)
2 whole Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
2 sticks Butter
1-½ cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda
Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.
Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.
---------------------------------------
Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup crushed cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 cup sugar (scant)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot fudge ice cream topping. divided
1 small bag peanut butter cups, cut into small wedges. Put them in the freezer as well to assure them being hard and not melting.
In a bowl, combine cracker crumbs, cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9-in springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. In a microwave safe bowl, heat peanut butter on high for 30 seconds or until softened. Spread over crust to within 1 inch of edges.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour 1 cup mixture into a bowl; set aside. Pour remaining filling over peanut butter layer.
In microwave safe bowl, heat 1/4 cup fudge topping on high 30 seconds or until thin; fold into reserved cream cheese mixture. Carefully spoon over filling, cut through filling with a knife to swirl.
Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool in the fridge overnight.
In the morning take the remaining fudge topping and microwave 30 seconds or until warmed. Pour over top of cheesecake til top is covered. Garnish the top of chocolate topping with chopped up peanut butter cups. I used enough to lighty accent the top.
Baseball Opening weekend! (mind you, this was weeks ago when Bebe was here...I've just gotten around to downloading them off my camera...)
Then there was the teacher luncheon that I help with every year. This year I was in charge of hors devours, and dessert. I made stuffed mushrooms, bruschetta, and apple dumplings. Then for 'thank you' take home gifts, I made little 4 inch Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecakes that looked like this.
YUM. I made 12 of them! ***See below for recipes...
Then there was the pink eye epidemic that lasted weeks. In case you are wondering, yes, I still have it. Don't cha wish your girlfriend was hot like me? Don't cha? I know you do. Sorry, you don't get a picture of me, although this is exactly how I have been looking and feeling! (complete with the Shakeology stache..)
Next up was the whole Easter celebration at school. Parker didn't have to get so dressed up did he? Also, I'm not sure the smiles could have been faker. But OF COURSE they had so much fun..
Finally was Easter weekend. We had a fabulous day, really. We started with The Easter Bunny
Then moved on to 'Cinnabunny's' for breakfast
After Cinnabunny's came an awesome church service and an Easter Brunch and Egg Hunt at Gentle Creek Golf Club, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of us all pretty. After that wrapped up, I came home and GOT IN BED! One of my favorite things to do on the weekend is nap and we have been so incredibly busy with baseball that I haven't done that in so long. Mike woke me up just in time for dinner. It was awesome and much needed.
I hope everyone had a fabulous Easter filled with love!
------------------------------------------
**recipes
Stuffed Mushrooms
24 ounces, weight White Button Mushrooms
⅓ pounds Hot Pork Sausage
½ whole Medium Onion, Finely Diced
4 cloves Garlic, Finely Minced
⅓ cups Dry White Wine
8 ounces, weight Cream Cheese (I use light)
1 whole Egg Yolk
¾ cups Parmesan Cheese, Grated
Salt And Pepper, to taste
Wipe off or wash mushrooms in cold water. Pop out stems, reserving both parts.
Chop mushroom stems finely and set aside. Brown and crumble sausage. Set aside on a plate to cool. Add onions and garlic to the same skillet; cook for 2 minutes over medium low heat. Pour in wine to deglaze pan, allow liquid to evaporate.
Add in chopped mushroom stems, stir to cook for 2 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Set mixture aside on a plate to cool. In a bowl, combine cream cheese and egg yolk. Stir together with Parmesan cheese.Add cooled sausage and cooled mushroom stems. Stir mixture together and refrigerate for a short time to firm up. Smear mixture into the cavity of each mushroom, creating a sizable mound over the top.
Bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 25 minutes, or until golden brown. Allow to cool at least ten minutes before serving; the stuffed mushrooms taste better when not piping hot.
---------------------------------------
Pomodoro Fresco Sourdough Bruschetta
1 (12 to 16-inch) sourdough baguette
2 garlic cloves, halved plus 1 tablespoon minced garlic
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
1/4 cup grated Parmigiano-Reggiano, plus more for garnish
2 cups diced Roma tomatoes
1/3 cup thinly sliced fresh basil leaves, plus more for garnish
2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Cut the baguette in half lengthwise, place on a sheet tray and bake in the oven until lightly brown. Rub with the garlic cloves. Drizzle with 2 ounces of the olive oil and sprinkle with the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Return to oven to melt cheese.
In a medium mixing bowl, add the tomatoes, minced garlic, basil, vinegar, remaining olive oil, salt and pepper. Mix thoroughly and let sit for 5 minutes at room temperature.
Remove baguette from oven and top with the tomato mixture. Garnish with basil and Parmigiano-Reggiano.
---------------------------------------
Apple Dumplings (Pioneer Woman's!)
2 whole Granny Smith Apples
2 cans (8 Oz. Cans) Crescent Rolls
2 sticks Butter
1-½ cup Sugar
1 teaspoon Vanilla
Cinnamon, To Taste
1 can (12 Oz.) Mountain Dew Soda
Peel and core apples. Cut each apple into 8 slices each. Roll each apple slice in a crescent roll. Place in a 9 x 13 buttered pan.
Melt butter, then add sugar and barely stir. Add vanilla, stir, and pour entire mixture over apples. Pour Mountain Dew around the edges of the pan. Sprinkle with cinnamon and bake at 350 degrees for 40 minutes. Serve with ice cream, and spoon some of the sweet sauces from the pan over the top.
---------------------------------------
Peanut Butter Cup Cheesecake
1 cup graham cracker crumbs
1/2 cup crushed cream filled chocolate sandwich cookies
1/4 cup sugar (scant)
6 tablespoons butter, melted
3/4 cup creamy peanut butter
FILLING:
3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened
1 cup sugar
1 cup sour cream
3 eggs, lightly beaten
1-1/2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1 cup hot fudge ice cream topping. divided
1 small bag peanut butter cups, cut into small wedges. Put them in the freezer as well to assure them being hard and not melting.
In a bowl, combine cracker crumbs, cookie crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom and 1 inch up the sides of a greased 9-in springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 7-9 minutes or until set. Cool on a wire rack. In a microwave safe bowl, heat peanut butter on high for 30 seconds or until softened. Spread over crust to within 1 inch of edges.
In a large mixing bowl, beat cream cheese, sugar and sour cream until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed just until combined. Stir in vanilla. Pour 1 cup mixture into a bowl; set aside. Pour remaining filling over peanut butter layer.
In microwave safe bowl, heat 1/4 cup fudge topping on high 30 seconds or until thin; fold into reserved cream cheese mixture. Carefully spoon over filling, cut through filling with a knife to swirl.
Place pan on a baking sheet. Bake at 350 for 55-60 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen. Cool in the fridge overnight.
In the morning take the remaining fudge topping and microwave 30 seconds or until warmed. Pour over top of cheesecake til top is covered. Garnish the top of chocolate topping with chopped up peanut butter cups. I used enough to lighty accent the top.
Monday, April 18, 2011
Update
My poor, neglected blog! I have been showing it no love lately. Honestly? Not a lot of new happenings. LOTS of baseball. More tournament wins (these boys are incredible)! Last weekend we played in an 8U 15 team tourney in Grand Prairie. We were 5-1 in the tournament with FOUR wins on Sunday to take home the first place trophy. It was a 12+ hour day in the 90 degree heat, but it was so fun! Notice how big the trophy is compared to Jacob's body! Go CRUSH!
We have also been doing stuff every single weekend....both nights! PHEW! My camera has been dead for weeks but I do have this crappy phone pic taken from last weekend. It was our personal trainers birthday so we took him out to celebrate. Look at his entourage! Lucky dude...
But what have I been doing the MOST of? Well, this!!
I have really been trying to dedicate a lot of time and energy to get my business off the ground. I have A LOT of very happy customers, so please let me know of any health and fitness needs you may have. I have helped a lot of people get set up with workout programs to suit their needs, such as p90x, TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme, and the new INSANITY! In fact, I just started to p90x program today, which I intend on completing in its entirety! I'll keep you posted on how that goes. And of course I am still drinking my shake every day. Dessert for breakfast (not to mention your entire day's worth of vitamins!)....can't beat it!
We have also been doing stuff every single weekend....both nights! PHEW! My camera has been dead for weeks but I do have this crappy phone pic taken from last weekend. It was our personal trainers birthday so we took him out to celebrate. Look at his entourage! Lucky dude...
But what have I been doing the MOST of? Well, this!!
I have really been trying to dedicate a lot of time and energy to get my business off the ground. I have A LOT of very happy customers, so please let me know of any health and fitness needs you may have. I have helped a lot of people get set up with workout programs to suit their needs, such as p90x, TurboFire, ChaLEAN Extreme, and the new INSANITY! In fact, I just started to p90x program today, which I intend on completing in its entirety! I'll keep you posted on how that goes. And of course I am still drinking my shake every day. Dessert for breakfast (not to mention your entire day's worth of vitamins!)....can't beat it!
Monday, April 4, 2011
A month!
Oh my gosh! It has almost been a month since I posted a blog. I don't think I have ever gone that long! OK, maybe I have...but not in a while anyway. Things have been crazy around here as usual! In the past month we have had about 20 baseball games (not exaggerating), more practices than I can count, I hosted a little soiree at my house, I catered a friends 40th birthday party, Laura and the kids came for a week, followed by my mom here for a week....and so on and so on. We have had a lot of fun stuff going on, as we always do in the spring. I guess everyone wakes up from their winter's naps....and wants to party...because socially there has been a lot going on too.
Catering the party last weekend really enforced for me again how badly I want to go to culinary school! And everybody knows I am selling Beachbody now....and making some money! I have not had a paycheck in 10 years, so finally earning a little money to put towards my school has been rewarding. I have shared these products with a lot of people who have been very pleased with the nutritional and fitness results they have seen. So if you or anyone you know needs help in these areas, please direct them to me! I feel like I have successfully been able to live a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise, and through Beachbody I get the opportunity to 'coach' others in these areas. I love it!
I hope everyone has a great week!
XO
Catering the party last weekend really enforced for me again how badly I want to go to culinary school! And everybody knows I am selling Beachbody now....and making some money! I have not had a paycheck in 10 years, so finally earning a little money to put towards my school has been rewarding. I have shared these products with a lot of people who have been very pleased with the nutritional and fitness results they have seen. So if you or anyone you know needs help in these areas, please direct them to me! I feel like I have successfully been able to live a healthy lifestyle through diet and exercise, and through Beachbody I get the opportunity to 'coach' others in these areas. I love it!
I hope everyone has a great week!
XO
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