You Capture - Joy

This week at I Should Be Folding Laundry the theme is JOY!

This is what brings me true joy, my children!! We all need to take more time to stop and smell the flowers!!

Please stop by there and check out all of the awesome photos!!!

I Heart Faces - Reflection

This week at I Heart Faces the theme is Reflection. This photo is of my daughter looking at our Wedding photo, just after this shot she started laughing about us having cake all over us. She loves looking at our wedding photos.

Make sure to go over to I Heart Faces and check out all of the great photos!

Ouch!

This Cactus is the bane of my existence, it was my husbands way before we got married. He used to keep it in his kitchen window. It was probably the size of a golf ball before we got married. I have nurtured it, fed it, watered it and replanted it. Now it is the size of a really large grapefruit, thanks to me. I must learn to let it die, it's prickly things hurt!

Stop And Smell The Roses, OOPS I mean Lilacs

The photos speak for themselves!

Pasta with Squash

As of late, we have been eating lighter. I guess it is supposed to be healthy, so hopefully it will help my out of control Cholesterol levels. Anything to make my Dr. happy.

This is what I came up with today. My hubby even ate it and said "it was really good", keep in mind this is a man who hates squash. The little ones ate it up too. Who knew eating healthy was tasty.

Pasta with Squash

Adapted by Me

1 cup any kind of pasta

1 half zucchini sliced

1 half yellow squash sliced

1 tomato diced

2T Olive Oil

4 large cloves of garlic minced (I love, love, love garlic. Use as much as you like)

1 to 1 1/2t Dry Basil (fresh would be better, but I did not have any)

Fresh Ground Pepper to taste

Kosher Salt to taste

Shredded Parmesan Cheese for garnishing

Boil pasta until Al Dente.

In a large skillet heat olive oil.

Saute all ingredients in olive oil except the pasta.

After vegetables are to your liking, add drained pasta to skillet.

Stir around a bit, top with Parmesan Cheese.

Eat and enjoy!

The Azaleas Are In Bloom

I love Azaleas! This photo is from an Azalea Bush in my back yard. It blooms so beautifully every year, just like my children.

Cheers

Hubby letting me practice my manual focus on him. He's hot!!

You Capture -Letters-

I Should Be Folding Laundry theme this week is Letters, here is my submission.

Brought to you by the letter "C"

**I won't keep everyone guessing any longer. After many comments/questions asking what this is a photo of. It is a "C" from my Coach Bag.

Go check out all of the other cool photos.

Oatmeal Snack Cake

My big kids love love love Oatmeal Cake, I found this recipe on line and it is a great version of the full blown Oatmeal Cake. It is not as sweet as Oatmeal Cake but is sure is a yummy snack.

Oatmeal Snack Cake

Originally from (Cook’s Illustrated)
I got it from The Bitten Word

For the Cake
1 cup quick cooking oats (not old-fashioned or instant)
3/4 cup water, room temperature
3/4 cup unbleached all-purpose flour
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/8 teaspoon freshly ground nutmeg
4 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 large egg, room temperature
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

For the Broiled Icing
1/4 cup packed light brown sugar
3 tablespoons unsalted butter, melted and cooled
3 tablespoons milk
3/4 cup sweetened, shredded coconut
3/4 cup chopped pecans

Preheat oven to 350° F, with rack in the middle position. Spray an 8×8 inch baking pan with nonstick cooking spray and line the pan with two 16-inch pieces of foil, each of which has been folded in half lengthwise. The bottom of the pan should be covered with overlapping pieces and the foil should hang over two opposing sides of the pan. Spray the foil lightly with cooking spray.
Combine the oats with the water in a small bowl until the water is absorbed, about 5 minutes. In a medium bowl, whisk the flour, baking soda, baking powder, salt, nutmeg and cinnamon together. In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, beat the butter and sugars on medium speed until combined and the mixture has the consistency of damp sand, 2 to 4 minutes. Scrape down the bowl as needed. Add egg and vanilla and beat until combined, about 30 seconds. Add the flour mixture in two additions and beat until just incorporated, about 30 seconds. Add soaked oats and mix until combined, about 15 seconds. Give the batter a final stir with rubber spatula to be sure batter is thoroughly combined.

Transfer batter to prepared pan and lightly tap against counter 3 or 4 times to dislodge any large air bubbles; smooth surface with spatula. Bake until cake tester inserted into center comes out with few crumbs attached, 30 to 35 minutes. Let cool slightly in pan, at least 10 minutes.
While cake cools. adjust oven rack about 9 inches from broiler element and heat broiler. In a medium bowl, whisk brown sugar, melted butter, and milk together; stir in coconut and pecans. Spread mixture evenly over warm cake. Broil until topping is bubbling and golden, 2 to 5 minutes.

Let cake cool for 1 hour, transfer cake to serving platter and carefully slide the foil out from under the cake. Cut cake into squares and serve.

Chicken Tikka Masala

If you love Indian Food (from what I understand this dish is not truly Indian, but my favorite Indian Resturant serves it) half as much as I do you will love this recipe. It is quite easy, it just has a lot of steps. I generally make homemade Naan to go with it, it is a match made in heaven.

Chicken Tikka Masala

Chicken Marinade

1/2 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground coriander

1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper

1 teaspoon table salt

2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts , trimmed of fat and cut into 3/4" cubes

1 cup plain whole-milk yogurt

2 tablespoons vegetable oil

2 medium garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press

1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Masala Sauce

3 tablespoons vegetable oil

1 medium onion , diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)

2 medium garlic cloves, pressed through a garlic press

2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger

1 fresh Serrano Chile , ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced

1 tablespoon tomato paste

1 tablespoon garam masala (I bought this at the Indian store down the street)

1 (28-ounce) petite dice tomatoes

2 teaspoons sugar

1/2 teaspoon table salt

1 cup heavy cream

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves (optional)

1. FOR THE CHICKEN MARINADE: Dice Chicken, place in large bowl with yogurt and all other ingredients in the marinade. Cover with plastic wrap, and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.2.

FOR THE SAUCE: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook, stirring frequently, until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to boil. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Arrange chicken on broiler pan or baking sheet. Broil chicken until tender and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes.4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then stir into warm sauce (do not cook chicken in sauce). Adjust seasoning with salt, add in cilantro and serve with basmati rice or Jasmine Rice.

**I found this recipe on line and for the life of me cannot figure out where.

Just wanted to point out this is not my recipe.**

We Picture This -Daughters-

We Picture This showcases some of the most beautiful photography.

This week their theme is daughters. This photo is of my daughter when she was only 15 months old. I took photo of her on our front porch way back in October '05.

It is one of my all time favorite photos of her.

They grow up way to fast!

Please go check out all the other great entries, you won't be sorry!

You Capture -Rustic-

This week at I Should Be Folding Laundry the theme is rustic. I have had this old brick for years and years. It sits in front of an old copper kettle on my front porch. I added two photos of it, one not enhanced and the other enhanced. I like the contrast of the yellow against the patio. Let me know what you think.

Head on over and see the other great photos!

Manual Focus

I took this photo yesterday in our backyard while the kids were blowing bubbles. I have been trying to doing all of my photos with manual focus. It is getting easier and I really like manual focus better that auto focus. If I had a super duper cool lens it would be a much better photo, dare to dream.

Bubbles

I Heart Faces - Amateurs

This is my entry for I Heart Faces this week, the theme is Amateurs.
I just love the look my daughter has on her face in this photo.


Make sure you head on over to their site to see all the great photos.

Creamy Potato Soup

Whats better for lunch on a cold and rainy day than Potato Soup with bacon, cheese and green onions? Well I am sure there are some things, but my little ones requested this today and it is the easiest soup to make. My Granny used to make it for me when I was a wee one, she never used to add the good stuff though, you know the bacon, cheese and green onions.

Potato Soup

Adapted by Me

5 to 6 medium size potatoes peeled and cut into 1 inch pieces

Kosher Salt-to taste

Fresh Ground Pepper-to taste

1 small onion diced

3 T butter

2 Cups Milk or half/half if you are feeling sassy

3 pieces of bacon cooked and crumbled-optional

Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese-optional

Sliced Green Onion-optional

In a 4 quart pan boil potatoes and onions with about 3 cups of water, just enough to cover the tops of the potatoes cook until tender around 10 minutes

After the potatoes are done, smash them up a bit, I use an old school potato masher

Add the milk, butter, salt and pepper to potatoes and water

Let boil softly for about 10 minutes

Put in bowls and garnish with bacon, cheese and onions. I told you it was easy!

Easy Cheesy Rolls

These are really yummy and easy to make. We had them last night with the below recipe Chicken with Pan Sauce. Don't be scared away by the recipe calling for biscuits, these certainly don't taste like canned biscuits.

Easy Cheesy Rolls
Adapted from Real Mom Kitchen

¼ cup butter, melted
2 Tbsp. finely shredded Mozzarella, Parmesan cheese blend
1 Tbsp. dried Basil
½ tsp garlic powder
½ cup cheddar cheese, shredded
½ cup mozzarella cheese, shredded
1 pkg. Pillsbury Grands Biscuits

In a bowl, combine melted butter, Parmesan cheese, dried basil, and garlic powder.
Mix shredded cheeses in a separate bowl.
Remove biscuits from can and separate into individual biscuits.
Flatten each biscuit slightly and put some cheese in the center of each biscuit and fold the dough around the cheese to form a ball. Pinch the dough together to seal the cheese inside.
Roll each ball of dough in the melted butter mixture and place on a baking sheet. if there is any left over butter mixture, spoon it on top of the rolls on the baking sheet, Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes until rolls are golden brown. Makes 8 rolls.

Chicken with Pan Sauce

Don't be fooled by the photo, I know it is not the best photo and it certainly didn't capture how absolutely delicious this dish was. The sauce was amazing, I could eat it all by itself.

Chicken with Pan Sauce

Adapted from Thyme for Food

2 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves

Kosher Salt

Fresh Ground Black Pepper (the original recipe calls for grains of paradise)

2/3 cups dry white wine

1/2 cup chicken broth

2 green onions, finely chopped (the original recipe calls for Shallots, I didn't have any)

2 tbsp half and half

5 tbsp butter, cold

Place each chicken breast between two sheets of plastic wrap. With the flat side of a meat mallet, pound the chicken until it’s an even thickness of about ¼ inch.

Remove plastic wrap and season with salt and fresh ground pepper.

In a 10 inch skillet, melt 1 tablespoon of the butter over medium-high heat. Reduce the heat to medium and cook the chicken for 6 to 8 minutes or until no longer pink, turning once.

Transfer the chicken to a platter and cover with foil to keep warm.

Add the wine, chicken broth and shallots to the skillet. To de-glaze the skillet, stir and scrape the brown bits from the bottom of the skillet with a wooden spatula. Bring to the boil. Boil gently for 10 to 15 minutes or until the liquid has reduced to ¼ cup.

Reduce the heat to low.Stir in the cream. Add the remaining butter, one tablespoon at a time, stirring well after each addition until the butter melts. The sauce should be slightly thickened. Season to taste with additional salt and ground pepper. Spoon over the chicken and serve.

You Capture FUN

There is nothing more fun than sticky Popsicles! I took these photos of the kids after dinner last night, it was a beautiful evening outside. Unfortunately, today it is cold and rainy AGAIN.

**I put in a different photo of our Princess, my hubby thought my other choice was an odd photo of her so I replaced it with a better one**

Go over to I Should Be Folding Laundry and check out all of the FUN photos!

Popsicle Dreams

I Heart Faces My Friend & I

Here is my entry for this weeks I Heart Faces contest, the theme this week is My Friend and I. This is my daughter and her best friend. The photo quality is not the greatest, but is really captures their love for each other. Oh yea, and their love for "Playing Princess".

Go check out the other great entries here:

Where's the Beef?

Crockpot Country Roast Beef
Adapted from Me

1 Chuck Roast
2 Tablespoons Flour
1 Sliced Onion
1 Can Beef Broth
Kosher Salt and Fresh Ground Pepper
2 Tablespoons Olive Oil

Season beef on both sides with Salt and Pepper, then coat each side with a tablespoon of flour.

Heat Olive Oil in a Skillet, (I prefer a well seasoned Cast Iron Skillet), place meat in skillet and brown on each side.

After a good browning , place meat in crockpot, on low heat and cover with lid.

In the meantime, add a little more Olive Oil to the heated skillet and place onions in skillet. Let carmelize for about 5 minutes stirring occaisionally.

After onions are carmelized, place beef broth in skillet with onions, let reduce about 2-3 minutes.
Pour the broth and onions over the roast in the crockpot cover and let cook for 6-8 hours until it practically falls apart.

Make gravy with the juices in the crockpot, eat and enjoy.

I serve this with Garlic Mashed Potates and French Bread Rolls

Playskool Cool

I am sure everyone thinks that today's toys are so much more well conceived than toys of yesteryear. Full of bells and whistles, safe design and all that good stuff. But as everyone knows nothing is cooler than one big yellow banana seat, even for a two year old.

My husband even got in on the action, he said that he needed a photo to show the wheel store what kind of mags he needs for his 1978 Pacer. I told him there is no way he is going to find orangish red tires. Man he loves his 1978 Pacer.

The Yellow Brick Road

Chocolaty Nuggets of Yumminess!!

These cookies are decadent little nuggets of chocolaty goodness and super easy to make.

Chocolate Shortbread Cookies-Egg less

Adapted from Eggless Cooking

2 Cups All Purpose Flour
¼ cup Unsweetened Cocoa Powder
1/4 teaspoon Salt

1 cup, 2 sticks Butter, at room temperature

3/4 cup Sugar

1 teaspoon Vanilla Extract (optional) I used it

In a medium bowl sift together flour, cocoa and salt.
In a large bowl add the butter and beat on medium speed for 5 minutes until fluffy.
Add sugar and beat about 2 minutes, until very light in color and fluffy, occasionally scraping down the sides of the bowl with a spatula. Add vanilla if using.
Add the flour mixture and combine on low speed, until flour is just incorporated and dough sticks together when squeezed with fingers.
Form dough into a flattened disk; wrap in plastic. Chill until firm, at least 1 hour.
Preheat oven to 325F for 15 minutes. Spray two baking sheets with non-stick spray.

Form form the dough into balls (I used a metal tablespoon to scoop each one out) and place on the prepared baking sheet.

Bake until firm, 20 to 25 minutes.

My cookies were ready around 20 minutes.
Cool completely on a wire rack. Dust with cocoa powder just before serving. (I did not do this, this time)

Beware they are very addictive!