Could it really be possible that this little boy is turning 17 today? To kick off his birthday celebration we started the day with a birthday breakfast with a braided cinnamon wreath - complete with a birthday candle. Braided Cinnamon Wreath Dough 2 cups flour 1/2 tsp salt 1 cup lukewarm milk 2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast 2 Tablespoons melted butter 1 egg yolk 1 tbsp sugar Filling: 1/4 cup melted butter 5 tbsp sugar 3 tsp cinnamon Mix the yeast and sugar with the lukewarm milk and let it sit a few minutes while the yeast bubbles and foams up. Add the egg yolk, the melted butter, the flour and the salt, then knead the dough and shape into a ball. Place the dough in a large, greased bowl, then cover and place in a warm space and let rise until doubled in size (about 1 hour).
Starting the day with braided cinnamon wreath for breakfast and wrapping up the birthday celebrations with smores cake this evening. I think it's going to be a good day.
Ciao!
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Do you know what today is? It's pi day - March 14th - 3.14. And how do you celebrate pi day? With apple pie of course. That is exactly what my son's math is going to be eating this morning at their pi day celebration. (Actually, I think it is was an excuse to get me to make pies for the class.) I made some individual hand pies to send into school because they are easy to transport and carry and they don't require any cutting or serving utensils. I even made pi shaped vents in the tops of the pies to commemorate the special day. This was actually the second batch of mini apple pies that I had made in just under a week. The first batch that I made were heart shaped apple pies for a wedding reception. They were equally cute. Mini Apple Pies ½ cup sugar ¼ cup brown sugar ¼ teaspoon salt 1 lemon 1/8 teaspoon cinnamon 10 apples 1 egg white beaten Put in pot along with ½ cup sugar, brown sugar, salt, zest from lemon and cinnamon. Cut circles or hearts out of pie dough. (Either homemade or store bought.)
Bake 20 minutes at 425. Happy Pi day!
Ciao! I feel like I'm running in 10 different directions at a time lately. I am either cheering on my son at a baseball game or driving my daughter to practice or games for TWO (yes, I said 2) soccer teams. I've also added planning committee for an end of the year dance for my daughter's class to my already full calendar. Not to mention trying to keep up with all of the catering orders that have been coming in lately. Maintaining some type of order in the house - all while still trying maintain my sanity, has been a challenge. Needless to say, dinners in our house have suffered lately. We've feasted mainly on leftovers and super quick and easy meals that I can pack to eat at the field. Although nobody's complaining, I've missed cooking family dinners. Feeling the need to get back to my culinary roots, I made a proper dinner for my family recently, even though it meant that I had to stay up frosting cookies way later than I would have liked to. (Totally worth it by the way.) Homemade family dinners - I've missed you. This recipe came from the February 2013 issue of Taste of Home. Swedish Meatballs 3/4 cup bread crumbs 1 medium onion, chopped 2 eggs 1/3 cup fresh parsley, chopped 1 teaspoon pepper 3/4 teaspoon salt 2 pounds ground beef Gravy 1/2 cup flour 2 3/4 cups flour 2 cans beef stock 1 Tablespoon Worcestershire 1 teaspoon pepper 1/2 teaspoon salt Noodles 16 ounce package egg noodles 1/4 cup butter 1/4 cup fresh parsley, minced
Shape into 1 1/2 inch meatballs.
My daughter, the carnivore, loved these Swedish meatballs. I love the satisfied look on the faces of my sweet family when I serve them a home cooked meal. The meatballs are really good on their own too if you prefer to eat them without the noodles. Ciao!
People tell me all the time that they could never stick to a workout routine at home. I guess I've done it for so long now that it's just become part of my morning routine. (My ultra-compulsive personality helps me stick to my workout schedule too.) For me, a home workout is the only option because I like to workout first thing in the morning and most days I don't have the time to drive to a gym. I admit that working out by myself in my basement is not always ideal but I've learned to make the best of it. I've learned to embrace my solitary workout because and actually, there are definite advantages to working out alone: 1. I can wear whatever I want and nobody is going to judge me for my mismatched workout clothes. 2. I don't waste time driving to or from the gym. I can squeeze an extra 30 minutes of workout time into my morning schedule. 3. I can throw a load of clothes in the dryer between my warmup and stretch. (Every minute counts.) 4. I am sure that my yoga poses are not very pretty to look at so I spare myself the humiliation of having to do them in a room full of people. 5. I have some really wimpy arms and I'd be pretty embarrassed to lift my pathetic 12 pounds weights next to any serious weight lifter. It doesn't matter whether you workout at home or you workout in a gym really, what matters is that you do it. I like to fuel my workouts with lots of protein. This white chicken chili recipe is one that I have made for years and it's a great pre-workout meal. White Chicken Chili 3 pounds bone-in chicken breasts 1 Tablespoon cumin 1 Tablespoon oil 2 cans white navy beans 2 jalapeno chilies 3 cups chicken broth 3 poblano chilies, seeded juice from 2 limes 3 Anaheim chilies, seeded 4 scallions 2 medium onions 6 cloves garlic
In food processor, combine poblano chilies, Anaheim chilies and onion. Process until the consistency of chunky salsa. Transfer mixture to pot. Add garlic, cumin and ¼ teaspoon salt. Cover and cook for 10 minutes. Remove from heat. Transfer 1 cup vegetable mixture to cuisinart and add 1 cup beans and 1 cup of broth. Process until smooth. Add vegetable bean mixture to pan along with 2 cups broth and chicken breasts. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer, covered for 20-40 minutes. Stir in remaining beans and simmer chili for 10 minutes. When cool, shred chicken. Stir chicken, lime juice and scallions into chili. Adjust seasoning with salt and pepper. What kind of workouts do you like to do at home? What do you eat before your workout to give you energy? Send me your comments.
Ciao! Those of you who read my blog regularly, are probably surprised to see me blogging a pasta with a white cream sauce. Generally, I try to avoid heavy cream sauces with lots of cheese. I find them quite tasty but I don't like the consequences that they have on my waist. I found this recipe in my Cooking Light magazine and it looked like a nice creamy sauce without all the fat. I decided to give it a try. I even made a few more changes to the recipe to make it even healthier, like swapping whole wheat pasta for regular pasta and using a light marscarpone cheese in place of the full fat version. I was pleased with the results - pasta in a creamy white cheese sauce that doesn't break the calorie bank. Score. Creamy Chicken Pasta 9 ounces orecchiette pasta 12 ounces boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into bite-sized pieces 3/4 teaspoon salt 3/4 teaspoon pepper 1 cup chicken stock 2 Tablespoons flour 1/2 cup half and half 1/3 cup mascarpone cheese 1/4 cup parsley, fresh 1/2 cup onion, chopped 1 teaspoon garlic, minced 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 8 ounces chopped mushrooms 3 Tablespoons red wine vinegar 1/2 teaspoon Dijon mustard
In another skillet cook onions, garlic, thyme and mushrooms for 5 minutes. Stir in vinegar and mustard. Add to chicken mixture along with pasta. Sprinkle with parsley. Serve. These are the nutrition facts that were provided with the recipe as it was printed in the magazine.
Cooking Light Jan/Feb 2013 Serving size 1 1/3 cups Calories 364 Fat 14.3g Protein 23.2g Carbohydrates 36.3g Fiber 2.3g Cholesterol 67mg Iron 2.4mg Sodium 336mg Calcium 67mg Not bad for a creamy pasta dinner. The biggest thing is that my family liked it too. No one even suspected that it was a reduced fat version. Shhh ... lets just keep that information between you and me. Ciao! |
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