A Mom's Gotta Do, What a Mom's Gotta Do

We just got back from Spring Break in Vail, Colorado.  I was playing hooky with the family!  Last week, I didn't cook a thing.  I just ate chocolate chip cookies, drank hot chocolate, skied and played in the snow with my sweet family.  It was AWESOME!!

Cute little snow bunnies with their "rad" sunglasses.

We are now back in reality.  A reality with busy schedules, school, and home cooked dinners.  On the way home from school yesterday, the Tiny Teen asked me where we were going for dinner.  I reminded her that vacation was over, and we were back to eating at home for awhile.  After a long sigh, she accepted this.  The next logical question was, "Then what's for dinner."  

This is where I must pause a moment for a side bar...

You see back in the ancient lore of my family lies a myth about my mother.  If you knew my sweet mother, you'd know that kind woman could never tell a lie.  As the myth goes (this story was before my time...I'm the baby of the family), my mother told my older brothers that brussel sprouts had chocolate in the center.  This was obviously in an attempt to get them to try them.  If this alleged story occurred, than I can say that the apple didn't fall far from the tree.  Sometimes a mother's gotta do, what a mother's gotta do to get her kids to eat better.  

Side bar over...

So the Tiny Teen innocently asked what was for dinner.  In that moment, honesty could have reigned supreme.  However the truth didn't come out of my mouth, a twisted, untruthful answer did.  It even kind of shocked me.  You see, I told her that we were having noodles, peas, sauce, and "sassy chicken."  She didn't even wonder about the "sassy" part.  You see, she loves a good casserole with all of those things.  I knew I wouldn't get an argument from my exhausted kindergartner, and that worked just fine for me.

Then I served her this...

Looking yummy, right?  It is!  However when I served it, that little smarty pants said, "Are you sure it's chicken?  It smells like fish."  

Again, untruthfully, I said "Yup, 'sassy chicken'."

That sweet, little, hungry girl sat down and wolfed down her supper.  Then, she threw another spoonful on her plate, then another and another.  After her fourth helping, I confessed.  I told her she was in fact correct.  The casserole wasn't chicken.  You see, what I was serving her was tuna...for the first time ever.

She looked at her plate and shrieked, "GROSS!!"  I looked at her sideways, and reminded her that she had just eaten 4 helpings.  Obviously, it wasn't that gross.  She thought about it a minute, and then continued to throw on 3 more spoonfuls.  Ugh.  Kids.

Long story concluded... Do I feel bad about lying to my daughter?  Sure, lying is terrible and not something I'm good at.  Would I do it again?  You bet, because that girl took down a whole host of Omega-3's last night!  

Perhaps you already have a Tuna Noodle Casserole that you love and have eaten since childhood.  I didn't.  I refused to eat tuna.  Ever.  However, when this recipe appeared in the Sunday coupon flyers, I thought it sounded easy enough.  So, thank you Campbell's soup for a yummy recipe that my 5 year old and I LOVE!  I did change the recipe somewhat, so I will give you my version below.  You can check Campbell's website for their version.

I hope you and your family will give it a try and enjoy it too.  And if you tell your kids it's "sassy chicken" instead of tuna, you know you'll get no judgment from me!  Good luck and enjoy!!

Tuna Noodle Casserole

Prep: 20 minutes | Bake: 25 minutes

Makes 8 servings (1 1/4 cups each)

Ingredients:

• 2 cans (10 3/4 oz. each) Campbell's Condensed Cream of Chicken soup 
• 1 cup milk
• 2 cups of frozen peas
• 10 oz. of canned albacore tuna, drained
• 1/2 of a 12 oz. package of "No Yolks" egg noodles, cooked and drained
• 1/4 cup of Italian bread crumbs
• 2 TBSP. butter, melted

1. Heat oven to 400 degrees F.  Stir soup, milk, peas, tuna, and noodles into a 2 1/2 quart casserole. Stir the bread crumbs and butter in a small bowl.
2. Bake tuna mixture for 20 minutes or until hot and bubbling.  Stir tuna mixture.  Then sprinkle the tuna casserole with the bread crumb mixture.
3. Bake 5 minutes or until bread crumbs are golden brown.

Healthy Handy Apple Pies

Let's face facts.  I'm a chatty gal.  Whether I'm talking or writing, I always have something to say.  I'm a fair match to my quiet husband.  Our marriage is well balanced with me as the chatty one, and he is the listening ear.  This balance works for us.  Well, lately that balance has been completely out of whack...

I had laryngitis for 7 days...SEVEN!!  Do you see the problem here?

The obvious solution would be for me to be the listener, and for my husband to catch me up on everything he hasn't had a chance to share in the past decade or so.  Not the case, neither one of us was comfortable in our new role.  As I mentioned, our marriage is well balanced in the roles we typically play.  Through this unbalanced week, we have learned new ways to communicate though.  I can write notes, emailing has become more popular for us, and I've been refreshed a bit on sign language.  Even with laryngitis, my need to express myself prevails!  Happily, today I sound more like a human woman, and not as much like a preteen boy or injured puppy.  Yay!  

During my bout with laryngitis, I tried everything in the health food section of the grocery store to kick it.  I thought if my immune system was overwhelmed with healthy goodness, my voice would return.  Even though I was drinking carrot juice and cabbage water to empower my body to heal, I still wanted some delicious comfort food.  That's when I made the recipe I'd like to share with you today.  The tasty comfort of an apple pie takes a healthier twist in these handheld apple pies.

The recipe follows below, but it is essentially an apple pie wrapped up in Mission's brand-new SUPER SOFT tortillas.  The super soft tortillas replace the pie crust ever so deliciously!  

To make them, you fill the tortillas with a creamy Greek yogurt mixture including honey, cinnamon, and vanilla, and then you top that mixture with buttery, softened apples and some chopped walnuts.  Wrap that up tightly, and sear it in a buttery skillet, and viola...a quick, easy, and incredibly tasty Healthy Handy Apple Pie!  Enjoy!!

 

Healthy Handy Apple Pies

                Yield: 4

Ingredients:

• 1 TBSP of butter, unsalted
• 2 large apples, thinly sliced
• 2 TBSP walnuts, chopped
• 1/2 cup plain Greek yogurt
• 2 TBSP raw honey
• 1 TBSP cinnamon
• 1/4 tsp pure vanilla extract
• 4 tortillas (I used medium)

In a large skillet, melt butter over medium-low heat.  Once butter is melted, add sliced apples.  Allow the apples to soften, stirring occasionally.  After the apples begin softening, add the chopped walnuts to them.  

While the apples are softening, mix the next 4 ingredients together in a small bowl: the yogurt, honey, cinnamon, and vanilla.

Next, evenly spread the yogurt mixture onto your tortillas.  Place the softened apples and walnuts on top of the yogurt mixture, and then wrap your tortilla tightly.  

Raise the stove top temperature to medium heat.  Using the same buttery skillet that the apples and walnuts were in, place your tortilla apple pie seam side down on your skillet.  Leave for 1-2 minutes to allow it to seal and to keep all of the goodness inside.  Then flip over for another minute to sear the other side to your desired doneness.  You should be able to do 2 tortilla pies at a time.  Thankfully, they can be prepared quickly.

There you have your remade, healthier, handheld apple pie.  Enjoy!!

Pink & Red Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to you!  I hope this post finds you enjoying a wonderful day in a sea of pink & red.  The only pink I'm seeing today is coming from the Texas Tornado's eyes.  Lovely.  What a sweet Tornado she is too.  All she has looked forward to all week is her preschool Valentine's party.  Since she's obviously missing that, I'm doing my best to give her a great family party tonight.

I've already ordered a heart shaped pizza for delivery at my door in 3 hours.  I went through my party supplies and found heart napkins and some red cups.  Then a sweet friend surprised me by dropping by some homemade cupcakes this morning.  Yes indeed, we are turning this Valentine's Day right around!

Since I shared with you the "pink" part of my day, let's look at the "red" on this Valentine's Day...

(My segues are the worst today.  I know.  I'm sorry.  Let's blame it on the Lysol fumes).

Today's yummy recipe is Stuffed Pepper Soup.  A friend of mine shared this recipe on her facebook page several weeks ago, and I made it immediately.  It's fantastic!  I made it again this week, but this time with some variations.

Stuffed Pepper Soup simmering.

Fluffy quinoa

You will find this recipe via the link below.  Here are my variations:

• I have made this recipe with both ground beef and Italian sausage crumbles.  I love it both ways, but the sausage gives the flavor a bit of a kick.
• Instead of marjoram, I use oregano because apparently I don't own any marjoram.
• I have used the diced tomatoes in this recipe, and I have also made it with crushed tomatoes instead.  My preference is the crushed tomatoes.  It makes the soup saucier.  The diced tomatoes made it more like tomato chunks in a more broth-like soup.  Consider what would best suit you.
• Lastly, instead of brown rice, I use quinoa.  No matter whether you use quinoa or rice, the inclusion of it in this soup gives it great texture and keeps you feeling full and satisfied.

Enjoy Valentine's Day with your loved ones and enjoy this great meal!

Link to Stuffed Pepper Soup Recipe

A Sweet & Spicy, Turkey & Brie Quesadilla

For those of you who do not live in Texas, there may be a thing or two that I need to explain.  Here, a Mexican themed dinner does not mean it's the 5th of May, but merely a random Tuesday.  In other parts of the country, perhaps a chicken casserole or a meatloaf falls into your weekly meal planning.  For us, our weekly meal plan always consists of at least a taco night, and our casseroles have the word "enchilada" before them.  Does this describe every single person in Texas, well, no.  It does though, I feel, speak for the masses.

With this being said, tortillas are a pantry staple.  In making out a grocery list, tortillas are just as essential as bread.  In fact, I feel that tortillas are even more necessary than bread, because every sandwich can always be made with a tortilla, whereas, I do NOT want a burrito wrapped in a slice of wheat.

This brings me to today's post, a Sweet & Spicy, Turkey & Brie Quesadilla.  This quesadilla was something that I whipped up in my kitchen the other day while wondering what new thing I could try with a bag of tortillas.  As many options as there are with tortillas and mexican cuisine, there are so many non-mexican things to be enjoyed with a good ol' tortilla as well.

I will include the entire recipe below, but first let's look at the step-by-step...

First, to make this recipe that will yield 4 quesadillas, you will need to use 8 tortillas.  I used the small, fajita size ones.  By all means, you should gauge your tortilla size based on your eaters.  I have two little princesses, so that's why we went small.  If you've got teenage boys, I'd invest in the large burrito size if it were me.  (Then, of course, increase your amount of other ingredients as well).

Second, spread some pepper jelly on one tortilla, approximately 1 TBSP per quesadilla.  I used a Cranberry Jalapeno Jam from a quaint little shop in Granbury, Texas, but any pepper flavored jelly will do.  This is obviously the spicy part.

The next step is the sweet part.  Thinly slice 8 medium strawberries, using 2 strawberries per quesadilla. Then lay them as evenly as possible over the jelly.  

Then slice 6 oz. of brie cheese, using 1 1/2 oz. per quesadilla, and lay it upon the strawberry layer.

Next, using a total of a half pound of turkey (2 oz. per quesadilla), layer everything with sliced deli roasted turkey breast.

Lastly, place your extra tortillas over the top of everything.  Then generously butter the outsides of the quesadillas (about 1 TBSP per quesadilla).  You will butter them much like you would a grilled cheese sandwich.  The reason that I do the buttering last is because it can be tricky with jelly being on the other side.  

Once your buttered quesadilla is in a large skillet, or a griddle if you'd like to cook more than one at a time, cook it on medium heat just until it browns.  How deep of a brown color you make it is based on your preference.  I prefer a light to medium brown.

Serve the quesadillas alongside a salad or simply a bowl of fresh fruit, and then by all means, enjoy this yummy meal!  

Sweet & Spicy, Turkey & Brie Quesadillas

                            Yield: 4

Ingredients:

• 8 Tortillas (I used the new Mission Super Soft Tortillas-small, fajita size)
• 4 TBSP pepper jelly (I used a Cranberry Jalapeno Jam)
• 8 medium strawberries, thinly sliced
• 6 oz. brie cheese, thinly sliced
• 8 oz. deli roasted turkey breast
• 4 TBSP butter

Lay out 4 tortillas.  Spread 1 TBSP of pepper jelly on each.  Next, evenly spread the strawberries on top of the jelly, and then the brie cheese upon that.  Top with 2 oz. of turkey on each quesadilla.  Then cover them with the remaining 4 tortillas.  Butter the outsides of all 8 tortillas.  Then cook on medium heat in either a large skillet or a griddle.  After placing each quesadilla in the skillet or griddle, flip after about 1-2 minutes.  Cook until golden brown on both sides.  Then cut the cooked quesadillas into 4 triangles, and enjoy!

 

Thin Mint Pudding Mousse, The Bachelor, and a Good Friend

It's that time of year again, Girl Scout Cookie time that is.  I know for many of you, this is the time of year to stock up on Thin Mints and freeze them.  I know.  All Thin Mint lovers profess the same thing whenever the topic of Girl Scout cookies arises.

I have always fallen into the Shortbread cookie loving camp.  Thin Mints have never really floated my boat, no matter what temperature they are.  That is, until last year.

Before I continue, I will confess something rather embarrassing.  I love watching the show The Bachelor.  I love it!  Everyone has their ridiculous "reality" television show, and this is mine.  No matter what crazy twists and turns arise, I am and have always been a faithful viewer for the entire decade plus of this show's existence.  Season after season, even if I'm not particularly fond of said Bachelor (ahem...Jake), I watch.

Continuing on with the Thin Mint talk...

What do Thin Mints and The Bachelor have in common?  Last year during Girl Scout cookie season, my neighbor K came over to watch The Bachelor one night, and she brought with her a box of (frozen) Thin Mints.  I thought, "Ok, I'll eat 'em."  And eat 'em, I did.  During that episode of The Bachelor, we laughed, we caught up on each other's lives, we analyzed the contestants, and we ate.  Together through our laughter and one episode of The Bachelor, we polished off an entire box of Thin Mints...and it was awesome.  While I don't think eating that volume of cookies is at all nutritionally sound, it was such a fun night.

It was so fun in fact, that we are making it an annual event.  Last night K and I enjoyed our Thin Mint and Bachelor evening again.  After the kids were asleep, she drove over and together we shared a box of Thin Mints, lots of laughs, caught up on each other's lives a bit more, and watched the good ol' Texas Bachelor Sean.

Well what do you know, those folks over at ABC are throwing us a double whammy this week.  Tonight, they are showing yet another Bachelor episode!  In honor of this, I knew what I had to do.  I had to try out another recipe from "Something Swanky" that I saw while looking at the Snicker Doodle Pudding Mousse last week.  It's called Thin Mint Pudding Mousse.

Below you can find the recipe, but I did make some changes of my own.  The blogger suggests making this recipe in a trifle bowl or a sundae dish, but I chose 4 mason jars.  I love the look of mason jars, even though filling them can be quite messy.  I also love just sealing up mason jar treats.  They travel well, so if you need a "pick me up" while waiting for your child in carline...no mess...and your kid arrives to their car with a very happy mommy inside!  Of course, this is just one example...

Looking right into the mason jar.  Only a few bites are missing...

 
Following the blogger's recipe, as found below, I mixed together my small package of instant chocolate pudding, milk, and peppermint extract.  Then added the tub of cool whip and blended it all together.  Instead of chocolate grahams, I did use actual Thin Mints.  However, if you'd like to make this when it is not Girl Scout cookie season, the chocolate graham crackers appear to be a wonderful option.  Instead of melting chocolate chips, I drizzled some Hershey's chocolate syrup.  Lastly, I topped everything off with some spray whipped cream, a few more Thin Mint crumbs, and a yummy Thin Mint cookie.

There's great room for variation in the recipe.  Even better, you can make it in a flash!  Try it your way, and most of all...enjoy!!!

Link to Thin Mint Pudding Mousse Recipe

Snicker Doodle Pudding Mousse

I'm not even going to try and explain what I've been up to these days.  It would probably come across as whining, and as the mother of 2 girls...I get enough of that on a daily basis.

So, let's just start with "Hello..." and take it from there, shall we?

In case you were wondering, yes, I have still been a cooking fool!  What I haven't been is an awesome photographer of said food.  I have many a recipe that I can share with you, but what I am probably lacking is the tempting photographic evidence.

If you are willing to overlook that, then so am I.

Just a quick refresher on the kiddos:

The Tiny Teen is more of a teen than ever these days.  Half a year of kindergarten has only furthered that situation.  So now her 5 year old vernacular is speckled with lovely sayings, such as "AWKWARD!" "That's the bomb dot com." and my personal fave "Cheese Louise!"  Which is much better than the "Geez Louise" it was likely meant to be.

As for the Texas Tornado, in many ways, she has mellowed.  Now when she blows through a room leaving a trail of toy chaos, you can actually get her to clean it up...after providing her a list of what she can or cannot have if said mess is not cleaned up.  This usually follows a period of analysis (on her part), and then you may or may not get a clean room once again.  Sometimes though, she's willing to take the consequence.  Since I too can be a stubborn pup, this occasionally means I have to wait until the next day to get the room cleaned.  Eventually I win...usually.  Trust me, this is a VAST improvement.  I never won before.

The hubby is great, as cute as ever that one!  He's getting ready for storm season, which will be here before we Texans know it.  In the meantime, that sweet boy is working on having a pool built out back.  This will be great for everyone, then none of you will have to listen to me complain about the heat this summer.  Yay!!

Feel free to leave me a comment as to what you've been up to, and then we will be all reacquainted again.

Now onto the food...Snicker Doodle Pudding Mousse.

This recipe has several levels of awesome.  First, it only has 5 ingredients, many of which you may already have on hand.  Second, it seems fairly easy to make.  And third, IT IS INCREDIBLE!!

I say, "it seems fairly easy to make" because I didn't actually make this one.  I did eat it though!  My friend M made this for dessert when I was trying to cut back on dessert.  It's a funny thing, that when you try and cut back on sweets, all the best sweets come your way.  One of those universal laws, I suppose.

If you open the link below, you will not only find the recipe, but also some wonderful pictures and the blogger who created this recipe's thoughts on it too.  In the ingredients list of the recipes, you will find some "optional" choices.  Do note, that my friend M added her own option: toffee chips.  It was a great decision M, and it's one that I hope you all include if you decide to make this.

Thanks for sticking with me!  Enjoy!!

Link to the Snicker Doodle Pudding Mousse Recipe

Tomorrow

Yes.  I'm still here.  I haven't written in what feels like forever.  Various aspects of life have taken priority.  I'm still cooking, and one day I will sit down and share that all with you, but not tonight.

Tonight...I don't want to go to sleep.

My girls are in bed and sound asleep.  I know this, because I can't stop running up there to kiss them and whisper "I love you" to them.  I should be getting things ready for tomorrow, or chatting with a friend, but I can't.

I don't want to let my baby go tomorrow.

Friday was a nightmare.  Worse than any nightmare I could have imagined.  I believe we all can agree on that.  More than anything on that day, I wanted to drive and pick up my precious baby from kindergarten.  I wanted to hold her and never let go.

Newtown was our town.  It's similar in size to ours.  Sandy Hook Elementary was like our elementary, a K-4 school.  So many of those killed were kindergarteners.  My daughter is a kindergartener.

When I stop and think about it too long, the similarities paralyze me.

So I don't.

Once my sweet kindergartener came home on Friday.  I hugged her.  I gave her cookies.  We cut out snowflakes.  All weekend, I enjoyed my precious family for every moment we were together.  At times, my mind drifted to the families in Connecticut.  Frequently I would pray for them, for so many things.  I pray for the parents and families of those sweet angels and amazing adult heroes who are lost.  I pray for those sweet little survivors who heard and saw too much that day.  I pray for the neighbors and townspeople who are trying to make sense of it and be there for their community.  The list goes on.

Tonight my prayers extend to not only the staff and teachers at my daughter's school, but to every school out there.  Tomorrow will be a very hard day for them.

Before I had my daughters, I was a teacher.  As horrible as 9/11/01 was, 9/12/01 was harder.  Tomorrow my daughter's kindergarten teacher should be teaching her class sight words and addition, but instead her heart will hear things it shouldn't hear from the mouths of young children who shouldn't know evil.  They are too little.

I know what I have to do as a mother.  I know I must wear a brave face tomorrow and show no sign of timidity when walking my daughter in.  I need her to feel safe above all.  Believe me, I know what I have to do and I'll do it.

How though, do I let go of her hand?

I thought taking her to her first day of kindergarten 4 months ago was going to be the hardest day of school.  I could have never imagined the level of anxiety and concern I would have for Dec. 17th.

Please know, that tonight I just needed to pour my heart out.  I don't want, "it'll be OK" or "don't worry" responses.  It's not OK.  A gunman killed 20 kids my daughter's age.  And, I will worry.  I'm a woman of faith, and I know God is with my daughter at all times, and especially tomorrow.  However, I'm a mother.  Worrying about this is not something I'm able to get past tonight.

If you are a person who prays, just please pray for everyone.  The people of Newtown and Connecticut especially and all that know and love them, but also for the teachers and schools in your life.  Tomorrow will be a very difficult day.  Lastly, I ask for your prayers for all of the parents tonight who feel like me.  Those of us who don't want to go to sleep tonight, because waking up tomorrow means dropping off your child at school in an evil world at an uncertain time.

My deepest thanks.