Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Hot Fudge Ice Cream Dessert
Recipe
16 oz chocolate syrup
3/4 cup peanut butter
21 ice cream sandwiches (how many depends on the brand/size of them....I used 10.5 to cover the bottom of my 13 x9 inch pan, and there are 2 layers)
12 oz whipped topping
10 miniature Butterfinger Bars, chopped
Pour chocolate syrup into a bowl and microwave for 1-2 minutes, until hot but not boiling.
Add peanut butter and stir until smooth. Set aside to cool to room temperature.
Line a 13 x 9 inch pan with ice cream sandwiches.
Spread with half of the whipped topping.
Drizzle with half the chocolate syrup.
Sprinkle with half the chopped Butterfingers.
Repeat layers.
Your dish will be too full for the lid to fit on, so just stick it in the freezer until hardened and then cover with foil and keep in the freezer. Remove for about 5 minutes before serving, to help make it easier to cut.
Enjoy!
Modification suggestions: Use butter pecan ice cream sandwiches, caramel sauce, and pecans; use above recipe but substitute chopped peanut butter cups or salted peanuts for the butterfingers; use melted raspberry preserves and chocolate chunks/shavings. Sky is the limit here, folks. Be creative!
Saturday, September 27, 2008
Pepperjack Pizza
Brown turkey with onion and pepper until browned. Drain grease. Add spices and a few Tablespoons of water and cook 5 minutes.
Now for that leftover piece of dough. Roll it out into a large rectangle on a large cutting board.
Spread with butter or margarine, then sprinkle liberally with cinnamon. Spread a nice thick layer of brown sugar over that. Roll up tightly from a long side and cut into cinnamon rolls.
Place in a greased loaf pan and let rise a few minutes.
Turn the oven down to 375 and bake for 12-15 minutes, or until browned and done. Turn out immediately onto a plate.
Sometimes I make a glaze out of powdered sugar, vanilla, and milk and drizzle over the top. This time I didn't. Still tasted great!
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
Cute Kids
Friday, September 19, 2008
Annika's Wellness Checkup
Weight: 20.2 lbs - 25th percentile
Height: 30.5" - 90th percentile
Head: 18.5" - 50th percentile
Now, those don't seem particularly remarkable until you compare them to Marissa's at one year.
Weight: 19.8 lbs
Height: 30.5"
Head: 18.5"
Pretty funny, huh? Annika has slimmed down a lot, those squeezable chubs on her thighs are nearly gone. It's a little sad. But, at least now she'll fit into Marissa's old clothes better! That is a definite plus. I was getting a little worried a couple of months ago, because everything was way too tight on her.
Oh, I forgot to mention earlier; she cut two new teeth on her birthday or thereabouts, both on the bottom. She now has four teeth on the bottom, none on top! So cute.
Monday, September 15, 2008
Whole Wheat Pancakes
This recipe evolved from my mom's old standby that I had growing up. We make it every Saturday morning. Sometimes I make them, sometimes Grant. Now I have to admit, they don't always turn out the same.....especially because there are some parts we don't measure exactly. But they're always good, and you should see our kiddos put them away. Lately, we make 1 1/2 times this amount so we can have leftovers for breakfast (for the kids and me) on Monday morning.
Recipe
2 eggs
4 t. baking powder
2 T. sugar or honey
1/4 cup canola oil
2 cups whole wheat flour (part buckwheat if we have it)
1/4 cup wheat germ
1/4 cup ground flaxseed
1 t. vanilla
1/2 t. cinnamon
1/4 t. nutmeg
2 - 2 1/2 cups milk
Beat eggs with a whisk or fork. Add remaining ingredients, ending with the milk. Start with 2 cups and stir until smooth. Add more milk if necessary to get desired consistency. Don't add too much....runny pancakes = bleh.
Heat a skillet or griddle and pour batter into desired size pancakes (I prefer to use a 1/4 cup measure; Grant makes them a little smaller). Cook on first side until bubbles form, then flip and cook until done.
Feed the baby small pieces to keep her from yelling until it's time for the family to sit down together. Realize that she's eaten 2 complete pancakes before you make it to the table. And she's still begging for more. And she doesn't even get syrup. Must be pretty good!
Friday, September 12, 2008
What Country Are You?
You're Ireland!
Mystical and rain-soaked, you remain mysterious to many people, and this
makes you intriguing. You also like a good night at the pub, though many are just as worried that you will blow up the pub as drink your beverage of choice. You're good with words, remarkably lucky, and know and enjoy at least fifteen ways of eating a potato.
You really don't like snakes.
Take the Country Quiz
at the Blue Pyramid
Well, I guess the part about potatoes and snakes is about right.......
Thursday, September 11, 2008
Happy Cancer-Free Anniversary, Joseph!
As God had ordained, all three of his older siblings were perfect - not only good, but perfect - matches for donation.
I was chosen for a few reasons that I won't go into here....and was happy to do whatever I could. I ended up having a much more difficult recovery than I anticipated, but it all ended well and Joseph is perfectly healthy today.
I like to tease him that he has "girly" blood, which in fact he does. His blood carries exactly the same DNA as mine and his blood type is not his original A- but now A+, as mine is. He got an upgrade, that's what I say!
We are so thankful for his healing and his life. The anniversary of September 11 has many sad thoughts and memories associated with it....but for our family, it has happy ones as well, because that was the date (one year after the terrorist attacks) that Joseph got a new chance at life.
Note: I don't have any recent pictures of Joseph....this one was from Christmas 2006, where he's obviously getting a kick out of reading a ballerina book to Corban. HA.
Ranger Kid
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Family Visit
Corban (4.5) loved swimming in the waves.....
Marissa (2.5) loved shoveling the water.....
And Annika (1) loved crawling into the waves until they knocked her down....
And then she took a face plant. Poor baby.
He'd immediately flex his biceps and grimace appropriately....to which she'd nod and say, "Good. Now pull Marissa in the wagon." And he'd obediently head off across the yard, wagon in tow. It was so funny.
Marissa and Katie became good buddies and snuggled up together to read.
Sabrina (2) and Marissa, on the other hand, had much more of a tumultuous relationship. They spent a good deal of time yelling at each other and engaging in pushing/shoving/hitting matches before we could catch them. Something about those 2-year-olds.....
But the biggest surprise of all was how Sabrina and Corban interacted. Two peas in a pod, those kids. They would run and play and wrestle....and obviously Sabrina would win. :)
Annika loved giving high fives to anyone who would respond to her constant requests for them....especially Nonny and Aunt Sarah.
This was the best we could do at a photo of all the kids on Sunday morning.
And we can't forget Monty....Sabrina was terrified of him at first and would shriek at the sight of him.....but that quickly gave way to her obsession with following him around, hugging him, patting (okay, smacking) him, and pulling his tail. She meant well, really....but I think he was relieved to see her go.
It was a wonderful visit (except for Dad getting hurt) and we were very sad to see them go.
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Happy Birthday, Annika!
Our sweet little girl turned 1 yesterday. What a treasure and delight she is.....she fills our home and lives with joy every day.
We had the special privilege this year of having my parents, sister, and her two daughters here (from Arkansas and Tennessee) on her birthday.
As a photo is worth a thousand words, here are some shots from the day.
Watching tv with Nonny
Marissa (2.5), Katie (4.5) and Corban (4.5) helping decorate cupcakes. They thought that was great fun and actually didn't make too much of a mess!
Annika is very pleased to have her own baby doll.
And now she has two!
Corban and Marissa tremendously enjoyed their goodie bags, with books and toys and yes, a little candy, from the grandparents and me.
"I'm not really sure what to do with this...."
"Okay, I'll give it a shot...."