Weiner weiner where are you?? Ah HA! THERE you are.
Weiner two
Yawning
Waving. AWWW yaya, I know most of you (esp those who haven't had kids yet) can't tell what all of it is, or pick out the face well but I can..lol
Friday, October 16, 2009
Aidan is definatly a boy!
Well for sure it's a boy! lol I got to see our sweet little Aidan at our 20 week ultrasound. He was so squirmy that the tech literally could NOT get the measurements she needed. She said I may have to go back for yet another if they Doctor doesn't like how bad the images all were. Hey...more chances to see our little man,..totally ok with me!
Matt had to go out to the Field Thursday morning and didn't get to go with me, I know he was really disappointed to not get to be there, but luckily I was able to hold the camera up...NEAR the screen, the filming was awful seeing as I was laying down trying to angle the camera at the screen without being able to see what I was filming, and had the tech pushing pretty hard to get any images of him at all at that point (an hour and fifteen minutes after she had started).
At one point you can hear the tech complaining about the fact that she couldn't get the images she wanted and I said "Because this is Matt's kid" lol. Matt doesn't sit still unless it's for football, perhaps if I had started talking about football his son would have sat still so we could have gotten a good shot or two. We got two images of his wobbly bits (ya no doubt that he's a HE lol) and one of his chest and face (rather shadowy but you can see his heart and the shadows of his eyes and mouth) and one where he was waving basically, super cute. On the video he was touching his face over and over. Although some of the fun of pregnancy can get a little old, feeling them move and seeing it NEVER does. I can't wait for him to get here! It seems so far off but we are now half way and time will fly! I'll have to post the pictures later, I'm too excited too wait since Matt just got to see it. hehe!
Matt had to go out to the Field Thursday morning and didn't get to go with me, I know he was really disappointed to not get to be there, but luckily I was able to hold the camera up...NEAR the screen, the filming was awful seeing as I was laying down trying to angle the camera at the screen without being able to see what I was filming, and had the tech pushing pretty hard to get any images of him at all at that point (an hour and fifteen minutes after she had started).
At one point you can hear the tech complaining about the fact that she couldn't get the images she wanted and I said "Because this is Matt's kid" lol. Matt doesn't sit still unless it's for football, perhaps if I had started talking about football his son would have sat still so we could have gotten a good shot or two. We got two images of his wobbly bits (ya no doubt that he's a HE lol) and one of his chest and face (rather shadowy but you can see his heart and the shadows of his eyes and mouth) and one where he was waving basically, super cute. On the video he was touching his face over and over. Although some of the fun of pregnancy can get a little old, feeling them move and seeing it NEVER does. I can't wait for him to get here! It seems so far off but we are now half way and time will fly! I'll have to post the pictures later, I'm too excited too wait since Matt just got to see it. hehe!
Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Orange ricotta pound cake and crock pot enchilada's recipes
Recently I realized I had allowed myself to get stuck in a cooking rut! I can't stand cooking the same thing over and over and over. I have a little routine of watching at least one or two shows on food network when I get bored and found a recipe from "Everyday Italian". Sometimes the flavors she puts together just don't sound right to me (I'm sure they are great) but that afternoon this recipe for Orange ricotta pound cake with strawberries just sounded amazing and rightly so! This recipe is WOW!!! There is little that can beat pumpkin bread or even come close to it for me but this......is really a contender. It was an instant hit with the entire family. I am thrilled I had the common sense to make two loaves because that 1st loaf was gone faster than I ever could have guessed. On the second loaf we tried heating it up just the tiniest bit and spreading a thin layer of Nutella (a hazelnut/chocolate spread, if you have never had it....WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU!!! They sell it by the peanut butter and jellies) and I highly recommend it with a few strawberries on top of that too!
Orange Ricotta Pound Cake:
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt ( it turned out just fine with regular salt since I didn't have kosher handy)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested (omg don't skimp and use orange extract....the real thing is sooo much better!)
2 tablespoons Amaretto ( we used Disoronno liqueur, all the alcohol cooks out and the flavor was fantastic)
Powdered sugar, for dusting
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered or 3 oranges, cut into supremes
1 1/2 cups cake flour
2 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1 teaspoon kosher salt ( it turned out just fine with regular salt since I didn't have kosher handy)
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) butter, room temperature, plus more to grease the baking pan
1 1/2 cups whole milk ricotta cheese
1 1/2 cups sugar, plus 1 tablespoon
3 large eggs
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 orange, zested (omg don't skimp and use orange extract....the real thing is sooo much better!)
2 tablespoons Amaretto ( we used Disoronno liqueur, all the alcohol cooks out and the flavor was fantastic)
Powdered sugar, for dusting
1 pint strawberries, hulled and quartered or 3 oranges, cut into supremes
Directions
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar.
Meanwhile, place the strawberries (or orange supremes) in a small bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit until the juices have pooled around the strawberries.
To serve, slice the cake and serve with a spoonful of strawberries and their juices over the top of the cake.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F. Grease a 9 by 5 by 3-inch loaf pan with butter. In a medium bowl combine the flour, baking powder, and salt. Stir to combine.
Using an electric mixer, cream together the butter, ricotta, and sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. With the machine running, add the eggs 1 at a time. Add the vanilla, orange zest, and Amaretto until combined. Add the dry ingredients, a small amount at a time, until just incorporated. Pour the mixture into the prepared pan and bake until a toothpick comes out clean and the cake is beginning to pull away from the sides of the pan, about 45 to 50 minutes. Let the cake cool in the pan for 10 minutes then transfer to a wire rack to cool completely. Using a mesh sieve, dust the cooled cake with powdered sugar.
Meanwhile, place the strawberries (or orange supremes) in a small bowl with the remaining 1 tablespoon sugar. Let sit until the juices have pooled around the strawberries.
To serve, slice the cake and serve with a spoonful of strawberries and their juices over the top of the cake.
It looks like a good bit of work but really isn't.
As far as easy goes there isn't anything much easier than the crock pot! I heart my crock pot!!! I'm trying to branch out beyond the diet of my teenage years of what Mom used to cook, and the most I remember is mostly chicken or pork chops, hey man a single mom doesn't always have the time to sit and cook a feast each night of the week when she's the sole bread winner of five heathens...lol
I have NEVER been an enchilada fan. I had them once as a child and all I got was squishy corn tortilla and a lot of sauce that just made me gag. I am attempting to change my mind about what really does taste good and this one was fun, easy and made a veritable mountain of food. Don't skimp and think you can eat this without the Spanish rice (duh just get the boxed stuff since we are going for easy here) because the rice really is necessary to get the right flavor, heck next time I'm adding re fried beans too. I am a sucker for re fried beans..lol
Crock Pot Enchilada's:
2 lg. can enchilada sauce (15 oz)
3-4 chicken breasts (cooked and shredded)
2 cans cream of chicken soup (you can swap that out for cream of mushroom or celery)
1 sm. can sliced black olives (I skipped the olives,we aren't an olive family, we did chopped artichoke hearts because that's what I had handy)
2 dozen corn tortillas (cut into wedges)
1 chopped onion
1 pkg. sharp Cheddar cheese, grated (the sharp is sooo good in this)
Before I get into the supa easy directions.....take my word and use crock pot liners...OH HEAVENLY clean up! Anything to make your day easier!!
Directions:
Cook and shred your chicken breasts, shred and set aside, mix your chopped onion, soup, and olives (or artichokes) together and set aside. Pour your enchilada sauce into the bottom of your lined crock pot. Put all of your corn tortilla wedges in on top of that and try to submerge them all. Pour your soup mixture on top of that, then spread your shredded chicken on top of that, and your entire bag of cheese on top. Cover and let it cook on low ALL day. It is necessary that it cook on low all day so the sauce can come all the way up to the top covering everything, I didn't get mine started until after noon and by 7pm is still wasn't ready so I suggest starting earlier than my lazy tuschey! DO NOT try to pull your liner out with the food in it!! lol The bag could burst and you would have boiling hot cheesy mess on your feet and floor! Serve it over the rice. It was wonderful! If you try either of these out let me know what you think of them!
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