Mind Your Ps 'n' Qs

THE DRAMA QUEENSOur sweet Faith was in her first soccer tournament last week.  We were so proud of each one of them and all the hard work they put into it.  The girls ended up taking 3rd place and Faith received her first tournament medal. This was the best team she has ever been on… for several reasons.  One, her coach was wonderful.  He was patient and kind with the girls and very encouraging.  We saw Faith really grow in her skills and went from enjoying soccer to LOVING it.  Here is a little flashback into her season:

And barely missed that goal!  Nice save Miranda!

Great game Faithers!!!

3rd Place!	So proud of our little soccer star!

Beef and Butternut Squash Stew

Recipe courtesy of Giada De Laurentiis

This stew is perfect for any cold evening.  Pair it with your favorite red wine and you are set for a great night!

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoon olive oil
• 1 sweet onion, peeled and chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh rosemary
• 1 tablespoon chopped fresh thyme
• 2 pounds stew beef, cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/2 teaspoon salt, plus more to taste
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper, plus more to taste
• 2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 cup Marsala wine
• 1 pound butternut squash, trimmed and cut into 2-inch cubes
• 1/4 cup chopped Melissa’s sun-dried tomatoes
• 3 to 4 cups beef broth
• 2 tablespoons fresh chopped flat-leaf parsley
• Crusty bread, for serving

Directions

Sometimes it takes a little creativity to get Gracie to eat so I found this quick, fun and easy way to get her to eat eggs.

MICROWAVE COFFEE CUP SCRAMBLE (courtesy of Everyday Food)

•  2 Eggs
• 2 Tbsp. Milk
• 2 Tbsp. Shredded Cheddar Cheese
• Salt & Pepper

Directions:

1. Coat 12-oz microwave-safe coffee mug with cooking spray.  ADD eggs and milk; beat until blended.
2. MICROWAVE on high for 45 seconds; stir.  MICROWAVE until eggs are almost set, for about 30 to 45 seconds longer.
3. TOP with cheese; season with salt and pepper.

ENJOY!

Here it is… my absolute favorite salad EVER!  The Caprese!  Thanks to my wonderful sister-in-law Sarah from A Girl in Transit who introduced me to this version of the famous salad.

So quick, so healthy, and so delizioso!

• Fresh Spinach Leaves
• Cherry Tomatoes, cut in half
• Fresh Mozzarella balls (cherry size), in water.  Also cut in half
• Fresh Basil (Not shown above and is good with or without… obviously better with)
• Olive Oil
• Balsamic Vinegar
• Salt
• Pepper

Combine the spinach, basil, tomatoes, and cheese in a bowl.  Add olive oil and toss together.  Sprinkle with salt and toss again.  Add the balsamic vinegar to taste and again toss.  Lastly, sprinkle with pepper and toss one last time.  I know it sounds weird but it actually coats more evenly when done like this.

Try it out!  You’ll be glad you did!

I tend to be a bit of a last minute person when it comes to dinner and sometimes it turns out pretty good and other times, well, not so much.  Fortunately, last night turned out to be one of the good ones.

Earlier in the day I had made a chicken pot pie for a dear friend who just had a baby.  There was a little left-over chicken so I decided to make chicken burritos.  And what goes better with burritos then my mom’s amazing (and easy) Spanish rice?!

 Spanish Rice

Combine 1 cup of white rice and 1/4 cup vegetable oil in a 2 quart casserole dish.  Microwave, uncovered, for 4 minutes, stirring midway.

Add minced garlic (as much as you like), 1/2 cup onion, 2 chicken bouillon cubes, 1/2 tsp. salt, 1 tsp chili powder (I actually don’t add this because I don’t like anything spicy… I’m a wuss), and 2 cups of water.Microwave, covered, for 15 minutes, stirring every 5 min.

And voila!  The most delicious Spanish rice ever!

After we had everything set out on the counter to build our burritos, Nick decided to do a burrito bowl instead.  Sounded like a good idea to me, so I followed suit.

Unfortunately, or maybe not, Nick had already made the tortillas so I decided to cut them into triangles and bake them in the oven for about 10 minutes (flipping halfway).  They turned out surprisingly good and a more healthy alternative to regular tortilla chips.

After trimming the edges of the pie crust (from the chicken pot pie I had made earlier) I took the left over dough, rolled it out and cut it into strips.  Then I spread butter over the top of each strip and sprinkled them with a little cinnamon and sugar.  Next, I stuck them in the oven at 350 degrees for about 15 minutes.

And this was the result!  Delicious!

If only we had some ice cream to put on top… oh well… next time!

The girls thought it was pretty good too!

Check out the loot!  Melissa’s Produce is always amazing but is kinda fun too.  Here are just a few of their exotic fruits from around the world!

Kiwano/Horned Melon

Once grown only in New Zealand, Melissa’s Kiwano Melons are now grown in California as well.

Its flavor is reminiscent of a cucumber, with notes of melon and lime.

Baby Kiwi

The perfect quick and healthy snack that you can just pop in your mouth as easily as a grape… just a little more fun!

Baby Kiwis’ beautiful green skin lacks the undesirable fuzz found on the larger, well-known variety.

Sugarloaf Pineapples

This new variety, low acid pineapple from West Africa has a super sweet flavor and an edible core.

The variety is much thinner, taller and heavier in weight for its size than a normal golden pineapple; it has a dark green skin even when ripe and a creamy white interior fruit.

Cherimoya

Originally grown by Inca farmers in Ecuador and Peru, the Cherimoya is now savored world-wide.

This heart-shaped sub-tropical fruit from Melissa’s will leave you pleasantly surprised with its tasteful blend of pineapple, mango and strawberry flavors.

Jicama

Jicama is a large, bulbous root. This juicy tuber has a thick brown skin and a white crunchy flesh. A popular Mexican vegetable, Jicama can weigh anywhere from one to six pounds.

Its sweet, nutty flavor is good both raw and cooked. Once cooked, Jicama retains its crisp, water chestnut-type texture and flavor.

HAPPY ST. PATTY’S DAY!

So it was St. Patty’s Day on Saturday, which I totally didn’t even realize until seeing it on good ol’ Facebook.  Nick asked me to not make any plans this weekend so that we could just relax and it seriously ended up being such a nice weekend.  So Saturday night, St. Patty’s Day, it was pouring down rain and freezing cold.  Faith was gone for the evening so I decided that since I had never baked cookies with my little Gracie Jo this would be a perfect opportunity to spend a little time with her and have some fun.  Check it out… we had a blast and Gracie loved it!

Say Cheese!!	Helping Mommy with the mixer…
She was quite proud of herself	Wow!
All decorated!	Yuuummm!!!

This is just thrown in here because my little man is so stinkin’ cute that I couldn’t resist

 And to top of the night, Nick and I put the kids down and drank an amazing bottle of Moscato (a “must try” if you never have), had some cheese, played cards, and watched “The Lincoln Lawyer”, which was a great movie by the way.  Perfect end to a great day!

Happy St. Patty’s Day

Simple Recipe for the Sugar Cookies:

Baby Dutch Yellow Potato Soup

I have wanted to try this recipe that I saw on the Melissa’s website but it has been pretty hot over the last couple of weeks.  So the weather finally dropped down in to the high 60′s so I decided today was the day.  And boy was it PERFECT!  If only you could have smelled the amazing aroma that filled our house. Nick took Faith to soccer practice while I finished up the soup and I could hardly wait until they got home so we could dig in.  Needless to say it was a total hit in our home.

 The Recipe:

Ingredients

Directions

Heat olive oil in a Dutch oven and cook bacon until crisp.

Remove all but 3 Tablespoons of the bacon grease.

Add the yellow onions and the next 4 ingredients and cook for 5 minutes stirring often. Sprinkle in the flour and add the bay leaves.

Mix in the wine and increase the heat to high. Make sure to scrape all of the bits from the bottom of the pot.

Cook until almost all of the liquid has evaporated.

Add the rest of the ingredients and bring to boil. Reduce heat to a simmer, cover and cook for 45 minutes or until DYP’s are fork tender.

Remove 2 cups of the soup, puree it in a blender and stir it into the soup. Serve hot.