wishful thinking.: happy new year! (and a recap...)

01 January, 2008

happy new year! (and a recap...)

it isn't truly a recap of the whole year, just the past 5-ish weeks. sorry to be so mixed-up.....it take TIME to get photos off of a camera and edit them and save them and transfer them to a blog with witty captions and I have this anal thing about including pictures with the things I say, ugh!

so - back to November....we covered the part where we went to AZ, and Christian won a guitar hero contest and had a birthday, and touched on Thanksgiving. I wanted to add some photos from that event, because it was such a pleasant day, and Ben took some very nice pictures for me! You might recall he made a new table, just for the occasion (and because we needed it), and the decorations all turned out SO nicely!!

please take note of the darling little acorns with pearls glued into them - a project Luke worked on until he sadly burned his finger with hot glue. They were the sweetest thing at the table!

okay, more coming soon - I need to go be with my boys before they go back to school tomorrow!

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RECIPES

Chicken Spring Rolls 1 package spring roll papers. 2 chicken breasts, cooked and shredded. 1/2 head cabbage, chopped fine. 2 large carrots, shredded. 1 handful fresh, chopped spinach. 1 T chicken soup base. 2 T soy sauce. 1 T brown sugar. 2 T hot asian mustard. 2 T Red or rice wine vinegar. 3 cloves crushed garlic. 3 T finely chopped onion. 2 t creamy peanut butter. 2 t chili powder. Vegetable or peanut oil heated to 400 degrees, about 1 1/2 inches deep. Cook the chicken in liquid, preferably with some soup base, garlic, and soy sauce, until it falls apart easily. this can be done a day or two ahead and kept in fridge. Reserve 3/4 cup of liquid. Chop all veggies quite fine, shred carrots with food processor or on large cheese grater, and cook along with chicken and all seasonings/spices for 5-6 minutes over high heat - until all are just tender. place a shallow plate or bowl in the bottom of your sink, and fill with hot water. Run spring roll papers through the water for 6-10 seconds just until pliable. Place 2-3T of meat/veggie filling onto paper, just below center. fold bottom up onto mound of filling, then the two sides in, the roll it up to the top, setting aside to dry a bit. Continue with remaining papers and filling...you will probably have papers left over. Fry in oil for 3 minutes on first side, turn, 2 minutes on second side. transfer to paper towel-lined plate, allow to cool a bit and serve warm with your favorite sweet and sour sauce. Enjoy!

Chicken Curry ~ serves 10 ~ 3 Chicken breasts 3 cups long-grain brown rice, cooked (see below) 1 can coconut milk'; return true;" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 3px double; TEXT-DECORATION: none" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;" href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=coconut%20milk">coconut milk Curry seasoning Orange juice concentrate Onion powder Lemon pepper Cayenne pepper Turmeric Dried basil Chicken soup base Salt, to taste Fresh spinach Cook rice with 1 T curry powder, generous dash of lemon pepper, ground black pepper, and water - to desired texture. Meanwhile, slowly cook chicken breasts in large pot with 2 cups of water, 1 can coconut milk, 2 T curry powder, 2 t turmeric, 2 T dried basil - crushed in palm of hand, 2 T frozen orange juice concentrate, and salt and pepper to taste. Cook the chicken thoroughly, and shred or cut into bite-size chunks. Add cooked rice to pot, and cook in liquid from chicken, adding 1-2 cups of water with 2T soup base if needed. more water and soup base would make it a soup, and we like it that way as well. Sprinkle on generous helping of ground cayenne pepper - to taste. Just before serving, stir in 2 large handful of finely chopped fresh spinach, serve with garlic bread.

SOFT GINGER COOOKIES makes 30 or so cookies 3/4 c shortening 1 c sugar 1 egg 1/4 c molasses 2 tsp. ground ginger 1 tsp. baking soda'; return true;" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 3px double; TEXT-DECORATION: none" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;" href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=baking%20soda">baking soda'; return true;" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 3px double; TEXT-DECORATION: none" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;" href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=baking%20soda">baking soda 3/4 tsp cinnamon 1/4 tsp cloves 1/4 tsp salt 2 1/4 cups flour 1/4 c sugar Blend shortening and sugar together til creamy, then add in other ingredients one at a time. The dough should be at a consistency that you can roll with your hands into balls. If your home is humid, you may need to add more flour. Roll into 1 inch balls, then roll the balls in sugar. Place cookes 2 inches apart on ungreased cookie sheet and bake at 350 degrees for 8-11 minutes. Do not brown! The cookies should be almost underbaked in the middle. Let, cool 2 minutes and transfer to a cooling rack. Store in cookie tins. they stay nice and soft!

BRUSCHETTA serve with sliced baguette 1 loaf Italian bread, cut into 1/2-inch slices4 cloves garlic, sliced in half 1/3 cup olive oil 1/8 cup chopped fresh basil or 1/2 tsp. dried 4-5 medium, ripe tomatoes, peeled, coarsely chopped and drained in a strainer for 20 min. pinch of freshly ground black pepper freshly grated Parmesan cheese, if desired Directions:Combine oil, basil and pepper in a large bowl and whisk together. Add drained tomatoes to the dressing and toss to coat. Allow to marinate for at least 15 minutes, maybe 30. Toast bread slices on both sides under the broiler. When toasted, rub the cut side of the garlic on the top of each slice. Top each with some of the tomato mixture. You may serve this now or, if desired, sprinkle with Parmesan cheese and return to the broiler until it melts...it doesn't take long. (This is also good with freshly-baked warm baguette - not toasted!

CHEESEBALL 1 8-ox block Cream Cheese 1 - 1 1/2 lbs. sharp cheddar cheese 3 T worcestershire sauce 3 T minced onion 3 cloves crushed garlic 1 T lemon pepper seasoning 1/2 t. liquid smoke or smoke flavoring generous! dusting cayenne pepper Mix all together well, turn out of bowl onto saran wrap. Place another shet of wrap on top, and mold like play-dough into any shape you can imagine. Christmas trees are pretty in an upright cone or a flat triangle at Christmas time...press on dried bay leave, basil, parsley or cilantro all around to make it green. Chopped pimientos pressed in at random resemble Christmas balls. I have also made a little baby carriage'; return true;" style="BORDER-BOTTOM: 3px double; TEXT-DECORATION: none" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;" href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=22&k=baby%20carriage">baby carriage, with a slice of thin corned beef hanging over the edge as a "blanket". Or, a ball with grooves pressed into the side with a knife and some clean silk ivy leaves tucked into a deep indentaion in the top to make a pumpkin. A heart coated with paprika is cute for Valentine's Day. and, you can make the shape of anyone's initial on a platter for their b-day or other special occasion.

wishful thinking.

01 January, 2008

happy new year! (and a recap...)

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