The Time to Prepare

I have been having nightmares for a few weeks now all consisting of the baby coming early and me not being ready. This may stem from Zander actually coming 2 weeks early and I wasn't ready! Although it wasn't that big of a deal when he was born, Chris is pretty competent in filling the list I made of things I needed from the hospital, and my mom more than happily obliged to pick up some clothes for him (sort of a good thing I wasn't ready because he needed premie clothes) I fear more this time because I also have Zander to take care of and prepare for what to do with him while I am in the hospital.

These crazy dreams are driving ME crazy! What starts off as a middle of the night potty quickly turns into me laying in bed for 2 hours making mental lists of everything I still need to do. I figure if I break it down into small tasks, I won't get too tired and in the 5-7 weeks I have left, everything will get done.

Today's task was going through Zander's dresser and making room for baby stuff. I put away (actully I made a pile on the floor) all the winter and too small clothes and got out the newborn stuff and washed it. I had a trial size packet of Dreft left over and as I opened it, the smell of newborn krept up my nose!! I love that smell! I used that soap for a while with Zander. Actually, someone gave me a big bottle at my shower and it lasted for about 5-6 months. I will have to look for coupons and add it to my list!

Anyone have any advice on the use/need for a double stroller, and good, sturdy brands? I really think we are going to need one, but there are so many options! Any thoughts would be great!!

This Week's Favorite Desert

I have decided I REALLY enjoy desert. So much so that I can't say I have only one favorite. I thought the orange one a few posts ago was it, then I tried this. Thinking back, I can browse through cookbooks all day looking for my favorite and I only get more excited to try new things! We had an Enrichment activity at Church last week and had cold deserts for refreshments. I practically begged Angie (the leader) to let me make something, because I was dying to find the next best thing! I found this recipe and am SOO grateful for it. SOOo amazingly good, and you can totally alter it to your preferences. Here goes the original recipe:

Butterscotch Ice Cream Squares
1 1/2 c flour
1/2 c oats (uncooked)
1/2 c brown sugar
1 c (2 sticks) butter or margarine, melted
1 c chopped nuts (I like pecans)
1 12 oz jar butterscotch topping (I used a 16 oz jar of Mrs. Richardson's Carmel)
1/2 gallon English Toffee or Butter Brickle ice cream, softened (I used Pecan Praline)

* Mix the flour, oats, and brown sugar together in a 9x13 baking dish. Add butter and continue to mix well. Add nuts. Press mixture into pan evenly, making a crust.
*Bake for 15 minutes at 350. Stir while warm to crumble mixture then let cool. It will look like granola.
*After crum mix is cool, press down half the mixture into a 9x13 pan, I used the same one I baked it in.
* Pour half the carmel/ butterscotch topping over the crumbs.
* Spread the softened ice cream over the topping.
* Pour the rest of the carmel/butterscotch topping over the ice cream, followed by the rest of the crumb mix.
*Freeze for several hours, and serve!

** I used too much carmel topping, but didn't want to waste it!! 12 oz would have been pleanty. The recipe says you can use hot fudge or chocolate syrup and any flavor of icecream. Really its the crumb mix that makes this wonderful! I didn't freeze my desert long enough, so when we ate it at the activity it was kind of soupy. Then, after it had more time to freeze, it froze weird beacuse it had kind of melted. So it wasn't the prettiest desert, but so tasty!!

KFC Coleslaw Recipe

This is my grandma Patsy's favorite thing, and I was thrilled when I found the recipe for her. I made it last night and Chris liked it a lot. I am not a huge fan of the stuff, so its just ok in my opinion. Here goes:

8 cups shredded cabbage
1/4 cup carrot, shredded
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teas. salt
1/8 teas. pepper
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup mayonaise
1/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 tbls. white vinegar
2 1/2 tbls. lemon juice
Combine cabbage and carrots in a large salad bowl. Mix remaining
ingredients together and combine thoroughly. Pour liquid ingredients
over cabbage and carrots and stir. Refrigerate at least two hours
before serving (overnight is better). Stir well before serving.

** I think of myself as a pretty good cook, but do NOT know how to shred cabbage!! Do you use a grater? I just chopped it up pretty fine (well, I thought it was pretty fine until i was done and had bigger than planned pieces of cabbage). Also, I just used my peeler and peeled the carrots, when i should have grated them. So, the texture was a little off, but the taste was good according to Chris. And hey, if he is happy, I am happy!!

Current Favorite Dessert

Hi all. My mom made the BEST dessert yesterday for my Dad's birthday/Memorial day. It was amazing. Seriously. If I wasn't worried about my blood sugars I probably would have eaten the whole thing. Its a recipe from Kraft, and for those of you who get their quarterly magazine, its in there! Here is the recipe:

No baking, and very few ingredients, perfect for the summer!

Check it out!

Baby Steps

Great news! Wednesday, May 20th, Zander took his first steps!! Woo hoo! We had a physical therapist and early education specialist over and I wanted them to see him stand up on his own, something he just started doing last weekend. What a glorious suprise when he stood up then took 3 steps toward me!! I almost cried. Actually, i would have had the others not been here! That night Chris and I worked with him and he did so well taking litlle steps. We made it a game and got him to go from the couch to the ottoman and back. We busted out the video camara and got some good shots too. So exciting. I knew he would do it eventually, but boy, this gives me a huge boost of confidence. Him too, I think. He really likes being up and moving around, so hopefully he will just take off! I know, many of you are probably saying "watch what you ask for!" but hey, he is 21 months old (today!), its time. Plus, I cannot carry 2 babies anymore!! No pictures, but if I get the video software figured out I will post a little video. Happy Memorial day weekend!

Recipe

I am thinking about food right now. Partly because I just ate, and it was good, and partly because I am organizing my recipes. My mom made me a really neat cookbook filled with recipes contributed by family and friends for our wedding, and I have added to it and used it as 'home base' for all the recipes I collect, which is a bunch.I have a ton of strays that need to go back to home base.
I love a good recipe. Last night I made kickin' enchiladas and I thought I would share the recipe. It is my mom's recipe, but kicked into higher gear to please my saucy, spicy lovin' husband. (although he thinks your enchiladas are great, mom!!) Here it goes. This will make a 9x13 pan, which is plenty for Chris, Zander and I to have two meals. You can double if needed to fit your family!

1 lb of chicken breasts
1 15 oz can green chile enchilada sauce (I am not actually sure of the can size, I bought the large can (28 oz) because it was cheaper and saved half of it.)
1 4 oz can diced green chillies
diced onion, how much is your discretion!!!
1 15 oz can cream of chicken soup (low sodium, low fat is best, in my opinion!)
1/2 c sour cream (more if you like)
2 c shredded jack cheese (more if you like)
1 dzn corn tortillas

*Cook chicken preferred way, I boiled it because I didn't want to turn the oven on twice and it allowed me to do other things while it cooked. You can also bake it! Let cool and then shred.
* Mix together enchilada sauce, sour cream, soup, onion and green chilies. Add salt and pepper to taste, and taste to get flavor/creamieness right. Save some for top, apx 1/2 c or so. (you might have left overs anyway!!)
* Cook up tortillas. NORMALLY, I soft fry them, but its so time consuming, and greasy, so I experimented and placed 4 between two damp paper towels and microwaved them for 45 seconds. PERFECT!! I cooked 4, filled them, then cooked 4 more.
* Take one tortilla (warning, they are HOT!) place a bit of chicken, some sauce and cheese in middle, roll up and place in the bottom of baking dish, seems down. Continue until you have all your tortillas rolled up. Spread reserved/leftover sauce over all and top with left over (or more!) cheese. Cover with foil and bake at 350 for 45 minutes or so. We like ours a little crispy around the edges.

I know EVERYONE has a chicken enchilada recipe they love, and so this is mine. If you use low fat cream of chick soup it really cuts down on the fat in these. The green chile sauce adds ton of flavor without much fat.

This is a recipe for my Grandma Patsy's corn casserole, which we had with tacos last week and the left overs tonight. It tastes like the corn stuff they put on the side of your plate at El Torito, but way better. I will share, cause its sooooo good!!

1 15 can whole kernel corn, drained well
1 15 oz can cream corn
1 box Jiffy mix (7 oz or so)
1/2 c sugar
2 eggs
1 stick of margarine (1/2 c) melted
1 c sour cream

Mix all ingredients well and pour into a greased 9x13 pan. Bake 45-60 minutes until center is firm. You can make this ahead of time by mixing it all together and putting it in the fridge until time to bake. Its a great, quick side.

Cake Decorating

I grew up with my mom always making our birthday cakes. We would start talking about what kind of cake we wanted months before our birthdays. She did some really cool ones, especially the Barbie doll cakes. I think she ended up making one for all my girl cousins at one point in time. I love cakes and the art of cake decorating. The Food Network cake decorating Challange episodes are my very favorite! I have their most recent competitions recorded on DVR, just waiting for me to watch. Chris likes watching them too, which is even more fun!

While I KNOW there is not any way I will ever be good enough for one of those shows, I decided a while ago I wanted to learn the basics. Thinking back, it was right before Zander's first birthday. We were deciding on a cake, and I was wishing I knew what I was doing as I decorated his monkey cake. So my dear husband bought me cake decorating classes at Michaels for my birthday, last October. I am JUST now getting around to taking them and am having a great time practicing! Tomorrow will be the last class in the first course, and while I am grateful I will have one less thing to do, I will really miss the practice and learning. Here are a few of the things I have done:

It may not look that great, because I took a picture after I cut into it. It started out with a really nice looking hot pink and purple rainbow on yellow iced cake. (still working out colors!!) I had extra frosting and wanted/needed to practice so I worked on piping letters (shout out to my Babe) and doing circles and stars. I love it!!

For our next class we learned clowns. The store didn't have any clown heads, so I didn't bother with taking pictures of globs of icing. They are cute and really easy, though. I made cupcakes for Chris to take into work the next day and practiced all the techniques I leaned. My teacher showed my how to use the flower tip to make a really cool looking ruffle. I took it further and made what I think is a rad looking flower cupcake. Anyone need a dozen flower cupcakes for something?? I will do it!! They are so fun and so cool looking. At least, I think!! Here is a shot from the top.

And here is one from the side:


Thanks for looking!!