Seasonal Favorites.

Candy Cane Hershey's Kisses are coming. I tried to go to the Hershey's website to find out when I might be able to find them in stores that's how much I love them!

And then there are the seasonal blizzards, right now or just about right now you should be able to go to your local Dairy Queen and get a pumpkin pie blizzard...yum. And right after Thanksgiving they will have the blizzard I wait for all year. And I can't remember it's name! It's vanilla ice cream, crushed peppermint candies and chunks of dark chocolate. Ahh soooo goood.

Starbucks is a place I don't go to but a few times a year, most of which are during the holiday season when I can get a peppermint mocha and a cranberry bliss bar. Ahhh the perfect breakfast.

And the cookies. I love a tin of homemade cookies of an assorted variety. My favorite are spritz cookies--which are basically butter, a dash of almond extract, flour, eggs, and more butter for good measure.

Butter the key to delicious holiday cooking!

a website I am checking out today for new cranberry recipes:

http://www.oceanspray.com

Camp Quin

Tonight Anna and I went on a bear hunt. We attended "Camp Quin" w/flashlights and blankets over folding chairs and sang camp songs around the electric fire in the gym of Anna school. It was just the best to sit next to her and watch her copy what the teachers were doing and what everyone was saying as we left the house walked down the road, through the tall grass..and so on. Now if I remember correctly when I was a kiddo we took a gun on the bear hunt. These days we take a camera...and in any case we get scared and run back home. That school does such a great job of thinking up fun, seasonal parent/child activities. On the way home I was thinking we might have to have Camp Hamel this friday night...maybe I can find a fire DVD for the TV...and we have a ton of books to read w/flashlights and maybe Tom could tell a spoookkkyyy story.

Tomorrow I'll be helping w/Bryce's school book fair. It's always fun to see the kiddos in their school environment--they look either more mature than at home or so small...

Today I made a pizza experiment. I took a Pilsbury Pizza Crust, topped it w/Roasted Tomato Salsa and black olives and sprinkled on the cheese and baked it. But I baked it too long...and the crust was too hard. Maybe I'll try it again, maybe as pizza bread?

This weekend I am going to try this recipe from the Chicago Tribune, doesn't it sound really really good??

Pan-seared scallops with Honeycrisp apple and celery leaves

Preparation time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 6 minutes
Yield: 2 appetizer servings-
Adapted from a recipe by Jonathan Harootunian, executive chef at Courtright's in Willow Springs.

2 large sea scallops
1/2 teaspoon sea salt
1 medium Honeycrisp apple, cored, cut into thin strips
2 tablespoons celery leaves

1. Season scallops with 1/4 teaspoon of the salt and pepper to taste; set aside. Heat butter in a medium skillet over medium- high heat; add the scallops. Cook until evenly browned, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from heat.
2. Place 1 scallop in the center of each plate. Drizzle each with olive oil. Season with the remaining 1/4 teaspoon of salt and pepper to taste. Top with apple strips; garnish with celery leaves.

Cranberries

Me I love cranberries. Cranberries in food, and cranberry scented bath products and cranberry scented candles and cranberry colored shirts. I am very excited that we have a new cranberry bread this fall Cranberry Pecan Bread. Today I found the perfect topping for a batch of Cranberry Pecan Muffins:

Crazy for Cranberry Cream Cheese
1 8oz package low fat cream cheese at room temp.
zest of 1 orange
2 tbsp orange juice
1/4 cup low fat vanilla yogurt
1/2 cup whole berry cranberry sauce
1/4 cup finely chipped dry cranberries.

In a food processor or electric mixer combine the cream cheese, zest, juice, yogurt and cranberry sauce until smooth. Fold in dried cranberries and zest. Frost Muffins.

Yum.

You could also make Nana's Apple cake w/whole fresh cranberries vrs. the apples and top Nana's w/this too.

Less than 3 weeks until Halloween! Poor Patrick wanted to go to his school's Family Halloween party tonight but he has been having a few super bad asthma days so I had to keep him home from school today so no party tonight.

Since I don't have a TS party next Friday, I was thinking maybe that would be a good night to do something Halloween/Fall-ish. There are lots of activities around here...maybe we can find something fun to do.

Well I could have told them it was too hot for a marathon.

This AM all those runners who have trained to run for months braved the crazy hot weather and humdity and while I haven't run a marathon, I can say that based on the 1/2 marathon last month running the 2nd half down lake shore drive w/the sun beating down is just brutal.

I was watching the elite runners finish this morning and I was feeling heat exhaustion just watching it.

Just watching the TV coverage still makes me want to run one. Oy.

***********************************
I saw this smoothie recipe in Prevention magazine, the perfect fall drink for when it is 80 plus degrees...

Blend 1/2 cup canned pumpkin
1/2 cup vanilla soy milk
1/2 cup crushed ice
1 tablespoon honey
and 1 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice

It's hard to believe it is already 10/7/07!

It's hot in heeerrreee

Hmm. Me I like warm weather, I don't even mind a good bit of humidity because it makes my hair nice and wavy...and even I am ready for a cool down.

I am sure all of the golf courses in Chicagoland are estastic about another weekend of sunny skies and unseasonable weather as this means my husband and his golfing buddies will be albe to spend another weekend neglecting the winterizing of their houses and hit the links.

Today was Market Day at Bryce's school and one of the items I bought is Pumpkin Bisque Soup, now that is going to have to stay in the freezer for a bit longer.

And this very humid day meant that I had to put on the air. I really really really don't like putting on the air. I hate to pay for cooling.

In other news, I got a call from Patrick's teacher yesterday, she said he is going to start having harder work, and will need more help at home. This is good news, I was worried that he wasn't being challenged at school.

Tonight I will be doing a Tastefully Simple party for a great friend and Sunday I'll be doing a fundraiser. Since the weather is going to be summer instead of fall, we are grilling out tomorrow night.

A busy weekend to end September.

Wasn't the weather wonderful this weekend. Tom sure thought so as he went golfing on Saturday AND Sunday. When I wasn't cleaning the house...I spent time out at the Gloria Dei Lutheran Church Fall Festival and then Saturday night was a girls night out Me, Maureen and Kat showed Kat's sister from Florida a bit of the city at night. We went to the House of Blues and had some yummy food and saw Steve Dahl and The nadas.

http://www.dahl.com/

and

http://www.thenadas.com/

Then we thought about going out afterward at about 1am for some nightlife, but we decided we were too cheap to pay a big cover to go to a club! Did you know covers these days are about $20? Yes I am old and remember the good old days $5.00 cover.

Thats me up there w/Kat and Mike from the band. Fun night!

Sunday I had a Tastefully Simple party in Chicago, that was a nice time. Now today it's October and this month I am just crazy busy! But in a good way, lots and lots of people need some Tastefully Simple and I'll be helping them get what they need. I was excited to see that on our webpage we have a link called Slow Cooker Sensations!

And our founder and CEO Jill Blashack will be on The Big Idea w/Donny Deutsch (sp?) on Wed night, I believe it will be her first time on a National TV show, very exciting!

Big TV night

this is Anna w/her big hair, hee-hee!


I am looking forward to the TV shows tonight. We'll see how Grey's Anatomy will start off the season, I didn't really like the finale so, I am interested to see where it goes.





Tonight for dinner I am cooking 2 partially filled bags of frozen french fries, roasted zucchini, salad, and baked chicken w/Italian Seasoning. For my chicken I am going to bake it topped w/Roasted Tomato Salsa and a slice of provolone cheese. The rest of the family will have plain Italian Seasoning Salt chicken--the way they like it.





I think I'll have a Bacardi Mojito--they taste pretty good--w/my TV viewing.





Tommorow I am going to the CBEF Bunco Night. I forget what CBEF stands for but basically it is a group of people that try to raise extra money for our school district and do things for the school district. Wish me luck that I win a big prize!

On Saturday I'll be going to see Steve Dahl and the Nadas w/a couple of friends and one good friends sister from out of town. I know we'll have a great time, we are still tossing around the best place to go for a not too pricey but good dinner prior to the big show!

Wahhhh I want big hair

Yesterday Anna did her impression of a teenager in the 80s. She comes to me and says she wants her hair big like the girl in her class. O.K.... After about 5 minutes I understand she wants pigtails. So I put pigtails in her hair. She goes and looks in the mirror and cries and cries, big huge sobs I. want. big. hair. this. isn't . big hair wahhhhh.

Back to the drawing board. We talk for a while, I convince her to let me try the pigtails again. This time I put them as high up on her little head as possible. She looks like she has attenas. She goes and checks in the mirror.

Yippee Big Hair! Just like the girl at school (whose name she doesn't know). Problem Solved.

Now on to Bryce. Bryce won't eat breakfast--I'm trying everything. Bryce here is a bowl of honey nut chex. No he's not hungry.

Okay here is a gogurt. No not hungry. Okay no breakfast, no TV, I turn off TV. He won't eat the gogurt. I ask if there is anything he will eat??? How about a glass of milk???? Nope no go. I get a milk at school. But that's not enough Bryce.

Okay Bryce, if you won't eat breakfast, I am going to have to call the doctor, he'll probably need to give you a shot, cause you won't eat breakfast.

He doesn't care.

Then I try another tactic.
Bryce please, for me? will you eat a little yougurt? It would make me so happy.

He walks away and gets his backpack.

Any ideas?

I made this overnight in the crockpot...Tom took it to work.

Autumn Harvest Stew
1 pork tenderloin
1 chopped med. onion
2 chopped granny smith apples
2 chopped sweet potatoes
2 chopped parsnips
1 tbsp thyme (fresh)
1 tbsp rosemary (fresh)
2 cups apple juice or cider
salt and pepper to taste.

Cook overnight in crockpot. Take out the tenderloin, cut up and mix back in. Serve w/some nice Perfectly Parmasean Biscuits.

I made a recipe out of the Tribune

Now this like never happens. I got the Chicago Tribune on Wed (9/19/07) and actually found a recipe that I could make and (and this is key) something that Tom would eat. (now trying to make something Tom and the kids would eat..HA!) So here it is...

Pan-fried chicken breasts with mushroom-chardonnay sauce

Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Yield: 4 servings-

Mushrooms and chardonnay blend their flavors in a distinctive sauce for the bird in this recipe from food editor Carol Mighton Haddix. Try other white wines, if you like.

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons butter
3 shallots,
sliced1 1/2 cups coarsely chopped mushrooms of your choice, such as morels, chanterelles or button, coarsely chopped
1 tablespoon minced fresh thyme
1/4 cup chardonnay
1 cup chicken broth

1. Season the chicken with 1/2 teaspoon of the salt and the pepper. Heat 1 tablespoon of the butter in a large skillet over medium-high heat; add the chicken. Cook until browned on one side, 3 minutes. Turn; cook until browned on the other side, about 3 minutes. Lower heat to medium-low; cover pan. Cook until chicken is almost cooked through, 5-8 minutes. Remove chicken to a plate; cover lightly with foil.

2. Add shallots to the skillet; cook over medium-high heat, stirring, until softened, about 3 minutes. Add mushrooms and thyme; cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 4-5 minutes. Add the wine; cook, stirring up browned bits, until reduced by half, about 2 minutes. Add chicken broth; cook, stirring often, until reduced by half, about 5 minutes. Season with remaining 1/2 teaspoon of the salt or to taste. Return chicken and its juices to skillet; heat 1 minute. Remove skillet from the heat; add the remaining 1 tablespoon of the butter. Set aside to melt, about 1 minute. Transfer chicken and sauce to a serving dish.

Improvising

Here is a funny little thing, Anna's new phrase is "Oh My Goodness" It's pretty cute in a 3 year old. Not so cute is her refusal to wear shirts when we are home. At least she isn't trying to go shirtless to school...

Today I got an email from the Food Network promising meatloaf recipes, so I thought I have a bunch of ground turkey in the freezer, hey I'll make meatloaf. But when I went to make it, I found I was missing a few ingredients so I improvised...

Let me know what you think, I'll report back tomorrow and let you know if it worked...

2 lbs ground turkey
3/4 cup brown rice (was supposed to be quick oats)
1/2 cup chopped green pepper (was supposed to be red bell pepper)
1 med. onion (check on that)
2 eggs (check on that)
2 tbsp Merlot Sauce (was supposed to be 1 tsp worcheshire sauce
1/4 cup ketchup (check on that)
fresh ground peper (check on that)
1 tsp of Garlic Garlic (was supposed to be salt)
and it called for 1/2 cup of milk which I didn't have and just left out.
and 8oz of tomato sauce...I didn't have that so I poured the rest of a jar of Mild Red Pepper Sauce on top.

We'll see how it goes. I am make the Perfectly Parm. Biscuits and a Rice Pilaf to go w/.

My rice pilaf will have 1 1/2 cups brown rice
water w/chix bullion
chopped zucchini
chopped sugar snap peas
chopped onion.
and some Seasoned Salt if needed.

About a week ago I started making my way through a book called The Energy of Money by Maria Nemeth...It's a great place to start if you want to have a better relationship w/money...any who doesn't.

The leaves are starting to change, I don't mind Fall but I am already coaching myself through the dead of winter! Okay right after the holidays I'll be in Austin TX, it will probably be warmer there...then a few weeks and it will be Valentines Day...usually there isn't too much snow after that...usually there is a weird heat wave in March...LOL