Back To School 2011

My step son has recently started school again as a...Seventh Grader! He is at an all new to him, middle school and was apprehensive. He is somewhat introverted and tends to keep to himself. He wants to make new friends but, is very quiet at times and can be a little shy.

One thing he is really awesome at? Reading! Yep he loves diving into subjects that interest him. He reads mostly fiction but, he also loves educational books that tell him how something works, how to make something, scientific finds, etc. He is an avid reader, even reading all through the Summer. I know most moms wouldn't be able to say that about their child but, it's very true! When he wants to relax after playing hard with our four year old, he goes into his room and relaxes with a good book.

He is currently checking out the new Time book, That's Incredible. This book is full of colorful pages and loaded with facts. The photos and illustrations are attention grabbing and modern. We have a number of fact based books and this one is new and up to date. I'm so glad he is still interested in reading and getting to know the world around him. Crossing my fingers for a fantastic school year!

*Thank you Time, for providing the book to read*

Wordless Wednesday-Baby Kisses

Making Tuesday Tasty-Chicken Madeira

This is supposed to be a copy of chicken madeira served at Cheesecake factory. I'm making it tonight so we shall see. Either way, these ingredients are all delish together!!!!!!

Edit: I made this tonight so here is my take. You should really pound/tenderize the chicken because it makes it soft and most like the one served at Cheesecake factory. The second is that it definitely took longer than 20 minutes to reduce the sauce, so keep that in mind when you're making your meal. Also, I used provolone cheese and it was lovely with the sauce, so you can definitely play with that. The sauce had too much wine in it to taste. It calls for more wine than broth and though the madeira wine has a distinct, yummy flavor, it also is very acidic and was a little more than I would have liked. I think I would go with 2 cups of the madeira and 3 cups of the broth next time I make it. I served this with mashed potatoes which is how they serve it at CF(roasted garlic mashed). If you don't like asparagus, I think this would be really yummy with some spinach sauteed in butter and garlic. So yummy!

CHEESECAKE FACTORY CHICKEN MADEIRA

CHICKEN:
1 tablespoon olive oil
4 boneless, skinless chicken breast fillets
8 asparagus spears
4 mozzarella cheese slices

MADEIRA SAUCE:
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 cups sliced fresh mushrooms
3 cups madeira wine
2 cups beef stock
1 tablespoon butter
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper

Heat up 1 tablespoon olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Cover each chicken breast with plastic wrap then use a mallet to flatten the chicken to about 1/4-inch thick. Sprinkle each fillet with salt and pepper.

Sauté the chicken fillets for 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until the chicken has browned just a bit. Remove chicken fillets from the pan and wrap them together in foil to keep the fillets warm while you make the sauce. Don\'t clean the pan. You want all that cooked-on goodness to stay in the skillet to help make the sauce.

With the heat still on medium, add two tablespoons of oil to the skillet. Add the sliced mushrooms and sauté for about two minutes. Add the madeira wine, beef stock, butter and pepper. Bring sauce to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until sauce has reduce to about 1/4 of its original volume. When the sauce is done it will have thickened and turned a dark brown color.

As the sauce is simmering, bring a medium saucepan filled about halfway with water to a boil. Add a little salt to the water. Toss the asparagus into the water and boil for 3 to 5 minutes, depending on the thickness of your asparagus spears. Drop the asparagus in a bowl of ice water to halt the cooking. The asparagus should be slightly tender when done, not mushy.

Set oven to broil. Prepare the dish by arranging the cooked chicken fillets on a baking pan. Cross two asparagus spears over each fillet, then cover each with a slice of mozzarella cheese. Broil the fillets for 3 to 4 minutes or until light brown spots begin to appear on the cheese.

To serve, arrange two chicken breasts on each plate, then spoon 3 or 4 tablespoons of madeira sauce over the chicken.

Servings: 4

*no source named on the recipe*

Wordless Wednesday-My Boys

Scruffy daddy and his boy! I love them :)

Making Tuesday Tasty-Peach Crisp

Peaches are coming into season and I love peach pie, peach crisps, and peach cobblers. Here is one take on a peach crisp. Please tweak to your liking though because some people like more spice than others, etc. Enjoy

Ingredients

For Filling:
8 cups fresh sliced peaches
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1/4 cup sugar
2 teaspoons flour

Topping:

1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup light brown sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoons cinnamon
3/4 cup chilled unsalted butter, cut into 1/2-inch pieces

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.

Combine all of the filling ingredients in a large bowl and gently mix.

Pour the filling ingredients into a 9 by13-inch baking pan and set aside while making the topping.

In a bowl combine the flour, sugar, baking powder, baking soda, cinnamon and nutmeg. Cut in the butter until the mixture resembles large peas. Distribute the topping evenly over the peaches in the baking pan. Bake for 40 minutes.

Breastfeeding Did You Know Part Three

If your baby develops an eye infection or closed tear duct, massage the inner eye skin and drop a few drops of breast milk into the affected eye. The milk contains immunological benefits and can clear it up.(I know because I did it with my son)

That a woman who adopts a baby can induce lactation in order to feed and bond with her baby if she chooses?

That in AZ a woman is entitled to breastfeed in public and not part of indecent exposure law.

Breast milk fights disease in your infant. It can protect your baby from lower respiratory infections, asthma, and necrotizing enterocolitis(an disease that affects the intestinal tract).

Breast feeding stimulates a mother's oxytocin levels which helps milk flow and affects the mother's mood to calm her and give her a bonding experience.

Breastfeeding is linked to lower incidences of type 2 diabetes, breast and ovarian cancers, and postpartum depression.

That a baby cannot be allergic to it's mother's milk since it's species specific, it can be allergic to something mom ingests though.

More Breastfeeding Did You Know's

Did You Know?

• Usually, formula's containing Soy or lactose free formula's contain high fructose corn syrup which is an artificial sweetener and known to cause obesity. Lactose is the primary carbohydrate in breast milk and milk based formula's, it's necessary for brain development.
• Formula's are now containing DHA which is found in breast milk and essential for brain development and formation BUT, it comes from algae or fish which can contain mercury which is passed into the formula.
• A Mother's germ antibodies are passed to the baby to protect them from getting sick.
• Vitamin's in a Mother's milk are absorbed more completely than the vitamins in formula.
• Breast milk contains digestive enzymes and is rich in hormones. With formula the processing kills the cow hormones and the digestive enzymes.
• Breastfeeding saves a family $600 to $2000 a year and that number could go up if the child is seeing the doctor often due to illness. Nursing mother's that have to work miss less usually as a general rule as well.

Wordless Wednesday-Playing

August Is National Breastfeeding Month!

National breastfeeding month is something dear to my heart. It makes me happy that breastfeeding is getting acknowledged as a valid and necessary start to a baby's life. I have had a wonderful bonding experience with both of my children while nursing them. My daughter for ten months and now my son who is almost six months old. Each of them were unique in their feeding habits and each has posed it's own set of challenges. It was something I always thought I would do and I have fulfilled that goal with happiness. The road wasn't always easy but, it was attainable.

I will try and post some facts about breastfeeding in a few posts so that moms who are curious about nursing can see for themselves why breastfeeding should be a goal, at least for a few months of their baby's life. Not all moms can breastfeed but, the majority can. It's important to educate yourself on anything you choose to do for you and your family.

Did you know?:

• Formula isn't sterile?
• Formula contains Formaldehyde
• A Mother's breast milk is constantly changing as her baby grows to provide the exact type of nutrition the baby needs.
• Breast milk is species specific and is the perfect nutrition for your infant.
• Adults who were breastfed as babies often have lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and lower rates of obesity and type 2 diabetes.

Here is a short video to give a general guideline of how nursing takes place in the beginning. Enjoy

Making Tuesday Tasty-Sausage And Black Bean Burritos

I have an amazing one dish meals cookbook from Food And Wine magazine that I love! Here is one from the book. Enjoy, I know you will!

Ingredients

3/4 pound hot Italian sausage, casings removed
1 2/3 cups drained and rinsed canned black beans (one 15-ounce can)
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound Monterey jack or cheddar, shredded (about 2 cups)
1 tomato, chopped
2 tablespoons lime juice (from about 1 lime)
1 red onion, chopped
4 9-inch flour tortillas
Lime wedges, for serving

Preparation

Heat the oven to 350°. In a large frying pan, cook the sausage over moderate heat, breaking it up with a fork or wooden spoon, until cooked through and just beginning to brown, about 10 minutes. Remove.
Pour off all but 1 tablespoon fat from the pan and reduce the heat to low. Add the beans and salt and cook, mashing the beans with the back of a wooden spoon, until heated through, 2 to 3 minutes. Most of the beans should be broken up, but don't mash them to a puree. Remove from the heat and stir in the sausage, half of the cheese, the tomato, lime juice, and onion.
Spread one quarter of the bean mixture in a line just below the center of each tortilla. Put the remaining cheese on top of the beans. Roll up the burritos and put them seam-side down in a small baking dish. Bake until the cheese is melted and the filling is hot, about 15 minutes. If the tops begin to brown too much, cover loosely with a sheet of aluminum foil. Serve the burritos with lime wedges.

Winner Milk Nursing Wear!

Congratulations to my winner of the $40 gc for Milk Nursing Wear. You have 48 hours to respond to my email.

Random.org winner is....

Deanna said

tweet
http://twitter.com/#!/dlw447/status/102137465225220097
deannalw47 AT hotmail DOT com
xoxoxo

Wordless Wednesday-First Bath Together

First bath with squirmy baby Brother. My cuties

Making Tuesday Tasty-Banana Cream Pie

I'm behind on my posts this week and Blogger was unavailable for a bit so I guess it's tasty Thursday instead ;). I just had some seasonal banana cream ice cream that was yummy so I wanted to post a banana cream pie recipe too. I love banana cream pie! Enjoy

Crust

2 1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 cup mashed banana
1/4 cup (1/2 stick) unsalted butter, melted

Filling

1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup cornstarch
1/4 teaspoon salt
1 1/2 cups whipping cream
1 1/2 cups whole milk
3 large egg yolks
1/2 vanilla bean, split lengthwise
2 tablespoons (1/4 stick) unsalted butter
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

5 ripe bananas (about 1 1/2 pounds total), peeled, cut crosswise into 1/4-inch-thick slices
print a shopping list for this recipe

preparation

For crust:

Preheat oven to 350°F. Stir graham cracker crumbs, sugar, and mashed banana in large bowl to blend. Add unsalted butter and stir to moisten evenly. Press onto bottom and up sides of 10-inch-diameter glass pie dish. Chill until firm, about 30 minutes.
Bake crust until set and pale golden, about 15 minutes. Cool completely.
For filling:

Whisk sugar, cornstarch, and salt in heavy medium saucepan to blend. Gradually whisk in whipping cream and whole milk, then egg yolks. Scrape in seeds from vanilla bean; add vanilla bean. Whisk over medium-high heat until custard thickens and boils, about 6 minutes. Remove from heat. Whisk in unsalted butter and vanilla extract. Discard vanilla bean. Transfer custard to large bowl; cool completely, whisking occasionally, about 1 hour.
Stir custard to loosen, if necessary. Spread 1 cup custard over bottom of prepared crust. Top with half of sliced bananas, then 1 cup custard, covering bananas completely. Repeat layering with remaining bananas and remaining custard. Chill banana cream pie until filling is set and crust softens slightly, at least 8 hours and up to 1 day. Cut pie into wedges and serve.

Read More http://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/Banana-Cream-Pie-107728#ixzz1UkuLjJHy courtesy of epicurious.com

Friday Blog And Stalk Hop!

I've linked up today over at Mrs. Marine for the Friday Stalk Hop and at Home Grown Families for the Friday Blog Hop! I'm excited to get to know more bloggers in the "community" and see what they're sharing! Just link up your blog, FB page, Twitter account, Blog feed, Networked blog and even Blog Frog over at the hop.

Please come by and say hi by leaving a comment and feel free to enter my giveaway if it's up your alley! Thanks everyone! And LINK up by following my Twitter, Facebook, and GFC to the right of the page.

Wordless Wednesday-Swim Lessons

Big girl doing her swim lessons! Enjoy the rest of your Summer everyone.

Making Tuesday Tasty-Chicken Cutlets W/Herb Butter

Can you say, yum? And easy peasy is always a favorite for moms! Have fun and make sure to invite me too. :) And if you don't want to use wine, you can always omit or substitute another acid like lemon or a flavored vinegar.

Ingredients

1/4 cup all-purpose flour
8 thin chicken cutlets (1 1/2 pounds total)
Coarse salt and ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
3/4 cup dry white wine
2 tablespoons cold butter, cut into pieces
3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley or mint (or a combination)

Directions

Place flour in a shallow dish. Season chicken with salt and pepper and dredge in flour. In a large skillet, heat 1 tablespoon oil over medium-high. Working in batches, cook chicken until browned, 1 to 3 minutes per side, adding more oil to skillet as needed. Transfer chicken to a plate and tent with foil.

Add wine and accumulated juices from chicken to skillet and boil until liquid has reduced by half, about 4 minutes. Add chicken and turn to coat. Remove skillet from heat and swirl in butter and herbs. Season with salt and pepper.