A Good Night Kiss

We had Sarah and emily over for dinner last weekend.

Anderson and Emily are 6 months apart.

We were able to capture them saying good-bye to each other.

Butternut Squash Soup

Butternut Squash Soup

1 large butternut squash, halved and seeded
1 TBSP Butter
1 TBSP olive oil
2 medium onions, diced
3 celery stalks, diced
2 medium carrots, diced
3 cloves garlic, minced
2.5 L chicken broth
2 large russet potatoes, peeled and diced
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/8 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/4 tsp ground ginger
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 cup sherry
1 cup half and half cream
sour cream (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 F. Pour a thin layer of water in a baking dish or cookie sheet with sides. Place the squash halves cut side down on the dish. Bake for about 40 minutes, or until a fork can easily pierce the flesh. Cool slightly, then remove the peel. Set aside.

Melt the butter with the olive oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add the onion, celery and carrots, saute for a fe minutes then add the garlic, being careful not to let the garlic burn. Pour the chicken broth into the pot. Add the potatoes, and bring to a boil. Cook for about 20 mintues, or until the vegetables are soft. Add the squash, stir to incorporate. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup, or transfer to a blender or food processor in batches and puree until smooth. Return to pot.
Season the soup with cayenne pepper, nutmeg, allspice, ginger, salt and pepper, then stir in the sherry and half-and-half cream. Heat through, but do not boil.

Ladle into bowls and top with a dollop of sour cream.

Enjoy!

Rosemary Cheese Bread

Rosemary Cheese Bread

2 1/2 teaspoons active dry yeast
3 1/2 to 4 1/2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons fresh rosemary, finely chopped
3-4 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 cup freshly grated Parmesan (about 3 ounces)
1 cup grated provolone (about 1/4 pound)
2 red bell peppers, roasted (procedure follows) and chopped fine

In a large bowl proof the yeast in 1 1/3 cups warm water for 5 minutes, or until the mixture is foamy. Stir in 3 1/2 cups of the flour, the salt, the rosemary, garlic, the pepper, the oil, the cheeses, and the bell peppers and stir the mixture until it is combined well.

Knead the dough on a floured surface, incorporating as much of the remaining 1 cup flour as necessary to prevent the dough from sticking, for 8 to 10 minutes, or until it is smooth and elastic,  (using a stand mixer, knead for the same time, I found I needed at least a 1/2 cup more flour), transfer it to a lightly oiled bowl, turning it to coat it with the oil, and let it rise, covered with plastic wrap, in a warm place for 1 hour, or until it is double in bulk.

Punch down the dough, halve it, and shape each piece into a loaf, about 14 inches long. Transfer the loaves to a lightly oiled baking sheet and let them rise, covered with a kitchen towel, for 45 minutes, or until they are almost double in bulk.

Bake the loaves in the middle of a preheated 400°F. oven for 30 to 35 minutes, or until they are golden, transfer them to a rack, and let them cool.  Turn oven down to 350 F if they are getting too brown.

To roast peppers:

Using a long-handled fork char the peppers over an open flame, turning them, for 2 to 3 minutes, or until the skins are blackened. (Or broil the peppers on the rack of a broiler pan under a preheated broiler about 2 inches from the heat, turning them every 5 minutes, for 15 to 25 minutes, or until the skins are blistered and charred.) Transfer the peppers to a bowl and let them steam, covered, until they are cool enough to handle. Keeping the peppers whole, peel them starting at the blossom end, cut off the tops, and discard the seeds and ribs.

Yield: 2 loaves

An Artist

Not only is she an artist, she is a princess artist too.

You will notice the big honkin' ring she is wearing too - what you can't see is the princess skirt and heals.

She must be my child.

Quick and Easy Spiced Coucsous

I have been making this recipe for years, it is super easy and we love it beside jsut about anything.

Quick and Easy Spiced Couscous

2 cups chicken stock
1 1/2 cups couscous
1/4 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp allspice
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/8 - 1/4 tsp salt (depending on how salty your chicken stock is)
1 TBSP butter
1/4 cup toasted slivered almonds
1 roma tomato, finely diced
12 TBSP fresh chopped basil (or parsley)

In a saucepan, bring chicken stock to a boil, stir in couscous, pepper, allspice, cinnamon and salt.
Remove from heat; cover and let stand 5 minutes.

Fluff with a fork, stir in butter, almonds, tomato and basil.

Enjoy!

I did not have any fresh or dried basil, so I used fresh parsley, it worked great, just not quite the same flavour.

Source: Anne Lindsay's Light Kitchen

Tomato, Lime and Cilantro Salsa

Adam discovered this recipe in one of my cook books a little while ago, since then it has become a staple in our house.
We serve it with chicken and on top of rice, it is a great way to take a borring meal and make it just a little bit more special.

Tomato, Lime and Cilanto Salsa

4 roma tomatoes, finely diced
3 green onions, thinly sliced
1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro
1 lime
1 1/2 tsp white sugar
1/4 tsp salt

Mix together tomatoes, green onions and cilantro.  Zest and juice the lime and add both to the tomato mixture.  Add in sugar and salt.  Stir well, and set aside for 10-15 minutes.

Serve on top of cooked chicken and along side rice.

Product Review: French Onion Soup

Adam LOVES French Onion Soup!
So for Christmas this year, he got some Epicure French Onion Soup Mix packages in his stocking (last year he got the bowls for Christmas).
You see sometimes I just do not have the time to make it, and he is not so inclined either, so for a quick fix, I thought this would do the trick.

Product review #1

Product: Epicure's French Onion Soup Mix.
Source: Friend's Epicure party
Servings: 4
Cost: $3.95

I thought it would be great, I love everything Epicure does.

Here is where I should have paid attention:

Off their website:
French onion soup in restaurants can contain as much as 1450 mg of sodium per serving. Save almost 690 mg sodium per serving with Epicure’s version, PLUS there’s no hydrogenated fats in the mix!

Adam will eat ANYTHING!  But this - he actually dumped it down the sink!  Before it even made it to the bowl.  As we were cooking it - and tasting, we quickly realized this was horrible.  And when I say horrible, I mean HORRIBLE.
It tasted like there was no salt what-so-ever! 

My rating: 0 out of 5.
So that failed.

Product review #2

(note: the above picture is not the box I bought, the box from Costco looks a little bit different and has 6 servings instead of 2)

Product: Plats du Chef French Onion Soup
Source: Costco
Servings: 6
Cost: $12.95

I picked this up based on a recommendation from a co-worker.  These are cook from frozen.  They have instructions for cooking in the microwave or the conventional oven.  My co-worker told me the microwave method turned out sub-par results.

So we tried these on the weekend, in the oven it takes 40 minutes at 400 F.  A little on the long side, but still no where near as long as making French Onion Soup from scratch.

These were quite good.  A little too salty for me, but when is FOS not salty?
This is a great option for anyone craving a nice hot bowl of French Onion Soup, but not willing or able to put the effort in to making it from scratch yourself.

My rating: 3 1/2 out of 5.

NOTE:  I paid for both items and was not asked to review by either company.

A New Blog!

I have decided after quite a bit of thought, to start another blog.


I will be keeping this blog, but I wanted to do more than what this blog is designed for.
The Hill Family Saga blog is my personal blog, this is where I publish pictures of the kids, talk about daily things in our family.
The blog I want to start is going to be more Mom / parenting focused.

My new blog is called Minivan Stiletto!

Follow the link to check it out - it is new - just started, only one post up as of right now, but there will be more.

Feel free to share the link with anyone you want, and I welcome comments!

Don't worry, I will still be posting here, but you will notice I will do a bit of cross posting with both sites.

Recipes

I finally put together a page listing all the recipes I have published here on my blog.

You will notice everyone of them is linked to take you directly to the recipe.

You will find this on the right hand side of this blog - listed under Pages.

Beef and Cheese Manicotti

On My Nightstand - All The Queen's Players

All The Queen's Players - By Jane Feather

On the back cover:
When she becomes a junior lady of Queen Elizabeth's bedchamber, Rosamund is instructed by her cousin, the brilliant and devious secretary of state Sir Francis Walsingham, to record everything she observes.  Her promised reward: a chance at a good marriage.  But through her brother Thomas, Rosamund finds herself drawn to the forbidden, rough-and-tumble world of theatre, and to Thomas's friend, the dramatic, impetuous playwright Christopher Marlowe.
And then Rosamund meets Will Creighton -- a persuasive courtier, poet, and would-be playwright who is the embodiment of an unsuitable match.

The unsanctioned relationship between Rosamund and Will draws the wrath of Elizabeth, who prides herself on being the Virgin Queen.  Rosamund is send in disgrace to a remote castle that holds Elizabeth's cousin Mary Stuart, the imprisoned Queen of Scots.  Here, Walsingham expects Rosamund to uncover proof of a plot against Elizabeth.  But surely, nothing good can come of putting an artless girl in such lose proximity to so many seductive players and deceptive games.  Unless, of course, Rosamund can discover an affinity for passion and intrigue herself...

My thoughts:
I am not an avid historical fiction reader, but I have read a few and I found this author did not do as good a job as Phillipa Gregory does in some of her books.
There were so many names to keep track of, and often not a lot of story going with each person so it took until I was over half way through to really feel like I knew who was being talked about every time.
The other thing I did not really like about Jane Feather's writing style in this book, is she wrote from every one's point of view.  For the life of me I can't remember what that is called (my Dad is going to kill me along with a few high school English teachers).
I found this style of writing a bit distracting, I kept forgetting that it was not from Rosamund's point of view.

But it was still a good story, Feather seemed to have done her research and tried to be as accurate as possible with what facts she did have.  Once I was half done, I had a really hard time putting it down.

My rating: 3 1/2 out of 5.

Blog Watch - The Curvy Carrot

I thought I would share another food blog I found not to long ago.

The Curvy Carrot!

The author, Shanon has some amazing recipes and even more amazing pictures of her food.
Take a minute to look, you just might find an idea for dinner tonight.

Seriously,  how good does this look?

Grilled Salmon

Pecan Bars - just might be making these tonight for Adam

Beef with Snow Peas

Beef with Snow Peas

• 1-½ pound flank steak, trimmed of fat and sliced very thin against the grain

• ½ cups soy sauce
• 3 TBSP sherry
• 2 TBSP brown sugar
• 2 TBSP cornstarch
• 1 TBSP minced fresh ginger
• ¼ tsp crushed red pepper flakes
• 8 ounces fresh snow peas, ends trimmed
• 5 whole scallions, chopped
• 3 tablespoons peanut or olive oil
• Cooked rice
• Toasted sesame seeds

In a bowl, mix together soy sauce, sherry, brown sugar, cornstarch, ginger and crushed pepper flakes. Add sliced meat to bowl and toss. Set aside, or allow to marinate in the fridge for a few hours.

Heat oil in a heavy skillet or wok over high heat. Add snow peas and stir for 45 seconds. Remove to a separate plate, set aside.

Allow pan to get very hot again. With tongs, add half the meat mixture, leaving most of the marinade still in the bowl. Spread out meat as you add it to pan, but do not stir for a good minute. (You want the meat to get as brown as possible in as short amount a time as possible.) Turn meat to the other side and cook for another 30 seconds. Remove to a clean plate.

Repeat with other half of meat, allowing pan to get very hot again first. After turning it, add the first plateful of meat, the rest of the marinade, the snow peas and half the scallions. Stir over high heat for 30 seconds; then turn off heat. Check seasonings and add salt only if it needs it. Mixture will thicken as it sits.

Serve immediately over rice. Top with the remaining scallions and toasted sesame seeds.

Source: My lovely sister Amy posted this recipe on her blog not too long ago.  I made it on the weekend for my family with a few modifications.  The recipe above is how I made it.

Skating

This past weekend Adam took Jackie skating for her first time.

We decided to get her hockey skates (please note - these are not called boy skates in our house, but hockey skates instead), for two reasons, first, it is better to learn on hockey skates, second, we can then pass them on to Anderson when he is older.

She did great.  Adam said it took her a little bit to figure out the whole balance thing, but she got the hang of that and enjoyed herself.

I was surprised how long they stayed at the arena, I expected her to not really like it and want to leave right away.

Stairs

Anderson had a rough weekend.

He fell down the stairs three times.

Twice it was because him and Jackie were playing on the stairs and he just lost his balance, the other time he fell because he was playing and not paying attention to where he was.

But he is our little toughie!

He cries for a bit, but mostly he just needs some snuggle time with Mommy.

Oh course I am happy to oblige.

Surgery

Jackie's precious blankie got a hole.

Daddy stepped in and did some emergency surgery.

You should have seen her, she was beside herself as this was happening.

So far, the surgery seems to be successful.

The stitches are holding, but there is still a risk of the wound re-opening so we have told them both to take it easy.

On My Nightstand - Cool Water

Cool Water - By Dianne Warren

On the back cover:
In the small town of Juliet, Saskatchewan you may imagine that not much goes on. But you would be wrong. Surrounded by the Little Snake sand hills, the residents of Juliet go about their daily lives, caught up in the hills and valleys that life often brings. Lila prepares for her pregnant teenaged daughter's upcoming wedding, even though she knows that the union is doomed to fail. Vicki and Blaine Dolson, the parents of six young children and in dire financial straits, struggle just to get by. Lee, who was abandonded as a baby and raised by his "aunt" and "uncle", tries to carry on the family legacy after his aunt and uncle pass away. The foundation of Hank and Lynn Trass' marriage is threatened by one tiny piece of paper. Willard and his sister-in-law Marian continue to live under the same roof and run the local drive-in theatre despite the fact that Marian's husband, Ed, has passed away, and the two are heavily denying their growing feelings for one another.

My thoughts:
This was a nice book to read.  It do not put it into my amazing book category, but it was good.
Dianne Warren does a good job of tying random people together that all live in or around the same small town.
The story is well told, but I have to be honest, there was one set of characters that I HATED!  But these people exist, I jsut choose not to spend much time with them.
Everyone else - I liked.

My rating: 3 out of 5.

On My Nightstand - Deeper than the Dead

Deeper than the Dead - By Tami Hoag

On the back cover:
California, 1985. Four children, running through the woods after school, stumble upon a partially buried female body, eyes and mouth glued shut. Close behind the children is their teacher, Anne Navarre, shocked by this discover and heartbroken as she witnesses the end of their innocence. What she doesn’t yet realize is that this will mark the end of innocence for an entire community, as the ties that bind families and friends are tested by secrets uncovered in the wake of a serial killer’s escalating patter of destruction.

Vince Leone, a pioneering FBI investigator called in from Washington to consult on the case, is charged with interpreting that pattern. He’s using a brand-new technique – profiling – to develop a theory of the murders, a strategy that pushes him ever deeper into the lives of the four children, and closer to the teacher whose bond with her traumatized students puts her on a collision course with the killer.

New victims are discovered and the media scrutiny of the investigation bears down on them, both Vince and Anne are unsure if those who suffer most are the victims themselves, or the family and friends of the killer – unaware that someone very close to them is a brutal, calculating psychopath whose reign of terror is only just getting started.

My thoughts:
I really liked this book.
It has been a while since I read a good murder mystery, detective thriller novel (I used to read these almost excusivly).
This was well written, suspensful and still had a decent amount of side plots happening - but not too much to distract you from the main story.

My rating: 4 1/2 out of 5.

An Award

Alison, over at Life and Times of Alison and Justin, awarded me the "Stylish Blogger Award".

Thank you Alison!  Go check her out, she has a great blog.

The Rules are:

1. Thank and link back to the person who gave you the award.

2. Share 7 things about yourself.

3. Award to recently discovered bloggers.

4. Contact these bloggers and tell them about this award.

 

Thank you Alison, I thouroughly enjoy your blog.

 

Many of my readers do not know who Alison and Justin are:

Justin is my brother Blake's best friend and Alison is his wife.

 

7 things about me:

 

1. My nickname growing up (used only by my Dad) was Weed. (This name is no longer used by anyone – so don’t even try).

2. The ONLY person allowed to call me Jen is my mother. Not even Adam is allowed.

3. My name is actually Jenny, not Jennifer, and I HATE it when people try and call me Jennifer to be more formal even though I have introduced myself as Jenny. (This happens at work more than you would think.)

4. My earliest memories start at age 4. (Scary that Jackie is about to be 4 and that means lasting memories.)

5. As much as I love to cook, there are still things that scare me, like making pie pastry, I have no idea why, but I do plan on conquering this fear this year.

6. If we did not have kids to feed and set an example for, I would still have popcorn for dinner at least once a week.

7. I would rather eat a salty snack than chocolate any day.

 

Now the rules say to award recently discovered bloggers, I am just going to award a few blogs I love.

 

1. Dee Ann at Once Upon a Time

2. Starr at Starlite Studio

3. Sarah at Stuff and Things

Winter Smoked Tomato Bisque

Winter Smoked Tomato Bisque

Olive oil
Salt & pepper
8 large Roma tomatoes, cored and halved
1 red pepper, cored and halved
1 large onion, peeled and halved
2 celery stocks, large dice
1 carrot, large dice
4 cloves garlic, minced
½ tsp dry oregano
½ tsp dry thyme
½ cup white rice
2 litres chicken stock
½ cup chopped fresh basil
½ cup whole cream
White wine (optional)
1 tsp liquid smoke

Place, tomatoes, red pepper and onion on a large baking sheet, drizzle with olive oil, and roast in the oven on broil setting for 30 minutes. Remove from oven, cooling slightly then dice and set aside.
While vegetables are cooling, heat 1 tbsp olive oil in a large stock pot over medium heat, add celery, carrot, garlic, oregano and thyme and sauté until soft.
Add the roasted vegetables to the pot along with the rice and chicken stock and bring to a boil; reduce heat and simmer 25 – 30 minutes or until rice is cooked.
Using a hand blender, puree the soup then add cream, fresh basil white wine and liquid smoke, adjust the seasonings with salt and pepper to taste.

Source:
If you do not know already I work at Trail Appliances where we have a full time chef on staff. 
He is not a chef for making staff lunches and food, rather he is a chef to help the customers make the right decision about what they need to buy for their kitchen, and once that happens he also will help them learn how to use a their new oven.

He also puts out a monthly newsletter that includes recipes, I do all his recipe editing and work very closely with him.

This is his recipe, as I was editing it, I knew this was one I had to make.

Adam LOVED it, Anderson LOVED it, Jackie, I know she will like it, she was just being picky that day.
Oh, and I LOVED it too!

Painting

This past weekend was cold.

Cold and super windy.

So indoor activities are in order.

Jackie and I picked up a couple of cheap paint sets, you know the kind we all had as kids.

Both kids LOVED it!

Jackie painted a few dozen rainbows,

Anderson painted something that looks like an elephant painted it.

Then Adam gets involved.  He had fun too!

I love the pile of pictures (rainbows) on the table.

We are going to be auctioning these rainbow pictures to help pay for her college.