Soooo Proud!

Ruthanne had her first piano festival yesterday.  She did so well!  She had to memorize two piano pieces to play in front of a judge, take a written test, and do an ear training test.  She got a superior on her playing (the best ranking), a 90 on the theory test, and did pretty good on the ear training (she was mostly doing this for experience).  So proud of my big girl!  She insisted on wearing a skirt to church today and I thought she looked very grown up.  We also worked on crocheting today.  I almost gave up (and so did she) but she persisted and can now chain away!  Tomorrow we move onto the single crochet!

Yummy Garlic Bread

Buttery Garlic Bread Ring:
Bren’s Recipe

1 Loaf frozen bread dough thawed & allowed to rise (or make your own)
1 large egg, beaten
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
1 tsp. garlic powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. parsley flakes
1 stick butter, melted (I use ½ stick)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In small bowl, beat egg and add parmesan cheese, garlic powder, salt & parsley flakes, and mix to combine. Spray bundt pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pull golf ball size pieces of dough off the risen bread dough. Roll in egg mixture and set them around the bottom of the bundt pan. Allow resting for 1/2 hour and it will rise again slightly. Bake in oven for 30 to 35 minutes or until golden brown on top. Meanwhile, in small saucepan, melt 1 stick of butter. When bread comes out of the oven, immediately drizzle or brush butter on the bread, covering it evenly. It will sizzle or bubble and look like the bread is drowning in butter but, don't worry, in about 1 minute, it will soak into the bread.

Notes: This removes easily out of the pan and you can either butter the cut bread slices or place melted butter in the center of the bread & use to dip the bread.
*This can also be made in a loaf pan (But, I think the bundt pan is better). Set balls of dough in lines of three going down the bottom of the pan. Bake at 350 for 40 minutes or until golden brown on top. Drizzle or brush the top with the butter. Serve warm right out of the oven. Slice to serve.

Why didn't anyone tell me...

that there was a new America's Test Kitchen Family Cookbook out? Its the Healthy addition! Green, perfect!

Have you noticed the new addition...

there on the right of my sidebar? That is where you can see items I've "shared" from my google reader feed. So, you might find coupons, fun kids crafts, recipes, etc. Check it out!

I love glass mason jars!

It makes storing soups, homemade broths, homemade beans, etc so much easier than in ziploc bags, plus I don't have to buy as many bags! Have you ever tried to defrost broth quickly that has been stored in a ziploc baggie? Yeah, it starts getting too hot in the corners, melts the bag and then you have liquid all over your microwave! Not a problem with the glass jars, just take off the metal lids and pop it in the microwave!

Mexican Quiche

Its been a while since I shared a recipe. I made this for dinner last night for the first time in a LONG time! Its a yummy one served with some fresh diced tomatoes (how lucky am I to live in a place where you can get nice greenhouse tomatoes fresh from the farmer?).

Mexican Quiche

5 eggs

1/4 cup flour (I used whole wheat)

1/2 tsp baking powder

1/4 cup butter melted (I think you could just use 2 tbsps and be FINE!)

1 - 4 or 7 ounce can of diced green chiles

1 cup cottage cheese

1/2 cup chopped onion cooked in another tbsp butter

1 cup shredded cheese (pick your fave!)

Preheat oven to 400 and spray pie plate or 8x8 (or 9x9) pan and set aside. Beat eggs then add in flour and baking powder and wisk well. Add the melted butter, chiles and cottage cheese. Then add in the onions which have been sauteed in 1 tbsp butter and the shredded cheese. Then pour it into your prepared pan. Bake at 400 for 15 minutes then reduce heat to 350 and cook for another 25-30 minutes. Serve warm. It also reheats well (I had some leftovers for lunch).

Catch Up!

My Mom told me today I needed to update my blog.  So here’s a small attempt.  Thankfully I didn’t resolve to post more frequently/regularly on my blog this year!  I have however been exercising 6 days a week which I am really excited about!

So, what have we been doing?  Not much.  The day after Christmas it snowed a little. 

Then we hung out a bunch and even went to Warner Robins for a day where all the grandkids got to play.  I of course left my camera at home.  I did take a few with Frances’ camera (you want to email me a few Frances?). 

We’ve played a lot and spent time as a family.  Here’s Paul and Ruthanne playing the piano.

Paul is insisting on sitting in a chair to eat a lot.  Its going a lot better than I anticipated.

 

Paul happens to think bouncy balls are the greatest thing ever.  Here’s a funny video of him playing.

And, it snowed a 2nd time this winter and swiftly turned to ice.  When we went out to play in it you couldn’t gather any together, it just crunched under your feet.  We were home bound for a couple days.

Hmmm, thats about it for now!  I’ll try to think of something fun for us to do and post about it.  Oh, maybe I should ask ya’ll if I should finally take the tree down or embrace it and make a Valentine’s tree?  Paul loves the tuh-ree!

Christmas Morning

We had a lovely Christmas. 

Santa made a little accident and gave Ruthanne a leapster game she already had (woops, luckily I had some extra in the closet and I offered her one of mine for her Santa one). 

We had lovely cinnamon rolls for breakfast.

We relaxed and watched movies and chatted and enjoyed a quiet day.

All the pictures I took are linked below.

View Full Album

Tex Mex Crockpot Roast Recipe

I found this recipe last night and made it today. I modified it a bit and it was sooo yummy!

Tex Mex Crockpot Roast Recipe:

1 can chili beans

1-2 cups frozen corn

1 can rotel tomatoes/diced tomatoes with green chiles

1 tablespoon taco seasoning

1/2 tablespoon ranch seasoning (I keep a jar with the herbs already mixed)

1.5-2 lb roast (mine was pretty lean)

Throw it all into the crockpot and cook on low about 8 hours, or high about 4 hours. We served it over rice with shredded cheese and sour cream. Everyone ate it and liked it!

Cold Weather Dinner

Since we have some cold weather blowing through, I thought we needed an appropriate dinner tonight. So we're having:

Chicken Corn Chowder

and

Skillet Bread

Hopefully it will be a success!