There is a warm, buttery raspberry-peach cobbler on my stovetop right now. I had some peaches, so I told Anne we would make a "peach cake". She talked about it all day, and we even had to break into Oma's house to get the cookbook with the right recipe in it. I finally told her "It is a peach cake, but it is called peach cobbler" With her normal sense of understanding, she nodded and took it in. Later she asked "Are we gonna make the peach college?"
Yes, yes we are. And I'm glad "college" was in your vocabulary before "cobbler"
Saturday, August 28, 2010
Thursday, August 26, 2010
A few recipes
My mom, sister, and I all tried our hand at gardening this year. It is safe to say that Mom had the most success (which means she is the only one who had success!) Her beans, cucumbers, and tomatoes have been fabulous, and the green pepper plant is making a comeback. (Erin abandoned her garden and I am still waiting to see if my pumpkin vine produces anything)
That said, I have had a few tomatoes on my hands lately. Only my baby will eat raw tomatoes, so I figured I better make something of them, and fast! My decision: to make tomato sauce. We eat it all the time and I had everything on hand to make it, so away we went. I attempted to keep it simple and also sneak some extra veggies in there for the kids.
Here is what you need:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil, if you're fancy)
3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 of a red onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
12 baby carrots OR 1 regular carrot, grated
1/2 zucchini, grated
basil, sugar, and salt; to taste
Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; saute until soft. Add carrots and zucchini, continue to cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, continue to cook, pressing tomatoes with the back of a spoon/spatula. They will get soft and smooshy. Add basil, salt, and sugar to taste. Yield: 1.5-2 cups of sauce.
A few notes: If it is too thick, thin it with some water or chicken broth. If you like your sauce smoothie-smooth, put it in the blender and give it a whirl. I have 2 jars of this waiting for me in the freezer.
Now, to accompany your delicious sauce, some meatballs!
10 oz ground turkey (I had 99% lean)
6 baby carrots, grated
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 cloved minced garlic
1 egg
3 Ritz crackers, crushed
Mix ingredients above. Form into mini meatballs, slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball. I used my Pampered Chef scoop to make a uniform little army of meat. Heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the meat, then brown on each side. Heat some sauce in a pot; add the meatballs to finish cooking in the sauce. Serve over pasta or in a hot dog bun as a "sub"
Notes: I got 18 little meatballs out of this. It would obviously work with any meat in any amount--just make the standard meatball/loaf mix of meat/onion/egg/cracker. We ate these as subs, since it is always more likely that we will have whole-grain breads but not whole-grain pasta. Three little meatballs fit perfectly on a hot dog bun.
Happy cooking, folks!
That said, I have had a few tomatoes on my hands lately. Only my baby will eat raw tomatoes, so I figured I better make something of them, and fast! My decision: to make tomato sauce. We eat it all the time and I had everything on hand to make it, so away we went. I attempted to keep it simple and also sneak some extra veggies in there for the kids.
Here is what you need:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil (or olive oil, if you're fancy)
3 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled and roughly chopped
1/4 of a red onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
12 baby carrots OR 1 regular carrot, grated
1/2 zucchini, grated
basil, sugar, and salt; to taste
Heat oil over medium heat. Add onions and garlic; saute until soft. Add carrots and zucchini, continue to cook until soft, about 3-4 minutes. Add the tomatoes, continue to cook, pressing tomatoes with the back of a spoon/spatula. They will get soft and smooshy. Add basil, salt, and sugar to taste. Yield: 1.5-2 cups of sauce.
A few notes: If it is too thick, thin it with some water or chicken broth. If you like your sauce smoothie-smooth, put it in the blender and give it a whirl. I have 2 jars of this waiting for me in the freezer.
Now, to accompany your delicious sauce, some meatballs!
10 oz ground turkey (I had 99% lean)
6 baby carrots, grated
1 tablespoon minced onion
1 cloved minced garlic
1 egg
3 Ritz crackers, crushed
Mix ingredients above. Form into mini meatballs, slightly smaller than a ping-pong ball. I used my Pampered Chef scoop to make a uniform little army of meat. Heat some oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add the meat, then brown on each side. Heat some sauce in a pot; add the meatballs to finish cooking in the sauce. Serve over pasta or in a hot dog bun as a "sub"
Notes: I got 18 little meatballs out of this. It would obviously work with any meat in any amount--just make the standard meatball/loaf mix of meat/onion/egg/cracker. We ate these as subs, since it is always more likely that we will have whole-grain breads but not whole-grain pasta. Three little meatballs fit perfectly on a hot dog bun.
Happy cooking, folks!
Monday, August 23, 2010
Siblings
Here are the two kids together, and a few with good ol' Mom. Alicia was wise to tell me "wear something neutral, in case you end up in the background" I wouldn't have wanted to mess up the color scheme I worked so hard to create!
Saturday, August 21, 2010
Super Sammy Photo Post!
Here he is, in all his birthday glory! These are the professional shots we got of just Sambo. Annie pictures to come later, as well as some of the two of them together. Enjoy his hyper-blue eyes!
Friday, August 20, 2010
Professional Photos
Annie and Sam had their pictures taken a few weeks ago as a birthday gift from Oma and Opa. They turned out fabulously! I will upload many in the next few days, but if you want a nice preview, visit our photographer's blog at http://bangtsonphotography.blogspot.com/
I had to laugh at this next picture because when it came up on the screen I thought "Oh, I look JUST LIKE my mom!" See for yourself:
I have no problem looking like my mom (I have since I was, um, 5 years old), but it was funny to have it jump out at me like this.
Too bad Sam couldn't come with us that day--we could've had a nice family picture!
I had to laugh at this next picture because when it came up on the screen I thought "Oh, I look JUST LIKE my mom!" See for yourself:
I have no problem looking like my mom (I have since I was, um, 5 years old), but it was funny to have it jump out at me like this.Too bad Sam couldn't come with us that day--we could've had a nice family picture!
Keep checking back for more cuteness :)
Thursday, August 19, 2010
Part 2
March 2010--eyes are bright, but hair is sparse
April 2010--still looks the same...
May 2010 (it was hot enought to swim outside!?!?)
June 2010--here comes the hair; Sambo is starting to crawl!
July 2010
August 2010--more birthday party blogging to come...
"Mom! Look! I'm eating cake! Is this okay?"
April 2010--still looks the same...
May 2010 (it was hot enought to swim outside!?!?)
June 2010--here comes the hair; Sambo is starting to crawl!
July 2010
August 2010--more birthday party blogging to come...
"Mom! Look! I'm eating cake! Is this okay?"
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