Lemon Snow Cream

This winter, we have enjoyed a lot of snow.

Believe it or not, we probably still have a lot more to come.

Here in Minnesota, March is traditionally the snowiest month!

So, should a March snowstorm blow your way, may we suggest making a Snow Cream treat?

It is really best made with fresh snow.  Then you know you aren't getting any "extra additives" in your snow cream. :)  We like to collect the snow during our play and then enjoy our treat after we warm up inside.

Snow Cream

serves 4

Ingredients:

8 heaping cups of fresh snow

1 cup of skim milk

1/3 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice (Meyer lemons are great if available)

1/2 tsp vanilla

Collect the snow in a large bowl.

Combine milk, sugar, lemon juice and vanilla in a small bowl and whisk to combine.

Drizzle snow with milk mixture and gently fold in with a large spoon or spatula.

 Scoop your snow cream into serving cups and enjoy immediately!

We give it eight thumbs up.  Yum!

On Guys weekends, breakfast biscuits, mom's group and Robie the iRobot

I am going...to miss T during his annual Guys Weekend coming up.  He has planned the group gathering again this year.  While it is always a lot of work and sacrifice to make it happen, it is always a weekend that blesses him and our family.  He comes back refreshed and encouraged, supported and challenged, a stronger husband and father.  I am so grateful that these wonderful Christian men continue to be part of T's life.

I am hoping...for the success of a new mom's group that is starting at our church.  I am helping to arrange childcare at our house once a month for all the pre-schoolers and toddlers of the mom's who attend the group.  I am hoping this will free moms up to attend the group, facilitate friendships among these great kids, and not result in the crumbling of our home ;).  Today, we hosted three caregivers and ten kids, ages 18 months to 5 years, and it was great!  The kids read a story, did crafts, sang songs and had snack and playtime, while we moms discussed the great topic of gift giving all by ourselves.  I am praying that these mornings will be a blessing to both kids and moms, to help us all in our walk with the Lord and each other.

I am learning...to make biscuits--real, southern style biscuits.  I have tried and failed numerous times since T and I got married, to my great disappointment.  T loves biscuits, thanks to his Grandma Cookie's awesome baking skills and general upbringing in the South.  But, he has had to settle for the refrigerated dough type.  Until now, that is.  I think I may have found the recipe we've searched for, thanks to Southern Living Magazine, and I think I have figured out the technique (fingers crossed!).  Last weekend, we celebrated Nana's arrival with breakfast biscuits!  Hooray!  They tasted great and looked like the real thing.  Now if only I can do it again this weekend....

E-Bear and I celebrate buttermilk biscuit success.

Around the house...we have a new friend, "Robie" the iRobot.  Robie came highly recommended by Aunt A, and now I know why.  He is a great new buddy to have around the house.  I wasn't so sure I would like him.  T, however, made the recommendation when he heard how often I was sweeping the kitchen floor on a daily basis.  Now, Robie keeps me company nearly everyday during afternoon rest time.  He follows me around, vacuuming, as I pick up the toys, books and chairs in his path.  He also works hard when I leave to pick up the kids or run errands during the day.  While we are still experimenting, I think he's a keeper.  He's much cheaper than a cleaning service and has far fewer side effects than the caffiene I would need if I were try to clean our floors on a daily basis.  Plus, the kids LOVE him!  They love to either sit on the couch and watch Robie work or follow him around the house.  He is quite the pied piper!

I am pondering...when to start J-Bear on solid food.  We are closing in on her 6-month mark, and she is starting to have trouble sleeping at night (because she gets hungry?).  I can't believe I will get to introduce another little soul to the wonderful world of solid food.  Sweet potatoes are looking good right now, so I better start pureeing for sweet J-Bear's upcoming meals.

(Thanks to the Simple Woman's Daybook for the inspiration!)

Fall break and fall sandwiches

Nota bene: continuing with a week of Daybook entries, I am grateful to the Simple Woman's Daybook for ongoing inspiration.

I am thankful...that we all get more time with G-Bear this week, as it is her fall break from school.  It is such a treat to have everyone home together all week.  We have enjoyed trips to the library, Children's Museum and various playgrounds.  But, what I enjoy most of all are the sounds of all the kids playing together like we did all summer, as well as the more leisurely conversations we're able to enjoy since we aren't always rushing to our next pick-up or drop-off.


In the kitchen...I am enjoying new recipes as I use up fresh fall produce from the farmer's market.  Today I had a delicious lunch sandwich made with fresh tomato salsa (using up tomatoes from our garden) and carrot-top pesto.  When I bought fresh carrots for the kids' lunches this week (the fresh carrots taste SO much sweeter than the mini variety!), I just couldn't bear to part with the gorgeous top greens.  So, I saved them and later found this great bon appetit recipe for carrot top pesto.  No joke, it tastes DELICIOUS on whole wheat bread, even better when topped with fresh pico salsa (made with farmer's market cilantro, green onions, jalepenos and homegrown tomatoes!).

Popcorn Balls

We have a new favorite pantry clean-out snack:

Popcorn Balls!

Who knew pantry clean-out could be so yummy?

Who knew these little buggers would be so easy to make?

It only took us fifteen minutes, start to finish, to whip these up,

with lots of delicious snacking to follow.

The super-easy recipe is from Martha Stewart, and you can find it here.  

Yum!

Christmas Cookies 2011

There is nothing like a tall glass of milk with a frosted Christmas cookie.

Unless it's three or four Christmas cookies 

and a second glass of milk.

I have to thank G-Bear and E-Bear for my festive, nostalgic dessert tonight.

We made Christmas cookies all afternoon yesterday.  

Exhaustion rarely tastes this good.

This is our second year  making Christmas cookies together.

Last year we used Trader Joe's cookie kit, in all it's blissful simplicity.

This year we made our own gingerbread dough and four types of frosting.

I promise no children were maimed and no mothers lost their lives in this holiday feat.

It is hard for me to believe that I have accomplished this with my children two years in a row.  

Seriously, we have had a blast each time.

I wouldn't trade these memories for anything.

I have found that it pays to be prepared, but not overly controlling.

It pays to have rules, but not too many instructions.

I prepared by making our gingerbread dough the night before.

I let go by letting the kids roll out the dough and cut the shapes themselves.

I have two rules with the cookies:  Mommy does the food coloring and Mommy does the frosting.

Then the kids get biiiiiiig plates and lots of sprinkles, and they get to decorate them however they wish.

E-Bear and G-Bear took to work like pros.  They even did a great job sharing the jars of sprinkles.

Thankfully, we had plenty to go around.  

I am always impressed by their creations.

Baby Bear enjoyed watching the show.  He loves to be in the center of the action.

 This was a great way for us to celebrate "ThanksNicholas Day," as E-Bear kept calling it.

The recipes we used were fantastic, and they were not difficult to make: 

Gingerbread cookies from Everyday Food Magazine, December 2004

(I made the dough the night before and chilled it overnight -- so worth it)

The white glaze icing was 1 cup powdered sugar, 1/4 tsp salt, 1/2 tsp vanilla, 

and 2 Tbs water, then blended together with a mixer.

The colored butter icing was 2 1/2 Tbs softened butter, 1 1/2 cups powdered sugar, 

1 1/2 Tbs water and 1 tsp vanilla, whipped together with a mixer. 

We split the batch into three bowl and then added food coloring.

The frosting recipes above made the perfect amount for our three dozen gingerbread cookies.

One last time, here are our creations.  Look closely and you may notice this year's new additions:  a snake (thank you, G-Bear) and a few sharks (thank you, playdough tool bag, raided by the Bears). 

Stop by for cookies!  We have plenty to share.  

One Pumpkin Down

I have no Grocery Bag to offer for this Thanksgiving week.

We are, however, down one pumpkin on our porch.  This means that we are currently feasting on all things pumpkin.  If you are like us and have a few (uncarved) pumpkins surviving from Halloween that need to disappear before the Christmas freeze, DON'T do what I have done every other year and throw them away!  This year I decided that the beta carotene in our large gourd friends was too good to waste.  So, this weekend we carved and cooked up one of our pumpkins, and we now have a pile of delicious seeds, a fridge full of puree and a feast of pumpkin goodies to enjoy.

If you are a pumpkin roasting novice like me, be reassured that there isn't much to it.  Also be reassured that although people will tell you to roast small pie pumpkins, ours was a large field pumpkin and it turned out just fine.

For a great tutorial on how to make your own pumpkin puree, start here at The Pioneer Woman.

Next, here is a list of the recipes we have enjoyed with our pumpkin puree so far:

Whole Wheat Pumpkin Pancakes by Cookie and Kate

Photo and recipe at Cookie and Kate

Pumpkin Smoothie by Ree Drummond

Photo and recipe at The Pioneer Woman

Pepitas by Ree Drummond

Photo and recipe at The Pioneer Woman

Pumpkin Chocolate Chip Bread by Make It Do

Photo and recipe at Make It Do

and of course

Pureed pumpkin baby food with rice cereal by Queen B for Baby Bear

We still have plenty of pumpkin puree in our freezer.  Here are a few more recipes that I can't wait to try:

Pumpkin Chili with Cocoa by Food and Whine

Pumpkin Lasagna by Real Simple Magazine

Whole Wheat Sweet Potato Gingersnaps by Finding Joy in My Kitchen

(Except I'll substitute pumpkin for the sweet potato!)

What a treat!  May your pumpkins be as loved and as delicious as ours have been.

Grandmother's Strawberry Pizza

We are sock up in the thick North Carolina heat around here!  Not that Minnesota was much cooler; the week that we left the heat index was 120 degrees!  In late summer months like these, we have a few favorite cool summer desserts to help us chill out.  One of our favorites is a recipe we learned from T's Grandmother Johnson.


T's Grandmother Johnson was an amazing cook and hostess.  Her abundant talents earned her the nickname "Grandma Cookie" from her grandchildren.  Grandmother Johnson's legacy of graciousness and hospitality lives on in the members of T's family.  The anniversary of her birthday was the weekend we left Minnesota.  It is quite fitting, then, that T and I recently shared this cool summer recipe with the Bears.  

Grandmother Johnson's Strawberry Pizza

Crust:
2 cups flour
2 sticks margarine, melted
1 cup chopped nuts
Mix together and press into a pizza or jelly roll pan.
Bake 10-15 minutes at 350 degrees, then cool completely.
You can also use a refrigerated pie crust or your favorite pie crust recipe.


1st Layer:
8oz softened cream cheese
3 cups confections sugar
12oz cool whip
Mix together and spread on top of crust, leaving a raised edge margin.

Second Layer:
1 quart strawberries
Slice and place on top of the cream cheese layer.
This is a fun part to do as a family!

Top Layer:

1 package strawberry glaze

Spread glaze evenly over top of strawberries.  Chill.

Serve chilled :)

Just to vouch once again for this dessert, it is one of Papa's favorites and one of the only desserts that I've seen him ask for seconds!

Happily Ever,

Queen B

A Summer Salad So Good

We have enjoyed a bunch of outstanding new meals the past few weeks, and I am dying to share some of my favorites.  In honor of the hot, summery weather, here is my new favorite summer salad.  It has kept me going this week despite the glorious heat.   Enjoy a trip to your nearby farmers' market (or your garden if your blessed!), grab a few pantry staples, and you're set.  No oven needed.

Asian Noodle Salad 

(Adapted from Ree Drummond's Favorite Salad Ever! at The Pioneer Woman)

I dreamt about making this salad for 3 days.  

I chopped for most of the morning when my munchkins were distracted with toys.

I finally enjoyed the salad of my labors during nap time....

....I licked my plate:

(uncharacteristically lovely photo of my food)

1.  Combine together in a very large bowl: 

Half a head of cabbage, chopped

Half a bunch of romaine lettuce, chopped

One red pepper, sliced

1-2 cups of perfectly plump sugar snap peas, chopped

1 cucumber, peeled & chopped

1 large bunch cilantro, chopped

3 scallions, chopped

2 large carrots, grated or peeled with a vegetable peeler

1/2 cup Craisins dried cranberries

1/4 cup peanuts, lightly chopped 

8oz whole wheat spaghetti noodles, cooked, drained and rinsed in cold water

2.  Then make the dressing.  Remember, I licked my plate.

 You can see the gorgous layers. They are, from the bottom up:

1/4 cup brown sugar

8 Tbs soysauce

3 Tbs fresh ginger, chopped

2 cloves garlic, chopped

1 lime, juiced

zest of one lime

6 Tbs olive oil

2 Tbs sesame oil

A large pinch of chopped cilantro

3.  Shake your precious dressing, pour over and toss with your salad.

4.  Enjoy every glorious bite. Perhaps on the porch. Perhaps during nap time :)

Hard to beat...

....a family picnic dinner at the lake, on a perfect summer night like tonight.  

"Mommy, do we get to eat at the castle?!" asked G-Bear.  "It's just like Belle's castle!"  

Of course we can eat at the castle, sweetie.  

Look out, Disney World.  We have Lake Harriet.

We ate some fabulous grilled pineapple & chicken quesadillas, inspired by Ree's recipe at The Pioneer Woman (sans jalapenos, I am ashamed to admit).  Here is her picture...what we ate tasted just as good as this looks.

(I repeat, her picture, because I am not yet skilled enough to assemble quesadillas with my left hand, soothe a post-nap E-Bear on my right hip, and snap a picture with my toes, all at the same time. Give me time....I'm sure I just need a little more practice.)


Did I mention these were perfect?  Hot off the grill, wrap the quesadillas together in aluminum foil and then in a few clean dish towels.  They were still warm when we arrived at "Belle's castle" for our picnic.

The secret ingredient to these babies are homemade tortillas.  Easy.  I repeat.  EASY.  And amazingly delicious.  I made my 7th batch in two weeks tonight.  I have to thank my friend SnoWhite at Finding Joy in My Kitchen, for posting this grand slam whole wheat tortilla recipe.  Four people have asked me for this recipe in the past 2 days, including my very-attractive-and-sweet-but-oh-so-bachelor baby brother.  Like I said, amazing?!  They are the secret ingredient to making the pineapple quesadillas super-special.

(I have run into a few great recipes lately that I am eager to share....some of which even include pictures.  Perhaps I will get to share more later this week.)

Back to the picnic!  

We stayed for the summer concert series at the bandshell.  You must join us for a summer concert some night soon.  You can read the whole summer concert schedule here. There is a concert almost every night of the week, and the kids loved the music.  The breeze is perfect off the lake and the lawn next to the seating area is perfect for dancing toddlers.

Before the concerts (which start at 7:30pm on weeknights), stop by the Rose Garden, which is in full bloom right now.  Our budding Picasos were entralled by a painter hard at work:

Almost as stunning as the flowers are the fountains...

....like two little puddle ducks with their bottoms up....

...you should have heard the Bears chatting with each other....

And then the band played on.  As my Bears danced in the grass.

And as we strolled home from Belle's castle 

(bellies full of quesadillas and....ice cream, thanks to Papa)

the view was pretty nice....

...Only surpassed by the ones holding my hands, and my Prince by my side.