More Food!

No, this is not turning into a food blog :) My mom & sister asked for this recipe, so I thought I'd share it with everyone. It's way yummy - and best of all it's easy. OK, almost everything I make is easy. Enjoy!

CREAMY PESTO PASTA WITH CHICKEN & TOMATOES

12 oz cooked pasta (I like to use Penne for this one)

4 Tbsp pesto sauce (yay, another way to use that huge tub you bought at Costco!)

2 cups light cream

2 cloves garlic

1-2 grilled chicken breasts, cut in strips

2 Roma tomatoes, diced

Heat the pesto in a saucepan over medium-low heat with sauteed garlic. Add cream and bring to a simmer. Mix sauce with pasta, tomato, and chicken. Salt & pepper to taste. Sprinkle with freshly grated parmessan. Makes about 5-6 servings.

Snowy Day

We had several inches of snow last night, so we decided to enjoy our holiday in the backyard. Here is Matthew learning the fine art of snowman building.

We also made a little snow fort on the patio - Kylie is standing up in the picture. It needs a little more work - our neighbor has a 5 foot tall one that we are quite envious of.

Say hello to Frosty Snowavitz. We hope he stays around for a few days.

Veggie Pesto Pizza

My neighbor showed me how to make this oh-so-delicious pizza. I made it last week, and I cannot stop thinking about it. My kids are already asking when I'm going to make it again. Matthew calls it mmmm,licious. Try it and let me know what you think. Did you know that you can buy a large pizza dough on the tray from Papa Murphy's for just $2? Go ahead and make your own if you want, but I'm not quite to that level of domesticness yet.

First, spread a couple tablespoons of Pesto all over the dough. It should look something like this. If you grow your own fresh basil, I've got a great pesto recipe for you. If not, just buy the Kirkland brand at Costco - it tastes great. (You can freeze it in little containers, because unless you are in love with pesto and eat it everyday, you cannot possibly use that big jar in a month.)
On top of the pesto, sprinkle about 2 cups of grated mozzarella cheese. Next, throw lots of thinly sliced veggies all over it, whatever you have around the kitchen will work. Did you know that kids will eat anything on a pizza? Well, mine will, I hope you're as lucky. I used mushrooms, olives, pineapples, summer squash and a little tomato. Then sprinkle some freshly grated parmesan on top - not the Kraft kind, the real thing, but just a handful or so. Now you're ready to cook. I cook mine at 425 degrees for about 13 minutes, checking for bubbles at 10 minutes. I hope you find it as yummy as I do!

Santa Jorge

"Where's my mommy?"

We visited Mema & Popa this weekend. My parent's live next door to farm animals. The sheep just had babies 3 weeks ago.

Matthew & Atticus are buddies. Matthew keeps asking when he's going to come over and play. Up for a drive Autumn?

Matthew liked playing on Popa's toy - until Popa started it up.

Always the dainty princess

Blog Book

Here it is - my blog as a book. And no, the real thing does not have that lovely black bar hiding our last name:) I made it at http://blurb.com/ It is pretty cool.

There were lots of different backgrounds to choose from, plain colors to tons of different designs.
The photo quality was not all I hoped it would be, but not too bad. Not as good as the photo books I've ordered from Kodak Gallery. But, I seriously cannot complain....for a 44 page hardcover it was only $33 including shipping.

I will definitely be making another one next year.

Just Like Daddy

The addiction starts young.

Kylie the rocker - check out that face. She gets so into it! Oh, my little blog book came today. Pretty cool. I will post some pics tomorrow. Sorry, I am just too frickin' tired tonight :)

Beginning My Resolution

See those cute door pulls? They were my little Saturday project. My cabinets were suffering serious injuries from my fingernails, so I decided to give them a break. Oh, and it's a part of my silly New Year's Resolution. I have lived in my house for SIX years now, and I have avoided doing anything to the main living area.....it intimidates the crud outta me. My goal for the year is to make some changes. I thought starting small would be good since John & I are sadly not do-it-yourself types. Hopefully that can be changed.

Happy Birthday to me!

Guess where I had dinner tonight? We always go for John's birthday, so I decided it was my turn :) If you haven't had Tepanyaki, you are missing out! Seriously, go tonight. Matthew cheered loudly during the entire dinner preparation.

And oh look, I made myself a little present today. I also made a quick trip to IKEA today and picked up a little something for my kitchen. I have to break out the tools to install them, so I will post pictures of my little project tomorrow.

Of course Kylie picked all pink for her bracelet.

Happy New Year!

And what were you doing at midnight?

Don't worry, we made them stop and kiss us.