Happy Birthday, Callie!

Ice Storm

We had a doozy of a storm last week. I've never seen anything like it! There was ice everywhere. The coolest thing was watching the 1 inch thick-sheets of ice slide off of our metal roof and crash to the ground. It was pretty spectacular! The kids had fun crunching on the ice in the yard and looking at all of the ice covered plants. Unfortunately, our beautiful backyard is going to need some major help- come springtime. :-(

Creme Brulee

My nephew, Matthew, turned 15 on February 1st.   I cooked his birthday dinner which consisted of Bruschetta for appetizer, Chicken Parmesan and Linguine, and Creme Brulee for dessert. Complete with the blow torch for carmelizing the sugar. It was delicious!!! Happy birthday, Matthew!

Creme Brulee 

by Barefoot Contessa

1 extra large egg

4 extra large egg yolks

1/2 cup sugar, plus 1 tablespoon for each serving

3 cups heavy cream

1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract

1 tablespoon orange liqueur (recommended: Grand Marnier)

Preheat the oven to 300 degrees F.

In the bowl of an electric mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, mix the egg, egg yolks, and 1/2 cup of the sugar together on low speed until just combined.  Meanwhile, scald the cream in a small saucepan until it's very hot to the touch but not boiled.  With the mixer on low speed, slowly add the cream to the eggs.  Add the vanilla and orange liqueur and pour into 6 to 8-ounce ramekins until almost full.

Place the ramekins in a baking pan and carefully pour boiling water into the pan to come halfway up the sides of the ramekins.  Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until the custards are set when gently shaken. Remove the custards from the water bath, cool to room temperature, and refrigerate until firm.

To serve, spread 1 tablespoon of sugar evenly on the top of each ramekin and heat with a kitchen blowtorch until the sugar carmelizes evenly.  Allow to sit at room temperature for a minute until the caramelized sugar hardens.

Bon Appetit!!!

Homemade Blankie (Lovey)

I love baby blankets. I think I kept all of my girls blankets and Aidan's also. I made several blankets for Aidan when he was newborn and have made a few for friends recently. Here's the one I made this week for a friend who just had a baby girl. My oldest daughter, Alyssa, wanted to keep it for herself. I will try and find some more material that will fit her personality!!

Challenge #1

Toni over at Bowl Full of Lemons has posted her first challenge. It's to create a home management binder. I am going to create one although it won't be as detailed as hers. I tend to use my phone to manage contacts and schedules like school calendars and basketball games etc. I think it will be useful to have the binder for meal planning, finances, and general weekly calendar info. Here's a pic of my new binder. Isn't it cute!

Home Management Binder

Mission:Organization/Clean

So, while the chicken breast were cooking for the Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup, I decided to make some chicken enchiladas. I got the recipe from Janelle at Comfy in the Kitchen. It is super yummy. I used both corn and flour tortillas since my husband doesn't care for soggy flour tortillas... I also cleaned out the fridge and freezer. They both look great. Hopefully they will stay organized and clean!

The Flu has Hit!

After being home all week with Callie because of the flu, now my oldest daughter Alyssa has it also. Her case seems to be worse than Callie's as she has had really high fever. Alyssa had the flu shot and Callie didn't.... go figure! Time for some Homemade Chicken Noodle Soup and prayer that Aidan doesn't get sick.