Valentine's Day Gifts Has Arrived!

Thank goodness my kids don't really keep up with my blog, or my oldest would know what she's getting!

I traveled the internet super highway to Etsy for this years Valentine's Day gifts for my nuggets and the mister.  And found GREAT deals....duh.

My oldest's gift came yesterday and I was VERY pleased!  it came from Love Struck Metals .  They specialize in hand-stamped silver, 14k Gold Fill and copper exclusive and one of a kind designs. 

The gift came in a gift box with a bow! So very not expected, but very much appreciated!

(And forgive the out of focus photos....my camera didn't want to cooperate for some reason)

 

And here it is!  Jac is in choir and LOVES it!

Her necklace has a little heart and a stamped pendant that reads "Sing Your Heart Out"

*click image for larger view*

Jessa is also in choir and she loves it.  She sings literally every night. She sings in the shower - we all can hear her singing along with her iPod in there. And she sings in her room...constantly. So I got her a singing - themed necklace.  This beaded necklace came from ...well I'd love to tell you where I got it but there was no business card or label in the package when I received it. 

 

The mister is always hard to buy for.  He loves music, but gets his own all the time. Unless he specifically asks me, I don't know what to get him.  So, that's the story with his Valentine's Day gift.  He gets cufflinks.  But not your ordinary cufflinks...Day of the Dead ones. I ordered these from Little Angels Jewelry.

And as for myself.  I ordered myself a funny gift. A mustache necklace....because I'm a nerd.  From the same place I got the cufflinks.

My Monkey

When my youngest daughter was little, she always slept with me. It’s been her life to have Mommie all to herself since she was 4 months old. After she was learning to walk, I nick named her "Monkey" because she was very bow-legged and had allot of crazy black hair! To me she looked like a little jungle chimp!

She’s always been my bed buddy, snuggling and sweet. And waking her up in the mornings as she got older was a rub on the back followed by throwing out her arms blindly awaiting a cuddle from Mommie.

She slept in my bed until almost 4 years ago when my husband and I married. Since then she’s had her own room and her own bed. She asks almost on a weekly basis to sleep in my bed. It’s impossible to share a bed with a grown man and a 13 year old, so I sadly have to decline.

It does truly break my heart. I feel so loved and special that my 13 year old, who in public I can’t touch let alone love on, wants to still snuggle with her Mommie.

I’m up at 5am during the week. And I’m out of the house by 6 30am. So I have to wake my 13 year old up before I leave. Depending on the kind of morning I’m having, it’s a call from her bedroom door to a back rub wake up.

This morning, it was a sweet back rub wake up. Followed by her blindly throwing her arms out for a cuddle. Ahhh…that was the best.

Fondue

I love fondue. I also love the throw back to the 1970's it gives. I remember being a kid and mother would make fondues, and those orange fondue pots.

It's not really that hard, only time consuming. And the end result was a fun time, watching movies with my husband and kids having nommie fondue and home made bread.

Yes...I said home made bread. That's easy TOO! See the blog entry below for the recipe.

Now, I could NOT find my fondue pot for the life of me...but I went ahead and made fondue anyway....but this just gives me a reason to make it again as soon as I find my pot!

Cheddar Cheese Fondue

2 cups milk (Or 1 cup of milk and 1 cup of beer.....or 2 cups of beer).. I used 1 cup of beer and 1 cup of milk...

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

2 teaspoons ground dry mustard

1 clove garlic, peeled and crushed

3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

6 cups shredded Cheddar cheese

In a medium saucepan over low heat, mix together milk, Worcestershire sauce, ground dry mustard, garlic and flour. Heat until almost boiling. Gradually stir in Cheddar cheese. Continue heating until all the cheese has melted. Keep the mixture warm and melted in a fondue dish. Dip with cubed bread.








Buddy really wanted some fondue. So Jac let him have a taste...and he was her audience all night!

Easy Home Made Bread

So, there I was....I wanted to make Fondue this weekend. I also wanted to make bread to go into the Fondue. I grumbled and ooffed and uffed getting the bread machine out of the pantry.

Mission accomplished.

I added my ingredients and turned on the machine. Uh oh...that sound isn't right! I peered inside and the dough was not moving...DANGIT! Where the paddle? I didn't remember seeing it when I added the ingredients. Ugh. It's lost! I looked all in the pantry and even called my husband to see if he knew where it was! NADA! Great!

So, I tossed out what I could and soaked the bread machine bin in soapy water. Friday, I was on the hunt online for a new paddle. I found a guy who sold them and tagged the site for later.

I went to clean the soaking bin in the sink, and what do I find? The paddle. It must have been in the bottom on the bin, just not attached as I tossed the ingredients on top. Typical Aspie that I am, I didn't do a pre-check but just rushed into making the bread.

SO, all that said...I ended up making bread from scratch. It was very easy and the kids love to help.

I found the recipe at The Heart of New England website :

**The only thing I did different was add a teenie bit of honey to the recipe.




Ingredients

5-6 cups all-purpose flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour for 1 or 2
cups).
2 tablespoons of dry yeast
2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 tablespoon salt
2 cups hot water (120-130 degrees F.)

A cake pan of hot water

Mix 3 cups of the flour with the yeast, sugar and salt. Pour in the hot water
and beat 100 strokes (or 3 minutes with a mixer).

Stir in the remaining flour until the dough loses its stickiness. Turn onto a
floured surface. Knead for 8 minutes.

Place dough in a greased bowl and cover with a warm damp cloth. Let rise
for 15 minutes in a warm spot (away from drafts).

Punch down and divide the dough into two pieces. Shape into round loaves
and place on a greased baking sheet. Cut an "X" one-half inch deep in each of
the loaves with a wet sharp knife.

Place baking sheet with loaves in the middle of a COLD oven. Place a pan of
hot water on the lowest shelf. Heat the oven to 400 degrees and bake 40-50
minutes until golden brown.

Creamy Asparagus Soup

With weather like we had this weekend (cold and icky) soup is the answer to everything! And a healthy comfort soup is the BEST!

And, as I mention on almost all my recipes, this one is totally re-arrangeable! If you want a creamier white soup - do potatoes and cauliflower.


Ingredients

10-12 Golden Potatoes
2 bunches Asparagus
1 chopped Onion
2 Handfuls of fresh Spinach
1 Cup Fresh Cilantro
Olive Oil
Garlic
Lemon Juice
Salt
Pepper
4 Cans Vegetable Broth = 1/2 Cans Water
Heavy Cream
Thyme
Italian Seasoning

Easy Peasy. Add peeled potatoes to pot with vegetable broth, 1 - 2 tbs olive oil, seasonings of your choice (thyme, italian seasonings, salt, pepper and Tony Chachere's) and boil until potatoes are tender.

Then add asparagus and boil until they are tender.

Then turn off heat, and add two bunches of cilantro and spinach, cover and let wilt.

Set up the blender station. Pot of soup on the left, blnder in the middle and empty pot for blended soup on the right. Transfer with measuring cup or ladle into the blender.

*BLENDER WARNING*

For blending hot soups, make sure you have a glass blender pitcher. Fill the blender only halfway with hot soup and do not seal the lid on completely. You want to let some of the steam escape, or the lid will blow clean on and burn you. I know from experience. For extra precaution, while the lid is tilted on top, cover with a hand towel then hold it with your hand.

So, continue the process of ladling to blender, then pouring into your other pot until all the soup is blended. Replace to stove top and heat on low to medium. At this time you want to add the heavy cream and lemon juice. Add as much or as little as you want. It's all taste. But you can start at 1/2 cream and 4 tbs of lemon juice.

Then simply heat through, taste for seasonings and serve!

For a 'fancy' way to serve, put a spoonful of heavy cream on top of your soup surrounded by a ring of olive oil, then make designs with a toothpick!