Red and White Baby Room

Today we exercised,  went to the bank,
went to Target, cleaned up the house.
and today Taylor's Aunt comes to visit.

So, since we cleaned, I videoed!
(it's kinda long, so it takes a sec to load... patience)

Incredible-Lee She's Here!

Taylor Lee Hickle
has decided that this week was her week!
She has deemed December 22 as her birthday!

She arrived at 3:23am after a relatively quick delivery
and weighed in at 7lbs 12oz
with a "height" of 19.5 in

Look how PRIM and PROPER she already is!
Such great manners
folding her hands
as she praises Jesus for His arms of protection!

First Moments with Daddy: Priceless


Merry Christmas to you!

Swedish Hamballs

Food is on my brain.
I got my Glucose Test Results today
at my regular OB doc appt,
and my sugar was just high enough
that the doc asked me to
come back for the extensive three hour test
where you have to follow a strict diet for three days prior
and then fast for 10 hours before the test,
and then drink TWICE the amount of glucose yuckiness.
Ugh!
I feel bummed,
and kinda stunned,
and really REALLY hope I don't
have gestational diabetes!
(Update: I do!)

In many ways I feel silly
feeling bummed about something
that's merely inconvenient
and isn't bringing potential harm to
our babe or to me.

Anyway....
Onto happier subjects...

I had a few requests
for the Swedish Ham Balls Recipe
since I so eloquently
described the yumminess
that is ham, pork, vinegar, and brown sugar
in my family blog the other day!

So here ya go...
(My recipe book my Mom made for me
says it's from her friend, Carol Snell,
and I wonder where she got it from)

SWEDISH HAMBALLS
from Aunt Carol Snell

In a metal or glass bowl:1 lb. Ground pork
1 lb. Ground ham
(I have to grind it myself in my food processor
b/c our deli doesn't have a grinder
they can use on cured meats)1 cup dry bread crumbs
1 egg, well beaten
1/2 cup milk

Roll this meat mixture into small balls.
I got 75 from the one recipe,
because I like to make them bite size.
You can freeze them if you like,
in a big ziploc laying flat in your freezer
or if cooking now,
place in unheated crock pot.

In mixing bowl:
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/4 cup water

Pour sauce over hamballs
in the crockpot.
Cook on high.
After one hour, flip them over.
From time to time baste the hamballs
(or "shake" the crockpot
to make the liquid
cover the tops of the hamballs)

Cook for three hours or even more.

Sauce will thicken as it cools.
Serve along side scalloped potatoes.
(I like to serve it with cooked spinach
with a little vinegar and salt)

And there you have it.
Nine ingredients, and a very complex flavor!
Also yummy as an appetizer or party finger food.

Enjoy!!

Celebratin' Tam

I threw a bridal shower for a friend on Sat.
We had a small number of girls,
which seemed to be just perfect
for an "intimates" shower.
We had a good time,
mostly just chatting and
letting girls catch up with each other,
and then a few activities
that turned our attention
to celebrating the Bride.

I had help from another church friend,
as we put the party together,
and she hosted it at her home,
and we had a wonderful array of
food and beverages.
Her husband made sangria,
and we had
Italian Bruschetta,
Cream Cheese rolled in Prosciutto,
Tortilla Pinwheels with Kalamata Olives,
Artichoke Dip with Tortilla Chips,

And I made
Lemon Cream Stuffed Grapes
and
Chocolate Cream Stuffed Strawberries

Being pregnant
I wanted "least" prep
for "maximum" effect!

I got ready-made
JELLO choc. pudding.
I whisked it together
with about 1/2 c. Cool Whip.

I cut an X into each strawberry.
I piped the pudding into the strawberries,
garnished with grated Hershey's Milk Chocolate Bar
and that was it!

Around the outside you can see the lemon creamed grapes.
I'm not positive I remember what I did,
but it was something with
Cream Cheese,
Cool Whip,
Lemon Zest,
Minced Mint Leaves,
piped into an X on sweet red grapes.
Also yummy,
but the strawberries were to die for!

For Dessert I made my mom's Danish Pastry
in the shape of a wedding cake
using Tamra's Wedding Colors,
Yellow and Gray.

Hostess, Bride, and Me, the Pregnant MoH.
Fun that we actually matched!
We had a great time,
and I got several comments
from the attendees that it was just fun
that the shower was so laid back
and chill with good food.
Good feedback, if I do say so myself =).

Cherry Muffins

We made a very yummy breakfast this morning.
My mother-in-law sent us two jars of her home-canned cherries
on our anniversary,
and these are some of our favorite things.
We eat them straight out of the jar, with a spoon!
I also have enjoyed experimenting with baking
and using some of her cherries.
The flavor is fantastic!

So...
I created
Cherry Muffins
In blender
(we use our magic bullet):

1 egg
1 Tbsp oil
1/4 c white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1/3 c. milk
Cream these together.
1 c. Bisquik mix
I add it little by little,
mixing as I go.

3 tsp cherry syrup
about 10 cherries pitted, roughly chopped
(I think if you wanted to use fresh cherries
you could do it,
and just add some white grape juice instead of syrup
and an extra Tbsp of sugar)
Add these straight to the batter
and turn on the blender.
It will turn purple.
So pretty!

Pour batter into greased muffin cups.
Top each muffin cup with three pieces of cherry.

Bake at 400 degrees
13 minutes or until knife comes out clean.

Enjoy!
Mmmmm!

Chimichurri Steak & Alfredo

Last night we made Chimichurri
(from my mom's amazing recipe
which she got from The Columbus Steakhouse in Ecuador)
on steak skewers with grilled bell pepper and purple onion

We ate, it was yum.
But I was wondering what to do with the left overs.
The meat that we bought was on MAJOR sale
at the grocery store yesterday.
It's a Top Round London Broil
or something like that,
and then I cubed it, marinated it in the chimi
and then we grilled it a few hours later.
While it was tastey, it was a little chewy,
and didn't have a great "meat" flavor,
so hoped for inspiration
with the leftovers for lunch.

Inspiration came!

I created
Chimi AlfredoI do wish I had a few other ingredients on hand.
If doing it over again, I would hope to have fresh Parmesan cheese to add,
and cream instead of milk.
Also, just beware, that my portion
was just barely enough for two people,
as I was making it with leftovers.

Chimi-Alfredo
In pot:Boil Water for
enough bow tie pasta
for two portions
After boiling, add generous salt.
Add pasta.
Drain when done.

In deep frying pan:
1 Tbsp butter
1/4 purple onion, chopped
Saute for a few minutes.(I used the leftover grilled ones)

1/2 c. white wine
2 Tbsp Chimichurri sauce
Let simmer and reduce to about half.
3 Tbsp ricotta cheese
salt and pepper
3 Tbsp milk (I would like to use cream)
large handful cubed leftover steak
1/4 red pepper, sliced
Whisk together. Bring to a simmer.
Let simmer for a few minutes,
frequently whisking together.

1/4 c. sour cream
(add fresh parmesean now if you have it)
Whisk together again. Heat until bubbling.
Let thicken for two minutes.
Add cooked pasta. Simmer two more minutes.
Serve with lots of bread to soak up the sauce.
I am sure you can imagine
that the Parm and cream would
add a bit of decadence,
but it was quite a tasty leftover meal!
I've seen some Alfredo sauces
use mozzarella in their mix as well,
and that would probably add richness too.

**side note**
This is obviously not a
"watch your waistline" meal
but what alfredo sauce is?**end side note**

Just in cases you want,
here's the recipe our family uses for

ChimiChurri(a la Columbus Steakhouse, Quito, Ecuador)

1/2 c "large leaf" dried oregano leaves
(we get these
in South America-
haven't seen them
yet Stateside)
1/4 c dried, crushed oregano
(like what you
buy off the
spice rack)
1 clove finely chopped garlic
(or 1 tsp jarred
garlic paste)
1/4 very finely chopped red onion
2 tsp salt (you want it salty)
1 c. cooking oil (corn oil, vegetable oil, etc)

It makes a little over 2 cups of Chimi.
I keep mine for several days
(if it lasts us that long... we really like it!)
and we eat it on bread a LOT.
I like it when it's sat together
for about 3 hours or more,
but it's very tasty if you have to
make and eat right away.

Creamy Mushroom Enchiladas

Creamy Mushroom Enchiladas

I had mushrooms in the fridge that needed to be eaten,
and I quickly formed a plan on how to use them.
Synthesizing several recipes given to me over the years,
I put together a recipe I'd like to share. Mmm.

I started by lightly sauteeing Mushrooms in margarine
(I use "I Can't Believe It's Not Butter")
With Green Onions and Black Pepper
(no salt needed)

In a bowl I mixed 1/4 c. sourcream
with 1/2 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes, chopped,
and one can drained green chiles.

Then I warmed white corn tortillas in the micro.

I set the other 1/2 can Italian Stewed Tomatoes aside,
and poured shredded MexiCheese into a bowl.

Now to assemble:
In a Pam-sprayed casserole dish
I put three spoonfuls of mushroom,
one spoonful of chopped stewed tomatoes,
one large spoonful green chile mixture,
about 1 Tbsp of shredded cheese
and rolled them together.

Once all tortillas had been filled
I poured the remaining green chile mixture over top,
smothered in cheese,
and topped with bits of the chopped tomatoes.

Seriously fantastic,
served with sour cream!!

So if you decide to have a veggie meal some night
they were FANTASTIC.

(and no--
my husband does not eat mushrooms.
I made his enchiladas with chicken.
He said they were good too,
but I did not photograph those...)

Egg Nog Pancakes

A Snowy White Christmas

• 
  

  Well, we're in Montana

  And much like the rest of the Northern states

  We are COVERED in snow!

  It's gorgeous

  and now I can much appreciate it, 

  as we are finally here!

  
  

  We drove this year

  from Los Angeles

  and only 2 hours north of L.A.

  we began to hit snow!!

  Here are cactus in their winterwonderland:

   

  
  

  And since we're here in our warm home

  watching it snow ALL DAY

  (literally! It's not supposed to stop ALL DAY!)

  I thought I'd try Inga and Kelley's Choco-Mint Cookies.

   

  
  

  They are a hit!

  Everyone is thoroughly enjoying!

  Thanks for the recipe, Kelley!

  
  

  When we stopped in Utah to have breakfast with friends

  on our way home, I received a precious lil' gift

  from William Sonoma! Looky Looky!

   

  
  

  It was a Rudolph, Santa and Frosty pancake mold pack!

  They're so cute!

  And we made EGG NOG pancakes...

  Quite yum!

  
  

  We got the recipe from a coffee table book:

  Southern Living: Christmas Cookbook

  
  

  Eggnog Pancakes

  Prep: 15 min     Cook: 10 min.

  
  

  1 1/3 c. all-purpose flour

  1/4 c. sugar

  1 tsp. baking soda

  1/2 tsp. salt

  1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg

  1/8 tsp. ground cloves

  1 1/2 c. refridgerated eggnog

  1 large egg, beaten

  1 Tbsp. veg. oil

  
  

  Combine first 6 ingredients in a large bowl.

  Combine eggnog, eggs, and oil in another bowl;

  add to flour mixture, stirring just until dry ingredients are moistened.

  
  

  Pour about 1/3 c. batter for each pancake.

  Cook pancakes like you do any other pancakes!

  
  

  Anyway...

  They really were good! We each only ate one- as I used about 2/3 c.

  to make them big enough to fill the Christmas molds.

  With a touch of maple syrup they were fantastic!

  
  

  Alrighty...

  Well I'm off to eat a cookie

  and see if I can help with prep for the coming festivities.

Slow Cooker Roast Marinade/Sauce

Tri-tip roasts were onsale from 6.99 per lb to
ONLY 2.99 PER POUND!
So I got a big ole' tri-tip roast
trimmed the fat
and then decided I would mix and match
between a few meat marinade recipes I have.

I browned the meat in a frying pan.
While it browned I preheated the crock pot.
When it was browned on both sides I peppered both sides
and put it in the hot crock pot.

In the pan with the browned scrapings
I added a little light-tasting olive oil
and put in a whole pack of frozen pearl onions.
Once those had begun to sizzle
I added a pack of baby carrots.
I let those cook down
and got the onions thawed.
I added one clove of minced garlic, and
I dumped all that onto the meat in the pot.

Then in the same pan I added a lil' more olive oil,
and cooked up some baby golden potatoes.
I added quite a bit of salt, and let them
begin to cook up, on low heat.

While those cooked up
I made the marinade/sauce:
3/4 c Red Wine
4 Tbsp Molasses
2 Tbsp fresh grated ginger
1 tsp curry powder
2 Tbsp soy sauce
1/2 pack of Onion Soup Mix
I whisked it all together
poured it over the veggies and meat
in the crock pot.
I stirred up the potatoes,
and then put them in the crock pot too.

I left the crock pot on high for 3 hours.

Then just before it was time to eat
I spooned out all the potatoes
poured the second 1/2 of the Onion Soup Mix
on them, tossed them in the powder
and broiled them for 3 minutes.

YES FRIENDS IT WAS QUITE SIMPLE
and it was SO YUMMY!

Leftovers for Dinner

All there was in the fridge was some frozen veggies, eggs & bacon...

Here's what I came up with for dinner:

I sauteed onions and spinach in olive oil.
I sprinkled plenty salt.
I ground a lot of black pepper.
I poured in big spoonful of thyme.
I added hashbrowns.
I browned the veggies.
I cut and added the bacon.
I preheated the oven to 400 degrees
In a separate bowl I whisked the eggs.
I combined that with worchestershire sauce.
I placed the cooked veggies in a pie pan.
I douced that with the whisked egg mixture.
I stirred quickly before egg began to heat.
I waited while it cooked for 20 minutes.
I covered it in cheese.
I cooked it another 10 minutes.
I served it hot.

So it turned out okay.
Just a little dry.
I think it'd be better if I had 6 eggs...
Anyway- had really good flavor.

Anyone notice that I used all different verbs for the recipe?
It was fun to think of all of them!
Ha ha!