No more 3 year olds!

One of my favorite ages (so far) has been 1.5 - 3 years old . . . I love hearing their ideas and discoveries and their general enthusiasm for life at this age.  So, this week the baby turned 4 and I will never have a 3 year old again!  While that did make me sad for a little while, we had a weekend away with the girls and I can honestly say they are a lot of fun (even after 3 years old!) and my favorite people to be around!

Here are some photos of Little and a couple of recent stories.  The other day she asked me, "I know that babies come from the belly, but where do grown ups come from?"  I thought I explained it pretty well (that babies grow into kids who grow into big kids who become grown ups) but then at my mom's  house, she still wasn't sure where they come from.  My mom used some of my old photos as a baby and kid to help out.

For the last week or so, she's asked  us to call her "the birthday girl" instead of her name and on her actual birthday, wanted me to tell everyone we met that it was her birthday that day.  We hung out with one of her uncles who she doesn't see often and later said that "seeing her uncle" was the best part of her birthday.  She loves being fancy, taking care of her dolls, and the movie Frozen.  She is an amazing eater and often cleans her plate before her sisters do.  When she grows up, she wants to be "a mermaid, a fairy, a police officer or a hair saloner."  She knows how to spell her name and is often on the lookout (on signs when we drive in the car or in books we read) for the letters in her name.

We love you 4-year-old Mini!

She did not make this snowman but wanted her picture taken with it "like Olaf!"

Look!  It's love!

Future occupation - fairy

Happy Birthday to Me!

 

My birthday is the day before Valentine's Day and I often make myself a cake.  We had friends over for dinner on Friday night, so I did it early to celebrate with them.  It was a big hit - little kept telling me "you should always make this cake" or  asking "when will you make this cake again?" and ate most of the leftovers herself!  We have meyer lemons on our trees and if you have access to a few fresh lemons, chances are, you also have the rest of these ingredients on hand.  You could even pull this off for Valentine's Day today!  Don't skip the lemon syrup at the end!

How cute is my new spatula?!?

Lemon Bundt Cake
from Martha Stewart

For the cake:
2 sticks unsalted butter, room temperature
3 c. all purpose flour
2 T finely grated lemon zest (from 2 lemons)
1/3 cup fresh lemon juice
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
2 1/2 cups sugar
6 large eggs
1 cup sour cream

For the lemon syrup:
1/2 cup lemon juice
1/2 cup sugar

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Spray bundt pan with baking spray (or coat with butter and flour).  In a medium bowl, whisk together flour, lemon zest, baking soda, and salt.

In the bowl of a mixer, beat butter and sugar on medium high until light and fluffy (4-5 minutes).  Add eggs one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Mix in the lemon juice.

With mixer on low, alternate adding the flour mixture and sour cream (beginning and ending with flour mixture) until blended but do not overmix.  Spoon batter into prepared pan.  Smooth the top with a spatula and tap the pan on the counter to level the batter.

Bake until a tester in the center comes out clean (50-60 minutes).  My cake got pretty brown in the first 30 minutes so I tented the top with aluminum foil for the rest of the time.

Make lemon syrup by combining the lemon juice and sugar in a small sauce pan.  Whisk it over low heat until the sugar is dissolved.  Let cool to room temperature.

Cool the cake in the pan for 20 minutes and then turn out on a rack to cool completely.  Poke holes all over the cooled cake and brush with lemon syrup.  If it won't absorb it all, let it sit for about 20 minutes and continue to brush with the rest of the syrup.

Green bean & Chicken Skillet

I had to apologize to my family for not doing much "real cooking" on weeknights lately.  The combination of working and the kids' afternoon/evening sports has made me rely on grilled cheese, soups that I make on the weekend and reheat, salads, rotisserie chicken, tacos - you get the picture.  I made this recently and it was a hit - easy and quick, healthy, bacon . . . need I say more?  I made some rice pilaf (from a box) to go with it.

I liked the flavor with 1/2 cup of Sauvignon blanc, but if you'd prefer to cook without wine (or to drink it instead of cook with it!), substitute that for more broth.  In a lot of grocery stores, you can buy chicken breast cutlets or you could take 1 pound of boneless, skinless chicken breasts and cut them lengthwise into cutlets yourself.  


Green bean & Chicken Skillet Dinner (4 servings)

from Skinny Taste blog

4 strips center cut bacon, chopped
1 pound boneless skinless chicken breast cutlets
2 T shallots, minced
2 cloves garlic, minced
3/4 cup chicken broth
1/2 cup white wine (or you can do all broth)
1 tsp chopped fresh thyme
1 tsp chopped fresh rosemary
8 oz green beans (I like the french green beans, or haricot vert)

Heat a large nonstick skillet over medium heat.  Add the bacon and cook until crisp, stirring often.  Remove with a slotted spoon and transfer to a paper towel lined plate.  Discard all but a very thin coating of the bacon grease.

Season chicken with salt and pepper (both sides) and saute until just cooked through, about 4 minutes per side.  I had to do this in two batches.  Transfer to a plate and tent with foil.

Add the shallots to the empty skillet and saute for 1 minute.  Add a little olive oil if needed.  Add the garlic and saute for 30 seconds more.  Add the broth, wine, thyme and rosemary and scrape up any of the brown bits in the pan.  Increase the heat to medium high and add the green beans.  Bring to a boil and cook until the green beans are tender and the pan sauce has reduced, about 6-8 minutes stirring occasionally.

Transfer chicken and green beans to a serving platter (or plate them individually as entrees) and sprinkle the green beans with salt and pepper.  Pour any chicken juice from the plate back into the pan sauce and stir.  Spoon the sauce over the chicken and green beans and top with bacon.

(3sp/211cal)