Wordless Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday

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Sauted Green Beans with Cranberries and Pecans

Ingredients:

2/3 cup (about 3 ounces) dried cranberries

1-1/4 cups fresh orange juice

2/3 cup (2 ounces) toasted pecans

3/4 pound sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 1/4-inch dice

1/4 cup maple syrup

1/2 teaspoon plus 1/4 cup kosher salt; more as needed

1/4 teaspoon freshly cracked black pepper; more as needed

1 to 1-1/4 pounds fresh green beans, rinsed well, stem ends trimmed

3 ounces (6 tablespoons) unsalted butter

2 tablespoons finely chopped fresh sage 

 

Instructions:

Step 1: Heat the oven to 350 degrees F. Put the cranberries and 1 cup of the orange juice in a small bowl and let sit at room temperature for at least 30 minutes.

 

Step 2: Increase the oven temperature to 450 degrees F. Toss the diced sweet potato with the maple syrup, the remaining 1/4 cup orange juice, the 1/2 teaspoon salt, and the black pepper. Spread the potato pieces on a rimmed baking sheet, stirring occasionally, until just tender, 10 to 15 minutes. Set aside

Step 3: Meanwhile, bring 4 quart water and the 1/4 cup salt to a boil in an 8-quart pot. Put the beans in the boiling water, stir once or twice to distribute them, and cook until just tender throughout, 4 to 5 minutes, depending on their size and freshness. Drain the beans well in a colander.

Step 4: When ready to serve, strain the cranberries and reserve the juice. Melt the butter in a large (preferably 12-inch) skillet over medium-high heat until bubbling but not browned. Add the chopped sage and let sizzle for just a few seconds, stirring, to flavor the butter and crisp the sage. Add the green beans and spread them out in the pan. Let them cook for 2 to 3 minutes without stirring. Add the cooked sweet potatoes, toasted walnuts, and strained cranberries. Toss all together and cook, stirring occasionally, for 2 minutes more, to let the ingredients warm and their flavors mingle. Add the reserved orange juice, stir well, and cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 1 minute more. Taste and season with salt and pepper as needed. Transfer to a serving dish and serve immediately.

Make Ahead:
You can make this recipe up to 4 hours ahead, stopping after you par-cook the green beans. Plunge the hot green beans into an ice bath to stop the cooking, drain well in a colander, and set aside until ready to proceed with the recipe.

Recipe adapted slightly from the recipe.com website

Wordless Wednesday

School Christmas Party

Twink had her Christmas party at school yesterday and she had so much fun. She was not afraid of Santa and in fact when we entered the room she made a bee line to be front and center. The first picture she was so excited she was jumping up in down in front of him. She turned around to give everyone a big smile as all the kids were trying to find seats. In the second picture she was venturing even closer to him.

The school has sponsers that buy the children gifts every year for Christmas. Twinks teacher wrote us a note and asked us if it would be OK for Santa to bring her a toy fire truck. She explained that there was one in the classroom that Twink has claimed as her own. When another child tries to play with it Lia gets rather upset. I told her that she would like any truck.

This has now become Lia's new favorite obsession! Who knew Santa would get it right. Darn him for ALWAYS getting credit for the best gifts. Oh and have I told you I'm ready to send it back to the North Pole?!?! Just kidding...sort of. Seems Spitfire knows that and Twink totally goes nuts when someone touches it so there have been mega  a few tears over this truck that we've had just barely 24 hours now. If she could have, it would have been tucked away in her bed with her last night! LOL

Be sure to check out my Wordless Wednesday tomorrow, your in for some serious cuteness!

Tasty Tuesday

Chocolate Peppermint Bark

Ingredients:
1 pound dark chocolate chips
1 pound white chocolate chips
1/2 teaspoon peppermint extract
3/4 cup crushed peppermint candies, such as Candy Canes or Starlight mints


Instructions:
Step 1: Line a 13 x 9 inch pan with foil.  Set aside.

Step 2: In top of a double-boiler or in microwave (I used the microwave), melt dark chocolate chips.  Spread into prepared pan.  Refrigerate until JUST ABOUT set, about 15-20 minutes.  The just about part is important as this will help meld your chocolate together.

Step 3: In top of a double boiler or in  microwave, melt white chocolate chips.  Stir in peppermint extract.  Spread on top of dark chocolate.  Sprinkle with crushed peppermint candies.

Step 4: Refrigerate until set, about an hour.  Remove from pan and break into pieces.  Store at room temperature.

Tasty Tuesday

Chinese Chicken Salad

Ingredients:
Dressing:
2 tablespoons brown sugar
2 teaspoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon sesame oil (optional)
¼ cup vegetable oil
3 tablespoons rice vinegar
1 (8ounce) package  rice noodles
1 head iceberg lettuce (rinsed and chopped)
4 boneless skinless chicken breasts halves (cooked and shredded)
1 small can mandarin orange slices (drained)
3 green onions (chopped)
1 tablespoon sesame seeds (toasted)

Cooking Instructions:
Step 1: To make the dressing- In a salad dressing carafe or container combine brown sugar, soy sauce, sesame oil, vegetable oil, and rice vinegar. Shake and mix well (dressing should be prepared a half hour before making the salad)

Step 2: To cook rice noodles- Heat a wok with a few tablespoons of oil. Break off a little bit of the rice noodles and add them to the skillet and fry them (they will puff up so only add a few at a time). As the rice noodles begin to puff up, remove from the wok and drain on paper towels.  Be sure to cook them longer enough because undercooked rice noodles will be very hard to eat.

Step 3: In a large bowl combine iceberg lettuce, cooked chicken, mandarin oranges, green onions and toasted sesame seeds. Let chill for 10 minutes in the refrigerator. Just before serving add the rice noodles. Pour dressing on the salad or allow everyone to put the dressing on their own plates of salad.

(Makes 6 Servings)

Two Years Ago

Two years ago our daughter was living with this beautiful couple above who fostered her and another little girl who also had cerebral palsy.

Two years ago this man brought his daughter to the civil affairs building in Kunming, Yunnan and listened to her morn for him and his wife. Her cries were gut wrenching.

Two years ago our daughter was placed in mine and my husbands arms and our world was forever changed.

Two years ago our daughter life with us began and her life with her foster parents ended. We have been blessed by pictures of her foster parents and we can even correspond with them. In fact we are sending them an update on Twink with new pictures very soon.

Twink came to us as a frightened little girl who wanted nothing to do with us. The fear in her eyes was nothing like I'd ever seen. The cries were so deep that it made the whole room go quite. Although I was extremely happy she was finally with us, the tears I had in my eyes were not of happiness they were of sorrow for what she was going through.

Twink has come along way in two years. She has made many gains that a few doctors and therapists had few hopes for. She is a fighter!

 She is our daughter!

We share her with two other families. One we know nothing about and the other we only know a bit.

She is our daughter!

(Meaning all of OURS)

We are blessed beyond measures to be the forever parents to this little girl. Thank you Lord for trusting us with your gift.

Piggy Back Rides!

Dash has become the master at piggy back rides and the girls love it! You should hear them giggle as he runs around the house. It is quite cute. Both girls adore him and love to play with him. Can't wait to throw Bebo into the mix! :)

Tasty Tuesday

Eggnog Cupcakes

Ingredients:
 1 1/2 cups AP flour
1 1/4 tsp baking powder
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup sugar
1/3 cup softened butter
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 tsp rum extract
3/4 cup eggnog
1 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg

Cooking Instructions:
 
Step 1. Sift together the flour, baking powder, salt, cinnamon, and nutmeg. Set aside.

Step 2. Cream the sugar and butter together until fluffy. Add the eggs, vanilla and rum extract and beat until smooth. Alternate adding the flour mixture and eggnog, beating well with each addition. Continue beating for 1 more minute.

Step 3. Spoon batter evenly into 12 muffin liners and bake at 350 degrees for about 18 minutes until toothpick inserted in center of cupcakes comes out clean. Cool completely before frosting.

Rum Frosting

Ingredients:
2 cups powdered sugar
1/4 cup softened butter
1/4 cup vegetable shortening
1 tsp rum extract
1-2 tbsp eggnog

Instructions:
Beat the powdered sugar, butter, shortening, and rum extract on low speed until blended. Add the eggnog 1 tsp at a time until desired consistency is reached.Wait until cupcakes are cooled completely to frost them.

She's Done!

When we came home from China almost two years ago we had no idea Twink loved her paci! They told us in the Civil Affairs building on adoption day that she liked a nipple but we had no idea what they were talking about. We tried the bottles and different types of pacifiers but she didn't want any of them. Looking back I think she was just plan mad that day. Twink would down bottle after bottle just to comfort herself while in China as we did not have any clue she had a strong desire to suck.

When we returned home we developed the pictures we sent to her orphanage the first thing we noticed was she had a paci in her mouth in almost all of the pictures. Jet lagged we went out to find a paci that looked similar to the bottle nipples we were using. We found some and have being using them ever since. The first couple weeks we were home we let her have them whenever she wanted them. Then we noticed she really only wanted them when she went to sleep. Twink has used her paci to help soothe herself to sleep for the last two years here and probably a year plus in China. As you can see though she has been chewing on them to the point where all I have to do is pull on the tip and it comes off.

She has been paci free for three nights. The first night she cried maybe five minutes but we gave her a silky blanket to love on and she has been fine since. She does "ask" for one but as soon as you give her the blanket and run her hand over it she is fine. Now we had to hide them because her big sister Spitfire has become her best friend and protector. She would search high and low for one and when found give it to her! So today I am throwing all of them away! WooHoo!

Maybe we'll have to tackle potty training soon. LOL