Emma's Drawings

Self-portrait







A bee, sniffing a flower










Birds, going in a birdhouse








Family portrait: back row--Mommy and Daddy; front row--Lily and Emma

Artist in Training

Emma received this easel for her birthday. She LOVES to paint and draw!

Chicken Enchiladas (& Chicken Soup Recipe)

Prep time: about 30 minutes / Bake time: 30-40

Ingredients:
1 package (8 oz) cream cheese, softened
2 Tbl water
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cans Fri-Chik (diced)
16 flour tortillas (6 inches) room temperature
1/2 recipe "Chicken" Soup (recipe follows)
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
1/2 cup milk
1 cup (8 oz) shredded cheddar cheese

Directions:
In a large mixing bowl, beat the cream cheese, water, salt and pepper until smooth. Stir in Fri-Chik.

Place 1/4 cup down the center of each tortilla. Roll up and place seam side down in a greased 13x9 baking dish. In a bowl, combine the soup, sour cream and milk; pour over enchiladas.

Bake uncovered at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes or until heated through. Sprinkle with cheddar cheese; bake 5 minutes longer or until cheese is melted. Yield: 8 servings.

"Chicken" Soup
Ingredients:
1/2 cup thinly sliced onions
1/4 cup melted margarine
1/2 cup flour
2 Tbl McKay's chicken seasoning
2 cups hot water
1 cup canned evaporated milk
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp poultry seasoning

Directions:
Cook onions over low heat in melted margarine. Cook until onions are clear. Stir in flour. Dissolve McKay's chicken seasoning in hot water. Add broth to onion and flour mixture--stirring well. Add evaporated milk, salt, and poultry seasoning. Cook until thick. (Makes more than you need to equal 1 can of soup.)

Pinwheels

If you've been to our house for a birthday party, you know we make pinwheels. These are so easy to make--and gobbled up quick!

Ingredients:
1/2 cup diced Morningstar Farms "sausage" links
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella cheese
1/4 tsp. dried oregano
1 egg
1 tube (8 oz) refrigerated crescent rolls

Directions:
In a bowl, combine sausage, cheese, oregano and egg. Separate crescent dough into four rectangles; seal perforations. Spread sausage mixture over each rectangle to within 1/4" of edges. Roll up jelly-roll style; pinch seams to seal. Cut each into slices.

Place cut side down on greased baking sheets. Bake at 375 degrees for 12-15 minutes or until golden brown. Serve warm. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 2 dozen.

For extra pizzazz, serve with your favorite pizza sauce, marinara sauce, ranch salad dressing, or honey mustard sauce for dipping.

Last Few

5 Year Photo Shoot

More Party Fun

Hello Kitty Party

Emma's Birthday

Christmas Dresses

Fri-Chik and Tomato Risotto

Ingredients:
3 cups hot water
3 tsp. McKay's chicken seasoning
1 can Fri-Chik, cut into 1-inch cubes
6 oz. can mushrooms
1 medium onion, chopped
1 garlic clove, minced
2 Tbls butter
1 cup uncooked arborio rice
1 cup Ragu six cheese spaghetti sauce
1/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Add McKay's chicken seasoning to water; set aside. In a large skillet, saute the mushrooms, onion and garlic in butter until crisp-tender. Add rice; cook and stir for 3 minutes. Carefully stir in 1 cup warm broth. Cook and stir until all of the liquid is absorbed.

Add remaining broth, 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly. Allow the liquid to absorb between additions. Cook until risotto is creamy and rice is almost tender. (Cooking time is about 20 minutes.)

Stir in the spaghetti sauce, cheese and Fri-Chik; cook and stir until thickened. Serve immediately. Yield: 4 servings.

Apple Pancakes with Cider Syrup

I decided after 5 years of blogging about the kids, I would add some recipes to the site! These are just good ones we've found over the years. This is what we had this morning.

Ingredients:
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 cup whole wheat flour
4 tsp sugar
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 cup applesauce
1 1/3 cups buttermilk
1 whole egg
4 tsp butter, melted
1/2 tsp vanilla extract

Syrup:
1/4 cup sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
2/3 cup apple juice
1 cinnamon stick
dash gound nutmeg

Directions:
In a small bowl, combine the first 6 ingredients; set aside. Combine the buttermilk, egg, butter applesauce and vanilla; stir into dry ingredients.

Pour by heaping 1/4 cupfuls onto a hot griddle coated with cooking spray; turn when bubbles form on top. Cook until the second side is lightly browned.

Meanwhile, in a small saucepan, combine the sugar, cornstarch and cider until smooth; add cinnamon stick. Bring to a boil over medium heat; cook and stir for 2 minutes or until thickened. Discard cinnamon stick. Stir nutmeg into syrup. Serve pancakes with warm syrup and additional butter if desired.

More Snow

He just loves me taking pictures of him! :)










Check out the leaf for a nose!

Happy New Year!

Family Time

We've enjoyed Christmas, spending special time with loved ones. The girls love dressing up, regardless of the weather, or holiday!