Personalized wine glasses

Now we are off to tell Stacy that she gets to be an AUNTIE!!  I get butterflies in my stomach every time we get to tell someone - so excited :)  We had my sisters friend make these wine glasses for us - so Ross' rents had us all over for dinner, so we got there early and just set the glasses on the table....we waited until Stacy / Jody realized it - and all of a sudden Stacy said "Really??" - then I looked at her and said "what" - and she said "You're Pregnant!!?"  ahhhh YAY - they were so excited!  So fun to tell :)

Let me know if you want to contact the person who makes these - I have her # but didn't feel I could put on my blog until I cleared with her first :)

Homemade Fortune Cookies

It's FINALLY time to tell my siblings / nieces and nephews that we are pregnant!!  I couldn't just come out and tell them, cause come on - that's so boring :)  So I decided to make Homemade Fortune Cookies!  We went up to the cabin this weekend for Memorial Day, and being that I am always trying new recipes out on the fam - they didn't even think twice when I handed them the cookies!

I had put the following fortunes into 4 piles: Aunt, Uncle, G-Rent, Cousin

I foresee a small addition to the family - cute, cuddly, and SODAHL.  Congrats, you will be the best xxx(aunt, uncle, G-rent, cousin)  to Baby Sodahl.  On back of fortune  - Lucky #s 12 20 2012

It was so awesome watching them all open their cookies and then read their fortunes!  AHHHH they were super excited and happy!!  Lots of love coming to Baby Sodahl :)

Makes 24 cookies - OBB

Ingredients:

1/2 cup flour- If you have bread flour, use it.

1/2 cup sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla- or sometimes I use 1/2 almond 1/2 vanilla

2 egg whites

Place all ingredients in a food processor and blend to combine. Place in a container and chill 1 hour.


Preheat oven to 400°.


Spray a baking sheet with cooking spray. Spoon 1 teaspoon batter onto baking sheet - and make them form a circle.  I did 3 at a time - easier to manage when taking off.


Bake at 400° for 5-6 minutes or until the cookies are brown just around the edges and a little toward the centers. Remove from the oven. Let sit for a few seconds before removing from pan. (and we are talking seconds...) Working quickly, loosen edges of cookies with a spatula, and turn over.




Place fortune along the center of 1 cookie. Fold cookie over so the edges meet ; press edges together. Gently pull the ends of the cookie down over the rim of a small bowl (or jar); hold for a few seconds or until set. Repeat procedure with remaining cookies.

I bought these cutie take out boxes at Target - figured they were perfect to store the cookies in :)

Homemade Popurri

We have to make some room for Baby Sodahl - so I figured it was time to clear out my dried flowers....a sad day for this girl :(  I couldn't just throw away those memories (yes, I can actually remember why I rec'd them all!) - so I decided to make homemade popurri from them!

Supplies:
Dried flowers
Mason jar
Lilac and Sandalwood oil (I got these from Amazon)




Pick waste like stems and leaves - and separate small, tight buds into 1 pile and single petals into another.

Then throw the single petals into a mason jar - and put a few drops of lilac oil throughout the jar.  Take the tight buds and place them into a mason jar - and put a few drops of the sandalwood oil throughout the jar.  Leave them in the jar for about 2 weeks - then mix the batches together and add a few more drops of whatever oil you want - and stir to mix!

When ready to use - uncap jar and spread mix into a bowl.  Now you have a way to use all those dried flowers :)

Rice Hamburger Casserole

Had Nicole over for dinner tonight, so thought I would try a new recipe - but turns out, this was her little kid favorite!  She was the one pretty much telling me what to put in :)  It was good - and the prep time was quick!

Serves 6

Ingredients:
1 lb hamburger
1 large onion
1 can cream mushroom soup
1 can cream of chicken soup (or just add another can cream of mushroom)
1 can mushrooms
2 cup diced celery
3 tablespoons soy sauce
1 cup rice
2 cup water

Fry meat.  Mix other items together - put in casserole.  Bake at 350 for 1 1/2 hours.....DONE!

Taco Soup

Happy belated Cinco de Mayo!!  We figured it was technically still "Cinco de Mayo Month", so we could still have a festive meal :)  We had quite the menu tonight: Mojitos, Roasted Tomatillo Salsa, Mexican Sweet Corn Cake and this soup!  It was all so good!!  This soup was pretty much "chili", but it was a new recipe and it tasted great!  Couldn't have been easier to fix either....just throw all the stuff in the pot and heat!

Makes 10-12 servings: OBB

Ingredients:

1 lb extra lean ground beef (93% lean or or leaner)

1 onion, chopped
4-5 cloves garlic, minced
1.25-oz. packet taco seasoning (about 1/4 cup)
3 cups water, divided
2 (28-oz) cans diced tomatoes
15-oz can tomato sauce
2 (15-oz) cans kidney beans, rinsed and drained

1 can corn, drained

Toppings: light sour cream, shredded cheese

Heat a large soup pot over medium. When ready, brown the ground beef with the onion and garlic. When almost brown, add the taco seasoning and 1 c. water. Add the remaining ingredients, including the remaining 2 cups water, bring to a medium boil, then, cover and reduce heat. Simmer for at least 15 minutes. Serve with desired toppings. 

Mexican Sweet Corn Cake

So we made corn bread with corn....it was good - but ours came out in crumbles instead of pieces :)  Could be because I used baking SODA instead of baking POWDER - and apparently, those are different and shouldn't be used in place of one another :)  Could be why ours was a little runny....We made this with Taco Soup and they went really good together!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup butter, softened (use real butter, not margarine)
1/3 cup masa harina
1/4 cup water
1/4 cup corn meal
1/3 cup sugar
1/4 teaspoon table salt
1/2 teaspoon baking powder
2 tablespoons milk or cream
1 1/2 cups fresh frozen corn

Preheat oven to 350.

Combine butter, masa harina, and milk in a medium sized bowl and beat until creamy.

Add corn meal, sugar, salt, and baking powder on top of the creamed butter mixture and use a fork or whisk to lightly whisk just the dry ingredients together.  Beat the entire mixture until smooth.  Place corn in food processor (I leave mine frozen) and pulse until roughly broken up.  Add water and corn to bowl and mix until combined.

Spread mixture in an ungreased 8×8 inch pan and top with foil.  Place 8×8 pan inside a 9×13 inch pan and place both pans in oven.  Pour hot water in 9×13 inch pan just until it goes about an inch up the sides.  Bake for about 55 minutes.  Remove from oven, uncover, and let sit 10-15 minutes before serving.

Roasted Tomatillo Salsa

Cinco de Mayo cookbook in the house!!  This was very different than your typical salsa, and we kept feeling like it should taste like quac since it kinda looked that way - but it was a really good different!  It had some heat - but didn't last long tonight!  And don't worry if you don't have a food processor....the blender worked just great! (some day I'll get a processor!)

Ingredients:

1 lb tomatillos, husks removed

3-4 cloves garlic, unpeeled

1 small yellow or white onion, peeled and quartered

1 jalapeno pepper, cut in half lengthwise

1 Tablespoon olive oil

3/4 teaspoon kosher salt

1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

1/2 cup chopped cilantro

Juice of 1 lime

1/4-1/3 cup chopped green onions

Chips

Preheat the oven to 500 degrees. Line a baking sheet with aluminum foil and set aside.

After husking the tomatillos, rinse them well in cool water (they can be sticky). Cut the stems and hard portions (if any) off the tomatillos and cut any very large ones in half.

Combine the tomatillos, unpeeled garlic, onion, and the jalapeno on the lined baking sheet. Drizzle with olive oil and toss the ingredients with your hands to make sure they are all well-coated.

Place the baking sheet in the preheated oven and bake for 15 minutes. If the vegetables have not charred, turn the broiler on to high and cook for 3-5 more minutes or until the skins of the peppers and tomatillos begin to turn black. Remove from the oven and allow to cool.

When the vegetables have cooled, carefully squeeze the skin of the roasted garlic, releasing the soft, roasted garlic clove, into the jar of a blender or workbowl of a food processor. Add the remaining roasted vegetables and then add the salt, pepper, and lime juice. Process until the desired consistency is reached and then transfer to a serving dish. Stir in the chopped cilantro and green onions and serve with chips.

Mojitos

So we only had vodka and dark rum in stock at the Sodahls house, so instead of having miss Anna buy a whole bottle for 1 drink - we just decided tot make these virgin motijos :)  They still tasted very refreshing!!  This went really well with our Cinco de Mayo theme! 

Ingredients:

8-10 large mint leaves

1/2 cup sugar

3/4 cup fresh lime juice (about 7 small limes)**a tip - buy a juicer! haha or a fork worked great too!

24-oz. bottle of sparkling water (like Perrier)

Finely chop the mint leaves. Place the chopped mint leaves in a bowl or non-reactive pitcher and press them with a pestle or the back of a spoon to release the oils. Add the sugar and press the mint leaves and sugar together with the back of a spoon. Add the lime juice and stir until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.

If you haven’t been mixing the mint and sugar in a pitcher, transfer to a glass or plastic pitcher. Right before serving, add the sparkling water and serve immediately over ice. Garnish with lime slices and mint leaves.

Crock pot Beef Stroganoff

Rossy was at the cabin for guys weekend - and I had a busy Sunday, so this was perfect to start this am - and have ready when we both got home!!  Rossy thought it was better than our typical Stroganoff - I think it was a toss up....both were pretty dang good!  This was just so easy :)

Recipe per day

Ingredients:
1 cup beef stock
10.7 can cream of mushroom soup
1 medium onion, diced
1 teaspoon garlic powder
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
2 lbs round steak, cut into strips
2 tablespoons oil
8oz cream cheese
1 lb pasta, cooked

Brown beef in oil in skillet.

Put in crock pot and add stock, soup, onion, garlic, and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook and cover 7-8 hours on low.

Before serving stir in cream cheese and heat until warm (about 15 minutes).  Serve over cooked noodles of your choice.

Stromboli Sandwiches

We brought dinner over to the Sodahls today, and figured we would try out a new recipe.  Wasn't sure what "Stromboli sandwiches" were - but they are very Italian and very good!  A little messy - but yummy in your tummy!!  We made this meal even more delicious by having Cheesy Potatoes as the side!

Recipe a day calendar

Ingredients:
1 lb ground beef
1 tablespoon onion, chopped
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/2 cup ketchup
2 tablespoons Parmesan cheese
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/4 teaspoon oregano
Mozzarella cheese slices
6 kaiser rolls

Preheat oven to 350.

Brown beef and onions.  Drain - add tomato sauce, ketchup, Parmesan cheese, garlic powder, and oregano.  Cook for 10 minutes.

Split buns and spread mixture over.  Layer with mozzarella cheese.  Wrap each in aluminum foil - and bake for 15 minutes.

Pizza Hotdish

I have been SLACKING on new recipes!!  This girl is PREGO (YAY!!) - so I have had ZERO motivation for making dinner or even eating dinner!!  Check back in June - cause I will be in my second trimester and hopefully will want something besides Popsicles :)  Anyways, it was just me tonight cause Ross was offsite - so this was really easy to make.....and was really good for Rossy to eat when he got home!  Do it up!

Ingredients:
2 cups creamette noodles
1 egg
1/3 cup milk
1 lb hamburger
1 white onion, chopped
1 teaspoon oregano
Small jar Ragou sauce
Small jar of mushrooms
Shredded mozzarella cheese

Cook noodles.  Beat 1 egg and 1/3 cup milk - mix with cooked noodles.  Put in buttered 9x13 pan.

Brown hamburger with onion - and add 1 teaspoon oregano.  Stir good.  I also thought it would be good to add some mushrooms to this part - make it more pizza like!

Add Ragou sauce over the top - and then pour mixture on top of the noodles.  Top with Mozzarella cheese.  Bake at 350 for 1/2 hour.

Lemon-Garlic Herb Rubbed Chicken

Ok - so FINALLY we are both home - it's nice out - and we had time to make an AWESOME meal!!  We had this with brown rice and Veggie Kabobs - and it was soooooo goood!!!!

Ingredients:
1 1/2 tablespoons finely minced or pressed garlic
1 large or 2 small lemons, zested and juiced
1/3-1/2 cup minced fresh herbs, preferably a combo of basil, rosemary, and oregano
1 teaspoon kosher salt
1/4 teaspoon black pepper
4-6 tablespoons (or more) extra virgin olive oil
1 1/2-2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts*
*also great on fish and grilled vegetables

Combine garlic, lemon zest, lemon juice, herbs, salt and pepper.  Add olive oil until mixture comes together like a thick sauce.  If you have a mini food processor, you can blend the mixture until it becomes the consistency of a chunky pesto.  Rub mixture over chicken and/or vegetables and let sit for 20-30 minutes.

When ready to cook, preheat outdoor grill or indoor grill pan.  Cook a few minutes on each side, turning only once, until done (Internal temp should be about 165 degrees).

Menu for the week

Ahhhhhh I'm sorry!!!  The last 2 weeks have been crazy busy with work for me - but I swear, we are still cooking and eating :)  I've gotten lots of people asking me why I haven't been posting - so I figured for those that follow our menu, I could at least share the stuff we have been eating, and hopefully I'll be back to trying new stuff soon :)

Monday, 30th : French Dip Sandwiches
Tuesday, 1st: Greek Turkey Burgers & Green Beans
Friday, 4th: Asian BBQ Chicken & Lime Cilantro Rice


Enjoy :)

WE'RE PREGO dinner :)

So we had G-Rents Sodahls over tonight for what they thought was an "early Mother's day" celebration - but REALLY.....it was to tell them that we are expecting Baby Sodahl on 12/20/2012!!!

We decided to make a feast fit for the BABY news :)  Do you get our theme :)

We started off with BABY smokies for an appetizer.....then for dinner we had BABYback Ribs , BABY carrots, BABY red potatoes, and a "bun in the oven" :)

We didn't even make it to dinner till we were dying to tell them our good news - so we had wrapped up what G-Ma Barb thought was her Mother's Day gift - but that was how they found out the good news!!

Prego May Day Basket

So the MINUTE I found out I was pregnant, I knew exactly how I wanted to tell my parents!  I HAD to make them a May Day Basket!!  We've been celebrating this "holiday" since I was a little kid - so decided it was the perfect way to let the tradition live on.

We filled a basket with the stuff below - and rang out parents door bell at 5am.  They both were so shocked and so excited - it was AWESOME :)