here is another tasty recipe...

here is a great recipe from the cookbook, from Kelly Hollenbeak, she is a fab cook! am always happy that she brings me a meal when I have a baby. She has the best apple pie recipe, which is not in the cookbook. Will ahve to get it from her. she also makes a green salad with olives, red onions, fontina cheese and this great dressing from Zias.com (she is from St.louis where the restaurant is), but you can order it online.

Carver's Salad

1 bag spinach
1 bunch green leaf lettuce
1 bunch red leaf lettuce
1 bag crainsins
1 c. caramelized almonds
1/2 red onion, chopped

dressing:
1 1/2 c. oil
1 1/2 tsp/ salt
1 c. sugar
1/4 c. finely chopped red onion
1 1/2 T. poppy seeds
3/4 c. red wine vinegar
3/4 tsp/ dry vinegar

toss salad ingredients. Add dressing ingredients to a blender, blend until liquid. Shake well before adding to salad.
for almonds: use 1/2 c. sugar and 1 c. slivered almonds. add both to frying pan on med heat. Heat stirring almost constantly until sugar melts and coats almonds. cool on wax paper or cookie sheet.

Is Max allergic to almonds as well as cashews & sunflowers???

cookies

I made some great cookie bars yesterday, they are from our ward cookbook. Here you are Penny:
Missy's Chocolate Chip Bars

3/4 c. melted butter
1 c. white sugar
1 c. brown sugar
3 eggs
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking powder
2 tsp. vanilla
2 c. flour
1 12 oz bag chocolate chips (I used half of each semi-sweet & milk chocolate)

Mix butter & sugars, then add remaining ingredients, then 2/3 of chips and beat together. Fold out into a 10 inch square or 9x13. Sprinkle the remaining chips. Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes until golden brown.

Let cool in the pan for 30-45 minutes before trying to cut them out. I used a stoneware pan and they cooked really nicely!!

We all loved them, except Jakob because he does not like chocolate!

Jakob

APRIL FOOLS

Each year I make a April Fools Dinner, the taco salad wasn't really believeable, but they were not quite sure what it was. The jell-O "soda" fooled them all. I will have to fine something extra clever to get Anna next year since she is getting a bit older and wiser!

a day in the life of a two year old

Sam is very TWO...here are some highlights of the last few days. We are trying to potty train him, which he says "NO, to unders! NO! to toilet! NO! to potty train!!" he says dry all night, dry in his diaper so I am confident he can do it if he just had the desire. He enjoys peeing on the carpet instead of the potty, thinks it is funny the sound it makes peeing on the bathroom floor. he is so naughty!!! So any good advice I'd love, but don't tell me he will do it when he is ready!

to the dark side

Little Nolan has always been such a good baby, sleeping all night almost since birth, no fit throwing, just pretty even tempered....I fear (mostly for my own safety) that he has made the dreaded move and joined his siblings on the "dark side". He now will not sit down for meals, tries to climb out of his crib, yells loudly for no apparent reason. He may have figured out that he can now immitate and is trying to be like his big sisters who are now into fit throwing on an almost daily basis. I just cannot believe he is almost one year old, time really flew by. He is really so sweet, loves his lima beans and yogurt and club crackers. Sorry about the immodest way his sleeper is in the highchair shot, my ladies would certainly have to comment.

The Bunny

here are some Easter highlights...Sam went to a FAAN sponsored egg hunt so all the eggs were food free. There were games before, but he does not play well with others yet we observed. The next wknd we had our annual backyard egg hunt for our children with Sam friendly candy. And another yearly event the Easter picture in front of our beautiful weeping cherry tree...however with an early Easter and still to come spring no blossoms yet. I am happy that the weather is getting a bit milder and we are close to making it to FIFTY today!! We also saw "The Bunny" at our local grocery store and Sam was mortified by the creature! He now speaks of the Bunny with loving tones like they were good buddies.

We are glad to have spent time together as a family and hopefully next year we can be a more religious spin on the Holiday as it just seemed to come out of nowhere.

As a side note, if any one watches Celebrity Apprentice and saw the cute trace Atkins who unfortunately lost the prize....however, think that the spotlight he brought to Food Allergies was positive and hopefully more work can get done for all these families who deal with on a daily basis. Like ourselves ;)