Pumpkin Soup

When I think of fall I think of leaves, pumpkins, colder weather & holidays. It's easy for me to start looking forward to holidays & family when leaves start to change color. October = Halloween. A holiday that has started to become much more fun as our kids get older. Then comes November with Thanksgiving. After that it's a short road to December & Christmas. But I won't talk about Christmas yet since we haven't gotten through Thanksgiving (one of Matt's rules :-)). I love Thanksgiving with my family. We cook our turkey (which is of course named Tom, or Bertha, or etc) on a rotisserie. Whenever you walk by the Turkey you're supposed to brush on a combination of melted butter & herbs. We also always have a 4 course meal. Appetizer, Soup, Main Dish & Dessert (if you have room!). For years our soup of choice has been Pumpkin. I love this pumpkin soup! I recently made 3 huge batches of it for a bazaar at church and had it devoured. Now I will share the recipe with you, feel free to add it to your yearly fall memories!

Pumpkin Soup

3 Tablespoons Olive Oil

8 slices of bacon, chopped

1 onion, chopped

2 stalks celery, chopped

2 carrots, chopped

8 Cups of Chicken broth

4 Cups of Pumpkin (I usually use fresh, but canned works as well)

2 Tablespoons fresh Thyme

Salt & pepper

Nutmeg

1 Cup Half & half

1. In large soup pot saute Bacon, Onion, Celery, & Carrots in Olive Oil until soft.

2. Add Broth, Pumpkin & Thyme. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to simmer. Simmer at least 20 minutes.

3. Puree soup in batches in blender. Return to pot, add pinch of Nutmeg and Half & half. Serve.

Garnish with small sprig of thyme & nutmeg. You can also serve with Parmesan or cheddar cheese.

~Bon Appetite magazine.

(I also forgot to take a picture of all that soup I made, so this is not my own picture)

Easy Teriyaki!

I'm so behind on recipes. I'm making some great ones this week: Honey Hoisen Pork Tenderloin, Chicken Pot Pie, Fried Steak Tacos (Matt's birthday meal for the last 3 years).... Hopefully I'll be able to get around to posting these yummy meals for you. This week actually feels really bizarre, it's almost as if it's an extra free week thrown into the calendar. I'm sure everyone has those groups that meet the 3rd Monday of every month, the 2nd Tuesday of every month, & the 2nd & 4th Wednesday of every month (to give a few examples from my life...) But NO group meets during the 5th week of the month! Not that I won't be busy with a variety of things, but it's nice to look at my evening schedule and realize I don't have to rush out the door anywhere & we'll be able to spend every night as a 4 person family. So, enjoy your "free" week :) I hope you all have to opportunity to sit down to dinner as a family this week & feel free to make this really quick & easy Steak Teriyaki recipe!

Gyuniku Teriyaki (Broiled sliced beef with sweet soy-seasoned glaze)

1.5 lbs lean boneless beef (usually buy a sirloin) cut in 12 slices 1/4 inch thick

Sauce:
1 C mirin (sweet sake) or 1 cup Pale dry Sherry (usually what I end up using)
1 C Soy Sauce
1 C Chicken broth

Glaze: (I usually double or triple this, Americans prefer saucier meat than the Japanese)
1/4  C of the Sauce
1 T sugar
2 teas. cornstarch mixed with 1 T cold water

Garnish:
4 teas. powdered mustard mixed with just enough hot water to make a thick paste and set aside for 15 minutes. (note: this is spicy! I love to dip my meat in it, but matt prefers the meat without)

Sauce:
Warm sherry in 2 qt sauce pan over medium heat. Off heat ignite sherry with lighter & shake pan back & forth until flame dies out. Stir in Soy Sauce and Chicken stock. Bring to a boil. Pour into a bowl & cool to room temp.
Glaze:
Combine 1/4 C of the sauce & 1 T sugar in saucepan. Bring almost to a boil over medium heat. reduce the heat to low. Stir in combined cornstarch and water into sauce. Cook, stirring constantly until it thickens to a clear syrupy glaze. Pour into a dish and set aside
Meat:
Preheat broiler to highest point. Dip beef, one slice at a time into Sauce (not the glaze!). Broil 2 inches from the heat for 1 minute on each side, or until lightly brown. For well done meat broil an additional minute.
To Serve:
Slice the meat into 1 inch wide strips & place them on individual serving plates. Spoon a little of the glaze over each serving. (What I really love about Asian cooking is preparing each individual plate before taking it to the table. I know it's silly, but it's nice to take the time to make the plate look pretty with everything before everyone sees it!)

~The Cooking of Japan

Spicy Chicken!

It seems I'm down to posting once a month... I was hoping to make this a once a week thing. Ah well :) I love Chicken Tikka. It's one of my favorite dishes and I could actually live off it's leftover (I usually get bored with leftovers). Sometimes I will act the martyr & let Matt finish off the Chicken Tikka, but then I'm continually stealing bites off his plate. I'm making myself hungry just typing this...

When Evie was little she used to think she needed to try everything I was cooking with. Once when I was cutting up garlic for this dish she asked for a piece and with some reluctance ("you really aren't going to like this Evie...") I let her have a piece. You should have seen her face! I don't think she's tried anything off my cutting board since then.

Chicken Tikka Masala


This recipie takes more time than the former. I find cutting the veggies at lunch or even the night before really helps save time when throwing this together. The recipie does say you can make the sauce up to 4 days ahead and gently reheat before adding the chicken. Also, they say to use whole milk yogurt, I've never been able to find this at our grocery so just use whatever plain yogurt you can find. (Also, the picture does not do this dish justice! It is so yummy!)

Chicken Tikka
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon table salt
2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, trimmed of fat (I'll use 3-4 frozen breasts usually)
1 cup plain whole milk yogurt
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger

Masala Sauce
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 medium onion, diced fine (about 1 1/4 cups)
2 medium garlic cloves, minced
2 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
1 serrano chilie, ribs and seeds removed, flesh minced (if you want it spicier leave in the ribs and seeds)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon garam masala (substitute with 2 teas. ground coriander, 1/4 teas. ground cardamom, 1/4 teas. ground cinnamon, and 1/2 teas. ground black pepper)
1 (28 oz) can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons sugar
1/2 teaspoon table salt
2/3 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro leaves

1. For the Chicken: Combine cumin, coriander, cayenne, and salt in small bowl. Sprinkle both sides of chicken with spice mixture, pressing gently so mixture adhears. Place chicken on plate, cover with plastic wrap and refridgerate for 30 to 60 minutes. In large bowl, whisk together yogurt, oil, garlic and ginger; set aside.
2. For the Sauce: Heat oil in large Dutch oven over medium heat until shimmering. Add onion and cook, stirring frequently, until light golden, 8 to 10 minutes. Add garlic, ginger, chile, tomato paste, and garam masala; cook stirring frequently until fragrant, about 3 minutes. Add crushed tomatoes, sugar, and salt; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and simmer for 15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cream and return to simmer. Remove pan from heat and cover to keep warm.
3. While sauce simmers, adjust oven rack to upper-middle position (about 6 inches from heating element) and heat broiler. Using tongs, dip chicken into yogurt mixture (chicken should be coated with thick layer of yogurt) and arrange on wire rack set in foil lined rimmed baking sheet or broiler pan. Discard excess yogurt mixture. Broil chicken until thickest parts register 160 degrees on instant read thermometer and exterior is lightly charred in spots, 10 to 18 minutes, flipping chicken halfway through cooking.
4. Let chicken rest 5 minutes, then cut into 1 inch chunks and stir into warm sauce (do not simmer chicken in sauce). Stir in cilantro, adjust seasoning with salt, and serve with basmati rice (I often use jasmine or any rice on hand...)

Let me know if anything is confusing and doesn't make sense. Also, let me know if you need me to explain any cooking terms.
~Cooks Illustrated #88

Key Lime Pie Anyone?

It must be a dessert sort of week :) So, I was hosting an event at our house last night & had to serve dessert. I decided to make a dessert I love: Key Lime Pie Bars. Now this recipe is best if made close to when you plan on serving them. I waited until Friday morning to make them (I also waited till Friday to, scrub my floors, deep clean my kitchen, deep clean my bathroom, okay, just deep clean my whole house). So, Friday morning at 6 AM I'm baking Key Lime Pie bars when I realize I forgot an ingredient. Not just any ingredient, but the main ingredient (can you guess which one?). I packed the kids off to HyVee, Laurence had just finished a bottle & Evie was still in Superman Jammies, all so I could by LIMES! Sigh. Well, the bars got made, they were awesome, the house got cleaned, it looked awesome for 2 seconds. Now I will give you the recipe, just don't forget the LIMES!

Key Lime Pie Bars
Crust

5 oz animal crackers
3 T packed light or dark brown sugar
Pinch table salt
4 T unsalted butter, melted & slightly cooled
Filling
2 oz cream cheese, room temp (I accidently bought some bizzare named cream cheese starting with an N, but it tasted the same)
1 T grated lime zest, minced
pinch table salt
1 can (14 oz) sweetened condensed milk
1 large egg yolk
1/2 C Key lime or regular lime juice
Garnish (optional)
3/4 C shredded sweetened coconut, toasted until golden crisp (I never do this as I don't like coconut)

Note: If you cannot find fresh key limes (or if you don't want to spend forever juicing them...) use regular limes. DO NOT use bottled lime juice. Grate the zest from the limes before juicing them, avoiding the bitter white pith that lies just beneth the outermost skin.

1. Adjust oven rack to middle position and heat oven to 325. Cut about 12-inch length extra wide, heavy duty foil. Line 8-inch square baking pan, allowing excess foil to overhang pan sides. Spray foil with nonstick cooking spray.

2. To Make the Crust: In workbowl of food processor, pulse animal crackers until broken down, about ten 1-second pulses; process crumbs until evenly fine, about 10 seconds. Add brown sugar and salt; process to combine, 10 to 12 1-second pulses. Drizzle butter over crumbs and pulse until crumbs are evenly moistened with butter, about ten 1-second pulses. Press crumbs evenly and firmly into bottom of prepared pan. Bake until deep golden brown, 18-20 minutes. Cool on wire rack while making filling. Do not turn off oven.

3. To Make the Filling: While crust cools, in medium bowl, stir cream cheese, zest, and salt with rubber spatula until softened, creamy and thouroughly combined. Add sweetened condensed milk and whisk vigorously until incorporated and no lumps of cream cheese remain; whisk in egg yolk. Add lime juice and whisk gently until incorporated (mixture will thicken slightly).

4. To Assemble and Bake: Pour filling into crust; spread to corners and smooth surface with rubber spatula. Bake until set and edges begin to pull away slightly from sides, 15 - 20 minutes. Cool on wire rack to room temp, 1 to 1.5 hours. Cover with foil and refrigerate until thoroughly chilled, at least 2 hours.

5. Loosen edges with paring knife & lift bars from baking pan using foil extensions; cut bars into 16 squares. Sprinkle with toasted coconut, if using, and serve. Leftovers can be refrigerated up to 2 days; crust will begin to soften. Let bars stand at room temp about 15 minutes before serving.

~ Cooks Illustrated 81

Tea Cakes

On Father's Day I always think of Tea Cakes. My dad loves this cookie & when I go and visit I try to bring some. Unfortunatley I found with the craziness of just getting back from Florida & trying to pack up for Kansas plus make it to all of that week's activities (not to mention being a mom of 2) I did not manage to make my dad any. So many excuses for not managing to make something special for the man that did so much for my family. I'm going to use this as a reminder that I need to think less of myself & more of others. I suppose the obvious bible verse comes to mind: "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you" ~ Matthew 7:12. So, take some time to make cookies for someone you love :) and I will be sure to make my dad tea cakes the next time I go to Kansas!

Tea Cakes
1 1/2 Cups Sugar
4 Tbsp. Butter
3 Eggs
1/2 Cup Milk
1 Tbsp. Vanilla
6 Cups Flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. baking soda
dash salt

- Cream butter and sugar. Add eggs, milk & vanilla, mix well.
- Add flour, baking powder, baking soda & salt. It should feel like bisucit dough.
- Roll thin & cut (I usually like them kind of thick). Bake at 375 for 10-12 minutes.

(Traditionally these cookies are cut into circles, however, when I am making these with Evie I let her pick out some fun cookie cutters). Enjoy!

Asparagus? Eww!

I have a ton of different pictures of things I've cooked, but no time to post about them! May has been/is going to be crazy. I feel like all month I've been running around like a chicken with its head cut off. I can't imagine how much crazier it will be when I have kids in school! Every weekend is busy, most weeknights are crazy, I can't wait for my Florida vacation! (I don't know when I'm going to find time to pack...)

I cooked dinner last night. It was crazy, I don't have much else to say about it... (honestly I've deleted 5 different paragraphs of writing this morning). I made Steak teriyaki, which I love! Rice (I usually prefer noodles, but rice was easier, so rice was made), and Asparagus, which I hate. Or at least I thought I hated. So why did I buy it & cook it? Kind of on a whim I suppose. I usually buy some napa, some water chestnuts, some sugar snap peas & throw them in some noodles with a yummy sauce. But I know Matt likes asparagus so I randomly decided to give it another try. Well, I googled "asian asparagus recipe", clicked on the first link, made that recipe & loved it! So, while I would love to give you my teriyaki recipe (it is super easy!) I think the asparagus recipe deserves to be posted. Perhaps next time you will get the teriyaki, for now, enjoy some Asparagus!

Asparagus Grilled with an Asian Touch

Ingredients:
3 lbs asparagus, tough ends removed
1 tablespoon brown sugar or 1 tablespoon honey
1/8-1/3 cup sesame oil
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup rice wine vinegar (I just used rice vinegar)
3 garlic cloves, crushed and minced finely
1/4 inch fresh ginger, grated
black pepper
chili pepper flakes

Directions:
1. Put all marinade ingredients into a zip-lock bag shake and add asparagus and marinate for 1 hour to overnight.
2. Remove from marinade, cook on a hot grill about 5 minutes just till lightly browned.
3. Turning often.
4. Optional: Heat the marinade and pour over the grilled asparagus.

(I halved the recipe (I mean, really, who needs 3 lbs of asparagus), only marinated for about an hour, and didn't do step 4, and I'm not really sure Matt did step 3 either... I would also like to add that while I was putting the marinade together I knocked the bag off the counter & ended up with most of the marinade on my dishwasher & kitchen floor, so I'm not sure my end proportions were quite right. It still tasted good :-))

~ http://www.food.com/recipe/asparagus-grilled-with-an-asian-touch-90746#ixzz1MoG6zxfK

(This is part of the reason dinner was so crazy to get together :P)

Angel Hair (as in pasta...)

I never realized how that first hair cut would change the way my child looked! I waited and waited and waited to have Evie's haircut. She's a girl, her hair can be long, why worry about the stress of  a screaming child getting their hair cut? (I've heard a few horror stories!) Finally about a month before Evie turned 3, Mommy & Evie went in for a mother daughter haircut. The stylist cut my hair while Evie watched very attentively and then it was her turn. She sat so well & was so excited (she wanted to go back the next day for another haircut). They only cut off about an inch and a half of her hair, but how different she looks! I'm so glad we conquered the first haircut, but I miss her old hair. Yes, it's all nice & uniformly cut, but it's just not the same.

This brings us to Laurence. He needs a haircut! He isn't even 9 months old & he needs a haircut. He was born with quite a bit of hair, most of which fell out. The hair near his forehead however didn't and it is long & wispy and I think it keeps on growing. It gets in his eyes, it gets tangled, it is just a hassle! But how I dread cutting it. I know I will miss it and I don't want my baby boy to grow up yet! I think I'll let him keep his angel hair awhile longer :)

Yes, yes, I'm getting to the pasta part! It has been a pasta sort of week! I love this pasta almost more than the penne. It is light & pretty easy to make. The only difficulties I've had are that the garlic tends to burn (I think roasting it separately would fix this problem) and making sure all the elements are done at the same time can be difficult. (It also works well as a side dish to grilled chicken or pork)

Angel Hair with Roasted Butternut Squash

1 2 lb Butternut Squash, peeled & cut in small pieces
1 bulb garlic, peeled
3 T olive oil
1 lb Angel Hair
1/4 C butter
3 slices bacon, chopped & cooked
1/2 C walnuts, chopped & toasted
1/4 tsp ground nutmeg
1/3 C Parmesan Cheese (I serve this separately)

1. In baking pan, toss squash, garlic, olive oil, 1/4 tsp salt & 1/4 tsp pepper. Spread squash in single layer. Bake 15 - 18 minutes or until squash is tender & lightly browned.
2. Cook pasta with 1 T salt
3. Heat butter over medium heat until it turns light brown, stir frequently
4. Toss Spaghetti with half of butter. Toss squash, bacon, nuts, & nutmeg with remaining butter. Serve squash over pasta. Sprinkle with cheese.

~bhg.com
(amusing, after typing this out I just realized I forgot to put the nutmeg in last night. Ah well, it still tasted great!!)

Penne Alla Vodka & Tantrums

So with turning 3 I had high hopes that the tantrums were coming to an end. They just seem to be bigger, louder & more dramatic. (And they also wake up the baby, NOOOOO!)

Last night Matt was home late from work (I know, I know, I'm lucky, when I say late I mean 5, but he does go in really early). I was attempting to get dinner made with a fussy 9 month old who didn't want to nap & a grumpy 3 year old who wanted to be entertained. I handed Laurence a whisk & a mixing bowl and let him bang around. Evie of course wanted to join the fun, but she wanted some pasta to pretend to cook. With some misgivings I gave her some uncooked macaroni noodles to play with & went back to the pasta I was really cooking. Well, the next time I turned around there was pasta all over the kitchen floor. Trying to keep my frustration in check I asked Evie to put it back in her bowl. "I don't want to" she tells me with defiance. The next 30 minutes consisted of me telling her she had to pick it up & her laying on the kitchen floor saying she wouldn't.

Dinner was of course finished during this time, Matt got home & we sat down to eat, minus Evie (who was still laying on the kitchen floor). When she realized we were going to eat without her she got that pasta picked up in under a minute. Then she sat down & ate 2 huge helpings of this yummy pasta! (Of course another tantrum followed when I asked her to eat one piece of spinach... the conflict never seems to end). Anyway, enjoy the recipe, it's one of our favorites!

Penne Alla Vodka

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes, reserve liquid
5 slices bacon, chopped
1/2 small onion, (1/4 C) minced
1 T tomato paste
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/4 teas red pepper flakes (leave out if you don't like a little spice)
Table Salt
1/3 C vodka
1/2 C heavy cream
1 pound penne
2 T chopped fresh basil (or 2 teas dried)

1. Puree half of tomatoes in food processor until smooth. Remove cores & dice remaining tomatoes into 1/2 inch pieces. Combine tomatoes in measuring cup, add reserved liquid to equal 2 cups.
2. Heat pan over medium heat, saute bacon until crisp. Remove from pan, add onion & tomato paste, cook stirring occasionally until onions are light golden brown around edges, about 3 minutes. Add garlic & pepper flakes; cook stirring constantly until fragrant, about 30 seconds.
3. Stir in tomatoes & 1/2 teas. salt. Add vodka. Simmer briskly at medium high heat, 8 to 10 minutes, until alcohol is cooked off. Stir in cream and cook 1 minute.
4. Add sauce to cooked pasta in Dutch oven, toss over medium heat until pasta absorbs some sauce. Stir in basil & bacon. Serve with Parmesan cheese.

~Cooks Illustrated #83, with some variations. (let me know if you want the original recipe, the articles that go along with the recipes are very useful!)

Soup...

So soup. I hate soup. Well, not all soups (soups I like: french onion, cheesy potato, pumpkin). But really, most soups I just don't like (especially any with ground beef. Eww!). I never fill full after eating them. I'd really rather have a sandwich or a hunk of bread even. Anyway, Matt loves soups (not all soups, but quite a few (soups matt does NOT like: french onion, cheesy potato, pumpkin). I remember being told that marriage was about comprimise. I never realized this would include food. Okay, fine, don't squeeze the toothpaste the right way, I can deal with that. But soup? I'm supposed to eat soup with you? Well, I cook Matt soup and I even eat it with him. This must make me the most awesomest wife in the world :) Right?

Well, we have a little after Easter tradition. Every year we go to Matt's grandparents for Easter. Every year they have ham. Every year we are given the ham bone. And every year I make Matt Ham & Bean soup. Tonight was the night for our yearly ham bone soup. Here is the recipe if you ever happen to be gifted a ham bone (I have heard that you can ask for one at a meat counter, but I've never been brave enough to try this). Enjoy! (If you like soup that is...)

Ham & Bean Soup
1 lb dry Navy beans
4 C water
4 C chicken broth
1 ham hock
1 C chopped carrots
1 C chopped celery
1 C chopped onion
3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tsp. mustard powder
2 bay leaves
1 tsp. Paprika

1. Soak beans for at least 8 hours. Discard soak water.
2. In large pot combine all ingredients. Stir & bring to a boil. Reduce heat & simmer for 2.5 to 3 hours.
3. Remove Ham Hock & remove meat from bone.
4. Remove 2 cups of soup & puree. Replace both soup & ham meat in pot. Stir well, serve.

Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

Wow, two posts in one day! So, I think I am maybe going to mainly post about food (because I love it so!!) So, tonight I made a new recipie. Bourbon-Glazed Salmon. It was yummy & easy to make. I did feel that while some bites had enough of the glaze, the thicker portions could have used more. Perhaps the recipie could be tweaked & a glazed made to serve with the Salmon as opposed to just marinate it in. I served it with a bag of spinach (yes, I just put the bag on the table and said "tada!", hey, I'm busy! :-)), and orzo. Well, enjoy!

Bourbon-Glazed Salmon

Ingredients:

1 cup packed brown sugar

6 tablespoons bourbon

1/4 cup low-sodium soy sauce

2 tablespoons fresh lime juice

2 teaspoons grated peeled fresh ginger

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepp

er
2 cloves crushed garlic
8 (6-ounces each) salmon fillets (about 1 inch thick)
non-stick cooking spray
4 teaspoons sesame seeds
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions

Prep:

Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large zip-top plastic bag; add salmon fillets. Seal bag, and marinate in refrigerator 30 minutes, turning bag once.

Remove fillets from bag; discard marinade. Preheat broiler. Place fillets on broiler pan coated with cooking spray. Broil 11 minutes or until fish flakes easily when tested with a fork.

Sprinkle each fillet with 1/2 teaspoon sesame seeds and 1 tablespoon onions (I must admit that I totally forgot about this part...)

http://www.cdkitchen.com/recipes/recs/323/BourbonGlazedSalmon69709.shtml

Burned Fingers

Last night was less than enjoyable. It all started with Monday morning, which actually started because of Sunday night... Funny how so many things are interconnected.

Well, Sunday night we got back from a fun Easter  celebration in Fort Madison. Since Sunday night is our movie night & Evie really wanted to watch her new movie Tangled, we blew in the door, sat down on the couch & watched Tangled (which was awesome I might add). When it was over it was way past Evie's bedtime, so she went straight to bed. After which we realized Evie had not eaten dinner.

Fast forward to Monday morning. Evie wakes up lethargic & shaky. Worried that she is sick I cancel all our morning activities (which includes grocery shopping.) Turns out she was just hungry (which I realized after I stuffed her full of hard boiled eggs, oatmeal & fruit).

Now, it's Monday afternoon & I'm trying to figure out what to throw together for dinner (since I did not have the ingredients to make Gyros). We had a ton of hot dogs leftover from Evie's birthday & I had most of the ingredients to make Matt's baked beans. TaDa! Dinner! Throw together the beans, throw them in the oven. A few hours later it's dinner time. Pull out the beans, put them on the table & ask Matt to get a spoon for them.

Well, I'm in the middle of getting something or other from the kitchen when I hear this bizarre yell. Now, anyone with kids will know that yells have many different meanings. It could be a someone is in trouble, someone just did something incredibly cute, or someone is hurt... Turns out it was the latter. Matt had gone to stir the beans (which had been baked in a sauce pan) & automatically grabbed the pan's metal handle. Which was of course 325 degrees. I turned on the cold water & told him to get his hand under the water quick! Now this crazy man tells me that no, you're supposed to put warm water on a burn first... I think I need to send him to first aid training.

After icing his fingers half the evening he decides the pain isn't getting any better & headed to Urgent Care. According to the doctor Matt had 2nd degree burns & may have had 3rd degree burns if he hadn't iced  his hand so much (I bet that cold water would have helped too :P) So in conclusion, I am never cooking anything in a sauce pan in the oven again. Also, those stupid stupid beans ended up being burned (I left them in the oven too long), their current residence is the garbage can. Blah, what an evening.

I'm Back!

Well, I totally forgot I had a blog... It must have been a busy 3 years :)

But yeah, I came across this yesterday when I was looking at friends' blogs. It was wierd reading things I didn't even remember blogging about....

I have now lived through 3 of Evie's birthday's parties. This years was much better than last years, but still crazy. Perhaps that is the nature of children's birthday parties. Evie had a meltdown after the guests left and is thankfully taking a (hopefully) very long nap.

Tomorrow is easter. It is hard to get into the right frame of mind for easter when everything has been about Evie's birthday. Time to go spend some time in the word.