Happy Birthday, Oreos

Apparently, Oreos are celebrating their 100th birthday.

So.... they are on sale (and specially engraved with a birthday design)....which is convenient, because it's also Ryan's birthday.

And Oreos, (though a rare and dangerous purchase for our family) are essential for Ryan's birthday celebrations.  Almost every year, I create some kind of oreo dessert for my love.

Last year it was in a trifle bowl....

The trifle dessert was really delicious and decadent, but so deep and frozen, it was tricky to serve.  This year...a new creation using my (new) springform pan.  Oreo Ice Cream Pie.   An oreo crust (crushed cookies mixed with melted butter and flattened into the pan), vanilla ice-cream frozen into a round ice-cream cake shape, and topped with cool whip and crushed oreos.  I made up my own version, loosely based on other Oreo cookie cakes and pies found on google.  I also watched this video for added confidence.  Mine wasn't exactly like Gretchen Seigchrists's, but the girls watched her video about 10 times while they 'helped' me make it.  

Tonight, we brought it to El Burrito Loco for our traditional Taco Tuesday dinner.  There was plenty of oreo cake to share. We made sure to only bring one (big) piece home.  They honored Ryan with a sombrero, a song, free fried ice-cream, and (his favorite part)...whipped cream spread on his face.  

Another highlight of the birthday dinner: Maya lost her first tooth.  

Quite a day for celebrating in the Corbin home.  

Happy Birthday Oreos!

And happy birthday to my Love.  I am lucky to be yours.  

(And not just because I really like a good excuse to eat oreos)

packing a lunch box, and other small things.

The first time I logged into pinterest, I found this brilliant pin about lunch box ideas.

Source: wendolonia.com via Angela on Pinterest

And this.  Another of my favorite (and first) pinterest discoveries.  Perfectly packaged apple slices.

I know, I know.  When did I turn into such a suburban 'mom' who gets excited about lunch boxes?? 

Source: athomewithrealfood.blogspot.com via Angela on Pinterest

Maya loves her apple slices in her lunchbox everyday.  The multi-level appeal of this treat is so impressive to her...it's a puzzle, it's apple slices, it's a whole apple, and best of all,  the slices don't get brown.

And I immediately started packing Maya's lunches differently.  She loves all the food surprises she finds.  We were only a few weeks into the school year when her lunches were getting kind of repetitive and boring.  I'd been a little creative, I thought, but we had (more than) overdone tabouli and sunbutter sandwiches (even if they were shaped like gingerbread men).   Preparing her lunch has become something special for us both.  I write her simple little messages too, just like my Dad used to do.  At first my messages were mostly just stick people, smiles, and "i <3 U," but now that she can read just about anything, my notes are a little longer.  Communication with my daughter through written words is pretty amazing.  Every day, that twinkle in her eyes (when we share something secret and special between the two of us) seems a little older and more 'knowing'.   She is growing. Fast.  

As a mom, a wife, a teacher (really in any life-role), preparing and repairing things for people out of love has to be something joyful and purposeful and faithful (like cleaning dishes, picking up junk, sorting papers, tuning little violins, answering repeated questions, folding clothes, sorting music, sorting dirty laundry, packing lunches, making meals, ironing, etc.) ....or beautiful things like service and selflessness and gratitude and contentment morph into something ugly like martyrdom, entitlement, bitterness, self-perceived underappreciation, and boredom.  Trust me, I know.  Those little things, ways of being responsible, neat, helpful, consistent, and goal-oriented...they are big.  Each task, an important, faithful, act of love.  

  I'm not really good at this.   I'm really NOT good at this.  Instead of actually living my life and doing the small things that make it work pleasantly for myself and everyone else who lives in my house.  I long to read, to write, to learn, dream about the big things, study my French, or plan (and internet hunt for) beautiful and artistic creations....and sometimes make them, or blog about them.  

In fact, I'm avoiding some of these loving tasks (folding clothes, ironing, organizing papers, picking up junk) at the moment.  

I know I can (and usually do) get it all done in a great flourish of energy and inspiration, but I just can't seem to be consistent.  The small tasks become really big ones before I want (or am forced to) tackle them.  Sometimes I feel hopelessly incurable in this regard.  But I know I'm not.  I'm far too optomistic to accept those hopeless feelings.  I think I might need a self- intervention, though. 

So I'm pondering some resolutions, maybe even some rules for myself.  Any ideas from my more practical, responsible readers?  How do you feed the creative, philosophical, word-loving, beauty-seeking, relational, story-loving part of your soul and still manage to be a responsible human being? 

When I do "figure it all out".... I may even attempt to live by my resolutions a while before blogging about them.   That would take some discipline.  

Though....the blog therapy really works for me.  (At least I like to think it does.)

I'm off to fold laundry.  I promise.  I won't be back again until it's done.  

beef & barley

We're a little low on (okay...almost completely out of) groceries. But I really wanted dinner to be waiting for us after church tonight. And I had some beef tips in the freezer, a few carrots in the fridge, and a semi-well-stocked pantry,....so... this afternoon, I put the slow-cooker and the bread machine to work.

Beef & Barley
Beef tips (for stew), browned
2 carrots, chopped
1 onion, chopped
8 garlic cloves pressed
1 cup dry barley
3 cups beef broth
14.5 oz canned tomatoes (with Italian seasoning)
1 1/2 cups water
garlic powder (to taste)
salt (to taste)
pepper (to taste)

with Honey Whole Wheat Bread in the bread machine.

As soon as we stepped inside the house tonight, Maya turned around with big eyes and said to me, "It smells SO GOOD in here!!!" and added a few seconds later..."Home. Sweet. Home!"

We're all excited for left-overs for lunch tomorrow.

Pork Roast and Vegetables with Biscuit Crust
or...how to make some simple and crazy delicious comfort food with your pork roast left-overs:

1 pork roast cooked all day in crock pot (seasoned with garlic and onion)
potatoes, carrots, and onions cooked with roast in crock pot with broth.

Cut pork into bite sized pieces.  Spoon all 'left-overs' into pie dish.  Top with cooked peas (or any other vegetables on hand), sprinkle with a bit of dry tapioca, salt & pepper, and chicken broth.

While vegetables & meat are heating in the pie dish in the oven or microwave, prepare biscuit dough.

My Biscuit Recipe
combine: 
2 cups flour (1 cup whole wheat/ 1 cup white)
1 tablespoon baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt


Add 1 stick unsalted butter (yup, it's that bad for you) chopped into small cubes
Pulse mixture until course meal forms.  
Add 2/3 cup of cream (or milk) and mix well.

Spoon biscuit dough on top of "pie."

Bake 20-25 minutes in 425 degree oven.

Ingredients: 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined 1 tbsp olive oil 3 cloves garlic, chopped 1/4 cup white wine 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained 1/2 cup half and half oregano salt and fresh pepper 1 tsp lemon juice 1/4 cup chopped parsley (I added fresh basil and oregano too) 8 oz angel hair pasta (whole wheat, low carb or high fiber) Directions: Boil water for pasta. Cook according to package instructions.Meanwhile, season shrimp with salt and oregano. Cook shrimp and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper and cook an additional minute. Add half and half and cook 1 more minute.Add lemon juice and parsley and serve over pasta. Divide equally in 4 plates. Now that we are back into the familiar groove of school, I'm still feeling grateful and happy to be a teacher. I love summer, but I think I'd feel lucky in my job even without those three months off every year! Today was just one of those great days. I felt prepared for the day, more organized (than last year), confident in my role, and surrounded by lovable students excited to make music. Maya is loving Kindergarten. She seems to come home every day either exhausted, or incredibly (obnoxiously) hyper....and full of stories. Some stories come out immediately in the car, others just pop up over dinner, or bedtime...or days later. And some of her stories are just for me, conspiratorially whispered into my ear when Ryan is across the room. She finished her last vowel today in class. And with her mixture of Ryan's meticulous perfectionism...and my...distracted, free-spirited...creativity?....it's a challenge sometimes to get all her schoolwork done in timely manner. But, every paper she does finish looks...impeccable. So our new motto is "Do your best, but GET IT DONE!" Sometimes I have to repeat that motto again and again...for me. Just to stay on task. Between the laundry and ironing, the house-cleaning, the dinners and the dishes, the online coursework and reading and communication, the lesson planning, and school paperwork, the Kindergarten papers, and the places to be, the doctors appointments, and the pretend play, the puzzles, and the storybook reading, and the important conversations and times with friends....I get a little...off task at times, running frantically between jobs, never finishing any. And sometimes, I just end up on the couch, bewildered at where to start. Then there's always facebook! :) But this week, the crazy chaos is manageable. And quite fun. I love my new schedule. I miss the faces and the familiar routines, the musical fun, the shared history that my old teaching role provided for so many years. I will cherish my memories, and 'my kids' there forever. But I'm feeling much more settled, more rooted this year, both as a Mother and as a Strings Teacher. I love my days with just Sophie and our Tuesdays with just me and both girls. We go to ballet and gymnastics, and we play together and read and talk all day. I'm pretty lucky. And next weekend, my Love is taking me away for my belated birthday celebration. Two days and one night in Chicago alone. Just the anticipation is a perfectly delightful gift.

"Shrimp cooked with tomatoes, a touch of cream, white wine and a hint of lemon. This pasta dish is so simple to make and is ready in about 15 minutes, perfect for a weeknight meal."


That's what "Gina" said about the Angel Hair with Shrimp and Tomato Sauce, and I need as many perfect weeknight meals as I can get.

Ingredients:

• 1 lb large shrimp, peeled and deveined
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 3 cloves garlic, chopped
• 1/4 cup white wine
• 14 oz can diced tomatoes, drained
• 1/2 cup half and half
• oregano
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1 tsp lemon juice
• 1/4 cup chopped parsley (I added fresh basil and oregano too)
• 8 oz angel hair pasta (whole wheat, low carb or high fiber)

Directions:

Boil water for pasta. Cook according to package instructions.Meanwhile, season shrimp with salt and oregano. Cook shrimp and garlic in olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat for about 2 minutes. Add tomatoes, wine, salt and pepper and cook an additional minute. Add half and half and cook 1 more minute.Add lemon juice and parsley and serve over pasta. Divide equally in 4 plates.

Now that we are back into the familiar groove of school, I'm still feeling grateful and happy to be a teacher. I love summer, but I think I'd feel lucky in my job even without those three months off every year!

Today was just one of those great days. I felt prepared for the day, more organized (than last year), confident in my role, and surrounded by lovable students excited to make music.

Maya is loving Kindergarten. She seems to come home every day either exhausted, or incredibly (obnoxiously) hyper....and full of stories. Some stories come out immediately in the car, others just pop up over dinner, or bedtime...or days later. And some of her stories are just for me, conspiratorially whispered into my ear when Ryan is across the room. She finished her last vowel today in class. And with her mixture of Ryan's meticulous perfectionism...and my...distracted, free-spirited...creativity?....it's a challenge sometimes to get all her schoolwork done in timely manner. But, every paper she does finish looks...impeccable. So our new motto is "Do your best, but GET IT DONE!"


Sometimes I have to repeat that motto again and again...for me. Just to stay on task. Between the laundry and ironing, the house-cleaning, the dinners and the dishes, the online coursework and reading and communication, the lesson planning, and school paperwork, the Kindergarten papers, and the places to be, the doctors appointments, and the pretend play, the puzzles, and the storybook reading, and the important conversations and times with friends....I get a little...off task at times, running frantically between jobs, never finishing any. And sometimes, I just end up on the couch, bewildered at where to start. Then there's always facebook! :)

But this week, the crazy chaos is manageable. And quite fun. I love my new schedule. I miss the faces and the familiar routines, the musical fun, the shared history that my old teaching role provided for so many years. I will cherish my memories, and 'my kids' there forever. But I'm feeling much more settled, more rooted this year, both as a Mother and as a Strings Teacher. I love my days with just Sophie and our Tuesdays with just me and both girls. We go to ballet and gymnastics, and we play together and read and talk all day. I'm pretty lucky.

And next weekend, my Love is taking me away for my belated birthday celebration. Two days and one night in Chicago alone. Just the anticipation is a perfectly delightful gift.

Ginger Root

We found it at the Farmer's Market last week. I described to the girls what I thought ginger root might look like and told them to hunt for it as we passed each booth. We found our cucumbers, tomatoes corn, peaches, Boston Bibb lettuce, zucchini and squash... but no ginger root. Finally, after circling the entire market, we found it, right next to the booth where we started. Maya spotted it again today in the grocery store, and I was a little proud.

I was surprised by the almost citrus-y aroma of the cut ginger. It has quite a strong flavor in the dish, especially when you bite into a whole piece of it. The root that we bought cost less than a dollar and I only used about an eighth of it tonight. I think we'll have to look for some more recipes with fresh ginger.

Chicken with Ginger

Ingredients

• 1 three-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into 1/8-inch-thick matchsticks (1/2 cup)
• 2 tablespoons canola oil
• 1 1/2 pounds boneless, skinless chicken breasts, cut into 1 1/2-inch chunks
• 1 large onion, thinly sliced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/4 cup soy sauce
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 2 tablespoons sugar
• 1/2 cup sliced scallions

Directions

1. Soak ginger in cold water 10 minutes; drain.

2. Heat oil in a skillet over high heat; brown chicken in two batches, 6 to 8 minutes. Set aside.

3. In same skillet over medium heat, cook ginger, onion, and garlic, stirring until browned, 8 to 10 minutes. Add soy sauce, vinegar, and sugar; cook over high heat until thick, 3 to 4 minutes. Add chicken; stir to warm. Remove from heat; stir in scallions.

4. Serve over rice noodles, or chinese noodles, or rice.

Thank you, Martha Stewart for a lovely dinner.

Another rough day at the beach...

...so rough, in fact, that we (2 semi-responsible moms) completely lost track of time. And just after promising ice-cream to four children (who, ran obediently out of the water at the word...'ice-cream')....we realized it was 5:00 PM! So four (or six) kiddie cones later, we hurried home for dinner.

The Beans were having stew (all-day cooking in the crock-pot) and we had one more new dish to prepare from another new favorite cooking blogger I found from a friend's facebook post.

It will be repeated soon in our house...

Creamy Chicken Marsala Pasta

adapted from a recipe at What’s Cookin Chicago
2 large boneless, skinless chicken breasts cut into bite sized pieces or strips
1- 10oz package of baby bella mushrooms, sliced
1 small onion, chopped
4 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, minced
¾ cup Marsala wine
½ cup chicken broth
¼ cup half & half (or heavy cream)
1 pound pasta
1/2 cup grated Parmesan + more for serving
Salt & pepper to taste
Fresh basil, finely chopped

Season the chicken with salt & pepper. Cook the chicken in a large skillet with about 2 tablespoons of olive oil. Transfer to plate when done.

Boil the water and cook pasta until al dente.

While the water is boiling add another 2 tablespoons of olive oil to the pan then add the garlic, mushrooms and onions. Cook for 10 – 15 minutes. Put the cooked chicken back into the skillet. Add the Marsala, chicken broth and half & half. Bring to a boil then lower to a simmer. Cook until sauce has thickened. About 3 – 5 minutes.

Drain the pasta and reserve ½ cup of the cooking water. Add the pasta to the same skillet and add in ½ cup of Parmesan & the chopped basil. Cook until the pasta has absorbed some of the sauce (about 1 minute). Add in reserved cooking water if needed.

Season with salt, pepper and garnish with a sprinkling more of cheese.

Garlic and Lime

We opted for the healthier (and more kid-friendly) plain brown rice over the cilantro lime rice this time. But we loved our corn on the cob and the juicy flavors of the pork (that marinated all day). While we ate, the peaches and blueberries were baking in the oven, covered in a light glaze of brown sugar, cinnamon, lemon juice, and melted butter. The warm fruit was delicious, especially with the whipped cream topping.





Garlic Lime Marinated Pork Chops
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 pork chop • Old Points: 4 pts • Points+: 5 pts
Calories: 194.6 • Fat: 7.8 g • Protein: 27.7 g • Carb: 2.3 g • Fiber: 0.6 g • Sodium: 235.5 mg

Ingredients:

• 4 (6 oz each) lean boneless pork chops
• 4 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 lime, juice of
• lime zest
• salt and fresh pepper

Directions:
Trim any fat off pork. In a large bowl season pork with garlic, cumin, chili powder, paprika, salt and pepper. Squeeze lime juice and some zest from the lime and let it marinade at least 20 minutes. Grill. Serve with cilantro lime rice.

Dessert...and Breakfast

Apple Banana Bran Muffins

1 cup whole wheat flour
1 tsp baking soda
3/4 tsp baking powder
1 1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 cup raisins chopped into small bits
1 egg
1/4 cup fat free milk
1/2 cup Stonyfield Farms Non-fat Vanilla Yogurt
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp unsweetened applesauce
2 apples cored and finely chopped
2 large bananas smashed
1/2 cup honey
1/2 cup All-Bran cereal
1/2 cup Bran Flakes cereal
3 tbsp Flax Seed

Topping:
1/3 cup oatmeal
1 tbsp whole wheat flour
1 tbsp butter
1 tbsp cinnamon & sugar mixture


1. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and spray muffin tins with cooking spray (6 large "Texas" muffins or 12 regular sized muffins will be made)
2. Combine first four ingredients in a small bowl, stir, set aside
3. Combine raisins, egg, milk, yogurt, oil, applesauce, chopped apple, banana, honey cereal, and flaxseed. Stir and let sit for about 5 minutes until cereal is softened.
4. Mix the dry ingredients with the wet and stir only until combined.
5. Mix the topping ingredients together and pulse mixture with fingers until butter is thoroughly mixed.
6. Fill muffin tins almost completely full, sprinkle topping over each muffin, and bake for approximately 20 minutes or until toothpick inserted into middle of muffin comes out clean.

I created this version of the muffins (adding the flax seed, bran flakes, yogurt, and the oatmeal topping) based on a recipe I found here.

Angel Hair with Shrimp and Asparagus

After a long morning of playing inside and out and an early lunch, the girls and I hit the Farmers Market, the discount bread store, then...a marathon Meijer trip. We had lots of coupons and a very long list. The refrigerator and pantry are now full and we actualy have a good plan for our dinners this week.

Tonight... (a recipe from "Gina")

Angel Hair with Shrimp and Asparagus
Gina's Weight Watcher Recipes
Servings: 4 • Serving Size: 1 1/2 cups • Old Points: 7 pts • Points+: 9 pts
Calories: 378.4 • Fat: 6.8 g • Carbs: 52.1 g • Fiber: 8.5 g • Protein: 31.6 g

• 1 bunch asparagus, tough ends removed, quartered
• 1 tbsp olive oil
• 6-8 ripe plum tomatoes, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
• 12 oz large shrimp, peeled and deviened
• 1/2 cup fat free chicken broth
• 2 oz white wine
• salt and fresh pepper
• 1/2 tsp herbs de Provence (or you can use your favorite herbs)
• tiny pinch of red pepper flakes (gives it a little kick)
• 8 oz angel hair pasta, high fiber or low carb

Heat a large skillet on high heat. Season shrimp with salt and pepper. When skillet is hot, spray with oil and add shrimp. Cook shrimp about 2 minutes in each side until almost cooked through and remove from the pan. Set aside.

Reduce skillet heat to medium, add olive oil and garlic and sauté until golden, careful not to burn. Add tomatoes and season with salt and pepper. Simmer about 4 minutes. Add white wine and broth and stir. Add asparagus, salt, pepper and herbs. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes on medium low heat.

While sauce is simmering, boil salted water and cook pasta until desired tenderness. Drain when done.
After sauce simmers 10 minutes, add shrimp to sauce to finish cooking, about 1 minutes (Do not overcook or shrimp will get tough). Add pasta to the sauce and toss well. Divide equally in 4 bowls and top with a good grated cheese.

This was surprisingly spicy and flavorful. I think I'll have to fight Ryan for the left-overs tomorrow at lunch time.

Panzanella Salad

A day at the beach...and dinner on the deck.



Grilled Chicken, corn on the cob, brown rice, and...

Panzanella Salad:
2-3 Large Red Garden Tomatoes (Roma or other), chopped
1-2 Garden Cucumbers, sliced
Green leaf lettuce (or butter, or bibb, etc.)
Fresh Mozzarella (cut into cubes)
Toasted bread (cute into small squares)
Kalamata olives

Dressing: (recipe from my friend, Erica)
1/2 cup of olive oil with 1/4 cup of balsamic vinegar add salt and pepper (I sprinkle in 4 shakes from my salt and pepper shaker) and 2 Tbls of sugar (or 1 packet of stevia).

It's almost bedtime, but...

...we're all sitting around the kitchen listening to Ben Folds sing "Gracie Girl", watching family pictures scroll across the ipad, having milk... ...and these amazing (and low fat?!) oatmeal chocolate chip cookies from skinnytaste.com.
I'm so glad I doubled the recipe and froze some dough...they are a new favorite.

granola

Sometime, I am going to combine this and this (using sun-butter or soy-butter instead of peanut butter) to make my own peanut-free, gluten-free granola bars.

I've always wanted to make granola...now at least I'll have the recipe filed away here.

Squash Bisque

After a full day of teaching violin lessons (while playing with my Maya) at school, the perfect dinner was calling out to me on our counter. One large butternut squash just waiting to become...

...with some cinnamon, nutmeg, brown sugar & a swirl of condensed milk on top.

*And* there's more than enough left for lunch tomorrow too. I can't wait.