Wonton Soup

This recipe is a winner!  It is a 'slimmed down' version of the classic wonton soup, but the flavour is great and we don't even order Wonton Soup anymore when we are out, since we all prefer this version better.  The first time you make this, it will be time consuming, until you get the hang of folding the wontons.  It will be worth the effort.  Make and freeze the wontons ahead of time and you can have dinner on the table in less than 10 minutes.

Wonton Soup

1 pound (500g) ground turkey or chicken

1 clove garlic, minced

4 green onions, white and green parts, finely sliced

2 Tbsp soy sauce

2 tsp cornstarch

salt + pepper, to taste

1 package of wonton wrappers

2 cartons of chicken stock

sliced green onions for garnish

1.  Brown the turkey/chicken in a large skillet, until fully cooked.  Add garlic and cook for 1 minute.  Add green onions, soy sauce, cornstarch, salt + pepper.  Cook for 2 minutes.  Remove from heat and let cook slightly.

2.  Scoop about 1 tsp of the filling onto each of the wonton wrappers.  Moisten the edges of the wrapper with water and fold over the filling to form a triangle.  Press down on the filling slightly to make a dent in the middle.  Fold the two widest corners of the triangle towards each other to meet over the filling and pinch the corners together.  Repeat this procedure with the remaining wonton wrappers.

3.  Bring chicken stock to a boil and add wontons.  Cook for 5 minutes uncovered.  Serve immediately, garnished with the sliced green onions.

The ground chicken/turkey filling

Ready to fold

Seal edges with a little water.  First fold, the 'triangle'

Second fold, the 'smaller triangle'

Love Twin B

xoxoxoxoxo

1st Tooth and 1st Tooth Fairy

E-man lost his first teeth at the beginning of January.  The two bottom front teeth needed to be pulled by the dentist since his adult teeth were pushing in behind.  Since the teeth in question weren't wiggly, they needed some help and E-man was very brave during the entire process.  Part of the 'braveness' came I'm sure from the thought of the Tooth Fairy's visit and the cash she would leave behind.  E-man was happy when he found "6 bucks" replacing his teeth in the morning!  I thought I'd pull up the cute  6 month pictures of when E-man cut his first tooth.  Where does the time go?

Slow Cooker Autumn Sweet Potatoes + Muffins

The following two recipes are super easy, delicious, and I love using the leftovers the next day because the result doesn't seem like leftovers.  The sweet potatoes go really nicely with roast turkey, chicken or pork.  Even if people say they don't usually like sweet potatoes, they will like these ones.  Also, because you use the slow cooker, you can get them ready early, so you don't have as much to do at dinner crunch time!  Believe me, the muffin recipe is WORTH IT!  The kiddos always gobble them up!

Little Miss Reegs on the run.  I can't seem to get a good picture of her lately.  She's either on the move, or she wants to 'SEE' the picture on the camera before I've even taken it.  Notice the barrette on the floor behind her?  She is really into "redoing" her hair.  In this picture, she's only got one of her pigtails in.

Can you stand still so Mommy can get a picture?  No?  Okay, I'll take what I can get!

Cooker Autumn Sweet Potatoes


Cooking Spray
4 pounds sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2 inch chunks
1 20-once can apple pie filling
2/3 cup raisins
3 Tbs butter, cut up

1 tsp cinnamon
½  tsp nutmeg
1 cup chopped pecans
1/3 cup sugar
2 Tbs butter

Before Cooking

1.  Spray slow cooker with cooking spray.  Add sweet potatoes, apple pie filling, raisins, 3 Tbs butter, cinnamon and nutmeg into slow cooker.  Cover; cook on low-heat for 6 hours or on high-heat for 3 hours.

After Cooking

2.  In a heavy skillet, combine pecans, sugar and 2 Tbs butter.  Cook and stir over medium heat for 10 minutes or until sugar mixture clinging to nuts turns golden and starts to melt.  Pour nut moisture onto a piece of foil; cool completely.  When nut mixture is cool, coarsely crush.  To serve, top potatoes with candied pecans.  Make ahead:  Prepare candied pecans as directed.  Cover; store at room temperature for up to 2 days.

Sweet Potato Muffins

2 c. all-purpose flour
1 tbsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
2 eggs
1 c. mashed sweet potato (or leftover Autumn Slow Cooker Sweet Potatoes)
1/2 c. sugar
1 c. milk
1/3 c. canola oil
1 Tbsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsps oatmeal
2 Tbsp. molasses
1/2 c. raisins

Preheat oven to 350F.
Sift flour, baking powder, and salt into a large bowl.
In a separate bowl, beat eggs with sweet potatoes. Add milk, sugar, oil, oatmeal, molasses, and spices; process or beat until smooth.
Pour liquid mixture into dry ingredients. Mix just enough to blend. Stir in raisins.
Divide the batter between muffin cups.  Bake for 25 minutes or until they are lightly browned on top and a toothpick inserted comes out clean.

Love Twin B
xoxoxoxox

Silly Sweetie Brownies

My silly sweetie Reegs just loves swimming.  Really, she can't get enough.  Bubbles, jumping in, swimming underwater, kicking, floating...  She loves it all.  Lately, Reegs doesn't just have a thing for swimming, but also for her bathing suit.

The other day, I watched as she worked for 30 minutes to get her bathing suit on after she got it out of the laundry basket.  Awesome for me, since I got to fold all of the laundry without her 'help'.  Reegs would say "No ME!" when I would try to help.  Finally, after half an hour, she let me help her.

The rest of the afternoon until bathtime, she wore her little suit and declared "Swimmin' Suit", every chance she got.  What a great Canadian moment too...  Playing in the snow and then making the most of a bathing suit moment, even if it isn't warm enough to enjoy the style outside.  She's such a silly sweetie!

My Suit Mommy!

Swimmin' Pool?

T-man building a fort with the help of a hockey stick.

Brownie Points...  You'll never need to buy a brownie mix again.  Don't you love that!  Brownies whenever you want...  Could be dangerous!

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9-by-9-inch baking pan.  In a large bowl, combine 2 cups sugar, 4 Tbsp. Cocoa Powder, 1 ½ sticks melted butter and ½ tsp salt.  Whisk in 3 eggs, 1 at a time.  Stir in 1 cup flour.  Transfer the batter to the baking pan and bake until just set, 25 to 30 minutes; let cool.

How cute is this winter look?

Bringing Home Baby Bran Muffins

This post brings back so many memories for both Twin A + B.  We remember those precious 'first weeks' at home with our babies.  What a special time it was for our families.  Newborns have special magic that is unexplainable, undeniable and unrepeatable.  Here are some pics of our newbies...  Remember when?

Twin B's E-man

Twin B's T-man

Twin B's Reegs

Twin A's Big-Little

Twin A's Little-Little

This is a perfect gift to bring a new mom when she is being flooded with casseroles and lasagnas.  It's also very handy when you are expecting guests or you have a gaggle of kiddos to feed in the morning before school.  This bran muffin batter can be stored in your fridge for up to 6 weeks!!!  Make the batter once and then bake off as many muffins as you need.  Fresh, warm muffins at your fingertips.  

4 cups Bran Flake cereal
2 cups All Bran cereal
2 cups Boiling Water

1 cup Butter, softened
1 ½ cups Sugar
1 ½ cups Brown Sugar, packed
4 Eggs
4 cups Buttermilk
¼ cup Molasses


5 cups All-purpose Flour
2 tbsp. Baking soda
1 tbsp. Baking powder
1 tsp. Salt
2 cups Raisins or Dried Cranberries

In large bowl, combine cereals and boiling water.  Let stand.

In mixing bowl, cream butter, sugar and brown sugar together.  Add eggs one at a time beating well after each addition.  Mix in buttermilk.  Add molasses.  Stir in cereal mixture.

In another bowl, combine flour, soda, baking powder, salt and raisins.  Mix thoroughly.  Add to batter.  Stir just to combine.  Store in refrigerator.  It will keep for six weeks.  As required, fill greased muffin cups ¾ full.  Bake in 400 degree oven for 20 to 25 minutes.  Remove from pan after 5 minutes.

What a welcome addition to the great things in the fridge.  Warm muffins that can be ready in moments.  What could be better?  Who wants another muffin?

**  Don't double this recipe.  It makes a huge amount of batter!

***  If you don't have buttermilk on hand, don't panic!  Put 4 tbsps of white vinegar into a large glass measuring cup.  Fill the cup to the 4 cup mark with milk and let sit for 15 minutes.  Voila...  Buttermilk.

Love,
Twin B
xoxoxoxoxo

Citrus Carrot Soup

We LOVE our NY snow.  Takes a bit of time to get out the door, but once we do, we are up to our knees in the deep white stuff.  The big little cannot get enough.  We recently went all out, donned our gear and did the snow thing up right.  Sledding in our yard, snow angels, making tracks and overall winter fun.  We got good and tired then decided to head inside for some citrus-y carrot soup.  What a perfect SNOWY DAY.

A nicely worn in book we LOVE and LOVE.

Making piles of snow.

Like this Mama?

Bundled up right.

I've got this snow angel thing down!

Where are you?

I'm stuck.

Gonna try to crawl out of this snowy situation.

All cozy in my knit hat from Auntie.xxoo

1/4 cup butter
2 cups finely chopped onion
12 large carrots, peeled and sliced (or you can use that large bag of baby carrots that you bought last week and PROMISED yourself to eat!xxoo)
4 cups chicken broth
1 cup orange juice
salt and pepper to taste
grated orange zest

Melt butter in pot and add onions, cooking until lightly browned.  Add carrots and broth and bring to a boil.  Reduce heat.  Cover and cook until carrots are very tender, about 30 min.  Pour batches in a food processor or blender and puree, or use an immersion blender (love mine).  Puree until smooth.  Return puree to pot, add orange juice.  Season to taste.  Add orange zest and simmer until heated through.  If it is too thick at this point add more OJ.

Sending Love,

Twin A

Oh Orzo, where have you been?

...and no I'm not talking about a new toy or animated character.  I'm talking about a delish pasta salad.  It just happens to be one of the simplest to put together dishes EVER.  It is perfect to bring along to a playdate to feed the Mama's and the littles just might be brave enough to try it because the Orzo itself is a rice shaped pasta.  Share a bowl of this salad this week and your Mama pals will be cravin' nothing else.  I have never met a new Mom (or a pregnant one for that matter) who doesn't think about Feta cheese ALL DAY long.  Just make sure if you are serving feta to the preggo crowd it is pasteurized (it is actually pretty hard to find the un-pasteurized stuff in the grocery aisles anyway).  The kick of spinach is a nice dose of folic acid to boot, load er on up!

Feta, Spinach & Orzo Salad

1 (16oz) package of Orzo, cooked and drained
2 cups baby spinach leaves, chopped.  (I used more)
2 cups crumbled feta cheese
1 red onion diced (I used less, like half)
1 tsp Italian seasoning
1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBSP balsamic vinegar
Salt and pepper to taste

Combine pasta, spinach, feta, onion and italian seasoning in a large bowl.  Toss with olive oil, balsamic vinegar, salt and pepper.  Refrigerate and serve cold.  Serves 6-8.

The two littles camped out on a cold winter day.  The big reading to the little.

It's not Delivery?

Mom:  It's pizza night.

Kids:  Is the pizza man coming?

Mom:  Nope.  It's not delivery.  It's homemade.

Kids:  Okay.  Your pizza is pretty good.  Can we help make it?

This is pretty much how the conversation goes every time I make pizza.  It's the best meal to make at the end of a long week, when the fridge is full of bits and pieces of everything leftover from the week.  Anything makes a good pizza.  The following recipe will make two pizza crusts.  Sometimes I make two pizzas.  Sometimes I make one pizza and freeze the other half to defrost later.

Simple Red Pizza Sauce 

(make this before you start the dough, so it will be ready when you are ready to make the pizza)

Ingredients:

3 Tbsp. olive oil (+ 2 additional Tbsp.)

2 cloves minced garlic

1 28 ounce can of tomatoes

salt

pepper

Heat olive oil over medium heat.  Add garlic and cook until translucent.  Add tomatoes and their juice.  Add salt and pepper and cook until the sauce is thickened and reduced by a third, about 15 minutes.  Re-season with salt and pepper.  Add remaining olive oil.  Pulse in a blender or food processor if you want a smoother sauce.

My Grandma P gave me her extra large Tupperware bowl that I use constantly.  It's perfect for making this pizza dough recipe.  Make sure to oil the bowl and the dough so that you can remove it easily after you've let it rise.

Pizza Dough (makes 2 pizza crusts)

3 cups all-purpose flour ( plus 2 cups)

2 packages of FLEISCHMANN'S Quick-Rise Instant Yeast

1/2 tsp salt

2 cups very warm water (130 degrees F)

4 Tbsp. olive oil

cornmeal

In large bowl, combine 3 cups flour, yeast and salt.  Stir in very warm water and olive oil into dry ingredients.  Stir in enough remaining flour to make soft dough.  Knead on lightly floured surface until smooth and elastic, about 5 minutes.  Place in oiled bowl, roll it so that the outside of dough ball is lightly covered in oil, cover and let rest for 10 minutes (or up to an hour).


Lightly spray two baking sheets, sprinkle with cornmeal.  Divide and roll dough to fit pans.
Top pizzas as desired.  Bake at 425 degrees F for 15-25 minutes or until done.  Baking time depends on size thickness of crust and toppings so watch closely.

Sometimes I turn the second half of the dough into quick and easy cinnamon buns for a fun after school snack.  Just roll out the dough, add a mixture of brown sugar, cinnamon and raisins, roll up, cut and bake until golden brown.

E-man likes to eat his cinnamon bun by unrolling the dough, carefully eating towards the centre, which is the "BEST PART".

Reegs likes the full-fist approach.  She is usually a sticky mess, picking out all of the raisins.

T-man likes to take all the 'BEST BITES' first, meaning, he'll eat all spots that have the most sugar/raisins, before eating the rest of the roll.

Using the old noodle.

The big little has started to try a few more new foods.  "Strings" is a new favorite pasta shape, replacing "Tubes".  So, surprise of all surprises, the big little actually ate this pasta salad.  Full disclosure, we had to say that somebody else made it... but he gobbled it up and I was happy.  Def. a repeat in our house.  A nice dish to drop off to a family or bring to a potluck, it makes a nice lunch too.

Spicy Noodle Salad

Dressing:
1/3 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup white wine vinegar
2 TBSP chili sauce
2 TBSP sugar
2 TBSP sesame oil (I didn't have any, substituted olive oil, worked fine)
1 inch chunk of fresh ginger, peeled and grated finely or minced
4 garlic cloves, minced
2 tsp chili flakes (a tad hot, use the amt you think you can handle, less if serving to the littles)
ground black pepper to taste
1/4 cup vegetable oil

Spaghettini or Vermicelli (any thin noodle will work)
grated carrots (I just bought the pre-shredded kind and used a ton!)
green onion, thinly sliced to taste

In a bowl, whisk all dressing ingredients together, making sure to whisk in vegetable oil in a thin stream.  Refrigerate until ready to use.  Can be prepared up to one week in advance (the flavor improves!).  Whisk again just before using.
Toss with cooked pasta, carrots and greens onions.

Tools of the trade.

The boys using their "noodles".

Precision building.

Note the concentration.  Now that's a good noodle workout.

Look Mama, we made "stairs"!

Sending Love,
Twin A

Use it up and ya get cookie bars!

Dig through your pantry and freezer right now.  You have all of these little leftover bits from the holidays, I can almost promise.  Before your crumbs get stale and your coconut gets lost in never never land, put together these yummy cookie bars and you will turn into a magician without even waving a wand.  This recipe is so magic, that you don't even have any dishes to wash.  Seriously, just the pan you bake them in and a spoon!  How much better is that!


Magic Cookie Bars
(thank you Sarah! xxoo)

1/2 cup butter
1 1/2 cups graham wafer crumbs
1 can sweetened condensed milk
1 cup semi-sweet chocolate chips
1 1/4 cups flaked coconut
1 cup chopped nuts

Preheat oven to 350 degrees (or 325 degrees for glass dish).  Melt butter in 9X13 inch baking pan in oven.  Sprinkle crumbs over melted butter, mix together and press into pan.  Pour condensed milk evenly over crumbs.  Sprinkle with chocolate chips, then coconut and nuts.  Press down firmly and bake 25 to 30 min or until lightly browned.  Cool well before cutting into squares.

She sleeps, so I bake.  Note her "Dollie" sleeps the exact same way she does.

Sending Love,

Twin A

Ho Ho Ho!

Okay, so our track record with the Jolly Old Man, remains Santa 3 & Littles 0.  I thought the little little might even out our odds this year, but nope.  She fed off of the big littles anxiety about seeing the man in red and we had another clutching, grabbing, climbing, crying time.  The plus was that there was no line, no wait.  Maybe next year we will have harmony.  The irony of the whole thing is that now, Santa reigns king in our house.  It is almost a full week into the new year (and by the time I posted this it is February!) and the big little wakes up every morning asking "Where's Santa" and every night before bed we have to read the coveted Santa book that he can now narrate himself.  Here is one picture of our Santa visit 2010... note that the big little is practically crawling into my shirt in fear.  Oh poor little guy.

Santa was a good sport!

Here is "the" Christmas holiday square that was coveted and consumed in large portions this year.  Unfortunately, no pictures were snapped, they didn't stay on the plate long enough.

Caramel Toffee Squares

(thank you Sarah!)

For the bottom layer:

1/2 cup plus 2 tsp butter

1/4 cup white sugar

1 1/4 cups flour

Crumble ingredients well.  Pack into ungreased 9X9 inch pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20 min (check after 10 min).

For the middle layer:

1/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 tbsp corn syrup

1/2 cup sweetened condensed milk

Combine ingredients in saucepan.  Bring to a boil.  Boil for 5 min, stirring all the time.  Remove from heat.  Beat and pour over bottom layer.

For the top layer:

Melt 2 cups of chocolate chips and pour over second layer.

Let partially set and then score cut lines into chocolate.  Let cool completely, then finish cutting along lines.  Yum oh yum.

Sending Love,

Twin A

Oliebollen: A Sweet Dutch Treat

My inlaws are Dutch, through and through.  If you want to talk, eat, discuss and/or decorate Dutch, they know all about it.  Over the years, I have been trying to incorporate a little Dutch into our family traditions.  It has been a blast and a culinary adventure.

My husband always talked about how his mom and grandma would make oliebollen during the holidays.  He says the aroma of a batch of oliebollen immediately transports him back to the days of his youth.  How can I not try to recreate those great memories?

Directly translated, oliebollen means fried balls.  Essentially, it is a yummy doughnut with currents/raisins.  For the Canadians in the crowd, it's like a really fresh Timbit.  I didn't really want to make them since it involved a large pot of crazy hot oil.  Hot oil and kids don't make a safe combination.  I did however mention that if I ever got an electric deep fryer, I could be convinced to make them.  Bingo, my great husband got me a deep fryer and after a quick trip to the local Dutch store, I got the "cheat" mix and attempted my first batch.  They were a hit and so we made them for the numerous groups of people we entertained during the holidays.  They are perfect after a skate or a slide down the hill.

The oliebollen mix from the Dutch Cash and Carry in Calgary.   Just add water, raisins and let it rise.  The instructions are in Dutch but it isn't too hard to follow.  Once fried, you dust them in icing sugar.

Everyone always looks for the ones that have 'crunchy' tails.  Those ones are the best.

The oliebollen maker

Enjoying every yummy mouthful.

Can we make these every day?

These things are the best.

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, Happy New Year!

Prettig Kerstfeest gelukkig vakanties gelukkig nieuwjaar!

Love,

Twin B

xoxoxoxo