Going Private

I've decided to go private. It's going to happen before the end of the year, so if you want to continue reading this then send me an email and i'll make sure it happens...simplymer (at) yahoo

ROTFLOL

My parents drove over to Spokane this weekend because Jeff Dunham (Je-fuh-fuh Dun HAM) graced our corner of this beautiful country with his presence. They enjoyed it.

ok... so this may be slightly inappropriate, but it sure is funny...

Maria's Blog

So, I made it so that if you click on either of Maria's photos on the side of the screen it will take you to her blog! How cool is that. I love blogspot!! Also I posted a couple of then and now pics of her to show how much she has grown! it's so exciting... yet sad. I already want to freeze time so my baby will stay a baby forever!

Home Cookin'

This weekend we tried out some new recipes. They were delicious so I thought that I'd share them with you all. So below are recipes for Butternut Squash Ravioli, Wonton Soup, and Salmon. Enjoy!!

Butternut Squash Ravioli

Ok... yummy Butternut Squash Ravioli
cook the squash and the scoop the flesh into a bowl.
mix in 1/2 heavy cream
1/4 tsp cinnamon
1/4 tsp pepper

1/2 tsp salt

we used both homemade pasta, and wonton wrappers (because i had heard that they were a good stubstitute) In my opinion the wonton wrappered ravioli were better. It was hard to work with the pasta dough, and the in the end it was thicker than we would have liked.

Here I was working with the pasta dough... but go for the wonton wrapper.... less labor intesive and really lets the butternut flavor shine. scoop about a teaspoon of filling onto the wrapper

here you would coat the edges of the wrapper with water and then seal cover with a second wrapper and seal. try not to trap any air. boil in a pot of water until it floats (maybe 2 minutes)

We had ours with a brown butter sage sauce, which is so easy to make. Throw some butter in a pan and let it melt over medium-low heat (a rough estimate of how much to use.... 1 Tbsp per person) as it melts the milk solids will separate from the fat sinking to the bottom of the pan and browning. There will be some "foam" on top... this is ok. then I ripped some fresh sage leaves into small pieces and dropped them into the butter. Let them fry up a bit so they are nice and crispy. Drizzle a little of the sauce over your butternut ravioli and...

Voila!! Butternut Squash Ravioli with a brown butter sage sauce.

Won Tons

So for the butternut squash ravioli I got wonton wrappers for the noodle part.... that got my mom thinking about wonton soup, so she made some.... and it was oh-so-yummy!! better than any wonton's I've ever had before.

Start off with 1/2 lb ground pork..... add 1/2 c diced waterchesnuts, 1 tsp minced garlic, 2 Tbsp minced onion, 1 tbsp soy sauce, dash of pepper, and 1 egg... stir it all together so it looks like this:

then spoon a tsp on to the center of a wonton wrapper

moisten the edges and fold it over into a triangle:

Moisten the edges and fold both corners in once again:

and you should get something that looks like this:

So, once you've got your wontons all wrapped and beautiful..... you'll want to have a big pot of boiling water.... Boil the wontons in batches for 3 minutes each and then set aside. We had a pot of chicken broth that had come to a boil and we set it aside (it was still hot) We then placed a few wontons in a bowl and then laddeled some chicken broth over them.... you could add some diced green onion for color... but we didn't have any so we didn't.
Voila!! Yummy Wonton Soup!!

the best salmon ever

Ok. I have had salmon a bunch of different ways; salt and pepper... add a little lemon juice, salsa, soy sauce, bbq-ed, baked..... anyway this version is my favorite.... you can bake it in the oven, or throw it on the bbq (on top of some tin foil) So here's what you do...

Step 1: generously sprinkle with brown sugar

Step 2: moisten brown sugar with soy sauce. not to much cause you don't want the brown sugar to all slide off when it's cooking.

Then you cook it.... i like the bbq method. just watch it cause you don't want it to get overdone.
and here's just a little side note. Farmed vs. wild salmon.... farmed is cheaper, but it also has added extra stuff, like coloring... where as wild is more expensive, it doesn't have the "extras" and it also has less calories. (for those interested in that kind of thing)

2 month doctors visit.

This morning Maria and I had to get up early becasue we had doctors appointments at 8 am.... this was the earliest we've been up and dressed since before she was born. She was fussy at 5:30 so I let her come in bed and cuddle with Marco and I. When I got back from taking a shower at 7 this is how I found them... she doesnt' look like it (becuase my camera did this funny flash think and kind of woke them up) but this is one of her favorite ways to sleep...

I think it's adorable. So we went to the doctor this morning, and she did so good... She now weighs 10 lbs 8 oz (still 4 oz lighter that you [chad] were at birth) she is 23 1/4 inches tall!! almost two whole feet!! she's grown 3 1/4 inches and gained 3lbs 11 oz. she is in the 50% for head circumfrence, 40% for weight, and 80% for height!! She got her shots too, which wasn't any fun, but she recovered pretty quickly. I got a couple of shots too, tetanus and the flu shot, and holy cow, where they put the tetanus one is real sore now.

Marco's Birdhouse!!!

So this was Marco's Project this morning....

i think it's so cool. i'm excited for the birds to make their home in his 3 story bird house!!

Here's Maria hangin' out in the crib from Opa while I did laundry!!

Here is part of Maria's room.... i think her favorite part is the butterfly mobile hanging above her changing table....

Baby Blessing

Chad, Rachel and Lily came up late Saturday night so that they could be here for Maria's baby blessing on Sunday. It was so good to see them again! I HATE that 1/2 my family doesn't live here.... I'd love it if they all did (hint, hint) so that we could hang out more, so I could see my nieces and nephew grow, so we could do girls nights.....

I was amazed at how big Lily got in the 3 months they've been away. Compared to Maria she is HUGE! and she's so cute! she totally smiles for the camera!!

Here's Chad holding Maria...

And here's a couple more of Lily posing for the camera..... Chad took these Sunday morning...

Marco and Maria.... she was a little overtired on Sunday, we waited up for Chad and Rach, and then woke up earlier than normal so we could enjoy our time with them.

A four generation picture for grandma.

mothers, and their daughters....

last, but certainly not the least.... Maria in her blessing dress. This is the same blessing dress that my siblings and I wore when we were all blessed. My Oma made it for us.

Halloween

We didn't do anything.... It's had been a long week.

BUT.... i did make Maria a costume, and if we had gone out she would have been...



A Ballerina!

Thursday..... before Halloween

We started off the day by going here.... which is kind of in the middle of nowhere (aka Sumas) My Dad went to Canada to get the SmartCar serviced, but forgot the keys at the house. So Marco, Maria, and I went for a little drive. Sumas may be way out there, but it sure is pretty.

Then since we were out that side of the county, on the way back we swung by our favorite dairy for milk.... and ice cream cones! they have the best soft serve EVER!!

Maria enjoyed herself.... i wonder what she dreams about in all that time she spends sleeping... After ice cream we headed out to Belle Wood Farms...

They have nummy Apples.... but they also have... PUMPKINS!! and since we had not gotten one yet this season, we decided to go and pick our own!

Then we stopped by their little store and got a box of apples..... I'm going to try to see if I can convince my mom to make apple pie, it's the BEST!

That evening Marco carved our pumpkins, lit them and put them out on the back porch..... the one on the right is Dracula.... it's got fangs!

Baby Shower Gift

I went to a baby shower on Saturday and had such a great time... I haven't been getting out much lately, and when I do get out it's to run errands, so socializing for enjoyment hasn't really been a big part of my life lately. Anyway it was really fun, and I'm glad that I went.... although to be honest I almost didn't go. I was going to go with my mom, but she went swimming and was going to get back late, and I'm turning into a pansy and not liking to do things on my own, which I need to get over because it's not cool.... anyway I did go because I made her a gift that I was really excited about.... a New Mom Care Kit....

a diaper pouch, which includes wipes, diapers, and spit clothes..... i have one, it fits right inside my purse (oh so handy!)

a nursing blanket aka.. hooter hider