Vegetable Chicken Stir-fry

This dish is delicious!  My kids like to turn their noses up at it because of the vegetables but I serve it with brown rice and make them eat at least one vegetable each and the chicken.  When I made it this time I used a little more chicken than it calls for and it looks like more because the chicken and the cauliflower are the same color in the picture.

1 T cornstarch

1 cup  chicken broth

1/4 cup soy sauce

1 lb boneless skinless chicken breasts, cut into strips, or small for little ones

3 garlic cloves, minced

Dash ground ginger (I have never used this)

2 T olive oil, divided

2 cups fresh broccoli florets

1 cup fresh cauliflowerets

1 cup sliced fresh carrots

1 cup fresh or frozen snow peas

1 tsp sesame seeds, toasted

In a small bowl, combine the cornstarch, broth and soy sauce until smooth; set aside.  Ina large nonstick skillet, stir-fry the chicken, garlic and ginger in hot oil for 4-5 minutes or until chicken is no longer pink.  Remove and keep warm.

Ina large skillet, stir-fry broccoli, carrots and cauliflower in the remaining oil for 4 minutes or until crisp-tender.  Add snow peas; stir-fry for 2 minutes.  Stir broth mixture; add to pan.  Bring to a boil; cook and stir for 1 minutes or until thickened.  Add chicken; cook until heated through.  Top with sesame seeds.  Yield 4 servings

Claire- the model

My friend, Karen, wanted to take some pictures of Claire to practice because she is getting into photography.  She thinks Claire is so easy to photograph, which she is because she loves the camera!  Karen is great with kids!  So you can go to her blog and check out some shots. 

Lemon Crumb Muffins

This recipe makes a huge batch so either be prepared to share with friends and neighbors.  You can also store the batter in your refrigerator so you can make fresh ones each morning.  These are really good and keep really well.  I got this recipe from this month's Taste of Home magazine.

6 cups flour

4 cups sugar

3/4 tsp baking soda

3/4 tsp salt

8 eggs

2 cups (36oz) sour cream

2 cups butter, melted

3 T grated lemon peel

2 T lemon juice

Streusel:

3/4 cup flour

3/4 cup sugar

3/4 cup cold butter

Glaze:

1/2 cup sugar

1.3 cup lemon juice

In a large bowl, combine the flour, sugar, baking soda and salt.  In another bowl, whisk the eggs, sour cream, butter, lemon peel and juice.  Stir into dry ingredients just until moistened.  Fill greased or paper-lined muffin cups three-fourths full.

In a small bowl, combine flour and sugar; cut in butter until mixture resembles coarse crumbs.  Sprinkle over batter.

Bake at 350 for 20-25 minutes or until toothpick comes out clean.  Cool for 5 minutes before removing from pans to wire racks.  In a small bowl, whisk glaze ingredients; drizzle over warm muffins.  

Yield: 40 muffins

Happy Birthday Cade

      





I can't believe my first baby is six years old!  Where has the time gone?  It seems like yesterday when we were in Phoenix and I was at my last day of work.  Later that day I started feeling things I hadn't felt before and sure enough one week before my due date my anxious little Cade was ready to make his appearance.  It's amazing how much you remember, of course I won't go into details, but it was a wonderful experience.  And then came the crying...  If any of you knew Cade when he was a baby, he cried nonstop.   Of course I didn't know any different because he was my first.  I remember practically crying when I saw my niece, Hannah (born one week after Cade), and my nephew Seth (born 6 weeks after Cade) because they were so happy and content.  I honestly didn't know how hard I had it until then.  So thank heavens he was my first!  

Cade has really matured in the past year.  It just breaks my heart to think about how much he missed out on by not being able to hear clearly for the first 5 1/2 years of his life.  But at the same time it amazes me how much he was able to compensate and push through regardless of his hearing loss.  I am so proud of how far he has come in the short 6 months he has had his hearing aids.  We still have a ways to go but he is a trooper and we will get there.  We love you Cade and you are such a sweet boy.  Thank you for blessing our lives.

Waffles

If you liked the recipe I posted for pancakes you will also like this waffle recipe because it is very similar.  Wehn I first met Casey I thought it was a little weird that he never put butter and syrup on his waffles, instead he likes Cool Whip.  Well, now the whole family uses Cool Whip, except on our Eggos of course!

1 3/4 cups flour

3 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

2 eggs

1 3/4 cup milk

1/2 cup vegetable oil

Mix together and bake in hot waffle iron.  

It's T-ball season!

         
    

So far we have had three t-ball games with another one tonight.  Cade is so much better than he was last year and so far in the season we are making progress from one game to the next.  The first game he ended up getting benched because he was a little upset that the first baseman that he was backing up kept getting the ball and wouldn't let him get the ball!  The nerve!  So he went and punched him in the shoulder.  The next game there were a couple of kids going for the ball at the same time, the boy next to him get it and Cade put his arm around him and took him back down to the ground.  The last game he didn't make any contact with anyone so we are progressing.  At least he hasn't made anyone cry, our "pitcher" went to tag a boy with the ball and tackled him at the same time and the poor thing started crying.  He has been catcher a couple of times but I haven't had my camera with me.  He looks so cute in all of the get up!  So we hope that by the end of the season he is doing better and is able to stay focused on the game.  He has a tendency to entertain himself when he is bored in the field either by dancing or pulling on the grass or digging in the dirt.  T-ball is definitely entertaining!

Wedding vows you wish he'd made

I just received my Parenting magazine for May today and was reading it while waiting for Cade to come home from school and I found this gem!  Enjoy!

Wedding vows you wish he'd made by Jen Singer, from You're a Good Mom (And Your Kids Aren't So Bad Either)

1.  I will listen to what you say past the verb and into the paragraph.

2.  I will buy birthday presents for my mother .  And cards, too.

3.  I will never use the word "we're" before "pregnant".

4.  I will not act like a hero for changing a blowout diaper in a public bathroom.