The BEST Salad!

I didn't even take a picture, because, well we ate it so fast. And we eat this all the time recently. But I can't stop thinking about how good dinner was. While we were eating, Jon asked me, "Is is normal to get this excited about a salad?" I don't know, but I just thought I would share.

My sister Maria adapted this recipe from one on Allrecipes.com and shared it with me. We LOVE it. Here's how it's done...

Asian Chicken Salad

Dressing (ESSENTIAL for the salad to be so good):
2 Tbs. brown sugar
1 tsp. soy sauce
1 Tbs. sesame oil
3 Tbs. rice vinegar
1/4 C. vegetable oil

mix up all dressing ingredients and chill for at least 30 minutes

Salad:
lettuce, about 3 cups, chopped (I use romaine)
1 chicken breast, cooked and shredded
1 can mandarin oranges
1 green onion, chopped
1 Tbs. sesame seeds, toasted (don't leave these out!)
1 cup or so store-bought won tons

toss all ingredients EXCEPT won tons. Serve those on the side to top your salad once it is on your plate (so they don't get soggy). Serve with dressing.

Okay, so it is totally worth going out and buying the "special" ingredients for this salad. You will want to eat it again and again, so you will totally get your money's worth! Yum!

Why My House May Never Be Clean Again (at least for the next 5-10 years...)

No one ever tells you that cleaning with a toddler in the house is next to impossible. Could that be because it is just my toddler? Let it be said that I am absolutely wild about Olivia...couldn't love her more. However, she is the reason that my house will probably never be clean again. Let's have a quick recap of the cleaning attempts from the past couple days...

We went upstairs to fold some laundry. I got it folded, but while I did so, Olivia did this.
Then we went downstairs to fold some laundry (for the second time...Liv had already unfolded it as fast as I could fold it once). While I did that, she opened all my craft drawers and started dumping beads everywhere. (This is a repeat offense...I think our vacuum is sick of crunching on tiny beads that this pregnant lady does not have the energy to pick up.)

And lest you think, well, at least you got the laundry folded, think again. She managed to re-unfold it before I could put it away.

I load the dishwasher, she pulls everything out and throws it on the floor.

I put away her clothes, she pulls all the books off her shelf.

I pick up her toys, she pulls all the shoes out of the bench where we store them. I'm starting to think the floor is a really good place to "store" all those shoes instead.

And here's my favorite. Everyone knows that a house with a toddler must be swept several times a day or be subject to bugs of every kind. Lately, whenever I get out the broom, she either dances in the dust pile (ahem, crumb pile) and tracks it everywhere, while fishing out anything that looks edible and trying to eat it, or steals the broom and "helps" by pushing the dirt around the house.

One thing she does have going for her though...I know lots of little kids are terrified of the vacuum cleaner. Liv is only mildly afraid. This morning while I vacuumed the living room, she stood absolutely still against the wall until I was finished, and then approached the vacuum and started poking at it timidly.

So great. I got the living room vacuumed. But don't worry, she left this little surprise for me in the carpet after her post-lunch-sweep-dancing-and-tracking escapade.
By nap time, I am so exhausted from chasing her around all morning, I can't even think about cleaning.

Sigh.

So I'm giving up. No more clean house for me. By the time she grows out of it, I'm sure the next one will pick up where she left off...what's a mom to do?

29 Weeks

I have been a slacker about posting belly pics this pregnancy, probably because by the time Jon gets home to take a picture, I have been chasing Olivia around all day, and am not looking anywhere near ready to have my picture taken. So at last (on a Sunday...much more do-able for pictures) here is my 29 week belly. This little girl has definitely been letting me know she is in there...she's a little mover like Liv was!

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My "Problem"

So here's the scenario...I'm teaching a night class at the local community college, and right as I'm starting class (it's the first day), this old guy says "can I ask you a personal question?" I'm a pretty open person, so I say, "sure", and he asks, "Are you going to make it through this course?" (Obviously looking at my growing belly.) I explain that, yes, I am quite sure I will make it through the course, but should anything happen that would make it so I couldn't, a substitute would finish the class.

A few minutes later, it turns out that the guy was actually signed up for an Italian class, and has been directed to the wrong room. As he gets up to leave, he grumbles, "Well good. Maybe my next instructor won't have a maternity problem." A what? I should probably be offended, but I started laughing. Wow.

Nursery Art

Just finished up some art projects for nursery #2. It's mod podge on paper on acrylic on canvas. I guess we call that multi-media?

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Soup in a Bread Bowl

I'm such genius, I picked the hottest day of September to make soup in a bread bowl. It was delightful anyway. For my own record-keeping, since I just throw things together and sometimes can't recreate recipes, and in case you happen to be interested, here's what I did.

For the bread bowls:
Make a batch of your favorite bread dough. I did a batch of whole wheat on Monday and froze the dough for the bread bowls until today. Make balls of dough with about a 4-inch diameter. Place them on a greased baking sheet sprinkled with corn meal. If you want to freeze them, now is the time (make sure you cover them well if you're going to do this) Otherwise, let the dough rise until it doubles in size.

To make them nice and crusty, put a dish of hot water on the bottom rack of the oven. Bake bread bowls 15 minutes at 400 degrees f. Then pull them out momentarily and brush them with an egg wash made of one egg white and 1 Tb. water. Put them back in the oven and bake 10-15 more minutes.

When they come out, cut the tops off and scoop out the insides with a spoon to make a bowl. Fill with soup and serve immediately (while warm!)

For the Creamy Chicken and Rice Soup:

Boil one chicken breast in a small pot of water (about 2.5 cups). When cooked, remove and cut into small cubes. Save water.

Chop 1 large carrot (or 12 baby-cut carrots), one small onion, and other vegetables you like (I added the kernals from some leftover corn on the cob). Put vegetables in leftover water with 4 chicken bullion cubes and simmer.

In a large pot, melt one stick of butter, and add 1/3 cup flour. Cook over medium heat until a light brown or golden color, making a roux.

To the roux in the large pot, add water with vegetables, chicken, and 1 1/2 cups cooked brown rice (this is a good way to use leftover rice). Also, add 2 cups milk, salt and pepper to taste, one bay leaf, 1/4 tsp thyme, and 1/8 tsp rubbed sage.

Simmer until the soup thickens to desired thickness (I let mine get thick) and serve in your bread bowl (or any old bowl, for that matter).

I wasn't sure how this would turn out since I've never experimented with this type of soup before, but it was delicious. Jon nor I (nor Olivia!) could get enough of it!

I would probably pick a cooler day to make it though. :)

Book Page Leaf Wreath

I made this fun autumn wreath after being inspired by a picture of a Christmas wreath in "Martha Stewart Living". This is a fall-friendly adaptation, and even though I looked up the tutorial for the magazine version on line, I used a completely different method. If you're interested, here's how I made it.

Materials:

One old book (I got an old paper back at Goodwill for 50 cents)

A straw wreath (I was looking for a foam wreath, but couldn't find one. Ended up liking the straw a lot because the color matches the paper, and it looks nice if any pieces show. I got mine at JoAnn's for $1.50 after using a 40% off coupon.)

Ribbon (I had the thick brown and paid 60 cents with a coupon for the two thinner spools.)

Colorful fall leaves (This is optional. I got a whole bag at JoAnn's on sale for 99 cents.)

Wire to make a hook to hang the wreath from. (Or you could hang it another way. I had some wire on hand)

Straight pins (I had these...just used some of the ones I use for sewing.)

Fall leaf templates (I printed four different leaves, similar sizes--on cardstock, because they'll be traced a lot. Just did a google image search on "fall leaf templates".)

(My total cost was $3.59...not too bad!)

Instructions:

Print your leaf templates and cut them out. Trace leaves onto the pages of an old book and cut them out. This will be easier if you cut pages out first with an exacto knife. Also, you will save yourself lots of time by stacking several sheets so you cut out more than one leaf at once (I discovered this at the very end...) I had four kinds of leaves and cut out 15 of each, for a 14 inch wreath, and had just a couple left over. Also, I gently folded the leaves down the center to give them some dimension.

Tie your ribbon to the bottom of the wreath and let it hang loose for now.

Begin to pin the paper leaves to the straw wreath base. I just sort of rotated which kind of leaf and stuck the straight pins through. You could also use hot glue...this doesn't work for me since the area between my front door and the glass storm door gets super hot, even in winter, it melts hot glue (I learned this the hard way.) If you don't want to pin, a stapler would probably work really well too, and might even be sturdier than the pins.

Keep pinning leaves until they cover the wreath, all the way down to the ribbon.

If desired, pin decorative colored leaves in place near ribbon, and tie a bow. Pin bow into place so it holds its shape.

Attach wire hook or loop to the back of the wreath.

Hang and admire. :)