Kitchen Fun…

 

Hello!  Yes, I do believe this is day TWO in posting!  I can’t believe it, I’m posting a day after a post.  This is a record and a reason to celebrate

Today was a good day   I had a busy day at home and I got everything I wanted to get done today DONE   My schedule was filled with washing and drying clothes, helping Josh and Andrew finish their homework for school, and testing three new recipes in the kitchen.  I was amazed with myself when Wayne came home and I was cooking supper.  I was reflecting on my day and how well it went.  I was even more amazed that I completed the seven loads of washing that I had to do.  Usually when I do laundry I always have one load in the dryer that needs to be folded.  Because I’m so tired from the day, I would just leave that load in the dryer and tell myself that I’ll fold it tomorrow…which I never do!  I have to admit a lot of times that one load in the dryer doesn’t get folded until the next laundry day (which is usually three days later).   But if you check my dryer there is NOTHING!  I had time to fold the last load of laundry and put it away!  YAY me!!!

Since Christmas, my eating habits have not been that great.  We had birthdays and anniversaries during the holiday season and eating was abundant.  Thankfully Josh’s birthday was over the weekend and the overindulgence and stop until the next holiday/birthday which will be in three weeks for my brother inlaw’s birthday lol

To kick off my “getting back to what I normally eat” self, I decided that I was going to make a few recipes that will last for the week.  I decided to do Mediterranean Garbanzo Salad, Herbed Cheddar Soda Bread, and Energizing and Spicy Broccoli Dal.

The idea to do Mediterranean Garbanzo Salad came from my mother inlaw.  Last night we were over at  her house for Joshua’s birthday and she made this salad specifically for me.  She was cooking a roast and she knew that I don’t eat red meat anymore and she wanted to accommodate to my eating habits.  Mediterranean Garbanzo Salad is from Company’s Coming Diabetic Cookbook.  When I asked my mother inlaw for the recipe she pulled out the Diabetic Cookbook and I realized that I have the cookbook at home.  When I got home last night I went to my cookbook shelf to get the Diabetic Cookbook and that’s when I realized it was missing.  I spent a great deal of time looking for that cookbook and I have no idea where it is!   Fortunately, the recipe is posted online and can be found here:  http://www.companyscoming.com/recipes/mediterranean-garbanzo-salad/1980/6/338/

I was quite pleased with the salad.  The taste of the salad had an authentic greek flavour with the feta, black olives, oregano, and lemon juice.  This is a salad that I’ll make a lot because it is easy and its wonderful for lunches

My next recipe is Herbed Cheddar Soda Bread.  I found this recipe in the latest issue of Chatelaine.  It’s super easy and doesn’t require a lot of time to make.   The recipe for the bread can be found here: http://food.chatelaine.com/Recipes/View/Herbed-cheddar-soda-bread

 

The bread was another winner   I really liked it and it was wonderful with the Mediterranean Garbanzo Salad.

My last recipe to make is from Ohsheglows.com  It is the Energizing and Spicy Broccoli Dal.  The recipe can be found here: http://ohsheglows.com/2011/01/06/energizing-spicy-broccoli-dal/

When I was making it I knew right away I will like it  

If you notice, my dal doesn’t look anything like OSG.  I don’t know why mine isn’t green looking.  I’m thinking maybe I needed more broccoli or the seasoning that I was using might have changed the color.  Anyways, it was very delish and another winner to go along with the Herbed Cheddar Soda Bread.  It wasn’t as spicy as I thought it was going to be, but that’s okay.  Again, the lighting isn’t that great and I apologize for it

Anyways, that’s all I have for now…the kids need their bath and off to bed, so I can sit down and have some quality me time

Joshua turns six!!!

 

Hello everyone!  The weekend is done and Joshua has officially turned six   His birthday was on Friday, but it lasted pretty much the whole weekend.  On Friday we went to my family’s house to celebrate and then today was at Wayne’s side of the family.

So, what did Joshua get for a boy turning six years old?  Well, he got a NHL Stanley Cup Hockey Table!

Here’s Joshua slowly waking up on his birthday.  He is sleeping in our bed yet again…

Nice pose Joshua!!!

Not a very good shot of Josh.  I’m still figuring out the lighting when taking pictures

Still slowly waking up, but he’s getting interested in his present

Now he’s giving me that look “Are you done taking my picture mom???”

When Josh’s present was opened and assembled it provided a lot of entertainment for Josh and his dad

 

 

I’m trying to distract Josh, but it’s not working…he is totally in the zone!

 

For Josh’s birthday, Josh wanted me to make my famous Chocolate MIracle Whip Cake.  The “Miracle” is that no one but me knows that miracle whip is a main ingredient to the cake.  LOL  Actually as bad as it sounds, the miracle whip really makes the cake moist and delicious.  Here is the recipe:

Chocolate Miracle Cake:

2 cups of flour, 1 cup of sugar, 1 1/2 tsp. baking powder, 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda, 4 to 6 tbsp. cocoa, 1 cup of miracle whip, 1 cup cold water, and 1 tsp. of vanilla

Combine and mix all ingredients and bake at 350 degrees for 20 to 30 minutes.

Joshua wanted cupcakes instead of the cake…

Joshua really likes the cupcakes, but Wayne decided that he needed a cake instead.  So Wayne went out and bought a cake.  Unfortunately, Wayne didn’t have the baker write anything on the cake.  He just left it blank!

Personally I think my cupcakes are better than the cake…but what do I know.  Anyways, this is the cake that we took to my side of the family to celebrate Joshua’s birthday.

 

For Josh’s birthday on Wayne’s side of the family, I decided to be really adventurous and make a layered chocolate cake.  Oh I worked so hard on the cake and this is how it turned out:

My first ever attempt at a layered cake was falling apart in front of my eyes!

I was so mad and I really didn’t want to take the cake to my inlaw’s house that I phoned my brother inlaw Terry to get a cake for Josh’s birthday.  Here is what he got:

The Winter men seem to have a problem with not personalizing birthday cakes!  They just think of cake and nothing else.  No “Happy 6th Birthday Josh” or “Look whose turning six”…nothing   The cake was actually used for Josh’s birthday and for his cousin Erica who turned 14 on Jan. 4.

This is Erica, the birthday girl who just turned 14.  She’s sitting besides Daniel.

Sitting besides Josh is Avery his cousin (Erica’s brother) and Andrew.

Uncle Terry (Wayne’s brother) and my niece, Sasha.

Erica wanting for her cake and Sasha striking a pose behind her.

 

Grandpa Winter and me.

Grandma Winter

And I’ll end this post with one of my favourite pictures of the weekend

A blurred shot of Wayne’s stomach!  LOL  I don’t know who took this shot, but it wasn’t me!  Overall Josh’s birthday went well and he got to celebrate it twice   I think he’s a happy little boy!