Sunday, June 29, 2008

Family Food Faves

This recipe is a real crowd pleaser. Sweet, flavorful ribs with just a little "kick!" So tender they will fall apart on your fork! Perfect for entertaining company because it makes a large portion.

Hot Honeyed Spareribs
4 pounds baby back ribs (I've also used country-style ribs) cut into individual portions
1/2 cup honey
1/4 cup soy sauce
1/4 cup chili garlic sauce (found on the international isle near the Chinese food)
1 cup Catalina salad dressing
1 tsp. ground ginger
nonstick cooking spray

1. Preheat broiler. Line bottom portion with foil. Spray top portion of broiler pan lightly with cooking spray.
2. Season cut ribs (both sides) with garlic salt and pepper. Broil for 5 minutes. Turn over, and broil for another 5 minutes. Place browned ribs in crockpot.
3. In a bowl, stir together honey, soy sauce, chili garlic sauce, Catalina dressing and ginger. Pour sauce mixture over ribs and move around to coat. Cover and cook on low heat for 8 hours or high heat for 3-4 hours.

I like to serve these ribs with a baked potato and broccoli salad. Enjoy!



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Saturday, June 28, 2008

Nana and Papa R

The boys were so excited to pick Nana and Papa R up from the airport. They got to spend 10 fun-filled days with us!

Nana works at Boeing so she brought lots of fun "airplane stuff" for the boys from the company store.
This little airplane was a HUGE hit - it comes with a drill so they can unscrew the parts, take it apart and put them back together!


Snuggling together with their airplane blankets and pillows.

Playing at the park





Chillin' out at the waterpark!

Special time with Nana


Fun with Papa


Sweet, messy treats at TCBY!


Thank you Nana and Papa for traveling all this way to spend time with us. We all love you and miss you!






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Friday, June 27, 2008

What's New

It has been a really busy couple of weeks. When we relocated here almost 2 years ago, our home was brand new. In fact, we had to live in a hotel for 2 weeks until it was completed....with 4 month old twins!


Our home sits on a really pretty, wooded lot but we have absolutely NO landscaping! So, Jimmy has been working really hard to build some flower beds and add some "street appeal." He worked every day from about 6am until about 9pm for almost 2 weeks! I'm so proud of him for working so hard....on his own. I am not much help when it comes to outdoor projects so I offered my moral support and kept him well nourished and hydrated in the 90 degree heat!

BEFORE


AFTER



Jimmy's parents also got to come see us again for about 10 days (more pics later.) We got to spend Father's Day together


And my mother-in-law and I got to celebrate our June birthdays together!


The boys were so excited to bring me pretty pink flowers and a balloon that they bought (with Nana and Papa's help!)


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Wednesday, June 25, 2008

Wordless Wednesday!





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Wednesday, June 11, 2008

Family Food Faves

This is one of our favorite "go to" chicken recipes. It's so easy, fresh and tasty. Perfect for summer grilling!


Lemon Pepper Chicken Tenders
recipe courtesy Rachael Ray
1 1/2 pounds chicken breast tenders, 20 pieces
20 (6-inch) bamboo party skewers (this is nice for entertaining but I don't mess with it just for our family!)
2 lemons, juiced and zested
1/4 cup extra-virgin olive oil, eyeball it
Coarse black pepper
Coarse salt
Heat the grill over medium high heat. Skewer chicken. In a shallow dish, combine lemon zest and juice with extra-virgin olive oil. Reserve 1/4 of the marinade. Coat chicken tenders in marinade and season generously on both sides with coarse black pepper. Season chicken tenders lightly with salt. Cook tenders in 2 or 3 batches, a single layer, in a very hot grill. Chicken tenders will cook 3 minutes on each side. Transfer to a serving platter and brush with the reserved marinade.



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Monday, June 9, 2008

Weekend in Review

We had a really fun-filled weekend.

Friday, we went to this amazing theatre

to see the Noah's Ark Musical with some friends. It was 2 1/2 hours long and the boys sat perfectly during the whole performance! I thought they would get bored because there was quite a bit of dialogue and singing but there was enough to look at to keep them intrigued. The stage was 300 feet long and the ark was 40 feet high! It wrapped around the audience so it looked liked we were actually inside the ark with all the animals amongst us! There were live camels, horses, llamas, cats, dogs, cows, pigs, donkeys, geese, birds and much more - 300 live and animaltronics in all. It was pretty cool!

Saturday, our triplet friends Grayson, Andrus and Liam celebrated their 3rd birthday. The kids were all asked to dress in "builder attire" since it was a "construction themed party" so Bryce and Drew wore overalls with a tape measure and several tools hanging on their pockets! Their mom did a great job decorating. She had yellow construction tape wound around the entire yard and toy trucks with balloons attached for centerpieces.


The thing my boys liked the most was the huge, empty, cardboard refrigerator box. Amanda cut holes in it for windows, made a door for the kids to walk in and out and then gave them each a sponge paintbrush & washable paints to paint the box! Oh my! They had fun and made quite a mess! Jimmy and I stood by to wipe up all the spills - well, most of them!





Sunday, we had a relaxing day at home. The boys swam in their pool and helped their Daddy do landscaping. They are definitely "all boy." They love dirt, dump trucks, shovels, cars, bugs, etc...!






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Wednesday, June 4, 2008

Tuesday, June 3, 2008

Stupid Things Said To Twin Mamas

I DID NOT write this list. I found it on another mom of twin's blog.

Too funny - I laughed out loud!

15. "I could never do it." (Oh really. What would you do? Are you suggesting I put them on the curb with signs around their necks that say, "Free to a good home?)

14. "Do they have different personalities?" (No. They are the same human being divided into two parts.)

13. Said by a stranger, "They're identical, right?" Mom answers, "No. They're fraternal." Stranger response, "They are NOT!" (OK. You're right. I have no idea what I'm talking about. These are not my children. I thought it would be fun to borrow them from a mom down at Baby Gap. It's been more than an hour. I guess I should return them.)

12. "Are they 'paternal' twins?" (Yes. They have a father. There was only one virgin birth.)

11. "Just wait till they're older. It only gets harder." (Thank you. I woke up this morning hoping I'd receive a word of discouragement while pushing a cart of preschoolers down the cereal aisle.)

10. "When one cries, does he wake the other?" (No. Twins cannot hear each other's cries because they all communicate with their special telepathic language only.)

9. From a perfect stranger: "Were they in the same sac?" (Hello. Nice to meet you, too. Will you be sharing your gynecological history with me as well?)

8. "Are they developmentally behind?" (Well, let's see. They're 3 years old and thus far, all their graduate school applications have been denied. We'll get back with you on that.)

7. "How do you do it?" (Haven't you seen the Nike commercials?)

6. Said by a dentist: "I was shocked that they didn't have the same bite patterns." (They are two different human beings, not clones.)

5. "You must be SO busy." (Are you volunteering to clean my house?)

4. Said to a mom of fraternal twins who are different sizes, have different eye color and different face structure: "How do you tell them apart?" (I just look at them.)

3. "What do you do when they both cry at the same time?" (Sometimes I cry. Sometimes I go to Starbucks.)

2. Said to a mom of boy/girl twins: "Are they identical?" (Uh. Not exactly.)

1. Only one comment could be voted No. 1. The choice was clear. Drum roll, please. After a stranger had been informed that the toddler boys were twins, she asked a simple question: "Are they brothers?" (Enough said.)



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Monday, June 2, 2008

Family Food Faves

Here's a tasty new pasta recipe I tried out the other day. I had been craving a creamy, tomato-based sauce with pasta. I have an awesome recipe for Tomato Tortellini but it requires quite a few ingredients that I didn't have on hand. This wasn't quite as tasty but rich and satisfying, nonetheless! And, much quicker and easier to make.


Tuscan Pasta With Tomato-Basil Cream
1 (20-oz.) package refrigerated four-cheese ravioli*
1 (16-oz.) jar sun-dried tomato Alfredo sauce
2 tablespoons white wine
2 medium-size fresh tomatoes, chopped**
1/2 cup chopped fresh basil
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese
Garnish: fresh basil strips
Preparation
1. Prepare pasta according to package directions.
2. Meanwhile, pour Alfredo sauce into a medium saucepan. Pour wine into sauce jar; cover tightly, and shake well. Stir wine mixture into saucepan. Stir in chopped tomatoes and 1/2 cup chopped basil, and cook over medium-low heat 5 minutes or until thoroughly heated. Toss with pasta, and top evenly with 1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese. Garnish, if desired.
*1 (13-oz.) package three-cheese tortellini may be substituted.
**1 (14.5-oz.) can petite diced tomatoes, fully drained, may be substituted.
Note: For testing purposes only, we used Buitoni Four Cheese Ravioli and Classico Sun-dried Tomato Alfredo Pasta Sauce.
Yield
Makes 4 to 6 servings
recipe courtesy myrecipes.com

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