26

Today was a good day. It didn't snow. Thank God, I don't know exactly what I would have done if it did. I never really lived in the snow. Visiting for a day, maybe, but not while it was actually snow-ing. I didn't know what to do when there was frost on my front window. But today the sun was shinning and the sky was blue. Don't let that fool you it was freezing outside. But the outside at least looked pretty.

Russ and Penelope braved the cold weather for a little outside. You can see it was sunny. Here are some adorable pictures of them outside. Of course, Russell is still in shorts.

I got a picture of the Princess dolls on the window ledge in the living room. I used this cool function on my camera. I loved the affect.


I took a picture of the front of our apartment so you can see where we live.

We spent the day cleaning up and taking it easy. Russ got a nap. We invited some people over for dinner and had a good time. They are new to the area also (been here for a little over a year). I made a pasta dinner and some dessert. But I also tried to make this recipe I found in a diabetic cook book. It's Cranberry Almond Biscotti. It turned out pretty good. It is made with real sugar, not a sugar substitue. But it is not a real sweet Biscotti. Plus! It is only 1 point in weight watchers. Note: I had a hard time cutting it into 24 pieces (I got 20 pieces out). It was getting a little crumbly in the middle because it was too soft. Over cook it a little. You want to dry out the bread as much as possible. Below is the recipe:

Ingredients:

1/2 cup blanched almonds

1 egg

1/2 cup sugar

1 tsp vanilla extract

1 1/2 cup flour

3/4 tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cinnamon

1/4 tsp baking soda

1/2 cup dried cranberries

1. Preheat the oven to 350'F. Spread the almonds on a baking sheet adn toast them in the oven until lightly browned, about 10 minutes. Set aside to cool.

2. Place the egg, egg white, sugar, and vanilla in a bowl and whisk with an electric mixer until very thick and pale; the mixture should be thick enough to leave a trail on the surface when you life the beaters.

3. Sift the flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and baking soda onto a sheet of parchment paper, then sift the mixture again onto the whisked egg mixture. Using a spatula, carefully fold the sifted mixture into the egg mixture, then stir in the toasted almondsand cranberries to make a stiff dough.

4. Spoon the dough onto a baking sheet coated with cooking spray. With floured hands, form the dough into a neat log shape about 10 inches long and 2 inches wide and flatten slightly. Bake until golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes. Leave to cool on the baking tray for 5 minutes, then transfer to a cutting board.

5. Using a serrated knife, cut the log across, slightly on the diagonal, into 24 slices. Arrange the slices on the baking sheet and return to the oven. Bake until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Cool on the baking sheet for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack and cool completely. The biscotti can be kept in an airtight container for up to 2 weeks.

each serving: 1 cookie kcal 71, kcal from fat 14, fat 2 g, sat fat 0g, chol 9 mg, sodium 30 mg, carbs 13 g, fiber 1 g, sugar 6 g, protein 2 g, carb exchange 1.

Also I realized that I really enjoy baking. It's hard since it has so much caloric count and my husband can't have a lot of sweets. But I might get back into baking. I feel so calm and relaxed when I bake. There is something special about actually forming the dough in your hands. Forming it into place. I need to do it more often. Maybe I'll try making some bread more often. Or maybe I'll just bring it to work and have them eat it. They should love me then, right?

One thing I realized is that I put a lot of stuff in storage that I figured I wouldn't use in the time I would just be in the apartment. I defiantly sized down from the kitchen I was in. So I don't think I had room for everything. But there are some things I am seriously missing. I had to finally get Russ to go get me a square 9x9 pan. The recipe called for a sifter- I have 2. But they are in a box somewhere. The biscotti turned out fine anyways and I don't really like sifting much (ask Jen Graham why, LOL). But a cooling rack, I'm taking out my tray from my toaster oven.

18/19

Well I didn't blog yesterday either, but it wasn't because I was working all night long. I was able to get off at regular time and didn't get called in. Yay! My husband and I were enjoying a relaxing evening so I didn't want to stop to blog. Sorry. I don't think anything happened yesterday that is worth mentioning. Russell enjoyed the soup I made. I, however, thought it needed some improvements. There was too much onion for me, it probably would have helped a little if I had sauteed it first as the recipe had called for. Also, it needed another vegetable in it. Something that wasn't a bell pepper. I realized that it mostly comprised of bell peppers. Otherwise adding the basil and Parmesan cheese was a very nice touch.

Today, after much deliberation, we decided to see Tangled at the 3-dollar theaters. I wasn't sure if Austyn would sit through it and didn't want to pay full price for the adult that had to spend the time in the hall with the baby. The 3- dollar theater was actually really nice. Even though we tried timing it at a beneficial time for Austyn, Russell ended up missing the later half of the movie. I thought the movie was very cute! Penelope loved the movie, but cried at the part where Rapunzel was brought back to be locked up in the tower. Afterward, we ended up walking around the Fashion Fair Mall. Only after working our way through the Christmas like crowds for an hour, did we realize that it's President's weekend sales. Oh well. We still enjoyed our time out. I've been looking for a good pair of everyday wear black shoes with a petite heal but that don't look too granny looking. Still haven't found the right pair, but while looking Penelope helped by trying on some shoes herself. She is such a girly-girl. Below is an adorable picture of her trying on some 4-inch high heel shoes. That she couldn't even stand up on! LOL.





We got back in time for us to eat dinner and for me to bake for the Women's fundraiser tomorrow. I'm making my peanut butter brownies, oatmeal chocolate chip cookies, and my raz-ma-taz bars. I haven't made the raz-ma-taz bars in a long time and am looking forward to tasting one when the are out of the oven. But they are very good! Here is the recipe below:

Ingredients:
1/2 cup margarine
2 cups white chocolate chips
2 large eggs
1/2 cup granulated sugar
1 cup all-purpose flour
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp almond extract
1/2 cup seedless raspberry jam
1/4 cup toasted sliced almonds

1. Preheat oven to 325-degrees F. Grease and sugar 9" square baking pan.
2. Melt butter in medium, microwave-safe bowl on High power for 1 minute. Stir then add 1 cup morsels, let stand. Do not stir.
3. Beat eggs in large mixer bowl until foamy. Add sugar beat until light lemon colored about 5 minutes. Stir in chips-butter mixture. Add flour, salt, and almond extract, mix at low speed until combined. Spread 2/3 of batter on prepared pan.
4. Bake 15-17 minutes or till lightly golden brown around edges. Remove from oven to wire wrack.
5. Heat Jam in small, microwave-safe bowl on High power for 30 seconds, stir. Spread jam over warm crust. Stir remaining chips into remaining batter. Drop spoonsful of batter over jam. Sprinkle with almonds.
6. Bake for 25-30 minutes or till edges are browned. Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into bars.

Makes about 16 bars.

12

Today we went to Disneyland with the kids. It was a fun trip, but a quick one. More pictures to come. Right now my computer is running slow and I'm afraid of asking too much. We went back to the in-laws and made meatloaf, mashed potatoes, and corn for dinner. It was really good, everyone enjoyed it.

Here is the meatloaf recipe (developed with help from Saving Dinner cookbook)

1 large eggs
1/2- 14 1/2 oz diced tomatoes with Italian herbs, undrained
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/2 cup oats
1/3 cup shredder Parmesan cheese
salt and pepper to taste
1/3 lb of Italian sausage (pork), casings removed
1/3 lb ground turkey
1/3 lb ground beef
1/3 cup spaghetti sauce

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
2. In a large bowl combine everything but meats and spaghetti sauce. Add turkey, pork sausage, and ground beef until just blended.
3. spray large jelly roll pan with non-stick spray. Add meatloaf to pan and make into a loaf. Pat to remove any air spaces.
4. Cook for 1 hour. Top with spaghetti sauce (I had some left over Parmesan cheese I added too) and continue baking 15-30 minutes. Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

I made it once with great reviews from the family. The second time around they loved it just as much. So I would defiantly say this is a winner. Right now I think everyone is looking forward to the left overs, since I made a 5lb meatloaf. Don't ask how big the original meatloaf was--that was completely consumed in one sitting. And that is a story for another time, when it isn't so late and my computer is acting more functional. ;)

Super Bowl

Today was a beautiful day! The high I saw on the car was 68 degrees, with the sun shinning great. So happy the gloom has been gone for a while. I could never live in Seattle. I need the sun. One month of gloom isn't too bad when you know the end is in site.

Unless you were on another planet today you would know that Super Bowl was today. Whether or not you watch it is another story. "We" watch it in some form, well, Russ really does the watching. I on the other hand watch when the comercials come on and really spend most of the time eating. We had a great time over at some new friends house. They invited us over and, man, did we eat! One of the things I made for the Super Bowl is my Chocolate Peanut Butter Brownies (The recipe was developed with thanks from Jen Graham). Below is the recipe.

Ingredients
1 package of your favorite brownie mix (with ingredients called for in the mix)
1 cup peanut butter
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 large semi-chocolate candy bar

1. Mix brownie mix and preheat oven as described by your favorite directions, then set aside.
2. mix peanut butter and powdered sugar. If too sticky add more powdered sugar. Spread evenly on top of chocolate bar.
3. place half of brownie mix in prepared pan. Place the peanut butter/chocolate bar on top and cover with other half of brownie mix. Cook as directed.

** if you like it gooey eat it right away. But eating it after it has cooled is yummy too when you have a thick piece of chocolate in the middle.

Tomorrow back to "eating right life-style change". LOL.