Family
Friday, March 21, 2008, by Leigh Anne
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I have issues, in fact I have shared one of those issues before.
According to my children though, I have a lot of issues. One particular issue that I have only manifests itself three times of year - Easter, Christmas and the Week of the Family Photo.
This issue is - the need to have my children’s Easter/Christmas/Family Photo outfits match or coordinate. Now you would think that with children ages 14, 18, 22 and 24 I would be way beyond that - but I’m not. In fact I spent a fair amount of time at the mall today trying to find “coordinating” Easter outfits for my girls.
We are going with a yellow, black and white color scheme if you’re interested.
Several years ago they put their foot down and refused to wear matching outfits - go figure!
My excuse for this issue though is that it is in the genes. Look at this picture of my sister and I from 1970….
And then there was this one from Easter of the same year…
You see my mother had the same problem - the “Matching/Coordinating Outfit” gene. So of course it was only natural that when I got married and started a family that the gene would kick into gear….
Yes, I made these cute little linen suits for my sweet boys. Then baby #3 arrived and it was a girl so we branched out into coordinating outfits…
And Baby #4 arrived….
Aren’t they cute!
As soon as Baby #4 got a little older and I could find matching dresses for the girls - guess what?
Soon the boys got older and their standard Easter outfit became a white shirt and tie but I still had the girls….
I guess eventually, one day when the children are all grown up and gone from home, I will have to overcome my “Matching/Coordinating Outfit” issue but until then I’ll keep making those trips to the mall.
And then - someday- there will be grandkids!
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Categories: Family, Humor, Traditions
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Thursday, March 20, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Nourish - “ Feeding the People We Love”
Today I thought I’d share our menu for Easter Dinner. It should be a fun Easter this year. My parents will be joining us and then a family from church who is in the middle of moving - from a house to an apartment while their new home is built. They have 5 of the cutest little girls you have ever seen and their mother is 8 months pregnant with another girl!! We are going to have fun.
So here’s the menu.
Honeybaked Ham - I am not a big ham fan but my family likes it so we have it once a year - on Easter.
Fresno Potatoes - this is a nice alternative to scallop potatoes or what we call “funeral potatoes’. You know the recipe - frozen hash browns, lots of sour cream, cream of chicken soup and cheese. It seems ham and potato dinners are a popular thing to do at funerals - thus the name.
Strawberry and Spinach Salad - a perfect combination, spinach and strawberries with a yummy dressing.
Parmesan Roasted Asparagus- this is a Barefoot Contessa recipe and my favorite way to eat asparagus.
Roasted Tomato Tart - this recipe is from Gourmet Magazine and will be one of my experimental recipes this Easter. Want to try it with me?
Mom’s Orange Rolls - my mom will be bringing these and they are wonderful. Everyone loves them and Easter dinner would not be complete without them.
Grandma’s Jello Salad -mom will also be bringing this staple of our Easter Dinner.
Lemon Angel Pie - Yum!
White Chocolate and Raspberry Cheesecake - my favorite cheesecake at The Cheesecake Factory is their White Chocolate and Raspberry. When my new friend Theresa sent me this recipe I knew I would have to try it for Easter. Theresa is also where the Lemon Cheesecake Bar recipe came from so if that is any indication how this recipe is going to be- it is going to GREAT! The original recipe she sent me called for strawberries but hopefully I’ll be able to find some raspberries that don’t cost a fortune and use them.
If you are interested in copies of the recipes that don’t have links just leave a comment below and I’ll email them to you. Happy Easter!
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Categories: Family, Nourish, Recipes, Traditions
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Thursday, March 13, 2008, by Leigh Anne
The homemade treat I put in my sweet college boy’s Easter care package is Bunny Munch.
We love popcorn at our house, especially when it is combined with some form of chocolate. Several months ago I shared a recipe for White Chocolate Popcorn with Candy Corn. Bunny Munch is a variation of that recipe.
It wasn’t actually called Bunny Munch - I just call it that because I think it sounds cute and it goes with the Easter theme I have going.
The difference between Bunny Munch and the White Chocolate with Candy Corn popcorn is there is no candy corn in it. Candy corn is hard to find at Easter time and there is also peanut butter mixed in with the white chocolate. This is a yummy combination. The popcorn also has Reeses Pieces in it.
Somehow, some bunny (aka sweet husband) got into my Reeses Pieces and munched on them so I didn’t have enough when I went to make it. So I used part Reeses Pieces and part M&M’s - a great combination.
I found some cute inexpensive containers at the Dollar Store and filled them with Bunny Munch. Now sweet college boys will have something to munch on!
Bunny Munch
2 bags microwave popcorn
1/2 cup creamy peanut butter
1 bag white chocolate chips (2 cups)
1/2 - 1 cup Reeses Pieces (and M&M’s too if you want)
Pop the popcorn then sift through to remove all unpopped kernels. Soften the peanut butter in the microwave for 30 seconds, stir into popcorn to evenly coat. Melt the white chocolate either in a double broiler or in the microwave (over 2 minutes on 50% power, then stir chips until smooth) Pour over popcorn and gently stir to coat popcorn evenly with chocolate. Add Reeses Pieces as you stir in the chocolate. Spread out popcorn on waxed paper to eat. Enjoy!
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Categories: Family, Recipes
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Tuesday, February 26, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Peanut Butter is not approved by airport security and is considered a gel!
Jim left early this morning for a quick overnight business trip to Salt Lake City, Utah. He and Clark will have dinner in Salt Lake tonight. (Logan is in California on tour)
Clark asked me if dad could bring him some food. (He requested no sweets, guess he still has plenty of candy left over from the Valentine package I sent)
“Do you have any peanut butter?” Clark asked.
I had just bought a new jar that day so I put it into Jim’s carry-on to take to Clark.
Jim called this morning from the airport and yes, peanut butter is considered a gel by airport security! He was early so he just went and checked his bag instead of carrying it on - think I would have just ditched the peanut butter!
Last summer we also learned that trying to carry an aebleskiver pan onto an airplane is also not permitted - it is considered a weapon… that one is a rather long story….
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Categories: Family, Humor
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008, by Leigh Anne
This last week my 18 year old daughter was being spotlighted at church and she was given a short survey to fill out that asked her questions such as - “If you could be the 8th dwarf what would your name be?” She chose Spunky which fits her so perfectly. “What is a new skill you’d like to learn?” - my spunky girl wants to learn to bellydance!
Another question was “What is one of your favorite family traditions?” Being a family of “strong tradition” there were dozens of things she could have chosen. Anything from Santa’s elves dropping off new pajamas every Christmas Eve to the maze of string the Easter Bunny leaves each Easter morning for them to follow to find their Easter goodies - but no - her answer was JELLO!
You may wonder how Jello can be a family tradition but actually, in our family, it is. Having grown up as a child of the sixties and seventies there was a lot of Jello consumption in my home.
About twice a year my “Grandma Canada” would come for a visit. Each time she came she was amazed by the amount of Jello our family consumed. In fact she often said -”Your family must keep Jello in business!” I am not sure how often my mother really did serve jello but I remember it as being pretty much a staple of every Sunday dinner.
The Jello was usually served in individual little servings, having been molded in those little, metal jello molds - remember those? In fact, I still have a box full of my mother’s old jello molds in my kitchen cupboard.
My favorite Jello though was the 1-2-3 Jello.
It was amazing. I would get to help mix it up and after you poured it into the individual glasses (on Sundays we used my mom’s good crystal goblets to serve it in) my siblings and I would watch anxiously as the Jello magically divided into 3 different layers -AMAZING!
If you are interested there is actually a movement going to bring back 1-2-3 Jello - you can sign the petition too if you want!
When we were sick my mom would mix us up a mug of warm Jello - yes, we would drink it! O.K. so nutrition wasn’t big in the sixties and seventies in Wisconsin!
Well, we no longer eat Jello (or drink it) on a weekly or daily basis at our house, instead it is usually about twice a year - Christmas Eve and Easter. And let me tell you - it would not be an official Christmas Eve or Easter without my children’s favorite Jello dish. We affectionately refer to it as “Grandma’s favorite Jello” even though my “Grandma California” who loved her Jello too has been gone for many years.
Each year when Christmas and Easter roll around and we are discussing holiday menus one of the children will always ask “Are we having Jello?”
Food is an important part of family traditions, a link that ties the generations together, even if it is something as simple as Jello! Do you have a favorite family food tradition? A favorite family recipe that reminds you of a special family member? I’d love to hear - please leave a comment below and share!
See the next post for our families favorite Jello recipe and my sweet daughter’s favorite family tradition!
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Categories: Family, Recipes, Traditions
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Tuesday, February 19, 2008, by Leigh Anne
This is the Jello recipe that we have been serving at our house for years - each Easter and Christmas Eve. The only difference is on Easter we use lemon jello mixed with orange juice and at Christmas we use strawberry or raspberry jello mixed with cranberry juice.
The color needs to match the season!
Grandma’s Favorite Jello
Easter Version
1 6 oz. pkg. of lemon Jello
2 cups boiling water
1 cup orange juice (really needs OJ, don’t substitute cold water)
1 cup Cool Whip, thawed
1 can drained, mandarin oranges
Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Add orange juice. Allow to partially set up in refrigerator. While it is slightly thickened add in 1 cup thawed Cool Whip and 1 can drained mandarin oranges. Mix together and refrigerate, allow to set until firm.
Christmas Version
1 6 oz. package of strawberry or raspberry jello
2 cups boiling water
1 cup raspberry or cranberry juice (or you can use cold water too)
1 cup Cool Whip, thawed
1 cup of loose, individually frozen raspberries or strawberries.
Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Add juice. If the berries are still frozen you can add them in right away and they will help the Jello set up quicker. If they are not frozen refrigerate Jello and wait until the Jello is partially set before adding them and the 1 cup Cool Whip. Mix together and refrigerate, allow to set until firm.
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Categories: Family, Recipes, Traditions
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Monday, January 28, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I am a proud Mama! You see, my sweet, high school daughter has been ACCEPTED TO COLLEGE! Now believe me I am in no rush for her to leave home, in fact for the last year I have been tearing up at the thought of it. As you know, I already have two sweet college boys (yes - we will have 3 in college at the same time next fall - yikes!$!$!) so we have been through this before. But this sweet daughter’s journey to this point in her life has been a little different than my boys.
You see Cali was born with speech and learning disabilities. Through her educational journey she has always had what is called an IEP (Individual Education Program) this has allowed her special services (resource room, speech therapy. etc.) . Learning has never come easy for her, she has had to work twice as hard at it as most people do. But Cali’s spirit, spunk and determination have brought her to today - where she has received her first college acceptance and she will be graduating with an Honor’s Diploma (which means she has taken Advanced Placement courses and completed an involved service project as well as other things)
What an amazing experience it is to see your children struggle with challenges, overcome those challenges and achieve their dreams! I have learned a lot from being Cali’s mother. I marvel at her strength, her determination not to give up and her ability to stay the course. I know that because of these traits Cali will be successful at whatever she undertakes in her life, that she will be able to overcome whatever challenge is placed in her path.
Each of us has our own set of challenges whether in business or in life. One thing Cali has taught me is that if you want something bad enough and the desire is strong in your heart you can overcome!
Being the Proud Mama that I am I wanted to share with you Cali’s college essay - it describes Cali’s journey and personality so well and I know that Cali’s spirit and determination will take her far!
“I don’t do time and money,” stated a spunky little girl-me-to her resource room teacher. But this spunk and determination helped me to overcome my learning disabilities and challenge myself in all aspects of life.
From day one, it was a challenge to speak. This brought on numerous ear surgeries and years of speech and language therapy. My late start and struggle in school with reading, talking, and understanding brought an adventure.
During elementary school, I went to the resource room. Some kids cruelly called it “the retarded kid’s” room, but I found it a safe place. In this protected space, I felt comfortable learning without being intimidated by other student’s speed of learning.
In middle school I wanted to prove that having a learning disability doesn’t equate with the label, “stupid.” I spent hours doing homework and studying. Even though I wasn’t getting straight A’s I was achieving excellence by performing at a quicker pace.
I now have the goal to graduate with an honors diploma. Even though it’s a struggle, I enjoy the challenge. With four AP classes I have learned that I am capable of new and bigger things.
My determination has helped me overcome obstacles in more then just academics. I aspired to land a leading role in a high school musical. After numerous rejections, I achieved this goal after hours of preparation and positive thinking.
Another one of my goals has been to attend BYU. I know this won’t be easy, but by overcoming my disabilities I am prepared to take on the challenge of being a BYU student. There is no greater feeling then achieving your dream after you have worked for excellence.
I love you Cali!
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Categories: Family, Goals, Motivation
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Sunday, January 27, 2008, by Leigh Anne
It’s Sunday evening and I don’t usually post but I just had to share with you my morning. My husband is out of town so the girls and I were sleeping in (it was 9 a.m. and that is sleeping in for me - not the girls). Yesterday had been a big day - I spent the day at a 1,700 person customer event at our Expo Center in town - a great day but I was tired!
The phone rang, waking me up, it was the mother of the young woman who was to teach our Sunday School lesson today - her daughter had been up all night throwing up - I needed to teach the lesson - great! I drug my body out of bed to “throw” together a last minute lesson.
An hour later (which was now an hour before church) my oldest daughter finally got up and said “Hey - wasn’t Tessa suppose to give a talk in church today?” Well - she was and we had totally forgotten! No one had written it on the calendar so - out of sight - out of mind!
Now this brought on major panic to my teenager and she announced “We can’t go to church!” You see, her name would be in the program stating she was giving a talk and she would be sitting in the congregation, not giving a talk. Obviously we had been flakes and forgotten - so true- but who wants the whole church to know!! Not my teenage daughter.
So it was now my job to call the person at church in charge to let them know we were total “flakes” and had forgotten - sorry! Don’t you just love those kind of phone calls. I could have given him a whole list of reasons why we had forgotten - finals week at school, hosting a 1,700 person event at the Expo Center, my father had major surgery this week, instead I just told the truth -we forgot!
Fortunately for my daughter the names of the speakers had not made it into the church program so at least the whole congregation wouldn’t know we had forgotten and we didn’t have to stay home from church in embarrassment.
We went to church, no one knew the better and my lesson went well. After church we made Grandpa some cupcakes and visited him in the hospital - he’s doing better and will come home tomorrow and now I am off to get a little rest at the end of my Sabbath Day and watch a little Jane Austen. (Masterpiece Theater - take me away!)
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Categories: Family
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Friday, January 18, 2008, by Leigh Anne
I don’t usually make posts advertising TV shows but I just couldn’t resist. I have been a Jane Austen fan since I first read Pride and Prejudice in my English Literature class in High School. I have been in love ever since and have lost count of how many times I have read it. Well - Masterpiece Theater is having a “Complete Jane Austen” series on Sunday evenings through April 6th. It began last Sunday (sorry for the late notice) with “Persuasion” and this week is “Northanger Abbey”. So snuggle up to your TV Sunday evening or set the Tevo to record and join me in a Jane Austen Fest! One of my goals for 2008 is to read a classic piece of literature each month and this month I am reading Emma by Jane Austen. What’s your favorite Jane Austen novel?
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Saturday, January 5, 2008, by Leigh Anne
Happy 2008! Well, the decorations are down and packed away and the sweet college boys head back to school tomorrow. So before we get “back down to business” I thought I’d share one more Wilkes family fun, holiday tradition. For at least the last 30 years our family has enjoyed fondue on Christmas Eve - even when it wasn’t the “fashionable” thing to do! We’re not sure how or why the tradition started other than it was the 70’s and someone gave my mom a fondue pot. But once you start a tradition in our family it’s hard to break!
I am actually the proud owner of 5 fondue pots, including my mother’s original “burnt orange” one from the 70’s. We usually do two kinds of fondue - an oil fondue in which we cook steak, little smokies and mushrooms along with a variety of dipping sauces (ketchup, BBQ sauce, horseradish etc.). The second one is a cheese fondue. I cheat on this one and we buy this yummy Swiss cheese fondue from a local restaurant(Gustav’s or der Rheinlander) here in Portland. For those of you who don’t live in Portland - the recipe is available, although I have never actually made it. We use french bread, rye bread and vegetables to dip into the cheese. For dessert Grandma makes ice cream pie. We save the chocolate fondue for New Year’s Eve.
For chocolate fondue I use a super good and easy recipe - all it is is Toberlone chocolate and a little whipping cream. This year we did both the milk chocolate variety and the white chocolate. Yum!
Just melt the chocolate in either your microwave (be careful the white chocolate burns easily) or a double boiler. Add enough “warmed” whipping cream to make the chocolate the right consistency for dipping. (do not add the whipping cream cold or it will “bind up” the chocolate).
For dipping we use all kinds of things -pretzels, pound cake, potato chips, marshmallows, oranges, bananas, berries (raspberries in white chocolate are to die for!!), pineapple, graham crackers, brownies, rice krispie treats, miniature cookies, gummy bears, licorice - basically anything!!
Happy dipping!
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Categories: Family, Recipes, Traditions
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