Pasta with Pesto and Sun Dried Tomatoes

Wednesday, July 16, 2008, by Leigh Anne

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One of my favorite things to do in all my “free time” is browse food blogs.  You can get quite lost out there in food blog land as you click from one link to another.  One night I stumbled across a new blog, Creating Post It Notes.   I’m not sure how I got there but I copied off this recipe to try out.

Jim is out of town this week so it was the perfect time to make it.  With the new diet he is on for his Meiners Disease he can’t eat pasta and the girls and I LOVE pasta so I took advantage.

This recipe is definitely a keeper - we all loved it.  Even my big college boy Clark loved it - he ate up all the leftovers for lunch today (although he did pick out most of the sun-dried tomatoes!)

I used a corkscrew pasta (fusilli) and used pancetta bacon but you could use regular bacon just as easily.  I grilled the chicken breast but any leftover cooked chicken would work.

After our morning in the Emergency Room I needed quick, easy and yummy and this was it!  Enjoy!

Pasta with Pesto and Sun-Dried Tomatoes

1 pkg. fusilli pasta, cooked al dente

1/4 cup sun dried tomatoes, cut up

1/4 cup Italian parsley, roughly chopped

1 clove garlic, roughly chopped

2-3 Tbsp. extra virgin olive oil

2-3 slices bacon, chopped (or pancetta)

2 cups cooked chicken breast, diced

4-5 Tbsp. pesto

Parmigiano reggiano cheese, shaved

sea salt

cracked pepper

Boil pasta in a stock pot for 8 minutes.  Drain and rinse with cold water.  Set aside.

Heat a skillet over medium high heat and cook bacon or pancetta.  When halfway cooked, add the olive oil and garlic.  Saute for 30 seconds.  Add the cooked chicken.  Add the pasta and sun-dried tomatoes.  Toss to coat.  Add the pesto, using more or less dependig on your taste.  Season with salt and pepper.

Remove skillet from heat and stir in the parsley.  Shave parmigiano reggiano over top. 

Popularity: 55% [?]

Categories: Nourish, Recipes

A Little More Grateful….

Tuesday, July 15, 2008, by Leigh Anne

Yesterday was one of those days that every mother fears - the day you find yourself in your car following behind an ambulance that has one of your children in it. 

The day started off fine.  I decided that I would treat Cali to a pedicure.  I only have a month and a half left before Cali goes off to college and I want to cherish every moment of it. 

As we were sitting in the chairs getting our toes done Cali began to feel nauseous and lightheaded.  As I turned to tell the technician that she needed to go to the bathroom Cali began to have what we thought at the time was a seizure.  Fortunately for us there was a nurse and another medical personnel (can’t remember what they told me they were) in the salon too and they felt it was a seizure so 911 was called. 

After about 30 seconds (which seemed like forever at the time) Cali came to and asked what was going on.   The ambulance arrived and off we went to the hospital.

Of course every “worse case scenario” went through my head during the short 10 minute drive to the hospital in between calls to my husband - who is out of town (aren’t they always out of town when emergencies happen!?), to my parents and to my good friend, neighbor and nurse Debbie - she is always the first one we call in an emergency!

After several hours at the hospital and lots of tests later it was determined that she had not had a seizure (thank goodness) and that she had just passed out.  Yes - my daughter is a fainter.  The more technical, medical term for it is  Vasovagal Syncope.

She has passed out two other times - both due to intense pain.  There was no pain this time but nausea and, lightheadedness can bring it on as well as dehydration and low blood sugar.

I knew she was going to be alright when she asked for a hamburger and said, “Is this going to be on the blog?”  So, I couldn’t disappoint her - it’s on the blog!  And yes, we stopped for a hamburger on the way home - neighbor and nurse Debbie joined us for lunch too - thank you Debbie!

I was also sure to clarify with the Emergency Room doctor that this was not a “pedicure problem” and that future pedicures were possible - he assured me they were.  Especially since Cali and I both only have half a pedicure right now!

The people at the nail salon were wonderfully helpful and even called to check on her later in the day.

Three hours later, emotionally drained but incredibly happy and relieved we returned home.  I was pretty much good for nothing the rest of the day.  Cali took it easy, watching a movie and reading and I spent a lot of time just staring at her and giving her kisses.

How grateful I am for the good outcome we had, I realize that is not the case for all parents following behind the ambulance and my prayers tonight will be extra long.

I am grateful for the scare I had today -because of it I am a little more thankful for my children, a little more respectful of how fragile life is and a little more grateful for the many blessings I have in my life.

Popularity: 44% [?]

Categories: Family, Inspire

Happy Birthday Baby Girl!

Monday, July 14, 2008, by Leigh Anne

 Yesterday,  my baby turned fifteen!

 Happy Birthday Tessa!

We were so excited to have our second little girl, our fourth child join our family.

We chose your name Tessa because I loved the book Tess of the D’Urbervilles and we discovered that the name Tessa meant “The Fourth Child” - it was a perfect fit!

You learned to talk and walk late because you had no need - every time you raised your arms someone picked you up and all you had to do was make a noise and your needs were meet - no talking or walking needed.

You have always been our princess.

….your innate sense of style developed early - you have always loved fashion and makeup!

You have grown into a beautiful, graceful ballerina

You will be an “only child” this fall - a new experience for you.  I look forward to lots of fun mother/daughter shopping adventures and time together. 

I love the fact that you still give me a kiss and a hug every night before you go to bed, that you like to know where I am and when I’ll be home (who is the parent here??)  and the fact that you will still cuddle with me.

I love you sweet Tessa!

A few of you have asked when I am going to share the book I mentioned in a previous post, the book I read every year at the beach.  I promise - I haven’t forgotten, check back on Wednesday this week!

Popularity: 40% [?]

Categories: Connect

Friday Favorites - Fast Fire Flank Steak

Friday, July 11, 2008, by Leigh Anne

This week we celebrated my mom’s 78th birthday - sorry, mom I had to tell!  You should be proud to be 78 and look so good!

Isn’t she a cutie!

Yes, I know, we look alike!

To celebrate I fixed her and my dad dinner - here’s the menu…

Fast Fire Flank Steak

Crash Hot Potatoes

Broccoli Salad

Garlic Knots

Orange Ice

Orange Poppyseed Cookies
The Fast Fire Flank Steak is this week’s Friday Favorite - it is a standard here at the Wilkes’ house.  If you ask any of the men at my house what their favorite dinner is - Flank Steak would be in the top two choices for all of them, if not the top choice.    Throw in some kind of potato and they are in heaven!  Being married to a boy from Idaho I am always looking for a new potato recipe to try.   The Crash Hot Potatoes is a recipe I found over at Pioneer Woman - an awesome blog I love.

Fortunately, Grandma likes it too!    It was a another hot day here in Portland so I made some cool, refreshing orange ice for dessert but did heat the house up to bake some orange poppyseed cookies- ice cream and cookies - yum!

The next time you have a BBQ give the Fast Fire Flank Steak a try - I think you’ll like it!

Fast Fire Flank Steak

LA Note:   This meat must be marinaded for at least 3 hours so plan ahead.  I marinade the meat in a large Ziploc baggie.

1 flank steak, about 1 1/4 lbs.

1 1/2 Tbsp. brown sugar

1 1/2 Tbsp. soy sauce

1 Tbsp. dry sherry

1 Tbsp. sesame oil

2 Tbsp. sesame seeds

2 Tbsp. minced garlic

1 tsp. minced fresh ginger

2 scallions, sliced 1/8 inch thick

1/4 tsp. green pepper (I usually don’t put this in)

oil for brushing

Score flank steak 1/8 inch deep on both sides at 1 inch intervals.  Mix all ingredients except oil for brushing together, pour over steak and rub into both sides.  Marinade at least 3 hours or overnight.  Remove from refrigerator 30 minutes before cooking.  Brush grill with oil.  Cook for 3 minutes each side for rare, 5 for medium, 7 for well done.  Thinly slice against the grain.

Popularity: 64% [?]

Categories: Friday Favorites, Nourish, Recipes

Barefoot Bloggers - Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

Thursday, July 10, 2008, by Leigh Anne

A few years ago I read the book Julie and Julia : 365 Days, 524 Recipes, 1 Tiny Apartment Kitchen   It was about a woman, named Julie who decided to make all 524 recipes in Julia Child’s Mastering The Art of French Cooking,  in one year - 365 days in her tiny New York apartment.  She blogged and cooked her way through the year - accomplishing her goal and then wrote a book about it.   In fact I never knew what a blog was until I read her book!

Being the “foodie” that I am, I enjoyed the book and recommend to all of you other “foodies” out there!

Well, her book got me thinking….if I were to cook every recipe in a cookbook, what cookbook would it be??

One of my favorite cooking shows on the Food Network is the Barefoot Contessa with Ina Garten.  I own almost all of her cookbooks and have loved everything I have ever made from them.  So why not cook my way through her cookbooks? (there are currently 5 of them with one more to come out this fall) 

Although I thought this was a great goal - I didn’t really do much about it until one day I discovered a new blogging group - the Barefoot Bloggers.  Each month various members of the group select two of Ina’s recipes for the group to try.  Each blogger cooks or bakes up the recipe and then blogs about it on the 2nd and 4th Thursday of the month.

Well, I figured this was the perfect way for me to work on my goal of cooking my way through Ina’s cookbooks!  So I joined the group.  Although I won’t be doing it in 365 days - we’re only doing 2-3 recipes a month!

Since this is the 2nd Thursday of July I am sharing with you my first “Barefoot Blogger” recipe - Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread which was chosen by Cooking with Kids.

I decided at the last minute to make it for dinner Tuesday night (since I only had two days left to post I figured I better get with it).  Since I didn’t want to make another trip to the store that day I used green chilies instead of jalapenos.  I knew my kids would like it better that way too.  For the cheese I used a blend of cheddar/jack cheese because that is what I had in the freezer.  I also didn’t have any green onions so I used some fresh chives right out of the garden and they worked great.

It is a mild cornbread and my favorite part of it is the crisp cheese topping!

One recipe down and lots more to go!

Head over to the Barefoot Bloggers to check out some of the other Barefoot Bloggers or even join up yourself! 

Jalapeno Cheddar Cornbread

from Barefoot Contessa at Home

3 cups all purpose flour

1 cup yellow cornmeal

1/4 cup sugar

2 Tbsp. baking powder

2 tsp. kosher salt

2 cups milk

3 extra-large eggs, lightly beaten

1/2 pound (2 sticks) unsalted butter, melted, plus extra to grease the pan

8 ounces aged extra-sharp Cheddar, grated, divided

1/3 cup chopped scallions, white and green parts, plus extra for garnish, 3 scallions

3 Tbsp. seeded and minced fresh jalapeno peppers

Combine the flour, cornmeal, sugar, baking powder, and salt in a large bowl.  In a separate bowl, combine the milk, eggs and butter.  With a wooden spoon, stir the wet ingredients into the dry until most of the lumps are dissolved.  Don’t overmix!  Mix in 2 cups of the grated Cheddar, the scallions and jalapenos, and allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, preheat the oven to 350 degrees.  Grease a 9 x 13 x 2 inch baking pan.

Pour the batter into the prepared pan, smooth the top, and sprinkle with the remaining grated Cheddar and extra chopped scallions.  Bake for 30-35 minutes or until a toothpick comes out clean.  Cool and cut into large squares.  Serve warm or at room temperature.

Popularity: 56% [?]

Categories: Barefoot Bloggers, Nourish, Recipes

Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream

Wednesday, July 9, 2008, by Leigh Anne

Summer is finally here in Oregon - we have actually had two days over 90 degrees for the first time this summer.

What goes better with hot days than ice cream? 

We are an ice cream loving family. 

Growing up there was always a freezer FULL of ice cream, in fact at one time we had a freezer in the garage totally dedicated to ice cream.  That was the year my sister worked at Baskin Robbins and they let them bring home all their mistakes - fortunately she made a lot of mistakes!

Monday night I dug out the countertop Cuisinart ice cream maker to celebrate the arrival of summer and to make treats for family night (a regular Monday night occurrence at our house).  We had a short lesson and an activity which was weeding the vegetable garden for 30 minutes.  Believe me the kids were thrilled!

The best part of family night though is the treats!  I was in charge this week.

In preparation for summer I had recently purchased the Ben & Jerry Ice Cream & Dessert Book so Monday was a perfect time to try it out. 

I have been on a malted milk ball kick recently.

My favorite treat has been a bowl of Haagen Daz vanilla ice cream with crushed up Whoppers on top - yum!  So I decided to combine the two and make  the Vanilla Malt Chip ice cream.  The recipe calls for chocolate chips but  I used crushed Whoppers instead.

I started with their  Sweet Cream Base  #1 -

2 large eggs

3/4 cup sugar

2 cups heavy whipping cream

1 cup whole milk

Whisk the eggs in a mixing bowl until light and fluffy, 1-2 minutes.  Whisk in the sugar, a little at a time, then continue whisking until completely blended, about 1 minutes more.  Pour in the cream and milk and whisk to blend.

Makes 1 quart.

To make the malt flavor I added 1/2 cup malt powder and 2 tsp. vanilla extract.  Pour the mixture into the container and start the ice cream maker.  Mine shuts off automatically when the ice cream is finished.

A cup of crushed Whoppers can be added the last couple of minutes, after the ice cream has thickened, right before the ice cream maker shuts off.

I like my ice cream a little harder so I put the container into the freezer for a while for it to firm up after the machine shuts off.

One of my kids doesn’t like Whoppers so I actually didn’t add them into the ice cream but just sprinkled them on top of the individual servings - that way she could have hers “plain”.

So if you don’t have an ice cream maker but want to give my Malted Milk Ball Ice Cream a try just buy yourself a pint of Haagen Daz vanilla and crush up a few Whoppers and you are good to go!  It won’t be quite as “malty” but it’s a close second.

Happy Summer!

Popularity: 50% [?]

Categories: Nourish, Recipes

How to Impress the Girlfriend

Tuesday, July 8, 2008, by Leigh Anne

As you know, we just returned from our Week at the Beach where my oldest son’s  girlfriend joined us.  This was our first time to meet her so we were all trying to be on our best behavior (especially me!)

I just have to share with you what a good impression I made!

One of our first nights there (I’m trying to forget the incident so can’t remember which night it was exactly) we were enjoying dinner when my 22 year old son, who was sitting next to me, spilled his water all over the table and the floor.  Yes, at the age of 22 they still spill!

He very responsibly (at least I taught him something) got up and wiped up the water - well, he almost wiped up all the water.

As I got up from the table a few minutes later I quickly discovered he had not wiped up all the water when I slipped and fell on the floor - flat on my back right in front of everyone - including the girlfriend!  This was not a graceful fall - it was a total wipe out!

My sweet husband got up to see if I was o.k. but my four children sat at the table and LAUGHED at me - no concern, no ‘are you o.k. mom?’ - nothing!  How did I raise such ungrateful children!!  My son quickly informed me that it wasn’t his fault I had fallen - I knew he had spilled water, I should have been more careful!!

Actually, I laughed too as I was laying there flat on my back - it was either that or cry!

I guess I learned my lesson - I was doing just what I yell at my kids for doing - getting up from the table to read a text  message that had just come in (thanks Sherra - it’s your fault I fell!)

Fortunately there are no photos to document the incident - you’ll just have to use your imaginations!

Popularity: 41% [?]

Categories: Humor, Inspire

Week at the Beach - A Dream Come True

Monday, July 7, 2008, by Leigh Anne

We just returned from our annual “Week at the Beach”.   We had a wonderful time as a family, meeting Logan’s friend Becca (she loved her Wilkes Survival Kit) and we had our neighbors join us to celebrate the Fourth!  Our annual “Week at the Beach” is really a dream come true, let me tell you about it -

One of my favorite childhood memories is the time we spent at Silver Lake Resort in Wild Rose, Wisconsin.  We rented a cute little cottage - Doll House Cottage. To a young girl it was a magical place. We played for hours on the shores of the lake and enjoyed escaping from the  world.  I’ll never forget the time my mom stepped on a live frog as we walked through the woods!  (Well, at least it was alive before she stepped on it!)

I also grew up hearing my dad tell us stories of the summers he spent with his family in the little cottage they owned on Victoria Beach on the shores of Lake Winnipeg.  There was the summer we got to go to Victoria Beach.  I’ll never forget the sight of my Grandpa Best floating on his back out on the lake with his pipe sticking out of his mouth! 

I fell in love with and became enchanted with the idea of a cottage on a lake.

For most of my life, whenever I would attend a conference or a meeting where they would ask you to write down your top goals one of mine was always…

Own a cottage on a lake.

When Jim and I moved to Oregon as a young married couple I discovered that Oregon doesn’t have too many lakes but it does have an amazing coast line. so the goal was revised…

Own a beach house

I didn’t know how or when I would get that beach house but I did know that my beach house had to be within a two hour drive of Portland.  It needed to be a “family” house  - big enough that we could gather as an extended family, a house big enough for when my kids would come home with their kids and that it needed to be in the quaint little beach town of Manzanita, Oregon. 

But that’s as far as I took the dream/goal until…

…one evening Jim and I were out to dinner with some friends and somehow the topic of a beach house came us.  I told them that I had always wanted a beach house and that I knew exactly where I wanted it.  They too expressed that they had always wanted a beach house - end of conversation.

Well, about one week later we got a phone call from our friends.  They had gone to the beach for the weekend and had looked at houses for sale.  Our friends then went on to tell us that they had found one they liked and even put an offer on it, pending our approval of course.

The house was one and a half hours from Portland, it was in the town of Manzanita and it was big - 3,000 square feet and the bonus - it had a 180 degree view of the ocean!

Guess what - we bought a beach house!  Finally, my dream had come true.

View from our side deck…

Lesson Learned:  Open your mouth and share your dreams with others - they can help make them come true! Be specific about your goals. - within two hours of Portland, town of Manzanita, big house.

How many times when asked to write down our goals do we keep our hand over the top of our paper so no one close to us sees what we are writing down!? 

How often do we write them down in our journal and then leave them there on the page? And then leave that journal on the shelf.

I have learned that one of the fastest ways to make your dreams come true is to share them with others.

I am not saying that every time you vocalize a dream or a goal that someone will magically appear and make that dream come true but it can’t hurt, can it? 

You never know when someone you know may know someone who knows someone…..

So what is one of your goals or dreams that you haven’t said out loud or vocalized?  How about putting it out there, right now!  I’d love for you to share it with me via the comment box below - you never know who may read it and be able to help!

I’ll start by sharing one of my top goals/dreams with you - I want to live in England for a month each year.  Know anyone with a house for rent in the English countryside????

Just so you know, I haven’t given up on the cottage on the lake though - on my dream board in my office I have a picture of a quaint little cottage on the shores of a lake.  You never know when Oregon may grow a new lake or two!

Remember to click through to the actual blog to leave your comment if you are reading this through an email update or rss reader.

I look forward to reading about your goals and dreams!

Popularity: 40% [?]

Categories: Inspire

Friday Favorite - Butterscotch Blondies

Friday, July 4, 2008, by Leigh Anne

Happy Fourth of July!

We are enjoying the holiday in Mazanita at our beach house.  I love spending the Fourth there  - complete with fireworks over the ocean and a parade.  They throw candy from the floats except for the guy that owns the crabbing boats - he throws crab legs!

Some of our neighbors will be joining us at the beach for the holiday and we will be serving this week’s Friday Favorite for dessert.  So onto this week’s favorite….

I have learned that one of the easiest ways to teach your children a skill is to pay someone else to do it! 

I spent  years  teaching other woman’s daughters to sew - most of these women were seamstresses themselves.

There are some children that are just better taught by someone other than their mother!  My youngest daughter is one of them.   It only took me a few hair pulling, screaming matches to figure it out!  (That was me pulling out my own hair not hers and both of us raising our voices a bit!)

So several summers ago I enrolled Tessa in a summer baking class. Someone else needed to teach her to bake.

She loved the class and now is she is as good a baker as I am.

Each day, in class, they would make a new type of cookie and bring home the recipe and samples.  The samples were always in some type of cute packaging.  The teacher believed in one of my life lessons - “It’s all in the presentation!” 

Some were almost too cute to eat, although we never let that stop us.

The one cookie she made that summer that we have made over and over again is Butterscotch Blondies.  It is a bar cookie so it is a perfect cookie for the summer - quick and easy. 

Although we have enjoyed these cookies many, many times I have never actually made them.  Tessa is the official Butterscotch Blondie baker at our house - no one else is allowed!

So if you are looking for a non-chocolate bar cookie this recipe is perfect.  Hope you enjoy it as much as we do. 

Butterscotch Blondies

3/4 cup butter, softened

3/4 cup packed light brown sugar

1/2 cup granulated sugar

2 eggs

2 cups all purpose flour

1 tsp. baking soda

1/2 tsp. salt

1 2/3 cups butterscotch chips

1 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Grease 13 x 9 pan.  Beat butter, brown sugar and granulated sugar in large bowl until creamy.  Add eggs; beat well.  Stir together flour, baking soda and salt;  gradually add to butter mixture, blending well.  Stir in butterscotch chips and nuts, if desired.  Spread into prepared pan.  Bake 30-35 minutes or until top is golden brown and center is set.  Do not over-bake.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.

Popularity: 47% [?]

Categories: Nourish, Recipes

Wilkes Family Survival Kit

Wednesday, July 2, 2008, by Leigh Anne

Both college boys are home this week - yea!!  Even though my grocery bill triples I love having them home.

We are spending the week at the beach - my favorite week of the year. (In fact we are there right now, while you are reading this!)

This time Logan is bringing a friend with him, a female friend.  We are excited to meet her and we hope she likes us!

We decided that we should put a Wilkes Family Survival Kit together for her - a kit to help her survive us!

Before you get the wrong idea - we are NOT the Family Stone but like every family we do have our quirks.

We put a few items into the survival kit that might help her get to know us a little bit better.

The kit includes the following:

A cute beach bag - how can you go to the beach without a cute bag!

A pair of sunglasses and a rain poncho - you never know which one you will need in Oregon in the summer.

A First-Aid kit - Logan has a bit of a history of causing injury to past girlfriends.  He broke the shoulder of one and crashed a motorbike with another one.  (All were accidents of course!)

Flip Flops - We hope she’ll Flip over us - and that we won’t be a Flop!

Kit Kat Bar - in case of emergency remove wrapper and eat (her favorite candy bar)

Popcorn with a package of M & M’s - the only way the Wilkes family eats popcorn!

Sand bucket and shovel - We hope she’ll have fun playing on the beach with us.

An Oregon baseball cap -  She’ll fit right in!

Deck of cards - You can’t spend much time with the Wilkes if you are not a card player  - if she’s not, we’ll teach her how!

A scented candle called “Beach House” - Welcome to the Beach House

Welcome to Oregon Becca!

Popularity: 39% [?]

Categories: Connect, Family