Tuesday's Tidings for May 6, 2014

May 6, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 3 Comments

1. Last week, we spend Monday and Tuesday in Disneyland! Only one of my favorite places on earth! We had so much fun and ate some really really good food! I can't wait to share with you soon!

2. Last night JACK came BACK! Yes, 24 is back and I loved the 2-hour premier. Josh and I sat down and actually watched live tv. I think the last time that happened it was when Downton Abbey was on.

3. I got my first shellac manicure almost two weeks ago and it was so awesome! So much better than a regular manicure. No chipping and the grow out isn't bad either. Well, for a French tip it isn't bad. Less noticeable probably because there isn't any color. I'm sold! Never going back to a regular manicure again.

4. There aren't to many movies I care about going to right now-but I want to see Mom's Night Out, God's Not Dead, Godzilla, and cannot wait for Malificent!!!

5. I love this wall decal! I definitely need this in my house!

6. Christian cried every time he saw someone dressed up in one of these costumes. So we never went to visit Minnie or Mickey. We saw them on their float in the parade and of course, Christian cried until they were gone, lol!

7. This Sunday, my Gracie turns 10 years old! How did this happen?? I'm almost the mother of a tween!!! Lord, help me!

8. These cat cupcakes are too cute! I think I need to make some :)

9. We finally reached 500 Likes on our FB page! If you aren't following us yet, click on over to our Catz page and Like us!

10. Have you guys seen the commercials for the Perfect Bacon Bowl? Josh and I just die laughing! We love bacon so much, but somehow this commercial makes it look so awful!

Weekly Menu 5/5-5-11

May 5, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 2 Comments

Hi everyone! I am back from vacation & Happy Cinco de Mayo! Well, I've been back home since Wednesday evening, but back to posting for all of you and I missed this! It's Monday and we're heading back into our normal routines of naps, school, cleaning, and of course playing in the kitchen.

I do plan on writing a *Tip* list on Disneyland stuff for all of you. But sadly, I didn't take as many pictures of food and our hotel as I would of liked. It is CRAY CRAY when you are outnumbered by your kids!

This week is going to be a VERY busy week for my little family here at Catz. We are celebrating my beautiful oldest daughter turning 10 and Mother's Day. In fact, this year, her birthday is on Mother's Day this year. That day just got even more special and more busy, lol!

Monday

Chicken Tacos with Mexican Roasted Potatoes

Tuesday

Parmesan Crusted Salmon with Baked Sweet Potatoes and Roasted Green Beans

Wednesday

Chicken and Mushroom Farfalle with Artichokes

Thursday

Cooking Class-Chicken Spaghetti in the Crockpot for Josh and the kids

Friday

BBQ Chicken Pizza with a Salad

Saturday

& Sunday

No dinner plans

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

April 30, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

I'm basically a carb-o-holic! I love my pasta, bread, and anything else that is full of carby goodness. I will rarely pass up seconds on a roll or maybe even a tiny extra helping of pasta. I see pasta and my self-control kind of goes out the window and I just promise myself that I will workout extra hard the next day. Let me tell you, for seconds...the working out is totally worth it!

This baked macaroni and cheese is totally worth it too. I'm of the opinion that this is THE BEST MACARONI AND CHEESE EVER! But I could also just be saying that because it is the family recipe I grew up eating and maybe I'm completely biased, but maybe I love it so much because it's my mom's recipe.

Over the years you would of easily seen this macaroni and cheese served at holiday meals, a side at a family gathering, or given as a meal to one of our family members who needed a meal brought to them. No one complains when they hear that we're having Nanny's (my mom's name from the grandkids) Macaroni and Cheese.

I gotta say one of my favorite things about this recipe is that it can be made in advance. I will usually make it in the morning and store in the fridge until I'm ready to pour in the milk and bake it. I've baked it in the morning and reheated it in the evening and it still tastes like it was just freshly made. The other thing I really like about this, is that I can usually adjust the amounts of cheese I use in it and still tastes good. Obviously, the more cheese you use, the cheesier it will be. But you can get by with 2 cups of grated cheddar cheese just fine. If you like your macaroni and cheese extra cheesy though, don't be afraid to use 3-4 cups of cheese. I think 3 cups of cheese is about perfect, but it's up to you.

Baked Macaroni and Cheese

Name: Baked Macaroni and Cheese
Prep time: 20 min
Cook time: 40 min
Total time: 1 h
Yield: 6
Cuisine: American
Ingredients: 1 lb (one box) elbow macaroni; 3-4 tablespoon butter, chilled and cubed; 2-4 cups grated cheddar cheese; 3/4-1 cup milk; Salt and pepper

Yield: 6-8

Prep Time: 20 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 1 hour

A simple baked macaroni and cheese that's creamy on the inside and crispy on top. The perfect side dish for almost any occasion.

Ingredients

1 lb (one box) elbow macaroni
3-4 tablespoon butter, chilled and cubed
2-4 cups grated cheddar cheese
¾-1 cup milk
Salt and pepper

Instructions

Pre-heat oven to 375 degrees. Grease a deep and large casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray.
Bring a large pot of water to a boil and cook the pasta according to the box's directions. Drain. Put a small layer of pasta on the bottom of the dish. Sprinkle salt and pepper lightly over the pasta. Place five dots of butter over the pasta and sprinkle a decent helping of cheese over the butter.
Repeat this layer until you've run out of pasta or have came to the top of the dish.
Pour the milk over the pasta and place uncovered in the oven for 20 minutes. After 20 minutes, place a lid back on the casserole dish and continue baking for an additional 20 minutes.

Notes

Recipe courtesy of my mom, Connie Anderson

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 8 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 645Total Fat: 56gSaturated Fat: 33gTrans Fat: 2gUnsaturated Fat: 17gCholesterol: 160mgSodium: 924mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 1gProtein: 28g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.

Julia Child's Orange Bavarian Cream

April 24, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 12 Comments

I did it again. The end of the month snuck up on me and I hadn't gone any farther in my Julia Child resolution other than picking out the recipe for April and buying the ingredients. Which would assume that I would remember to make the recipe right? Wrong!

I think with Christian coming out of being sick and me preparing for our trip (T-Minus 2 days) that I am just scatterbrain city! I even keep telling myself that I need to sit down and write out a "To Do" list of things to remember to pack and I haven't even done that yet. *sigh*

Today is going to consist of cleaning the house and doing laundry. I might even begin packing the kids bags, but we shall see how much I get done today. I'm a firm believer in cleaning before leaving on a trip. It just makes things so much nicer when you come back home and all you have to do is unpack.

So let's talk about this recipe! Like I said at the beginning, I knew what I was going to make for this month a few weeks ago and I had bought everything I needed. It was just sitting there waiting for me to use it. And I'm glad I finally got around to making this because it is EXCELLENT! Seriously, this is one fabulous dessert. I had intended on making the Raspberry Bavarian Cream like Julie Powell made in the movie. But, I just didn't feel like straining seeds from raspberries, lol! Yes, sometimes, I am that lazy. This version of Julia's Bavarian Creams is the original version and the others in her cookbook are just variations of what you could do to change the flavors up.

This dessert is pretty simple to follow, but it involves a lot of steps and you want to make sure you read it all the way through, at least a few times so you understand it. This orange bavarian cream tastes like a cream sickle. You guys know what those are right? Ice cream bars that are a mixture of vanilla cream and orange. Or from way back in the day, Henry Weinhard's Orange Cream soda. (I used to buy those all the time as a kid).

The trickiest part of this recipe is if you choose to mold it (like I did), removing the cream from the mold can be challenging. I stuck the pan ( I used a bundt pan) in hot water for just a couple of seconds and then I took a really small knife and carefully loosened the cream around the edges of the mold, placed my cake stand on top of the mold and then flipped it. I did this THREE times and nothing happened. So I just kept loosening it up around the edges. The last time I attempted to flip it, I had Grace telling me whether it was coming loose or not. Word was, it wasn't. But then I went to flip it back over again to try and loosen the side when it was to late, it was coming un-molded and half of the mixture fell on top of the other half. Grr! Grace felt so bad, but I assured her it wasn't her fault. So...if you are wondering why I only have pictured HALF a mold...this is why. So if you mold it, be patient! Or you could make a few pies with this cream. OH MY WORD-THAT WOULD BE HEAVEN!

The kids and I loved this dessert and I would totally make it again. Josh has yet to try it because he honestly can't eat things that taste like this. Long story, it just makes him sick from a time when he was a kid and had surgery. So I'm pushing for him to have a nibble...but I don't expect him too. So I think I'll be attempting the Raspberry Bavarian Cream soon.

Julia Child's Orange Bavarian Cream

Recipe by Julia Child's Mastering the Art of French Cooking cookbook

This beautiful cold molded dessert tastes just like a cream sickle! It's creamy, flavorful, and light and worth every single step it takes to make it!

Prep time: 1 hour

Cook time: 3-4 hours or overnight, chilled

Total time: 5 hours +

Yield: 8-10

Ingredients

2 large oranges
2 teaspoon granulated sugar
½-3/4 cup squeezed orange juice from oranges
1 ½ TB gelatin
7 egg yolks
1 cup granulated sugar
2 teaspoon cornstarch
1 ½ cups boiling milk
5 egg whites
pinch of salt
1 TB granulated sugar
½ cup chilled whipping cream ( I used heavy)
1 teaspoon vanilla extract

Cooking Directions

The Orange Flavoring: In a small bowl, zest the two oranges and stir together with 2 teaspoon of sugar. Set aside. Squeeze the juice from the oranges and pour into a measuring cup to make sure you have at least ½ cup of juice. Pour into a small bowl and sprinkle the gelatin over the orange juice and set aside to soften.
To make the custard: Place the egg yolks and orange zest in a large mixing bowl. Using an electric mixer, gradually beat in the granulated sugar and continue beating for 3-4 minutes until the mixture is pale yellow and forms a ribbon. Beat in cornstarch.
Beat the milk in a thin stream of droplets into the egg mixture (you don't want to scramble the eggs). Pour into a saucepan and set over medium heat. Stir with a wooden spoon until the mixture thickens enough to lightly coat the back of the spoon. Remove from heat and add the gelatin mixture right away, beating for a moment or two until the gelatin has completely dissolved. Rinse out the mixing bowl and pour in the custard mixture.
The Egg Whites: Using an electric mixer or the whisk attachment on your Kitchenaid, place the egg whites and pinch of salt into a mixing bowl, beating until soft peaks form. Sprinkle 1 TB of sugar over the peaks and beat until stiff peaks form. Using a rubber spatula, fold the egg whites into the hot custard. Set the bowl over another bowl with ice and continue folding delicately with spatula while the mixture is cooling, to keep it from separating until the mixture is cold, but not quite set. Set aside.
Whipped Cream: With a whisk, beat the cream and vanilla until the cream has doubled in volume and the whisk leaves faint traces on the surface. Fold the whipped cream into the custard, until completely incorporated.
Using an 8-cup mold, like a bundt pan, pour the bavarian cream into the mold. Cover with wax or plastic wrap and chill in the fridge for 3-4 hours or overnight.
To remove the cream from the mold, dip the mold into very hot water for a few seconds and run a knife around the edge of the cream and reverse the mold onto a chilled platter.

Tuesday's Tidings for April 22, 2014

April 22, 2014 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

1. I get this random text from Josh last night and I don't even know where to begin. He thought it was hilarious and I'm like," Whaaaa?"

2. If you watched The Black List last night, don't tell me anything about it. Josh and I are going to watch it today when the kids are tucked in. Can't wait! #Blacklist

3. Have you read about this news story about this sweet 90 year old couple? You should. It will warm your heart!

4. FOUR days till we leave for Cali on Saturday-Whoo-Hoo and the weather is looking gorgeous!!

5. We made this Black Bean and Quinoa Enchilada Bake last week and it was off the hook good! (Do people still say off the hook)? Christian had two helpings the night I made it and had another the next day as leftovers. Be forewarned though...this is not a pretty dish once served up on the plate, but it does taste amazing!

6. Grace got 100% on her 3 page History test yesterday. This momma is so so proud!

7. Since I love sharing recipes that we've recently tried, here's another. We made this Mango Chicken Stir Fry last night and it was also very delicious. Christian wasn't feeling dinner at all so he filled himself up with yogurt and sliced strawberries, but all four of us cleaned our plates and there was still food leftover. Did I mention this was easy too? A recipe I'm saving!

8. House is on netflix and I'm freaking out! I really love that show!

9. I made egg salad sandwiches with our Easter hard-boiled eggs and can you believe it, Grace doesn't like these sandwiches! I don't get it? What's not to love?

10. The weather today is kind go dark and stormy looking and I'm loving on my sweatpants and barely there make-up look today. I need to make more of an effort to wear cozy clothes and give my face a make up-less look more often.

Weekly Menu 4/21-4/25

April 21, 2014 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

This is a short week for us as we are getting up before it should even be legal to wake up Saturday morning to fly to California. I'm in the process of doing laundry, toiletry list making, cleaning, and finishing up school for the week. Which of course, I'll be repeating again on Thursday with more laundry and cleaning and then of course, I have to make my "To-Do" list!

I know I'm probably making more work for myself right now with trying to get so much done and making sure the house is clean before we leave, which include, clean sheets. But this is the way I've always done it and I just cannot stand it when I come home to a dirty house on top of unloading and putting away all of the traveling items. It's worth it in the end I think.

I haven't yet decided if I'm going to post anything while we're gone. I'm still deciding. We'll have free wi-fi at the hotel, but ya know...sometimes an actual break to be with family (and not because they are sick) is what the dr. ordered. So, I'm still up in the air. Thoughts??

Monday

Mango Chicken Stir-Fry

Tuesday

(Taco)

Quinoa, Black Bean, and Corn Tacos

Wednesday

(Crockpot)

BBQ Chicken Sandwiches with Macaroni & Cheese,

and Green Beans

Thursday

Tomato Soup and Grilled Cheese Sandwiches

Friday

Cheesy Chicken with Rice and Salad

Salsa Baked Eggs

April 17, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 13 Comments

This Salsa Baked Eggs recipe is ready in under 20 minutes, contains less than 200 calories, is full of protein, and is super-tasty to boot! Enjoy!

Can we just talk for a moment about hormones??? Female hormones to be exact. I love and hate those suckers. Hormones make me cry at heart-tugging commercials, melt when I see my children play with each other, and be hopelessly sappy and emotional when I even look at my husband. (...now you know why I have three kids). ;)

But there is another set of hormones. The ones I hate. These hormones make me irrational, frustrated, alone, and irritable. And while they are doing all of that to me, (as if that wasn't enough) they make my view of the world (or at least my world) seem foggy. I can't see through the fog because my fog lights are turned off. [Read more...]

No-Bake Blueberry Vanilla Trifle

April 16, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 6 Comments

Josh and I seem to find ourselves with an increasing problem with it comes to our pizza and movie nights on Fridays. Every Friday (unless we have other plans) we make homemade pizza and a salad and sit down in the living room around the coffee table and turn on the tv and try to decide which movie is appropriate for the kids to watch. Does anyone else have this problem?

It seems to me, that movies for kids and family are getting harder and harder to choose from. I'm not what you would call a prude, but I do tend to be on the stricter side when it comes to the things my kids are allowed to watch.

Thankfully there are the Disney movies-which we've pretty much exhausted on Netflix. We've watched Disney Nature movies, which are awesome! They love the first Pirates and the last one (because they haven't seen 2 & 3 yet) and are obsessed with all the Marvel, Narnia, and LOTR movies. We've watched some I love Lucy as well and we're going to start National Treasure ones again because Grace is learning about those historical moments in History right now. But it is really, and I mean really hard to find things which we feel are appropriate.

Such is the way the world is headed I suppose. The other day I had found this lone package of pound cake at the grocery store on the mark down rack (otherwise known as my goodie rack) and I couldn't help myself. I had to buy it even though I had no idea what I was going to do with it. So I made this trifle. I ended up showing Grace how easy it was to throw together a dessert with minimal ingredients. I'm always making desserts with multiple steps, but this one was a piece of cake. #punnotintended

My kids LOVED it. My husband thought it was too sweet...but he's not a big fan of pudding either. But I loved it! This trifle looks fancy, but is a cinch to put together. A fool-proof dessert is something every home cook should have up their sleeve. And now, you do!

Blueberry Vanilla Trifle

Yield: 6

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 5 minutes

Additional Time: 2 hours

Total Time: 2 hours 20 minutes

This no bake dessert just got easier with store bought pound cake, jell-o pudding, and a simple homemade blueberry sauce that’s layered together for one beautiful dessert!

Ingredients

½ pkg pound cake, cubed
1 (3.5 oz) box vanilla pudding, prepared per boxes directions
2 cups blueberries
1 ½ TB lemon juice
1 ½ teaspoon cornstarch
2 TB sugar
2 TB water

Instructions

In a small bowl, combine the lemon juice and cornstarch. Set Aside. In a medium saucepan, combine the blueberries, sugar, and water, Bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Reduce to a simmer and stir in lemon juice mixture. Stir until the sauce thickens slightly. Allow to cool.
In 8 oz pint wide mouth mason jars or parfait glasses, place a small amount of pudding in the bottom of the jars, about 2 TB per jar. Place about 1 ½ TB of pound cake on top of the pudding, and pour 2-3 TB of the cooled blueberry sauce on top of the pound cake. Repeat layers, ending with the blueberry sauce on top.
Chill in the refrigerator for two hours before serving.

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 6 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 89Total Fat: 2gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 1gCholesterol: 4mgSodium: 47mgCarbohydrates: 19gFiber: 1gSugar: 14gProtein: 1g

Nutrition information isn't always accurate.

Tuesday's Tidings for April 15, 2014

April 15, 2014 By Chelsia Rief Leave a Comment

1. Josh came home one evening last week and still had a bunch of work to do (which is rare) and Christian just wanted his daddy. I think this picture is just super sweet!.

2. The girls and I were talking about Disneyland today and Grace was asking all sorts of questions about Splash Mountain. I found a video on youtube of a front seat POV of the whole ride and let's just say the last splash is very anti-climatic. So all her worries regarding that ride seem to be gone.

3. Christian is on the mend. He was sick AGAIN last week, but he's doing a ton better now. My goal is to keep everyone well.

4. I came home yesterday from grocery shopping to find little baby ants all over my dining room floor. YUCK! I was so mad, that I just started stomping and raiding the house. Luckily, Josh brought home some traps and we haven't seen anymore. But UGH!

5. When do molars usually start coming in for toddlers? I think Christian is teething and he doesn't like me examining his gums, but in the back gum area, it feels like of raised, even though I can't see anything. Is it to early for the flatter teeth to be coming in?

6. We went to the zoo on Saturday because our membership expires at the end of the month and so many of the animals were wondering around. It was darling. We finally got to see the baby lions and they are so adorable and playful. I'm determined to take one home with me.

7. Just in case you missed it yesterday, I'm Evermine's blog newest contributor (YAY) and I posted a jam recipe on their blog the other day, which is super good, and so easy! Make sure you check it out!

8. Who checked out the moon last night. I'm happy to report, that I was in bed, sleeping.

9. Josh and I went to AE over the weekend. I had to make a return at another store and we scored BIG off the clearance which was 70% off! I got these pants and a cute t-shirt and Josh got this cardigan and this t-shirt all for like $27.00. Completely crazy!! This is why I rarely ever pay full price for clothing.

10. Fave Easter food- Go!

Homemade Marionberry Freezer Jam

April 14, 2014 By Chelsia Rief 4 Comments

Today I'm sharing a recipe from one of my cooking classes for homemade marionberry freezer jam, which is great if you're like me and you don't know how to make traditional jam with boiling jars and lids and doing all of the things...otherwise known as canning. This recipe isn't like all of that, it's so easy, it will blow your socks off and you can switch out whatever berry you like. I happened to have a crazy stash of marionberries in my freezer.

Because this jam is so easy to make, you can easily make these for gifts too because this recipe makes a few jars! Make one for you and give a few jars away. When I make my homemade granola, I'll often double the batch so I can share with some of my family members who also really enjoy granola. These kinds of homemade gifts make great birthday gifts and Christmas gifts. Just throwing that out there in case you're looking to give something a bit more personal.

Back to the jam though! I happen to love a berry jam. Actually, any jam is kind of my favorite and I find that I got through different cravings of jam. There is something about a little strawberry jam and butter on a perfectly toasted piece of sourdough bread (my preferred carb for jam). During the summer months though when fresh berries are abundant, I can't get enough of the rich, bright flavors of perfectly tart and sweet berries. I live in Oregon, which means we have berry crops all over the place and we're so blessed to get our berries as soon as the season begins. In fact, we have a berry stand just down the road from our house and I love to frequent that whenever I'm in the mood for, oh, let's say a cobbler. Just hop right down the road and grab what I need and I know they're going to be better than whatever is being sold in the store, and fresher too.

Of course jam and toast is a perfect combination. But have you tried warming up some jam and pouring a bit over some baked brie cheese with crackers? Stirred into oatmeal, dolloped on top of your scone or biscuit, on pancakes or waffles instead of butter and syrup? Or mixed into some softened cream cheese and to smear over your bagel or even mixed with butter to make a fruity butter spread? So many options...oh and don't forget to pour some over ice cream for a sweet and fresh treat.

The only question you have to answer before making this jam, is what kind of easy jam flavor are you going to make? Let me know in the comments!

Homemade Marionberry Freezer Jam

Yield: 4-6 cups

Prep Time: 10 minutes

Additional Time: 15 minutes

Total Time: 25 minutes

Ingredients

6 cups (heaping) of berries (any kind you like and can be frozen - just thaw before you make the jam)
1 ½-2 cups sugar (if you like sugary jam, go ahead and make it 2 cups)
6 TB instant Clear Gel (1 TB per cup of berries - available through King Arthur Flour)
1 TB pure lemon juice

Instructions

Place berries in a large bowl or pot and mash away with a potato masher.
Mix sugar and clear gel together.
Add sugar mix to berries and lemon juice…stir with a wooden spoon until the sugar has dissolved
Let sit for about 15 minutes.
Take 1-2 cups (depending on the mason jar you use) and scoop into the jars, seal and freeze.

Notes

Recipe by Lisa Pearson

Recommend 4 (8 oz) half pint *freezer safe* mason jars or 6 (8oz) mini mason jars

Nutrition Information:

Yield: 80 Serving Size: 1
Amount Per Serving: Calories: 34Total Fat: 0gSaturated Fat: 0gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 0gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 0mgCarbohydrates: 9gFiber: 0gSugar: 8gProtein: 0g

Nutrition information isn’t always accurate.