Rice Pudding, Easy & Delicious!!

I had a HUGE batch of white rice left over and it's snowing outside. What better on a cold night than warm, fresh, home made rice pudding...This one is by far the best I've ever made...tasted so much like Nana's!!

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups cooked rice
12 oz can of evap milk
1/2 cup milk
1/3 cup white sugar
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup raisins
1 tablespoon butter
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
1 dash nutmeg (1/2 tsp?)
1 dash of cinnamon (1/2 tsp?)

Directions
Combine 1 1/2 cups cooked rice, evap milk and sugar in medium saucepan. Cook over medium heat until thick and creamy, 15 to 20 minutes. Stir in 1/2 cup milk, beaten egg and raisins. Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly. Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla, cinnamon and nutmeg. Serve warm. Makes 4 servings.

Trying to get a quick update posted...

Friday night Harley went out with his new respite provider for a "break the ice" outing...to Burger King (food is always a bonding thing with Harley!). They did well together...Harley even was able to answer "personal" questions such as "when is your birthday!"...That is just amazing...he didn't know the year, but he knew the month and date. Harley's approved of him and wants to go on another outing with him...but unfortunately this person can only work weekends. I am still searching for someone qualified to do respite on Mon, Tues and Wed while I'm in the hospital.

Oh yeah and Thursday night he dialed my cell phone number (this is something the speech therapist has been working on with him)...he got it correct with no prompts but when I answered the phone, he didn't say anything...but one step at a time!

Yesterday we spent the day making my very first from scratch pumpkin pie...with fresh pumpkin...it is under lock and key...hoping I can freeze it and make it last til Thanksgiving but Harley has other plans...I already found a finger mark in the center of it! We still had a bunch of pureed pumpkin left over so made pumpkin spice bread...it is delicious and one loaf is already gone...before I could even put icing on it...I got hit with a migraine while I had a batch in the oven and no one remembered to take it out when the timer went off...Tyler insists it's a chocolate cake and is eating it anyways...whatever turns his crank I guess.

Oh and Harley went to the pediatrician on Friday for his physical. He's growing so tall...that his BMI is lowering and they are not going to continue with weight checks anymore! We will just see her every six months. Based on the 'professionals' witnessing Harley's seizures recently, she was able to add absence seizures to his list of diagnosis now. He's never going to be able to drive anyways and that wsa the biggest concern that anyone had...I mean this boy is nearly 13 years old and still does not understand safety skills in the community (crossing the street, walking in a parking lot).

Well, I know I have more updates but my toddlers are arguing with each other so I'm gonna have to close. I'll try to come back and remember what else I wanted to update :)

Kielbasa Pasta Casserole (EDITED!)

This one was another favorite...again no pictures and again, adjusted to our family's taste (the original recipe called for 2 cans of stewed tomatoes and 3 cans of tomato sauce--we are not that fond of tomato and I hate to eat hot tomato pieces).

1- 1 pound box of ziti pasta (any pasta would work!)
1 link of polish sausage (Kielbasa)
Italian bread crumbs
mozzarella or Monterey jack cheese (shredded)
1 tbsp of Italian seasoning (or mix of parsley, oregano and black pepper)
1 jar spaghetti sauce

Cook pasta. While pasta is cooking slice kielbasa into slices (I quartered them) and cook til brown. Drain pasta and sausage and mix together into a large bowl. Toss with italian seasonings. Put into 13x9x2 casserole dish. Top with bread crumbs and shredded cheese. Cover with aluminum foil and cook in 350 oven for 20 minutes. Uncover and cook an additional 10 minutes to brown cheese.

Yummy!! Everyone in the family enjoyed this recipe and Kelly even had seconds!!

Puerto Rican Meat Pies

As usual, I adjusted this recipe to our own tastes...the original recipe called for bell peppers but since no one here eats them, we omitted them.

1 pkg wonton or eggroll skins
1 pound ground beef
1 handful of finely chopped cilantro
1 onion, cut into tiny pieces (almost minced?)
2 tbsp minced garlic

Brown ground beef with onion and garlic. Drain. Add cilantro and mix well. Spoon filling by teaspoon into wonton skins into a triangluar shape and press edges with a fork. Deep fry at 375 degrees until golden brown.

When I was a child I ate these as a regular meal made by the neighbors (we lived in a predominately Puerto Rican neighborhood). They were so tasty--and I must say that mine turned out tasting about the same flavor...this is a new family favorite now!

We served it with a side of garden salad and some low fat sour cream and homemade guacamole!

Adjusted Recipe to Share

A great ONE DISH / PAN MEAL!!

you know my favorite recipe site? Yup, www.allrecipes.com They have a cool ingredient search. I had ground beef defrosted but am so sick of making the same thing over and over again. I knew I had pasta, so I put in a search for ground beef and pasta. It came up with Beef and Parmesean Pasta as one of the recipes that matched my search.

I didn't get a picture of it but I can tell you that EVERYONE, including Harley (which is amazing because he doesn't eat "mixed" foods) RAVED about how delicious it is. I have to pat myself on the back because I so totally changed the recipe and am shocked that not only did it come out that good, but also because I was able to talk Harley into sampling it...then he tore up TWO bowlsful!!

As most of you know if you follow this blog I tend to use substitutions to the point that it's not even the original recipe but an original recipe in and of itself...

ORIGINAL RECIPE'S INGREDIENTS:
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
1 (14 ounce) can beef broth
1 (14.5 ounce) can Italian-style diced tomatoes
2 cups uncooked farfalle (bow tie) pasta
2 cups sliced zucchini, (1/4 inch thick)
3/4 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided

MY VERSION INGREDIENTS: :))
1 1/2 pounds lean ground beef
2 cubes of beef bullion, prepared into broth
1 can of condensed tomato soup (didn't have any diced tomatoes!)
1 pound box of mini bow ties (farfalle)
3/4 jar of Alfredo Sauce (leftover from a couple of nights before)
(I did not add the zuchinni, my kids prefer to eat raw veggies so we had carrots, green beans and snap peas "on the side" -- Raw veggies are better for them anyways!)


DIRECTIONS
In a large skillet over medium/high heat, brown the ground beef until no longer pink, breaking up into 3/4 inch pieces. Remove beef with a slotted spoon to a bowl. Pour off the drippings.
Return the skillet to the heat and add the beef broth, tomatoes (tomato soup), and pasta. Stir to coat all of the pasta. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to medium.
Cook, uncovered, for 15 minutes stirring frequently. *Add zucchini and continue cooking for an additional 5 minutes or until pasta is tender. (I didn't add the zucchini)
Return beef to the skillet and stir in 1/2 cup of the cheese (jar of alfredo); heat through. Sprinkle the remaining cheese over each serving.

Top with some dried parmesean cheese and watch the kids devour!!!

Yeah, I made my own laundry soap

And I must have an awfully dull life because it was pretty exciting!!

It's nice because I can use the soaps I know Harley doesn't have reactions to.

I got the recipe from my friend Crystal who had sent me a link to The Simple Dollar: Making your Own Laundry Soap. It's great because she has step by step instructions as well as pictures.

Mine turned out well...My clothes are cleaner, fresher and softer!!

So there ya go Stephanie!! Hope you have fun trying it out!!

If only I had more time...

I would update my blog more often! LOL...Things have been crazy with having to take Harley to and from camp each day plus trying to get quality time with Andrew, Kelly, Robert, Tyler and Zachary...oh and add to that the laundry, dishes, family meetings (to talk about how people need to start picking up on their chores because mom is not spelled S-L-A-V-E)...

So after my last entry...we never did go to the fish stores for the koi and instead Andrew wanted to go Yard Saling...We were leaving like the 2nd one we stopped at and BOOM...mom hits (just a tap) a Lexus...only the best ya know? Safari van vs. Lexus is no competition...Not a scratch on the Safari, but a little maybe 1/2" long crack on the Lexus bumper. Terrific!! Thank goodness I was only going like 3 miles an hour (I was backing up and he was pulling in behind me at the same time). So Monday I called the insurance, made the claim and found that between my policy and his (since we both use the same company) will cover it with no deductible!! WHOOT WHOOT!! Oh and I got some awesome deals - I'll show you the best one....

Can you guess how much I paid for this set? $$$$20.

Monday also marked the day I finally got to meet with Harley's therapist with summer camp. She's ok...not cream of the crop but ya know what do you expect for only $40 an hour?! No one is ever good enough for him in my eyes...I'm probably being too harsh on her...Either way she communicates well and makes time to speak with me each day so we can brainstorm on how to best deal with Harley's issues. He's finally got his neurology appointment (did I already mention this?)

Oh yeah, back to Sunday...I had two puking kids (from drainage making them cough so hard they would vomit)...Zachary & Tyler...Zachary had the worst of it. I had to clean the carpet in their room a couple of times, but that's ok, it needed it anyways, just not at 8pm at night! In a way I'm thankful the children were sick because we had been planning to go to the fish store then instead....and of course we would've been there about the same time the tornado hit that shopping center (Southlands)

So I had a couple of sleepless nights as Monday Tyler had it BAD! He came out of his room after sleeping fairly peacefully vomiting down the hallway and all through the living room before I could stop him! I cleaned up the....major pieces....and pulled out the carpet cleaner again (should've never put it away). I started it up and got sprayed in the face (through the attachment), down my arm, all over my clothes and the bookcase in the living room. Sure I needed a shower but that was not the shower I had in mind (and good thing I got a late shower that day!!)...Ends up although it appeared to be set on floor cleaning, the knob had been turned the opposite direction from where I should've been so it was actually still set on attachment...:))

Tuesday was a pretty mild day -- other than in the late morning I was talking to my friend Crystal...who lives in tornado alley Oklahoma (at least it seems she does -- love ya honey!)...Anyways I told her in the history of Colorado weather we had never had a tornado hit this close to the mountains and she say "now you know there's a first time for everything"...(not a question, but a statement of fact)...LOL...So when we took off at 3:30 a storm was chasing us from home to where we had to go to pick up Harley. A bolt of lighting crashed LOUDLY while we were in the van...I nearly had a panic attack thinking I was hearing warning sirens and that Crystal jinxed us (still lovin' ya honey!)...ends up it was a weed eater!! Haha, I needed a good laugh, at myself no less....Kelly went to the dentist and found that in about 5 weeks she will have her braces taken off --actually have a DATE!! It's been a long six years she's been wearing braces!! (since she was about nine years old - to fix her major overbite that was causing speech pediments)...I can't wait to see how beautiful she looks without them considering how beautiful she is with them! LOL

Oh yeah, Tuesday we also took our van for it's followup smog test..and ... it... PASSED!! Whoowhoo!! A $30 oxygen sensor was all it needed...and the mechanic didn't charge us a dime - although Andrew gave him $20 for running the diagnostics on the computer system, it sure saved a lot of time and probably money because we were going to replace a piece (the EGR valve) ... and that part alone would've cost $175.00!!

That brings us to today...Just getting our errands done today that have been suffering with having only one vehicle at a time the past 2 weeks...We left the house at 8:30 this morning and returned at 2:00...what a long day it's been!! In the next 45 minutes, we get to leave again to go and pick up Harley from camp...then it's leftovers tonight....Oh speaking of leftovers?! We found a recipe for Guacamole Salsa in a Cooking Light Magazine...we 'adjusted' it...it got RAVE reviews from everyone in the house...I can't tell ya what the exact measurements are because I didn't bother to measure anything --

2 tomatoes cut into small cubes

1 avocado cut into small cubes

some onion (probably about 2 tbsp)

Cilantro (about 5 tbsps...but that's A LOT! but I recently discovered how much I love this stuff!)

2 tbsp lime juice

salt and pepper to taste

Mix it together and you have the most delicious pico de gallo (sp?)!! Be sure to add the avocado last because it will be mushy if you don't. It's delicious on chicken, tacos, burritos, taquitos....The first night we tried it on chicken (the recipe we got from the magazine) and with the chicken it was a 260 calorie main dish (not bad for being so super delicious!).

If you want the recipe for Chicken with Lime-avocado salsa, drop me a note and I'll post it!

Spinach / Orange Salad

This was a delicious salad!!

Thought I would share the recipe

Ingredients:

4 slices bacon
2 eggs
2 1/2 teaspoons white sugar
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
2 tablespoons water
1/2 teaspoon salt
baby spinach
mandarin oranges

Cook bacon. Crumble and set aside. Reserve 2 tablespoons bacon fat.

Meanwhile, hard boil the eggs.

Return 2 tablespoons bacon fat to skillet, stir in sugar, vinegar, water and salt. Keep warm.

Wash and remove stems from spinach, dry thoroughly and break into pieces in salad bowl. Pour warm dressing over and toss until coated.

Top salad with bacon, oranges and egg.

Tonight's dinner

I have two big chicken breasts and ONE package of italian sausage...got some potatoes I've gotta get used up too, so I went to AllRecipes.com and did an ingredient search...(you didn't really think all those great recipes were mine did you?) LOL...

This recipe for Chicken Murphy sounds awesome, so that's what I'm making tonight...better get started while the boys are down...

That's all for now...
I'm baaaaaaack...with a picture of the finished product:


Oh I did make one substitute and one omission: I didn't have white wine so I mixed 1/2 cup of white grape and 1/2 cup of vinegar (tasted just like white wine, weird!) -liquor stores are closed on Sundays here. I didn't use the peppers for two reasons, no one here eats them and because the sausage I used was "hot" italian sausage.
FAMILY REVIEWS OF THIS RECIPE:
Robert said: "Eww, I don't like it, can I put it back?" - referring to the potatoes

Andrew said: "the Italian sausage is too spicy and overpowers the rest of the food"

Me? I said "It's edible and it was worth a try". I don't think I'll try it again though and if I do I will make more 'sauce' as it dried VERY quickly while cooking...

Tyler didn't like the way it looked and wouldn't even stand it being on his plate.

Kelly doesn't eat meat (very often anyway), so she had just the pasta...

Harley doesn't eat the same stuff either...