Whole Hearts Cereal

So I found this and decided to be festive and get it. Lucas calls it "Heart Cereal". I'm hoping it lasts past Valentine's Day because it is way good. Lightly sweetened oat cereal...can't go wrong.

mmmmm...tasty...

Baby Darci

Darci's a toot. We love her and she's growing really fast. We can't believe that it will be six months in just a couple of weeks since she's been in our lives. She has a great sense of humor. She's super cuddly. She loves her stuffies and she most especially loves her brother (who loves her just as much in return, surprisingly). She's a toot and we love her.

Lucas was kind enough to share his lightsaber with her

HAPPY...

...HAPPY BABIES (oh and Daddies too I guess).

Grandpa's Buddies

So my Grandpa Drake was Italian, right? So he loved these homemade chicken tortellini his mom would make (hence why he called them his buddies). So he decided to figure out Great Grandma Lechene's recipe for his favorite dinner. It took a couple of calls to my mother to clarify some things but I was able to make them as well. They're delicious and I love them on a cold day.

This is what Grandpa wrote in his history as recorded by his own voice:

Take six eggs in a bowl and beat with 3 cups of flour and one teaspoon of salt. Beat eggs and flour. You may need to add flour to have it roll out well. Leave it out for one hour while preparing the filling.


 Boil one chicken, save the broth, and bone the chicken. Grind the chicken with 3 pieces of celery, one onion, one beat up egg, one cup of cracker crumbs, two tablespoons of parmesan cheese. Season to taste with salt, poultry seasoning, and sage. Roll out dough. Add 1/2 teaspoon of stuffing to every 2 inch square of dough. Cut and fold. Let stand in refrigerator until dry. Cook in chicken broth until tender/ May be frozen for later use.


There were a couple of corrections my mom told me to make because she remembers when he made it he would use Progresso Italian Breadcrumbs instead of cracker crumbs. Also I would like to add when combining the egg and flour, add a little flour at a time until you get a stiff dough. One more thing, I added some chicken broth to the water saved for the soup so that it would have a more chicken flavor. My mom suggests doing the same because my grandpa would leave the bones in the water for quite some time so unless you have a lot of time on your hands, I would use either a boullion cube or some chicken broth.Other than that, everything was great.

I didn't really know my Grandpa Drake, he died shortly after I was born. I have only one picture with him. I wish I could have known him more. Cooking makes me feel closer to him and most especially, when cooking his Buddies.

Add flour slowly to the eggs then let sit for an hour while preparing the stuffing.

Boil the chicken and save the broth.

Let Chicken rest a while before digging in and pulling it apart, it is very hot!

Shred the chicken so the food processor doesn't die trying to grind up the chicken

Chicken onion and celery are to be ground together in a food processor. If you have one of those old timey food grinders...I wouldn't suggest it...it would take forever and your arm would hurt afterwards.

Then mix the grindings with the egg parmesan, breadcrumbs and seasonings.

Now it's time to roll out the dough. I tried to keep it fairly rectangular so I didn't have a ton of waste.

I measured my squares because i'm a nut and require things to be on the more organized side. (Dad would be proud)

And then the final product...it may not be pretty but OH MAN is it good.

Boil these suckers in the reserved broth (I strained my broth so it would look prettier) and then you're ready to enjoy. 

We were just so excited to eat them by the time we got done they were gone and we didn't get a picture. But rest assured it was beautiful, especially with a loaf of Italian Bread on the side. 

AND SHE ROLLS!

She's adorable. Such a proud mama. Ignore the commentary...

The Breakup Artist by Shannen Crane Camp

So a friend of mine wrote a book and got it published! She's always been a talented writer and is working on a couple more books including a series. I got this book for Christmas from my brother because he wanted to support her too. I finally sat down and read it before school started and it was fun! Definitely meant for a younger audience, but I enjoyed the adolescence and most especially her character development. She does a fantastic job developing her protagonist and helping the reader see through her eyes. I enjoyed it and if you're looking for a quick read, take a look. Her book is sold through Barnes and Nobles and Amazon.

Here is what the back of the book says:

"Breaking up with someone is a major pain-unless you hire someone to do it for you. Known by her clients as 'The High School Heartbreaker,' Amelia Marie Bedford is the perfect picture of a social chameleon and the number one breakup artist in multiple schools. She demands top dollar for her professional breakup services, and there are more than enough girls willing to pay, especially right before Prom.

Everything's business as usual until David, one of the boys she's been hired to dump, throws her for a loop by showing genuine interest in something other than her looks. With clients piling up, Amelia must decide if David's intentions are honest, or if there's something else going on behind his gorgeous green eyes."

Its quirky and fun and definitely cheesy. She worked hard on it and I am so proud of her for getting published. It's a fantastic accomplishment and I can't wait to see what else she does.

She even signed my book for me!

Table

We found the table we want to have for the next couple of decades. It was for a moderately good price and at Costco so we knew it was going to be decent quality. I'm not going to say it was a steal but it wasn't bad compared to others we had been looking at. We love it. It's a seven piece counter height dining set. Six chairs and one table with a self storing leaf! It's fantastic and I'm doing my best to keep it looking nice and last as long as possible. It's been pretty resilient so far and it's pretty dang sturdy. We love it and should you have a meal at our house, you will love it too!

My sister Leah and her beau Zach were kind enough to come over and watch the kiddlets while we bought the table. They even stayed to help us set it up! 

And the table is assembled!

Christmas

Yeah I know...it's been a busy one. Especially since Lucas got sick Christmas morning, then Daddy followed suit, then Darci, then Mommy's immune system finally gave in. So between Christmas and a little after New Years we were all confined to the apartment and mostly to the couch/bed. We're all better now, but school started so we are now confined to UVU/the computer chair. But here is what Christmas was kind of like:

Aunt Leah and Zach got Lucas Batman PJs (cape courtesy of Mom in High School)

 Christmas Eve Dinner consisting of grilled lamb chops, braided bread, nuts, dried fruit, and goat cheese with flat bread...mmmm...

After we looked at the lights at the Riverwoods, we had a Cocoa Party! Then it was off to bed until...

...Santa came!

As out of it as Lucas was, he still managed some excitement when we pulled out the tricycle Santa got him (no idea what happened to the picture).

And finally, the dinner we didn't get to wholly enjoy because of all the sick people. Beef tenderloin with Duchesse potatoes, green beens and jello salad (not shown) with a traditional English Trifle for dessert (also not shown) 

So we had a great Christmas spent inside and away from other human beings. We would have loved to have family, but nobody could make it so it was spent just the four of us. The beef tenderloin will probably become a tradition as it was just so fantastically delicious. Other modifications may take place, we'll have to see. I hope everyone had a happy!