Italian Chicken Noodle Soup...

Italian Chicken Noodle Soup:



3-4 T Extra Virgin Olive Oil (EVOO)
1 large Spanish onion diced
5-6 celery stalks chopped
3-4 T ground thyme
2T Bells Seasoning
fresh ground pepper
3 large boneless chicken breasts (roughly cut into big "bite size" chunks
several good shakes around pot with dried Italian Seasoning
1 large can petite diced tomatoes
1 pkg baby carrots cut into little circles
16 cups chicken stock
2 cups uncooked ditalini pasta (or any small pasta of your choice)



In LARGE soup pot, go several times around bottom with EVOO & let heat on medium high.
Toss in onions, celery, thyme, bells seasons, Italian seasoning, pepper & let cook until onions are slightly transparent.
Next, add chicken & cook for about 5 - 10 minutes stirring occasionally.
Now add tomato's & carrots & all the stock.
Lower heat & let simmer a good hour or two.
20 minutes before you plan on serving, add pasta to the pot.
Stir occasionally so it doesn't stick to bottom of pot & once pasta is al dente',
turn off heat & let stand five minutes prior to serving.
I always serve my soups with hot biscuits from the oven & fresh butter.

ENJOY!

3rd Time...

...IS NOT The Charm!

Allow me to set the scene:

Ruby joins 'Teeny Tiny Tumblers' at the gym.
Class #1: loved it
Class #2: loved it
Class #3: Screamed like a banchie until I removed her bodily from said gym.

Ruby shows an interest in & joins Ballet:

Class #1: loved it
Class #2: loved it
Class #3: Screamed so much & so loud she gave herself HIVES THE SIZE OF CHINA to the point where again, I had to remove her bodily and then immediately after leaving work,
we drove straight to the doctors & didn't/wouldn't leave until I had a prescription in hand to tackle those welts all over her body.

Ruby described them to me as "Fire on my arm momma, you itchy!"
( she still hasn't learned how to say "I'm" yet,
and says "you hungry, you tired, you itchy' for everything. LOL)

So, after nearly two hours at the doctors we finally left with a script for Loratadine (aka: Claritin) to be given 1 tsp daily until informed otherwise.

Today is day 2 of taking the syrup & so far, so good. No welts to speak of but who knows.
What I'd prefer to do is to find out WHAT is giving them to her.
Clearly they are stress related in some instances but there have been times she develops them & she's not in the least bit upset about a thing. Playing happily & then there she is, by my side saying: "Momma, you itchy, your arm/let/tummy/back/foot (insert body party here) itchy..."
My doctor says it takes FOREVER to find out what is giving some kids hives.
It's process of elimination in EVERYTHING they eat, drink, come into contact with, etc...

I know it's not the clothing stuff I use, All Free & Clear since day one & NO dryer sheets for her, and the ones I use for me are free of all dyes and perfumes.
We eat everything from scratch, all organic, no processed anything.
I'm starting to think that maybe it's the milk? Alot of kids are lactose intolerant and who knows, maybe Ruby is too? But I'll be so bummed cuz she LOVES MILK!
I suppose it wouldn't hurt me to just buy soy milk but UGH excuse me as I gag at the thought.
*bleck*

I dunno, regardless of what it is, I can't even start to rule things out one by one because she wants her on this med until it runs out. (approx a months worth)
I digress...

So,
on top of her NOT following through thus far with anything she's started with enthusiasm,
I now have this 'hive' thing to deal with and let me tell you,
if you've never seen a hive on a kid HOLY SHIT,
they are HUGE,
AND HOT TO THE TOUCH,
AND INTIMIDATING IF YOU DON'T KNOW WHAT THE HELL IT IS,
OR HOW TO DEAL WITH IT!

I was slightly horrified at first but whatever,
it's life.
We'll deal with it & get through it as we do everything else.
One day at a time.

Caramelized Onion & Cornbread Stuffing...

...this one is a HIT every year, my father especially LOVES IT!
It's a Tyler Florence recipe from the food network.
Not only is that man HANDSOME but MAN CAN HE COOK!


Ingredients:
2T butter
2 onions chopped
6 large corn muffins, cubed.
(I always buy mine FRESH from the bakery)
1 egg
hand full of fresh sage leaves, washed & chopped
1/4 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup chicken stock
salt & freshly ground pepper

Instructions: (PREHEAT OVEN TO 375)

Melt butter in medium saucepan over medium heat.
Add onions & cook, stirring for about 10min or until soft & caramelized.
Add sage & scrape into large mixing bowl.
Add cornbread pieces, season well with salt & pepper & give a good toss until well combined.

In a separate bowl, whisk together egg, cream & stock & pour that over cornbread.

Stir stuffing together & spoon into a buttered baking (Pyrex) dish and put into oven for about 30 minutes or until hot & crusty on top.
ENJOY!

Nonna's Ricotta Cake...

(above image from the cake I made this past Easter.)

...this recipe is for a BIG cake, serving over 15-20 people.
(IF you prefer a smaller cake,
I suggest halving the recipe & using an 8X8 Pyrex glass baking dish
instead of the ginormous one pictured above)


Dough:
4 cups flour
1 cup sugar
2 tsp vanilla
2 tsp yeast
4 eggs
1 stick butter

Filling:
2 containers Ricotta
(I use whole milk ricotta, but you can also use part skim ricotta if you wish)
2 lemons (ZEST ONLY)
I use a MICROPLANE GRATER/ZESTER
for any/all zesting...
JUST BE REALLY CAREFUL,
I AM NOT KIDDING WHEN I TELL YOU THAT I'VE
NEARLY CUT MY FINGERS OFF USING IT!
IT'S BEYOND SHARP!
1 tsp vanilla
2 cups sugar
4 eggs
1 TBSP cinnamon

Directions: preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Grease the inside of your baking dish with butter, set aside.
In a large bowl, mix together all dough ingredients & USE YOUR HAND (hand SINGULAR, not plural... one hand to hold the bowl & keep CLEAN just in case you should need a free hand, & only ONE gets dirty to thoroughly mix the dough. My Nonna always believed that the best tools in your kitchen were the ones that God gave you... she was right.)

Once dough is a very nice consistency, place in the center of prepared baking dish & WITH YOUR HAND, (knuckles actually) push down working from the center OUT until the dough is not only covering the entire bottom of the pan, but continue to work it up so that it creeps up the sides as well. You don't want it too thick, so if some of the dough should go up past the sides, gently tear it off & set it aside to use for latticework on top prior to baking.

Once you can look down at your Pyrex dish & not see any dish but only see dough, you're ready for the next step.

In separate bowl, mix all filling ingredients together (ricotta, vanilla, sugar, eggs, cinnamon) and once blended well, zest your lemons (if you haven't already) over the prepared filling. DO NOT CONTINUE TO ZEST ONCE YOU CAN SEE THE PITH (WHITE) OF THE LEMONS!
The pith is horrible tasting, it's just the zest that gives this cake it's flavor. You will want your lemons to only resemble lemons in SHAPE once you're done with them. As far as looks, they should be odd white looking fruits. Ok?

Once zesting is complete, gently fold in zest with a spatula until blended throughout.

Now, pour your filling into the pan with the dough and set aside.

With leftover dough (you should have plenty, at least the size of a half decent LARGE meatball)
you will roll out this leftover dough & (this is where it becomes fun for the kids)
take a couple of cookie cutters of their choice (we used stars) and let the kids cut out a few shapes & set those aside.
Then take the rest of the dough & roll it out & cut into strips.
Cris cross the strips over the cake & then let the children place their cookie shapes in the dead center.

Put into a 350 oven for approx an hour & 15 minutes.

YOU'LL KNOW IT'S DONE WHEN YOU CAN GENTLY MOVE YOUR CAKE PAN & BARELY SEE A JIGGLE OUT OF THE CONTENTS.
IF IT'S JIGGLIN LIKE JELLO, IT'S NOT YET DONE!

Once done, remove from oven & let stand until it comes to room temp.
Then cover with foil & place in the fridge.

Ricotta cake should be served COLD, not hot.
Serve with fresh whipped heavy cream (optional)
and tea/coffee.





This is a VERY RICH dessert and a little goes a LONG WAY!
ENJOY!

Thankful...

...every smile,

every deliciously silly little girl giggle,

every stolen kiss with Bear,

every sweet snuggle moment,

every genuine smile as she says my name,

every word of encouragement for her best friend,

every beautiful photo that seemed effortless to take,

every impromptu dance in the middle of my living room,

every time my eyes meet hers,

I realize just how thankful I am.

From our home to yours,
here's hoping that every one's Thanksgiving was as magical.

Which Thanksgiving Are You..?*

I don't know about all of you but I'm pretty sure that it has to be the same, if not SIMILAR for most large families around this time of year.
Around ANY holiday for that matter...
Allow me to share with you all OUR version of Thanksgiving.

CRAZY LARGE (Italian/insert ethnicity of your choice here) FAMILY THANKSGIVING


Week leading up to said holiday:
My mother is already complaining about all the shopping she'll have to do, how much money it's going to cost & how NOBODY ever helps her, etc... blah blah blah

My father will acknowledge that my mom is somewhat annoyed but do his best to find OTHER things to occupy himself so as to dodge bullets of gravy here & turkey there & how much stuffing should we make EVERYWHERE!

Night before said holiday:
I do my best to make myself useful and peel anything & everything that needs peeling,
help with the prep work and even make two dishes myself to contribute to said holiday.
This year it was corn muffin stuffin' (recipe to follow later),
and my Nonna's ricotta cake.
My mother, STILL STRESSING, is most likely yelling at me about something,
(about anything really), and bitching that
"I'M NOT GOING TO DO THIS NEXT YEAR,
I MEAN IT AMY,
THIS IS THE LAST YEAR WE'RE HAVING THANKSGIVING!"
(keep in mind, she makes this announcement EVERY year...)

Thanksgiving Day:
Phone rings early in the morning informing me that I must turn my oven on to accommodate extra turkey to feed all the people who will be arriving at 1pm'ish...

Stove turned on,
made & enjoyed a quiet breakfast with my daughter,
then I get Ruby ready
& proceed to enjoy the Thanksgiving Day Parade on tv.

Phone rings again:
"Amy did you make sure you put the stove on? It needs to be HOT FOR THE TURKEY!"
"No Ma, I didn't put it on, I thought we were putting the turkey in the freezer?"
(apparently not funny if you're my mother... I THOUGHT it was FUNNY!)
Resist the urge to hang up on her & instead politely reply: "Yes mom, I made sure to put the oven on, it's good & hot now. Anytime you want to send Dad up with the turkey, feel free..." *click*

Back to the parade, half of which I would've have missed if not for TiVo.
(ONE OF THE MANY THINGS I'M THANKFUL FOR THIS YEAR DAMMIT!)

Ruby asks if she can go downstairs & play with Nonno... ok, let's go.
Bring child downstairs to play with her grandfather who is still perfecting his 'dodge the bullet' skills, granddaughter makes for a perfect shield, so he happily agrees.

I come back upstairs to finish enjoying the parade & then contemplate a shower.
Phone rings again: "Amy, have you showered yet? PEOPLE ARE GONNA BE HERE SOON AND YOU BETTER BE DOWN HERE & READY, I DON'T WANT YOU HIDING UPSTAIRS ALL DAY OR BEING ON THAT DAMN COMPUTER OF YOURS!"
(again resist overwhelming burning desire to hang up the phone & instead say:)
"Mom,
I'm about to shower right now but I can't do that if I'm on the phone with you,
can I?"

Tell TiVo to record what's left of my pathetic attempt at parade enjoyment,
and head on into the shower.

Shower
& dress
& makeup
& ready for the day others call 'Thanksgiving'
but WE KNOW AS:
CHAOS with a capital LOUD GROUP OF ITALIANS
OTHERWISE KNOWN AS RELATIVES.


Ok, then I got to thinking that not EVERY ONE'S thanksgiving can be like this, there have to be some people who, wake up to a quiet house, take their time getting ready, enjoy a leisurely cup of coffee & uninterrupted parade & head to SOMEONE ELSE'S HOUSE to eat & then nap.
(everyone does nap after dinner, right? It's not just me?)
Anyhoo... those people would be SINGLE PEOPLE WITH NO CHILDREN!

How do I know this?
BECAUSE I USED TO BE ONE OF THOSE PEOPLE!
Currently,
my friend Kristen is one of those lucky few who gets to sleep till they naturally wake up,
got to enjoy their morning cup of whatever caffeinated beverage they prefer,
took their TIME in a nice long hot shower,
and I'm guessing not ONCE did their phone ring with an angry mother at the other end.

That is henceforth known as SINGLES THANKSGIVING!

Then, there are those who are married with kids who moved away & now have to spend most of today TRAVELING to said homes of chaos & food in order to make the 'rounds'.
My dear friend Jen is one of those families.
She has to get up, get herself ready, be sure she's gotten her husband everything he needs to start his day, properly pack not only the car but the diaper bag with anything/everything they might need for either themselves OR their son, and then drive FIRST to his families house & eat and JUST ABOUT THE TIME WHEN A NAP WOULD BE IN ORDER, they'll have to get up, pack everything back into various bags, diaper or otherwise, and get back on the road to now visit HER families home for more food, still no nap and Polish chaos.
All with a smile on her face & all with a baby (happy or otherwise) in tow.

THIS IS NOW GOING TO BE DUBBED' :
MARRIED WITH CHILD & VISITING VARIOUS FAMILIES
THANKSGIVING

LOL
So, again, I ask all of you, WHICH THANKSGIVING ARE YOU?
And please don't skimp on the details, those are the BEST PART!
(especially the honest, gritty, unpleasant ones!)
hehehehe

*(more later,
after I have reached a point of physically REMOVING MYSELF
from the chaos that awaits me downstairs...)

"Happy Anna's Roast Beef..." **UPDATE X'S 2**

Setting the scene:
7:30am, Nov 20th, 2007
Ruby & Momma curled up in bed together wishing each other 'good morning'.
Here is the conversation that followed:


Ruby: "Momma's awake!"
Momma: "Yes I am baby, good morning."
Ruby: "Favorite person in the whole wide world!"
Momma: "That's right sweetie, you're my favorite person in the whole wide world."
Ruby: "A sun and back ,a moon and back, a stars and back and CHINA and back!"
Momma: "*giggling* Yes Ruby, that's right, Momma loves you to the moon & back, to the sun & back, the stars & back and to China and back... but Ruby, do you know what today is?"
Ruby: "Morning?"
Momma: "Yes, it's morning but today, do you know what this day is?"
Ruby: slightly puzzled look as she smiles over at me, waiting...
Momma: "Today is Ruby day baby. Two years ago today Momma and Ruby first met remember?
Ruby: "Today is RUBY DAY!"
(clearly excited at the notion that a whole day was now dedicated to her)
Momma: "Yes sweetie, it's called an ANNIVERSARY. Can you say that? Ann-i-versary?"
Ruby: (thinking...) HAPPY ANNA'S ROAST BEEF!"
(I have an aunt Anna, she likes to cook) LOL
Momma: (LAUGHING) No sweetie, not Anna's roast beef, but Ann-i-versary... try again?
Ruby: "HAPPY IN-A-NURSERY!"
Momma: (beyond saving at this point, laughing so hard I may wet myself!) "LOL Ruby! Ann-i-versary, ann-i-versary, ann-i-versary... say it with Momma."
Ruby: "Happy Ruby Day!!!"
Momma: *SMILING* "You got it baby, Happy Ruby Day my luv, I couldn't have said it better myself."


It's hard to believe that it was two years ago today that I first laid eyes on the most beautiful little girl in the world.
Two years that have flow by like a dream come true.
Two years that I have woken up every morning & felt like the luckiest woman on the planet.
Two years that every night as I crawl into bed & say my prayers, they consist of merely two words:
"Thank You."

For I know in my heart, Ruby is a gift from God.
Hand picked, chosen for me & me alone.
What a wonderful gift.
My quote for this blog is so true...
"In the lottery of my life, my daughter is the six numbers and the bonus."

She really is.

We have a special "Momma & Ruby" day planned,
pictures of what we did & how we spent it to follow later...
right now,
I have my 'favorite person in the whole wide world'
waiting to spend the day with me.
*smiling*
It really doesn't get any better than this...

*UPDATE!!!*

I'm just speechless...

...that this beautiful child, is my daughter.

HAPPY 'RUBY DAY' BABY!
November 20th, 2007
The 2 year anniversary
of the HAPPIEST DAY OF MY LIFE!

**UPDATE #2**



As with any tradition, this one is super special for reasons I can't even begin to share.


While I was in China seeing the country & before ever holding my little girl in my arms,
I was hard at work trying to think of a way to mark our special day every year,
so that it would not only be something unique for us both, but a special gift to my girl
from her place of birth.


Starting with our first 'Ruby day' I have been letting her choose ONE ornament out of a bag of over 30+ of them to set aside to add to our Christmas Tree each year.


This little green number makes ornament #3...

...and one day,
when she's old enough to move out on her own,
I hope that she takes her ornaments from Cloisonne with her on her journey,
& not only love having them,
but appreciate the sentiment in which they were given.

I can almost see her, as an adult in her first apartment away from home,
setting up what will be the first of many Christmas Trees
& tearing up through a smile,
as she places each & every ornament on her tree.
Knowing all the while, how much she is loved.


Then, after the ornament ceremony was complete,
it was time for jammies & CHARLIE BROWN'S THANKSGIVING SPECIAL!


You guys know the part when Lucy promises to hold the foot ball so Charlie Brown can kick it?


And how every time she promises,
something always comes up that she removes it from his path
& he goes ass over tea kettle onto the ground?


Well, that apparently is much funnier than we adults think,
as every one of these laughing pictures was taken DURING THAT EXACT MOMENT of the fall!

What a wonderful way to end what was hands down,
a perfect day.

Keep laughing Ruby, it's good for the soul.
*hugs*

Still At It...

...always hoping,

always praying,

keeping forever vigilant,

buying new charts,

& an array of stickers;

the potty training continues.


*as does Momma's patience*


Funny thing with patience,

just when you think you're about to run out ,


you see this face,



this amazing smile that belongs to your daughter...

...& all you can think of is how proud you are of her
& pray that she won't grow up too fast.

I love you Ruby, keep up the good work baby!
Momma & Bear are rooting for you!
XoXoXoXo

All This Talk About Cake...

...and Ruby & I were left with NO OTHER CHOICE


but to MAKE TWO!
hehehe

They're not as fancy as I've been known to decorate in the past,
HOWEVER
the HELL with looks, it's all about the INSIDE THAT COUNTS!
(or something like that)

Ruby was THRILLED with how they came out,
and even MORE PLEASED
with how they tasted!
"Momma this is a beeeauful green cake! Ruby a do a good job!"
You bet your ass you did baby,
GOOD JOB!
Momma LOVES YOU SO MUCH RUBY!

Presenting...

..."CAKE"

by miss Ruby Cate Pei Mu.

Oh how my girl LOVES anything artistic!