Recipe: Apple Pancakes

1 Batch Pancake Batter
1 apples, peeled and cubed
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/4 cup brown sugar
1 Tbsp. apple cider

Mix apples, cinnamon, brown sugar, and cider in a sauce pan.  Stir and heat until bubbly and apples are not quite cooked through.  Cool.

Mix apples into prepared pancake batter.  Don't overmix.  Cook on a hot griddle coated with butter.  Makes ten 4" pancakes.

Recipe: Creamy Broccoli Cheese Soup

Prep Time: 10 Minutes | Cook Time: 30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 10

 

 

 

 

 

Ingredients

• 1 whole Onion, grated
• 6 Tbsp. butter
• 1/3 cup Flour
• 4 cups Whole Milk
• 2 cups fat-free Half-and-half
• 2 packages frozen broccoli
• 1 pinch Nutmeg
• 2 cups Grated Cheddar Cheese
• Small Dash Of Salt (more If Needed)
• Freshly Ground Black Pepper

Preparation Instructions

Melt butter in a pot over medium heat, then add the onions. Cook the onions for 3 to 4 minutes, then sprinkle the flour over the top. Stir to combine and cook for 1 minute or so, then pour in milk and half-and-half. Add nutmeg, then add broccoli, reserving 1 cup to add at the end, a small dash of salt, and plenty of black pepper.

Cover and reduce heat to low. Simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, or until the broccoli is tender (Note: Do not let milk come to a full boil). Taste seasonings and adjust if needed. Cool.

Transfer to a blender in two batches and puree (one touch of the button and it's pureed, don't overdo it!) Return to stove and add reserved broccoli.  When soup is warm again, add cheese, stir until melted.  Serve.

Recipe: Chicken Soup

Prep Time: 20 Minutes | Cook Time: 1 Hour30 Minutes | Difficulty: Easy | Servings: 8

 

Ingredients

• 1 box Ditalini Pasta (very Short Macaroni-type Pasta Noodles)
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 whole Cut Up Fryer Chicken
• 8 cups Low Sodium Chicken Broth
• 1 whole Medium Onion, Diced
• 2 whole Green Bell Peppers, Diced
• 2 stalks Celery, Diced
• 2 whole Fresh Jalapenos, Diced
• 1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
• 1 can (28-ounce) Can Whole Tomatoes
• 2 cups Heavy Cream
• 1/3 cup Extra Virgin Olive Oil
• 4 Tablespoons Minced Fresh Oregano
• Salt And Freshly Ground Pepper, To Taste
• Parmesan Cheese Shavings, For Serving

Preparation Instructions

Cook pasta in a pot according to package directions, being sure not to overcook it. Drain and rinse in cold water to cool. Toss in 1 tablespoon olive oil and set aside.

Place chicken in a large pot or dutch oven and cover in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, then simmer chicken, covered, for 30 minutes. Turn off heat and leave covered for 30 minutes. Remove chicken from pot and shred meat. Discard bones and set meat aside.

Dice canned tomatoes and return them to their juice. Set aside.

Heat a small skillet over medium high heat. Add olive oil and oregano and turn off heat, stirring over the next minute to keep oregano from burning. Set this aside.

Either pour off chicken broth into a separate container or use a new pot to saute onion, green pepper, celery, and jalapenos in 1 tablespoon olive oil over medium heat until tender and golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add chicken broth, shredded chicken, and tomatoes with their juice. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer. Add cooked pasta, cream, and all the oregano and olive oil from the small skillet.

Stir to combine. Turn off heat.

Serve with lots of Parmesan sprinkled on the top--the more the better! Crusty Italian bread is good, too.

Field Hockey Pre-Season

Pre-season for field hockey started this week.  Fun game on Thursday night against WHS alums.  Pizza tailgating after the game.  Sage did awesome and it was fun to watch her coaches play on the alums team!

Nashua

8/1/10

Took our annual trip to Nashua for the Northeast Workshop for Dancers.  Sage again got to learn from professional dancers from all over the country.  The favorite always being Keith Clifton.  He's a choreographer from CA and he's hilarious as he teaches the dancers about jazz and lyrical and boy, does he make them work hard!

Gram came with us too, and we went down early on Sunday to shop.  Val and Erika met us for shopping and we all went out to dinner at Chili's, another tradition.

Bathing Beauties

This is from the beginning of July.  Meg came for two weeks and Erika came up with Val for a few days.  Went to our favorite beach, Pemaquid.  Beautiful girls!

Beach Day

Beautiful day at Pemaquid and lunch at Shaw's Wharf for Mike to get his annual fried clams.

Idaho Vacation

Deciding to get back into my blog, only way I keep a diary of sorts.  Awesome vacation out to my sister's this summer in the middle of July.  Loved visiting with Lis and Mark and Meg, Nicolle, Gregg, Alexa and Jaxson.  We went swimming, shopping, to Jackson Hole, water parks, walks, just enjoying being together.

Did something on my bucket list, riding the Tram at Jackson Hole!  Now I just need to do it in the winter with my skis!  Jackson Hole and the Tetons are a family favorite.  Hiked Jenny Lake with Meg and Gregg and then met up with the rest of the family in Teton Village than at the BarJ for a dinner show, awesome food and entertainment!  Only way it could have been better is if Mike came with us, but he had to work, so being the great husband/dad that he is, he sent us off on vacation!

Sage and I came home after 10 days and Chase got to stay for the rest of the second week and came home with Gram and Grandpa.

My Crazy Kids

Ok, these pictures were taken in the same weekend, the first weekend of October.  Sage decided she wanted to go swimming in October, mind you, it's about 50 degrees out and I'm not sure what the pool recorded because I had already taken out the thermometer.  Well, let's just say that Mom had a little "hand" in helping her get in the pool....  Later that weekend, Chase comes out in his ski boots and says, "Come see what I made!"  He put together his own rail off the old slide.  He decided he's not waiting for snow!

Homecoming

Homecoming was a great week of school activities, followed by a field hockey game that the girls won, then ending with dinner and dancing Saturday evening (Sept. 26th).  Sage got ready at Allison S's with Brooke, Ali, and Alex as well.  The boys came for pictures then they all went to Ruby Tuesday's for dinner and onto the high school for the Homecoming Dance.

First Day of School 09

Ok, so the first day of school was almost 8 weeks ago...  Here are pics of my "little" man, now a "big" man on campus as he's now in 5th grade.  Can't believe he has only one more year before he enters Jr. High!

And Sage, well, either I'm going to cry because she's in high school or because it means I'm old enough to have a daughter in high school.

Both kids have had a great start to the school year.  Chase is playing travel soccer and football and loving both!  He's also doing well with his school work!!!

Sage is playing field hockey (made swing as a Freshman and plays the majority of the Varsity games and all of the JV games).  She's treasurer of her class and has a singing/dancing part in the school musical, Thoroughly Modern Millie.

The fall is flying by, winter will be upon us soon!

Happy Birthday!

Hey Lis-

Happy Birthday!

Love you!

One Last Day at the Beach!

Took a break from the house renovations last week and went to the beach. It was a 90 and gorgeous! Had a hard time leaving knowing it was probably the last day we could go this summer! School started today!

Dance Workshop

The first weekend in August was the Northeast Dancer's Workshop in Nashua. Sage spent 3 days dancing and learning from professional dancers from all over the United States. They studied tap, ballet, hip hop, jazz, lyrical and much more over the 3 days. Miss Heather brought 50 girls from her studio this year! Sage was excited to be in the senior class and did a great job! Gram and I go with her and we got to watch all the classes! It was so much fun to see them dance and to learn what's going on around the country in dance.

Beaching It!

Okay it took until July 28th to be warm and sunny enough to head to the beach! But what a beautiful day we had! Chase stayed in the water all day and Sage and Erika (who's spending the week with us) were bathing beauties, though they ventured in a couple of times. It was an incredible, fantastic day and I hope we have a few more days like this, because it's been a depressing summer weather wise up until now.

Golfing

Chase has had a fabulous summer golfing at Natanis. They have a golf clinic every Wednesday for the kids and work with them on their game. Today was the last day and they took them out for 9 holes and then gave them lunch. I have been so impressed with Natanis, they treat the kids exceptionally well and seem to really enjoy teaching them the game of golf!

Chase did awesome today, he almost got a hole in one on a par 3!!! The ball hit the hole and bounced off it! Was he excited to tell me when I picked him up! Way to go buddy!

Birthday Club

Last week we had a great day in Portland painting pottery and then enjoying dinner at the coast! Lots of fun with Sage, Mom, Sara, Diane, A. Carolyn, Jane, Mary, and Nancy!

"Lobsta Dinna"

Ok, the weather won't cooperate, rainy and cold when we decided to
go ahead and have our "lobsta dinna". We should have had it earlier, the following 3 days were sunny and warm, summer may finally be here! Thanks Mom and Dad for a wonderful meal!

Sage - The Dance Teacher

Sage volunteers once a week at MM's daycare and teaches a dance class. She's teaching 10 students about broadway and they're learning a routine as well as an acting piece to go with it. Go Miss Sage!!!

Vermont

Erika graduated from high school and it gave us all a great excuse for a party! Sage and I went to Vermont for 4 days (Chase and Mike stayed home because of baseball and they had a "mancation"). Mom and Dad were there and Alicia, A. Mimi, Carmel, Julie and David all flew in from Colorado!. Luckily Val's house is big enough for us all. What a blast we had. We cooked together, fell asleep on the couch, stayed up late talking, and ate, and ate, and ate! It was hard to say good-bye, but now that Carmel has overcome her fear of flying (with the help of some good prescriptions...) hopefully we will get together yearly instead of every 5 or so. Congratulations to Erika!!!