Dinner And Some Baby Snugglin'

With my fave sis in town I managed to pull off getting my hair done, making dinner & dessert for a friend, and delivering dinner in time to snuggle love the most adorable baby girl ever!  Check out this baby's hair!  She is beautiful and perfect for some snuggling!  On the dinner menu celebrating a this perfect princess was:

Ring of Taco Deliciousness 

Ingredients:

1 pound lean ground beef

1 package (1-1.25 ounces) taco seasoning mix

1 3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

2 tablespoons water

2 (8 ounce) packages refrigerated crescent rolls

Optional toppings: salsa, shredded lettuce, chopped onion and tomato, slice black olives, and sour cream

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Cook ground beef over medium heat 10-12 minutes or until no longer pink, breaking beef into crumbles; drain.  Stir in taco seasoning mix, cheese and water.  

2. Unroll refrigerated crescent rolls; separate into 16 triangles.  Arrange triangles, slightly overlapping in a circle on round baking sheet with wide ends 4 inches from edge of baking sheet.

3.  Scoop beef filling evenly over crescent roll ring.  Bring points of triangles up over filling and tuck under dough at center to form a ring.  (filling will show)

4.  Bake 25-30 minutes or until golden brown.  

5.  Enjoy with toppings!  

Yield: 8 servings

Turtle Fudge Skillet Cake

Ingredients:

1 package (18.25 ounces) devil's food cake mix (plus ingredients to make cake)

1 tablespoon butter or margarine

4 squares (1 ounce each) semi-sweet chocolate for baking, coarsely chopped

1 jar (12 ounces) caramel ice cream topping, divided

1/2 cup pecan halves, coarsely chopped

Optional: Vanilla ice cream

Directions:

1.  Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Prepare cake mix according to package directions, mixing batter by hand until smooth.  Melt butter in 12 inch skillet over medium heat, tilting skillet to coat bottom.  Gently pour batter over bottom of skillet, spreading evenly.

2.  Bake, uncovered 30-35 minutes in oven safe skillet or until tooth pick inserted in center comes out clean.  Carefully remove from oven.  Loosen edges of cake; carefully invert cake onto large, heat-safe serving plate.

3.  Coarsely chop chocolate squares into small pieces.  Place chocolate and half of ice cream topping in microwave safe bowl.  Microwave, uncovered on HIGH 30-60 seconds or until chocolate is melted and mixture is smooth.  Carefully spread caramel and chocolate mixture over cake.

4.  Coarsely chop pecans; sprinkle evenly over cake.  Drizzle with remaining ice cream topping, if desired.  Let stand until topping is set.  Cut into wedges.  Serve with vanilla ice cream.  

5.  Enjoy!  

Yield: 12 servings

Baby Bambino Belly

Here is the baby bambino belly after 18 weeks and 14 pounds...all decked out to attend a summer wedding.  

A Childhood Memory Becomes A New Family Tradition

I remember standing on chairs pulled up the to the kitchen counter with dad smearing the red pizza sauce over the Chef Boyardee pizza crust and sprinkling on our favorite toppings.  It is a vague, but treasured memory and today we decided it should live on as a new family tradition.   

Fried Green Tomatoes

Although my first batch of fried green tomatoes were not as good as my dad's, I would say they were a success and worthy of a new summer Hastings family tradition.  

Ingredients:

3 medium, firm green tomatoes (we got our from the Farmer's Market)

1/2 cup all-purpose flour

1/4 cup milk

2 beaten eggs

2/3 cup fin dry bread crumbs or cornmeal (I used bread crumbs)

1/4 cup olive oil

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

Directions:

1.  Cut unpeeled tomatoes into 1/2 inch slices.  Sprinkle slices with salt and pepper.  Let tomato slices stand for 15 minutes.  Meanwhile, place flour, milk, eggs, and bread crumbs in separate shallow dishes.

2.   Heat 2 Tbsp of olive oil in skillet on medium heat.  Dip tomato slices in milk, then flour, then eggs, then bread crumbs.  In the skillet, fry half of the coated tomato slices at a time, for 4-6 minutes on each side or until brown.  As you cook the rest of the tomato slices, add olive oil as needed.  Season to taste with salt and pepper.  

3.  Enjoy!  

AJ...My Juvenile Delinquent

This morning when I greeted AJ for breakfast I noticed he had suddenly taken an interest in the interior design elements of his room...he decorated his bed and his pillow with some crayons he had apparently stashed away in his room from the weekend.  It took me a little while to locate the items of interest in this case...as AJ was clever enough to hide them under all of his covers...(maybe waiting to finish his redecorating project later?)  It was very sneaky.  Vandalism at the young age of 2...what is a mother to do?  Check out the photo evidence I logged from this crime.  I titled the last one "Begging For Forgiveness" after he realized I was not going to believe the Douglas did it story.  

A Romantic Weekend in the Mountains

Andy and I dropped AJ off at Nana's work Friday afternoon and headed up the mountains to Vail for a weekend together...a kidless...dogless...weekend!    It was much needed...as I can't remember the last time we went on a date.  

Every time we venture up the mountains I put my "ram eyes" on and stay focused, eyes glued the the window scanning the side of the mountain for any exciting form of wildlife...always disappointed with my lack of national geographic experience...UNTIL this time!  As I was hanging up the phone from a chat with my sis, a fluffy white butt caught my eye...a Rocky Mountain Bighorn Ram!!!  Right there, only a few feet from the highway looking back with a "what are you looking at?' kind-a look on its face.  That was it!  My faith restored in the wilderness of Colorado!  They really do exist!  The trip was already worth it!

We enjoyed the fresh mountain air as we walked along the cobblestone streets of  Vail Village, window shopping and eating the amazing expensive food!  I think we spent our entertainment part of the budget for the entire year in two days, but it tasted fabulous!  The baby appreciated every bite of it!  The shops, cafes, diners, and restaurants had a charming European feel perfect for a weekend away with the hubby.   

We had breakfast at a small French Cafe on the patio one morning watching the cyclists and dogs go by, lunch at a German tavern under bright orange polk-dot umbrellas as shoppers strolled by one afternoon, dinner at a steakhouse one night.  We enjoyed strawberry, banana, and chocolate crepes made fresh right in front of us one evening.  We sat in on a food demonstration as a local chef prepared three different tomato salads perfect for summer.  We learned a lot and got to sample each delicious salad!  Sunday, we wrapped the weekend up by going to the Vail Farmer's Market where we took home fresh Colorado grown sweet corn, cucumbers, tomatoes, and peaches!  Yum!  It was a perfect kidless, dogless refreshing weekend.

I Just Can't Resist Those 23 Flavors...

Everyday after I tuck AJ in for his nap, I run down stairs for a Dr. Pepper.  I feel like by nap time I have earned the right to indulge in a little adult beverage.  We avoid drinking soda around AJ as he always wants a sip of mommy or daddy's "juice".  Then his sip turns into an extremely long gulp, then he wanders away with our cup, then we chase him down...and it just never ends well.  So soda is a kid-free drink around our house...which means we are limited to nap time or after 8:00p.m.   

I avoided caffeine for the first 14 weeks of my pregnancy being the overly paranoid mother that I can be, but then I researched it.  A pregnant woman should not exceed 300 mg of caffeine a day and one 12 oz. Dr. Pepper only has 38 mg.  It's the little things in life...