Chicken Gnocchi Soup

Here is your Italian lesson for today:

Gnocchi – [nyawk-kee] little dumplings made from potatoes

In other words, little tender bites of heaven.

Get your taste buds ready!! The most difficult part of making this soup is sauteing the chicken. No joke.

What you need:

One 15 oz. jar of Newman’s Own roasted garlic Alfredo sauce (you can use another brand, but I highly recommend this one!!)

2 cups water

2 cups cooked chicken, cubed or shredded (we sauteed in olive oil and garlic salt)

1-2 tsp. Italian seasoning (I used two)

¼ tsp. each salt and pepper

One 16 oz. package of potato gnocchi (found in the pasta aisle)

3 cups coarsely chopped fresh spinach

Fresh grated Parmesan cheese

Classic pesto sauce

What you do:

1. In a large saucepan, bring sauce, water, chicken, and all seasonings to a gentle boil.

2. Add gnocchi and spinach.

3. Cook 3-8 minutes until gnocchi float and are tender.

4. Top each serving with fresh Parmesan cheese and a tablespoon of pesto.

Mix, and enjoy!

This is especially delicious with Garlic Breadsticks.

Garlic Breadsticks (Olive Garden-ish)

These are SO easy!

What you need:

1 package Seattle Brown & Serve French Bread Sticks (we were able to find them
at both Wal-Mart and our local grocer)

Garlic salt (we always use Lawry's)

1 Tbsp. melted butter

What you do:

1. Heat bread sticks according to package directions so that they're golden brown.

2. Brush with melted butter.

3. Sprinkle garlic salt on top.

4. Enjoy with Zuppa Toscana, Beef and Barley Soup, or Chicken Gnocchi Soup.

Thank me later. :)

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Rylin Redecorates

It always amazes me how quickly Rylin can transform this:

Into this:

Why do I even bother? :)

Everything Hurts

I promise I will post about baby boy's arrival. I just need to be able to have more than 1/2 hour to myself to sit and write it.

For now, everything hurts. My head. My eyes. My body. My boobs. My sleep. My sanity.

I sleep "better" in the rocking chair than I do in bed at night.

I don't remember nursing being this painful or taking as long with Rylin. Baby boy is in reality a barracuda. No seriously. He started sucking on his arm when I had enough after 1.5 hours. He gave himself a hicky. He's done that three times.

He won't take a pacifier either. :(

So yeah. Everything hurts.

Love

 [luhv]

1. a profoundly tender, passionate affection for another person

One of my dear friends lost his mother the other day. She has been struggling with health issues for a long time, but that doesn't make her departure any less heartbreaking. To make it worse, he is halfway across the country from home and won't be able to make it back for several months. He is alone and grieving. My heart aches for him, as do the hearts of many others that have reached out to him virtually. But we all know it's not enough. There's just something about family that soothes the soul. 

My friend didn't grow up in the best of situations. I had a hard time believing it at first. He is extremely intelligent, candid, generous, humorous, fun-loving, and hard-working. He is one of those people that everyone should get to have as a friend. He challenges, inspires, uplifts, encourages, and pushes you to be a better person. And at the end of the day he will race you on tricycles down an aisle at Target. He's that wonderful. 

As I got to know him better over the years, I discovered he has all these amazing traits because of how he grew up. He could have easily become a bitter and hateful person. I am so thankful he took the higher road. He fiercely LOVED his mother despite the problems that arose. And that is what really matters at the end of everything: love. That should be our motivation for everything. True, selfless, Christlike love.

Even now as my friend takes the time to respond individually to the hundreds of messages he has received, he is showing that love for us.

I hope we all take the time to let people know how much we love them. It's the only thing that truly lasts.

Zuppa Toscana (Olive Garden-ish)

Many moons ago I worked at the Olive Garden. Without fail, this was the number one requested soup for good reason! I didn't get this recipe from the restaurant (trade secrets and all), but from our perspective, it's pretty close.

What you need:
1 lb. bulk Italian sausage, browned and drained
2 cans chicken broth
1 cup water
1 garlic clove, minced
3 large russet potatoes, sliced (I left the skins on)
1/4 cup onion, finely diced (we didn't have any so I just used onion powder)
1 cup heavy cream
1 bunch (to make 3-4 cups) fresh kale, coarsely chopped
fresh grated Parmesan cheese, for garnish

What you do:
1. Place sausage, chicken broth, water, garlic, potatoes, and onion in crock pot.

2. Cover and cook on LOW for 6-8 hours or on HIGH for 3-4 hours, until potatoes are cooked and soft.

3. Add cream and kale just before serving.

4. Top with Parmesan cheese and serve with bread of your choice.


I should add that the seasonings in the Italian sausage and PLENTY of flavor. This is coming from Todd who adds salt and pepper to everything, and he didn't at all! So make sure you taste the end result before adding anything else! This easily makes enough to feed 8 people or 2 plus lots of yummy leftovers. Enjoy!!

So good!!

San Luis Obispo: Old County Deli Dry Rub Beef Ribs.

This recipe is very important to me. As a kid younger than 6 years old, my parents would get these special beef ribs from the farmers market and a special local deli in an area called San Luis Obispo in the area I was born in Central California. I would return every once in a while and camp on the way up from college in Orange County. While not entirely known for it, San Luis Obispo is a hot bed for Oak pit BBQ and has been ingrained in me since I was a kid. I've taken a friend or two a couple of times, and made it an adventure. Luckily once I took a friend and Cordon Blu chef, Jonathan Damron. Much later it was my great desire to take my wife and share with her my tradition.... However when we had arrive they had closed and gone out of business years since.

Making the SLO Old County Deli Beef Ribs has become one of my life's ambitions. Last weekend I fulfilled this item on my list.

Time to make: a while! Start the night before, slow roast for 3-5 hours.
Serves: 4-6

Ingredients:

Materials:

• Brine Solution  (The Zen of Brines)
• 5 gallon bucket
• Salt
• Dry Rub (A little on Dry Rubs)
• Garlic Salt
• Pepper
• Porterhouse Roast
• Onion Powder
• Barbecue
• Hickory Woodchips
• Kensington Charcoal and Hickory flakes.
• Drippings pan
• Barbecue with air vents in the bottom.
• Tin Foil.
• Meat
• 1-2 half racks (about 6 ribs a piece)

Directions:

• Night before:  

• Make a brine solution. Take 1 quart hot water, and 2/3rds a cup of the salt to it. Dump into bucket. Add 2 quarts cold water. Continue until the ribs are completely covered in the bucket. I use a 5 gallon bucket which means around 5 times. Yes.. that means you need to have around 4 cups of salt.
• Early Afternoon: about 4 hours before you want to be ready for dinner.

• Start the coals. 
• Put the Hickory Woodships in a tub of water to soak for about 15 minutes.
• After they've soaked, wrap them in the tinfoil, creating a pouch for them. 
• Put the soaked woodchips inside, and close the pouches.
• Cut small slots in the what you want to be the 'top' of the pouches
  
• Take the ribs out of the Brine, put them on a large platter and season both sides with the spices. Go a bit heavy on the Poterhouse Roast, Medium on the Pepper and Onion Powder, and a bit lite on the salt considering the ribs have been soaking in it.  In the end however it's ALWAYS to YOUR TASTE.
• The coals should be going ,and hopefully have had a little time to cool. Put the Tinfoil pouches in the coals, place dripping pan over the coals. 
• This is important: Placing the dripping pan over the coals causes the ribs to only be cooked by INDIRECT heat. Direct heat will cook them too fast and cause them to be tough. You want these guys to roast for several hours and be nice and tender. The brine will also help to that end.
• But the grill back on over the dripping pan, and place the ribs on the grill.
  
• The goal is to keep the grill between 180 and 275 degrees. You'll have to check them about every 15 minutes. The ribs will begin to pull away from the tips of the bone as they are nearing ready. Start with fat side down, to get the coals at their hottest point to sear the fat juices into the meat and flip after maybe the first 1/2 hour. 
• Make sure to close the lid, to keep the smoke coming from the wood chips in and getting to the meat.
• After at least 3 hours
• The ribs should be ultra tender, and easily pull away from the bone, and be separated by a knife from the rack. The spices should be visibly cooking into the meat. 
  

Enjoy and Eat! Mildly messy, but not as bad as a wet rub. We like to add cobs of corn to the grill and baste them in butter and garlic salt.

Grandmother's Banana Pudding

Both of my Mom's parents are from the South. This means several awesome things including that entire side of my family pronouncing my name "Gin (yes, like the alcohol)-Uh" instead of "Jen-Uh" like everyone else does. If you can't hear the difference, don't worry, it took me 25 years to even notice it.

Hailing from the South also means awesome and HUGE family reunions with plenty of cousins my age and discovering I am related to an entire town. Of course going to Florida or Mississippi during the middle of the summer now doesn't sound like a vacation at all to me (have I mentioned I hate the heat and especially humidity???), but as a kid I enjoyed every minute. Well, maybe not the horseflies. Those buggers are nasty. But I LOVE my cousins!!!! We even hung out in high school and I still get to see most of them on a pretty regular basis. I especially love that my kids and their kids are getting to spend time together.

But I digress. The MOST important part about having grandparents from the South is the FOOD. I know you're jealous, unless you are just as fortunate and then you know what I am talking about. My Granddad is from Florida, so he passed down a love for seafood. Shrimp (especially), lobster, clam chowder, and his famous clam dip. Seriously. Ask any of my cousins about that dip. He'll only make it by special request now, so I try to specially request it every time. It's A.MAZE.ING. The only thing I (thankfully) didn't inherit was a love for catfish or crayfish. Yuck. On to better things!

My Grandmother is from Mississippi. If you saw the movie, The Help, then you know where she went to college and met my Granddad in Jackson. She is from a small town about an hour south from there. Her Great-Grandfather, Nathan Britt, owned about 80 acres of land there. Needless to say, most of the town was and still are all Britts. The house she was born and raised in is still standing and remains the gathering place during reunion time. My Mom and her siblings and cousins have memories of that house, as do I and my siblings and cousins. I hope I get to take my children there someday, especially since Rylin's middle name is Britt. :)

So, now that you've heard some of my genealogical history, you're probably wondering where all of this is leading. At every single one of those reunions and any other family get-together, my Grandmother has either made her signature ambrosia and/or banana pudding. Don't get me wrong, the ambrosia is good, but it's basically fruit salad with coconut. The banana pudding, however, is something I am certain we will get to enjoy in the great beyond. It's that good.

So here it is, straight from my Grandmother this morning. You should feel lucky I am willing to share this recipe with y'all. :)

*****

What you need:

1 20oz can of crushed pineapple

1 small box INSTANT vanilla pudding

1 small box INSTANT banana cream pudding

3 1/2 cups cold milk

6 bananas (at least)

1 box Nilla wafers

Flaked coconut (optional)

What you do:

1.  Line a 3 quart (13x9x2) casserole dish with Nilla wafers. My Grandmother wants to make sure you know how important it is to "line the sides too."

 

2. Drain the pineapple juice into a separate bowl. Slice and add the bananas, stirring after you add each one. The pineapple juice will help prevent the bananas from going brown, so make sure they get coated well. Once all your bananas are added, mix about half of the pineapple in and stir gently.

3. Pour milk into another bowl. Add both pudding mixes and whisk until well-mixed. Set aside. You only need 3 1/2 cups of milk (instead of 4) because of the pineapple juice. Trust me on this, otherwise your pudding gets runny!

4. Using a slotted spoon, scoop the banana/pineapple mixture over the wafers being careful not to disturb them out of place. Pour remaining juice over the top layer and spread gently to coat.

5. Stir the pudding again, then gently pour over entire pan. Spread evenly to edges.

6. Spoon remaining pineapple over the top (sometimes I don't do this and just add it all to the bananas). Sprinkle coconut on top. Cover and chill for at least 1 hour. Enjoy!!!

I grew up under the assumption that this delightful dish was entirely of my Grandmother's making. I later found out that it is very commonly enjoyed in the South. My Grandmother took the original recipe and made it her own though. Just in case you are interested in the traditional method, here ya go:

Remember To Save Your Work

So after two hours of typing disappeared into the interwebs, I feel like crying.

When typing anything, SAVE YOUR WORK!!!!!

(Not So) Little Bean

I am sitting here on a gorgeous rainy Saturday and was trying to find something to do on the computer since all my shows are done for the season. Don't judge. :)

I happened to glance over at the stack of ultrasound photos I have of our squirmy baby boy and realized that I still have not posted any of them. I figured I should before he actually arrives (hopefully) any day now.

My original due date was 6/15, but at the 9-week ultrasound the baby was measuring "small" so they bumped it back to 6/19. I was not happy about that!! At 18 weeks he was measuring spot on so they kept the 6/19 date. Around week 27 I was measuring FIVE weeks ahead, but they wouldn't change the date because the baby wasn't necessarily measuring that big, just me. Still no due date change. :( At week 32 I was still measuring big (4 weeks) so they scheduled another ultrasound for a size check. I finally got in at 36 weeks and the baby (not just me!) was estimated to be 7 lbs 9 oz already!!!! Considering Rylin was only 5 lbs 12 oz when she was born I started getting nervous. They won't induce me for another two weeks, which means he could STILL gain another 2 pounds before he shows up. Yikes!!!

Measuring ~2cm at our first ultrasound at 9 weeks.

At 18 weeks the first thing our ultrasound tech said was, "You get one of each!"

No shame about being a boy. LoL

I love how you can see his ear and shoulder blade in this profile shot.

SO tiny at 18 weeks.

I love that we got a free 3D image of his little face!

At 36 weeks you know you're in trouble when the fat rolls on his legs get labeled...

This is a close-up of his nose, mouth, and chin.

Not so tiny anymore!!

We can't wait to meet you baby boy!!

The Luckiest Girl in the World

My mind is heavy and my heart is full.

I just finished reading Stephanie Nielsen’s book, Heaven is Here.

Please forgive me as I try to organize all the different thoughts and emotions that are taking center stage within me right now.

I have mentioned before that I envy her. And I still do. Again, not because of the terrible tragedy that occurred, but because of who she is and what she has.

Prior to the accident, she readily admitted that she had everything she ever wanted. After reading her memoir, I have to agree. Did this girl ever want for anything growing up? Ever?? She had a large family that obviously adores and cares for each other, loving grandparents and parents that lived their own fairy-tale love stories, and what can only be described as a charmed life. It’s hard not to compare my fractured youth with hers and NOT be envious.

And then I got to read about how beautiful she KNEW she was and all about her Disney-worthy courtship, wedding, and marriage. And THEN to add insult to injury, I read about her four darling, perfect children that came when she wanted them to. Everything was perfect! Oh sure she was upset about being away from her family for a few years, and she was really sick throughout all of her pregnancies, but even she acknowledged those were small prices to pay for all the wonderful things she had in her life. She was born to be a wife and mother and it comes second-nature to her in a way that it never has for me.

She is one of those people that I thought about when I heard Elder Holland’s talk this last General Conference. Oh, and she knows him personally, by the way. He basically said to not let other’s happiness cause you grief. Heavenly Father loves all equally, and we are ALL entitled to the same eternal blessings.

As I was reading the book, I would glance up at Todd every once in a while. He is done with school now and is reveling in his freedom. I tried to look at him and see him as the man I fell in love with. I ignored all the inconsequential fodder that I have allowed to block my vision lately. Todd loves me. He loves Rylin. He loves the baby boy squirming within my abdomen right now. He might not always complete tasks on the same timeline as everyone else, but he completes them. He wants to provide, protect, and preside over this family. He might not show me he cares in the manner I wish him to, but he does so consistently in his own way. He needs me. He depends upon me. And I haven’t always been there for him. I have resented him for his shortcomings. I have not been the wife that I wanted to be, nor the partner I promised to be.

I have been extremely short on patience with Rylin lately. She’s been on-and-off sick and teething since the beginning of December. Todd has been busy and sick as well, which means I feel like a single parent sometimes (I am quite certain he does too). I felt like I needed to fight for my “me time” and would sometimes ignore Rylin just so I could have time to do something by myself. I sincerely hope she doesn’t remember these last few months. She is too young to understand what is going on. All she knows is that Daddy and Mommy haven’t been the same to her lately. Her type of crying and her eyes show the confusion and hurt she is feeling.

She has started pulling her lower lip in when she cries. It makes her look like a kid I was counselor for at camp. This kid was a nightmare. She punched, hit, bit, and kicked the other girls. She was deceitful and manipulative so that you would feel sorry for her and then she would betray you. Oh, and she was 10. She almost got sent home from camp, and was not accepted back the next year. Needless to say, when Rylin is sobbing and turns in the doppelganger of that girl, it’s impossible for me to look at her and feel love, pity, compassion, anything other than contempt. That’s great mothering, isn’t it? I can’t even stand the sight of my child in that state, so I tell her to stop crying and I turn away. All she knows is that I am abandoning her when she just wants to be comforted. My daughter. The baby I wanted so desperately for 12 years. The little one we rejoiced over and prayed for.

I fed her dinner later than usual the other night. Todd was finishing up some last-minute school work on campus. I was at the end of a very long few days, and was just trying to get another load of dishes done before I passed out. Rylin had to wait in her chair for several minutes after she was finished eating so that I could start the dishwasher. She became impatient and started whining and crying. I tried to entertain her with songs as best I could and let her know I was almost done. I gave up singing when it had no effect. I lost it. I snapped my head around and yelled, “STOP IT!” Of course this just made her cry even harder. I finished my task, retrieved her, and instead of giving her a bath like usual, I just put her to bed, sticky hands and all. I was done. I knew I had to get her to calm down or she wouldn’t go to sleep at all. I put Peter Pan (current favorite) on while I changed her. I turned everything off and had her climb into bed. We said prayers and sang her night-night song. Before I got up, I told her I was sorry that I yelled at her and asked her if she would please forgive me. She hesitated for a second, but decisively said, “Yes!” She then said, “Hug” and reached her little arms out toward me. This almost brought tears to my eyes. After she has been in time out, we have her say sorry, then we tell her we love her, and then ask for a hug. Here was my two-year-old reminding me of the proper steps of an apology.

As I said my prayers last night, I thought of Rylin’s innocence. Of her unconditional love for me. How she readily forgives me and forgets how I have failed her. I know this won’t last. She won’t always be so resilient. I cringe to think that I will be responsible for her losing that.

It didn’t take a near-fatal airplane crash, more than 80% of my body burned, and millions of dollars in medical bills for me to feel like giving up. No, my torture consisted of three divorces of my parents, being on Church welfare after my Dad left, a defunct metabolism and the resulting self-esteem issues, placing my daughter for adoption, a miscarriage, fights with Todd, problems finding work, debt, abandonment issues, and just about losing everything that ever really mattered to me. Same as Stephanie.

But at the end of the day, I find myself even MORE like her than I thought.

I still have a husband that loves me even if I am flawed.

I still have a daughter who loves me despite my failings.

I still am able to have more children.

I still have the gospel.

I still have a Heavenly Father that loves me and will never give up on me. Ever.

And THAT makes me (and you), the luckiest girl in the world.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPhone

Some people...

... NEED to hear themselves sometimes.

I have a dear fellow-mother, that likes to chit-chat with me now and then about helpful Mom tips. She is fortunate enough to not have to work since her husband does, and has been able to stay at home with all of her children since the day they were born. Me, not so much. She is very laid back about most things, and doesn't tend to plan out all of the details. My job title includes the word, "planner" if that tells you anything. I plan. It's what I do. I like to be prepared. She has different house rules than I do (we don't allow shoes in the house, she does; we don't eat outside of the kitchen, they do; etc.) and instead of focusing on things like vacuuming, moping, keeping sticky little hands off of every single surface in the house, keeping toys clean, etc., she focuses on spending time with her children instead. Not that there's anything wrong with spending time with your children, but when I have to wear shoes in someone's house so that my feet don't get coated in a layer of some neglected spilled-and-now-mostly-dry liquid and then a veritable granola of miscellaneous dried food particles, I get uneasy. So when our kids get together, sometimes our parenting styles... clash. I have learned to let things go for the most part and have never said a word about my uneasiness to her. I acknowledge that the interaction is temporary and that soon I can retreat to the safety of my own home.

There have been a couple instances of careless comments tossed my direction though. I honestly don't think she means to insult me with these, but in making these statements it is very clear how she feels about how I choose to parent my children, and that she would never resort to something so heinous as the following: 


1. We travel a LOT. It is very hard to feed your children nutritiously on the go without packing more than the ton of gear you already do. We loooooooove the very handy organic pureed baby food that you can buy in convenient pouches. AMAZING!!!! Even as a toddler, Rylin still loves these. I can't tell you how many times these have let us be at church on time and let us stay for everything! No spoons, no jars, easy to hand to a hungry child in a car seat. Oh, and they are a blend of veggies and fruits which are SO hard to get while traveling.

I was extolling the virtues of these ingenious little pouches to my friend. She asked how much they were and I replied that they ranged from $1 to $2 depending upon size and brand. She scoffed and remarked how expensive that was. I said sure if you were using them on a daily basis, but for now and then it was better (and healthier) than fast-food. Then came the comment that I wish I could have recorded, "Well, I never bought or used jarred baby food for my children. I made all of my baby food for my kids."

Well pin a rose on your nose! If it's possible for someone to brag without intending to put others down in the process, that's what she does. All she needed to say was, "Oh, we never ended up using jarred baby food" and her point would have come across just fine. For the record, I ALSO made MOST of our baby food. I just chose to be hassle-free when it came to traveling. 


2. Rylin's hair gets becomes a mess if I don't restrain it. It's so fine that it will just float about her face. Couple that with a messy toddler's eating habits, and you're looking at three baths a day. No thank you! So I try to be a little more creative with her hairstyles when I have the time. In order to get her to sit still for any amount of time, I put on Backyardigans or VeggieTales which each have plenty of songs and keep her from jerking her head all over the place. Even then I can only get ten minutes max.

One day we were over at the same friend's house and she asked me to do her girls' hair in the same style that I had done Rylin's. No problem, except that I swear I have never seen these kids with clean hair. Ever. Even straight out of the bathtub. I had to use detangling spray just to work through the clumps of...???? matted in with the hair. My friend praised my work and said that Rylin always had the cutest hair styles. I thanked her for the compliment and didn't think much else about the subject.

Until recently. My friend and her kids were over at our house. We were all getting ready to go somewhere, and I sat Rylin down to do her hair. I put VeggieTales on since Rylin had been acting up anyway, and I knew it would be the only way to keep her still for even a minute. Halfway through starting to comb the hair, my friend says, "OH, I had no idea this (meaning the TV) was how you got her to sit still!!"

Blink blink. What am I supposed to do? Tie her down? Shave it all off and not deal with it until she's older?

I managed to sheepishly say, "It's the only way to prevent Rylin from moving her head all over the place." Then I started wondering why it was such a bad thing to let my daughter watch a few minutes of wholesome cartoons. Who was this lady to come into MY home and criticize how I got things done.

Before I could say anything further, she came out with the straw that broke this camel's back.

"You know, some people are good at doing hair. Not me! But getting my kids to read by the time they are two?! I am really good at that!"

I wanted to point out that her 18-month-old currently isn't saying anything other than a belligerent, "Ma!" right now and that I don't think he's going to be reading by her established deadline. But I didn't. Instead I kept smiling and doing Rylin's hair.



3. We have a name chosen for our new baby boy. We haven't shared it with too many people, but she happens to be one of them. She managed to make THREE comments about it within 24 hours to me.

1. "SO! Gryffon, huh? Just like Gryffindor in Harry Potter? Heh heh heh." 
2. (to Todd) "I'm not really sure about Gryffon!"
3. (when Todd mentioned a name he liked) "I like that one even LESS than I like the other one!"

My responses to her at the time were just a smile. But now I have to get it out. First of all, Harry Potter is NOT where we got the name, and our name is just a PART of a longer name used in that book. AND the book was an international best-seller!! Why is she bringing it up as if it were something bad?? As if we should be ashamed to be connected to that book in any way? It is not a weird name by ANY means, and everyone else has loved it when we tell them what it is. And who cares if she "isn't sure" about the name?!?!?! It's not HER kid!!!! Enough with trying to dissuade me from the name I LOVE because YOU think I should take into consideration what YOUR thoughts are on the matter!!!!!



So that's my rant for tonight. I had to get it off my chest somewhere. Thanks for letting me.