Who's got the cutest baby?

Well I do of course! But I'm a little bit biased.  But you can agree with us by following this link to vote for Kinley.  You will need to use a valid email address, but they will not use it to send any spam or junk mail.  Once you get to the page where her picture is click on the photo of her.  On your first time voting you will have to go through an email verification process.  Once that is done the first time you can go on and vote once every day.  She will win some pretty cool prizes if she gets enough votes.

Thanks for your help.  Look for this picture on the link!

New Recipe

As I stated in a previous post, I have found through Pinterest a new Food Blog that has some neat recipes.  I decided to try this particular recipe this evening.  It was absolutely delicious and a HUGE hit with the kids (which is always a winning recipe in my book).  However, it does have some negatives that I wanted to share.  I began preparing the chicken at 5:30 this evening (because we were out running errands after the kids got out of school) and did not get it into the oven until about 6:15.  Now granted, I have a toddler clawing at my leg during this 45 minute prep/cook time as well as homework questions and I probably could have used a larger frying pan to cook more of the chicken at one time.  Which brings me to issue #2 - I used a ton of dishes to prep and cook the chicken.  I hate when recipes dirty up a bunch of dishes.  I used a bowl for the corn starch, a bowl for the egg, a plate to put the chicken on in between the cornstarch and egg (because neither the c.s. bowl nor the egg bowl was large enough to hold all of the chicken at one time),  plus the frying pan, the glass dish to bake it in, a couple of forks and serving spoons all the measuring cups/spoons necessary and this doesn't even include what we ate with. 

Anyway, I did a couple of things different.  The blog suggests serving it with fried rice, but I just made it with steamed white rice.  I also steamed some broccoli and tossed it into the chicken mix during the last 15 minutes of cooking.  Next time I make it (and there will be a next time) I might add a can of drained pineapples when I throw in the broccoli.  Overall I'd say this is a great change from the mundane dinners that I always cook, just a reminder to not make it on a day when we are gone into the early evening.

Baked Sweet and Sour Chicken


The chicken coating:
3-4 boneless chicken breasts
salt + pepper
1 cup cornstarch
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 cup canola oil

The sweet and sour sauce:
3/4 cup sugar
4 tbs ketchup
1/2 cup vinegar
1 tbs soy sauce
1 tsp garlic salt

Start by preheating your oven to 325 degrees. Rinse your chicken breasts in water and then cut into cubes. Season with salt and pepper to taste. Dip chicken into the cornstarch to coat then dip into the eggs. Heat your 1/4 cup oil in a large skillet and cook your chicken until browned but not cooked through. Place the chicken in a 9x13 greased baking dish. Mix all of your sweet and sour sauce ingredients in a bowl with a whisk and then pour evenly over the chicken. Bake for one hour and during the baking process you will need to turn the chicken every 15 minutes.

Lost in Translation

I know...shocking, two posts in one day.  Don't get used to it, it's just a fluke!  Now back to the regularly scheduled programming:

Matthew and I have been chuckling the last few days over the number of languages we have learned in the past few months.  I certainly feel as though I am qualified to add multi-lingual to my resume (should I ever need one in the next few months/years).  No, I haven't started using Rosetta Stone although they may want to consider adding this to their library of languages offered.

I have become quite fluent in the art of translating Toddler Talk.  Kinley has started using her voice A LOT more over the last few months.  Since I am with her all day long, I have been able to decipher quite a bit of what she is asking for/demanding at any given time.  Most people (even Matthew, Abbey and Brady) will look at me in bewilderment when she starts saying something, because 99.9% of the time, her word is nothing like what the real word.  But she knows what she is trying to say and she will shake her head "no" if you get it wrong.

My next language learning experience is "Moody Mumbles."  This would be the language of a nine year old boy.  This kid is moodier than a postal employee at the DMV!  You never know what might set him off but once he is in this funk you can pretty much forget understanding a word of what he is saying.  There are a few tricks to translate his words back to English: Coke (soda...not drugs), gross boy humor, star wars and if all else fails a trip to bed.

And finally, the one that I have been struggling to grasp the most is the language of "Tween Drama."  O.M.G.  I'm sure my mother may beg to differ with me, but I don't think I've shed as many tears in my entire thirty-something years as Abbey has shed since starting middle school.  You've got the sobbing of the bff gone awry, the sobbing of boy trouble, the homework sobs, and of course the "you never let me do anything" sobs!  I welcome any and all advice on this transition translation period.  I am determined to conquer this language.  I.WILL.SURVIVE!

New Blog

I came across this blog on Pinterest this afternoon and I'm totally hooked so of course I had to add it to my blog roll.  Check it out for some easy and yummy sounding recipes!