luscious lemon bars

have you ever wondered what the best thing on the planet taste like? well, here it is. these suckers almost didn't get a picture because we ate them so fast. My mother-in-law made these while I was up in Seattle and it was love at first bite. they have a lovely thick crust (like a buttery pie) and a juicy and "luscious" lemon top. I couldn't wait to come home and make them myself. this recipe was handed down to her from her mother.



Dorothy Throssell's Luscious Lemon Bar Cookies
Crust:
1 cup soft butter          1/2 cup powdered sugar
dash salt                      2 cups flour
-Combine all ingredients and mix well. Press mixture into 9x13 pan. Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes or until nicely browned.

Filling:
4 eggs, beaten                    1/4 cup flour
2 cups granulated sugar     6 Tbsp. fresh squeezed lemon juice
-Combine flour and sugar, mix in beaten eggs and lemon juice. Pour into the slightly cooled crust. Bake at 350 degrees for 25 minutes, or until set.
-Cool and sprinkle with powdered sugar.

a good day

lounging on comfy bed.

finally getting around to quilting pearce's baby quilt that i started almost a year ago.

sipping diet coke.

listening to mason jennings {and peacre}.

watching pearce play.

oh yeah... and IT'S FRIDAY!!

four months

Pearcie Pie is 4 months today! We go to doctor tomorrow for check-up and shots. Can you believe she is reading already?!?! She must have a really good mom.

I got a whole bag full of these cute little mini books
for free at a garage sale this last weekend in Washington.
They fit perfectly in her little hands.

7.22.10 post edit: Pearce's stats for today's check-in:
Weight: 15 pounds 11.5 ounces
Height: 25.35 inches
Head Circumference: 16.73 inches

Nothing beats a Seattle summer!

Pearce and I just spent a wonderful week with the Curfews. We had a blast and it was so great being with family. We loved our time up there and wish we could have stayed longer. Jeremy met up with us later in the week, and I felt bad that he missed out on so many of his favorite things. But Pearce had I got the Royal treatment and kept Jeremy in the loop everyday with iphone pics.

Brace yourself for lots of pictures! there are just too many fun ones to share!

Lots of Grandma time.

eating out at Robertos.
{Aunt Jenny & Pearce}

hanging out with Aunts and cousins. Aunt Natalie & Jenny and cousins Nicole and McKay.

Aunt Shannon and Pearce.

lots of me browsing through cookbooks and writing down recipes. there were a few that i just took pics from my iphone rather than writing. i'm going to make these "Gooey Butter Cookies" in lieu of my sister moving to St. Louis this month!

downtown shopping.

Mercer Island Beach Club. Can you believe how beautiful this is??!?!?!? the pool/beach club is right on Lake Washington. See Mt. Ranier in background?

hanging out by the shore

Pearce's cute boy cousins (McKay, Phillip, & Sterling)

hangin' out poolside

dipping toes with Grandma

we had a delicious bbq back at the house afterward - no pictures though :( - i love bbqs on their back deck.

We went on lots of walks, at least one everyday. Sometimes around the neighborhood on Mercer Island and sometimes at pretty parks like this. Seward Park is beautiful. views of Mt. Ranier, views of the lake, views of Mercer Island. Too bad Pearce was a big stinker and didnt want to sit in her nice comfy stroller ride, so we had to carry her most of the way. this picture tells it all:

Mercer Island in background

Baby with much needed rest after her long fussy walk. I love this bedroom. Couldn't help but take a few pics.

This is kind of random... but since i was taking pictures of Rachael's beautiful bedroom, I also took a picture of my favorite wall in the house. I love these little umbrella/rain art. I forget the name of the artist, but I love these paintings.

Jeremy finally flew in late Thursday night! YAY!!! Friday morning we headed over to Pike Place because Jeremy wanted to pick her out a cute little {pike place} onesie, like we did while pregnant.

our little sweet pea!

Pike Place Bakery

It was pretty chilly

And of course, we can't go home to Seattle without a stop at Pegasus Pizza!!

The rest of the weekend was spent at the Ranch in Cle Elum. Jeremy's (and my) happy place.

Home on the Ranch

tinkering with the model T

Joy ride {usually in to town for a fountain soda and back} in the 1949 Jeepster 

Ride down to the River

enjoying the breeze by the river and dipping toes in freezing water

{Shannon cracking jokes}

oh yeah! and we also did some garage-sale-ing there on Saturday. these rings were only 50 cents each!! {no, we did NOT buy Jeremy's pinky ring}

I'm crazy about this tiny little gold band with tiny little {most like fake something} stone. My wedding band still doesnt fit post pregnancy. not bad for 50 cents, ay??

one final picture of our little "lap infant". i was greatful to have jeremy's help on the flight back home.

and that folks... is why NOTHING BEATS A SEATTLE SUMMER!

Pearce's Octopus

I finished Pearce's octupus. and I'm pretty sure this is her new favorite toy. so many legs. so many colors. endless chewing opportunities.



I was glad to finally find use for the Sugar Snap fabric by Melissa Averinos that I collected over a year ago.



Pearce and I are off to Seattle tomorrow morning for some Grandma Curfew time!! We will miss you Jeremy until you meet up with us later in the week!

Special Sesame Chicken Salad

We went to a fun ward pizza party at the Bishop's house last night. They have an outdoor pizza oven and everyone got to make their own mini personalized pizza. Bishop's wife made homemade pizza sauce and dough that was fantastic.

So Jeremy signed me up to bring a salad. I usually always sign up for dessert (vs. salad), so I was a bit nervous but up for the challenge. I looked through my file folder of recipes I've collected over years but haven't gotten around to making yet. I found this one torn out from a Taste of Home Magazine from August 2007. Yum Yum Yum!! I made it Thursday night first to make sure it was good, and it sure was!! I was snacking on it all day Friday. This isn't a very good picture, but feel I always have to have a picture when posting a recipe.



Special Sesame Chicken Salad
1 package (16 oz.) bow tie pasta
1 cup vegetable oil
2/3 cup white wine vinegar (I didn't have this so i used half red wine vinegar/half rice wine vinegar)
2/3 cup teriyaki sauce (I used Soy Vay Veri Veri Teriyaki which I would recommend using)f
1/3 cup sugar
1/2 teaspoon pepper
3 cans (11 oz each) mandarin oranges, drained
2 cans (8 oz. each) sliced water chestnuts, drained
2 cups cubed cooked chicken
1 package (9 oz) fresh spinach, torn
1 package (6 oz.) dried cranberries
6 green onions, chopped
1/3 cup minced fresh parsley
1/4 cup sesame seeds, (toasted in oven at 400 degrees for 3 minutes)

Cook Pasta according to package directions; drain and place in a very large bowl and add cubed chicken. In a small bowl, combine the oil, vinegar, teriyaki sauce, sugar and pepper. Pour over pasta and chicken and toss to coat. Cover and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.
Just before serving, add the remaining ingredients; gently toss to coat.
(Yield: 22 servings at 1 cup each)


On a side note, I also recently made this EXTREME banana nut bread from allrecipes.com.
It is the very non-healthy version- and TASTE LIKE CANDY!!!

Tomato Basil Pizza

I've seen and heard about the Pioneer Woman for quite some time, so I figured it was about time for me to make something from her website. I love all of her pictures and the step-by-step commentary and visuals.

I followed her directions for TOMATO BASIL PIZZA (with a Pesto Sauce).



It was a yummy and fresh meal last night. Head over to her blog for the recipe.

I've made home-made pizza dough just a couple times in my life to realize (for me) it's not worth making. too much work and too much time for lil ole lazeee me. so I always find a local italian market to buy pizza dough from. and i found a fabulous new place in Encinitas called Rosana's Pasta Shop.  I also picked up their home-made pesto sauce for the pizza as well. AWESOME!! everything they make there is from scratch and Rosana herself is there always and she is 100% Italian.

It's been so overcast lately that I've been spending more time at home, and today (during an EARTHQUAKE) made a new dollie for Pearce. She likes sucking on the legs (toes) so much that I'm gonna make her an octopus next!

a fun long weekend

it was kinda weird having 4th of july on a sunday, but it was great that the weekend was extended until monday to celebrate with friends at the beach. we went to a nice bbq at friends from our new ward, then we went over to watch fireworks later that night at jeremy's shop buddy's house in la costa. forgot to bring the camera, but at least we got a couple with the iphone... too bad we dont have the new iphone 4 with flash. definitely on both of our wish lists.



Monday was super fun. We headed back to Fiesta Island (in San Diego) to go jetskiing. A bunch of our HB friends came down, so it was so great to see everyone- Briscoes, Schumanns, McDonalds and Arnolds. We miss you guys so much!!!

It was overcast most of the day, so I kept Pearce bundled up the entire time. The weather didn't stop us from having a grand ole ball though...



some cute and sassy kids






Jack found a seashell that he wanted Pearce to have.


chillen and snackin


had some fun girlie time


Now where's the sun?!?!

Thai Chicken Peanut Noodles

I saved this recipe from the Sister's Cafe a long time ago. I've been on a cooking roll lately! And I love it! This is one of Jeremy's and my new favorites... seriously DELICIOUS!!! especially if you like Thai or peanut sauces. I changed just a few tiny little things in the recipe, so I wrote what I did below.



1 lb regular thin spaghetti noodles ( I only used 3/4 of noodles, because I didn't want to dilute the sauce too much.)
2 garlic clove, peeled
1 (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger, peeled
½ Cup smooth peanut butter
2 Tablespoons sesame oil
¼ Cup soy sauce
2 Tablespoons brown sugar
1 Tablespoon rice vinegar
1 scant teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes
½ Cup hot water
2 Tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
3/4 Cup finely chopped white onion
½ Cup finely chopped red or orange bell pepper
2½ - 3 Cups cooked, shredded chicken breast
¼ Cup finely chopped cilantro leaves
1/2 teaspoon salt, or to taste
¼- ½ Cup dry roasted peanuts, chopped

First I boiled 2-3 chicken breast for 10 minutes. And then boiled the noodles according to package. And while the chicken was boiling and noodles a-brewin', I made the sauce.

The sauce was incredibly EASY to make in the food processor.
Place garlic and ginger in food processor until well chopped. Then add peanut butter, sesame oil, soy sauce, brown sugar, vinegar and red pepper flakes. Pulse until well combined and slowly add hot water. Set aside.


{picture of sauce before pouring in hot water.}

Place olive oil in hot skillet over medium heat. Saute onion and bell pepper for 5 minutes or until softened. Stir in chicken breast, cilantro and salt. Stir until heated through.


Add sauce.


Then Add the chicken and sauce mixture to pot of drained noodles. Toss to coat and garnish with peanuts and more cilantro if desired.