Funnel Salt Cake

Yep. Funnel. Salt. Cake.

Ingredients:

French Fries

Powdered Sugar

Dump powdered sugar all over french fries. Then dump some more because I know you didn't dump enough the first time. (Notice I didn't say "Sprinkle".)

Enjoy!

New House: THE BEFORE

My husband and I have been planning on building a house just up the street from where we live now. We made a long list of things that were really important to us. My list included, stainless steal appliances, a 6 burner range, double oven, nice hood, granite counter tops, lots of counter room, etc. You know, all the necessities! (ha!)

Andy's list had things on it like movie theatre room, audio/video wiring throughout the entire house, and a man cave. Also major necessities!

The other more realistic things on our list included, more bedrooms, a room of its own for the baby grand piano, a bigger kitchen open to a family room, linen closets, a bigger master bedroom/bathroom, the list went on and on.

Since I'm 8 months pregnant, most of these plans for building went on hold. And it was decided that in the Spring we would dig. That WAS the plan. Until Andy's aunt, our neighbor, my friend, showed up on Friday, July 9 and told us to go look at a house for sale on the other side of town right by the school. Her husband, Uncle Jerry, is the realtor and gave us a nice tour on Saturday, July 10th. We really liked it! It didn't have the dream kitchen or the dream movie theatre room but it had everything else on our list! We looked at it again on Sunday, July 11th. (My birthday!)

We decided with interest rates at historic lows and with a baby on the way, we should do it! (Besides, August was looking pretty lame anyway. I'd be done teaching, just resting up before the baby is born. Enjoying some naps and frequent trips to the bathroom. BORING! We needed more things to do! -not!-) We made an offer on Monday, July 12th and sold our house on the same day. Everything lined up into place and now here we are packing!

The plan is to close on Friday, July 23rd and start moving little things over. The painter comes on Monday, July 26th and we do the big move on July 30th! Our goal is to get settled into this house before this baby pops out to see it.

Here are some BEFORE pictures of the new house. I'll be posting the updates as they come!

It needs a little white picket fence... :-)

Here is the front entry way which leads up the stairs, to the formal living room, or through to the kitchen. White walls everywhere. Next is the formal living room. Can you see the decorator's feet? The formal living room leads to the dining room. The dining room leads to the kitchen!

Here's the kitchen! It's very spacious but I do look forward to bashing it in and putting in one or two fancy appliances and some granite! The kitchen also has an informal dining area. Then is quite open to the family room! The carpet in the family room is navy blue, and while it is so soft and plush, its got to go!

Here I am back at the front door. Just under the stairs is the powder room. The gold has got to go! Around the corner to the left is the family room, laundry room, and a 3 car garage.

Upstairs is the master bedroom and master bathroom. A LOT of white.

Across from mommie and daddie's room is Baby Adam's room! Soon to be blue (again)! Down the hall is the upstairs bathroom. The wall paper is coming down! And a shower curtain is going in! Then at the end of the hall is Andy's Man Cave. Andy's Man Cave even has a special back cave for Adam to keep all his toys. HA! The toys will invade every room, I'm sure!

The last room on the upper level is the spare bedroom which my mother has claimed as her own. (Remembering back to when I was 13 years old and desperately wanted black curtains in my room but mom thought that was a bit too dramatic... perhaps NOW is the time to put in some black curtains and perhaps THIS is the room to do it in! Just joshing MOM! kinda.....)

Back downstairs to the main level is the deck and the deck over looks a little waterfall. (Here fishy fishy fishy!)

The backyard is beautifully landscaped and I have A LOT to learn about plants and not killing them. But I am up to the challenge! The middle picture is back to the front of the house and the twirlly swirlly tree things that Andy will be maintaing! And along the north side of the house is a dozen or so fully grown spruce trees! They're just gorgeous!

Needless to say, we're feeling so blessed. We're lucky to have found this house and to have sold our house so quickly. We're lucky to have so many wonderful friends and loving family to help us get in the house quickly and out of the current house. We aren't taking a bit of this for granted and are overwhelmed with gratitude.

In other unrelated house news: Today was my party/shower with all my students. We had a blast and I'll post pictures soon!

Until next time,

Sheila

Sheila OUT of the Kitchen!

Can you believe my last post was November of 2009?

Well, I've been busy!

January 1st 2010 - HAPPY NEW YEAR! It was also this morning that my husband I woke up and found out "we" were pregnant! What a way to start the NEW YEAR! (It was this day that a huge craving for Grandma's sweet pickles started!)

Without going into too much detail - my husband and I had been waiting for this day for awhile. We had prayed for it, saved for it, dreamed about it... and now here it was! I spent the rest of the winter in hibernation mode. I got up out of bed only for the necessities and then went straight back. Most of January, February, and the first part of March are a blur. Food sounded awful. I was STARVING! But nothing sounded palatable! Except anything my mom cooked. My wonderful mother made us food often and brought it over. She made Andy his favorite meals too. Do you know how much life is easier when there is wonderful, yummy, and nutritious food already for you to heat up and enjoy in the fridge? My mom knew this and took very good care of us. (And still does!)

Soon, the grass started to poke through the frozen ground and we could see the beginnings of Spring. Hallelujah! It was a hard, cold, wet, frozen winter. I was starting to get rounder and rounder. I had found some long lost energy. Andy and I started shopping for baby furniture and making plans to turn the spare bedroom into a nursery. Now we just needed to know what color to paint. Pink or Blue?

There are two types of people in this world. Those who love surprises and those who don't. Guess which one I am? :-) I most definitely do not enjoy surprises. I'm a huge planner. I LOVE to plan. I LOVE to plan to plan. And I like to plan my back up plan! So needless to say, we opted to find out what we were having as soon as possible!

It's a BOY!!! So, let me tell you how I remember finding out: We were in the ultrasound room, and the doctor was scanning the baby and telling us how healthy and great he was doing. Then she said, "Do you want to know?" Up until this point, we were convinced we were having a girl! Everyone told us they were sure we were having a girl too. So we thought how could all these people be wrong? Clearly they SEE something in my growing belly that I can't see! So, about a week before the ultrasound, we started calling this baby a "she".

Well, the doctor pointed to the screen and pointed to this "thing." Clearly, this baby is all boy as there was no mistaking the "thing". Tears were welling up in my eyes as it was all becoming even more real. And I started immediately making plans and checklists. Blue paint, monkeys, brown curtains, tinkle teepees, the list went on and on. Andy and I got into the elevator on our way back to the car after finding out we were having a beautiful baby boy. The door closed and Andy started chanting, "IT'S A BOY! IT'S A BOY! TWO to ONE! TWO to ONE!" I smiled at him. How naive, I thought. Doesn't he realize the power of the mother? Then he wisely realized, "Your vote probably counts more than ours, huh..." Um, YEAH!

We decided to name him Adam Jones Dokulil.

It wasn't long after that Adam's flutters started turning into full fledged kicks and rolls and punches. He's an active little guy! I swear I felt my first flutter before the end of the 1st trimester. By week 15, he was getting bigger and stronger. And before I knew it, it was time for my first baby shower.

I have the most amazing church family. The women in my church are especially wonderful. They take care of everyone. And they took care of me. My pastor's wife and the church choir that I direct through me such a special shower. They had the entire room decorated with baby toys that they sent home with me. There was amazing cinnamon rolls, sticky pecan rolls, fruit, juice and we were serenaded as we ate. We played some games and then opened presents. I was so touched by the generosity of these women. I'll never forget it.

A second shower was held on June 26th at my sister in law's house. Aimee out did herself on everything from food to games to gifts and her amazing hospitality. It was a wonderful day!

Here we are now in July! I'm 8 months pregnant. We had our 32 week checkup and Baby Adam is doing great! We actually got to see his face today! For the last 15 weeks, he's had his arm, elbow, feet, legs, etc. in front of his face keeping us from getting a good look at him. Currently, he's still in breech position. Most babies have turned head down by 34 weeks. I'm not sure if Baby Adam read the manual on how to be born yet. But we're not worried!

(Can you see his eyes, and nose, and mouth and chin?)

The year is half over! Its been an amazing year full of surprises. I'm overwhelmed and humbled by God's blessings. We are so thankful and enjoying every single day.

(I MADE this! I MADE it! Go here to Andy's cousin's blog to find out how! She's got awesome tips and ideas! Plus her kids are adorable!)

This weekend is my shower/party for all my students. It's bittersweet as I will be "retiring" from teaching at the end of July to prepare for the baby and then be a stay at home mom. I'm so excited for the opportunity to spend so much time with my kiddo but I will sorely miss my students and their families.

Check back soon for more pictures and updates! I promise to do better! (Ok - I promise to TRY!)

Love,

Sheila

PS - Constant Craving: ANYTHING POTLUCK... Mmmmmm

PPS - How pregnant are we?!?! Me and my best bud - partners in crime!

Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes

(Here we are handing out candy on Halloween. I'm the nurse and Andy is the swine flu. He's wearing a pig nose and a thermometer.)

If you've been reading my blog - you know I adore my husband. BUT - (there's always a but) He's a picky eater. To give him proper credit, he will pretty much TRY everything I make. There's a few exceptions. Like Fruit. Or Cauliflower. There are some foods he's never had but insists he hates them. It's maddening. His friends and family tell me how much he's changed and how much he eats... But to me, the girl who will eat just about anything - it's like saying, "Well, you used to be a Terrible Horrible No Good Very Bad eater, and now you're just kinda bad..."

I have a special friend, Sue, who inspired me to start this blog. She's a chef in New Jersey and has a fabulous blog called foodnetworkmusings.blogspot.com. Also you can read her articles at http://www.examiner.com/x-13347-Princeton-Food-Examiner. She's also responsible for my new addiction to Twitter. Recently she posted a recipe for "mashed potatoes". I told Andy that our friend, THE CHEF, had posted a new recipe. I just told him it was a different take on mashed potatoes. Andy replied, "LET'S DO IT!" (Which is code for "Make it for me.")

Now, hopefully you read in the first paragraph how he won't eat cauliflower.... Insert "TRICK OR TREAT MASHED POTATOES" here! For this particular dinner I sent him downstairs with strict instructions not to come up until dinner was on the table.

Here's the skinny on how I TRICKED my husband into LOVING cauliflower. (Ok - maybe he won't admit to loving it - but he had seconds. SECONDS!)

My adventure starts at Open Harvest in Lincoln, NE. I picked up 3 decent sized salmon fillets, 4 huge beautiful scallops, carrots, zucchini and cauliflower. (da da daaaaa! - that's the scary music.)

I've never been a huge salmon eater and needed a yummy way to serve it. So I tweeted, THE CHEF, and asked for a yummy salmon recipe. She tweeted back a Rozanne Gold sauce that she said was so good she'd serve it to the Queen of England! It IS delicious. Here's how to make it:

Boil 1 lb. chopped Zucchini with 1/2 c. Water and 1/2 teaspoon salt for about 15 min. or until soft. I left the skin on the zucchini for color and nutrients! Then throw it in a blender or food processor, water and all and puree with a couple tabs of butter. Taste for seasoning.

For the samlon - I rubbed it down with some good extra virgin olive oil and salt and pepper and baked it at 375 degrees until it was just starting to get flaky. I like my salmon more on the underdone side. Dry salmon is awful.

The carrots were also easy - rub 'em down with olive oil and salt and pepper and get them in the oven with the salmon. After I took the salmon out I cranked the oven up to about 450 degrees to finish roasting the carrots.

The scallops looked so good I couldn't pass them up. Plus I wasn't sure how well the "Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes" was going to go over so I thought I could butter him up with some seared scallops. I dried them thoroughly, seasoned them with salt and pepper and popped them into a hot pan with olive oil and seared them for a couple min on each side.

Now the fun part! This recipe comes foodnetworkmusings.blogspot.com which she got from http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/george-stella/mock-garlic-mashed-potatoes-recipe/index.html?rsrc=search.

First, if your husband thinks he hates cauliflower also - buy some potatoes and set them on the counter. Then hide the cauliflower behind the FRUIT in the fridge. After the coast is clear - take out the cauliflower and chop it into big bite sized pieces. Bring a pot of salted water to a boil and boil the cut cauliflower until they're easily stabbed with fork. The recipe says 6 min. I think I had to boil for closer to 8 min. Sue recommends putting your peeled garlic whole in with the cauliflower. She says she does this for regular mashed potatoes also.

Then drain the cauliflower and garlic and put into a food processor. Add 1 T. cream cheese. I used neufchatel cheese. It's just like cream cheese but a little lower in fat. Also going in the food processor or blender is a 1/2 teaspoon salt, a pinch of pepper, a handful of parmesan cheese and some butter. The recipe calls for 3 T. I used 1 1/2 T. Then puree away. Unlike regular mashed potatoes you can puree until the cows come home and it won't get gluey. If you live in Nebraska like I do - it's very possible that those cows will really truly come home. Taste for seasoning - I added a bit more neufchatel and salt.

I plated the salmon dressed with the zucchini butter sauce and roasted carrots with Seared Scallops atop a heap of "Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes". I nonchalantly placed the plate in front of my now suspicious husband. "Ok, what's the trick?" He asked. "They're pureed in a food processor honey! You can't do that with a normal version - but with this tricky version - you can!" I replied. (See? I didn't lie!) Until he asked, "So, is it really potatoes?"

I had a choice. I could tell the truth and reveal that in fact I was about to trick him into eating cauliflower. Something he has professed his pure hatred for. I could be honest and run the risk of him not evening trying it. Sending me into a heap of frustration and ruining our lovely dinner. OR! I could fib. It was for the good of the family. The good of dinner! The good of our health! I mean cauliflower is good for you! I was actually helping him by lying right? It's an important source of something healthy! He needs it!

"Yes, it's potatoes. See?" I lied. I LIED! I pointed to the bag of yukon gold potatoes sitting on the counter. (Please don't forget to have them ready for this exact moment.)

He grabbed his fork and took a bite. I sat there trying not to stare as he steered the fork to his mouth. "Yummmm!" He exclaimed.

What?!? Yum? You like it? I won? All these thoughts started racing through my head. But I thought to myself - victory isn't one bite. Victory is when he goes back for a second helping. So, I waited. I quietly said Thank You and kept on eating. Soon, he was asking for another helping of the "Trick or Treat Mashed Potatoes". I couldn't believe my ears! He ate another huge helping. I couldn't take it anymore! I was going to burst!

"Do you want me to tell you what the trick is?" I coyly asked him. "Uh huh." He stared at his plate, bracing himself for something terrible.

"IT'S CAULIFLOWER!!!!! IT'S CAULIFLOWER! YOU ATE CAULIFLOWER! YOU LOVE CAULIFLOWER!" I cheered. I knew he would like it! I had won! Victory was mine!

"So, seeee? You do like cauliflower don't you?" I teased him.

And do you know what that little booger said?

"Eh, It's Ok."

Happy Birthday to.... ME!

DAD to me: Another year "buffal-older"

I LOVE LOVE LOVE birthdays. This year, I decided to throw myself a party. It was so much fun! I invited family, friends and my students! We had an island of food including TWO carrot cakes and ONE chocolate cake. Yep. THREE cakes. I went easy on myself for the party and used Famous Daves for the meat: BBQ Pulled Chicken! All I had to do was chop up the veggies and fruit and make a few dips and baked beans!

Any excuse to make Guacamole... I've read recipes where people sub out some of avocado for peas! I've never tried it, but some people seem to really enjoy it. Plus, avocados are high in fat, a really good fat, but its still fat. So, anything to lighten it up is awesome in my book. Maybe next time, I'll add the peas... MAYBE

This is my favorite Guacamole Recipe:

4 Avocados

2 Jalapeno

1 Small Red Onion, small dice

1/4 cup Cilantro, chopped

2 (or more - use more) Garlic Cloves, pressed/grated/minced

2-3 Limes, juiced

Salt

Mash the avocado. I use a potato masher and mash it on a plate. It doesn't need to be smooth, leave it a little chunky. If you don't like your guac spicy - remove the seeds and ribs from the jalapeno. When I'm not making it for a party, I do half and half. One pepper with the seeds and ribs and one without. Add peppers, onion, cilantro, and garlic to the avocado. Add the lime juice a little at a time and taste for flavor. I like a strong lime flavor and used the juice of 3 limes. Season with salt to taste. I like to make it ahead of the party several hours to let the flavors incorporate.

YUM!

I also made a charred corn, red pepper, onion and chipotle salsa. I take no credit for this as it was right out of my bon appetit magazine. But it was soooo easy and soooo good. I husked 3 ears of corn, quartered 3 red bell peppers, and trimmed 1 bunch of green onions. Then I brushed some olive oil on and seasoned them with salt and pepper. I had the grill on high, and grilled the veggies until they were pretty well charred. The corn and peppers took the longest, obviously. After they came off the grill and slightly cooled, I cut the corn off the cob and chopped up the charred vegetables. Finally I added some lime, lime zest, garlic, and salt. The recipe also called for a tablespoon or so of a chipotle hot sauce. But I think I would have preferred to char up some jalapeno peppers and used them instead. The recipe says this salsa keeps all week and goes great on top of fish, chicken and burgers. But it also goes really well with tortilla chips! :-)

This is about HALF the food we had. The other half took up the other counters.

The other half of the buffet which spilled on to the back counters.

Two of my rock stars, Rachael and Ashley were the life of the party!

These kids are so much fun! (And no, I didn't give Will the black eye.)

Towards the end of the party, I realized I had prepared a low(er) fat version of a five layer dip. But I had stored it in the downstairs fridge and forgotten to set it out on the table. It was recipe straight from foodnetwork.com by Ellie Krieger, a celebrity chef/nutritionist. It was very yummy and made for a great midnight snack.

http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ellie-krieger/five-layer-mexican-dip-recipe/index.html

Five Layer Dip (Laura's Favorite!)

Ingredients

• 2 teaspoons olive oil
• 1 medium onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced (I would use WAY more garlic than this.)
• 1 (15.5-ounce) can black beans, preferably low-sodium, drained and rinsed
• 1 tablespoon minced chipotle pepper in adobo (Next time, I would skip this and add jalapeno, roughly chopped or two to the onion garlic mixture.)
• 4 tablespoons lime juice
• 1/4 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon water
• 1/2 teaspoon salt (I salted each layer of the dip.)
• 2 cups corn kernels (10-ounce box frozen corn)
• 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves
• 2 ripe avocados
• 4 medium tomatoes, seeded and diced (about 2 cups)
• 1/4 cup thinly sliced scallion (I used a small red onion.)
• 1 tablespoon finely diced jalapeno pepper, optional
• 3/4 cup shredded extra-sharp Cheddar

Directions

Heat the oil in a skillet over medium-high heat. Add onions (and jalapeno, if using) and cook until they soften, about 3 minutes. Stir in the garlic and cook for 2 minutes more.

Put half of the onion (and all the jalapenos) mixture into a food processor with the black beans, chipotle pepper (optional), 2 tablespoons of the lime juice, cumin, water and salt. Puree until smooth. Set aside.

Add the corn to the skillet with the remaining onion mixture and cook for about 3 minutes. Remove from the heat and stir in the cilantro leaves. (Add a pinch of salt.)

In a small bowl mash the avocado with the remaining lime juice. (Add a pinch of salt.) In a medium bowl toss together the tomatoes, scallion and jalapeno, if using. Season tomato mixture with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread the black bean dip into the bottom of an 8 by 8 glass baking or serving dish. Top with the corn mixture, spreading it out to form a single layer over the beans, repeat with the avocado, then the tomatoes. Top with cheese. Serve with baked chips.

Per Serving:

Makes 12 servings. Calories 140; Total Fat 8 g; (Sat Fat 2 g, Mono Fat 3 g, Poly Fat 0.7 g) ; Protein 5g; Carb 16 g; Fiber 5g; Cholesterol 6mg; Sodium 245 mg

I have a wonderful family! My uncle Sean brought his guitar and it didn't take long to whip it out and start singing.

Katelin, my cousin, made my birthday card by hand and even included a lovely rap.

"Got them yellows, got them purples... wika wika wika"

Laura, my wonderful and talented student, made me this candle!

She'd like you all to know she's fundraising for her junior year abroad and you too can have one of these candles!

I had a wonderful and memorable night! I really wish I could have posted the recipe for the best Carrot Cake in the world, but Carrie Fischer, the local expert baker, will only tell me her secret ingredient is carrot baby food.

Happy Birthday to ME! It was truly the best year ever.