Where does the time go????

I am certain it was just yesterday that we welcomed a beautiful 8lb 8oz baby boy into this world and now today he is approaching his twelfth birthday and winding down his first year of middle school...how did this happen? How could my third child, Emily Grace be turning six next month? She was just a baby the other day....and then there is Tori, who in a matter of minutes went from curly headed toddler belting out every song by The Wiggles to a training bra wearing, boy loving, giggling as she dances to Lady Gaga nine year old....this just is not possible...Where did the time go??? As for Chris and myself, were we not just on the beach in Cayman reciting our wedding vows??? Newlyweds, strolling along Cemetery beach...sipping tropical drinks all afternoon...was that really 16 years ago...Is it really possible that this weekend we are celebrating Chris' 53rd birthday...and I would really like to know how in the world I could possibley have just turned FORTY...there must be a mistake...truly...I can't be forty years old already!!! Someone needs to explain this one to me, seriously! Guess I cannot leave out my wonderful baby brother, Jake...sweet little blue eyed monster that used to pull my hair and call me booger breath. Where did he go? I just spent time with him last weekend and he did not pull my hair or call me goofy names....somewhere along the way, get this...he grew up...lives in a wonderful home with the love of his life and their sweet Molly dog. He has a great career and future. The holy terror from my childhood is now a responsible, amazing, loving ADULT! I suppose I should quit calling him my baby brother now that he decided to turn 34....really, he was a a baby just yesterday, I swear he was.

I know I will blink and Harrison will be driving or worse...leaving for college! Another blink and Tori will be picking china patterns and wedding gowns. If I blink again, Emily will be the mommy and that will make me the "Gigi" (grandmother, for those outside our family). One more blink and Chris and I are no longer talking about growing old together...we will be old together!

Where does the time go???

God Bless and Goodnight y'all!

rox

Avocado Cucumber Salad

Great Summertime Salad! One of my go to recipes...Enjoy!


1 tbsp plus 1 tsp apple cider vinegar
1 tbsp olive oil
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 fresh black pepper
1 cup cherry or grape tomatoes, quartered
1 diced peeled avocado
2 cups chopped cucumber

Combine first four ingredients in a jar or dressing cruet & shake to combine. Place remaining ingredients in a bowl; add vinegar mixture and toss to coat. Serve immediately.

Happy Mother's Day

I hope all the Moms in my world know how truly inspiring they are to me. I suppose I should let them know how I feel about them more often! Growing up in one foster home after another, Mother's Day was not a day of celebration for me. My social worker would pick me up and take me to the designated meeting place and I would spend a couple of hours with my Mom. The card or pictures I made for her never seemed to elicit the reaction I wanted from her. I wanted her to cry and hug me and tell me she would protect me forever and ever-that she missed me every single day and was sorry for what had happened in our family.

Fast Forward to this morning when my sweet Emily proudly presented me with a beautiful photograph of herself framed in silver painted macaroni noodles...I hugged her for what seemed like an eternity and cried...big crocodile tears of pure happiness! My precious Tori was next...Her Dove shaped card and poem about "the BEST Mom in the World", again brought me to tears. My big boy, now to old for noodle frames and cards gave his Mom a huge hug and peanut butter cups (my favorite)!

I am humbled by the fact that God has blessed my life with these three amazingly beautiful children!!! In my world each and every day is Mother's Day - days filled with hugs and kisses, bedtime stories and belly laughs. I tell my children each and every day how much I love them and that I miss them terribly when they are away from me.

Happy Mother's Day to all of the fabulous Moms in my life!!!

God Bless,

rox

My Favorite Remoulade Sauce

A friend asked me for this recipe yesterday...e-mailed it to her and she just sent me a note to let me know she loves it :) So...here is my fav remoulade-serve with boiled shrimp, crab cakes, poached salmon, even chicken tenders. If you have never had remoulade, think spicy mustard vinaigrette.


1/2 cup mayo
1 1/2 tsp coarse grain mustard
1 tsp tomato paste
1/2 tsp minced shallot
2 tbsp minced dill pickle
1 1/2 tsp minced scallions
1/8 tsp Worcestershire sauce
1/4 tsp Old Bay Seasoning
1 1/2 tsp minced flat-leaf parsley
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp red wine vinegar

Mix all ingredients in a glass bowl and stir to combine. Cover and chill for at least an hour.

The Final Push....

WHEW!!!! I am pooped.... I feel like I have been in labor the last few weeks and am finally down to the final push...Chris' surgery was a success last week..Praise The Lord, our sweet little school carnival is this Friday - my job as Prize Drawing Chair has been an incredible roller coaster ride....can't wait to see all the hard work come to light on Friday! As carnival comes to a crescendo....I am already working on my school duties for next year-Art Expo...Yippee!!! I LOVE Art Expo and have already gotten the ball rolling. The kids are all winding down and quite ready for summer and to top it off I am flying home next week to see Jake & Lora :)As much as I will miss Chris and my sweet babies, I am really looking forward to a few moments of "me time"! "What's For Dinner Mom" menus will be up and running Monday May 17th. Houston peeps check your in boxes. I will also start posting recipes as soon as things quiet down...I have a backlog of recipes to share.

Have a wonderful evening and God Bless!

rox

Calzones

The combinations are endless when you make these tasty calzones! The hardest part of this recipe is taking the time to reduce the pasta sauce into a thick and tasty pizza sauce....which is soooooo much better for you than the jarred pizza sauces that are available.

1 jar of your favorite organic marinara ( I love Glen Muir brand)
1 recipe pizza dough (see my fav pizza dough recipe)
turkey or chicken italian sausage, casing removed, crumbled & browned
turkey pepperoni
lo-fat mozzarella cheese, shredded
mushrooms, sliced
black olives,sliced
lo-fat ricotta cheese

In a medium saucepan, simmer pasta sauce until reduced by about half...will take 30-40 minutes. When sauce is reduced, remove from heat & let cool.

Preheat oven to 450. If using a pizza stone (which I highly recommend) place stone in oven.

Cut pizza dough balls into 8 pieces. Lightly oil a large cutting board and roll each dough piece into a 6" circle. Add a couple tbsp sauce, leaving a 1" border. Add your pizza toppings (let your imagination go wild) fold dough over filling and pinch to seal seam tightly.

Transfer calzones to hot pizza stone and bake 15-18 minutes or until calzones are bubbly and browned/blistered on top.

Remove from oven and enjoy! My daughter Tori, loves to dip her calzones in pizza sauce. My other daughter Emily is into ranch dressing as her dipping sauce.

Filling Ideas

For Cheese Calzones - mix a couple tbsp ricotta with course salt, fresh cracked pepper and a pinch of italian seasoning. place on one half of calzone, top with mozzarella cheese.

Pepperoni - place 6-8 pepperoni rounds on calzone & top with mozzarella cheese.

Sausage,mushroom & black olive - you get the idea :)

My Favorite Pizza Dough

I have tried numerous recipes for pizza dough and this is my favorite by far...org from Martha Stewart's mag Everyday Food (great reading)! I use this dough for pizza, bread sticks and calzones.

1 1/2 cups warm (115 degrees) water
2 packets ( ounce each) active dry yeast
1/4 cup olive oil, plus more for bowl
2 tablespoons sugar
2 teaspoons coarse salt
2 cups all-purpose flour (spooned and leveled), plus more for kneading
2 cups whole-wheat flour (spooned and leveled)



Place water in a large bowl; sprinkle with yeast. Let stand until foamy, about 5 minutes. Brush another large bowl with oil.
In bowl with yeast, whisk sugar, oil, and salt. Stir in flours with a wooden spoon until a sticky dough forms. Transfer to oiled bowl; brush top of dough with oil. Cover bowl with plastic wrap; let stand in a warm spot until dough has doubled in size, about 1 hour.
Turn dough out onto a well-floured surface. With floured hands, knead until smooth, about 15 seconds; divide into two balls.

To Freeze

Set balls on a plate (they should not touch); freeze until firm, about 1 hour. Then freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Thaw overnight in refrigerator.

Divide each ball of dough into 4 pieces. Using your hands, stretch each piece into a 5-inch disk (if dough becomes too elastic to work with, let it rest a few minutes). Freeze shells on two parchment-lined baking sheets. Stack frozen shells between layers of parchment paper. Freeze in a freezer bag up to 3 months. Bake from frozen.

You can also roll each thawed dough ball into 10-12" pizza shells for family size pizzas...I like making the personal 5" shells because my kiddos love to make their own on pizza night.