The Aqua Owl

Our week in the South Bay this past week was FANTASTIC! It was wonderful to see old friends, meet new ones, eat delicious sushi again! Play at the beach, go to Disneyland, and relax in the warm sun. Not to mention, our beautiful baby girl was baptized in the Pacific Ocean just like her brother Liam was a few years ago. It was a very meaningful/loving event! I have a few pictures to post and then have to pick the kids up from school. I am going to make an Asparagus-Tune Casserole recipe that I read in BH&G Look for that tomorrow night! Chef Liam and I are going to tackle the task together! Enjoy the photos and I'll see you back here tomorrow... xoxo Our first night on the beach in Hermosa President's Day spent at the beach with our friends, The Wamstad Family...yes, they have 4 kids! Such a fun day! Jedi training for Liam at Disney, he LOVED it! Battling Darth Vader Thrilled beyond words, I think that his smile says it all :) Mommy got suckered into this high flying ...

Happy Valentine's Day... a day late! We had a fun, sugared up, and crazy day. I woke up to the best Valentine's Day card I have ever received! Trey and the kids made this huge banner, complete with this list of things they love! If you are having a hard time reading it, don't worry, I did too :) I love you sweetheart!  And your terrible handwriting! One of Liam's Valentine gifts was a Chef's apron and hat. I bought Leighton and I matching ones several months ago.  Liam was bummed and wanted his own. I stumbled across this one on Zulily a few months ago. I think I paid $17.99 for it.  Liam LOVES it! Today he and I made Pork Enchiladas. Ingredients: Half a pork loin cooked and finely diced (I marinated mine with a balsamic glaze a few weeks ago, grilled, and then froze the leftovers) 1 can refried black beans 1/2 bag frozen southwest corn mix 1 bag Uncle Ben's ready to eat brown rice 2 cups shredded cheddar cheese, divided 8 tortillas (I use the raw ones fro...

Oh my goodness, this soup is fantastic! So rustic, with loads of flavor and hearty too! I got the recipe from the following blog: http://madebygirl.blogspot.com/2012/02/food-white-bean-kale-soup.html Ingredients I used: 1 pound mild Italian sausage (browned, drained and set aside) 1 Tbs. evoo 3 carrots, peeled and finely chopped 1 shallot finely chopped 1 tsp. mixed herb seasoning (I used a zesty blend) 2 cans reduced sodium chicken broth 1 cup heavy cream (whipping or table, I used table) 1 can navy beans (rinsed and drained) 1 bunch fresh kale, washed and roughly chopped In a large pot- saute evoo, carrots, shallot, and 1 tsp. mixed herb seasoning on medium heat for about 3-4 minutes. Add chicken broth and cream, bring to a boil. Add the sausage, turn to med. low and simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Then add the beans & kale and continue to simmer on low for another 30 minutes. Serve with some crusty bread. Enjoy!! Whoops!  Deleted all of my soup photos before saving them...

Another long hiatus from blogging... we have been busy making and creating, I just have been really bad about sitting down at the computer and uploading everything! Leighton helping me make Lemon Blueberry Bread. Daddy and Liam were up at Winter Park skiing. Following in big brother's footsteps, she LOVES to cook! Unfortunately, like many of my baking experiments, it failed. The bread needed more lemon (in my humble opinion) and the blueberries needed to be finely chopped... they all sunk to the bottom :( Failure number TWO! Although we had lots of fun making homemade granola, something happened and the "bars" did not solidify. We ended up just eating it plain, Trey had some over ice cream. The recipe calls for butter, brown sugar, oats, and a few TBS of flour. I tried adding dried cranberries and slivered almonds.   I think the cranberries may have been too much for the butter and sugar to caramelize properly. I will try this recipe again though. My neighbor made th...