Texas Ranger Fan

James had his 9th birthday party at Perkins Family Bowling in Marshall.

Front of his birthday invitation.

 

I made his cake, cookies and cupcakes and Paula helped me decorate them.

Doesn't seem like it has been 9 years since I carried him out of the delivery room for everyone to see.

Below big sister, Joyce, meets little brother, James. This little girl turns 13 this year. We are already planning her party and she is designing her cake. (it's not until August but I might have to start practicing on what she wants)

Luke's Basketball Game

Here are some pictures of  Luke's last two basketball games this season. They had two games on Saturday, February 26th. They lost the 1st game but won the 2nd. Luke made 2 points at the buzzer in the first game.

After his game we went to their house for a few minutes before heading back to go to James' birthday party in Marshall. Luke and Avery have two new kittens.

Candy Dr. Pepper Bouquet

I am a little late on posting so I will try to get caught up in the next several days.

Here are pictures of the candy Dr. Pepper bouquet that I made and delivered to James at school for his 9th birthday on February 24th. I originally had planned on making him a cookie bouquet but wasn't sure how they would hold up all day at school plus I was planning on making cookies for his party the following Saturday. He loves Dr. Pepper so I think this bouquet was a hit.

Grilled Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas

I found another good recipe from Pioneer Woman...Grilled Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas. I used Tony Chachere's original creole seasoning and sliced marinated jalapeno peppers instead of using fresh peppers. I chopped my chicken instead of slicing as she does. Also I forgot to add the cilantro inside but they were still very good and I will definitely make them again. 

 

Grilled Chicken Pineapple Quesadillas

 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/05/grilled-chicken-pineapple-quesadillas/

 

Ingredients

• 8 whole Flour Tortillas
• Butter Or Margarine
• 2 cups Grilled Pineapple, Sliced
• 3 whole Boneless, Skinless Chicken Breasts
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• 3 cups Monterey Jack Cheese, Grated
• 1 whole Jalapeno, Sliced
• Cilantro
• 3 Tablespoons Barbecue Sauce

Preparation Instructions

(To grill pineapple: cut wedges, stick on skewers, and grill over low heat. Cut into slices.)

(To pound chicken, place inside a Ziploc bag and pound with a mallet or large can to flatten to uniform thickness.) Sprinkle with salt and pepper and Cajun spice (or cumin/cayenne, etc.) Drizzle olive oil on a grill pan and grill on both sides until done, brushing with barbecue sauce. Set aside and slice into very thin slices. 

Warm griddle over medium heat and put sizzling butter or margarine in the pan. Slightly warm and toast tortillas on both sides, then remove from griddle and set aside. 

To assemble, sprinkle four browned tortillas with grated Monterey Jack. Arrange chicken slices evenly over the surface. Add pineapple slices and jalapeno slices. Sprinkle on cilantro. If desired, drizzle extra barbecue sauce over the top. Add second browned tortilla on top of each one. (You’ll have four complete quesadillas at this point.)

Add to oven to warm, or back to skillet to warm, until cheese is melted. Cut each quesadilla into six wedges. Serve with sour cream, pico de gallo, and lime wedges.

Pizza

I have been wanting to make  Pioneer Woman's pizza ever since reading about it on Randi and Anna's blogs. Finally several weeks ago I made some. I loved the pizza crust recipe and it will be the recipe I use from now on. (see recipe below or click on the link)

On Sunday I made the dough for two pizzas and let the dough sit in the refrigerator until Wednesday when I made a pizza using my own toppings of chicken, roasted red peppers, onions, mushrooms and mozzarella cheese.  I used the other dough on Thursday to made the caramelized-onion -prosciutto pizza. (see recipe below or click on the link)

Here are pictures of the pizzas before and after I baked them.

 

Basic Pizza Crust 

http://thepioneerwoman.com/tasty-kitchen/recipes/main-courses/basic-pizza-crust/

Ingredients

• 1 teaspoon Instant Or Active Dry Yeast
• 1-½ cup Warm Water
• 4 cups All-purpose Flour
• 1 teaspoon Kosher Salt
• ⅓ cups Olive Oil

Preparation Instructions

Sprinkle yeast over 1 1/2 cups warm (not lukewarm) water. Let stand for a few minutes. In a mixer, combine flour and salt. With the mixer running on low speed (with paddle attachment), drizzle in olive oil until combined with flour. Next, pour in yeast/water mixture and mix until just combined, and the dough comes together in a sticky mass.

Coat a separate mixing bowl with a light drizzle of olive oil, and form the dough into a ball. Toss to coat dough in olive oil, then cover the bowl tightly with plastic wrap and set it aside for 1 to 2 hours, or store in the fridge until you need it. 

Note: it’s best to make the dough at least 24 hours in advance, and 3 or 4 days is even better.

When you are ready to make the pizza, grab HALF the pizza dough (recipe makes 2 crusts) and squeeze the dough toward the bottom to form a nice, tight, pulled ball. You can roll out the pizza with a rolling pin if you’d like, but sometimes it’s just as easy to throw it around and pull and stretch till it feels right. And when the crust is nice and thin, lay it on an oiled baking sheet or pizza pan. Drizzle a little olive oil on the dough and spread it with your fingers. Very lightly sprinkle some salt on the crust.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees. Top your crust with your toppings of choice. Then bake for 15 to 17 minutes, or until crust is golden brown and toppings are bubbly.

Caramelized Onion Prosciutto Pizza

http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/2010/03/caramelized-onion-prosciutto-pizza/

Ingredients

• 1 whole Pizza Crust
• Olive Oil, For Drizzling
• 1 whole Large Red Onion, Halved And Thinly Sliced
• ¼ cups Brown Sugar
• Kosher Salt To Taste
• Parmesan Cheese, Grated
• 10 ounces, weight Fresh Mozzarella Cheese, Thinly Sliced
• 8 slices Prosciutto (more To Taste)

Preparation Instructions

 

Preheat oven to 500 degrees.Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet. Add onions and brown sugar and toss/stir for several minutes, or until onions are brown and cooked. Set aside.

Roll out pizza dough to a rectangular shape. Drizzle on olive oil, sprinkle on a little salt, followed by a little Parmesan. Lay slices of mozzarella evenly over the top of the crust. Arrange caramelized onions over the top of the mozzarella. Randomly lay slices of prosciutto over the onions. 

Bake for 15 to 17 minutes in the lower half of the oven, or until crust is golden brown. Remove from oven and cut into squares. Serve immediately.

Note:  I did not have red onions so I used sweet yellow onions.

Cheesecake of the Month

For February I made the golden-glazed lemon cheesecake recipe from my Taste of Home magazine. If you like lemon then you will love this cheesecake. 

Golden-Glazed Lemon Cheesecake 

Ingredients

2-1/2 cups graham cracker crumbs

1/4 cup sugar

2/3 cup butter, melted

FILLING:

3 packages (8 ounces each) cream cheese, softened

1-1/4 cups sugar

3 eggs, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons lemon juice

1 tablespoon grated lemon peel

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

GLAZE:

2 eggs

1 cup sugar

1/4 cup lemon juice

2 tablespoons grated lemon peel

6 tablespoons butter, melted

1 to 2 drops yellow food coloring

 

Directions

Combine the cracker crumbs, sugar and butter. Press onto the bottom and 2 in. up the sides of a greased 9-in. springform pan. Place on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 10 minutes or until set. Place pan on a wire rack (leave oven on).

• For filling, in a large bowl, beat cream cheese and sugar until smooth. Add eggs; beat on low speed until combined. Stir in the lemon juice, lemon peel and vanilla just until blended. Pour into crust. Return pan to baking sheet.
• Bake for 40-45 minutes or until center is almost set. Cool on a wire rack for 10 minutes. Carefully run a knife around edge of pan to loosen; cool 1 hour longer. Refrigerate overnight.
• For glaze, in a small heavy saucepan, whisk the eggs, sugar, lemon juice and peel until blended. Add butter; cook, whisking constantly, until mixture is thickened and coats the back of a metal spoon. Add food coloring if desired. Transfer to a small bowl; cool for 10 minutes. Cover and refrigerate until chilled.
• Spread glaze over cheesecake; garnish with raspberries if desired. Refrigerate leftovers. Yield: 16 servings.