Sweet and Sour Pork Chops w/ fried rice

Tonight I made this recipe I came across for Sweet and Sour Pork Chops. It's been forever since I've ordered sweet and sour anything, so I can't tell you if it tastes the same. Paul's stuffy, so he was unable to provide any feedback as well. It did, however, get a 3 out of 4 kid rating. Cooper decided he didn't really like the taste but he did try it. YAY!

As a side, I made this fried rice recipe here. I could not find carrots and peas in the frozen section, so I used carrots, peas, green beans and corn mix. Again, 3 out of 4 kids LOVED this. Addison was not feeling it.

Now if I could only get all 4 kids to like something, we might have a peaceful dinner. Dare I dream...

Shepard's Pie

I decided to make Shepard's Pie a while back, and it actually was a big hit with the kids. Well, except for Addison, which is odd because she typically eats everything and anything.

I came across this recipe for Shepard's Pie. It turned out really great and like I said, 3 out of 4 kids liked it. The great thing about this dish is how changable it is. Don't have peas, no problem. Want to add rice, go for it. Don't like beef, use turkey.

The first time I follwed the directions exactly. A few weeks ago, I made it with rice, green beans and corn. Last night, I just used corn. I also (gasp) used instant potatoes the past few times because I didn't feel like mashing potatoes. It tasted great. My potatoes are never brown like in the picture as I don't broil the dish...the kids would complain about the burnt potatoes because anything brown is burnt :/

Genevieve's 1st Birthday Party

We celebrated Genevieve's 1st birthday this past Sunday on Oct 2nd! I can't believe she is already 1. Time has flown by so quickly.

Her outfit came just in time. I ordered her a tutu set from Etsy and was really worried that it wouldn't arrive in time. When it finally came on Friday, I couldn't have been happier. She wasn't too fond of all the tulle though LOL

Being that it's a preplanned party, of course Jenna wasn't feeling 100%. She had a rough night the night before and we just knew she was off. She was still happy, except when I made her wear the tutu LOL. I took this pic right before she sneezed...



We just had the party at our house since we didn't want to have to stress about the weather. Even though it was a beautiful day, it was pretty chilly out. We didn't go crazy with the decorations. I made some tulle pom poms, we hung a "Happy Birthday" sign, and I put out a matching table cloth. Woo hoo!

I wanted her to have a special cake for her first birthday, so I found someone that made speciality cakes. She has a facebook page in case anyone wants to check it out ( Coop des Cakes). I told her what the theme was and sent her the invite that I had made. I had no idea what the cake would look like, so I was really excited when it was delivered. 

The cake was perfect and matched the invitation exactly. It was yellow cake with chocolate buttercream in the middle, vanilla buttercream on the outside. So delicious! I should have taken a pic of the inside but totally didn't think of it at the time. I did sort of get a pic while Jenna was have a piece...

I made punch for the drinks. I got the recipe here while browsing pinterest. It was simple and I liked the colors.

Punch In a Punch Bowl Recipe – mix together the following: 1 – 2 liter bottle of Sprite or 7UP 2 cups of orange juice top with scoops of orange sherbet frozen raspberries .

After singing Happy Birthday, G got to smash into her own special cake. She seemed a little shy at first, but it didn't take her long to realize that that cake was pretty tasty!

After cake, she opened her gifts.

Group photo of us and the kids...

It was a fantastic day. Thanks so much to those of you that were able to stop by on her special day!

Mommy and Daddy love you baby girl!xoxo



S'Mores Sandwich Bar Cookies

Ashleigh was suppose to have a reading "camp out" at school on the day we had to pull her out early to leave for our WV/PA trip. They were suppose to read stories and make S'Mores. She was super excited, until I gave her the news that she wouldn't be there for it. I told her we would make some S'Mores Cookies ( I received the recipe in the mail) the night before we left for the trip for a snack on the way up, but sadly we never got the opportunity.

We finally made them today. Ashleigh was busy playing out side, but Cooper and Addison took some time out to help.

***SN: Mixer was not on when pictures were taken :)

Cooper holding the mixer.                                          Addison taking her turn with the mixer.

Addison adding the Vanilla.                                       Cooper cracking an egg.

Both of them pouring the dry ingredients in.

They would be helping out if they didn't get to lick the beaters...

We mixed everything together and placed part of the cake mixture into the pan....

Baked and then added the chocolate...

Added the marshmallows and the rest of the cake mix...

Baked again...

And after cooling for a while (could have been longer but everyone was excited to try it)...

It turned out super good according to everyone ( I haven't had a piece yet)...Cooper even asked me to make them again ;)

S'Mores Sandwich Bar Cookies
Ingredients

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, softened

3/4 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1-1/3 cups flour

3/4 cup graham crackers, coarsely chopped  (I put them in the blender for a thinner consistancy) 

1 teaspoon baking powder

1/4 teaspoon salt

5 Hershey Milk Chocolate Bars (1.55oz  each)

3 cups miniature marshmallows

Instructions

1. Heat over to 350*. Grease 8 inch square baking pan.

2. Beat butter and sugar until well blended in large bowl. Add egg and vanilla; beat well. Stir togetherflour, graham cracker crumbs, baking powder,and salt; add to butter mixture, beating until blended. Press half of dough into the pan. Bake 15 minutes.

3. Arrange unwrapped chocolate bars over baked layer, breaking as needed to fit. Sprinkle on marshmallows; scatter bits of remaining dough over marshmallows, forming a top layer. Bake 10-15 minutes or until lightly brown (I cooked for 18 minutes). Cool completely in pan on wire rack. Cut into 16 bars.