Boom Chicka POP

I was telling a good friend of mine cravings I was having during this pregnancy. One of them being popcorn. Around 2 o'clock everyday you can guess where I am, making a bowl of popcorn and indulging the savory taste of each popped kernel. She then proceeded to go grab a bag of popcorn she had picked up from the store and told me to try it out!!   OMG!! LOVE LOVE LOVE this popcorn!! and I don't feel guilty for eating almost the entire bag:) it is that good! I have found it at Byerly's and Rainbow Foods. 

 Boomchickapop

Betty Crocker in the Making!

Hiee! Momma thinks I am napping... little does she know I snuck into the computer room and found my way to write this post!! Hehee:)
I love helping my mom out in the kitchen...especially getting into the bread drawer(I see she already told you about that in another post) oh and pulling all the pot holders out, and when I can,  rearrange her spice rack(dad put a lock on that draw too so when mom opens it...BAMM! I right there to help her pick out a spice or two!!) 

Now that I am a "big" girl she lets me help her when she bakes yummy food:) The other day she let me help make Rice Krispy Treats!! Who knew they were so easy to make!! Here are a few pictures of me making Rice Krispy Treats with her!! I am such a big helper...

First we measured out the Rice Krispies

                              Then you dump the marshmallows in...

momma says every good cook tastes what they are making...so I had to test out a marshmallow or two!

no worries, momma didn't turn the stove on, she was lettin' me practice stirring!!

CHEEEEESE!

The best part....Lickin' the spoon(can't let any of those krispy treats go to waste)

All Grown Up!???!!

Addison and I were out shopping the other day and stopped to get pizza for lunch. We sat down to eat our pizza and as usual I will cut the pizza up into small bites for her so she can pick them up with her hand or try to stab the pieces with her fork. To my dismay she started to throw a fit and swiping her arms across her tray like she did not want them(keep in mind pizza is one of her favs) and she kept pointing to the plate on the table(where the rest of the pizza was) I soon realized she wanted to eat like mom and hold the entire slice of pizza in her own two hands!!! Or in her words..."enough with the baby bites mom...I want the whole slice!!!"

Top 5 Pumpkin Ideas

Now what do we do with you Mr. Pumpkin?!!!?

5.

So lets start with the pie that is a must have at every Thanksgiving dinner...I have to admit I am not a pumpkin pie fan...I know I know, what world did I come from right!! well, I have just never really ever been a fan of it, but now maybe this year I will search for a good recipe and see if I can master the art of pumpkin pie making:) (side note if I were to make pumpkin pie it would not look anything like the picture above, I am almost sure of this, my pie would probably be burnt, and a little lopsided...who knows)

4.

Oh no no...DO NOT I repeat DO NOT let those pumpkin seeds go to waste!! It is kinda gross but get  your hands dirty and separate the seeds from the slimy innards!! Put the seeds in the collandar and rinse them off. After rinsing lay the seeds out on your baking sheet to dry. After the seeds dry place them in a bowl and coat them with olive oil and creole seasoning(or whatever seasoning fancys you) Turn the oven to 350 and bake for 40minutes! Then wa la!! the best tasting pumpkin seeds EVER!!!

3.

Make Pumpkin Gingerbread !! I found this recipe online at allrecipes.com. This recipe is actually what inspired me to figure out ideas on how to get the best use out of our halloween pumpkin. This bread warm out of the over with your favorite cup of jo is mmmm delish!!

2.

Pumpkin Ice Cream!???! who would've thought!! well, whoever did, GENIUS!! I will have to go and search for a good recipe for this, but I am sure it wont be hard:) Since ice cream is a favorite around here I thought I would try my hand at making homemade pumpkin ice cream!!

AND the #1 idea IS....

1.

Well, you gotta puree the pumpkin to get to any of the above... right!! :-) I found way to puree my pumpkin...I scraped out the innards and cut the pumpkin up into 1/4 sections, put some water in the bottom of my baking pans and placed the sections in the pan. Then I turned the oven on to 450 and let them bake for 45minutes. After letting them cool I scraped the pumpkin off of the skin and placed in my food processor for pureeing. I am not good at guessing how big our pumpkin was but I got 8 16oz jars of pumkin puree!! If you are in the giving mood you could can the puree and put some ribbon around the jar and give the pumpkin puree as a gift:)

Happy Pumpkining!!

Cashew Chicken Thai Salad

YUMMEEE is all I can say about this recipe. I found it on http://www.cookinglight.com/ . I have to admit I changed a few things about the recipe... for instance, the recipe is actually called Peanut Chicken Soba Salad. I grilled the chicken in a frying pan instead of boiling it, and then cooked the cashews(I also used cashews instead of peanuts) with the chicken for a few minutes. Instead of Soba noodles (I could not find these noodles for the life of me) I used Pad Thai noodles. Being that I love lots of sauce I doubled the ingredients for the dressing as well!!(just an FYI the sauce recipe below is not doubled) All I can say is we love love love this salad. I think it just became a regular meal around the Ver Strate household!!!

Ingredients
Asian Seasoning
6-ounce) skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
4 teaspoons unsalted, dry-roasted cashews

Sauce
1 tablespoon rice vinegar
2 tablespoons roasted peanut oil
2 teaspoons low-sodium soy sauce
1 teaspoon honey
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 bag of Pad Thai noodles cooked
1 cup grated carrot
1/2 cup thinly sliced green onions
1/4 cup minced red onion
1/4 cup chopped fresh basil
Lime wedges (optional)

Preparation
Cut the chicken into salad pieces and season with Asian Seasoning. Cooking in frying pan until done. Add the nuts and cook for 5 minutes. (Set aside)
Combine vinegar and next 5 ingredients (vinegar through salt), stirring with a whisk. Pour over chicken; let stand 5 minutes. Add Pad Thai noodles and the next 4 ingredients (noodles through chopped basil) to chicken mixture, and toss well. Garnish with lime wedges, if desired.

a few of my favorite things....

mmmm...nothing like waking up to a cup of coffee and strawberries topped off with some Nutella Chocolate!
BUT.... I would have to say my absolute favorite to wake up to in the morning is this....

my little bella babe is such a joy and so much fun. She has the best giggles and cutest smile that could brighten up your day:) She deffinately knows how to fill the room with laughter!