In My Kitchen {The BEST Tortilla Soup!}

Tonight I made Rick Bayless' Sopa Azteca.

My friend Jill, had shared that this was her favorite soup recipe, so I thought I would give it a try.

It truly is so delicious, and easy to make and tasted like it was made in Rick's Chicago restaurant!

Definitely a must try!!

Lucy bakes♥ {28/365}

Carmel Corn {27/365}

Yesterday~

Yesterday was an exciting day for my Lucy!

Her "little" fashion video was featured on one of my (and Lucy's:)  FAVORITE designer's blog....Tracy Porter!

Tracy is a designer of fashion and home goods living in Santa Barbara CA.  Her blog has quickly become a favorite to so many...on it she shares cooking, decorating, and fashion posts and videos.  Lucy enjoys going back through the archives and watching many of her cooking videos, but it seems a quick snippet Tracy did on scarves really "spoke" to her :)

You can visit Tracy here

You can watch Lucy's videos here and here :)

My friend Virginia has also done a very sweet post on Lucy HERE!

{25/365}

Chop Chop Magazine

Have you heard of ChopChop Magazine??

I hadn't!

Lucy and I were in the Doctors office and picked up this issue they were giving away. 

 It is a great little magazine for any child who LOVES to cook like my girl.  The recipes are healthy and easy, but I think the best part for Lucy was that they show kids doing the cooking...she loved that!

One of the articles compares white and brown rice.  This was perfect for us, as brown rice is ALL I make, and everytime I do, Lucy reminds me that she likes white rice :)...so we read it together :)

Here is how ChopChop describes their magazine...

"ChopChop is a quarterly food magazine and website for kids aged 5-12 and their families. ChopChop’s mission is to educate kids to cook and be nutritionally literate, empower them to actively participate as health partners with their families and help establish and support better eating habits for a lifetime of good nutrition. ChopChop’s vision is to reverse and prevent childhood obesity.

The magazine is filled with nutritious, great-tasting, ethnically diverse and inexpensive recipes, as well as interesting and little-known food facts, Q&A’s and games."

I love the idea of a magazine for kids who love to cook that is full of healthy recipes!!

Bennett & Delaney {24/365}

Bennett & Delaney

Delaney & Bennett

that's just the way it is!

In My Kitchen {Pam's Herbed Baguette} {22/365}

Today I made Pam's recipe for this bread...it is delicious!!

The boys came downstairs because they could smell it in the oven, and then waited until it was done.  We all stood around the cutting board eating warm bread!

Blake told me not to bother buying french bread from the grocery store anymore...I think it was a hit!

Candyland {21/365}

(I like how Mr. Yellow is in focus and the others are not :)

(this one was Bennett's favorite)

In My Kitchen {Sweet Potatoes} {20/365}

mmmm, I love sweet potatoes.
 I just peel, slice, drizzle a little olive oil, add some fresh ground pepper and roast until tender....they are so sweet and delicous.  

My Sweet Girl (again) {19/365}

Lucy with her new orthotic

you can read about it here

Lucy is sick :( {18/365}

the best I could do today...

I spent the afternoon at Urgent Care with little Lucy, it seems she has a kidney infection :(

praying her antibiotics are just what the Dr ordered

Blake {17/365}

In My Kitchen {Homemade Cinnamon Rolls} {16/365}

Today is a wet grey day and what is better than staying in and making yummy comfort food.

I got my recipe from my friend Lori~

Lovely shade of Grey {15/365}

The sky has been this grey all day...

Kickin Back {14/365}

Smokey {13/365}

What a good dog!

Texas Pinecones {12/365}

I received these lovelies yesterday from my friend Cindy

Lucy Joy {11/365}

In My Kitchen {Garlic butter rubbed Chicken with roasted oranges and onions}

I made the most delicious roasted chicken...my whole house smelled amazing!

The last time I made roasted chicken I made this one and it was delicious too!

I love dinners like this on a cold winter's night~

You can find the recipe in the January issue of Martha Stewart Living

Lucy's "treat" on cast day! {10/365}

{9/365}

This is a great Christmas gift we got this year...it's called TableTopics/Family.

Each card has a question on it to spark conversation with your kids

Hummingbird {8/365}

Lucy's Cast {7/365}

You can read about the cast here.

Our Paperboy {6/365}

Our local paper went back to having youth carriers

We thought this would be a great job for Bennett...he does not "love" his job, but he does "love" his paycheck, and we love the responsibility it teaches him :)

BlueJay in the Backyard {5/365}

Lucy's Shopping Cart {4/365}

This little shopping cart is a permanent fixture in our family room :)

Lucy loads this baby up with all of her cooking supplies and pushes it into the family room and does cooking "videos" for any and all who happen to be in the same room.

Her specialties are chocolate ganache, chicken, bread pudding, sauted shallots and mushrooms...the list goes on!

Her favorite cooking shows are Giada and the Barefoot Contessa!

Personalized M&M's {3/365}

So...day 3 and time got away from me...so this is all I've got :)...NOT a good sign for the other 362 days!

but really...how cool is it that you can order M&M's for any occasion, in any color??

These just happen to be an order mistake, so we get to eat them!!

Books I'm Reading {2/365}

On my bedside table, I keep of stack of books that I am reading or planning to read.  This is what I have there now....

Emma...my friend Candy gifted me this book for Christmas to start my collection I shared about here :)
My friend Pam, loves Jhumpa Lahiri, this is the second book from her I will have read, and I do like her writing
Revolutionary Road...honestly, I just found it on my bookshelf, and thought, why not
One of my New Year's goals is to read the Bible through this year, so far so good :)...Kim inspired me to do this!

Last year, I kept track of all the books I read on my sidebar as a way to stay accountable and watch the list grow.  Here is what I read in 2010

~Little Bee (loved!)

~Three Cups of Tea (loved!)

~The Help (LOVED!) 

~Twilight (good)

~Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Society (LOVED!)

~Notes from the Underwire-Adventures from My Awkward and Lovely Life (good/funny)

~Museum-Behind the scenes at the Metropolitan Museum of Art

(fun read/interesting)

~Dominque Browning's - Around the House and in the Garden (love her!)

~Unaccustomed Earth - Jhumpa Lahiri (good)

~New Moon (good, still working on the series :)

~The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (yuck...NOT my style at all!)

I hope to see my list for 2011...MUCH longer!

Happy Reading!

Project 365 {1/365}

I have wanted to participate in Project 365 for a couple of years...so this year I thought I would finally give it a shot :)

I think it will be a great way to play with my camera, and finally really start "using" it!

Probably not the best start...the house was dark, so light was not good, and I am thinking Photoshop needs to be on my *must have list*, so I can use some of the wonderful actions that are available.

Christmas cards are my favorite part of the Season

I usually leave our cards out for quite awhile...it is so fun to look through them all... and I love what my friend Kim shared about leaving them out all year and randomly praying for families...what a fantastic idea!

☀CHEERS to 2011☀

Wishing you a Happy and Healthy 2011!