tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-66273107540133034762024-03-18T20:58:49.179-07:004 PearsChristihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.comBlogger215125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-78432496507237302212013-05-06T13:55:00.001-07:002013-05-06T13:55:21.648-07:00Strawberry Buttermilk CakeWe are still going strong with the strawberries over here so I thought I'd share this simple cake recipe with you. It is a moist single layer cake without icing and it makes a great light summer dessert or a nice sweet breakfast pastry. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">Please excuse the camera phone picture!</span></div>
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I found this recipe on the blog <a href="http://marzipanmom.blogspot.com/search/label/Breakfast%2FMuffins%2FSweet%20Rolls">Marzipan</a> and the only thing I changed was to substitute chopped strawberries for the raspberries. (PS, I've made this with raspberries too and it was just as amazing!)</div>
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<a href="http://marzipanmom.blogspot.com/search/label/Breakfast%2FMuffins%2FSweet%20Rolls">Click on over</a> for the full recipe and pictures that do this cake a lot more justice. Enjoy!</div>
Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-38276737736600018542013-05-03T13:36:00.000-07:002013-05-03T13:36:14.321-07:00Playful FridayHere's how we've been playing this week!<br />
(Every Friday I'm sharing a quick look at how my boys and I played <i><b>together</b></i> over the course of the week....because they really do want Mommy to play sometimes too.)<br />
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<b>Monday - Alphabet Rice Box</b> (I dumped the pieces of an alphabet puzzle into our sensory box with rice...the boys had a blast digging them all out to put the puzzle together!)<br />
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<b>Tuesday - Bubble Bath Fun!</b><br />
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Sure we take baths all the time but this time we played together with our Cars (toys from the movie) instead of me relaxing with a book during the splash down.</div>
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<b>Wednesday - Fingerpaint</b><br />
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Alex making his masterpiece by using an empty water bottle as a stamp</div>
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<b>Thursday - Grilling in the new Playhouse</b></div>
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We decided to buy the boys' their large birthday gift a few (ahem 6) months early so they could enjoy it all summer!</div>
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I love that it is big enough for them to play together. Aaron's cooking corn on the stove while Alex grills me a burger. :)</div>
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<b>Friday - Playing with cars</b></div>
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Another daily occurrence around here, but one I don't usually join in on. (but need to more often!) Today we raced cars down the ramp together as I got in touch with my more masculine side ;)</div>
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Happy Friday and have a wonderful weekend!</div>
Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-76759492021492568762013-04-30T13:11:00.000-07:002013-04-30T13:11:44.433-07:00Raw Strawberry Chia Seed JamStrawberries are in season and we have been really enjoying them! I wanted to make some more jam for the boys (they love their PB&J) and decided that this time I was going to try using chia seeds instead of my usual recipe.<br />
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Never had chia seeds? Yeah I do mean those little things that grow lots of grass on you favorite Chia Pet. They are edible and they are very good for you!<br />
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Here is an excerpt from <a href="http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2012/05/easy-strawberry-chia-seed-jam/">Eating Bird Food</a>, the blog where I found this particular jam recipe.</div>
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"As a quick recap, they’re a good source of:</div>
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<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Omega 3 fatty acids – Omega 3 and Omega 6 fatty acids are essential fatty acids, meaning that you need to get from food sources because your body cannot produce them itself. Omega 3′s reduce inflammation and may help lower risk of chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, and arthritis. They’re also said to help with weight reduction related to their regulation of blood sugar levels and insulin.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Plant-based protein – We all know protein is an essential macronutrient needed for many functions in the body, including muscle building.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Antioxidants – Anti-oxidants help rid our body of free radicals, which have been linked to cancer and heart disease.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Fiber – Helps with weight loss by keeping you feeling full, prevents constipation and enhances regularity.</li>
<li style="margin: 0px; padding: 0px;">Magnesium and Potassium – Two minerals needed for good health."</li>
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Mr Pear's has been "into" chia seeds for a few months now. He typically puts a tablespoon or two in a glass of lemonade, I like them in hot green tea. Either way they have no flavor but lots of great health benefits. And one other kind of strange characteristic....they turn very gelatinous in liquid. Perfect for making jam!</div>
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Most jams you have to cook, but not this one. In this raw recipe the chia seeds make the mashed strawberries magically turn into jelly! And since strawberries have little seeds about the same size of chia seeds, the chias are mostly unnoticable. My twins definitely haven't complained!</div>
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I love that this recipe not only preserves all the nutrients in the raw strawberries but also adds the health benefits of the chias AND it is super super fast to make! You can have homemade jelly prepared in 10 minutes! (Though you should let it set up for about an hour after that.) And it tastes good. Win!</div>
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Click over to the <a href="http://www.eatingbirdfood.com/2012/05/easy-strawberry-chia-seed-jam/">Eating Bird Food</a> blog for the recipe and Enjoy!</div>
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PS, doubling the recipe (2 cups of strawberries) makes about a 12oz jar of jam/jelly.....oh and I used the immersion blender but left it fairly chunky.... :)</div>
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Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-6506162663557475862013-04-26T13:41:00.000-07:002013-04-26T13:41:24.728-07:00Playful FridayThe thing we do most around this house is Play! I've gotten away from organized play school but we are having such a great time just learning and playing in so many different ways each day. Every Friday I'm going to post what we've been up to during the past week. <br />
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These are all times when I sit down with the boys and actively play with them. Often during the day the boys will play independently or together but they love playing with Mom so I try to make time to fully engage in at least one activity with them each day.<br />
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Feel free to comment on your favorite ways to play or link a blog post with ideas for us. (BTW, these guys are 2.5 now!) Time is flying.<br />
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<b>Sunday - Play dough </b> (want to make it? Try <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/02/different-kind-of-recipe-play-dough.html">this recipe</a>)<br />
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I'm pretty sure that was supposed to be a dog....I'm an amazing play doh artist ;)</div>
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<b>Monday- Paper Plate Snakes </b><br />
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Chasing each other around the house yelling "SSSSSS" is a huge fav around here</div>
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<b>Tuesday- Sprinkler Hopscotch</b><br />
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So much fun we almost flooded the backyard!</div>
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<b>Wednesday- Baking Cookies</b><br />
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<span style="text-align: start;">Avidly watching the mixer and waiting to taste the dough!</span></div>
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<b>Thursday- Playing in the (play) Kitchen</b><br />
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I was served a cupcake and a fried egg for lunch, yum!</div>
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<b>Friday- Building with blocks</b><br />
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And laughing when they get knocked down</div>
<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-1302532872617852582013-04-23T19:32:00.000-07:002013-04-23T19:32:45.001-07:00Salmon with Pea PancakesDo you like peas? I don't. Not really. I mean, I'll eat them if they are on my plate because that is what grown-ups do, but I rarely make them at home. They just aren't my favorite veggie. Mr Pear's likes them though, so when I saw this recipe for Pea Pancakes in the Bon Appetit magazine I figured I'd give them a shot. <br />
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And I liked them! In fact, I thought they were awesome. <br />
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These are savory pancakes, a bit on the salty side, they taste very much like the blinis typically served with caviar. (I like caviar. Seems weird though, to like fish eggs but not peas....oh well)<br />
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We pan fried some great salmon to serve with our pea pancakes and the combination of the two made for a great dinner that felt just a bit gourmet. Not bad for a Monday night dinner made in about a half hour!<br />
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Here is a <a href="http://www.bonappetit.com/recipes/2013/04/pea-pancakes">link to the recipe</a>....my picture below. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-66616399447859010942013-04-09T13:22:00.000-07:002013-04-09T13:22:38.811-07:00Chickpea and Roasted Eggplant DipWe try not to snack too much around here (my husband, is a chipaholic) but we usually have some homemade hummus on hand for a healthy snack when we need one. I'm a huge fan of hummus. I still remember being in my early 20's sitting on our apartment balcony with my best friend chatting while she ate her daily bagel with hummus. Way before hummus was so popular, my friend was such a trend-setter. ;) <div>
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Even my picky little Aaron loves hummus. You should hear him say hummus, so funny! Something like humNUS? lol.</div>
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We really love Baba Ghanoush as well. If you've never heard of it, it is just like hummus only made with roasted eggplant instead of chickpeas. Yum.</div>
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Last week in our veggie basket (we are buying organic <a href="http://bountifulbaskets.org/">Bountiful Baskets</a> now) we got a lone eggplant and it didn't take me long to decide to make some eggplant dip. But one little eggplant wasn't going to be enough for me and my hungry boys so I decided to make make the eggplant dip go a little farther with the addition of chickpeas. The result was delicious! If you like hummus, give this one a try. It is remarkably simple if you have a good blender and the dip comes out so nice and fluffy. </div>
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<b>Chickpea and Roasted Eggplant Dip, by 4 Pears</b></div>
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1 medium eggplant (about 1 lb)</div>
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1 can chickpeas, drained</div>
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1/2 cup tahini</div>
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2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil</div>
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5 garlic cloves, minced</div>
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1/4 cup lemon juice</div>
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1/2 teaspoon ground cumin</div>
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1/2 teaspoon salt (or more to taste)</div>
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To begin, preheat the oven to 375 F and prick the eggplant a few times with a fork (like a baked potato) and then put it on a sheet tray in the oven. Roast the eggplant in the oven about 15 minutes, turning it once. When it is done, the eggplant should be slightly blackened and puckered looking.</div>
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Set the eggplant aside to cool and in the meantime put all of the other ingredients into your blender. Once the eggplant is cool enough to handle, cut it in half lengthwise and then scoop out the flesh and put that into the blender too. </div>
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Turn it on and let it go! If your blender has settings like ours, you want to use the puree setting. If not just blend it for a minute or two or until everything is nice and smooth and fluffy. Taste it and add salt if necessary. </div>
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Serve with crackers or chips, veggies and olives. Enjoy! </div>
Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-88587444801113847472013-04-02T20:15:00.001-07:002013-04-02T20:15:32.248-07:00Out of OfficeI hope everyone out there had a lovely Easter! We had a great time and the kids were very spoiled by the Easter bunny and the "grand" Easter bunny. :)<br />
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Now we are getting ready to enjoy a visit from the boys' Godparents so I've decided to take a break this week. I've got a really good post coming next week, though, so see you then!Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-22637778622679244582013-03-28T09:11:00.000-07:002013-03-28T09:11:03.279-07:00Play School - EasterI'm having a hard time comprehending that Easter is on Sunday! It seems like 2013 is truly flying by. I find myself still writing 2012 sometimes....but that could be because I rarely write out the date. SAHM problems.<br />
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But the weather is beautiful and Spring is in full force here and I'm looking forward to a nice Easter with the kids and their Grammy and Papa. I'm so glad to have family here in Nevada. Hey Mom! Sure you don't want to move here too??? Please!? :)<br />
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For our Easter Play School I decided to try something new. A Pre-K pack from Over the Big Moon. I've seen "packs" on Pinterest and the boys are getting to an age/level where I think they are ready to do some of them. Read on for more.....<br />
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<b>Books - </b><br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/What-Easter-Michelle-Medlock-Adams/dp/0824966392/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364485878&sr=1-1&keywords=what+is+easter+board+book">What is Easter by Michelle Medlock Adams </a><br />
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This is a GREAT book if you are interested in teaching your kids about the religious meaning of Easter....but are ok with celebrating with the bunny too. Before I had kids I said, no way no Easter bunny. But I found that I couldn't take away that experience from my little guys and I am confident they will learn to know that the most important part of Easter has nothing to do with egg hunts and jelly beans. This book is a great first step for the youngest of kids.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Critter-Its-Easter/dp/0060539747/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364485926&sr=1-1&keywords=it%27s+easter+little+critter">It's Easter, Little Critter! by Mercer Mayer</a><br />
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I love these books, they are nostalgic for me. And the boys love looking for the mouse and the spider (Yuck! says Aaron) on every page.<br />
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<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Owens-Marshmallow-Chick-Kevin-Henkes/dp/0060010126/ref=rec_dp_2">Owen's Marshmallow Chick by Kevin Henkes</a><br />
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A cute little book about a mouse who enjoys his Easter candy but cuddles his marshmallow chick. Very sweet.<br />
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And Most Importantly!!<br />
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We are "trying" to read the <a href="http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/jesus-storybook-bible-sally-lloyd-jones/1100472254?ean=9780310708254">Jesus Storybook Bible by Sally Lloyd-Jones</a>. My inspiration (I had never heard of this Bible before) came from <a href="http://www.inlieuofpreschool.com/the-jesus-storybook-bible-reading-plan-for-easter-2013/">In Lieu of Preschool</a>.<br />
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I love the book. It is a great "Bible" written in more of a story-telling type fashion. Every story points to Jesus in a very enlightening manner. But, admittedly, I am getting more out of reading this than the twins. I try to read a chapter a day and sometimes they listen, and sometimes they don't. But that is ok. We are going to make a tradition of reading it each Spring and I know that they will come to enjoy it and take away a lot from it as they grow.<br />
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<b>Activities -</b><br />
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<a href="http://www.overthebigmoon.com/easter-prek-pack/">Over the Big Moon Easter Pre-K pack</a> - I really like these packets. They are free and easy to download and this one is huge! It has 31 pages. I was able to choose a lot of different activities to do with the boys that I thought were at a good level for them.<br />
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I printed out my favorites and laminated most of them. I laminated two puzzles, the size sequencing baskets, and one of the pattern sheets and attached magnets to the pieces so the boys can use them on their large magnet board in the playroom.<br />
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I also laminated and cut of some of the vocab cards to play memory and matching games. <br />
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Watercolor E is for Egg craft - In doing our Easter craft I decided to go about it a little differently than usual. Instead of doing the whole thing at once, this time we are doing a little every day. My kids get very excited when I ask them if they want to paint, color, use stickers, etc....but they don't stay at the activity for very long. So I decided to finally learn from their cues and just separate the activity into steps.<br />
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For this one we are decorating an Easter egg to put in our alphabet books. The first day the boys painted some paper with watercolors. This was their first time using watercolors and they did great!<br />
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Once the paintings were dry I cut them each into a large egg shape. Over the coming days we'll continue to decorate them with stickers, stamps, whatever the boys want, then I'll glue them to cardstock and label them, E is for egg, for the books.<br />
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Easter Egg Dying - We are doing this today with Grammy! We are going to use an egg spinner I picked up in Target that I thought the boys would enjoy at this age.<br />
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Easter Egg hunt - Just a small one in the backyard on Sunday. :)<br />
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So that is about it! No church for the boys, unfortunately they still can't handle it. But I am excited to be able to go with my MIL while Papa and Daddy watch the boys. Hopefully they'll be watching them play, not watching them eat too much candy. <br />
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Have a very happy Easter everyone! Or if you celebrate Passover and made it this far....Happy Passover too. :)Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-59859035524124625542013-03-19T16:02:00.001-07:002013-03-21T07:53:25.137-07:00Play School: St Patrick's DaySt Patrick's day is one of those holidays that I never really celebrated before i had kids. Well, unless you want to count all that indulging in green beer in my early 20's. Now, though, every holiday is a great excuse to play and learn. :)<br />
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My boys are very into identifying colors these days. They are constantly telling me the color this or that item is. And they are good at it. They know: blue, green, purple, yellow, white, orange, black and brown. They also know red and pink but still have trouble saying those. Instead, red is rojo (Thanks Dora!) and pink is identified by making an oinking sound. I'm always amazed at how their little minds work.<br />
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Here are the activities we did to celebrate St Paddy's day this year (sadly, no green beer).<br />
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<b><u>Books:</u></b><br />
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There Was an Old Lady Who Swallowed a Clover by Lucille Colandro<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=4pears-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0545352223&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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The Night Before St Patrick's Day by Natasha Wing<br />
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<iframe frameborder="0" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" scrolling="no" src="http://rcm.amazon.com/e/cm?t=4pears-20&o=1&p=8&l=as1&asins=0448448521&ref=tf_til&fc1=000000&IS2=1&lt1=_blank&m=amazon&lc1=0000FF&bc1=000000&bg1=FFFFFF&f=ifr" style="height: 240px; width: 120px;"></iframe>
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Both were very cute books and the boys enjoyed them.<br />
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<b><u>Activities:</u></b><br />
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<b>Leprechaun Hats - </b>Ah, these were a labor of love. I used two sheets of poster board and some black and yellow construction paper (instead of felt as directed) to make <a href="http://www.babycenter.com/210_leprechaun-hat_23324.bc?scid=weekender_20130307_preschool:3&pe=MlV3dzZIZnwyMDEzMDMwNw.">these Leprechaun hats</a>. I knew the boys would get a kick out of them (and they did) so I'm glad I made them but man they were a pain in the you-know-what to put together. They came out cute though. :)<br />
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<b>Building a Rainbow</b>- for this one I had Mr Pears cut a dowel rod into six pieces of equal length. I stuck them into a small floral foam wreath form that I had picked up at the dollar store. (I left the plastic wrap on the wreath form because that foam can get messy!) I gave the boys this strange looking "toy" along with their <a href="http://www.blogger.com/%3Ca%20href=%22http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JZCR/ref=as_li_tf_tl?ie=UTF8&camp=1789&creative=9325&creativeASIN=B00006JZCR&linkCode=as2&tag=4pears-20%22%3EMelissa%20&%20Doug%20Primary%20Lacing%20Beads%3C/a%3E%3Cimg%20src=%22http://www.assoc-amazon.com/e/ir?t=4pears-20&l=as2&o=1&a=B00006JZCR%22%20width=%221%22%20height=%221%22%20border=%220%22%20alt=%22%22%20style=%22border:none%20!important;%20margin:0px%20!important;%22%20/%3E">Melissa and Doug Lacing Beads</a>. The boys had a great time placing the beads onto the dowels. <br />
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At first they just randomly stuck them on but then they began sorting by color and of course I showed them the order of the colors in the rainbow. I'm sure we'll continue to play with this one for a while, it was a great new use for the lacing beads!<br />
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<b>Magnetic Pom Pom Rainbow</b>- I found this activity at <a href="http://sewfantastic.blogspot.ca/2012/05/rainy-day-fun.html">Sew Fantastic</a>. The blog provides a free rainbow template that I printed and taped to our big magnet board in the playroom. Then I hot glued pieces of magnets to poms. This is another great activity for color recognition and identification and one to one correspondence as well.<br />
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The boys were really excited to find that their poms now stuck to the magnet board! They did a great job filling out the rainbow.<br />
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<b>Shamrock Hunt</b> - I hid ten foam shamrocks around the backyard for a bit of outside fun. The boys love looking for things so they thought this was great. After each one was found the boys (I) would count them to see how many we had. Once we found all ten we had a treat!<br />
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<b>Baking Cupcakes</b> - I decided to forgo green food and make some delicious Coconut Lime cupcakes for St Paddy's instead. I found the recipe <a href="http://www.twopeasandtheirpod.com/coconut-lime-cupcakes/">here</a>, and it is adapted from Ina Garten's famous coconut cupcakes so of course they were awesome. They only had some flecks of green from the lime zest but the kiddos didn't seem to mind. Alex and Aaron continue to love to help in the kitchen. (And eat the results too of course!)<br />
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After all our fun activities and cupcakes we had a nice green bath courtesy of some food coloring and our foam shamrocks. A fun day for my little (very partially) Irish boys. <br />
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Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-305859119733521002013-03-13T03:00:00.000-07:002013-03-13T03:00:09.785-07:00Decorating for Easter/SpringWell I wanted to write a post about a fantastic pie I made over the weekend but unfortunately the pie was not fantastic. So instead I'll just tell you about my super exciting weekend and share some of the crafty projects I did.<br />
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This weekend was all about spring cleaning! (I told you it was exciting) Mr pears and I cleaned the whole house from top to bottom. I am lucky enough to have a husband that cooks and cleans!! As boring as it sounds, it was really great. Especially once it was done and the house was all sparkly and declutted. And despite two year old twins doing their darnedest to mess it up, the house is still looking nice a few days later....success!<br />
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On top of cleaning I also finally made a wreath for our front door. I have been wanting to do some kind of monogram wreath for a while now but just hadn't gotten around to it. But one MDF letter from Hobby Lobby, some paint, a vine wreath and some fake-but-not-too-fake looking flowers (those are hard to find) and I was good to go. <br />
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I came up with this.<br />
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I really like it! Springy but simple.<br />
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And simple is sort of my motto these days. Lately I am really all about decluttering and simplicity and it is being reflected in my decorating style. I've been taking down things and taking things off of tables. Moving things around and only adding a few new touches here and there. My simple new wreath. A super cute ceramic bunny.<br />
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I also made that print. <br />
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I <strike>stole</strike> was inspired by <a href="http://trendypics.net/kids/i-have-seen-these-all-over-but-this-one-is-the-bes.html">this</a>, that I saw on Pinterest and decided to see if I could make one of my own. I love the simplicity of it as well as the sentiment. (I'm also becoming more and more sappy as I get older, yeesh.) I made it using <a href="http://www.picmonkey.com/">picmonkey</a>...which I had never used before!<br />
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So there you have it folks. We are off to Disneyland again with the boys tomorrow morning. I'm looking forward to soaking up some sunshine and Spring air and playing with the kiddos. Have a nice week!<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-33746804980571980172013-03-08T13:10:00.000-08:002013-03-11T08:00:41.352-07:00Veggies for BreakfastNot so long ago I was <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/03/hiding-veggies.html">writing about hiding veggies</a> in various dishes to get my toddlers to eat more of them. I still have to do that....but I find it surprising that I'm often putting those veggies in their breakfast!<br />
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Breakfast is a favorite meal around here, lunch is next, and dinner is a distant third (for the kiddos). Little Alex is not a picky eater. He'll eat just about anything if he is hungry (which is most of the time) and that includes veggies. Aaron, on the other hand, is pretty picky. He loves breakfast foods like cereal, oatmeal and pancakes. And for lunch he really loves yogurt and hummus (he'll even eat the occasional carrot stick) but dinner? Nope. He doesn't like dinner. I'm convinced it is mainly the time rather than the food because though we are trying to stay dedicated to feeding the kids what we eat for dinner, even if I tempt him with his beloved yogurt, he only takes a few small bites. He apparently wants most of his calories in the morning/afternoon and that is ok with me.<br />
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But that does mean that getting him to eat veggies at a meal when veggies aren't often served, breakfast, is important. So I thought I'd round up a few of our favorite breakfast recipes that include (hidden!) veggies for those of you with picky eaters or just dinner-haters. :)<br />
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<b>Breakfast foods with Veggies!</b><br />
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<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/05/pineapple-and-carrot-muffins.html">Pineapple and Carrot Muffins </a><br />
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<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2011/07/anti-spoon-feeding-rebellion-breakfast.html">Sweet Potato and Blueberry Pancakes</a><br />
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<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2011/10/pumpkin-pancakes.html">Pumpkin Pancakes</a><br />
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<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2011/07/banana-zucchini-bread.html">Banana Zucchini Bread</a><br />
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<b>Pumpkin Oatmeal</b>... I actually don't have a recipe for this. I usually just make a big batch of oatmeal as usual but stir in about a cup of pumpkin puree and some brown sugar and cinnamon to taste. Easy peasy and delicious. It stores in the refrigerator for a few days too, which is nice.<br />
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<b>Smoothies!</b> Another one we make a lot but don't use a recipe for. Mr Pears actually makes the smoothies around here and he just tosses in whatever we have on hand. You can add broccoli, kale or spinach to just about any kind of fruit smoothie and though it will turn green, it won't taste "green". My kids love their green smoothies!<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-49840505854874412013-03-04T12:37:00.000-08:002013-03-04T12:37:28.567-08:00Open-faced Tuna Steak SandwichesDoes it feel like Spring yet where you live? It was 76 here yesterday so I am on the hunt for toddler sandals and nice light recipes. I am over wrestling socks and shoes onto my boys and I am ready to move on from hearty winter dishes.<br />
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The other day Mr.Pears picked up some great albacore steaks and we made these delicious sandwiches.<br />
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Tuna, and most fish in general, is so fast to cook. That makes this a light <i>and </i>quick dinner to make on those days you'd rather spend your time playing outside than cooking.<br />
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Happy <i>almost</i> Spring, enjoy!<br />
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<b>Open-faced Tuna Sandwich</b> from Giada Laurentis at <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/giada-de-laurentiis/open-faced-tuna-sandwiches-with-arugula-and-sweet-pickle-mayonnaise-recipe/index.html">foodnetwork.com</a><br />
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Mayonnaise<br />
1/2 cup mayonnaise<br />
1/2 cup sweet pickle relish<br />
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Sandwiches (makes 4)<br />
4 (4-6 oz) albacore tuna steaks<br />
kosher salt and freshly ground pepper<br />
1/4 cup olive oil plus more for drizzling<br />
4 slices sharp white cheddar cheese (I left this off my sandwiches)<br />
4 teaspoons Herbs de Provence<br />
4 slices ciabatta or other good sandwich bread<br />
2 cups arugula (I didn't need quite that much)<br />
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Mix the mayonnaise with the relish and set aside.<br />
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Heat a grill pan over medium-high heat (or do these outside on the grill!) and season the tuna steaks with salt and pepper. Drizzle them with olive oil and season them with the Herbs de Provence.<br />
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Grill the tuna for 3-4 minutes (tops!) per side for medium-rare. (And you don't want to cook tuna beyond medium-rare) If using the cheese, put it on the fish during the last minute of cooking. Remove the fish from the pan.<br />
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Brush one side of each slice of bread with olive oil and grill them (oil side down) until toasted and golden.<br />
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Plate you sandwiches. Top each slice of bread with some of the mayo sauce. Put one piece of fish on each slice and top with the arugula. Drizzle a bit more olive oil over the top of the whole thing. Season with a bit more salt and pepper and serve.<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-82669300803893906892013-02-28T03:00:00.000-08:002013-03-01T07:27:09.489-08:00All4Pears....an Etsy shop!I have a little announcement! I opened an etsy shop yesterday. :) I'm excited and a little nervous to share my crocheting hobby with the rest of the world. Or probably just a few people, lol.<br />
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I started crocheting not very long ago but it was something I took to right away. I love crocheting cute little baby things most of all but since I don't have any cute little babies around here anymore (just cute, big, toddlers) I thought it might be fun to keep on making those cute little baby things and maybe try to sell a few of them too. <br />
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Since I'm just getting started there isn't a ton of stock in my store yet but I do have a few very cute Easter/Bunny items and I'm going to start working on some Spring hats. I'd love for you to stop by and see what I've got! If you are interested, have something you've been thinking about that I don't have listed...send me a message, I'm totally up for custom orders too!<br />
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So there you have it! A new adventure. Check me out at <a href="http://www.etsy.com/shop/All4Pears">All4Pears</a> on etsy.com </div>
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-46094802730738999422013-02-25T13:45:00.000-08:002013-02-25T13:46:04.934-08:00Growing a ReaderAre you a reader? I am. Always have been. I love books and I will finish almost any book I start, even if it is awful. My favorite books to read are in series, I love getting wrapped up in the characters and following them in book after book. I love science fiction and fantasy, but I'm will to try just about anything.<br />
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I used to own tons of books, at first I couldn't imagine giving up books to read on an e reader but it didn't take long for me to get the first generation Kindle and it has been true love ever since.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">books in the living room</span></div>
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I read fast. I can swallow a large book in just a few days but it does mean that I will zone out on the rest of the world and my other responsibilities. Sometimes I have to make myself take a hiatus. I vow not to start a new book until X gets done. If not, I know I will get sucked in to that new book.<br />
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One thing about having only boys that makes me sort of sad is that I (probably) won't be able to share some of my girly favorite books with my children. Anne of Green Gables, The Little Princess? I love those books.<br />
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I am looking forward, though, to the many many MANY books I can and will share with them though. Right now we have Dr. Suess and Little Critter and Corduroy. Soon there will be Bernstein Bears and Bread and Jam for Francis and Caps for Sale. So much to look forward to!<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">books in the playroom</span></div>
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One of little Alex's favorites right now is The Napping House. Such a sweet book that I remember loving the illustrations even as a very small child. And there are those that are new to me too, like Aaron's current favorite The Little Blue Truck.<br />
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I love books and my little guys seem to love them too already. But I like to keep working on fostering that love. <br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">books in the kids' bedroom</span></div>
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The last time I went to the library I picked up a folder about the library's 1,000 books before Kindergarten. The program invites parents to keep track of all the books they read with/to their children. <br />
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When you reach the first one hundred, you bring in the tracking sheet and your child gets a prize. I don't know about your toddlers but my kids will be super excited to head to the library for their prize. After reading 500 books, your child gets a canvas book bag and after 1,000 they will receive a book. Such a great and fun incentive program! <br />
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The program folder also included a list of 100 books you child should hear before Kindergarten but in lieu of typing it all our for you....Here's a great list of the <a href="http://childrensbooksguide.com/top-100">Top 100 Children's Books</a> that I found. Happy Reading! <br />
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<a href="http://childrensbooksguide.com/top-100">link here</a></div>
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Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-14305004039197457752013-02-19T19:58:00.002-08:002013-02-21T16:03:27.955-08:00Homemade Paneer/Saag PaneerHave you seen the March issue of Food Network Magazine? It's all about cheese....I looove cheese. I also looove Indian food. When I eat Indian food I almost never eat meat. There are so many amazing veggie and lentil dishes that I just don't think meat adds anything. And along with those veggies and lentils you also have paneer (cheese!). Homemade fresh Indian cheese. <br />
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I've made paneer in the past using <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-tuesday-ricotta-cheese.html">my favorite recipe for ricotta cheese</a>. Because that is basically what paneer is. A cheese very similar to ricotta but pressed to cut down on the moisture and cut into cubes. I've always been happy with making paneer this way but decided I would give the recipe in Food Network Magazine a try anyway.<br />
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The only real difference between this recipe for paneer and the<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2011/08/how-to-tuesday-ricotta-cheese.html"> ricotta recipe</a> is that the paneer recipe calls for greek yogurt instead of cream. I'm glad I tried this version because this cheese really did firm up better than my pressed ricotta. I'll be using this recipe for paneer going forward but I'm sticking to the ricotta recipe for, well, ricotta. :)<br />
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Don't be intimidated by the idea of making cheese, this recipe is easy! Just boil, drain, press. That's it! The only "special equipment" you need is cheesecloth, so grab some and let's go! (oh God, did that sound like Jake and the Neverland Pirates to you? No? the toddler tv is obviously getting to me...ok, moving on)<br />
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<b>Paneer</b>, adapted very slightly from the recipe in Food Network Magazine, March 2013<br />
6 cups whole milk<br />
1 cup plain 2% Greek yogurt<br />
1/4 cup lemon juice (you can also use white vinegar)<br />
2 teaspoons kosher salt<br />
1/4 cup flour<br />
vegetable oil (for frying)<br />
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To make the cheese, first line a colander with a double layer of cheese cloth. The cloth should hang over the sides of the colander so you have enough to wrap around the cheese and squeeze out the whey.<br />
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Now put your milk into a large non-reactive pot and bring it to a simmer on medium. Stir it occasionally to make sure the milk doesn't scorch on the bottom. Once the pot comes to a good simmer, turn the heat off and stir in the yogurt, lemon juice, and salt. Continue stirring for a minute or two until large curds form in the milk. Once this happens, pour the contents of the pot over your cheesecloth in the colander. Gather the ends of the cloth and twist them together to form a tight bundle and squeeze out the excess whey. Leave it to drain for 10 minutes or so. <br />
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Once the 10 minutes is up give the bundle a few more squeezes to try and get out as much moisture as you can. Next put the cheese into a small rectangular (or square) container and using plastic wrap press it down flat into the container. Leave the plastic wrap laying directly on the surface of the cheese then cover the container with a lid and put it in the refrigerator for 4 hours or overnight. <br />
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When you are ready to cook with it, loosen the edges of the cheese in the container with a knife and it should just fall right out. <br />
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Cut the cheese into cubes. Now, heat a large frying pan with about a half inch of vegetable oil on medium-high. Coat your cheese cubes in the flour and then put them into the hot oil. Fry them for about 4-5 minutes, turning them to give each side a nice golden color.<br />
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Stir the fried paneer into any favorite Indian sauce or dish. <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/aarti-sequeira/saag-paneer-spinach-with-indian-cheese-recipe/index.html">Aarti's Saag Paneer</a> and <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/01/chicken-tikka-masala.html">Tikka Masala</a> are both good choices. We did the Saag Paneer this time and it was fantastic. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-14485443958046961312013-02-15T03:00:00.000-08:002013-02-20T09:11:56.897-08:00Play School: Valentine's DayWhew! We have been covered in hearts around here all week and it has been a lot of fun. I've never been a big Valentine's Day kind of girl; I think the holiday is sort of cheesy but I know I am really lucky to have a husband who makes me feel loved all year long. (awwww.)<br />
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But Valentine's with kids! Super fun. The boys, surprisingly, really got into it. Especially yesterday. I started Play School on Monday and spread the activities out all week due to one of my little guys having a yucky stomach bug. We did one or two things a day and the boys really enjoyed everything. Yesterday morning I woke them up and told them it was Valentine's Day and they both said "Yay!" Very cute. They loved getting their cards and they loved the little "Cars" stamp and sticker set we got them (from the dollar store!) Grammy and Grandpa hooked them each up with a heart filled with M&M's so they weren't completely deprived of candy either.<br />
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But on to our Play School activities....<br />
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<b>Books:</b><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Happy-Valentines-Day-Mouse-Give/dp/0061804320/ref=tmm_other_meta_binding_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1360900106&sr=1-1">Happy Valentine's Day, Mouse by Laura Numeroff</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Little-Critter-Happy-Valentines-Day/dp/0060539739/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360900147&sr=1-1&keywords=happy+valentines+day+little+critter">Happy Valentine's Day, Little Critter by Mercer Mayer</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Snuggle-Puppy-Boynton-Board-Sandra/dp/0761130675/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1360900177&sr=1-1&keywords=snuggle+puppy+board+book">Snuggle Puppy by Sandra Boynton</a><br />
<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Guess-How-Much-Love-You/dp/0763641758/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1360900063&sr=8-1&keywords=guess+how+much+i+love+you">Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McGratney</a><br />
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This was our first "Little Critter" book; I loved them as a kid myself so I am looking to reading many more of them with my boys!<br />
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<b>Activities:</b><br />
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Heart Hunt- I originally <a href="http://www.pleasantestthing.com/2013/02/valentines-day-activity-heart-hunt.html">saw the idea here</a>....but we did our heart hunt a little differently. While the kiddos were napping I cut out 10 hearts from construction paper, labeled them one through ten, and then taped them around the play room. When they woke up I explained we were going looking for hearts and they were off and running! We used this game to work on number recognition and counting. The boys are starting to recognize and identify some numbers but they aren't counting yet of course. They loved searching out the hearts!<br />
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H is for Heart- we decorated large letter H's with hearts to put in our alphabet books<br />
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Pink Heart Sugar Cookies- The boys love cooking with Mommy so they were happy to help me make some sugar cookie dough; they were so excited when I dyed it pink!<br />
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Heart Stamping with toilet paper rolls- For this little art project I just saved two empty toilet paper rolls and creased one end of each to look like a heart. I gave each boy a "stamp", a paper plate with pink and red paint, and a large piece of paper and let them go to town!<br />
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As I sit here and type this it just occurred to me that this is really the first time I have done a paint project with the boys without laying down a sheet or newspaper or something. They are really doing a great job now of keeping (most) of their paint to just the paper. :)<br />
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Valentine's Day Cards- I set out some materials on Wednesday for the boys to make cards for their Grammy and Grandpa (that live with us) and Daddy. I wish I had though to do this sooner so we could have sent cards to our other Grandparents but it didn't occur to me in time. <br />
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Valentine's Sensory Box- So I finally sprung for some rice to do sensory boxes with. My boys have always loved any kind of sensory box and I knew rice would be a great base but just never bought any. So this past weekend I went out and bought two 25lb bags of rice....whaat??? Yeah. A little overkill. Turns out I didn't even really need one 25lb bag to fill up our large tub for the boys to share. People out there looking to create a large sensory tub with rice? 15lbs should be plenty.<br />
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Anyway.... I added some foam heart stickers and some other heart stuff from the dollar store, some plastic measuring scoops and bowls. The boys loved their box and played for almost an hour!<br />
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See what I mean? Lot's of hearts and lots of fun. Happy (belated) Valentine's Day from me and my little lovies to you and yours. <br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-67782440056313752013-02-11T15:58:00.000-08:002013-02-14T17:40:13.399-08:00Peanut Butter and Banana Granola BarsOne of my goals is to start making more pantry items. We already make our own peanut butter and jelly (when the fruit is in season), we only eat oatmeal from real oats, no boxed mashed potatoes (gross)....a lot of things. But I know we can do better and granola bars are one item we always buy.<br />
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I've been thinking about making my own granola bars for sometime now but just finally found a recipe that looked like something we'd really like. I'm glad I tried this one because it was definitely a success. It is amazing to hit a home run on the first shot but I really think these are great. They are delicious and even sort of sweet without any added sugar. They were also really easy to make and they didn't stick to the pan or anything, yay! And I really love that I made them with all organic ingredients. All real whole ingredients! It is so nice knowing just exactly what is going in to my food.<br />
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<b>Peanut Butter and Banana Granola Bars</b>, recipe from <a href="http://mykitchenaffair.blogspot.com/2012/06/peanut-butter-and-banana-granola-bars.html">My Kitchen Affair</a> (check out the blog for some really great pictures of these granola bars. As usual, my camera "skills" don't do them justice)<br />
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1/2 cup peanut butter<br />
2 bananas, sliced<br />
2 oz dates, roughly chopped<br />
2 oz raisins, roughly chopped<br />
2 oz dried apricots, roughly chopped<br />
1/2 cup mixed seeds (sunflower, pumpkin, sesame, etc...)<br />
1 cup rolled oats<br />
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Preheat the oven to 350 F. Spray a 8x8 baking pan with cooking spray and line it with parchment paper. Spray top of paper too. <br />
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Put the bananas in a small saucepan and gently mash them. Add the peanut butter and turn the pan on to medium low and heat until melted and combined.<br />
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Mix all the ingredients together in a large bowl then spread it evenly into the prepared pan. Bake for 25-30 minutes or until the top is golden brown.<br />
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Let these cool completely until slicing into 9 bars. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-66796780317571355612013-02-06T03:00:00.000-08:002013-02-13T08:58:34.889-08:00Crocheted Mickey Mouse HatsSo were are full on Disney people all of a sudden here at 4 Pears. The boys are in to Disney Jr (Handy Manny and Jake) and I've seen the movie Cars more times than I can to think about. <br />
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We made the decision to get annual passes to Disneyland last month. (Under 3 are free, woo hoo!) The boys are over 38 inches tall so they are able to ride all of the kiddie rides and there is just so much for them to do! At their age (28 months), we sometimes find it hard to find age appropriate ways to entertain them. Everything seems so geared towards bigger kids so we were so happy to find that Disneyland really is great for toddlers. We are planning to take them once a month for a day and a half each time, last month we had a blast. The kids did really well waiting in lines and were so excited to see their favorite characters and ride all the rides. They loved the rides so much, the faster and higher up the better. Adventurous little guys already. <br />
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The weather in Anaheim is beautiful during the day but as soon as the sun goes down the temperature drops fast. Which is why, when I say a Minnie Mouse crocheted hat on Pinterest, I knew what I was going to be doing this past weekend in anticipation of our next trip, which is tomorrow...or today rather, lol)<br />
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Most of these cutesy hat patterns are written for newborn girls so I just sort of whipped up my own Mickey version based on the size of the boys' <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/09/crocheted-monster-hats.html">monster hats</a>. I sewed on some ears and added some earflaps to keep their (real) ears warm. :)<br />
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The final product</div>
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on my handsome model Alex</div>
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I literally just finished Aaron's hat so no picture of him yet. Hopefully he enjoys his warm new Mickey Ears as much as his brother. :)<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-34728873351789323402013-02-01T03:00:00.000-08:002013-02-01T03:00:09.166-08:00Super Bowl!Have I ever mentioned that I'm originally a Baltimore girl? :) And a Ravens fan too, of course. In all honesty, I don't watch a whole lot of football but I am happy my hometown team made it to the big game. And I am looking forward to eating some yummy "football" food.<br />
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I plan on making a big pot of chili Sunday morning so everyone can feel free to eat whenever they want to. (And when I say everyone I just mean the six of us, no football party this year). I'm also planning on making some guacamole and having plenty of chips and salsa on hand as well. But what I'm looking foward to most, (besides these brownies) is trying out this new recipe for jalapeno popper wontons.<br />
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I'm going to adapt <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/puffs-2/detail.aspx">this original recipe</a> to use fresh ingredients and definitely add a few things, but I'm really looking foward to trying them out. I'll repost if they are any good!<br />
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For now though, I'll leave you with a repost of the recipe I usually use for homemade jalapeno poppers. These things are the real deal and just perfect for your Super Bowl Party munching needs. Go Ravens! :)<br />
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<i>originally posted September 8, 2011</i><br />
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I probably haven't had a jalapeno popper in years. You may not have noticed but we (mostly Alex) have a vendetta against prepared foods here in the 4 Pears household. So when my husband suggested we have jalapeno poppers with our pizza the other night, I was pretty sure he didn't mean the kind that came out of the box in the freezer section.<br />
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Who makes homemade jalapeno poppers? This girl. They were awesome and actually quite easy. The peppers had a bit of a crunch and the creamy filling was delicious. I may have thought he was crazy, but they came out great and we'll definitely be making them again soon.<br />
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<b>Jalapeno Poppers</b>, adapted from <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/emeril-lagasse/fried-kicked-up-jalapeno-poppers-recipe/index.html">Emeril Lagasse</a><br />
8 large fresh jalapeno peppers<br />
4 ounces of cream cheese, softened<br />
1/2 cup pepper jack (or another spicy) cheese<br />
1/4 teaspoon of Essence (Emeril's spice blend, you can buy it in the grocery store or <a href="http://www.emerils.com/recipe/14/">make it</a> yourself)<br />
1/2 cup all-purpose flour plus 3 tablespoons, divided<br />
1/2 cup milk<br />
1 large egg<br />
1 1/2 cups panko bread crumbs (the panko makes these crispy so I wouldn't recommend substituting the regular stuff)<br />
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First prepare the filling by mixing the cheeses together in a small bowl. Set aside.<br />
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Next work on cleaning the peppers. You might want to wear some rubber gloves for this! If not your hands will be covered in the spicy oils from the peppers and it is hard to get off!! With a paring knife make a T in each pepper cutting under the stem (but not cutting it off) and then down the length of the pepper. This creates a nice pocket.<br />
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Remove as much of the seeds and ribs as you would like. I removed most of the seeds and ribs and my pepper were still pretty spicy. Now stuff the filling into the pocket and squeeze to close them back up.<br />
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Heat a deep fryer or pot of vegetable oil to 370 F. If you are using a pot you'll need to fill it about 1/3 of the way. <br />
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While it is heating make up your batter and breading. First mix 1/2 cup of flour with the milk and the egg. Then on a plate combine the 3 tablespoons of flour, the panko and the Essence.<br />
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Dip each of the peppers into the batter then carefully coat them with the breading. Once the oil is ready slide them in (in two batches so you don't crowd them) and fry for 2 minutes. Remove them from the oil to a plate lined with paper towels and salt them. Dig in!<br />
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Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-91658184914604824732013-01-28T13:48:00.002-08:002013-01-31T16:03:47.884-08:00Chocolate-Coconut Sheet CakeI love chocolate just as much as the next girl, or more, so when I saw this recipe for an easy chocolate sheet cake that also had coconut in it? I had to try it. Even though I really do love the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/ree-drummond/big-chocolate-birthday-cake-recipe/index.html">chocolate cake</a> I made for the boys' birthday.<br />
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This cake is super easy to make, you don't even need a mixer! There is also no struggle to decorate it beautifully because the icing is really more of a "topping" that you just pour over the cake and smooth out with a spatula while the cake is still in the pan. <br />
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Not only easy but the gooey melty topping seems to ensure that this cake is going to be really moist along with chocolatey and delicious. Hmm, I don't think melty and chocolatey are actual words....oh well. This cake is good.<br />
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<b>Chocolate-Coconut Sheet Cake</b>, found and adapted from in the February issue of Martha Stewart Living magazine<br />
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Cake<br />
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder (plus some for the pan)<br />
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour<br />
1 1/2 cups sugar<br />
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda<br />
3/4 teaspoons baking powder<br />
3/4 teaspoons kosher salt<br />
2 large eggs, slightly beaten<br />
3/4 cup low-fat buttermilk<br />
3/4 cup warm, strong, brewed coffee<br />
3 tablespoons canola oil<br />
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />
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Topping<br />
1 stick plus 2 tablespoons unsalted butter<br />
2 cups confectioners' sugar<br />
6 tablespoons unsweetened cocoa powder<br />
3 cups finely shredded, dried, unsweetened coconut<br />
2/3 cup warm, strong, brewed coffee<br />
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract<br />
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To begin the cake, preheat the oven to 350 F. Butter a 9 x 13 cake pan. Line the bottom of the pan with parchment paper and leave an overhang on each side if you intend to remove the cake from the pan before serving. ( I served this to my family straight from the pan and no one seemed to mind. :)) Butter the parchment paper and dust with cocoa powder.<br />
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Whisk together the dry cake ingredients in a large bowl. Pour in all the wet ingredients before whisking it all together until smooth. (I told you it was easy!)<br />
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Pour the batter into the prepared cake pan and then bake it for 20-25 minutes or until a toothpick inserted into the center comes out clean.<br />
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While the cake is baking prepare the topping. Melt the butter in a small saucepan and then add the coffee and extract. Combine the confectioners' sugar, cocoa powder, and coconut in a large bowl. Pour over the melted butter mixture and stir to combine. <br />
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When the cake comes out of the oven pour the topping over the cake and allow the whole thing to cool completely in the pan on a wire rack. <br />
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Serve and Enjoy! This cake stores well in the refrigerator. I know because I just ate another slice while typing this post! :)<br />
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This post is linked to:<br />
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Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-13197370007507111502013-01-23T13:01:00.000-08:002013-01-23T13:01:03.044-08:00what's up?As I've mentioned before, this is such a busy month for us here at the 4 Pear's household. Lots of fun visitors and two trips to Disneyland have made it hard for me to post as often as I' d like.<br />
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">tea cups...</span></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">yay!</span></div>
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On top of visitors and trips a few other things have been taking up my free time. I'm working on this cute "lapghan".<br />
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I've actually never crocheted an afghan before, and I've never changed colors within my work before either. I think this is a great pattern if you are a newbie to crocheting like I am and want a project to give you lots of practice on stitching evenly and changing colors of yarn. The stitches are all basic and repetitive but add up to pretty looking "waves". You can <a href="http://stephig.wordpress.com/patterns/">find the pattern here</a>.<br />
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I've also discovered a new author that I really like. I first read <a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Passage-A-Novel-ebook/dp/B003F3PM7A/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1358972646&sr=8-3&keywords=justin+cronin">The Passage</a> by Justin Cronin and while on the library e-waiting list for the sequel, I read his other novel <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Mary-and-ONeil-ebook/dp/B000FC1RQO/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1358972646&sr=8-5&keywords=justin+cronin">Mary and O' Neil</a>. Two very different books (vampire apocalypse vs a novel about two normal people) but I just love Cronin's writing style. Really great reading. I'm onto that sequel now (<a href="http://www.amazon.com/Twelve-Book-Passage-Trilogy-ebook/dp/B007GBTBMY/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1358972646&sr=8-1&keywords=justin+cronin">The Twelve</a>) so that makes me less productive in other areas, sorry!<br />
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<a href="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rOIq1EYPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-65,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/51rOIq1EYPL._BO2,204,203,200_PIsitb-sticker-arrow-click,TopRight,35,-76_AA278_PIkin4,BottomRight,-65,22_AA300_SH20_OU01_.jpg" /></a></div>
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As far as cooking, I've made two soups from this month's Food Network magazine (well actually my MIL made one of them) and both were great. The <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/tortilla-chipotle-soup-recipe/index.html">Tortilla-Chipolte</a> soup is quick and yummy but a bit spicy! I stirred in a half cup of cream at the end to mellow the spice a bit. The <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/food-network-kitchens/chicken-and-quinoa-soup-recipe/index.html">Chicken and Quinoa</a> soup was really tasty too and it has a surprisingly huge amount of flavor for a chicken and vegetable soup.<br />
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<a href="http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2012/12/20/FNM_010113-Chicken-and-Quinoa-Soup-Recipe_s4x3_lg.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="239" src="http://img.foodnetwork.com/FOOD/2012/12/20/FNM_010113-Chicken-and-Quinoa-Soup-Recipe_s4x3_lg.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-size: x-small;">image from FoodNetwork.com</span></div>
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And, lastly, instead of eating breakfast or lunch like I should, most days I've been chowing down on <a href="http://allrecipes.com/recipe/soft-oatmeal-cookies/">these oatmeal cookies</a>. No need to refrigerate these or flatten them, just scoop them onto sheets and bake at 350 F for about 10 minutes. Delicious. My second batch I tossed in some Reese's Pieces...whoa yum.<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-9586647620146950972013-01-16T03:00:00.000-08:002013-01-16T03:00:06.393-08:00Homemade Hot Cocoa MixI realized I was remiss in sharing a <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2013/01/homemade-marshmallows.html">recipe for marshmallows</a> but not one for hot cocoa! Sorry to leave you hanging ;)<br />
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Making your own cocoa mix is easy to do and it makes it very easy for anyone in the house to just whip up a cup without heating the milk on the stove (or resorting to those little packets!).<br />
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<a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/hot-cocoa-recipe/index.html">Click here</a> for Alton Brown's Hot Cocoa Mix recipe<br />
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This cocoa mix has dry milk in it so you just need to put a spoonful or so in the bottom of your mug and then pour over some hot water and stir! Oh and don't forget to add the <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2013/01/homemade-marshmallows.html">marshmallows</a>. :) <br />
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You can store it "indefinitely" in your pantry so you'll have plenty of cocoa all winter long. Enjoy!<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-54064920140491831372013-01-14T13:12:00.000-08:002013-01-17T16:31:47.775-08:00Homemade Marshmallowsohmygosh it is soooo cold here today. Temperatures in the 50' s are normal for Las Vegas in January, today the high is 37....yikes!<br />
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But since I always try to look on the bright side of things, I will say that this is a perfect day to drink a cup of cocoa and work on the 2000 piece puzzle we (along with our in- laws) started yesterday. PS: 2000 pieces is a LOT of pieces. What were we thinking?!<br />
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Back to the cocoa, you have to have marshmallows in your cocoa right? And I am not talking about those little powdery things in the packets. Those are just weird.<br />
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I decided to try my hand at homemade marshmallows a while back but finally got to it for the first time in December. And now I' m a convert. No more puffed air in a package for us. Homemade marshmallows are so delicious! They aren't hard to make and I love that they keep in closed container for up to 3 weeks. Because as much as I like these, I don't drink hot cocoa everyday and this recipe makes a lot of marshmallows.<br />
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I made these using <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html">Alton Brown's recipe</a> and since I followed it to a "T" (for regular sized marshmallows), I'll just link the <a href="http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/homemade-marshmallows-recipe/index.html">recipe</a> for you to follow through to.<br />
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Here are some pics of my fluffly goodness from start to finish.<br />
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getting set up</div>
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You have to cook the sugar and syrup mixture until it reaches 240 F, mine took a bit longer to reach temperature than was stated in the recipe...about 15 minutes or so.</div>
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Whipping! Use your whisk attachment if you have one.</div>
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Prepare the pan and don't skimp on coating it! This stuff is sticky and you are going to flip it out of the pan after it has set.</div>
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Sticky gooey fluff.</div>
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Spray a rubber or metal spatula to smooth the sticky fluff into the pan.</div>
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After the marshmallows have sat at least 4 hours (or overnight), flip them out onto a cutting board</div>
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I used a pizza cutter (dusted with powdered sugar) to cut mine into squares</div>
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But you could use cookie cutters to make some cute little hearts for your sweeties on Valentine's Day!</div>
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Store in a closed container for up to 3 weeks!</div>
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Enjoy!</div>
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Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-75858537840024968022013-01-07T12:41:00.001-08:002013-01-07T12:41:31.076-08:00A Different Kind of Recipe: Wood CleanerLike a lot of people I definitely have the itch to clean and organize my house top to bottom right now. Unfortunately for that urge though, we have a January filled with visitors and a trip to Disneyland this week! Rough life, I know. Hopefully, come February that urge will still be around and I'll have some time to declutter and reorganize.<br />
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In the mean time I wanted to share a recipe for a wood cleaner that I've been using for a couple of months now. Back in November we bought a new kitchen table. Our old table was round with a glass top and only 4 chairs. I hated the constant finger prints (on both sides!) on the table and I felt like I was cleaning it constantly. It was also a little cramped. Mr. Pears' parents are living with us right now and we wanted to be able to eat dinner comfortably together without resorting to the dining room. (I only let my twin toddlers in the dining room when I absolutely have to!) And even when the inlaws aren't living here anymore I hope they'll still come over for dinner sometimes. A wood table with 6 chairs seemed to be the best option for our situation/budget.<br />
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But once the table arrived I didn't know what to clean it with! On our glass table I had been using my <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/06/diy-glass-cleaner-and-degreaser.html">glass cleaner/degreaser</a>, which worked great (but unfortunately couldn't keep the kids from constantly touching the table after I cleaned it, ahhhh.) For the other wood furniture in my house I almost always just use a dry microfiber cloth for dusting. I used a light spritz of all-purpose cleaner if necessary but usually it wasn't.<br />
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Obviously a dry dust cloth was not going to be any kind of match for spilled milk and dried on ketchup so I did a bit of research. I found out that, yes, vinegar is ok to use on wood furniture (I wasn't sure!). I also found out that wood furniture should be conditioned (moisturized) as well. So after looking over some DIY wood cleaning solutions, I decided to just sort of alter my glass cleaner recipe to suit. What I came up with once a simple one step cleaner that works great to get the food grime off the table and doesn't streak or leave a film. I love this stuff and I hope you do too!<br />
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<b>Wood Cleaner</b><br />
you'll need a clean 32 oz spray bottle<br />
2 cups distilled white vinegar<br />
2 teaspoons Dawn dish soap (original blue kind)<br />
2 teaspoons olive oil<br />
2 cups +/- filtered water<br />
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Pour the first three ingredients into the spray bottle in the order listed. Top the bottle off with the water. Shake gently to mix. <br />
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That's it! Since oil and water don't mix you'll need to gently shake the spray bottle before you use it each time. Like I said before, this stuff works great, and it only takes a little so this 32 oz bottle is going to last you a long time. The olive oil does not leave the table feeling oily at all. The table just looks nice and soft and shiny. For best results I recommend using a microfiber cloth to wipe the table down with but keep in mind that your cloth needs to be cleaned too! When your table starts getting streaky you know it is time for the cloth to hit the washing machine.<br />
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<br />Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6627310754013303476.post-86804122218480064802013-01-03T13:13:00.000-08:002013-01-03T13:13:03.925-08:00Top 10 posts of 2012Before we get too far into 2013 I thought I'd do a little recap of my most popular posts from 2012. <br />
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1. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/05/different-kind-of-recipe-dishwasher.html">DIY Dishwasher Detergent</a> - We are still using this and love it! Though, as a word of caution, when our water softener died (we have very hard water here) we had to use Cascade Complete for a week or so. The homemade stuff just couldn't fight the cloudiness from the hard water. Not sure if I could change up the formula to fix this since the softener is back up and running and the detergent is working great again.<br />
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2.<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/05/pink-lemonade-cake.html"> Pink Lemonade Cake</a> - Yummy! I need to make this again as soon as Spring comes back around.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGqMY742d8yinBF1LUmmd-Ha92ohG7hH-qw7jFzfCJFtiDWgINfTQFGbWeA-ZxioCvkAI37yMcWs7X-AbAme1-bvlZ3NbLEhTsEWYVK_rrBighCIK9fiBsaR-K_PTKZCCTXUrK66hd_M/s320/DSCF1964.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhoGqMY742d8yinBF1LUmmd-Ha92ohG7hH-qw7jFzfCJFtiDWgINfTQFGbWeA-ZxioCvkAI37yMcWs7X-AbAme1-bvlZ3NbLEhTsEWYVK_rrBighCIK9fiBsaR-K_PTKZCCTXUrK66hd_M/s320/DSCF1964.JPG" /></a></div>
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3. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/03/different-kind-of-recipe-all-purpose.html">DIY All-Purpose Cleaner</a> - love this stuff. I use it for just about everything now. No more Clorox, 409 or whatever chemically yuckiness around here anymore!<br />
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4. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/05/diy-desk-skirt.html">DIY Desk Skirt</a> - simple and pretty, I love how this easy desk skirt hides all the ugly computer cords.<br />
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5. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/06/scrapbook-paper-flowers.html">Scrapbook Paper Flower Wall Art</a> - this was so simple to do...I really need to work on some more DIY art in 2013<br />
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6. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/11/diy-advent-calendar.html">DIY Advent Calendar</a> - This was a huge hit with the kiddos this year and I though it come out so pretty. I'll be using it again next year for sure.<br />
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7. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/03/easy-homemade-lollipops.html">Easy Homemade Lollipops</a> - I'm still coming down from my Christmas cookie high so I'm not sure when lollipops will make it on to my to do list again but these sure are good.<br />
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8. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/09/crocheted-monster-hats.html">Crocheted Monster Hats</a> - these hats are adorable. Whenever the boys wear them out we get tons of compliments on my cutie pies!<br />
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9. <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/09/salted-caramel-brownies.html">Salted Caramel Brownies</a> - Brownies, caramel, salt...do I really need to say anything else?<br />
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10.<a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/06/homemade-fabric-softener.html"> Homemade Fabric Softener</a> - In all honesty, I don't use this all that often. I think the <a href="http://fourpears.blogspot.com/2012/02/different-kind-of-recipe-laundry.html">laundry detergent</a> does a good enough job on it's own! But, this stuff does work and I won't be buying softener again.<br />
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I had a great time in 2012 exploring lots of DIY and I plan to do more of that this year too. One of my 2013 resolutions is definitely to "make it not buy it" if I can. Should be fun!Christihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15036234666975359396noreply@blogger.com0