Cute Little E

Cute Little E came over today for Halloween and 1 Year photos today.  She really loved that cake!

Llyod's Healthy Chicken Zoopa

I found this recipe at Allrecipes.com.  I made it tonight for tomorrow's dinner. It is delicious. I was skeptical because the only seasonings are salt, pepper, hot sauce and soy sauce. The flavors are really good together. Next time I will make at least a double batch. One of those dishes that are good today and even better tomorrow.

Lloyd's Healthy Chicken Zoopa

• 2 TB vegetable oil
• 2 cloves garlic minced ( I used jar garlic and added more, I love garlic)
• 2 cups chopped onion (I used one medium-large onion)
• 1 red bell pepper, chopped
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped
• 2 cups chopped celery
• 1 cup julienned carrots ( I had left over carrot chips, which i sliced)
• 1 cup minced leek
• 4 cups chicken stock
• salt and pepper to taste ( I used white pepper)
• 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
• 1/4 teaspoon soy sauce
• 6 oz fresh spinach, rinsed
• 1/2 cup egg noodles, uncooked
• 1/2 pound skinless, boneless chicken cut into bitesize pieces ( I used thighs)

Heat oil in a large soup pot over medium heat. Add garlic, onion, peppers, celery, carrots and leek. Saute until onions are translucent and balance of veggies has been tossed through with hot oil. Add stock and season with salt and pepper.  Add hot sauce and soy sauce. Bring soup to a simmer and simmer over low heat for about 40 minutes. 

Add spinach and cover pot. ( Volume of spinach will appear to be too great for the pot, don't worry, just put it in -within minutes it will reduce.) Stir soup; add noodles. Stir again and add chicken. Keep simmering for approximately 5 minutes until chicken is cooked.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

So we went to the Pumpkin Patch today.  Everyone had fun. There were horses, goats, sheep, little pigs, and chickens. Owen had the most fun jumping with his brother on the hay bales that were set up as a maze. When we got home J. wanted to carve his pumpkin and Owen wanted in on the action too.  We love pumpkin seeds, so after the carving we made these.

Roasted Pumpkin Seeds

• Seeds from 1 large pumpkin and 1 little one
• 1 tsp olive oil
• 2 tsp garlic powder
• 1 tsp salt (I used Kosher)
• 1 tsp ground white pepper
• 1/8 tsp chili powder
• Dash of paprika 
• Dash of crushed red pepper
• 1 tsp-1tbl 100% maple syrup

Clean and rinse the seeds. Pat dry. Mix dry ingredients into large bowl. Mix in 1 tsp olive oil and maple syrup (add more or less to taste). Add the seeds to the mixture and stir until coated. Pour into single layer on baking sheet. Bake in 350 degree oven for 15-30 minutes. Until golden brown and crisp. Keep an eye on them. They can burn fast. We checked them after 10 minutes (when we stirred them) and every 5 minutes after that.

   Betcha can't eat just one handful!

Beautiful Miss O

I had the pleasure of photographing Miss O today. What a doll.  Here is a sneak peek from today's session.