Valentine's Day = Yummy in my Tummy

by Emily

My daughter is now in preschool. I'm not sure yet what the Valentine's Day protocol for preschool is, but I am kind of excited. I'm not the over acheiving parent who is going to make all adorable martha stewart one-of-a-kind valentines for my children's classmates on Valentine's Day. But I might make these Jello Jigglers.

You can find the recipe HERE.










The Family Fun website (Disney company) is great, and I get their newsletter in my email once a week. It is the same stuff that is in the magazine! How cool is that--online for free! (though, sometimes it is just better to have it in print :) )


I think I must also make something chocolate.
Yes, definitely. Chocolate.


Find the recipe HERE.

















This will do, as well:





(I did this one year, but with a heart on top. Cut out a heart from paper, discard the heart. Put the paper heart-shaped-hole on the cheesecake, and sprinkle powdered sugar to make it super fancy. What a treat!)




Recipe, is, of course, HERE, because I am so nice like that. ;-)





Do you have any Valentine's Day plans, or suggestions? Please share--and feel free to include a web link!

Some Kinda Famous Marinade

by Emily

My father-in-law is pretty cool. As far as I'm concerned, he makes the best marinade I've ever had--especially when used on tri-tip steaks. YUM!
(Tri-tip is bigger than a personal sized steak, and you usually slice it against the grain to serve--so a single tri-tip can often serve a few people).

And lucky you, I'm going to share it. Tuck it away for a Father's Day meal this June!

It really is "Some Kinda Famous Marinade".

Makes: 3 to 4 Cups of marinade


Ingredients:
2 C Kikoman soy sauce
1 1/2 C white sugar
2 T minced or crushed ginger (I use the kind in a squeeze tube)
2 T minced or crushed garlic (I use fresh)
2 or 3 green onions chopped into 1 inch pieces
4 ounces beer (to be simmered--alcohol evaporates)
(since I'm a non-drinker, and I'm also a non-planner, I don't usually have beer on hand when I make this recipe--unless I've planned in advance, which we've already been through--I don't plan in advance. I'm not opposed to it (planning or cooking with beer? Ha!), I just don't have it. So I've come up with my own alternative--I take a little yeast, add it to warm water and a Tablespoon of sugar, and then use 4 ounces of that instead...it adds a similar flavor and tenderizing element to the meat)





Directions:
1. Start heating the soy sauce in a large pan, on low heat.
2. As it warms, slowly add sugar and stir constantly until dissolved--it's a lot of sugar!
3. Add the ginger, garlic, green onions and beer.
4. Slow simmer on gentle heat. It doesn't need to boil, but it can if you care to burn off the alcohol. Heat for around 20 minutes (exactness is not required) to allow the flavors to have "permeated the brew" (as my cool f-i-l says).
5. Take off heat, cool enough to add to a zip lock bag with meat for marinating. You can use it on stakes, pork chops, chicken--you can chop the meat for shish-ka-bobs, or use it for tri-tip steaks. For beef, let marinate a day (give or take). For white meat, shorter time is needed. I haven't tried this with fish, but I think it would be excellent with just about any kind of fish.
6. BBQ grill, broil, or George Foreman that meat!

(My f-i-l also has been known to add it to meat and then stick it in the freezer for a quick meal in a pinch down the road. What a guy!)






Now--what should I do with ALL of this parsley? I have 4 times this amount still in the garden!

Have some birthday fun!

by Emily

Is it weird to post a photo of yourself on your own birthday? Who cares! These are from favorite birthday parties of past (not mine). Robin assigned me this post today, so here you go: how to have fun on your birthday. You have to make your own fun, don't wait for it to happen to you!















Today is my 30th birthday. SO, today we (meaning: me, you, and your kids) are celebrating by going to Village Bakery for an oatmeal cookie at about 11:00am. I hope you can come. You ALL are invited. Surprise me and come!




Me making Joe's B'day cake, Barefoot Contessa Ina Garten's Coconut Cake, yum!












*DH has to work hard all day and into the evening. We'll celebrate later this week.

What's for dinner

by Sally


Do you love to eat?


If so, you are going to love this site. I have already told you that I love chowhound for finding new and delicious places to eat. Today I am going to show you a part of the site that I love because it's all about home cooking. In fact, it's called 'Home Cooking'. Ever wondered what to do with polenta? Balsamic vinegar? How to make perfect toffee? What to bring to a potluck, or what to serve for appetizers? Check it out. You will love it.


http://chowhound.chow.com/boards/31

I am looking to get new knives. The cheapo Sears set that we got as a wedding gift 14 years ago ain't cutting it anymore (pun intended). I will be using the Chowhound Home Cooking site as my go-to resource for knife info.



Here are some headlines from last week:

One Dish Wonders! Simple, healthy and quick. What is your favorite?
Freeze Enchiladas with or without sauce
Sherry substitute for a tomato cream sauce?
my frosting separated
Pie Crust Problems

As you can see, it includes anything having to do with home cooking. I mean, who hasn't had pie crust problems?! Okay, but really, wouldn't you like to get some more one dish wonders?

Enjoy Chowhound Home Cooking!

Lettuce Wraps

I love a flexible recipe, one that can adapt itself to what you have in the cupboard. And I love a recipe that sneaks in veggies - more veggies than meat. This is also a pretty easy recipe, although my experience is that most recipes don't feel easy the first time. But I can tell this will be an easy recipe the second time.


Lettuce Wraps

3 Tablespoons peanut oil
2-3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 cup chopped water chestnut
1 cup chopped mushrooms
1 cup shredded carrot
1 cup chopped green onion
2 teaspoons diced garlic
1 -2 teaspoons diced ginger
Sesame oil (drizzle to taste)

The mushrooms, carrots and onion - all ready to go.

Fry Sauce
Whisk together:
2 Tablespoons Soy Sauce
2 Tablespoons Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon rice wine vinegar


10 Iceberg lettuce leaves

Mae Ploy sauce

I got this at Safeway.

1. Add half the oil to wok (I just used a large frying pan) and heat medium high adding half of garlic and ginger.

2. Add chicken and cook until done. Remove chicken and set aside.

3. Add rest of oil, garlic, and ginger and quickly saute mushroom, green onion, carrot, and waterchestnut - keep crisp.

4. Shred or dice chicken and add to veggies in wok. Pour fry sauce over all and quickly fry - keeping veggies crisp.

5. Drizzle sesame oil over all and mix in. Sesame oil can be strong so taste as you go.

6. Let each person assemble their own wrap. Serve with rice and Mae Ploy sauce for dipping (YUM).

Tips and Hints:

• This is easier to make with a food processor. The first time it took me about 25 minutes including cooking time.
• You can use any leftover meat: chicken, hamburger, steak. I used leftover pork chops (3 thick ones from Costco), shredded/chopped them in the Cuisinart and it made enough for at least 8 people (I added more veggies).
• I used regular vinegar. You could also skip/exchange a few ingredients (water chestnuts, sesame oil, peanut oil) and it will be okay. Just not as fabulous!
  
• I didn't use all the fry sauce.
• Use brown rice for more fiber.
• You can cut way back on the oil and sugar if you want - still even with this amount of oil you are getting much less than you would from, say, PF Chang.
• Other veggies that would work: red and yellow bell peppers, zucchini, peas, and so on.
• Sesame oil is wonderful. I make a quick stir fry about 3 times a month and the peanut oil, fresh ginger, garlic, and sesame oil is what makes it taste so darn good (the frozen stir fry veggies at costco are excellent).
• You can also serve over rice.
  
• Good enough for a party or company.
  
• Tastes just as good the next day!

My Favorite Quick Meal in a Pinch

by Emily


Dinners at our house are very important. Making the effort so sit down at the end of the day and have a meal together brings a sense of routine and security to our family. Of course there are times when dinners are less than perfect, a person may be missing, or the meal may be a bowl of cereal (this is rare).

Here is a recent favorite dinner of mine that takes little effort, but it requires something essential: Trader Joe's

We don't live near a Trader Joe's, unfortunately. But when we see one, we stop in a buy a few jars of simmer sauces. We also buy the maple granola cereal--wow! But Trader Joe's is an entirely different blog post--so back to the recipe:
Trader Joe's Simmer Sauces are pretty delicious, my favorite is the Masala sauce (a tomato based sauce used in Indian cuisine). I also like them because the ingredients are normal, they're all things you've heard of before, natural and whole. Tastey too.

I simply fry up some chicken or tofu (I like firm tofu, pat with paper towels first to soak up water, cube and saute w/olive oil until a little brown on edges), toss in the jar of sauce, add a little water, and simmer until a little thickened.

Tofu is easy to cook with because it has a decent "shelf" life (refridgerate, of course) of a few weeks, or even months. So I like to buy some and have it on hand for other quick meals. It is really easy to cook with--if you can fry an egg, you can cook with tofu. I like to use it with the simmer sauce, but I also like it for a quick stir-fry with frozen or fresh veggies on hand.

Serve with any kind of rice (basmati for a more indian flavor) and/or lentils.

Lentils.

Ever made them? Lentils are easy to cook, essentially you boil them in water until they are soft and ready to eat. Unlike rice that soaks up all the water you use to boil, lentils will only soak up some water, drain the rest. To test if they are done, simply try some to see if they are soft. They should not be chewy--cook them longer if they are. Lentils are a great source of iron which might explain why I craved them during pregnancy and breastfeeding. I make extra for leftovers for lunch (microwave and add a little pad of butter and salt). They are a dry kind of bean, so they go well with sauce.

So, lets review: fry up some chicken or tofu, add some Masala simmer sauce, serve over rice and/or lentils. Voila!

You may be able to find some other simmer sauces of other brands at your local grocery store--I would look in the asian foods isle.

A Recipe for The New Year!

My mom gave me this recipe about 18 years ago and it is still wonderful today! This is not a one bowl recipe, but it is worth the mess it makes.

Peppermint Ice Cream Cake

1st Layer:
1/3 lbs graham cracker crumbs
1 cup chopped nuts

Spread crumbs in 9x13 pan and sprinkle nuts on top of crumbs.

2^nd Layer:

1 cup butter - divided

3 squares bitter chocolate

4 cups powdered sugar

1 t vanilla

Dash salt

6 egg yolks *

6 egg whites – beat stiff

Melt chocolate in microwave with ¼ cup butter. Beat in mixer with the rest of the butter, sugar, vanilla and salt (dough will be quite thick at this point). Add egg yolks. Gently fold in egg whites. Spread evenly over the 1^st layer and put in freezer until hard.

3^rd Layer:

2 quarts peppermint ice cream

Soften a little and spread over frozen chocolate mixture. Drizzle with chocolate if you like. Freeze until serving time.

Serves 20

Illustrated Directions (for those of us who are visual learners):

Make your crumbs in your blender - I chop my nuts here too!

Nuts can be coarse in texture.
Beat the whites while the chocolate is melting and set them aside.
Add the melted chocolate. Notice that I didn't bother to clean the leftover egg whites out of the mixing bowl. Just leave them there.

Before you add the yolks the mixture is very thick.

Fold in the whites very carefully to keep them light and fluffy.

Pour mixture over the crumb/nut base and freeze until hard.

Scoop ice cream on top of frozen base and then let it soften until it can be spread evenly.

"Limited Edition". This is still in stores! Go buy 3 cartons now (1 1/2 for the recipe and the rest for leisure eating). This also makes a pretty and yummy Valentine's treat!

The child closest to age 10 in your family can drizzle the chocolate (we used Hersey's syrup).

* Because this contains raw eggs you will want to warn any pregnant ladies or super old people and give them a bowl of peppermint ice cream instead.

4 Ingredient Comfort Food

By Emily

Did you know that Homemade Macaroni and Cheese is really easy, and higher on the yum factor* than Mac-n-Cheez in a box? FOUR INGREDIENTS! That is all.

I didn't really know this until a few years ago when I started to pay attention to recipes my mom and Joe's mom made. This came up again in conversation with Lauren--hence this post. Thanks Lauren.

Anyway, here is a simple recipe from Joe's family cookbook, perfect for those days when you need a homemade meal, but can't muster up the energy.

For me, this was today. I have just gotten over a bout of food poisoning (or intestinal flu--who knows) and am trying to ease back into normal food. Still passing on the citrus fruits, but past the BRAT** diet. This fit the bill.

Maybe calling it Macaroni and Cheese will confuse your children when it comes out of the oven nothing like the box variety--you might want to make up your own name*** for it.

Also, this recipe is hard to mess up****. You can play around with the cheeses, the kind of pasta, the measurements, it will still turn out delicious. Today I used Rotini, since we had no Macaroni. But Ruby said, "Oh no, mommy, I don't want it that Spanish word. I want it Macaroni and Cheese," so I guess calling it "Rotini-and-Cheese" was a no go.

I'll include some variations below. With this recipe, you can follow the rule of 2, or 3, or 4, depending on how much you need to make. You'll see, check it out:

Homemade Macaroni and Cheese

Makes: 4 large servings

Bake: 350*

Time: 20-40 min (depending on how hot and crispy you want your topping)

3 C macaroni, cooked (let's not count this as an ingredient, so then we can call it a 4 ingredient recipe, okay?)

3 T butter

3 T flour

1 1/2 C milk
3 C shredded cheese (set some aside for topping--however much you want, it'll turn out delicious)

1. Boil pasta until done. Drain. Set aside. (I did this at lunch time while I was in the kitchen anyway)

2. In a sauce pan, melt butter, add flour and stir continuously, add milk still stirring (like other white sauces). Add cheese and stir until well blended and melted.
3. Toss sauce over pasta, put in a buttered baking dish and top with remaining cheese.
4. Bake at 350* for 20-40 minutes

________________________

Variations:

• Mix up the cheeses! I ran out of cheddar, so I used part Parmesan--gourmet!
  
• Top with bread crumbs instead of cheese (toss the bread crumbs with melted butter first, then top)
• Top with sliced tomatoes for added color and nutrients
• Add salt and pepper to sauce for flavor
• Toss in a dash of mustard (the dry spice kind) with your sauce making to add a little zing
• Make it spicy with peppers
  

*My original thoughts on Homemade Macaroni and Cheese were, "Why would you bother, that is a box food," but that was before I learned how easy it was. I would bet that, aside from the baking time, the actual prep time is the same as a box of mac-n-cheez.

**BRAT diet: Banana, Rice, Applesauce, Toast (this is for upset stomach, stomach flu, etc. mild foods that won't aggravate your tummy--especially kids. Sometimes I'll top the toast with applesauce--not too appealing, but when you can't keep much else down, and you're supposed to avoid greasy food among others [butter on your toast] it can be a small comfort)

***Other names: Pasta Bechamel, Cheesy Pasta Bake, Creamy Cheesy Pasta, Mario and Luigi's Favorite, etc. Why make up other names for it? If you say to the kids, 'HEY! We're having Macaroni and Cheese tonight!" What do you think they'll expect? I think appropriate expectations help foods succeed at the dinner table with kids. So prepare them, have them help you make it (Ruby "greased" the baking dish with a stick of butter, and sampled the cheese), then they'll know what to expect--and maybe don't call it Macaroni and Cheese if they're used to the box kind.

****How much can you fudge the recipe? If you only have 2 C of cheese instead of 3, it'll still be fine. If you want to add more pasta and less sauce, still delicious. It is pretty hard to mess this up.

Christmas Morning Yum Yum

What are your Christmas mornings like? Do you have a tradition? Do you just dig in and amaze yourself with the bounty? Or, do you savor it slowly, one gift at a time? Do you take time to eat, or just munch on the goodies your find in your stocking (including the orange at the bottom)?

I'm not going to go into our whole tradition, but I will boss you a little and tell you to take time to eat a good breakfast on Christmas morning. This is what we do... feel free to copy.

After we go through our stockings we take a break and head into the kitchen for a nice breakfast. We always have breakfast casserole (which turns into lunch and dinner as well) and cinnamon rolls (Thanks to Mrs. Rhoades). We wash it down with milk and/or orange juice. So yummy. We sit and talk and get excited for the rest of the day. And the best part is, I only have to get up about 10 minutes before the boys to make this happen. I just put the food in the oven first thing, then enjoy the stockings and Santa gifts until breakfast is ready. Yum Yum!


Christmas Morning Breakfast Casserole

1 lb breakfast meat cooked and drained - bite size (I like Little Smokies cut into thirds - I can do this a couple days ahead if I want)

8 slices uncrusted bread - torn into smallish pieces (about 9 pieces per slice)

8 eggs

2 Cups milk

2 Cups shredded cheese (cheddar or colby jack is best)

The night before, mix the sausage and bread, and about 1/2 the cheese in the bottom of a GREASED 9x13 pan. Mix the eggs and milk and pour over the bread and meat mixture. Sprinkle remaining cheese on top. Cover with plastic wrap and put in fridge overnight.

In the morning bake for 45 min - 1 hour at 350 degrees. ( Check center to make sure it is done and not soupy). Let cool for about 10 minutes.

This is delicious served with tomatoes, and sliced fruit. Also, you can add diced onions to the egg/milk mixture if you want --- so yummy!


Mrs. Rhoades Cinnamon Rolls

The night before Christmas put the number of rolls desired into a greased pan with some space between them (to let them rise). Cover and put in fridge. In the morning, if not raised enough put on counter top. When fully raised, bake, frost and eat!!! (Good for a late morning snack if they are not ready when the cassarole is done. This has happend to us a few times, just depends on the temperature and how quickly they raise).


Sounds simple, doesn't it. It is and it is one of the traditions we look forward to. I think it just helps us all slow down and be happy and thankful for what we have, instead of anxiously opening gifts hoping we got what we wanted.

What are your Christmas morning traditions? Please share!

Par-Tay

Parties use to be monthly, even weekly affairs back when our grandparents were young. In the last 40 years parties have really suffered. But with the economy stuttering, parties are making a comeback. It is good cheap fun and it takes your mind off of financial woes! There are two kinds of parties: big ones and small ones.

Big parties usually mean invitations that are mailed and require R.S.V.P.s, a theme, decorations, impressive food, entertainment, and lots of planning. Big parties include: New Year’s Parties, Milestone Birthdays, Baby/Bridal Showers, Super Bowl Parties, Christmas Parties, 4th of July Parties, and Halloween Parties.

Small parties include family birthday parties, BBQ’s, game nights, and spontaneous get togethers. Small parties are easy and can happen with a phone call or email invite. One of my favorite small parties happened when we were stuck in a blizzard, I mean a full blown scary blizzard, for 3 days. At the end of the 3rd day I called the neighbors and invited them to our home for lunch. I made a big pot of potato soup, rolls, cookies and sliced up every veggie we had. We were all thrilled to see someone new after 3 days of being cooped up in our homes. It was a great noisy party. It lasted all day.

Here are a few ideas to help you pull off a party without much effort:

• Don’t worry about your house. Worry about who to invite and what to eat. No one really cares about your house. Just make sure it smells good. No one wants to party in a house that smells like feet.


• Don’t over think the guest list. Just make sure you have at least 2 fun loving people who know how to make conversation in the group (besides you, of course). Don’t invite people you feel “obligated” to invite. They can throw their own party. And don’t be afraid to tell people if they need to get a babysitter.
  

• Make the food simple. Something salty (chips, nuts, pretzels) something sweet (cookies, brownies, M&Ms) something healthy (veggies, fruit) and something to drink (we drink pop at our parties). It’s okay to let guests to bring something simple if they offer to help. It’s also good to have food that is interactive, like fondue, ice cream makers, make your own scone, or a chocolate fountain (this would be a great present for me). Don’t be afraid to put people to work in the kitchen doing fun easy tasks – it makes them feel like they belong.

Here are 2 easy make-ahead recipes that are a hit at every party:

Feta Spread:
1 jar red peppers (about 1 cup)
2/3 cup sundried tomatoes
½ jar pesto (2/3 cup)
Garlic
2 green onions
Splash lemon juice
2 cups feta cheese
6 T mayo
Splash hot sauce
Chop garlic (2 cloves) in food processor add rest of ingredients except feta – process. Stir in feta by hand. Serve with bagel chips, pita chips, crackers, veggies. So yummy!

Sweet Chex Mix:
6 cups Honey Graham cereal (store brand is good)
6 cups Corn chex (store brand)
1 cup cashews (or any nut)
1 cup coconut
Bring the following to boil for 3 minutes (High Altitude – 4 Minutes)
1 cup Karo
1 cup sugar
¾ cup butter
Pour over cereal and cool on wax paper. Break apart and store in sealed container.

• Play music loud. Not James Taylor – he is too serious. James Brown is more like it. The soundtrack for "Muppets in Space" is perfect (really). You have to play the music loud so people start talking loud and then they think they are having fun because they have to raise their voices. It really works.


• Think about your lighting. Is it flattering? Light some candles and light the fireplace too.


• Paper plates and cups. Get the big plastic cups and have sharpie markers so people can decorate their cups. Give a prize to the coolest cup.


• Introduce people to each other and brag about them. They will feel great and your party will be great.


• Have a mixer or two planned if people don’t know each other. I love Liar Liar. People write their name on a paper and then write 2 or 3 things that are unusual about themselves that others might not know (homecoming queen, ate a rattlesnake, piloted a submarine) . You call 3 people up and read one of their items and then all 3 people tell a story about how it was them. People try to decide who is telling the truth. Great fun.


• Have a game that pitches boys against girls. It forces the men to talk to each other and it feels flirty to compete against your husband. He’s so handsome!


• About halfway into the party pull something warm and yummy out of the oven like pizza, cinnamon rolls, cheesy French bread, potato skins. This forces people to mix and mingle with new people.


• As people start to leave be sure to walk them to the door and thank them for coming.

Now – don’t be expecting lots of invitations to parties just because you threw one. You will be disappointed. You aren’t throwing this party so that you’ll be invited to parties. Most people don’t throw parties. You do it because you are a fun person who loves your friends. And they will love you.

Now it's time to par-tay!

Tofurky or Turkey Head? NEITHER!

by Emily

Dear Bossy Readers,

The Happy Diners

You haven't left many comments lately. We miss you. Are you okay? Have you recovered? Have you been busy these past few days? Do feel as though you've been hit, or sucked into, a hurricane? I do. But we've been slacking on the posts as well, and we beg your bossy forgiveness. I'm a little surprised more of you haven't bossed us around to get back to posting--but then I must assume you're busy bossing others around, don't have energy to boss us around, and that is why you come here to get bossed. Or something like that. At least, that is how it is for me. Anyway--WE'RE BACK! in full swing!

The Delectable Spread


This was our second Vegetarian Thanksgiving. Joe's extended family is vegetarian, it is always a pleasure visiting them. So, I thought that while some of you are vegetarian and this is nothing new, many of you are not--and cannot imagine Thanksgiving without a *turkey. Here is what it looked like:


*While I very much looked forward to this Thanksgiving, aware of the lack of turkey and feeling fine with that, I kept on looking forward to leftover sandwiches on Melissa's kNot Rolls (recipe here), with cranberry jelly and turkey---wait---it didn't hit me: no turkey=no leftover turkey sandwiches on kNot rolls w/cranberry sauce. Waaaah...

P.S. If you want any recipes--speak up! For example, the keynote vegetarian dish was a gourmet mushroom and tofu casserole (as in the french word casserole-- say it with a french accent!) with a delicate savory mushroom sauce, topped with real mashed potatoes. Merci, Uncle Doug!

Christmas Candy House

Thanksgiving 2007
NOT the perfect house...but still lots of fun.

Before Sally had kids we stayed up one Thanksgiving night until 3:00 AM working on the most amazing candy Christmas house ever built. It was so perfect it would have won awards. One of my deathbed regrets will be, that in our sugar induced coma, we didn't think to take pictures.

I have tried to recreate that house ever since. We build the house the day after Thanksgiving and work on it most of the day.

Easy Candy House:

1. Buy lots of different candy:
• smarties, m&ms, kisses, licorice, skittles, sixlets, jelly beans, Mike & Ikes, lemon drops, candy canes, butter mints, starburst mints, pretzel sticks, circus peanuts, necco wafers, good n'plenty, gum drops, Dots, small cookies and crackers
  
2. Collect boxes (cereal, crackers, Pringle cans make good turrets)
3. Duct tape boxes together into house/castle shape, duct tape house to a foil/paper lined cookie sheet
4. Cover boxes with graham crackers - using the frosting recipe below
   
5. Invite friends and family to help - it is a lot of work - the more the merrier!
6. Play favorite fun Christmas CD (Harry Connick Jr. always gets me dancing around)
   
7. Put candy into bowls. It is exciting to see all that candy!
8. Using the frosting, glue all the candy to the house. Go crazy!
9. Take a picture of the final product and email it to us at bossysisters@gmail.com (we will judge them in all different categories and declare winners!)
10. Let the kids pick at it until it is gross and then throw it away.

In this picture you can see the duct-taped house , some of the bowls of candy, the frosting, and the technique used to apply crackers and candy. Once the house is covered with candy you don't even notice the crackers.

Some houses are neat and tidy, like this one from 2006:

Others are a huge glorious gluttonous celebration of sugar:

Hannah, Curt, and Holly work on the neat and tidy house from 2006.

Most of the kisses, gum drops, lemon drops, and Dots were missing 2 days after this house was done.

Royal Icing:

2 large egg whites
2 teaspoons fresh lemon juice
3 cups (330 grams) confectioners (powdered or icing) sugar, sifted

Mix until smooth. This icing dries and hardens quickly so keep a damp paper towel nearby to cover it when not using. I usually divide it up into several small bowls so everyone can share a small bowl. I usually end up doubling this recipe.

Remember to email us the picture of your house and we will announce the winner!
bossysisters@gmail.com

What should we call this contest?
Should there be a prize?
What is the prize?

Pumpkin Head

by Sally

Not to get all Martha on you or anything, but I recently made a pumpkin pie from a real pumpkin. This was thanks to my oldest child, who asked repeatedly until I realized, why not?

The good news is, it tastes delicious. Lighter and fresher than regular pumpkin pie. Other good news is that I feel virtuous for having made it, and yet more good news: it's from a vegetable so it must be health food. The not-so-good news: it's more work than canned pumpkin. Big surprise there.

So, in case you should ever have a desire to do this yourself, here are the gory details.

First, get a pie pumpkin. I got mine at trader joe's. They are cute.

Lip balm is here to show scale. Pie pumpkins are smallish.

Next, set your frozen pie crust on the counter to thaw (not very Martha). If you plan ahead, you can thaw it in the fridge overnight and then on the counter. It needs to be room temp. Or you can be an overachiever and make your own, it's not hard, just one more thing to do. Either way, get your crust prepped (do not bake it in advance, it bakes with the pie).

Pie crust also courtesy of Trader Joe's.

Wash the outside of the pumpkin and cut in half. Scoop out the seeds and gunky stuff (this was the hardest part, and anyone helping you will probably quit to go watch Mary Poppins, or at least that's what happened at my house).

In half. Don't mess with the stem part. You can save the seeds to roast, if you're into that kind of thing.

Clean as a whistle.

When your pumpkin is clean, cook it in the microwave. I put mine in a large glass dish with about an inch of water and covered with saran wrap. Microwave on high for 12 min, then keep cooking, but poke it with a fork every 2 minutes until it is soft all the way through to the peel.

The peel will stay hard and should be easy to pull off. Let your pumpkin cool before you try this or you'll have some burned fingers. Use that cooling time to turn the oven on to 425 F, drink a diet coke, and put your pie crust into a 9-inch pie pan. Don't forget to make the edges pretty!

The pumpkin after cooking, with the skin peeling off.

Scoop out (or peel away) the soft pumpkin into a mixing bowl. If you have a hand blender, use it to puree the pumpkin until it is totally smooth. This took about 2-3 minutes for me. You could also use a regular blender, a cuisinart or even a hand mixer. It should be very smooth (like baby food) after blending. Don't add any water to help puree it. After it's pureed, let it sit for 5 minutes and pour off any water that may be sitting on top (there may not be any).

You now have homemade pumpkin glop that qualifies your pie as health food! (If you are planning to bake this pie on a busy day, I suggest that you do all of work up to this point in advance of the day you want to bake the pie, and refrigerate the glop.)

Add to the mixing bowl the following ingredients:

1 cup sugar
1.5 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon ground cloves
1 teaspoon ground allspice
1.5 teaspoon ground ginger
(or, if you have pre-mixed pumpkin pie spice, just add 3.5 teaspoons)
one half teaspoon salt
4 large eggs
3 cups pumpkin glop (I actually only had 2.5 cups)
1 can (12oz ) of evaporated milk

I like how the little spice container looks like an open beak. "Give me some pie"! I'm crazy.

Mix well using a hand blender or mixer. It will be very runny and you may be thinking "this is not going to work". It will. Pour into your pie crust until about 1/2 inch from the top of the crust. You are ready to bake! If you have lots of leftover pie filling (I did) you can either make little tartlets using pie crust and a muffin tin, or just grease a baking dish of a size that the extra filling will fill to a depth of about 2 inches. Bake this with the pie for a "crustless" pumpkin pie. For your kids.

Bake at 425 F for the first 15 minutes, then at 350 F for another 45-60 minutes. Your house will smell good. Children and husbands will come out of the woodwork. You can test it's doneness by inserting a regular table knife into the center. It should come out with a few little goobers on it, but not coated with pie filling.

That gash is my knife mark. Maybe I was a little too assertive.

Let your beautiful masterpiece of a pie cool. Chase away children and husbands who want to eat it prematurely.

It is good with ice cream, whipped cream, or plain. This pie is perfectly acceptable to eat at any meal, including breakfast. It has vegetable and protein in it. It's health food! Enjoy!