Happy Chinese New Year!!!!

The university's Chinese Students and Scholars Association had their annual CNY gala and this year, Benji participated in a dance. Their dance was the opening act! It was really cute to see Benji on stage. Proud of the little guy! He's on the far left.

Though this video was recorded in HD, I didn't have the right software to deal with HD clips yet. Sorry! Tell Apple to quickly release iLife '10.

What is Chinese New Year?

At Chinese class today:

Teacher: What is Chinese New Year?

Benji: A party with Chinese.

Creamy chicken vegetable soup

Okay, here is recipe number two. The recipe called for turkey but I used chicken and it was just fine.

Ingredients

• 1 large onion, finely chopped
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 3 cups diced small red potatoes
• 2 cans (14-1/2 ounces each) chicken broth
• 2 cups cooked cubed turkey breast
• 2 cups frozen mixed vegetables, thawed
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/2 teaspoon white pepper
• 1/2 teaspoon poultry seasoning
• 2 cups heavy whipping cream

Directions

In a large saucepan, saute onion in butter until tender. Add potatoes and broth. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat; cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Stir in the turkey, vegetables, salt, pepper and poultry seasoning. Cook 10-12 minutes longer or until vegetables are tender. Stir in cream; heat through (do not boil).

Beef and cabbage soup recipe

It's been super cold here lately, so this has been the week of soups. A friend asked me to post my recipes... so here is recipe number one.

Beef and cabbage soup

1 lb ground beef

1 medium onion

1 cup diced celery

1/2 green pepper chopped

2 tablespoons canola oil

2 teaspoons salt

2 tablespoons sugar

1/4 teaspoons pepper

1/2 teaspoon paprika

1 28 oz can whole tomatoes chopped

1 5 1/2 oz can tomato paste

4 cups water

2 beef bullion cubes

3 tablespoons finely chopped fresh parsley

2 cups raw potatoes diced in small squares (peeled)

1 cup raw carrots diced

1/2 of a head of cabbage finely chopped

Optional: chili pepper to taste

In a large soup pot, saute ground beef in canola oil. Add onion, celery, green pepper. Stir until onion is transparent and meat has lost its redness. Drain off oil. Add the remaining ingredients except cabbage. Mix well. Simmer covered for 1 hour, stirring occasionally. Add cabbage and simmer covered 1 additional hour, stirring occasionally. This soup is meant to on the thick side, however if it is too thick add 1 or 2 cups of water if needed.

SNOW

The last few winters here in Arkansas we have not had good snows. This year seems to be making up for it! We had a white Christmas and now another snow last night. The boys had a blast this morning - sledding down our steep driveway, having a snowball fight with Daddy, and attempting to make a snow man. The snow was a little dry for building a snow man, but I managed to get a tiny one made. It doesn't take much to impress kids who have grown up in the South - even a small snow man is pretty spectacular to them.

The boys sledding

Benji did this over and over down our driveway

Benji

Brutal war of snow balls - Daddy pounding Benji

This time Daddy got it in the face...

Benji packing another one

Zac doing his best too - but he didn't think the pounding was all that fun and just watched that part rather than participating

King of the jungle

We were packing up Christmas decorations this morning, including the Adorenaments (ornaments representing different names of Jesus). I thought it'd be a good time to review some of the names. When we got to "Lion of the tribe of Judah," Benji said, "Lion of the tribe of jungle."

A good cookie recipe to try

The boys and I made these cookies last Friday and we have all really enjoyed them. I needed to type up the recipe for a friend, so I thought I'd share with everyone.

Chewy Chocolate-Raisin cookies

1 c. golden raisins, coarsely chopped
1/2 c. brandy (I didn't have any on hand so I just used water)
1 1/2 c. flour (I used whole wheat pastry flour but all-purpose would be fine too)
3 Tbsp. cocoa powder
1 1/2 tsp. gr. cinnamon
3/4 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. coarse salt
4 oz. (1 stick) unsalted butter, softened
1/2 cup light-brown sugar
1/2 cup honey
6 oz. white chocolate chips
1/2 c. fine sanding or granulated sugar

Bring raisins and brandy to boil in a small saucepan. Remove from heat, and let stand for 20 min. Meanwhile, whisk together flour, cocoa, 1 tsp. cinnamon, the baking soda, and salt. Preheat oven to 325. Beat butter and brown sugar with a mixer on medium speed until pale and fluffy and bout 2 min. Add honey, and beat until creamy. Reduce speed to low, add flour mixture, and beat until combined. Drain raisins, discard liquid. Add raisin and chocolate to dough. Mix to combine. Whisk together sanding sugar and remaining 1/ tsp. cinnamon. Scoop 2 Tbsp. dough. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture, and shape into a ball. Roll in cinnamon-sugar mixture again to coat completely. Repeat with remaining dough. Transfer to parchment-lined baking sheets, spacing about 2 inches apart, as you work. Bake until just set and starting to crack, 18 to 20 min. Let cool on sheet. (Cookies can be stored at room temperature for up to 3 days.)

My beautiful new quilt

I mentioned on Facebook a few weeks ago that I like this quilt but was unqualified to make it. To my utter surprise, my friend Ruth presented it to me this evening for my Christmas gift. I am so grateful for her hard work and her sweet gift. It just might be the sweetest gift I've ever received. Here are two photos of her handiwork.

one word tag

1. Where is your cell phone? purse
2. Your hair? curly
3. Your mother? down-to-earth
4. Your father? handy
5. Your favorite food? sugar
6. Your dream last night? unknown
7. Your favorite drink? coffee
8. Your dream/goal? shine
9. What room are you in? living
10. Your hobby? knitting
11. Your fear? failure
12. Where do you want to be in 6 years? clueless
13. Where were you last night? home
14. Something that you aren’t? tall
15. Muffins? blueberry
16. Wish list item? clothes
17. Where did you grow up? Arkansas
18. Last thing you did? read
19. What are you wearing? pajamas
20. Your TV? non-existent
21. Your pets? none
22. Friends? lovely
23. Your life? busy
24. Your mood? tired
25. Missing someone? Chihiro
26. Vehicle? Civic
27. Something you’re not wearing? shoes
28. Your favorite store? Banana
29. Your favorite color? green
30. When was the last time you laughed? today
31. Last time you cried? months
32. Your best friend? several
33. One place that I go to over and over? Wal-mart
34. One person who emails me regularly? Bekah
35. Favorite place to eat? Amelia's

Cranberry coffeecake recipe

My friend asked for this recipe so I thought I'd share with everyone.

Cranberry coffeecake (from The Joy of Cooking)

Preheat oven to 350. Prepare streusel and set aside.

Streusel: Blend with a fork until mixture resembles coarse crumbs:
2/3 cup all-purpose flour
2/3 cup finely chopped walnuts or pecans
2/3 cup sugar or brown sugar
5 Tbsp. melted butter
1 tsp. gr. cinnamon
1/4 tsp. salt

Whisk together:

2 cups whole wheat pastry flour
1 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. baking soda
1/2 tsp. salt

Combine in another bowl and set aside:
1 1/4 cups sour cream or yogurt (I use yogurt)
1 tsp. vanilla

In a large bowl, beat on high speed until lightened in color and texture, 3-4 min.:
4 Tbsp. (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
1 1/4 cup sugar

Beat in 1 at a time:
2 eggs

Add the flour mixture in 3 parts, alternating with the sour cream mixture in 2 parts, beating on low speed. Last, add 2 1/2 cups cranberries (or diced peeled apples for a variation). Scrape the batter into greased 9x13-in. baking pan. Bake for 40-45 min. or until toothpick comes out clean.