Fake Haircuts!

Last week we went to our favorite stylist, Sharon, for hair cuts.   Olivia (now 2.5 years old) has not had a hair cut yet and honestly, does not need one as I am growing her hair out long (bangs included) and after I totally botched Abby's hair when she was younger-I swore with this child I would not touch her with scissors.    The problem is Olivia WANTS a hair cut!  So thankfully Sharon gave her a spin in the chair.  Livy was thrilled!!!

Example of my fine work on Abby's hair when she was little.  Could those bangs be any more uneven!! Let's not even talk about how I made half of her head into bangs.............

Eggplant Parm- NOT FRIED!

This was the first time I made this recipe and I liked it b/c you did not have to fry the eggplant and it was LOVED by everyone.  (Even the dog when Livy dropped a big piece on the floor!)

Easy Eggplant Parmesan from Allrecipes

Ingredients

2 medium eggplants, peeled and thinly sliced into 1/2 inch rounds (<-- next time I might slice thinnner)
1 tablespoon salt
1 egg, beaten
1 1/2 cups plain bread crumbs
2 cups tomato sauce, divided
1 (16 ounce) package shredded mozzarella cheese, divided
1/3 cup grated Parmesan cheese, divided
1 teaspoon dried basil
 
Directions:


Heat oven to 350 degrees F

Place sliced eggplant in a colander and sprinkle salt over eggplant and let stand 1 hour; rinse salt and pat dry. Dip eggplant in egg then in bread crumbs. Place a single layer on a sheet pan. Bake until tender, about 5-7 minutes on each side.

Add 1 cup tomato sauce to 9x13 baking dish, half of the eggplant, mozzarella and parmesan cheese; repeat layering process finishing with the cheeses. Sprinkle basil on top.

Bake for 30 minutes, or until golden brown. Cool 5 minutes before slicing and serving.

I think somebody is ready for Dance!

Happy Friday!

Pesto

The basil is finally ready to pick!  This is one of my basil pickers-pretty cute huh? 

I made a few batches of this Pesto and froze several portions.  Even though I had 5 BIG basil plants-it only yielded enough pesto for about 4 or 5 pasta meals.  (thinking one box or 1 pound of pasta at a time).  Thinking it will be pretty tasty this winter!

Pesto (Adapted from Simply in Season)

This recipe yields about 1 cup of pesto.

1 cup packed fresh basil leaves

3 cloves garlic

1/4 cup nuts (whatever you have on hand: pine nuts, pecans, walnuts, almonds, etc. or a combination)

3-6 tbsp. parmesan cheese

1 tsp. salt

1/4-1/3 cup olive oil

Combine all ingredients in a food processor, processing small batches if needed. Adjust amount of olive oil as needed to obtain the consistency you prefer.

Horn worms = fun all day!

During a recent visit to my mother's garden- the horrible, destructive horn worm was discovered on her tomato plants.  They are HUGE and they can destroy a whole plant over night!  You can of course spray with toxic pesticides to get rid of them or take care of them the old fashion way- plucking them off the plant and cutting them in half with a pair of sissors.    My kids and their cousins decided another option was to keep them as pets.

I get grossed out just LOOKING at them!  I told you they were HUGE.

Blueberry Crumb Bars!

These are wonderful!  I highly recommend making these-they are so easy.  I have used both fresh and frozen blueberries and they came out great.

Blueberry Crumb Bars
Adapted from AllRecipes.com

Yield: I cut these into 36 smallish rectangles

1 cup white sugar

1 teaspoon baking powder

3 cups all-purpose flour

1 cup cold unsalted butter (2 sticks or 8 ounces)

1 egg

1/4 teaspoon salt

Zest and juice of one lemon

4 cups fresh blueberries

1/2 cup white sugar

4 teaspoons cornstarch


1. Preheat the oven to 375 degrees F (190 degrees C). Grease a 9×13 inch pan.

2. In a medium bowl, stir together 1 cup sugar, 3 cups flour, and baking powder. Mix in salt and lemon zest. Use a fork or pastry cutter to blend in the butter and egg. Dough will be crumbly. Pat half of dough into the prepared pan.

3. In another bowl, stir together the sugar, cornstarch and lemon juice. Gently mix in the blueberries. Sprinkle the blueberry mixture evenly over the crust. Crumble remaining dough over the berry layer.

4. Bake in preheated oven for 45 minutes, or until top is slightly brown. Cool completely before cutting into squares.

I just had to add this picture of Abby helping me dice the butter.  Even though she is getting so big-soon to be FIVE- her hands still look little and pudgy.  I love it!  

(and YES, she is sitting on the counter!)

Tea time and play-doh cupcakes!

With Abby's approaching birthday at the end of the month most of the talk around here is about THE birthday.  Today during "tea time" the girls made birthday cupcakes and ice cream. 

Livy is holding the "ice cream" in case you didn't know!