Saturday, November 13, 2010

Pumpkin Pick'n

we were waiting for "fall weather" to come ,to add to the ambience of pumpkin picking but it didn't happen. It was high 70s when we went to a small farm right behind our house.
What did you kids do to the car?
Here is Danielle getting a scary cat tatoo!
                                               

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

what is for dinner?

So Brian and I are getting bored with the same talapia recipes so I decided to try something new. It was wonderful. We served it with a pearl basil couscous. I would have perferred a wild rice with it but Brian does not like wild Rice


    Parmesan Crusted Tilapia with Tomato-Basil Cream Sauce

For this recipe I coated tilapia with shredded Parmesan cheese, sauteed it until it was golden brown and topped it with a tomato-basil cream sauce. It was fast and delicious, perfect for a weeknight meal.

It took me a few tries to get the coating just right for this recipe. The first time I tried there was virtually no Parmesan breading left on the fish but after a talk with a friend I found that it was best to lightly dust the fish in seasoned flour, then egg, then the Parmesan. The result was a light, flaky coating that nicely complimented the fish.

Serves 2

You will need:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cream
small handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tilapia fillets
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add cream. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Sauce will turn slightly pink and coat the back of the spoon. (Note: It is okay if the sauce boils slightly.)
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet large enough to fit both fillets.
Rinse and pat dry the tilapia fillets. Season both sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Combine Parmesan, panko and granulated garlic.
Dredge the seasoned tilapia fillets in the seasoned flour. Shake off excess. Dip in egg. Press into Parmesan/panko mixture.
Place in heated skillet and cook 3-4 minutes per side. Fish will be golden brown and will flake easily when done.
When you remove the fish, chiffonnade the basil (Note: To do this, simply roll up a few basil leaves and gently chop). Stir the basil into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Lay fish on a serving platter and spoon sauce over the top. Serve.
I served this with steamed asparagus and my Creamy Mashed Potatoes, it was delicious. Enjoy!



s recipe I coated tilapia with shredded Parmesan cheese, sauteed it until it was golden brown and topped it with a tomato-basil cream sauce. It was fast and delicious, perfect for a weeknight meal.

It took me a few tries to get the coating just right for this recipe. The first time I tried there was virtually no Parmesan breading left on the fish but after a talk with a friend I found that it was best to lightly dust the fish in seasoned flour, then egg, then the Parmesan. The result was a light, flaky coating that nicely complimented the fish.

Serves 2

You will need:

3 tablespoons olive oil
2 cloves garlic, minced
10-12 cherry tomatoes, halved
1/2 cup cream
small handful of fresh basil leaves
2 tilapia fillets
kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper
1/4 cup flour
1 egg, beaten
1/2 cup shredded Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup panko breadcrumbs
1/2 teaspoon granulated garlic
Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil in a small skillet over medium heat. Add garlic and cook 1-2 minutes. Add cherry tomatoes and cook for 2 minutes. Reduce heat to medium low and add cream. Let simmer for 15 minutes. Sauce will turn slightly pink and coat the back of the spoon. (Note: It is okay if the sauce boils slightly.)
Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of olive oil in a skillet large enough to fit both fillets.
Rinse and pat dry the tilapia fillets. Season both sides with kosher salt and fresh cracked pepper.
Combine Parmesan, panko and granulated garlic.
Dredge the seasoned tilapia fillets in the seasoned flour. Shake off excess. Dip in egg. Press into Parmesan/panko mixture.
Place in heated skillet and cook 3-4 minutes per side. Fish will be golden brown and will flake easily when done.
When you remove the fish, chiffonnade the basil (Note: To do this, simply roll up a few basil leaves and gently chop). Stir the basil into the sauce. Season with salt and pepper if needed.
Lay fish on a serving platter and spoon sauce over the top. Serve.
I served this with steamed asparagus and my Creamy Mashed Potatoes, it was delicious. Enjoy!

rice.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Hide the laptops

Whose idea was it to give the kids their own facebook account. Oh yeah! Brian's! Now the kids are on it many many many times a day just so they can play the fishing game. I now have fights over who closed their facebook page. I knew I should have stuffed them in the closet until they turned 18.

Friday, May 29, 2009


Alright so we have been busy with Baseball. It has been a little hectic. Danielle and Riley are both playing but not on the same team and of course not at the same place. Riley would have baseball in one city and Danielle in another. Brian and I are trying desperately to keep track who goes where and who is taking them. I have not gotten a really good picture of Danielle. I need a good camera. The one Brian gave me for Christmas sucks! a parent took this picture of Riley and it is really good because it depicts Riley to a T. Danielle cracks me up when she goes up to bat. She will stand there without moving her bat to wait for the perfect pitch. Since the kids are pitching there never is a perfect pitch so she ends up walking the bases. too funny! riley on the other hand got hit really hard one time so now he is scared to go up to bat and just wants to hit the ball. He still ends up walking the bases because the pitcher can't pitch the ball.

o bat

Thursday, March 19, 2009

Crazy Days


Ok it has been a while since I put anything on the blog. No excuses just busy. I find it is easier to keep up with facebook emails than inputting blogs. Recent news is that Brian went to Alabama for seven weeks for NCO school. I had to calm the kids for two hours the first night he was gone. " I miss Daddy" was repeated over and over with crocodile tears. Just when I thought it was all over with, they started in the morning" I miss Daddy". It has been three days and thank god it is getting easier. The kids were cute before Brian left. They were very clingy and kept very close to Daddy. The picture I have here is riley learning to change the oil in the car. Brian was teaching him. Now I have been circling around the car to make sure Riley has not decided to change the oil by himself. He has been taught once that is all it takes!

Saturday, November 1, 2008

Halloween 2008

This is us as Sandy & Danny from the movie "Grease"
This year it was my turn to take the kids trick or treating and Brian stayed home to scare the kids that came to our door. apparently some kids remembered last year and came up very carefully expecting a spider to jump out at them. We spared them this year. We had a huge skull hooked up to the roof of our house and had smoke coming out of it's mouth. A lot of the neighborhood kids enjoy our house because it is spooky. if they only knew that it is not just for Halloween. apparently when I took the kids trick or treating I dressed as the good Sandy and didn't get any free beer everyone was handing out. Darn! Normally our neighborhood is packed with people on golf carts toting their kids around. Most have coolers on the back filled with liquor.Some neighbors stand outside and grill bratwursts and hot dogs to hand out to the adults and candy for the kids. This year I actually wore out Danielle and Riley. After walking two blocks they asked me if they could go home. Go figure! Coco was ready. she was embarrassed by her costume and didn't appreciate me and my sewing skills. Ungrateful dog! she got all the attention anyway!

Sunday, September 7, 2008

Ice Cream Social


Our neighborhood had an ice cream social with the local business Ekert's Farm catering it. Needless so say the kids made two, three, four maybe five trips back for more. It was alot of fun. too bad the water was to cold to go swimming in. We have had a rather mild summer this year to my dismay.