Mother's Day

I know of mothers who receive lavish gifts on Mother's Day; things like pearls or diamonds or large-ish household appliances. I am not one of those mothers, and I prefer it that way. I was spoiled absolutely rotten today by my children, and it didn't involve precious gems or machines that go, "whirrrrr".

These are the children responsible for my loverly day:

Quite cute, aren't they?

My oldest daughter (the tallest one in the back), Cassidy, started out my day with an idea that had sprung from my second oldest daughter's head (she's the second tallest in the back, Megan). Cassidy made me a most delicious breakfast of crepes. Yes, crepes. She had asked on Friday if I would teach her to make crepes. I did just that and then she surprised me by duplicating them precisely. We had a choice of apple stuffed or strawberry stuffed and I chose both. Of course. There were also raspberries, sliced kiwi and grapes to go along.


While she was slaving away in the kitchen (crepes for 9 is a true feat!) the rest of the kids showered me with gifts.

A garden made by Erin, complete with climbing Blue Bells along one wall.

Two fabulous cookbooks that Cassidy found in a used bookstore in Kutztown. How neat!

This card is from Erin. She made each of those boxes out of paper. True talent!

Erin taught Declan to make a box, and so he did. He put two lollipops in there for me!

One of Megan's signature cards. The entire inside is full of hand-drawn pictures and funny text that makes me smile.

A card from Katie (she's 7 this week!) that says, "You Rock, Mom". How sweet.

A place mat made by Katie that echos the sentiment of her card. She made this in school.

A Sun Star plant. I saw them at the store and showed Marty. He picked one up for me to have today.

Lilacs garnered on a stealth mission at 1 A.M. by daddy and Declan. Late night walk, indeed.

Megan thought I would like this cake. I've been asked by no less than four of my seven children if I would share it with them.

Lunch was sandwiches with a side of goat's cheese and a French baguette and also whole wheat pita and hummus. Megan knew these were my favorites and made sure to get them.

THEN ... oh yes, there's more ... Cassidy made a dinner of two pastas and two sauces; penne and angel hair, and Alfredo and four-cheese Marinara. It was all topped off with Italian bread, green salad, and the double chocolate cake I had made the night before.

Now, tell me, how on earth could diamonds beat that?

And the Winner is...

We have a winner for the Charlie Ayers' Food 2.0 Cookbook and Lunch bag giveaway. Using a highly technologically advanced method involving a small boy and several strips of paper, we've determined the winner to be:



GIZ! Congratulations, to you GIZ, use your book, and your bag in good health! Thanks so much to all who entered. Keep coming back, this is certainly not the end of our contesting.

Last Chance to Win!

Today is your last chance to win Charlie Ayer's new cookbook, Food 2.0. It's one AWESOME read and I highly suggest you enter for this! Get a comment in to me before 12 PM PST (check this post for details!) and you'll be IN! A winner will be picked Saturday morning and I'll post it then.

GOOD LUCK!

LOK/CWA Cooking Challenge Round-Up

Here are the entries for this month's LOK/CWA Cooking Challenge! The first two meals are listed here since they were not posted elsewhere, and the rest are linked to their respective blogs.

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From Penelope, a LOK mom of 9:

Poppy Seed Chicken

3 cups raw rice - .48
2 10 oz cans cr of ck soup- 2 x .69
1 16 oz fat free sr cream - .99
1 lb boneless skinless chicken cooked and chopped-1.49
1 sleeve crackers - .54
1/4 c butter - .43
2 T poppy seeds - .05

Cook rice according to directions and spread in 9x13 pan. Mix cooked chicken, sour cream, and both cans of soup. Spread over rice. Melt butter. Use a food processor to make the crackers into crumbs, add to butter with poppy seeds. Mix well and spread evenly over the sauce layer.

Bake at 350 degrees F for 30 min.

48 oz applesauce - 2.00
(or 16 oz frozen corn - .69)

Cherry Brownies

1 box brownie mix - .99
1 egg - .12
1/4 c oil - .11
1 21 oz can cherry pie fill 2.00

Mix brownies according to fudge directions, stir in cherries and bake in 9x13. Bake according to box plus about 10 min. It varies according to the mix and your oven...so we just keep an eye on it at the end.

Total = 10.58
And definitely less if I used canned or frozen veggies.

* I used the prices that I actually paid for items, since most are in my storage, rather than pricing them all in one shopping trip. This is for my family of 11, I usually at least have leftovers for one of us to have lunch from it.

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From Kate at Life with Special Needs Kids. Kate is an LOK mom of 7.

Green Soup

4 bouillon cubes
1 medium onion, diced
2 Tbsp butter
4 cups cooked, shredded chicken (2-3 breasts)
2 cups apples, peeled & chopped
2 cups carrots, diced
2 cups celery, chopped
2 Tbsp parsley
1 tsp curry
1 tsp cloves
1/2 tsp pepper
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 cup flour
10 cups water

Boil chicken in water until cooked through. Drain water, then shred chicken.

Cook onion in butter until soft. Add chicken, apples, carrots, celery, flour & spices. Slowly add water & bouillion cubes. Stir well. Simmer 30 minutes, minimum, before serving.

Serve soup with buttered french bread & a tossed green salad OR grilled cheese sandwiches.

Cost
bouillion cubes ($1.32 for 6) 0.88
onion (0.25/lb) 0.13
butter ($2.18 for 32 Tbsp) 0.14
chicken ($1.88/lb) 1.88
apples (0.78/lb ~ used 3 small apples) 0.78
carrots (0.98/1lb bag baby carrots) 0.98
celery (0.38/lb ~ used 4 stalks, about 1/3lb) 0.13
flour ($3.28/bag ~ 73, 1/4-cup servings per bag) 0.09

Total for soup = $5.01

If served with salad & bread, use 1 bag salad mix for $2.78 & 1 loaf french bread for 0.98 for a total of $8.77.

If served with grilled cheese sandwiches, use 1 loaf whole wheat bread for $1.18, approximately 4 tbsp butter for 0.28 and 9 slices of cheese (for 9 family members) for $1.08 ($2.88/24 slices American cheese). Total = $7.55

This is what I made for dinner tonight, so seeing your challenge was fun because I immediately knew what I could use as an entry.

I got this recipe from a friend many years ago.

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Annie Jones' entry at Real Life Living for 5 people.

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From Lisa at Living Easy serving 5.

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These two are from MIRZ, mom of 8 and founder of LOK, hence, she is not in the running, but wanted to contribute nonetheless.
There is one at the LOK Household Blog and one at her personal blog.

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And ... the winner of our first challenge, who receives a badge to proudly display on her blog, is Annie of Living Life Real! Congratulations to you, Annie!

Veggie Wednesday: Sorelle Paradiso Organic Olives and Olive Oil - Mambo Sprouts Recipe Contest

Sorelle Paradiso olive oil is one of those things in life that leaves you briefly dumbstruck. Their Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from 100% Sevillano olives is the best olive oil I have ever tasted. The fragrance alone was enough to make me swoon. We tried it with French bread and compared it to the oil I had been buying. I honestly thought I had been buying really good olive oil, and I was proved very wrong. This particular oil is so smooth and buttery, it's hard to believe it's just olive oil. It's also not as thick as the oils I'm used. This is one of those oils you MUST try; it goes far beyond being used as just a condiment. Don't take it from me, though, this particular oil won "Best of Show" at the International Las Vegas Restaurant Show 2008.

All olive oils must have a residual oleic acid level less than 0.5% to be considered extra virgin, Sorelle Paradiso goes a step further and produces oil with a .05% oleic acid level. Impressive.

Their Extra Virgin Olive Oil made from 90% Mission olives and 10% Sevillano olives was absolutely perfect for cooking. Aromatic and smooth, it added just the right touch to whatever I made with it, from simple chicken breasts with garlic to salad dressings.

These olive oils aren't capped, they're corked, which makes a huge difference in the freshness of the product. Every bottle, each label and all the packaging is 100% recyclable. The fact that this oil is completely organic just makes me love it even more.

Sorelle Paradiso is available is several locations:

Murray's Cheese
New York, New York
212-929-4459

FoodNiks
Tiburion, California
415-388-3656

Comfort's
San Anselmo, California
415-454-9856

Emporio Rulli
Larkspur, California
415-924-7478

Mill Valley Market Grocery
Mill Valley, California
415-388-3222

The Pasta Shoppe
Berkeley, California
510-547-4005

Artfully Yours Gift Basket Company
San Francisco, California
415-551-7720

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The MAMBOLICIOUS RECIPE COOK-OFF is on! Submit your original recipe using one of the following products and you could win!

Use Organic Valley Butter, Eggs, Cream, Milk or Cream Cheese in a recipe and you could win...

Grand Prize: A year’s supply of Organic Valley Products (one product per month).


Use any San-J Tamari, Cooking Sauce or Salad Dressing in a recipe and you could win...

Grand Prize: $500 gift card to your favorite natural food store, plus a year’s supply of San-J products (one product per month)

First Prize: $250 gift card to your favorite natural food store, plus a year supply of San-J products (one product per month).


Use any Equal Exchange Fairly Traded Chocolate Bar or Baking Cocoa in a recipe and you could win...

Grand Prize: A year’s supply of Equal Exchange Chocolate (12 cases)

First Prize: A six month supply of Equal Exchange Chocolate (6 cases).


Use any Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Seasoning in a recipe and you could win:..

Grand Prize: A year’s supply of Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Salt (one product per month)

First Prize: A six month supply of Jane’s Krazy Mixed-Up Salt.


Stop on over at Mambo Sprouts for full contest details. Contest ends June 6, 2008 - so get a move on!