I've been chastized

Quite a bit lately, actually. Seems the hubby likes to see pics of his cute little girl while he's at work, and is not liking my extreme blog laziness brought on by massive amounts of freelance work. Win some. Lose some.

So here's my delinquent post on Thanksgiving.


It was an amazing day, full of happiness and joy. Birds were chirping. The sun was shining. Love was in the air.

Yeah. Sure.

It may have ended that way, but somebody may have lost it when her husband spent an extra hour with my super nice brother in law playing in the "Turkey Bowl" (football - for all you non sports inclined folks) that morning. There's a lot to do when you are hosting the happy day, and I had it all planned out. Timetable included. And let's just say it did not include a Turkey Bowl in overtime. But the good news is that they dominated, winning the game in a blaze of glory. I'm sure that's what happened, or so they told me.


Good thing those Malan boys know how to peel potatoes. Man are they fast! It was my second attempt at making "real" mashed potatoes; attempt #1 was a memorable failure; do not ever put in 5 cloves of garlic, no matter what the recipe says! This time was perfect - 5lbs idaho potatoes, 1 pkg cream cheese, and 2 sticks of butter. Yum.

Please be sure to notice that the apron I forgot to remove for the pic matches my Amy Butler decor perfectly. Coincidence? I think not. But it really was - I can't take that much credit.

And many thanks to my father in law for taking a photo with me in it! He's handy with a camera.

Some of the wonderful cooks in my kitchen:

They prevented a roll fiasco, and got them to rise last minute. Whew.



And if you've made it this far, then you deserve a reward. It's the recipe for my favorite salad ever:

Poppyseed-Pear-Pomegranate Spinach Salad

You'll need:
spinach (Marketstreet organic brand from WalMart is my new favorite. It's soooo good)
pomegranate seeds
toasted slivered or sliced almonds (I sugar them in a skillet with about 1tsp. white sugar)
1 diced pear
feta cheese

And for the dressing, I always use the poppyseed recipe my sister in law gave me (my personal favorite):

Poppyseed Dressing

Blend together:

1/2 c. Sugar
1/2 c. White Vinegar
1 tsp. poppy seeds
1 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. dry mustard
1 c. oil

And the recipe for this yummy Cranberry salad can be found here. It's my mom's favorite. It made exactly 12 parfait cups worth.

happy 3 yr anniversary...

I promise I'm not obsessed with taking pictures of my food. We had homemade cheese manicotti for dinner last night to celebrate. Happy anniversary David.

Priceless...

...Knowing there are 8 people in this picture. Seven girls and a boy! We all (minus little baby Kapria) used to work together at a software company, and still get to hang out from time to time. And we decided to have a little brunch/baby shower now before the holidays get here and everyone gets crazy busy.

We had some amazing baked French toast (recipe below), and bacon (yum!), strawberries, and OJ. We didn't even need the buttermilk syrup this time, but I'm planning on making pancakes soon to use that up (thanks Tami for that recipe)!

In due date order: 34 weeks (boy!), 28 weeks (girl!) and 20 weeks (girl)!

Baked French Toast

by: Aunt lala from allrecipes.com adapted by Natalie

*Tastes like "Kneaders" french toast. Best served with strawberries and whipped cream (and bacon and oj).

1 loaf French bread cut in 1 inch (or thicker) slices
7 eggs
3/4 cup milk
3/4 cup half and half

2 teaspoons vanilla extract
1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon

3/4 cup butter
1 1/3 cups brown sugar
3 Tablespoons light corn syrup

Butter a 9x13 baking dish (I also use an 8x8 too). In a large bowl beat together eggs, milk, cream, vanilla, and cinnamon. Dip bread in mix (both sides), and arrange in baking dishes. Pour/spoon remaining mixture into the centers of each slice of bread. Cover, and refrigerate overnight.

I also put together the sauce the night before and keep it in the fridge for quick prep the next morning. In a small saucepan, combine butter, brown sugar, and corn syrup (I call this the "caramel" part). I refrigerate this in the pan overnight.

The next morning preheat oven to 350 degrees F (175 C). Bake bread and egg mixture uncovered for 20 minutes; take out turn slices over. Heat "caramel" mixture until bubbling. Pour on top of bread and egg mixture (only use half of the caramel mix if you want to use buttermilk syrup), and place back in oven uncovered for 20 more min.

Best Buttermilk Syrup Recipe EVER

From: Tami Harrison :)

3/4 cube butter
1 1/2 cup white sugar
3/4 cup buttermilk
1 1/2 teaspoon Karo syrup
1 1/2 teaspoon baking soda
1 1/2 teaspoon vanilla
*make sure to make this in a high sided pan

Mix butter, sugar, buttermilk, and Karo syrup. Bring to a boil. Boil for 3 minutes then TURN DOWN and add baking soda and vanilla STIRRING CONSTANTLY. This will foam tons right away and every time you heat it up again in the microwave or stove!