Ara and Grandpa

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Cousins

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Birthday girl

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It's Her Party!

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We celebrated Ara's Birthday today with family and friends. It was a wonderful day. Ara had a huge smile on her face the whole time and she ran around Peter Piper like she owned the place. With her family all around her she felt at ease and ready to explore. It is overwhelming to me to see how much happiness there is in watching your daughter grow. And in seeing how loved she is by her family. On this day in this hour it seems the world is a beautiful place and I am happy to be able to share her joy.

She is growing up!

Food stuff

Since I've been going low-carb healthy I have been trying some new recipes. I started with recipes from an Atkins cook book but then I started looking in a Mayo Clinic book we had and then.. I started watching the food network. I tried stuffed zucchini, low-carb lasagna, and a few other small meals. On the whole I have been pleasantly surprised with how non-horrible they were and Ara even seemed to like it. Feeling encouraged I have decided to try some of the dishes I have seen on this Italian lady's show on TV. Everything she makes sounds so delicious and I think I can alter most of the recipes' to be low-carb compliant. Anyway, it seems I CAN cook at a fairly competent level when I stay in the kitchen. I have been notorious in the past for ruining pans because I forgot I was boiling water. Yes, I have burned water haha. I have boiled spaghetti so mushy that it went through the holes in the strainer. So you can see that branching out beyond my Foreman Grill is a big deal! Yay me.

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Recipes I want to try:

Grilled Chicken with Spinach and Pine Nut Pesto

2 boneless chicken breasts
2 cups lightly packed baby spinach leaves (about 2 ounces)
1/4 cup pine nuts, toasted
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
1 to 2 teaspoons grated lemon peel
1/3 cup plus 2 teaspoons olive oil
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1/3 cup freshly grated Parmesan

Heat a grill pan on medium high heat. Lightly oil the grill pan. Sprinkle the chicken with salt and pepper. Grill the chicken until cooked through, about 5 minutes per side.

Combine the spinach, pine nuts, lemon juice, and lemon peel in a processor. Lightly pulse. With the machine running, gradually add 1/3 cup of the oil, blending until the mixture is creamy. Add salt and pulse. Put half of the pesto into ice cube trays and store in the freezer for future use.

Transfer the rest of the spinach mixture to a medium bowl. Stir in the Parmesan. Season the pesto with salt and pepper, to taste.

Spread the pesto over each piece of chicken and serve.

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Crunchy Parmesan Chicken Tenders Recipe courtesy Giada De Laurentiis Show: Everyday Italian Episode: Good Things Come in Small Packages

4 tablespoons plus 1/2 cup extra-virgin olive oil 1 cup buttermilk 1 1/2 pounds chicken tenders (about 18) 3 large garlic cloves, minced 1/2 teaspoon salt 3 tablespoons balsamic vinegar Freshly ground black pepper 1 1/4 cups freshly grated Parmesan 3/4 cup Italian-style seasoned bread crumbsPreheat the oven to 500 degrees F. Brush 1 tablespoon of oil over each of 2 heavy large lined baking sheets. Place the buttermilk in a large bowl. Add the chicken tenders and stir to coat. Let stand at least 15 minutes and up to 30 minutes. Meanwhile, mash the garlic with the salt in a medium bowl. Whisk in the vinegar and then the remaining 1/2 cup of oil. Season the vinaigrette, to taste, with pepper. Transfer the vinaigrette to a small serving bowl. Stir the Parmesan and bread crumbs in a pie dish. Remove the chicken tenders from the buttermilk and dredge them in the bread crumb mixture to coat completely, pressing to adhere. Arrange the coated chicken tenders on the prepared baking sheets, spacing evenly. Drizzle the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil over the chicken tenders and bake until they are cooked through and golden brown, about 12 minutes. Transfer the chicken tenders to a platter and serve the vinaigrette alongside for dipping. ••••• Ara and I went to a craft store today. I love craft stores. There is something about craft stores and hardware stores that fascinate me. I bought beads and Ara and we made ourselves some jewelry, she is so cute when she wears it. She says it is, "pitty". We also got the last few goodies for our party bags. Another $100 trip to Target and I think we are done spoiling her for her birthday... Tomorrow yay.