Awesome asparagus!

So…. this one time, on Pinterest…. I saw a recipe for asparagus and I thought it was something else. When I read the original post, the recipe didn’t sound as good (due only to my personal tastes). However, I was inspired to come up with a recipe that I would love! At our family Easter dinner, this asparagus went from being our veggie side dish to the quickly consumed appetizer that it should have been!

Ingredients needed:

Asparagus

WonTon wrappers (find in your refrigerator section)

1 Egg

Garlic salt

EV Olive Oil

To make Wrapped Appetizer Asparagus:

Cut wonton wrappers in half diagonally. Baste wrapper with beaten egg. Sprinkle the wrapper lightly with garlic salt and roll asparagus up in the wonton wrapper. Fry asparagus wraps in olive oil that just coats the bottom of the entire pan until all sides are light brown. Eat plain or with either a sweet chili sauce or wasabi ranch! So yummy!

Cherry Cheesecake Pie Recipe

The pies were very yummy so I wanted to share this simple and tasty recipe with you! I’m not sure where the recipe originated from but I got it from my mom.

Cherry Cheesecake Pie

Ingreedients:

8oz of Vanilla Wafers (I used an organic brand from Whole Foods this last time and needed less butter.)

1 stick of butter

1 8oz package of cream cheese

1 can of sweetened condensed milk

1/3 cup lemon juice

1 tsp. vanilla extract

1 jar (about 1lb 5oz) sweet (not tart) cherry pie filling

1/2 tsp Almond extract

To make the crust:

Chop 8 oz. of Vanilla Wafers in a food processor until they are the texture of corse sand. Melt one stick of butter and slowly add the butter. The mixture should be thick and spreadable. One stick of butter works well for Nabisco Vanilla Wafers but I needed less for the organic vanilla wafers I used this time (about 3/4 a stick of butter). Press this mixture evenly in a 9 inch pie dish so that it goes up the sides a bit. Bake in the oven for 10 minutes at 350 degrees. Let pie shell cool to room temperature.

To make pie filling:

Beat the 8oz. package of cream cheese until smooth. Slowly add condensed sweetened milk. Add 1/3 cup lemon juice and 1 tsp of vanilla extract. Pour smooth mixture into the cool pie shell.

To make topping:

Mix cherry pie filling with 1/2 tsp Almond extract. Pour mixture on top of cream cheese filling evenly. Place pie in refrigerator to set up for a few hours. (I usually let it sit overnight) Enjoy! This makes a great Holiday treat with the bright red cherries!

Where did November go?

Are you as shocked as I am that Thanksgiving week is already upon us? This month has been a busy one for us and I am struggling with how quickly time is passing lately! Did we really start potty training 5 weeks ago? The twins are going to be 3 in less than 4 months! It’s no wonder that I melt down most years around November/December…. My husband’s birthday and mine are in December, and we celebrate Christmas, so there are lots of gifts to be given!

Many years I have made many of the gifts we give, but the holiday season has snuck up on me too fast for that this year. So, because I can’t make gifts this year, I am attempting to buy local or hand crafted gifts. If I haven’t already decided on a gift that is only available at a larger retailer, then I will do my darndest to find something appropriate on Etsy or at a local small business. We can all do our part to help local businesses which will decrease our holiday carbon footprint as well.

What are you making for the holiday dinners? This Thanksgiving I am bringing a veggie and a cherry cheesecake pie! The veggie will be sliced zucchini and yellow squash sprinkled with garlic salt and parmesan cheese. (10-15 min at 350, depending on slice thickness) Everyone who has tried it in our family loves it! I am veering from the recipe my mom gave me for the cherry cheesecake pie just a bit. It is usually made with Vanilla Wafers for the crust, cream cheese and condensed milk, and sweet (not tart) cherry pie filling on top. This year I found organic vanilla wafers and a pie filling called Baker Naturals Cherry pie filling. No artificial colors, flavors, preservatives or corn syrup. I couldn’t find an organic sweetened condensed milk but maybe that’s because the only ingredients are milk and sugar. I guess I’ll stick with good ole’ Eagle Brand. So, once I give this recipe a try, I’ll post it here if it turns out well. I once tried to use low fat vanilla wafers and had to hack at the crust with an ice pick (ok, maybe just a really sharp knife) to get the crust out of the pie dish. It was really embarrassing to me because it was for a party with fellow classmates in college. Oh how life has changed…. Now I can walk around wearing pants soaked in my children’s urine without suffering embarrassment. This is just life. If you never want to be peed on, then don’t have children. And, if you are repulsed by the fact that my child had an accident, then I don’t want you near them anyways. Sympathy for children should never be a stretch.

Anyways…. rant, rant, rant….

This Thanksgiving (even if you don’t celebrate Thanksgiving for my readers in Bulgaria, Latvia, Canada, Chile, Romania, and Indonesia – yes I know you are there! I see you in my stats! ) I wanted to say that I am ever so THANKFUL for all of YOU! Seeing each pageview, each like on Facebook, each vote for me, warms my heart. I LOVE writing and sharing the things that I have learned and I hope it makes parenting just a bit easier for you. Raising good human beings is the hardest job there is, and there are no guarantees in the end. I hope you all have a wonderful holiday season – whatever holidays you celebrate. And, er, If I have helped you or even just entertained you a bit, I’d love for you to share my blog with your friends and family. Every page view brings me closer to the dream of being paid for doing the work I love!

Um, sorry. Didn’t mean to gag you on all that cheese……