Video Quito and the Andes

This is Fred's first video of our trip

Video From Hacienda Manteles and Cotopaxi

The begining is the charming bed and breakfast we stayed in, followed by our morning hike the next day.  This will always be the "drink the tea" hotel for me.  The manager was convinced if I downed two cups of his tea I would feel all better :)

Zipline Games fro Ecuador

This was right before I puked all over the Amazon Jungle.  A great time, but not the best place to feel dizzy and disoriented!

Whole Chickens

If you buy those pre-made whole chickens from the grocery store, you should stop immediately and make your own.  They are so easy and cheap and you can season them however you want.  Plus you know it hasn't been sitting in Vons for the past hour.  Sometimes I find pre-made ones to be way too dry and once mine was underdone (ick!)

Making a whole chicken may seem like an overwhelming task, but it is so easy!  Anyone can do it.  First take the chicken out of the bag and reach into the cavity and pull out whatever is in there.  Some people use these pieces to make things but I throw them away, wastefull, I know.  Then shove some things into that cavity to make your chicken super juicy.  Today I put 1 1/2 lemons in mine (cut into quarters) and about 3 cloves of garlic cut up.  You just throw this stuff away so it doesn't matter how you chop it.  

I squeezed the other half of the lemon on top and then sprinkled some yummy garlic salt, pepper, and crushed rosemary.  I put a little butter on top and popped it into the oven at 375 for about an hour an 45 minutes.  You need a meat thermometer for this.  After an hour find the coolest part of the chicken.  Leave your thermometer in there until the chicken reaches 160 degrees. If it starts to turn too dark cover it with foil. Then remove the chicken from the oven and let it sit for 10 minutes or so.  During this time it will continue to cook.  I let mine reach 165.  Too hot and it isn't as good and too cold and germs may get you.  

Then you are left with a delicious, fresh, juicy chicken.  At the grocery store I go to you can buy whole chickens for 99 cents a pound no sale, no coupons.  This lasts us three dinners.  Chicken with rice and veggies the first night, chicken caesar salad wraps the second night, and chicken noodle soup the third night.

Ecuador Photo Book- A Gate 1 Trip

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Homemade Flour Tortillas

Nothing better than starting your Sunday morning with some homemade tortillas filled with scrambled eggs and black beans before heading to church.  I am always amazed at how delicious homemade tortillas are AND how much better they are than their store bought counterparts.   Start by making your dough.  You want it to be well mixed and not too sticky.  Always add more flour:

Put some flour on you work surface and roll out the tortillas.  You can make 12 with this recipe if you roll them thin, but I like mine nice and thick so I make about 8.

Then fry them up in some butter until golden brown.  I like mine to be thick and soft so they fold nicely.

Serve with scrambled eggs, black beans, and salsa!  yum! 

The Recipe:

4 cups flour
1 tsp salt
2 tsp baking powder
2 tbsp butter or lard
1 1/2 cups water

Mix it all together.  divide into 12 balls and cook on a skillet or frying pan until golden on each side.  It you want super thin tortillas, divide into 24 balls.  super thick, divide into 8 balls.
 

Happy Valentine's Day Wreath

I love the whimsical new wreaths my Mom and I made for Valentine's Day this year.  Our house was feeling a bit bland after taking down all of the Christmas stuff.  Just a simple slip knot tulle wreath in various shades of grey (oops, I mean pink) completed with little hearts with our names on it.  

Is January 14th too early to put up Valentine's Day stuff?

 

Americanized Rinderwurst

My husband loves to make Rinderwurst based on his Grandma's old recipe.  The true recipe doesn't use measurements, but over time we have come up with a basic recipe to follow.  The type of Rinderwurst we make is a sweet meaty breakfast dish served with corn bread and syrup on top.  

Start with the basics: We used 4 pounds of ground beef, oatmeal, salt, cinnamon, all spice, cloves, and nutmeg.  

 Start by cooking the meat in a large pot until it is browned.  Then add a little water to it.  We used the lid of the pot to add some water about 2 cups.  Think of it like making gravy.  The more water you used the more oatmeal you will later add to soak it up.

Add a cup of two of oatmeal to soak up the water.

 While you are making this mixture it is a good idea to make your cornbread.  We use the Betty Crocker brand.  It costs about 30 cents and tastes delicious.  Even my two year old can make it :)  Then add a little salt, cinnamon, all spice, cloves, and nutmeg to taste.  We use the most cinnamon and allspice, but it is all personal preference.  Start with about a teaspoon of each.

Serve over corn bread with maple syrup over the top for breakfast!  Yum, Yum, YUM!

Hearty Mushroom and Potato Soup

In an effort to go one more day without going to the grocery store, I attempted to create a meal with what we had on hand: a bag of potatoes, some mushrooms from the food locker, and carrots.  A soup perhaps?  I looked at a few recipes online, but couldn't find anything that used the ingredients I had on hand.  Time to create?  

I started by sauteing some mushrooms.  Then I sauteed some potatoes in butter as well with a little chicken stock to simmer them.  I made the chicken stock with those cubes and water.  I added two cups at first.

This created a fabulous aroma in my house and led me to decide that I wanted a thick base for my soup so I threw everything into my food processor.  

Hummm.... much too thick.  Tasted like delicious mash potatoes though.  (Note to self, sauteed mushrooms make a great addition to mashed potatoes)  Time to whip up some more broth.

Perhaps a glass of delicious wine would help the creative process as well.

This Rose was a Christmas gift from our neighbors.  So two more cups of chicken broth and my soup base was the right consistency.

I put it in a big pot and got to work on the rest of my soup.  A great base is good, but who wants soup without something yummy in it?

I sauteed up some chopped carrots, potatoes, and more mushrooms.  I added some more chicken broth and let them simmer until tender.

Then I added it to my soup and served it with more wine and sourdough bread.  AMAZING!  Husband and two year old gave me the "mmmmm" rating.  Score!  One more day of not visiting the store for me :)

The Recipe (in ish terms):

5 cups chicken broth (made with cubes and water)
9 potatoes
5 carrots
2 cups of mushrooms 
2 cups of milk
3 teaspoons floor
butter (half a stick or so)
garlic salt and pepper (to taste)

Saute mushrooms and potatoes in butter until they start to stick.  Slowly add up to 3 cups of chicken broth to keep the mixture from sticking.  Once everything is tender, blend in a food processor.  Put mixture into large soup pot.  Saute carrots, potatoes, and chopped mushrooms again in saute pan.  Add more chicken broth to get everything tender.  Add to soup.  Combine milk and floor and add to soup.  Cook until hot and blended.  Add garlic salt and pepper.  Enjoy

Katie's 2nd Birthday Party

What a fun time we had with all of Katie's little friends.  We celebrated her second birthday a day early... tomorrow we are doing a special trip to Knott's Berry Farm.  Katie helped me get ready for the party.  Her job was to organize the drinks.

 

A happy birthday girl.  Balloons, Fuzzy, stroller, baby, and a ball

I love Morgan's hair

Love these cupcakes

little girls at the table

present time

ELMO!

What's this?

Hello Kitty!

Katie Party Decorations!

I had so much fun decorating for Katie's 2nd birthday party.  We used some of the same garden theme decorations from last year and bought a few new things as well.  My favorite part were the crate paper streamers in the family room

These are her thank you notes :)

flower book nook

Her birthday cupcakes

Katie setting the table for her friends

I can believe she will be two tomorrow!