Month: May 2014

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A Castle Fit for A….. Pony!

Today we celebrated Belle’s 9th birthday with family and friends.  She asked for a castle cake!  She made a drawing of her dream cake with all the little details right down to the colors of the flowers.  After spending several hours baking, making frosting, rolling out fondant, cutting flowers, decorating towers, windows and doors I was finally done.  And I didn’t forget to put her pony on the top of one of the towers 🙂   What do you think of her cake?

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Thank you to my husband who helped get the house ready for this birthday party… I couldn’t have pulled it off without you honey!

And, thank you to all of the family and friends who joined us to celebrate this very special daughter of ours!

Gaylene

 

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Belle is 9 years old today!!!

I remember May 22, 2005 quite well.  We had to get up early and be at the hospital by 6am.  Miss Belle was breech and I was scheduled for a C-Section that morning.  We tried everything to get her to turn around as I truly did not want to have a C-Section.  But, she was determined to stay put with her head lodged under the right side of my rib cage!  Unlike when Natasha was born I was unable to hold my sweet Belle for two hours while I was in recovery after the surgery.  I remember how upset I was but Daddy stayed with her until we could all be together as a family.

Our 2nd daughter is vibrant and full of life.  She absolutely LOVES anything crafty and has an incredible imagination.  She can see something or read about it in a book and off she goes to try to build it.  It is truly amazing how creative she is and if she sees a need she tries to fill it.  Belle is very sensitive and caring and just adores her littlest baby sister.  She is a big help with the baby and is always willing to hold Katherine.

Belle is doing very well in school and she currently wants to be a pediatrician when she grows up.  We are VERY proud of her and love having her as part of our family.

Daddy and I took her to California Pizza Kitchen for her birthday dinner and then we played a round of mini glow in the dark golf at the mall.  Afterwards, we enjoyed a couple of cookies before heading for home.

Sunday we are having family and friends over to celebrate her 9th birthday.  Wait until you see her cake!!!

We love you Belle!

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Gluten Free Chicken Parmesan

I love chicken parmesan but I’ve never had much luck making restaurant quality chicken parmesan at home…. until now!  This chicken parmesan was crispy on the outside and juicy on the inside.  The best part… it’s gluten free!!!

Ingredients
2 1/2 cups Gluten Free Panko, divided
4 skinless, boneless chicken breasts, pounded to 1/4″ thick
2 large eggs
1/2 tsp kosher salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan
1-1 1/2 cups shredded mozzarella
1 1/2 cups marinara sauce
1/4 – 1/2 cup olive oil

Instructions

  1. Line a baking sheet with foil and place a cooling rack on top.
  2. In a food processor grind 3/4 cup of the Panko until it’s a powder – this will be your flour.
  3. Place ground Panko, salt and pepper in a shallow bowl and gently mix.
  4. Beat eggs in a second shallow bowl.
  5. Combine remaining Panko and parmesan in a third shallow bowl.
  6. Set up an assembly line and dredge the chicken in the ground Panko, shaking off any excess.
  7. Transfer to the beaten egg and turn to coat.  You want the flour to be covered in the eggs.
  8. Allow the excess to drip back into the bowl.
  9. Place the chicken in the Panko parmesan mixture and coat evenly.  Press to adhere.
  10. Heat 1/4 cup oil in a large heavy skillet or a cast-iron skillet over medium-high heat.
  11. Working in batches, cook the chicken until golden brown – about 4-6 minutes.
  12. Flip and cook until golden brown – about 4 minutes.
  13. Transfer to the cooling rack on the pan.
  14. Add more oil if needed and repeat with remaining chicken.
  15. Preheat broiler and place rack in upper third of oven.
  16. Place a 1/4 cup of sauce on top of the breasts down the center.  Try not to get it to the edges.
  17. Evenly divide the cheese on top of the sauce.
  18. Broil for 2-3 minutes or until the cheese in bubbly.

To make gluten free panko all you need to do is grind up Gluten Free Rice or Corn Chex!

Thank you to the Kitchen Whisperer for this wonderful recipe!  www.thekitchenwhisperer.net

Enjoy!

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