noah cooked dinner... star wars theme...

i got this cookbook for CHRISTmas... very cool since i grew up an avid star wars fan... we have looked through it many times but hadnt made anything out of it... until tonight...













noah decided to make dinner for the family... and he is a huge fettuccine fan.... so he picked boba fett-uccine... and it was awesome... fettuccine alfredo with cauliflower, broccoli and zucchini...

noah did all the prep... cutting the vegetables... cooking the noodles... stirring the sauce... he had a lot of fun... and it was delicious...

abby made dessert... bossk brownies... also very good... this was a fun evening and i cant wait to have them cook again sometime soon...

My New Favorite Recipe - Texas Caviar

I first tasted this super-delicious dip when Mark's dad made it for a family gathering. It was so yummy that I had to get the recipe from him. I have since made it several times for various gatherings, and it has always gotten great reviews (from everyone except my husband, who refuses to try it). I am not normally a bean lover, but this is so delicious, you HAVE to try it!



1 can black-eyed peas, drained
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can white shoepeg corn
1 small jar pimento
1 chopped jalapeno pepper (or one small can)
1 small red onion (chopped small)
2 stalks celery (chopped small)
1 small green pepper (chopped small)

Dressing:
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp pepper
1 TBsp water
3/4 cup cider vinegar
3/4 cup sugar
1/2 cup olive oil

Boil dressing ingredients for 1-2 minutes and then pour over all other ingredients. Let marinade in refrigerator for a minimum of 2 hours, preferably overnight. When ready to serve, drain well and serve with Frito scoops, tortilla scoops, or any way you like it! Enjoy!

goodies for a dollar...

today while i was doing a little shopping i came across some great dollar deals(at safeway)... pop tarts 1 buck... gummy snacks 1 buck... (not pictured) chips, fritos and puffy cheetos 1 buck... 2 liter mug root beer 1 buck...

my kids were pumped...

korean bbq... good times...

tonight we went out for korean bbq with our good friends david and lu... we had so much fun... and the food was awesome... there was a grill in the middle of the table so the meat was prepared right in front of you... very cool way to eat and enjoy great food and company...

perfect ending to a great weekend...

makin' the most of my mixer...

my new birthday/Christmas gift sat on the counter for over a week before gwen made some snicker doodle cookies this last saturday... i was jealous of her time spent with my machine so today i made up for it in a big way... but like any new relationship we had some bumps in the road...

the first thing i did was whip up some sugar cookie dough... got it wrapped and put into the fridge...

next i whipped up some generic dough to try and do a drop cookie (ones with reeses peanut butter cups and some with hersheys peppermint twist drops)...


as the first batch was in the oven i unwrapped the kisses and cups...

then as soon as they came out... i put the candy on... but...failure was lurking in the wings... both the kisses and the cups melted... in a big way... these cookies a failure only to be eaten by family...




the next batch i put in mini-muffin pans like my big sis holly told me to... and that worked alot better...

and lastly... abby and i worked the sugar cookie dough into some delicious to be frosted later cookies... stockings, bells, stars, mickey mouse, trees, reindeer, etc...

overall a big success... i look forward to many more opportunities to spend time with my new mixer...

thanksgiving traditions...

i love the holidays... we at the miller house have many traditions that we look forward to all year long... many of which revolve around food...

gwen has brought a couple of those 'food traditions' into our family... one of which is lefse... we enjoy this scandinavian treat only twice a year... thanksgiving and Christmas...( im working on her for a third holiday, maybe fourth of july?)(lol).... i know that by having it only twice a year keeps it special...but, i dont think i could ever get sick of it... she uses her lefse grill to make it... the grill was a wedding gift and has been used every year since...

she also has a caramel roll recipe that dates back to her grandma ness(at least)... these little fellas are out of this world...

once again... i only get these twice a year so i have to savor every one... but... if you stop by on thanksgiving day (or Christmas) i will share... they are incredible...

and to round off breakfast at the millers on thanksgiving my moms nut pie... yes i said pie and we couldnt wait to have a slice... the homemade whipped cream topping is the perfect compliment to the nutty-sugary goodness baked inside... if you know carol(my mom) maybe you could have her make you one sometime... if she likes ya... i got mine for my birthday...(a couple of days late, but worth the wait)

tell us about your traditions... we would love to hear about them...

opening day bbq...

today was opening day for our seattle mariners... so i decided to bbq some chicken burgers and 1 turkey patty for mom... after some wind and rain this morning... and snow flurries the last two days... we actually had some sun this afternoon... the kids came out in the backyard with me and it felt great... the burgers tasted pretty alright too...


dupont sky... and view from our deck... we sure do love this place... come over this summer and bbq with us... the grill is ready...

oh yah... and by the way... the m's won 5-2...

a night on the town...

we went out to dinner tonight to the melting pot http://www.meltingpot.com/ in tacoma with our good friends wes and martina...

the night was perfect... the food was great... my wife looked wonderful...the conversation was engaging...


our friends hadnt been to this restaurant before so it was a great new experience for them... every aspect of the meal was surprising... the 3 cheese fondue to start the meal was perfect... the salads were de-lish... cooking the food... the meats and veggies was so fun and the dessert... the chocolate... was incredible... the final surprise... the check... you should have seen their jaws drop... ouch!!!


well... i guess there is a cost to all good things... it was worth every penny...


p.s.... martina wants to sneak in nilla wafers next time to dip in the chocolate... sounds like a great idea!!!

p.s.s.... wes wants to make sure they will serve the same "punch" the next time we go... i think we can arrange that...

chopsticks, noodles and pride

the other day we went to one of our favorite places to eat... wok on fire.... in lacey... right next to costco... there are a-lot of things we love about this little restaurant...we love the taste of the food and we love the amount of food you can get into that little bowl... another thing i love is my 4 kids passion to use the sticks... they want to be like their dad who loves to pretend he can use chopsticks... as well... if not better... than a fork...

gwen doesnt even attempt to use them so this gives me a skill or talent that i can pass on to my kids... i was brought to tears by the way my almost-4-year old controlled his chopsticks and i do believe that ethan is actually better than i... already....

we had a blast... loved the food... enjoyed the show....

favorite things...

when i ask my family about favorite things i get all kinds of answers... today for instance... noah responded "football"... ethan responded "parties"... abby responded " star tours (ride at disneyland) "... gwen responded " daddy "... cole responded "lightning mcqueen (dicast car) " ... well...my favorite thing (at least dessert) is cupcakes... i love a good cupcake... white, chocolate, devils food, milk chocolate, yellow, cherry chip, strawberry, funfetti, lemon, just to name a few... and thats just the cake... what about the frost... mmmm... i love frost... gwen makes a delish home-made chocolate one... i also dig some of the store bought ones...especially the one with the multi colored balls of sugar in it(i think it goes with the funfetti cake)... ill take a cupcake over almost any other dessert... i like hearing about peoples favorite things... it makes me happy and i know it makes them happy to share... try it... tell me about your favorite thing...


hey... can anyone tell me where i found that cupcake?(pictured)

saturday snickerdoodles

there is nothing like coming home to the smell of baked cookies... especially when the baker is abby... after working a long shift, im tired and hungry... then i open the door... and BAM!!! the smell hits me in the face... it smells so good... and, she loves to bake with mom... its so fun to watch...mother, daughter working together... teaching and learning being done without any effort... and, in the end, a big smile and a warm cookie await me...