Chicken Molè

  My school was having a European Day of Languages which included a lunch.  So I thought because I'm in Spanish, I would do a chicken molè.  Molè is a Mexican savory chocolate sauce.  Daddy and I tested it to  see how it would work and how it would taste cold.  When I read the recipe it said to serve immediately so I didn't make it for the European Day of Languages.  Instead I made Jumping Jambalaya (which was awesome!)  But my family really liked the chicken molè which we served with chips and salsa.  I got the chicken mole recipe here.   This is the recipe:
Things You'll Need

• 6 Skinless boneless chicken breasts
• 4 Tablespoons chicken broth
• 1 8 Ounce can of tomato sauce
• 1/2 Cup salsa
• 1/4 Cup of red wine
• 1 1/2 Teaspoon of Worcestershire sauce
• 2 cloves mince garlic
• 5 Teaspoons unsweetened cocoa powder
• 1 Teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/2 Teaspoon paprika
• 1/8 Teaspoon allspice

Instructions
Making the Mole Chicken

1
With meat mallet, pound the chicken to 1/2 inch thickness. Use non-stick cooking spray on the bottom of a large frying pan.

2
Place the chicken in the pan and brown on both sides. If it seems to be getting too brown add a little bit of broth to pan.


3
Mix together red wine, salsa, tomato sauce, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, paprika, allspice, and cocoa powder in a bowl and mix well. (Don't worry, the alcohol in the wine cooks off)

4
Pour the mole sauce over the chicken and bring to a boil. Turn heat to simmer and cook for about 10 minutes or till the chicken is cooked. Serve immediately. Makes 6 servings.  If you cut the chicken into bite sized chunks, you can feed more people.  


Tips & Warnings
If you desire a hotter or spicier sauce you can add some hot sauce or chili powder to the mole.


Hope you guys and girls like it!

Me & Mom in Prague!

     Mommy and I went to Prague in the Czech Republic over Memorial Day Weekend.  We stayed three days.  We arrived late at night and went to our hotel. We stayed at Spa Hotel Caroline.  It was more like an apartment.  There was an eat-in kitchen, a living room, a bedroom, and the toilet and the shower were in different rooms.  We also had a key to the building not just our room.  When we got there we went to bed.

The ceiling in our hotel.

     The hotel had a restaurant but not right at the hotel.  It was right down the street about one block. The first day we went to the restaurant for breakfast.  I had tea and a sausage.  I couldn't cut the sausage because the outside was so thick and I said it beat me.  I asked our landlord (the woman who owned the hotel and also the restaurant) where a specific cafe was located. She said I was too young for coffee but Mommy said I was after the cakes.  So the landlord got up, left and came back with a plate of cakes, two drinks, and a bag of candy.  She also showed us how to get to the zoo. After breakfast Mommy and I went over to the zoo boat. The zoo boat is a boat that takes you directly to the zoo.  The boats are all decorated with animals and different animal themes.  We missed one boat so we got lunch while we waited for the next boat.  Mommy and I both had salads for lunch.  It took a while to get to the zoo on the boat.  When we got there we saw most of the animals.

Three little piggies were sleeping and one wanted in!

Belly Flop polar style!

     Then we went up the ski lift to the rest of the zoo.  The zoo goes up a mountain so you can take a lift to get to the top or you can walk.  We took the lift to the top and then walked down so we could see more animals.  

The lift to the top of the zoo.

     For a snack at the zoo I got a wafer with sugar in the middle.  It was good.  



     After our fun at the zoo, we went back on the zoo boat to the hotel.  We had an early dinner so we could go on the Ghost Tour.  For dinner we went to V Zatisi, which was recommended by a friend.  It had a set menu and also a regular menu.  I picked the Indian menu.  First course I had was the mustard tandoori tiger prawns.  They were REALLY GOOD!!!!  My second course was tandoori chicken.  The third course was Indian lamb lime curry.  My dessert course was baked pineapple and pistachio ice cream.  It all was REALLLLLLLLLLLY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Mommy had the V Zatisi degustation menu with four courses of fois gras, turbot, rack of lamb, and creme brulee.  She was very happy with her choices.  Since we had eaten so much good food, we were tired and never made it to the Ghost Tour.  We were able to get back to our hotel though and watch Eurovision!

     On our second day we went to the hotel restaurant and I had a sausage again with tea. I didn't let the sausage beat me this time!  After breakfast, Mommy and I went Old Town.  We saw a Starbucks and we were very happy.  There is no Starbucks in Oslo and Mommy really misses the coffee!  In Old Town we saw the Astronomical Tower. 

Prague's Astronomical Tower

 I thought it was very cool.  There was also a bridal gown photo shoot happening right in front of the Tower.  After we saw Old Town we went to the Powder Tower to meet a tour (the Assassination Tour).  I learned the number three Nazi was killed by an infection caused by a horse hair.  The horse hair ended up inside because some of the shrapnel came through the car seat.   We were there for the 70th anniversary of the assassination.  For dinner we went to Bellevue.  It is part of the same group as V Zatisi.  It also had fixed menus and regular menus.  My first course was homemade ravioli carbonara.  It had a liquid filling and was really good.  The second course was rack of lamb.  It was hard to get the meat off until I bit it.  It was really good too.  The third course was my dessert and I had a chocolate puck.  It was a puck shaped chocolate cake.  It was really good.  I don't remember what Mommy got for her courses, but she did get the tiramsu for dessert.  It was served in a fish bowl.

Mommy's fish bowl tiramsu!

     Our last day in Prague we got up before the hotel's restaurant opened so we went to Starbucks.  Mommy and I then went to the spa at the hotel and got foot massages with pepper peelings.  When the masseur massaged my feet, it tickled.  After the massages we went back to Old Town and went on a horse tour around Old Town and also had lunch.  We had lunch at an open market in the square.  I had pork from a stand that was grilling whole hogs.  Mommy got potato and ham salad.  The food was delish!  Then we went on a boat tour up and down the Vitava River that runs through Prague.   Our boat tour let us off near a really neat hotel and restaurant called Matylda.  It is a botel (boat and hotel) and we had snacks on the deck.  It is right near the Dancing House (aka Fred and Ginger Building).

Can you tell which is Ginger and which is Fred?

   After that we went back to the hotel and packed and then had dinner across the street at Platina.   I had lamb again (can you tell I really, really like lamb).  It was really good.  After dinner we went back to the hotel and waited for the cab.  This was a great way to end a great trip.

M...R...E...?

     How many of you have heard about an MRE?  The M stands for 'meal', R stands for 'ready', there is no t but if there were T would stand for 'to', and E stands for 'eat'.  All together that makes Meal Ready to Eat.  


     For my 11th birthday I got an MRE from a friend.  The main course was spaghetti and meat balls, the snack was bread (which was gross), the dessert was cherry blueberry cobbler.  There were also potato sticks and some sort of cheese spread (which looked so disgusting I couldn't bring myself to eat it.)  The MRE also had coffee, creamer, sugar, salt, two gum chicklets,  handi-wipe, toilet paper, Tobasco sauce, fruit punch, and a plastic spoon.  I brought my MRE to school for lunch two months after  I got it. Every one asked what it was and if they could try some.  Most thought the potato sticks were good.  My teacher ask if I was ready to go back to home cooked meals.  The spaghetti and meat balls tasted like a weight loss meal and the meat balls were the size of the top of my pinky (so basically very small meat balls).  The cobbler was good and didn't taste like a weight loss meal.  One friend asked if he could take the MRE packet home.  I said yes.  When I got home I made the fruit punch and then I fizzed it up.  The fruit punch dyed my top lip red!  


     I told my friend who gave it to me how much I liked it and he gave my another one.   He gave Aidan one too.  This time I got beef enchilada and Aidan got chicken and dumplings.  Aidan ate his MRE that night.  I'm going to bring my MRE for lunch when I go back to school after April vacation is over. 

This is what is in an MRE.

This is an MRE( not mine)     

Happy St. Patrick's Day

     So when most people hear happy St. Patrick Day they think of shamrocks, leprechauns, and green. Well, when I heard St. Patrick's Day I though of cookies.   Now I know that has nothing to do with St. Patrick's Day but I thought maybe I should make shamrock cookies for my class.  I did this because I thought my class would like a treat.  So on 15 March I made 54 shamrock cookies and brought them to class the next day. Turns out they LOVED them.  Some people asked if I would put the recipe on my blog.  So without further ado here is the recipe:


SPRITZ COOKIES (You need a cookie press to make the cookies)

1 1/2 cup (3 sticks) butter or margarine, softened

1 cup sugar

1 egg

1 teaspoon vanilla

3 1/2 (14 ounces) cup all-purpose flour

colored sugar or sprinkles (optional)

1.     Preheat oven 200∘C . Beat  butter on medium speed of electric mixer until creamy.  Add sugar, egg, and vanilla; beat well.  Add flour, 1 cup at a time; mix well. Dough will be soft; do not refrigerate.

2.    Using a medium sized spoon, fill a cookie press - fitted with disk of your choice - with dough.  Press dough onto flat baking stone or wax paper covered cookie sheet, 1 inch apart.  Decorate cookie with sugar or sprinkles, if you want.

3.    Bake 10-12 minutes or until firm but not brown. Cool 2 minutes on baking stone or cookie sheet; remove to nonstick cooling rack. Repeat with remaining dough.

Enjoy!

Aidan's Movie Night Dinner!

  Ok, think meatballs and think bacon.   How many ways can you put these two things together?  Ok, maybe a lot of ways.  Aidan found one way to do it.   Wrap meatballs with bacon.  It sounds easy doesn't it?  When he made them they were REALLY REALLY GOOD!!!!  He got the idea off an Elvis postcard Grandma send him from Graceland. Here is the recipe:


1 lb. ground beef


1 tbsp. salt


1 tbsp. pepper


2 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce (try saying that with out messing up.)


5 slices of bacon cut in half


Mix ground beef with all ingredients except bacon.  Make ground beef into small balls.  Wrap bacon around balls and fasten with a tooth pick.   Cook slowly in covered skillet until well done.  You made need more or less bacon, depending on the size of your meatballs.


See easy, right?  Aidan made mash potatoes as a side and he also served broccoli with dinner.  If you try them, enjoy!

Elvis

Baker Hansen

  Mommy and I usually go to a bakery called Baker Hansen.  They have cakes and other yummy things.   They also have tea & hot coco. There is one in Stabekk and one in Sandvika. There are more but those are the ones we've visited.  At Christmas time they have ginger bread men and women. They also sell the ginger bread dough so you can make cookies at home.  I usually have a slice of cake and tea, but sometimes I have a ginger bread woman  and hot coco.  Mommy usually has tea and some of what I get. The food is REALLY GOOD!!!! The hot drinks make my tummy feel warm.  They have many different kinds of tea.  I like the raspberry tea.  I love going to Baker Hansen.

Awesome Babysitter +Baking Yummy Brownies =Fun Night

  ♥On Saturday the 7th my babysitter came over.  Her name is Sybelle.  When she comes over we always bake delicious sweets. Yesterday we baked double chocolate chip brownies.  We got the recipe from the Nestle website.♥

RECIPE: 

2 cups (12-oz. pkg.) Toll House  Semi-Sweet Chocolate Morsels, divided
 
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter or margarine, cut into pieces
 
3 large eggs
 
1 1/4 cups all-purpose flour
 
1 cup granulated sugar
 
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
 
1/4 teaspoon baking soda
 
1/2 cup chopped nuts

DIRECTIONS

  ➽Preheat oven to 350° F. Grease 13 x 9-inch baking pan.➽

  ✔Melt 1 cup morsels and butter in large, heavy-duty saucepan over low heat; stir until smooth. Remove from heat. Stir in eggs. Stir in flour, sugar, vanilla extract and baking soda. Stir in remaining morsels and nuts. Spread into prepared baking pan.✔

  ❀Bake for 18 to 22 minutes or until wooden toothpick inserted in the center comes out slightly sticky.  Cool completely in pan on wire rack.  Cut into bars.❀

ENJOY!

   ❉We didn't put nuts in ours, but you can if you want.  They were warm, gooey, and chocolatey.  They were SOOOO GOOD!❉

Tea Time & sweets !!!!!!!!!!!!

  On New Year's Day, Mommy and I had some friends over for tea and sweets.   I had the idea because I got four cookbooks for Christmas.  I invited Gillian & Ellen because they both like tea.

'Green Apple' Cupcakes =D

     Mommy and I made cupcakes, scones, whoopie pies and macarons.  The cupcakes looked like green apples.  We used candy as the stems and leaves. We used two cupcakes for each 'green apple',  the bottom was a big cupcake and the top was a mini cupcake.  

✔Orange-Chocolate Chip Scone

    The scones were orange-chocolate chip. I used real orange zest and that made the whole difference.  You could really taste the orange. 

     The whoopie pies were red velvet with vanilla frosting.  These were the only things not made from scratch.  They were still good, even though we forgot to add the water.  

Macaron shells to be continued...❤

Pumpkin cinnamon filling

Finished (penguin time)✰

     Last, but not least, were the macarons.  They were French meringue shells with pumpkin cinnamon filling.  Mommy said we got the perfect meringue.  It all was fantastic.  

Table set for tea.❀

Well fed ☝

     For tea we had English Breakfast tea. We got to use Nana's fancy china.  When Gillian & Ellen came we all told funny stories and jokes.  Flopster came to pay a visit.  I had a fun time.  I will definitely do this again.
JOKE:Why did the rabbit cross the street? To go to the hopping center!