Grilled Chicken Pesto Panini

Last May, my sister, Melanie, introduced me to the wonderful world of paninis. Then I tried out Katherine's delicious recipe for Tomato, Pesto & Mozzarella Panini, and it was amazing. Last night I made my own version of a panini:

This panini has pesto spread on the inside of both pieces of the Italian bread (I used a Neo-Tuscan Boule). Then I layered grilled chicken (I grilled mine with some lemon pepper on it), tomatoes, avocado, roasted red peppers, and fresh mozzarella cheese (the kind that comes in a ball). I spread a little butter on the outsides of the bread and then grilled it in a George Foreman-type of grill for a few minutes. I served it with a romaine salad and fresh corn on the cob. So good!

To make roasted red peppers, half the bell pepper and remove seeds and stem. Place face down on a sheet of tinfoil (crease the edges up so the juices don't run off), and place under the broiler. Broil until the skin is black all over, about 8 or so minutes. I covered the tops of the pepper with some tin foil when it got black and continued to broil it so the remaining sides could blacken. (You could also put the whole pepper under the broiler and rotate it as it blackens.) Once the skin is black, fold the tinfoil around it to seal in the heat (or place in a bowl and cover with seran wrap) and let sit for 20 minutes. Then rub off the black skin and cut into slices.

LDS Historic Sites

Jed and I decided to go to Kansas City and visit the historic sites of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. It was such a neat experience to remember the trials and the faith of our pioneer ancestors. Some of the tribulations they went through are just indescribable, and yet they still put their trust in God. I am so thankful for the heritage they passed on to us. Here we are at the LDS Visitor's Center in Independence. The Saints gathered here when they were driven from Kirtland, Ohio. But because of persecution and mob attacks in Independence, they soon fled to Liberty and then to Far West.
Jed and Benjamin in front of the cut-away replica of the Liberty Jail, where the prophet Joseph Smith and others were imprisoned the winter of 1838-1839.

Jed and Benny in front of Shoal Creek, where Haun's Mill is located. (Notice Benjamin's amazingly disheveled hair. That's what all day in the car will do to you!)

Jed and I are standing in front of one of the glass encased cornerstones to the dedicated temple plot in Far West. The people were never able to build the temple because they were driven from Far West during the winter of 1839. It broke my heart hearing about how they were forced to leave behind their homes and all their possessions, and flee out into the bitter cold and snow, with nowhere to go. The temple plot is very peaceful, though, and beautiful. I was glad that we could visit this site.

Here's our little family in front of the valley of Adam-ondi-Ahman. This is a very large and wide valley. The green expanse was beautiful.

Moving Days

Today the Paces moved. Next will be the Wilsons, then the Aanderuds, then the Sessions, then the Fields... along with everyone else. Then, there will be me. :) It's so sad to see everyone split up! Everyone is super busy these days with packing and moving. Here I am babysitting Ellie and Abbey while their parents packed up the trucks and cleaned out their homes.

Jed thought it was funny that I was entertaining three toddlers at once, and he took the picture. I didn't want them to get bored, so I was making different voices for the characters in our books, and whispering or speaking with emphasis sometimes, just to keep their attention. :)

Delightful Lemon Icecream

I like homemade icecream...if it's just right. If it doesn't reach that level of perfection, then I would almost rather have store bought. Sometimes it's too creamy and it coats the inside of your mouth with a residue of cream. Sometimes it's too icy and not smooth like icecream ought to be. Sometimes it's bland. But sometimes you taste that perfectly smooth and delicious homemade icecream that knocks you off your feet. Whenever that happens to me with any food, I try to get the recipe. A few years ago I got the recipe for this amazing lemon icecream. It is so wonderful that when I eat it I can't stop myself from closing my eyes and savoring every spoonful. If I could find one more homemade icecream recipe that I loved as much as this one, I would be truly happy!

Lemon Icecream
makes 4 quarts

4 eggs, beaten
3 1/2 c. plus 1 T. sugar
1 T. mexican vanilla
1/2 T. lemon extract
2 quarts whole milk (8 cups)
1 1/2 pints whipping cream (3 cups)

Mix all ingredients and put in a large pot. Heat on medium-high stove, stirring constantly, until an instant-read thermometer registers 160°, about 5 minutes. Let cool slightly, pour into a metal icecream canister and refrigerate for 24 hours.
Freeze in icecream maker according to manufacturers instructions. The secret to good homemade icecream is the ratio between salt and ice. For every 2 inches of ice, add a layer of 1/4 c. rock salt.
When the icecream is frozen, you can take out two big bowl-fulls and then begin mixing the remaining icecream again and it will fill up the churn once more. This is optional, but it makes more icecream for a big crowd.

*When I first got this recipe, I was so sad to discover that the eggs were raw. I didn't make it for a long time because of that. But I researched salmonella and discovered that heating an egg mixture to 160° will kill all salmonella that might be present in the eggs. This process didn't change the taste or texture of this delicious icecream! Now the whole world of raw-egg-homemade-icecream is opened to me!

*By the way, I don't recommend Martha Stewart's French Vanilla Icecream. It wasn't that great. Maybe because it was custard-based...? Or maybe because it didn't have much taste to it...

Guess who's TWO?!

Benjamin turned TWO years old yesterday. Crazy. Jed and I took him to the park and we had a blast going down the 'shlide' and pushing Benny on the swings.


That evening we had some friends over for cake and homemade icecream. We sang 'Happy Birthday' to Benjamin and he wasn't quite sure what that was all about. I made a Strawberry Yogurt Cake for his birthday ~ it had strawberry yogurt in the cake and in the whipped cream frosting. I also made Martha Stewart's summer shortcake & her homemade French Vanilla icecream, and my favorite Lemon Icecream. That sounds like a lot, but all the cake & shortcake was finished off. With everyone milling around and kids underfoot, my house has never felt so small! Luckily it was good weather and we all went outside.

The kids had a blast in the backyard, playing in the upside down pool and hanging on the fence.After the party, Jed did a little firecracker display for me and Benjamin. Benny likes them if I'm holding him. But otherwise, he doesn't want anything to do with firecrackers.

I found Benjamin like this the following morning. He was sitting inside the lego wagon Grandma Walker gave him, and 'reading' the book about the States that Melody gave him. Funny kid. :)

I'M HOOKED AGAIN!

So, I caved in to the temptation and read a novel yesterday! It was awesome and I loved every minute of it! I read it in the space of about 24 hours. After not letting myself read a novel for almost 5 months, I knew I was going to have no self control with this book, so I picked a short 200 page one that I could get through quickly if I read it nonstop.
I bought this out-of-print book by M. M. Kaye at the library booksale a few months ago. I bought it because I remember reading her other works, The Far Pavilions and Trade Wind, years ago and liking them. This was an enjoyable murder mystery with some unexpected twists. It was very suspenseful; this author did a great job in that aspect. It was published in 1955 and I could definitely tell. It had the same romantic ending that seems to be characteristic of that time period - where the hero and heroine suddenly fall in love and you have maybe 1 or 2 sentences to be excited for them, and then it ends. :) The Wedding Bargain by Agnes Sligh Turnbull (published 1966) is the same way. I think these early authors are very fun to read, but I sometimes wish they would prolong and develop the romantic climax a little. :)

I LOVE collecting out-of-print books from the 50's/60's/70's. I particularly keep my eye out for books by Madeleine Brent; I also consider Victoria Holt books when I see them. Sometimes Victoria Holt is hit or miss - I remember liking Mistress of Mellyn, but I hated The Legend of the Seventh Virgin. Is there anyone else out there that likes these types of books? Or has a good one to recommend to me?

*Althought this was an enjoyable read, I'm not necessarily recommending this book.... I only recommend AWESOME books. It would be safe to say that I would recommend anything by Madeleine Brent. Check out my book list to the right to see all my top recommendations. :)

Shrimp, Shrimp, I love Shrimp!

Last night I made Shrimp Fra Diavolo with Lemon Linguini for dinner. It was yummy, and the zesty lemon pasta was very different and fun. The recipes are from Eugena, and you can find them on her blog, http://eugenagunderson.blogspot.com/. (Just scroll down a bit and you'll see it.)

I made a few changes - I used only 2 T. olive oil in the beginning, I substituted white grape peach juice for the white wine, I substituted linguini for the spaghetti, I omitted the 2/3 c. olive oil that was supposed to go into the pasta, and I only added about 1 tsp (maybe 1 1/2 tsp) lemon zest.