Hola! I am working at the hotel tonight! It's a little busy, but I have a minute to blog so I thought I'd post some recipes that have become BIG HITS at our house...
I
wish I were posting before and after shots of the kids' rooms, but we are still working on them. While Jill was here we got about 75% of the work done (bless her heart--it really would not have gotten done without her her help!!!) and I predict the kids will be sleeping in them tomorrow night--THANKS, Aunt Jill!
First,
click here for directions and recipe to make
SPAM Musubi. Lest you scoff, the Spam is "re-cooked" in yummy sauce and you can't even tell it's canned meat! It's the best way to eat Spam if you like sushi. Rich loves it and I've been skeptical, but last week in Vancouver we found a Hawaiian Cafe and I tried it for the first time. I am converted, and I bear you my solemn witness that Spam Musubi is yummy. Use the can for a mold and have yourself a luau!
Secondly, we made
lettuce wraps this weekend (again) and I guess I should post my own recipe for making them because it now barely resembles the
PF Chang's recipe I downloaded, but it still gets RAVE reviews when I serve it. Don't be daunted by all the sauces it calls for--they are well-worth investing in and you can find most all of them on the ethnic aisle of your grocery store for $1-3 per bottle (the ginger and garlic purees are in the produce dept. usually, in little Christopher Ranch jars). So here goes...
Lettuce Wraps
1 head of Bibb lettuce
1.5 lbs ground turkey
4 TB oil
2 tsp fresh ginger puree
2 tsp fresh garlic puree
FINELY CHOPPED:
2 green onions
mushrooms (1 box or 1 can)
2-3 stalks celery
1 can water chestnuts
1 can bean sprouts
½ cup peanuts or cashews
Marinade:
2 tsp rice wine vinegar
2 tsp soy sauce
2 tsp water
¼ tsp salt
¼ tsp pepper
1 tsp cornstarch
1 tsp sesame oil
Cooking Sauce:
1 tbsp hoisin sauce
1 tbsp soy sauce
1 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp oyster sauce
2 tbsp plum sauce
2 tbsp warm water
1 tsp sesame oil
1 tsp brown sugar
2 tsp cornstarch
Dipping Sauce:
½ cup water
2 tbsp soy sauce
2 tbsp rice wine vinegar
2 tbsp plum sauce
1 tbsp lemon juice
2 tsp hot chili garlic sauce
1/4 cup brown sugar
1/8 tsp sesame oil
2 tbsp cornstarch
Noodles (I never do these, but I have substitued chow mein noodles): 1 ½ cups oil and 1 pkg cellophane noodles
The noodles will be deep fried, and should not be soaked in water prior to frying. In a large pot or wok, heat the 1 ½ cups of oil on high. The oil should be about an inch or so thick so that the noodles can be submerged.
Add the noodles and cook for just 5 to 10 seconds or until they “puff” up. Then remove them quickly with a slotted spoon and place them on plate.
First make the marinade: add the sherry and the soy sauce to a bowl and stir. Next add the water, salt and pepper and mix it in. Then, using your hands, add the cornstarch making sure to mix it in thoroughly. Finally stir in the oil.
Place the ground turkey in a large Ziploc bag and add the marinade. Let stand 20 min.s at room temperature (you can do your chopping or sauces while you wait).
Prepare the cooking sauce be mixing all of the ingredients together making sure that the cornstarch dissolves. Set this sauce aside.
Prepare the dipping sauce by mixing all of the ingredients together in a pot except for the cornstarch. Mix the cornstarch in a separate cup with just a little water to dissolve and set it aside. Heat the pot on medium high stirring constantly until the sugar dissolves. Then slowly add the cornstarch while stirring until thick. Set this sauce aside.
Carefully remove the leaves from the lettuce head and rinse them under cold water. Place them on paper towels to dry. These will be used as the “cups” for the turkey.
When the turkey has marinated, heat a large non stick pot or wok on high and add 3 tablespoons of the oil. Once the oil is hot (like almost smokin’), add the turkey and stir fry it for about 4 minutes or until cooked through, breaking it up into pieces as you stir. Then remove it from the wok and set it aside.
Add the remaining 2 tablespoons of oil to the wok and add the ginger, garlic, green onion. Stir fry for about 1 minute, or until fragrant. Then add the other chopped veggies and stir fry for 3 more minutes. Return the turkey to the pan and add the cooking sauce. Stir until thick, and then keep it warm til you’re ready to serve.
I also like to make a batch of white rice (3 cups water, 1.5 cups rice, and salt in the rice cooker), and serve a big bowl of the ground turkey/ veggie mix, a big bowl of rice, a plate of lettuce leaves and a bowl of sauce for topping (I often just use Hoisin Sauce and a little soy sauce straight from the jar and skip making the recipe above—I promise it’s just about as good and a little bit simpler). Also, if you need to “bulk up” the recipe to feed more peeps, you can easily chop and add almost any veggie you have on hand—add more celery, even carrots, another can of mushrooms, and a little more sauce—you can stretch that 1.5 lbs of ground turkey to feed 10 people!!!
Happy James
James loves Hannah!
Hannah is 6-1/2 months old and her feet are the size of Addie's at birth! She's TINY!
James' room is mostly done--here are the beds
A view of the closet
A view of the corner near the window
Heidi loves her elephant room! Here it is on Wednesday...
...and today we added more!
Heidi and Addie made an "elephant circus" to entertain Hannah today. I'm pretty sure they had more fun than Hannah did (Hannah looked a little scared). 
Happy James
James loves Hannah!
Hannah is 6-1/2 months old and her feet are the size of Addie's at birth! She's TINY!
James' room is mostly done--here are the beds
A view of the closet
A view of the corner near the window
Heidi loves her elephant room! Here it is on Wednesday...
...and today we added more!
Heidi and Addie made an "elephant circus" to entertain Hannah today. I'm pretty sure they had more fun than Hannah did (Hannah looked a little scared). 
