Strawberry Bread

This was a family recipe that we LOVED!!! We asked for it on a regular basis and I think my mom got it from my Aunt Cindy, but I'm not sure. Anways, I made it for the Women's Bible Study at church and actually had 4 people ask me for the recipe. I figured it would be a fun one to share, and it makes me think of my mom. :)

Strawberry Bread

3 cups flour

2 cups sugar

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon salt

2 teaspoons cinnamon

16-20 ozs. frozen & thawed strawberries

4 eggs

1 1/4 cups oil

1/2 cups pecans (optional)

Mix dry ingredients. Make a well in the center. Add the liquids and mix by hand. Pour into 2 loaf pans that have been greased and floured. Bake 325-350℉ for one hour.

This recipe is very versatile too. I have been in a hurry and forgotten to grease the pan...it turned out great. No sticking at all. I have also used fresh fruit and it was delicious. One time, I forgot to thaw my strawberries and it just took a little longer to bake. I have used peaches, and most recently, a bag of frozen mixed berries. It was a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, and raspberries. It was sooooooooo good!!

I also am not super excited about that much oil, so I used 1 cup of oil and then substituted in another 1/4 cup applesauce. Applesauce adds moisture without the fat and cholesterol.

I have also baked this recipe in mini-muffin tins, jumbo muffin tins, and small cake pans. I feel like I am rambling at this point, but all of this is to say that this recipe is just a keeper, no matter what you do with it. :) Happy baking!

The First Haircuts

Today was the monumental occasion known as the first haircuts!! I was nervous, only because I love the girls soft blonde locks and I didn't want to cut it yet. It just had to be done. The twins aren't too excited about leaving their hair up a lot, but they have started getting annoyed with it hanging in their face all the time too.

Thankfully we know and love someone (Jennifer, thank you again!!) who is super good with hair and said she would give the girls their first haircuts. I figured they would cry and was even more worried when they fell asleep in the car on the way over there.

But Lilly slept on the couch while Jenn cut Lexi's and then Lexi played with Jennifer's girls while Lilly got a turn. No tears at all!! I think they were pretty curious as to what was going on, but they were fine! I was surprised at how still they sat.

These next 5 pictures are all Alexis...

See how calm she was?
She watched the scissors very carefully too...here she is getting her first little bangs cut.
TA-DA!! She got a tiny trim and then the cute bangs. I love it!!

Next was Lilly bug....she had just woken up from a 45 minute nap, so she was a bit out of it. She cracked me up because she just wanted to poke her arms out from under that drape SO bad. She kept trying to hold my hands and then use my arms to throw the drape back off of her. She hates to sleep under blankets too. She will immediately kick any blanket off and let you know how she feels about it.

See here we are holding hands...
Getting her bangs cut...
Posing for Daddy...
It was nice to watch them play tonight without constantly brushing hair away...

I...can't...stay...awake...

Toby gets a little sleepy these days while standing up...poor baby needs his rest at 14 years old! Right before I grabbed my camera, he was dipping almost to the floor and then stumbling back up. It sounds a bit sad, but it is really sweet too!

Here is my other sweet boy, Sneezy! He has been such a good sport with 2 little girls crawling all over him every day. :)

And my favorite picture of the little Tobsters!!

Toddler Painting

I was googling "toddler activities" a few months back to get us out of our routine rut. I wanted to do something new and exciting for the girls and have it be something that would not make me lose my sanity. I saw this painting activity and thought it would be great. Then my friend, Kelly, put on her blog how she painted this way with her son. I knew it was a keeper idea.

You put a piece of paper into a large ziploc bag with several little sponges that have paint on them. Then you seal up all the mess and let the kiddos have fun. My girls were a bit grumpy when we did it, so they may have more fun with it the next time. :)

Lexi was NOT apprehensive...

Lilly had to think about her design first...all while Lexi was on a roll!
Then Lilly knew what to do...
Here I am holding up Lilly's finished product. They really wanted to play with them when they were wet, and cried as I took them away to the garage to dry.
Lexi loved hers too...
Of course, I got busy again and forgot to rinse out the sponges. Thankfully I have more. :)

Another Great Recipe

When it comes to food blogs, my absolute favorite is SnoWhite's "Finding Joy in my Kitchen". Her name is Sarah and we also share a birthday...cool, huh? Anyways, she cooks with lots of whole wheat, fresh veggies and fruit, and dark chocolate...some of my favorite things to use too. I have tried a LOT of her recipes and quite a few of them are big hits with the veggie-hating hubby.

Eric and I have discovered that we really like roasted veggies, especially asparagus. I never really tried asparagus before and have bought it 3 times in the past month. Last week, I put asparagus and mushrooms in a baking dish. Then poured a little olive oil over them and sprinkled on some McCormick's Montreal Steak seasoning. I roasted this for about 25 minutes in the oven and it was sooooo good. My favorite thing about roasting veggies is that they are still bursting with flavor and juices, but they are still tender.

But this recipe below is one of my favorites to make when I don't have much time. I tried it and fell in love. I ACTUALLY crave it sometimes. You all should definitely give it a try. It is Red Pepper Quiche. Here is the link.

http://joyinmykitchen.blogspot.com/2009/11/red-pepper-quiche.html

If you have the time, browse through her blog. Her recipes are very well archived and easy to find. I made Eric the ice cream cake for his birthday and we loved it. I only had a hard time cutting it. :)

Lexi...

Lexi this morning,

"Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are,

Up above world so high,

Like diamond sky so HIGH,

Twinkle, twinkle, little star,

How I wonder what you are!"

Then she claps and cheers for herself!

Happy Valentines Day!

We had a relaxing weekend mostly hanging out at home letting the girls play. Saturday, we had a great visit from my cousin and her son. It was so nice to spend time with them. Then on Sunday we went to my AMAZING friend, Jessica's moving away party. We are going to miss her and her family so much!!!! But we want you all to have tons of fun on your new adventure!

The girls have been really curious about all the valentines/heart things at stores since a heart is their favorite shape. We got them these little heart pillows as Valentines gifts and they were in love...now they walk around calling them "valentines pillows". I wish you all could hear them say Valentines, because it is too cute. They say it really well.

Notice the little hair bow in Lilly's hand...she ripped it out right before the picture. :) Daddy was trying to help Lexi hold up the pillow so Mommy could see it. The next picture I snapped was of pillows right in my face, and no sign of the toddlers behind them.

Lilly learned how to put sunglasses on by herself...she is still working on getting them right side up.
Hanging out together...
Tonight after a great day without napping, Lexi couldn't take it anymore...so here are the girls saying, "Happy Valentines Day" to all of you!!

Lilly and Daddy...