Calise Zollinger

Hello Everyone!

My name is Calise Zollinger and even though I felt it was a little strange to ask to join, I went out of my comfort zone to ask. I don't know many people who will blog with me and I loved your idea of this blog so THANK YOU!

I live in Nampa, Idaho (by Boise) but I am originally from Idaho Falls, ID. My husband and I grew up in the same town, went to rivalry high schools, and met at BYU-Idaho. We met 3 weeks after he returned from his mission in Portugal, our first date was the end of April, we were engaged in June and married in August. I love staying home with my 3 children: Patrick(4), Reed(2) and Madalyn(3mths). My husband is a financial analyst for a wood company here and we are moving to Atlanta, Georgia as soon as we can sell our house. I love to bake, and I love finding new recipies to try-especially if I can get my picky eaters to eat them! I love watching my children play together and I love teaching them the gospel. I just love being a mom! I love to scrapbook, read, and bargin shop- well I love any kind of shopping. I love dishes- finding new and unique pieces to display is such a thrill.

I am so excited to be a part of this blog and I can't wait to start sharing recipies from the western side of the U.S.!!

Grilled Peanut Butter and Honey

Honey is a harder ingredient than I thought. I couldn't find a recipe to put up even though it seems like we eat a lot of honey. But one of my favorite meals does include honey... I just wouldn't call this a recipe.
When I was growing up instead of grilled cheese sandwiches my mom made grilled peanut butter and honey sandwiches and we all loved them. And all of us still love them. Brian thinks I'm crazy but Parker and Mayli are both fans as well. So on nights when I just really don't feel like cooking I just slap some peanut butter and honey on some bread cover the top and bottom of the sandwich with butter and throw on the griddle (or frying pan) and then cut up some fruit to go with. Try it! It's good I promise! :)

Fun cupcakes

Thanks for all the advice on dental stuff. Very helpful. We always make sure Charlie watches my husband and I brushing our teeth and we have a "family teeth brushing party" as often as we can. I just let Charlie chew on the tooth brush and he is even getting the back and forth movement.


However, this post has nothing to do with good dental hygiene practice. In fact, just the opposite. But we all can use a little treat now and then. I made these for a cub scout cake auction last week and they were a hit. My husband and I spent some time "wrapping" the roses but they were well worth it in the end. I got the idea from Family Fun, however their recipe calls for MINI cupcakes which I didn't read until after I had already made normal sized ones. But it still worked. Make sure you get the fruit-by-the-foot with the wavy perforated line instead of all the other crazy design that are available. We had to search for a box in the back that showed on the front that it was, in fact, the wavy design, which, I think, only comes in Cherry Rage or Strawberry flavors. We wrapped a cereal box in foil and taped the cupcakes down for a nice presentation. Sold for $27!

From the Dentist's mouth

Kent here…I know I'm not 'mommy' material, but I thought I might chime in on this one. Great questions! I'll start with the easy ones and work my way up.

Q: When should my child see a dentist for the 1^st time?

A: The answer you will get from the American Academy of Pediatric Dentists is 1-year or around the time of the first tooth, whichever comes first. My humble opinion is that is too early for most children. Here's why. First, congenital dental abnormalities (the kind you would want to try to catch at such an appointment) are extremely rare. The most common ones are associated with cleft palate and lip and would have been caught already. Second, pediatricians are doing a far better job these days at making parents aware of their young child's few, but extremely important dental needs. Most parents know better than to send their child to bed with a bottle/sippy cup, and if you do, it is should have nothing but water in it. If you put your child to bed with free access to liquid sugar in any variety, the bacteria that cause tooth decay will run rampant. (This includes cow's milk, breast milk and any other creature's milk you want to give the kid) Before your child has teeth, clean the gums regularly with a clean, moist cloth. After the first tooth appears (anywhere from 4-14 months is normal) use a small toothbrush. Toothpaste is optional but make sure it is fluoride-free until your child is old enough to spit it out. Pea-size is plenty.

So my answer: 3 years old…unless there is trauma to the mouth or teeth or there are specific concerns or questions you have. If you came to see me before then, most of the exam would be spent discussing home care and diet. I don't even use the normal chair. The child stays on mom's lap during the exam.

Q: How do I prepare my child for his/her first dental visit?

A: I realize that many people dread the dental office. Many people's anxiety stem from a negative experience in the past mingled with legendary tales of someone else's horror story. For the large part, dentists trained in the last two decades are going to be a bit more sensitive to this and you may find that things at the dentist are not as scary as they were "back in the day." Dental anxiety and the fear of the unknown, however, are two very different things. Before their first visit, children do NOT have dental anxiety, they fear the unknown. (Be careful not to project any anxiety on your child by talking negatively about yours or anyone else's visits.) Cassi is exactly right. The more you tell them what to expect, the easier this appointment will be.

Here's what to expect at your first visit (in my office anyway): A special chair that you get to ride up and down in, sunglasses (the light is too bright for kids' eyes), tooth counting, searching for sugar bugs, special flavored toothpaste with a special brush that tickles your teeth (a little, not too much), and maybe some special pictures of their teeth, but NO scraping. Lots of education at these early visits. As with anything pertaining to your health, the more questions you ask, the better.

Q: What do I look for in selecting a dentist for my child?

A: If you can find a Dr. Archibald in your area, he's a pretty safe bet. :) If one of those is not available, look for "Family Dentistry" in the yellow pages or on the web. Pediatric dentists have specialized training in treating kids and usually have very child friendly offices with lots of toys. But you don't have to see a pediatric dentist. General dentists have a great deal of training in treating children. But not all general dentist offices see kids, so it's a good idea to call and ask. Ask around at play groups and storytime…there is bound to be some great dentists in your area.

Dentist Prep

I bought the fruity gel. I purchased the tiny toothbrush made with bright colors and a beloved children's show character. I even sing a special teeth brushing song. And yet, as I fight to brush my son's teeth and watch him freak out a little at the doctor when it is time for the tongue depressor, I worry about our first trip to the dentist. He is approaching the age and I was hoping that before we go, we could get some tricks on preparing him to go and not to dread the dentist in years to come.

Zuppa Toscana Soup

I know that this isn't a sweet, really, but I have to share this! I made this for Rob for dinner on Valentines, and he absolutely loved it! If you've ever been to Olive Garden and had their soup with sausage in it (Zuppa Toscana) then you have to try this recipe! It is SO good, and it's fairly easy to make! It took me about an hour or so. Anyway, this tastes just like it does at the restaurant.

2 (32 oz) chicken stock (it says you should NOT substitute for chicken broth. I found chicken stock at Target)
6 c water
3-4 med-lg russet potatoes, peeled and sliced (I also cut the slices into quarters)
3 pieces bacon (you won't use the bacon, you use the bacon grease)
1 lg white onion, sliced fine
1 lb sweet Italian sausage (I couldn't find sweet sausage so I got mild Italian and it was great)
3 garlic cloves, minced
2/3 c cream or half-and-half
1 bunch swiss chard or kale, cut into bite size pieces
1 tsp salt
1/4 tsp anise seed (I found this at Target as well, it was expensive though, $4.50 a container)
1 dash red pepper flakes (I just used ground)
black pepper to taste

Bring chicken stock and water to a light boil and add potatoes. Don't lower heat.
In a skillet cook bacon until somewhat done and remove (do not add bacon to soup)
Saute onions in bacon grease until carmelized (a light golden brown color)
Remove onions and put in boiling stock.
In the same skillet, add some olive oil and cook Italian sausage (casings removed)
Add the garlic with the sausage and cook until sausage is done and is the consistency of hamburger meat
Add mixture to the stock.
By this time check to see if the potatoes are done, squish them against the side to see.
If they are done, add the cream, kale, salt, anise, red pepper and black pepper
Serve with garlic bread or corn bread
Enjoy

I hope you like it! It really is so, so, so good!

Chocolate Ganache Cake

I made this for a birthday a couple weeks ago and put the pic on my blog, since then I've had a few people ask me to post the recipe. So here it is. And it would definitely work for Valentine's too. If you put some food coloring or a little pink jello in the cool whip you'd have a pretty pink chocolate cake! And what's more romantic than that? :) Plus this cake is to die for! Even my husband who hates chocolate couldn't stop picking at it all week!

Chocolate Ganache Cake
*Now I know this looks like a long process but it's really not a hard cake to make. You just have to start the day before so that it can cool completely before each step. If you try to be hasty with this one it's easy to ruin, but if you give yourself enough time it's actually pretty easy!

Cake:
1 pkg Devils Food cake
-Cook according to directions in 2 8in. round pans. Allow to completely cool. (I made the cakes the night before and let them cool overnight because if you try to cut them too soon they'll fall apart)

Filling:
3/4 C heavy whipping cream
1/3 C & 2 Tbs sugar
1 1/2 C semi sweet chocolate chips
6 Tbs butter
-Combine above ingredients in saucepan over low heat until smooth. Remove and cool to room temp. Then cool a little longer in the fridge.

Cut the 2 cakes in half to make 4 round cakes. Place first cake on cake plate and spread 1/3 filling then place the next cake on top and repeat for all layers, spreading 1/3 filling on each, except the top layer. Cool in fridge a couple hours.
Cover in cool whip and chocolate shavings. To make shavings peel a chocolate candy bar with a potato peeler.

My Favorite Sugar Cookies

Sorry I have a sick baby I haven't posted in a while. These are the best sugar cookies, they are soft and just so yummy especially with the cream cheese frosting. I cut them out into heart shapes and decorate them for valentines. I give them away as special Valentines treats to neighbors and friends. I don't know if I'll be able to this year but it has been a tradition from before I was even married.

1 cup shortening
2 cup sugar
2 eggs
1 cup sour cream
1 tsp. vanilla
1/2 tsp. baking soda
2 tsp. baking powder
4 1/2 cup flour
1/2 tsp. salt

Mix shortening, sugar, eggs, vanilla and sour cream. Mix with dry ingredients. Chill 2 hours. Roll 1/4" thick. Heat oven to 400 degrees baking for 8 minutes.

Classic Cream Cheese Frosting
8 oz cream cheese, softened
1 stick (8 tbsp.) butter or margarine, at room temperature
3 ¾ cups powdered sugar
1 tsp. vanilla

Cream together cream cheese and butter. Add sugar gradually on low speed until incorporated. Add vanilla and increase speed to medium to blend and fluff, about 1 minute. Makes 3 cups, enough to frost 2 or 3 layer cake.

Beating the Cold

It's definitely cold season around here. And it seems like when you hear one person in the ward is sick it's bound to get to your family sooner or later. And now with cold medicine being off limits for kids under 6 it's hard to make the little ones feel better and able to sleep. So my question this week is: What are you natural cold remedies? What have you found that works to help fight a cold faster or at least provide some relief? Also.. is it ALL cold and cough medicines that were taken off shelves or just a certain ingredient?

**Is anyone up for doing the tricks of the trade post next week? I'm sure you guys are sick of hearing from me! :)

Eat Your Vegetables!

So I've been thinking this over the past few days and I have really liked the ideas that have been posted. So, I thought I should share some things our family does to make sure we get our veggies. A long while ago, I got a handout from the gym titled 55 ways to get 5 a day(fruits and veggies). Unfortunately, I can't say I've really put them all into practice, but some of my favorites that I do regulary are:

1. Keep cut up veggies in water in the front of the fridge. Although it cost a little more to buy precut veggies, it is worth it us - we eat them a lot more, we pack them in our lunches, and it is a lot less work to throw them in whatever I'm cooking.
2. We have lots of frozen veggies on hand too, so I put veggies in everything - even if the recipe doesn't call for it. Or if a recipe calls for carrots, I add carrots and peas, or carrots plus something else.
3. Make veggie lasagna with ricotta cheese and mixed veggies.
4. Veggies can be found in sweet things too - zuchini bread, pumpkin muffins/pancakes, carrot cake, etc. (okay, I've never made carrot cake, but we really like zuchini bread and pumpkin pancakes!)
5. Keep 100% juice boxes in your car for a snack
6. Freeze unsweetened fruit juice into ice cubes or popcicles
7. Make smoothies with yogurt and fruit and a little milk or ice (We do this almost every Sunday, it is yummy and easy, and healthy! And it goes great with buttery, salted popcorn - hahahaha.... it really does....
8. Put veggies out while preparing dinner. (This one I can vouch for - it works. I'm horrible at eating and tasting everything while I'm cooking, so this really works for me to munch on something healthy)
9. In place of Teriyaki or Stir Fry sauce, top the veggies with 100% juice, like orange juice or Dole's Mountain Cherry juice. (I've tried the orange juice, it is really good)
10. Top any kind of cereal with raisins or other dried fruit
11. Make homemade veggie pizza - use a pita spread with spaghetti sauce, lowfat cheese, and all the veggies you can find
12. Put single serving raisin boxes in your cookie jar
13. Be experimental - try a new fruit or veggie each week, or try a new way of preparing a veggie each week. Our latest craze: green beans (cooked of course) tossed with roasted pine nuts and bacon, and then drizzle a little olive oil on it. It really is yummy!

This is only a few ideas, but maybe it will help some of you spark your imagination on helping your family eat their fruits and veggies. It motivates me everytime I read over it. I think the biggest help for us is having frozen veggies on hand. We buy big bags of corn, peas, broccoli, green beans, and stir fry veggies at Costco. Then I can cook with them or even just heat some up for Will when he needs some veggies. He loves the peas frozen!? Weird. But it works. I also like to add our stir fry veggies to rice when we are having any sort of Chinese food. Okay, sorry this is a long post... I'm signing off, but good luck everyone!!

Spinach Dip

Since we're on the topic of eating our veggies, and using Sour Cream is our weekly ingredient, I thought this was fitting. This is definately a way I eat more veggies, I love making this dip because it is easy, and often I don't even include the spinach - just depends on how fancy I want to be!

What you do:

• buy a packet of Knorr Veggie Soup/Dip mix
• follow the directions on the back
• serve with cut up veggies (I also like to dip toasted baguette bread in this... especially when I add the spinach)

It is a great tasting dip, great with veggies, toasted bread, or even pretzels. Plus it is easy and you don't really need to have anything weird to put in it. I usually always have sour cream and mayo in my fridge, so I love making this dip.

Chicken Enchiladas

I love these! They don't have enchilada sauce or seasoning so they aren't very Mexican tasting but I think that's why I like them so much!

Chicken Enchiladas
Ingredients:
¾ lb chicken, boneless, skinless, cooked and cut up
1 can cream of chicken soup
12 oz sour cream
1 lb cheddar or Monterey jack cheese, grated
½ cup salsa
1 pkg tortillas- heated for 10-15 seconds until easier to roll

Combine chicken, salsa, half of soup, half of sour cream, and half of cheese in a bowl and stir. In a saucepan combine other half of soup and sour cream, heat on low, stirring every once in a while until thin. Put the chicken mixture on the tortillas, about a big spoonful, then roll them up and place into a 13x9 inch pan. When pan is full of tortillas pour the heated sauce on the tortillas, making sure you get the edges. Sprinkle the rest of the cheese on top and place in oven.

Temp- 350 degrees
Bake time- 15-20 min
Serves- 6-8

Beef Stroganoff

While not really healthy, this easy dinner is fast, filling, and hot. Kids eat it even though it is brown colored. If you use brown rice, at least they are getting their fiber!

1-pound ground beef
1-cup sour cream
2 cans cream of mushroom soup
½ tsp garlic powder
½ tsp black pepper
¼ tsp chili powder
uncooked brown rice

Cook as much rice as needed according to package directions.
Meanwhile, brown beef in a large skillet. Drain fat.
Add sour cream, cream soups, garlic powder, pepper, and chili powder. Mix well over medium heat till bubbly and thoroughly combined.
Serve sauce hot over cooked rice.
Serves 4-5

Jazzed Up Fruits and Veggies

I always try to have a fruit or vegetable with every meal. And sometimes just plain apples or broccoli can become boring. It seems like the kids are more willing to eat it if there's something different about it like a special dip or something on top. For example, the banana sushi has been a hit here. And a lot of times when I make corn I mix it with cream cheese, my kids and husband are a big fan of that. So my tricks of the trade question for the week is how do you "jazz" up your fruits and veggies to make them more exciting for your kids (or husband) to eat?

The Potty (while we are still on the topic)

For all you moms with potty trained kids! Ian just turned 2 last week! Hurray for the Awesome Twos! (I am trying to convince myself of that) Anyway, for several weeks he has shown some interest in the potty. He actually will go pee pee on the potty now about twice a day (before his nap and before bed). I have been laying low, not trying to force the potty training since he is still so young. I bought a potty seat for him. He doesn't like to sit on it but he stands over it and pees in the pot. (hilarious to watch!) We have also been reading several potty books. I don't want to push him (he is a cautious guy) but I also don't want to delay him if he is really ready. What do you moms think? How do you know when they are really ready?