My Baby is One

You might have noticed I've been MIA this past year. Last September I gave birth to my son and I've been watching him grow leaps and bounds ever since. He brings me so much joy. It feels like we just brought him home from the hospital. For his one year birthday we had a little party with family and a few friends. I wanted it to be special to commemorate the occasion.

He loves Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, so we decided that would be the perfect theme. I made all the decorations (handmade tissue paper flowers, flag banner, signs, cake topper, etc) and my mom helped me prepare the food and she made his Brady's birthday banner for his high chair (the chair is a family heirloom). My husband was busy with the landscaping. Brady just started walking a week before his first birthday and hasn't stopped since. Since I'm a designer I knew that I wanted unique personal touches for his decorations.  I chose the color scheme red, yellow and black.  I wanted polka dots, colors, and touches of Mickey Mouse silhouettes to give the suggestion of mickey and a few images of Mickey Mouse, of course! It was a very special day that we'll never forget!


If you're interested in any of my designs for your Mickey Mouse party you can purchase them here:

https://www.etsy.com/shop/ricerafferty?ref=hdr_shop_menu&section_id=20104815

 

 

Quick and Easy Summer Salad Idea

After working all day and being pregnant it leaves very little energy to cook dinner.  I decided I wanted to make a fresh salad with some grilled chicken.  I wanted the chicken to be very flavorful, so I mixed up a honey mustard marinade.  I mixed dijon mustard (old style whole grain for some texture) and a spoonful of honey.  I used my Deni meat tenderizer on the chicken and placed the tenders in my marinade for about 20 minutes.  I grilled the chicken until lightly golden brown and placed over a bed of fresh spinach leaves, tomatoes, and some croutons.  The chicken was so flavorful that I didn't even need a salad dressing.  Yum!  I know this is super simple, but not every dinner needs to take 2 hours to prepare.  Even my hubby loved it.  There were zero leftovers.  :) -->

Food Art

 

Tonight's dinner is...sushi!

Support Local

I recently had the opportunity to visit my friend Kevin and his chickens.  I got some fresh eggs and I must say nothing compares to the quality of eggs from happy free range hens.  Did you notice the slight color variation of the shells?  Each egg is from a different type of hen.

Healthier Gingerbread Cookies

Above are some of my gingerbread cookies - freshly cut out dough.  The aroma of gingerbread fills the air when you bake these babies.  I used a Betty Crocker gingerbread cookie recipe but substituted honey for brown sugar and used whole wheat flour instead of white.  Instead of using sugary frosting I used raisins to decorate the cookies.  This is a guilt free way to enjoy the holidays!  mmm delicious!

The Gingerbread Man Story
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tnAgA1aZGkY
Run Run Run as fast as you can
You can't catch me
I'm the Gingerbread Man

To make cookies from scratch:

Ingredients

• 3/4 cup honey
• 1 stick butter or margarine, softened
• 2 large eggs
• 1/4 cup molasses
• 3 3/4 cups whole wheat flour, plus more for dusting work surface
• 2 teaspoons ground ginger
• 1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly grated nutmeg
• 1/2 teaspoon salt

Directions

Cream the honey and butter until thoroughly combined. Add the eggs and molasses and mix until combined. Sift together the flour, ginger, baking soda, cinnamon, nutmeg, and salt. Add the dry ingredients to the butter mixture and combine with a spoon or spatula.
Remove the dough from the bowl and wrap in plastic wrap; place in the refrigerator until firm, about 1 hour.
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.
Line cookie sheets with parchment paper. Allow the dough to sit at room temperature for about 15 minutes, until pliable. Take about 1/2 cup of dough at a time and roll onto a floured board until about 1/8-inch thick. Cut out with gingerbread boy and girl cookie cutters. You can re-roll the scraps. Using a spatula, transfer the cookies from the board to the prepared cookie sheets.
Bake for 10 minutes, until just beginning to brown at the edges. Transfer to wire racks to cool.
To decorate, add three raisins down the front of the cookie to serve as buttons.

Happy 4th of July!!!!!

Happy 4th of July weekend to my American friends! xoxo


The above cake is an angel food cake with layers of whipped cream frosting, strawberries, and blueberries.  It's a very light, healthy, delicious cake for a holiday party.