Red Curry with Rice Noodles

Ingredients
3 Chicken Breasts
1 Can of Coconut Milk
2 tsp of Red Curry Paste
1 tbsp of grated Ginger
1/4 cup of Sweet Thia Chili Sauce
1 cup of Chicken or Vegetable Broth
1/2 package of Rice Noodles
3 tbsp of vegetable oil
1/2 Onion sliced thin
1 Red Pepper sliced thin
1 Cup of Broccoli
1 tbsp of salt or to taste

The low down......

*First thing is first read the directions on the box of the rice noodles and let them soak in the water while you are doing all this chopping and simmering.......I have made the mistake of forgetting this step and it was just the end of the world to me*

I also cook the Chicken in the oven with a little salt and pepper until done and chop up until I am ready to use.

In a large pot cook over medium heat with the vegetable oil the Onions until soft. Then add Coconut milk, Red Curry Paste, Ginger, Sweet Thia Chili sauce and Vegetable broth and give it a good stir.  Now you can add the red pepper, broccoli, ginger and chicken let it come to a simmer then let it cook for about 10 minutes or so.  Now you can add the cooked rice noodles.
 
Now take the pot off the heat and let it sit for another 5 minutes......everything should thicken up:)

Enjoy

xox

Lentil Soup

Ingredients
2 Cans of Lentils
1 Carton of Vegetable Broth
2 Cups of water
1 Can of Tomato Paste(the small can)
2 Carrots chopped
1/2 Onion chopped
4 gloves of garlic
4 tbsp Chili powder(You can add more if you like.....I do)
1 tbsp of Cumin
1 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
3 tbsp Olive oil
1 Lemon

The low down........
Chop up your onions, carrots and garlic( it does not have to be a perfect chop as you will be putting this soup in the blender) cook them over medium heat in the olive oil until the carrots and onions are soft.  Now add the Chili, Cumin, Salt and pepper....now add the tomato paste.  Cook this for about 2 minutes or so.  Now add the Vegetable broth, water and lentils.  Bring it to a simmer then cook for an additional 20 minutes.  Pop into the blender I DO NOT put the lid on as it will pop off on you with the heat so please DO NOT PUT THE LID ON......just fill it half way and place a tea town over the top of the blender.  Once you have blitzed everything you are done.  Put your yummy soup in a bowl and squeeze the lemon into the soup.

Enjoy!
xox

Smoothie.......Banana, Peach &Strawberry.....Oh my!

This is a super easy Smoothie that you can have for breakfast or for a mid day snack!

1 cup of frozen strawberries
1 cup of frozen peaches
1 banana
2 tbsp of honey
about 3 cups of milk.....I use soy milk......I usually put enough milk in the blender that it has covered the fruits

Now pop all this stuff in the blender and give it a good blitz!  That's it your done.  Just pour into your favorite glass and enjoy.

Yum Yum!
xox

My favorite Salad.....and I am telling ya I am not a Salad Girl

Alright this is pretty easy so it should not take too long to explain how to make this salad.....lets call it Goat Cheese, Chicken with Candied Nuts Salad....Alright now that we got that out of the way here is what you need.
Mixed Greens
Goat Cheese
Grilled Chicken
Balsamic Dressing
Candied Nuts
*Just buy some walnuts or pecans toss some maple syrup on them drizzle some honey add some salt and pepper then roast them for about 20 minutes.....then add a sprinkle of sugar and roast for 5 more minutes*
All you want to do it toss all these things together and you are set....Yummy in my tummy salad:)

Enjoy
xox

Decorating for Easter

Easter is a fun time in our house......well for the most part.....some of our day is spent wondering how much chocolate Rylee ate and oh my gosh next year NO CHOCOLATE!  Every year we cave in and deal with our sugar coma child.
This year Rylee and I decorated the house for Easter which is something we normally don't do.  Here are some pictures of our Easter decorating...........

Thanks The Pink Petunia for creating this SUPER ADORABLE wreath for my front door



Chris at Parsons Florist helped me with this one.....we still had our dried up Christmas decorations until Chris told me that was such a big "no...no" to still have Christmas stuff up in April!!!!!



LOVE......maybe the front mat needs to be replaced?

We asked Stampin Creations to make us an Easter banner!  I think it turned out great:)

Our great dollar store find:)

Even "Moosie" as Rylee calls him needed to be in the Easter spirit

Another great Dollar store find.......we got really lucky there that day!

More Eggs.....what's Easter without lots of eggs

Rylee's hand painted eggs

YUM YUM Chocolate Eggs

Wishing you all a very HAPPY EASTER!
Lots of Love from the Mckenna's
xox

Cupcake Kids Bake Sale

There are no words to describe the past two days!  As most of you know Rylee and I have been working with my friend Gillian and her daughters on a bake sale to raise money for the The Cupake Kids which raised money for the children of Africa.  It has been crazy.....it has been at times stressful....... and I have had my moments BUT I must admit I feel so full inside that it brings me to tears when I think about what we did today.......but good tears.....happy tears that Rylee and I have touched someones life in a way that is so powerful beyond belief with the help of our Friends. 

For the bake sale we baked and sold and baked about 1000 Cupcakes with some help from Tabitha of Yum Yum Desserts and Leanne from She Takes The Cake........in total we raised....drum roll please.......$2,850.00!

This will provide...
1,425 healthy meals
School fees for 407 children for a month
570 new Bibles
380 blankets
Medical care for 475 children
114 new mattresses
25 new beds
6 months salary for in country staff member
And lots of love, hope, and encouragement!!!!

Here are some pictures of our baking yesterday!  I wish I had some from the bake sale but it was way too busy for me to take any pictures:(


Sprinkles gotta love sprinkles



Sitting pretty

HELLO......Yummy or what?



My two mixers were going all day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!



And the famous Cupcake Sugar Cookies that I was up until 1:30am making the night before the sale!



More Sugar Cookies



Did I also mention we ate a lot of Cupcakes!

and we had so much fun doing it!



THANK YOU to everyone who baked, donated product, donated their time and who purchased cupcakes you can sleep well tonight that you have helped make an impact in a small child's life.

But before this blog post ends.....sorry if it is going on and on.....but THANK YOU to Grandma, Brenda and Chris for all your help at Gillian's today!  You ladies rock and we could not have gotten through the day without you!!!!!!!!!!

BIG HUGS AND KISSES

Nicole & Rylee







OMG Bolognese Sauce and Parmesan & Garlic Salad Dressing

 

Ingredients

• ½ cups Olive Oil
• 1-½ cup Grated Carrots
• 1 whole Large Red Onion, Diced
• 2 pounds Ground Beef
• 4 Tablespoons of Italian Seasoning
• 1 handful of fresh Basil
• 1 can (6 Ounce) Tomato Paste
• 5 cloves Garlic, Minced
• 1 cup (to 2 Cups) Red Wine*I tend to go for two or more cups....if you don't want wine don't worry about it*
• 2 cans (28 Ounce) Whole Tomatoes
• 1 jar of Strained Tomatoes
• 1 cup Milk
• 1 cup of Parmesan
• Salt And Pepper, to taste
• Fresh Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add grated carrots and onions and cook for a few minutes. Make a well in the center of the mixture, and then add in the ground beef. Cook for a few minutes until brown, gradually stirring it into the carrot mixture.

Throw in the Italian seasoning and basil. Use fresh if you have it; if you don’t, it’s fine. When the meat is browned and combined with other ingredients, make another well. Add tomato paste and let it heat. Add garlic and stir to combine.  Add about 1 or 2 tablespoons of salt and about 1 tablespoon of pepper.
Make a well in the center of the mixture and add red wine. Stir together. Add canned tomatoes. Finally, pour in milk and Parmesan cheese, stir, and let simmer for 30 minutes to 2 hours—however long you need.  I always give it a little taste before as serve sometimes I find it needs more salt so it all depends on your taste


Serve with pasta and a generous sprinkling of Parmesan cheese.

Parmesean & Garlic Salad Dressing

1 1/2 cups of Olive Oil

3 Cloves of Garlic

1 Cup of Parmesean Cheese

a squirt of lemon

salt and pepper

Toss all these things in a mini food proccessor and give it a blits and you are done!  I have also been know to scoop up the left overs with some fresh bread.....YUMMY.

Hope you all enjoy this and I will post my left overs recipe tomorrow! 

My Dad

My Dad is an awesome guy!  He is so passionate and always goes for his dreams!  When I was a little one he was a truck driver but he wanted to give his family a better life and went back to school to get into real estate.  I am sure he had many people question, "what are you doing? Are you crazy?  A truck driver can't go into real estate?  Well despite what people might have said or did,  he did it.....it took time but man he did not give up and he ROCKED it. 
I am very happy that all his passion and determination has rubbed off on me.  He has shown me that anything is possible and it is never too late to go for your dreams.  He was my inspiration for starting up Cutie Pies.....I thought if I don't do it now when will I do it?  So I am living my dream everyday and I am very greatful that I had the courage to go and do it.
Love you Dad
xox

Rylee and my Dad



How to use your Chicken Tortilla Soup the next day!

So we ate so fast tonight that I never had a chance to take a photo of the dinner we had tonight!  Yesterday I made Chicken Tortilla Soup.....we then had Chicken Tortilla Soup for lunch.......and now for dinner? So I got creative and I made a taco salad.  How do you make a salad out of soup you ask?  Well just listen and I will tell you.  So go dig through your drawers for one of those spoons that have all the holes in it.....go on now start looking I can wait!  Alright now that you have that just put it aside until we need it.

So here is what you need to to.....
Chop up some lettuce and put that on your plate, go and take that spoon and scoop out some of the soup and put it in a bowl or a sauce pan heat it up.  Once you have it warm enough put it on top of the lettuce and add some cheese, Sour cream, avocados and come crunched up corn chips!  Yummy love taco salad hope you enjoy it as much as we do.

Make him moan and groan chicken tortilla soup!

I must say all I heard from my Hubby while eating this soup was moans and groans....please lets keep our minds out of the gutters now!  But really he LOVED it and so did I.......Now a traditonal tortilla soup has the tortillas right in it.  I have a thing about soggy stuff!  I don't know I just could not do it!!!!! so what I did was put some oil in a pan and crisped them until they were golden brown.   Then put them on top of my soup right before I was about to serve it. 

This was super easy to make and serves about 8 people!  Would be great to make and put in the freezer......just don't put the tortillas in if you are going to freeze it.  You can add them afterwards when it is defrosted.

Alright so here it is enjoy!

Ingredients
1 Roasted Chicken from the grocery store
1 Tablespoon Olive Oil
1-½ teaspoon Cumin
2 teaspoon Chili Powder
2 teaspoons Garlic Powder
1 teaspoons Salt
1 cup Diced Red Onion
1/2 Diced Green Bell Pepper
1/2 Red Bell Pepper
3 cloves Garlic, Minced
1 can (10 Oz. Can) Rotel Tomatoes And Green Chilies
32 ounces, fluid Low Sodium Chicken Stock
3 Tablespoons Tomato Paste
4 cups Hot Water
2 cans (15 Oz. Can) Black Beans, Drained
3 Tablespoons Cornstartch
5 whole Corn Tortillas, Cut Into Uniform Strips Around 2 To 3 Inches

FOR THE GARNISHES:
Sour Cream
Diced Avocado
Diced Red Onion
Salsa Or Pico De Gallo
Grated Monterey Jack Cheese
Cilantro
Preparation Instructions
Shred up the chicken and put aside. Mix up the spices.

Heat 1 tablespoon olive oil in a pot over medium high heat. Add onions, red pepper, green pepper, and minced garlic. Stir and begin cooking, then add the spice mix. Stir to combine, then add shredded chicken and stir.

Pour in Rotel, chicken stock, tomato paste, water, and black beans. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 45 minutes, uncovered.

Mix cornstartch with a small amount of water. Pour into the soup, then simmer for an additional 30 minutes. Check seasonings, adding more if needed—add more chili powder if it needs more spice, and be sure not to undersalt. Turn off heat and allow to sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

Now I don't like the tortillas cooked in the soup but if you do add them Five minutes before serving, gently stir in tortilla strips. What I do is fry up the strips in some oil until golden brown then put them ontop of the soup.

Ladle into bowls, then top with sour cream, diced red onion, diced avocado, pico de gallo, and grated cheese, if you have it! (The garnishes really make the soup delicious.)

*Adapted by The Pioneer Woman*

My obsession with {Retro} aprons

I have to admit I spend my nights searching etsy for retro aprons......I often window shop.........I often dream about buying matching sets for me and my daughter......but I also more than not buy!  Because I love them so much I wanted to offer aprons to my Cutie Pies customers.  I got in touch with the amazing Christine Taylor Designs and asked her if she could work with me on putting together some retro style aprons.  So we searched and searched for the best fabrics possible to represent what Cutie Pies is all about......Retro & Fun! 
So here is what we came up with........

And here they are all packaged up in an adorable pie box!   Come on now how cute is that?  I only have one available of each style so if you like them grab it before they are gone.

xox