Random

There have been several things I wanted to post about this week, so I guess I will just lump them all together here.
First, I told Justin that I was taking Emma to Disneyland for her birthday, just the two of us. Justin said he thought that was cool and was just happy for her without being jealous. Wow, that is pretty good for an eight-year old. Justin was really excited and had a present ready for Emma he wanted to wrap. It was his old backpack from a few years ago. He had written his name and his friends' names on it. I was confused as to why he thought she would want it, but she was excited when she opened it. I think she just loves Justin so much that it doesn't really matter what he gives her.
A few days ago Mia gave me a flower she had picked. She had also picked off all the petals, except one. She said "it only has one feather left. It is Captain Hook." I went with Mia to the zoo for her preschool field trip. This is my favorite picture from the trip. I was trying to take a picture of her and Brianna with Mia picking the Gorilla's nose, but when I got home I realized I had cut off Brianna's head in all the photos. How did I miss that? I can only say that I was functioning on very little sleep and I am totally lame.
Emma brought Buddy Bear home from school for the weekend. She is such a kook. She wanted to do everything with him and have me take their picture. As you can see she still likes to create interesting outfits.

Here is a new recipe I tried this week that we really enjoyed. It is from allrecipes.com. I used chicken breasts instead of thighs. Reviews of the recipe said to double the sauce. I just used less chicken. For the amount of sauce in one recipe you could make four to five chicken breasts. Then I cooked it for 45 minutes. I looked just like the picture.

Baked Teriyaki Chicken

Rated: Submitted By: Marian Collins Photo By: TOTOJANG Prep Time: 30 Minutes Cook Time: 1 Hour Ready In: 1 Hour 30 Minutes Servings: 6

"A spicy, homemade teriyaki of soy sauce, cider vinegar, ginger and garlic enlivens your choice of chicken cuts. Doubles easily to satisfy the hoards."

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon cornstarch 1 tablespoon cold water 1/2 cup white sugar 1/2 cup soy sauce 1/4 cup cider vinegar

1 clove garlic, minced 1/2 teaspoon ground ginger 1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper 12 skinless chicken thighs

Directions:

1.	In a small saucepan over low heat, combine the cornstarch, cold water, sugar, soy sauce, vinegar, garlic, ginger and ground black pepper. Let simmer, stirring frequently, until sauce thickens and bubbles.
2.	Preheat oven to 425 degrees F (220 degrees C).
3.	Place chicken pieces in a lightly greased 9x13 inch baking dish. Brush chicken with the sauce. Turn pieces over, and brush again.
4.	Bake in the preheated oven for 30 minutes. Turn pieces over, and bake for another 30 minutes, until no longer pink and juices run clear. Brush with sauce every 10 minutes during cooking.