Almond Ricotta Bars

For bars:

• 2 1/2 cups flour

• 1 tablespoon baking powder

• 1 teaspoon salt

• 1 cup (2 sticks) unsalted butter, at room temperature, plus extra for pan

• 2 cups granulated sugar

• 2 eggs

• 2 teaspoons almond extract

• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract

• 1 (15-ounce) container whole-milk ricotta cheese

For frosting:

• 1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, at room temperature

• 4 ounces cream cheese, at room temperature

• 3 cups powdered sugar

• 1 teaspoon almond extract

• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted (see Taste Tip)

To prepare bars:

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Butter bottom and sides of a 13- by 18-inch half-sheet pan.

In a medium bowl, sift together flour, baking powder and salt, and reserve.

In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat 2 sticks butter and granulated sugar until light and fluffy, about 3 minutes. Add eggs, one at a time, and beat until thoroughly combined. Add 2 teaspoons almond extract and 1 teaspoon vanilla extract, and beat until thoroughly combined. Reduce speed to low, add ricotta in 3 additions. Gradually add flour mixture and mix until just combined.

Spread batter in prepared pan and bake until cake is set, lightly golden and the edges start pulling away from sides of pan, about 35 to 45 minutes. Remove from oven and transfer pan to a wire rack to cool completely.

To prepare frosting:

In a bowl of an electric mixer on medium-high speed, beat 1 stick butter and cream cheese until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. Reduce speed to low, add powdered sugar and 1 teaspoon almond extract, and mix until uniform and creamy. Spread frosting over cooled bar cookies, slice into squares and top squares with toasted almonds.

Makes about 4 dozen bar cookies.

Taste Tip: To toast almonds, place nuts in a dry skillet over medium heat, and cook, stirring or shaking the pan frequently, until they just begin to release their fragrance, about 2 to 3 minutes (or preheat oven to 325 degrees, spread nuts on an ungreased baking sheet and bake, stirring often, for 4 to 6 minutes). Remove from heat and cool to room temperature.

Mongolian Ground Beef Noodles

 

Ingredients

– 8 oz. ground beef
– 8 oz. dried noodles
– 1 onion, sliced
– 3 garlic cloves, minced
– 1/4 cup soy sauce
– 2 tbsp hoisin sauce
– 1 tbsp oyster sauce
– 1 tbsp brown sugar
– 1/2 tsp red pepper flakes
– 2 green onions, chopped
– Salt and pepper to taste
– 2 tbsp vegetable oil

Instructions

Preparation

Start by cooking the noodles according to the package instructions. While the noodles are cooking, mix together the soy sauce, hoisin sauce, oyster sauce, brown sugar, and red pepper flakes in a small bowl. Slice the onion, mince the garlic, and chop the green onions.

Cooking Process

Heat vegetable oil in a large pan over medium heat. Add the sliced onions and cook until softened. Then, add the minced garlic and ground beef to the pan. Cook the beef until it’s browned and fully cooked. Pour the sauce mixture over the beef and onions, stirring well to combine. Add the cooked noodles and toss everything together until the noodles are coated with the sauce. Season with salt and pepper, cook for an additional 2-3 minutes, and garnish with chopped green onions before serving.

Apple Time.

We love picking apples. This year we invited our friends to join us and the kids had a blast together. It was too bad that we couldn't spend more time, but we needed to get to Owen travel soccer game that was an hour away....

Taking a nice family photo:

And then Reese did this! WHAT!??

Fall Soccer.

Owen joined a travel fall soccer team this year. Soccer season is amazing around here - one game it's 90 degrees and he's sweating

- the next game he needs to wear hat and mittens.

New School Year.

Reese was so excited to go to Owen's school this year (too bad it's only for 2.5 hours a day).

Reese exclaimed that is was the best day ever!

State Fair 2013.

Making Memories.

I grew up camping. Loved it. Can't imagine my childhood without it. We drove and camped along the way from MN to MT. Not sure if this was the trip, but one time we had to leave our tent to go to the nearby hospital to wait out the tornado that came through town. We came back to the campground and our tent was still standing - not many were.

I've always known I wanted to bring my family camping when I had one, but now that I do and I'm the mom, it's a little daunting. The preparation of everything seems overwhelming and not very relaxing. But this year, we finally did it. We borrow a friend's tent and we were off. We went to a campground not too far away in case the weather was bad and we needed to come home in a hurry. We also invited along Mike's sister and her family for more fun. We planned out meals to make and hoped we didn't forget anything. We ended up having beautiful weather and tons of fun.

Having a lake at the campground was a big pull for us - everyone caught a fish (Em even MADE her own pole and caught some) And Reese can't get enough of the beach and sand.

Sitting around the fire is always fun:

Amanda and Owen took a hike in the woods to explore and we went Geo cashing for the first time too.

When Amanda was keeping Reese company at the beach, she did a little of this:

Kids loved the park because there was lot of this:

And there was lots of all around goofiness:

We had such a great time, we purchased our very own tent and are planning for next year.