Who would have thought that more than 17 years ago watching my now best friend get off the bus from school we would still be friends til this day.  I thank God everyday for all the blessings I receive.

Cowtown Cowgirls is what my mom and I call each other…expect the unexpected that’s our motto!

Hello Sunshine, you look marvelous!

Love is Patient!

BAM!

If only for a minute, I love you!

Father-Daughter Love out on the Ranch!

“Springtime Smoothie Splash” Recipe Download

After a year planning to have tickets for the All-Star game this weekend in Dallas. Hubby dear didn’t make his deadline and wasn’t able to get those tickets after all.  But to his surprise a co-worker had a few tickets to the “jam session” and surprised him with the tickets. Sweet, huh?

While all of this hoop-drama was going on we…Texas, North Texas to be exact got a little snow yall!  The kids and I had so much  fun, let me tell you.  I just knew all we would see was, maybe, 1′ or so, nothing more.  But low and behold we got to enjoy 8 to 12′ ins. Fun!

I’ve shared stories with the kids and my husband about what I experienced growing up in Nebraska and The Netherlands when I was younger.  Sharing with them some of my snow-day stories and experiencing theirs with them…it was priceless!

@raising chefs – Bring it on tweeters. This is a “no egg left behind” zone! What’s your take on the “perfect boiled egg”? 2:46 PM Dec 18th, 2009 from Seesmic

@raising chefs – Beep Egg http://bit.ly/7gMvYA I want that! 2:57 PM Dec 17th, 2009 from yoono

@thinkingparents works for me – boil water w/salt. use spoon 2 gently lower eggs in,10 minutes boil,let cool in H2O,then empty H2O,add cold H2O

@thinkingparents sometimes help us if we peel the shell under cold running water.

The kids and I also surfed the net for answers and came across some interesting tips and tricks. Boiling an egg shouldn’t require a but there are several tricks you can use. Before this new found knowledge every time I would make deviled eggs I would peel away most of the egg right along with the shell.  It would be horrible, and worst if I was asked to bring deviled eggs to a family outing or friends house. They would be so ugly I’d quickly think of something else to bring and formulate a little white lie just to cover up the fact that I, the wannabe home chef can’t fix a perfectly cooked egg.  Well, the cooking part, I have no problem with, it’s the lack of peeling skills.  Is there an “egg peeling 101′ course I could take? I wonder.

What’s been working for us most recently was to boil the eggs for approximately 15 minute to a full boil. Remove from heat, draining hot water and while cold water from the tap is running peel away the shell.  This has worked best for me. Let us know what works for you…it may be a silly topic but I truly needed a new way.  Now I won’t have to lie about what happen with me bringing the deviled eggs!

Raising Chefs will be interview by Walethia Aquil today @ 2PM EST so please click here to listen! Call in and or stay and chat with us!

First of all, thanks so much Kim Conte (Cafe Kim). You are truly an awesome person, thanks so much for your time and patience. Many blessings to you, your family and the entire CafeMom.com family!

We’re so honored to be apart of this amazing website and to be featured on their “Kitchen Tours” page.  Such a great way to bring in the new year.  It was such an amazing opportunity working with Kim and putting this particular post together. The questions were fun and very easy to answer. The kids are loving seeing themselves on another website other then our own. I think they think they’re internet rock stars or something.  The little one, Tyanna, walks around singing her little Raising Chefs’ song…”we’re Raising Chefs, not just good cooks” in a melody all her own. Funny Stuff, TBS look out!

Homeschool Lunchbox: Raising Chefs is all about trying something different, something new, you know, broadening your palate a bit. Sushi has been on all our minds lately so we decided to try our hands at making them ourselves. Not only was this going to be part of their daily education because cooking was involved, we had the most “amazing school lunch we’ve ever had”, and each of us uttered that exact phrase one by one.

I found these cute little sushi making kits, “Annie Chun’s Sushi Wraps and Rice Bowl“ @ Walmart the other day that I couldn’t live within. The kids agreed, so we bought not 1 but 2 boxes, and they worked like a charm! The kids and I had so much fun it took us well over 3 hours from prep time, cook time, and eating time, and it was well worth it.

Sides/Condiments/Sushi Fillings:

Avocados: cut into chunks, add red wine vinegar, mix together and roll in sushi.
Cucumbers: peel away outside skin, cut in long strip and roll in sushi.
Cilantro: chop fine and add as much as you like to your sushi roll.

Dipping Sauces: Use what you like!

Tyanna Says:

It was fun making sushi ! I got to make the avocados with red wine vinegar, salt and pepper to put on the inside of our sushi rolls. This was the best lunch we have had in a long time, we had so much fun!

Raven Says:

It was so much fun making sushi today! We got to use the seaweed wraps and put our hands in water before we put the rice on the sushi wrap. (the rice was sooooooo sticky)

We used chopsticks and since we didn’t know how to hold them the right way, we put rubber bands at the top of the chopsticks so it would be easier to use and our food wouldn’t keep falling before we could get it in our mouths. It made it really, really easy to use them.

Mom made it a little more festive when she added some hot tea, we’re told it’ll break down all the fat intake. (so she says)

When I put the wasabi on the sushi roll I think I put a little bit too much because my head felt like it was going to blow off. Lol A LITTLE DOES GO A LONG WAY, says my Aunt Gi Gi!

LJ Says:

IT WAS AWESOME! That’s all I got to say! It was HEAVENLY GOOD! You care to comment on the wasabi, said my mother. “That wasabi was insanely hot!” DON’T TRY THIS AT HOME KIDS! lol

HAPPY NEW YEAR! 2010

With that said, I wouldn’t change a thing! It might be hard to imagine but when life throws you a curve ball, you either get out of the damn way and or catch the damn thing and run with it.  The way I see it, it was coming in your direction in the first place so you might as well make it do, what it do!

Life isn’t always going to be great. Just as long as you continue to wake up each day, guess what?  You’ve been granted another chance to get it right or at least another opportunity to try something new. I try to live my life in a positive light. If things are beyond my control, then guess what, no worries! Plain and simple! If you can’t physically change your situation then there’s absolutely nothing that can be done, so don’t worry so much.

On that note, I just wanted to point out that you have been truly a blessing to Raising Chefs Dot Com. Without your continuous support we wouldn’t be able to continue to be inspired to provide all the wonderfully delicious blog-post we have over the years.  With the new year fast approaching Raising Chefs Dot Com has plans to introduce a host of new website and enewsletter features that we’re sure you’ll love.  We’ve been working extremely hard organizing and reorganizing our site that will not only retain all our loyal readers but also appeal to new visitors who may decide to stick around as well.

I realize that we have a few hours to go before the new year but I wanted to especially thank our 463,667 visitors that have so graciously stopped in for a visit to Raising Chefs Dot Com over the past year. Your visits and interaction over the past year have meant so much to each of us here @ Raising Chefs you will never know the extent.  Thank you for all your comments and support.

2010 promises to be a better year for Raising Chefs Dot Com with the introduction of our newest website and enewsletter features.  We’re looking forward to a lot more visitor/reader interaction so please feel free to jump right on in and ask questions, post comments, and share your stories.  From all of us here @ Raising Chefs Dot Com, myself; Latrice, LaShun Sr., LaShun Jr., Raven Latrice, and Tyanna Marie, we would like to say HAPPY NEW YEAR!

PEACE, LOVE & SWEET TREATS!
Raising Chefs Dot Com