Favorite Restaurant Meal

One of my favorite restaurant meals is without a doubt the Salmon w/ Orzo & Rice Salad at J. Alexander's. I had been wanting to try making the salad for a long time now, but the long list of ingredients in the recipe had turned me off. I finally decided to take the plunge and try the recipe out. It is amazing! It is so flavorful and while the prep does take awhile, it is definitely worth it.

J. Alexander's

ORZO AND WILD RICE SALAD
(copycat recipe)

DRESSING: (Makes 1 cup)
4 1/2 tablespoons balsamic white vinegar
1 1/2 tablespoon lemon juice
1/2 teaspoon minced garlic
1/2 tablespoon dijon mustard
1/2 tablespoon sugar
3/8 cup ( 1/4 cup plus 1/8 cup) canola oil
3/8 cup extra virgin olive oil
1/2 tablespoon fresh basil
Salt and pepper to taste
FOR SALAD:
2 cups cooked orzo
1 cup cooked wild rice
1/4 cup diced red onions
1/4 cup currants
1/8 cup fresh corn niblets
1/4 cup toasted almonds
1 tablespoon chopped parsley
3 tablespoond diced red peppers
3 tablespoons diced yellow peppers
1/2 cup sliced green onions
1/2 cup dressing (recipe follows)
Salt and pepper to taste
1 teaspoon granulated garlic
1/8 cup cut fresh basil

FOR DRESSING:
Dissolve vinegar, lemon juice, garlic and sugar with a hand whip (three minute stirring). Fold in the mustard, basil, salt and pepper. Slowly add oils, while whisking vigorously. Refrigerate.

FOR SALAD:
Place all other ingredients in a mixing bowl and mix well. Serve ice cold.

Hot Potatoes!

Here are some pictures from our ward Trunk-or-Treat. I don't think we have any of Enoch and I both in our full costumes.

Enoch isn't big on dressing up so I just added felt faces to brown t-shirts and we wore white gloves. I had a flower hat and Enoch had a bowler hat.

At first I was having a hard time finding a shirt for Enoch, so I told him he could just go shirtless and I would tape the face to his chest since he was already brown...he was not big on this idea :)

I also got to wear my costume to Gabriel's preschool when I helped out with their Halloween Party. I was surprised they knew what I was right away, they got a real kick out of it.

I told Enoch we should all be The Incredibles next year, but I don't think I'll be able to sell him on head to toe spandex....we'll see :) :)

Happy Halloween!

This year was the first year that Genevieve actually dressed up since she was so little, so I knew I wanted to do something w/ the kids together. Gabriel had his heart set on being IronMan, but it didn't take much to get him on board w/ Woody and Jessie costumes. It definitely took some planning to find all the pieces of their costumes, but I love how they turned out and the kids had so much fun wearing them. My glue gun skills only took me so far, so Enoch's mom came in and made Gabriel's vest and the top of Genevieve's shirt.

We had so many opportunities to dress-up so the kids definitely got some miles out of their costumes. We had lots of trick-or-treating, work parties, school parties and our ward trunk-or-treat. For the trunk-or-treat, Enoch and I also went w/ the Toy Story theme and dressed as Mr. & Mrs. Potato Head.

It took lots of practice to get Genevieve to wear her hat, but once she was sold on it, she loved wearing it. I think it will be a permanent staple in our dress-up clothes.

So Happy Happy Halloween to all! Gabriel is already talking about what he wants to be next year, but I think we'll at least give till July to get started on that costume :)

Falling Into Fall

We have been having a wonderful fall! Gabriel loves all the leaves and he's taught Genevieve how much fun they are to jump in. Last week was very windy and it created huge leaf drifts all around our house.

It's now impossible for us to walk off our back porch w/o one or both kids diving into the leaves. It makes leaving the house very interesting. Thank goodness I have one hand for each child. Anymore kids and someone would be left in the leaf pile :)

To Eternity & Beyond

Our family was sealed together on September 5, 2009.

When Gabriel walked in to the sealing room he went. "Mom! What are you doing here?" He and Genevieve were absolutely precious in their white clothes. Margarette made Genevieve white dresses for both the sealing and her blessing the following day

You might think the handsome guy below is Gabriel, but it's really Spiderman all ready to shoot his webbing at you.

Genevieve's Blessing was beautiful and it was so nice to have our dads and brothers there to participate. It was such a busy weekend, but so much fun and so memorable.

A cute family if I do say so myself!

Future Firefighter

Today our playgroup went to the Holland Firehouse. Gabriel loved it and kept jumping up and down shouting, "I'm so excited!" He's also decided that he wants to be a firefighter when he grows up.

He tried on the fireman's helmet, but about fell over from the weight. Too funny!

Those Oliveros Cuties

We've been having a very busy fall. Gabriel is loving preschool and it's so fun to see him learning so many new things. He's learned the Pledge of Allegiance and it's so cute hearing him say "indivisible." Here are some new pics of the kids together. Gabriel loves cuddling Genevieve (sometimes too much!)

We went to the opening of Lucas County's new arena and they had it set-up so that the kids could take shots at the goal on the ice. Gabriel really liked it, as long as the Walleye mascot kept his distance. Gabriel is not a fan of any of those big costumes. If that cow is ever outside the Chic-fila @ the mall we have do do a big detour around the food court to avoid it.

We've also gotten to go the Zoo a couple of times. They have a new exhibit, Nature's Neighborhood w/ a jungle gym, stream and lots of hands on fun.

Here are some pictures of our little butterflies. One is obviously having more fun than the other.

I'm trying to take more pictures, but it's so sad how picture crazy we went on Gabriel and Genevieve isn't nearly as documented. I'm trying to keep up with her though. It's amazing how much she changes each day and she is getting so long! I think her eyes have almost settled on a color. They're looking more green these days so we'll see what they end up. I was sure she'd have brown eyes, but I think she will take after her Grandmas. She's a very happy baby and we all have fun making her laugh. The other day she was cracking up whenever Gabriel would say "football." Too cute!!

That's all for now!! Love you!