Two toys in particular that we have bought have practically required a PhD in engineering: the Melissa & Doug Cook’s Corner Wooden Kitchen and the Little Tikes Cozy Coupe.  I knew from reading a few reviews that they would be a little tricky to put together, but I did not anticipate how many hours I would have to spend on each one to assemble them!

First, let’s discuss the kitchen set.  I really wish I had taken a picture of all the hardware and pieces that came in that cardboard box.  There were so many little bags of screws, bolts, hinges, and plastic pieces.  Here’s a picture I took on my phone about halfway through- check out all the pieces that still remain in the sink:

Overall, the instructions were fairly easy to follow, but the sheer number of things that had to be assembled just took a long time.  Some kitchen renovations probably take less time to put together.  I think it took three of Baby T’s nap time session to get this kitchen to look like this:

Now onto the Cozy Coupe…let’s just say this: at one point I actually googled “Cozy Coupe Hell” to see what would come up.  The assembly to put this bad boy together was a nightmare.  The directions are just pictures, you have to physically slam pieces together to make them fit, and it requires a drill to put together.  As you can see from this blogger, I am not the only one who had trouble with Step 12, which is simply a diagram noting to put the stickers on the dashboard.  I spent a good 30 minutes looking for plastic parts that the diagram appears to be showing!  Baby T is loving his new car, but I am just waiting for the moment when the whole thing comes crashing apart:

On the side of the box, it states that in 1999, the Cozy Coupe was the top selling car in America outselling the Honda Accord and Ford Taurus.  By 2003, over 10 million Cozy Coupes had been sold.  First off, that means over 10 million people have had to assemble this car.  Secondly, it also means there are probably 9,990,000 Cozy Coupes that people are going to sell in their next garage sale…

Readers, what is the most difficult toy you have ever had to assemble?

-m

Check back this weekend for more details on the throwdown (hint: get your favorite game day recipe ready to share!)  In the meanwhile, check out our Appetizers section on our Recipe Index for some game day ideas.

-m

Do you have any must-read blogs that you recommend (including your own)?  Let us know in the comments section!

-m

Herb-Rubbed Chicken with Creamy Orzo

Ingredients:
4 oz. orzo pasta, uncooked
2 – 3 oz. pieces of chicken
1/4 teaspoon dried basil
1/4 teaspoon dried oregano
1/4 teaspoon dried rosemary
1/4 teaspoon dried thyme
2 tsp. olive oil
1 small shallot, chopped
1 clove of garlic
1/2 of a 14.5 oz. can of diced tomatoes with juices
1 cup of broccoli florets
1/4 cup of half and half
3 tablespoons of grated Parmesan cheese

Directions:
Cook orzo according to the package directions.  Reserve 1/4 cup of pasta water and then drain orzo.

In a small bowl combine basil, oregano, rosemary, and thyme.   Take the two pieces of chicken and season both sides with salt and pepper.  Take the combined dried herbs and sprinkle on both sides of chicken evenly.  Heat olive oil in a 12-14 inch skillet over medium-high heat.   Place chicken in skillet and cook on both sides for about 3-4 minutes each until golden brown.   Once the chicken is cooked,  place on a plate and cover with aluminum foil.  Reduce the heat in the skillet to medium,  add the shallot to the pan and sauté 2-3 minutes.  Add garlic and stir until fragrant, about 1 minute.   Add diced tomatoes with juices and broccoli florets to the skillet.  Scrape the bottom of the pan to remove any of the brown bits.  Bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer.  Cover the skillet and cook until for about 10 minutes, until broccoli is tender.   Next stir in parmesan cheese, half and half and cooked orzo.  Stir until combined, adding pasta water if sauce needs smoothing out.  Season with salt and pepper and divide evenly onto two plates.   Place each piece of cooked chicken on top of the beds or orzo.  Serve right away.  (Weight Watchers PointsPlus- 12 points)
Pin It

Source- Adapted from Annie’s Eats

Enjoy!

-K

M and I have been trying to update our page lately to help our readers browse and use our recipes easier.   Recently we have added a recipe index to help you find our recipes faster.

The Recipe Index has all our recipes we have shared with you over the years listed in categories.  To select the recipe you want to view, just click on the recipe title and it will bring you to that recipe.

For example, if you were looking for a breakfast food to make, you would scroll to our “Breakfast” section in the index.  There you could see that we have a recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes or a French Omelette (note to self- share more breakfast foods with you, which is perfect because I just made something this morning for breakfast that I am pretty pumped about sharing with you.)  To see the recipe for the Buttermilk Pancakes, just click on the words and it will take you to the recipe.   Mmmmm, I forgot about the recipe for Buttermilk Pancakes…best pancakes ever!  We are working on cross-referencing items like the Cranberry, Banana and Walnut Muffins under both Bread and Breakfast, since technically it could be considered both.

The next addition to our website was actually added this morning.  I know when I read blogs, I like to have a link to click on to get to a printer-friendly version of the recipe or post.   I like to have paper copy of recipes when I am cooking because I don’t like bringing my computer or phone into the kitchen.   So now, you will notice a print friendly button on the bottom of all our postings.
If you find a posting that you would like to print,  select the Print Friendly icon at the bottom of the posting.  From there it will take you to a page that looks like this:
You can change how the view looks by changing the size of the font, taking out the images,  and deleting sections.  Lets start by changing the size of the font.
At the top of the print friendly version, there is a green bar.  On the bar, there is a text pull-down menu.  Click on the down arrow and select the font size you would like the posting to print out with.  I like the small font because it will most likely print on to one page (depends on the size of the recipe though).

To get rid of the images just select the “no image” box and the images go away.   Not that we want you to get rid of our images, but we understand that color ink can get expensive!

If you want to print just the recipe portion of the post for your files and get rid of the intro to the recipe, hover the mouse pointer over the paragraph you want to delete.  It will automatically be highlighted in yellow with a “click to delete” in red at the top.  Click on the paragraphs you wish to delete to get rid of them.  If you accidentally click off a part you didn’t mean to delete, click the undo button at the top.

When finished with making the changes you desire, select print and your printer dialog box will come up.  Print out the recipe and then run to your kitchen and make it!!

M and I hope to have a lot more additions to our site to make it easier to use.  Let us know what you would like to see to make your experience at 2 Sisters 2 Cities better.

Thanks for reading!

-K

Cold Sesame Noodles

Ingredients:
-12 oz Chinese egg noodles (you can also substitute spaghetti or linguine)
-1 tablespoon toasted sesame oil
-6 tablespoons tahini
-3/4 cup water
-1 tablespoon rice vinegar
-3 tablespoons soy sauce
-1 and 1/2 teaspoons sugar
-2 garlic gloves, pressed
-2 scallions, thinly sliced
-1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped
-Chinese chili oil
-1/4 cup roasted, unsalted peanuts, chopped

Directions:
Cook the egg noodles or pasta according to the package directions. Drain and toss them with the sesame oil to coat.  Cover and let it cool in the fridge.

In a large bowl, whisk together the tahini with the water.  Then, whisk in the vinegar, soy sauce, and sugar.  Stir in the garlic, 3/4 of the scallion, and the ginger.

Once the noodles are cool, add in the sauce and stir together.  Garnish with the remaining scallion and chopped peanuts.  Drizzle it with a drop or two of the chili oil (don’t overdo it with the chili oil- this stuff is spicy!)

-m

p.s. Forgot to mention- I personally think this tastes even better the next day!

Pin It

Back on topic, you should really try making this bread (it is possible without a stand mixer!)  I have been enjoying it all week for breakfast, and put the other half in the freezer.

Pin It
Light Honey Wheat Bread

Ingredients:
2 1/2 cups (11.25 oz.) bread flour
1 1/2 cups (6.75 oz.) whole-wheat flour
1 1/2 tablespoons  honey
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
3 tablespoons powdered milk
1 1/2 teaspoons instant yeast
2 tablespoons unsalted butter or shortening, at room temperature
1 1/4 cups water, at room temperature

Directions:
In the bowl of mixer combine both flours,  salt, powdered milk and yeast with paddle attachment.  Add in the butter, honey, and water.  Mix on low until combined, add it small amount of water if flour is still sitting on the bottom of the bowl. Change mixer to dough hook and mix on medium speed for about 6 minutes (or knead on a floured surface for 10 minutes). The dough should registers between 77-81 degrees, and not feel sticky (it should feel slightly tacky.)

Take a large bowl and lightly oil.   Place the dough ball in the bowl and cover with plastic wrap.  Let the dough rise for 1 1/2 to 2 hours, it should rise to twice it’s size. Once the dough is ready, place on a lightly floured surface.  Work into a 9×5 inch rectangular.  Start to roll the dough length wise, pinching the crease each turn to keep it together.  After the dough is completely rolled up,  roll back and fourth to smooth out crease, the dough should be about 9 inches in length.  Place the rolled dough in a 9×5 inch lightly oiled bread pan.  Mist dough with cooking spray and loosely cover with plastic wrap.  Leave in bread pan and allow to rise for 90 minutes.  Preheat oven to 350 when there is ten minutes left of the bread rising.  Make sure oven rack is in the center of the oven.   Once the dough has risen above the top of the pan.  Place bread pan on a baking sheet and place in the oven for 25 minutes.  Turn pan around 180 degrees and continue to bake for  15-30 minutes.  When the bread is done the center should register 190 degrees with a meat thermometer and make a hollow noise when knocked on.  Take bread out of pan and place on cooling rack.  After 1-2 hours, cut bread into half inch slices.  Should make around 16 slices. Each piece is 3 Pointsplus.

Source- adapted from Cook Like a Champion Pin It
Enjoy!

-K

I am not sure if we have told you this before, but Sister M and I are not each others only siblings.  We actually have 2 other sisters,  sister C and another sister M.  M and M are the youngest and oldest of the sisters while C and I fall in the middle.  I am number three,   although you all know I am number one .   As we have told you in our intro, we grew up with our mom always cooking our dinners,  baking new things,  sewing the occasional outfit for us,  quilting, and scrapbooking.   She definitely is the reason behind all of our creative energy, and we all do have a lot of it.  Today I would like to introduce you to our other sister M, our little sister M!  People always ask me how old she is when I call her my little sister.  Okay she is actually in college so she not that little, but to us she will always our little sister.   Little sister M will occasionally be a guest blogger for us,  when she can take the time away from her busy school schedule.   Also little sister M will be our gluten free contributor, since she was diagnosed with a gluten intolerance last summer.  Take it away little M.

The Best (Gluten-Free) Chocolate Chip Cookies

Whether you have Celiac Disease or just gluten sensitivity, adapting to a gluten-free diet can be pretty difficult. When my doctor recommended I try going gluten-free last summer, I was pretty overwhelmed at first. As a college student, I can’t really afford to buy my bread and flour from the organic section of the store all the time. As I learned more about the diet, I learned to adjust and find inexpensive substitutes to the sources of gluten I had taken for granted in my diet before I went gluten-free. However, every once in a while it’s fun to try out a new gluten-free recipe such as this one.

If you have ever tried baking gluten-free before, you know that it is no easy task. Because the several types of GF flours don’t have the same binding quality as wheat flour, you also need to include a binding agent such as Xanthan Gum or Guar Gum in baking to make up for the lack of gluten. These can be found in the gluten-free section near the gluten-free flours.

Printer-Friendly Recipe

Ingredients:

½ cup plus 2 tablespoons brown rice flour
½ cup plus 2 tablespoons white rice flour
½ cup tapioca flour
½ cup sweet rice flour
1 teaspoon xanthan gum (a little under)
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 ½ teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
1 tablespoon milk
¾ cup unsalted butter
1 ¼ cups light brown sugar
¼ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
12-ounce bag of semisweet chocolate chips (2 cups)

Directions:

Preheat the oven to 375 degrees. Combine the dry ingredients (flours, xanthan gum, baking soda, baking powder, and salt). In a separate bowl, mix together eggs, milk, butter, sugars, and vanilla on medium speed for about three minutes until well blended. Gradually add the dry ingredients and mix until just combined. Stir in the chocolate chips.

Line the baking sheets with parchment paper or a nonstick spray. Place rounded, overflowing tablespoons of dough about two inches apart on the sheet. Bake for 9-10 minutes or until just browned. Let cool and enjoy!

Source: Adapted from RecipeGirl.com
Pin It

This week I tackled my junk drawer.  When we first moved to our new house in October, Husband M and I each picked a kitchen drawer that would be ours for personal items (a huge luxury since our city condo definitely did not have enough storage space for this!)  I had just been throwing random items in it up until this week, but I finally sorted it down to the items that I would need every week and put all the other miscellaneous items away where they belonged. I also repurposed a Crate & Barrel drawer tray to hold all the items.  Behold, my new junk drawer:

While I was shopping at Target today, I stumbled across some super cute items from the brand Greenroom.  I found this adorable binder for a little over $7:

In my resolutions post, I said I was going to re-use my old gray college internship binder to hold our important household papers, but how cute is this one?!?  I decided it would be worth the splurge since I have been using the binder on an almost daily basis lately.  There were a few other really great designs and I it was really difficult trying to pick just one (baby T was ready to jump out of the shopping cart I was taking so long!)

In this month’s Better Home and Gardens, there was an article about organizing all the papers that start to pile up every week.  They recommended setting up a filing system with three sections: Do Now, Do Later, and Pending.  I loved the file folders they used in their picture and here they are!

For 2012, I am also attempting to ditch the paper planner and do all my scheduling on my Apple i-Cal (using the new iCloud on my Mac and iPhone.)  However, there are always instances where I need to jot something down on paper quickly.  I found this little notepad for a little under $3:

Wow, these items definitely excite me way too much.  I’m such a sucker for office supplies:

What organizing tips and products do you recommend for the new year?

-m