Merry Christmas 2012!!

This is my funny attempt at a picture idea I saw on Pinterest.  Many thanks to my friend Kelly Berg for taking the pic.  We'll get the lighting right next year! :)
Merry CHRISTmas from the Doherty's!!

Our Christmas card...

December Happenings...

Falling behind on blogging again!  It's almost Christmas, so I should post a quick update on all the December "happenings" worth mentioning thus far.  Call it a "month in review" if you will... ;)

I was the "Mystery Guest" in Matthew's classroom at school earlier in the month...so fun!

We went downtown Chicago one busy Saturday afternoon for our yearly trek to see the windows at Macy's (the old Marshall Fields)...

The boys having fun viewing the windows...

Chris and the boys...

Love this view of the front of Macy's every year...

The Walnut Room Tree!

We went low key this year and went to Home Depot for a Christmas tree...

They boys are ready to take the tree home...

Matthew sung at church for Christmas...funny stuff!

A video of the festivity...


We also ending the vacation days Chris had by spending time in GA visiting my family.  Despite me being sick the whole time, we had fun.  Here is Matthew fishing for the first time on the Soque River...

A few of Matthew and his crazy "twin" cousin Hope.  They are 12 days apart in age...

In the fort...

Such cuties!!

My brother Scott and Jacob...

J looks a little like him I think... :)

Matthew was excited to get some Batman Legos!

The four cousins...

Cuties under the tree...

It was great to celebrate Christmas with my parents and brother's family!

Thanksgiving and Festivites

Thanksgiving week was a whirlwind.  Do to a mix up, I ended up with 4 boxes of refrigerated pie shells, so I offered to make 3 pies for Thanksgiving.  I made an apple, pecan, and chocolate-bourbon pecan.  All yummy!  Plus a strueseled sweet potato casserole!  Earlier in the week, we made these cute teepee cupcakes with the boys.  They loved it!  Such a fun, cute, and edible Thanksgiving craft!

The teepees...

Lots of fun sprinkles...

The boys enjoying them...

Jacob approved! :)

My Thanksgiving feast...

Quick family pic on Thanksgiving when Chris got off work!

That Sunday Jacob officially turned 2!

I picked up some cream horns at the store to celebrate... :)

I am so blessed to be Mom to these two boys...

Jacob's 2nd "Sock Monkey" Birthday Party!

Our sweet little T-day baby is 2!  I am still finding it hard to believe.  These past two years have gone by so fast.  Jacob has brought so much joy to your lives.  We are thankful to God everyday for his life, and for blessing us with him.

Here are some decorations I did for his party.  I love that I am reusing most of the stuff I used for Matthew's 2nd birthday party.  Makes planning J's parties so much easier!

The totally awesome cake by my friend Kynda of Cake Whimsy by Kynda Lynn...

Close up of monkey... :)

The cake was made to match the invites...

Cute matching water bottle labels as well...

How adorable are the back's of the labels?!? ;)

Jacob and I...

Chris and Jacob...

I took this exact picture of Matthew holding the balloons on his 2nd birthday...

I reused the banner I made for Matthew's party as well.  Didn't have the heart to paint over his name, so I just printed out Jacob's name and taped over it!

Ready to party!

Jacob with some of his cousins...

Family pic...

Opening gifts...

Having the yummy cake!

The cake was to die for!  Banana cake with both fluffer nutter and banana cream filling, with butter cream frosting!

Singing "Happy Birthday"...

Jingle Bells 5K

On November 17th, I ran the Jingle Bells 5K with my friend Natalie.  It was a lot of fun to dress up festive for the event!  (We coordinated our outfits...)  I was so happy to have shaved 5 minutes off my last 5K time!  Slowly but surely... :)

With my boys ready for the race!

Natalie and I!

Here I am finishing...haha...

Thai Chicken Pizza

Hold on to your seats, because this recipe ROCKS!  I remember having it for the first time several years ago at a baby shower hosted by friends at church.  Carrie was nice enough to email me the recipe, and her fabulous recipe for the dough as well.  I have been making it for years now, and it is always a hit.  The recipe for the sauce originally came from our pastor's wife, Betsy.  It is world famous ya'll in our circles.  It is that good!  (BONUS:  Since the dough and chicken make enough for two pizza's, I'll tell you how to make a second pizza into a barbeque chicken one, also awesome!)  Let's get down to it...

Here is what you will need:

Throw your sauce ingredients into a food processor...

Pulse until well combined...

Sprinkle some soy sauce over your chicken tenders, toss to coat, then bake...

Shred the cooked chicken into small hunks...

After you make your dough, roll half of it out to fit a jelly-roll pan.  (Lightly brush olive oil on the bottom of the pan first.)  Press the dough into the pan to fit...

Spread it with the sauce.  (The sauce recipe is for one pizza...double it to make the second, or make it into the bbq chicken one described below!)

Sprinkle half of your cooked chicken on the pizza...

Then add your red onion slices...

Then give it a generous amount of torn cilantro leaves...

Next give it some freshly grated gouda cheese!  (I used maybe just over half this wedge.)

Ready to bake!

Just came out of the oven goodness...

Yum, yum, and YUM!

Thai Chicken Pizza

For the Sauce:

2 tsp. of Garlic, minced (About 2 cloves...can used jarred if that is what you have.)
2 Jalapeno Peppers, seeded, and chopped (Can leave the seeds in one if you like more heat!)
1 Tbs. Olive Oil
3 Tbs. Soy Sauce
2 Tbs. Lemon Juice
2 Tbs. Brown Sugar
2 tsp. Molassas
1/2 Cup Peanut Butter (Betsy says natural peanut butter is a must!)

Place ingredients in a food processor and pulse until well combined.  (I have done it without the food processor as well, just make sure you finely chopped the jalapeno and mix well!)  Set sauce aside while you make the dough and bake the chicken.

For the Pizza Toppings:

1 Package of Chicken Tenders
Soy Sauce (about 2 Tbs.)
1 Small Red Onion (or half of a large one), halved and thinly sliced
Cilantro (as much as you like, I just tear fresh pieces over the pizza when I add it.)
Gouda Cheese (I shredded about half of a 9 oz wedge I got over the pizza. So about 5 oz. total.)

Place the chicken tenders in a 8X8 inch pan.  Sprinkle the soy sauce over them and toss to coat.  Bake at 415 degree for about 20 minutes until done.  Shred the chicken with 2 forks when cool enough to handle in to small chunks. (Save half the chicken for another pizza such as the bbq chicken!)

For the Dough:

2 Tbs. Sugar
1 tsp. salt
1 1/4 tsp. yeast
1 1/4 Cup Milk
1/4 Cup Water
2 Tbs. Soft Butter
4 Cups of Flour

In your Kitchen Aid mixer, fitted with the kneading hook, mix the sugar, salt, and yeast.  Let that sit while you combine the milk and water, and let that come to room temperature.  (If you are impatient, you can always microwave the milk/water mixture for a minute!)  Pour this mixture into the bowl of the mixer and combine with the other ingredients.  Add the butter and flour and once it is mixed, let it beat for awhile with the kneading hook.  (I think I let mine go about 5-10 minutes.)  You may have to add a little flour depending on how sticky it is.  You want the dough to be soft but not sticky.  Once it is done kneading let it sit for 10 minutes, then divide it in half for two pizzas. (If you don't have a Kitchen Aid mixer, mix as much flour as you can my hand, then knead on a floured surface.)

To Make the Pizza:

Lightly brush the inside of a jelly-roll style pan with some olive oil.  Roll out one of the halves of dough on a lightly floured surface to fit the pan.  Transfer the dough to the pan and press it in to fit.  Spread the sauce over the pizza leaving just enough around the edge for the crust.  Next top with your cooked chicken, red onion slices, and cilantro.  Shred enough gouda cheese over the pizza to just give it a nice coating.  Bake at 415 degrees for about 20 minutes.  Check to see if it is done.  (It may need a few more minutes, or less depending on your oven!)  Slice and enjoy!

To Make the BBQ Chicken Pizza:

Use the other half of the pizza dough and chicken for this.  Follow all the directions the same except instead of using the Thai sauce for the pizza, use a good barbeque sauce. (I recommend good 'ol KC Masterpiece!)  Also, instead of the gouda cheese, use mozzarella.  You will use the chicken, red onion, and cilantro just the same.  Bake as directed above.  Also very good! This is an awesome second pizza if someone isn't into the Thai-peanut flavor of the first.  It uses up the other half of the dough, chicken, and even red onion if you used a big one.  Bonus!

Be creative if you want with your Thai chicken pizza when it comes out of the oven.  I like to dig into it just the way it is, but you could always add more things like shredded carrot, more cilantro, and chopped peanuts!