My little girl turned 2 this week. I have to wonder how two years have passed since she joined our family. I can’t imagine life without her now. She is so full of joy and happiness and curiosity. I am truly blessed to have such a lovely BIG girl for a daughter.

To celebrate her special day I planned a party with some of her little girlfriends from our neighborhood. A couple weeks before the big day Evie and I made invitations – I cut and she glued. It was a fun project for us to work on together, and it certainly got her excited about her birthday.

The party was on our building’s sun deck, and we were fortunate to enjoy perfect late June weather. The girls had lots of fun with an inflatable kiddie pool I set out. The air pump I bought for the pool didn’t work, so I spent 30 minutes before the party blowing up the pool (and accompanying slide!) all by myself. I was about to pass out by the time I finished!

When it came time to sing “Happy Birthday”, Evelyn could not have been more excited! She smiled and sang along, clapping the whole time. I loved watching her excitement!

I used my mom’s homemade macaroni and cheese recipe for the girls’ lunch. She calls it “Loo Loo’s” (aka “noodles”), and it is one of her absolute favorite meals. I made an Asian chicken salad for the moms. There are about a zillion Asian chicken salad recipes on-line, and the one I made is a combination of several. I love looking for recipe inspirations on-line, in cookbooks and at restaurants. Its always fun to experiment and create my own dish.

My Mom’s Macaroni & Cheese

3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
3 cups warm milk
16 oz shredded cheese (I like sharp cheddar, but experiment with fun combinations)
1 pound cooked elbow macaroni

Melt butter in a saucepan. Add flour and whisk until flour is evenly distributed. Add warm milk and whisk till thickened and bubbly. Stir in cheese one cup at a time.

Put cooked macaroni in a baking dish. Pour milk/cheese mixture over noodles and stir well. You can top with breadcrumbs and bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes, but I actually prefer it unbaked. I make this for Evelyn quite often, and I always stir on peas, broccoli, chicken, etc to make it a well-rounded meal.

My Asian Salad

2 chicken breasts, poached and shredded
1 head cabbage, shredded
1 head romaine lettuce, chopped
3 green onions, finely chopped
2 large carrots, cut into matchsticks
2 red peppers, cut into matchsticks
1 cup peanuts
2 packages ramen noodles (flavor packet discarded), noodles crushed
2 tablespoons vegetable oil

Dressing

1 cup vegetable oil
7 tablespoons seasoned rice vinegar
7 tablespoons sugar
1 teaspoon toasted sesame oil
salt, pepper

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium heat. Add ramen noodles and cook until they start to brown. Add in peanuts and stir constantly till nuts are fragrant and starting to brown. Remove from heat and cool.

In a large salad bowl, toss chicken, cabbage, romaine, green onion, carrots, and red pepper. Sprinkle peanut/noodle mixture on top.

Add all dressing ingredients to a bowl or container with a secure lid. Whisk or shake till well combined.

Pour dressing over salad and toss well. Enjoy!