Happy Birthday You Butthead!

Jenna's 26!  Time for a Catty birthday revelation, congregation, separation of church and station, CELEBRATION!  But let's back up for a second.

For whatever reason, birthday season seems to be passing us swiftly this year with all of us left exhausted in its path.  We have been ill-prepared for three birthdays so far this year and we still have two more to go.  Hence the reason J-Fer is up there hurriedly trying to finish one of Jenna's presents-a homemade bath mitt/scrubbie.

J-Fer also took on the task of cake making for our birthday queen-dirt cake with a worm race to celebrate the Ferguson twilight run (post to follow).  It looks like Jennifer's Microsoft Paint pictures.

In the meantime, birthday girl decided it might be time for an outfit change....

She seriously brought two extra outfits, flat iron, hairspray and all kinds of other tricks to keep her looking magnificent throughout the day.

Today's lucky birthday girl scored a bath bomb, bath mitts, bath beads (what can I say, she is kind of stinky), homemade coasters, homemade Rocky Road, Bounce dryer bar (don't ask), adorable reusable grocery tote and her Christmas gift from Jennifer.....a hand-glazed frog to match her bathroom.

Happy Birthday Jenna!!!!  We love you very much.

Full photo set here.

Where is Cookie Bake?

Can someone please post the photos from cookie bake?!  What the hell is going on around here?

Let's Trade

Time to pull out those old decorations you don't want anymore. Or maybe you just need to revamp them. That is what we did Thursday night amidst some great food (we stuffed ourselves).
Dearest Faith is getting an early head start on her Christmas gift making. All we know is that vodka and lemons are involved.

Fabulous Chicken Tortilla Soup (above)

Toppings (below)

The soup was amazing. We took a little tour through the garden to mark progress. I did some painting on a Halloween decoration that needed some help and we all went home with our arms full. On top of all that Melissa made lemon pistachio cookies that were heavenly. As a gift, we have included the recipe for Chicken Tortilla Soup to liven up your chilly autumn days.

Chicken Tortilla Soup:

1 onion, chopped (I use ½ large red onion)
3 cloves garlic, minced (or more if you like)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons chili powder (more like a palm full)
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon cayenne
2 teaspoons cumin (more like a palm full)
1 (28 ounce) can crushed tomatoes (I use two reg. cans of petite diced w/green chilies)
1 (10.5 ounce) can condensed chicken broth (feel free to add stock to taste)
1 1/4 cups water (no water needed)
1 cup whole corn kernels, cooked (or one can)
1 cup white hominy (or 2 if you like) 1 (4 ounce) can chopped green chile peppers (not needed if you use tomatoes w/ green chilies)
1 (15 ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (or 2 – I usually don’t rinse)
1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro
2 boneless chicken breast halves, cooked (or 4 – dice before cooking)
Optional Toppings (but totally a must)
crushed tortilla chips
sliced avocado
shredded Monterey Jack cheese
chopped green onions
sour cream
cilantro

Directions:
1. In a medium stock pot, heat oil over medium heat. Sauté onion and garlic in oil until soft. Stir in chili powder, oregano – then add tomatoes, corn, hominy, green chilies, beans, cumin, cayenne and cilantro. Add the chicken and simmer. Salt and pepper to taste.

*Note from Faith: I never really measure any of this but this is a good start. Play around with it until you love it. You really can’t go wrong.

30 Years and 1 Week

Mmmm......yummy cheesecake pops...made graciously by Melissa.......wait, who is Melissa?.....only the newest member of the Catty Kitchen!.....what, what-raise the roof! Oh, and her dessert was off the chain. I am talking white, milk and dark chocolate coating.......some were orange cheesecake, some were just regulah-ass cheesecake........a few were sprinkled with toffee and others with, well...sprinkles

This is our beautiful new friend. Melissa Ann.....her name means bumblebee and she is as sweet as the honey she collects. I have actually known her for many years, but we are all very glad to welcome her to the Kitchen.

And the event's main attraction is the birthday girl......Faith Michelle! She is officially 30 and loving it. Nor does she look it.

We surprised her with sushi birthday cake from I Love Mr. Sushi-it was magnifique! Our wine supply was depleted by 7:30 and we had to make a run to the grocer to the tune of 'Single Ladies'. That's a hot track-I ain't mad at that.

We were a little nervous about her gift because we made most of it, but I think she really liked it. Inside her banana leaf basket was a fish bank, four homemade washcloths, a cross-eyed bird, food tents, a penis-y mushroom, post-its, gorgeous garden hat and crocheted cupcake.

I almost forgot...Jenn made her recycled coasters and coin purse from plastic grocery bags. Apparently we use about 1,000,000 bags a minute (that's one million folks) which is no good for our 'Mom'.

Happy Birthday Faith, the old fart! We love you!