Camp Day 1

Joey started summer camp on Monday.  When I went to pick him up, the director was waiting for me.  I foolishly asked the question, How was Joey's day?  "Wellll, it was interesting.  Joey pulled the fire alarm, so we had an unexpected fire drill."  When I asked Joey about his day, he responded, "Interesting, it's all my fault."

Hopefully camp will be less interesting the rest of the week.

Easter

Easter truly sprung up on us this year.  Joey had a great time hunting for Easter eggs. I also got into the Easter spirit.  I decided to attempt to make Easter bread. 

Here is the first attempt at making the dough.  I have come to one conclusion, when it comes to yeast, it is not my friend.  The first batch of dough ended up not rising, so I had to give it another try.  I will tell you that the second batch did in fact rise and tasted great.

The bread is so time consuming.  You have to make the dough, let it rise.  Form the dough into loaves, let it rise.  Then bake.  Here are my braids ready for their rise.  Here were at about hour 3.  And I wonder why I only make this once a year.

I also made a few bunnies for Joey.  He enjoyed eating the ears, legs, eyes and belly button.  The head and the body did not interest him in the slightest.

Here is the completed bread.  Tastes delish toasted with a little butter.

Happy Easter to everyone out there.

Spring Break - Part 1

Joey was on Spring Break last week, so we took off for Maui.  He has been asking for weeks to go on an airplane adventure, we were more than happy to give him a great adventure.
We could not have asked for a better trip.  Joey was a trooper on the airplane.  He loved the take off. He even took a little rest.

 Our first day there, we stopped a Aloha Mixed plate for lunch.  It was a find.  The food was fabulous, but the view was the real draw.  Right on the beach.  I could have sat there all day, but Joey wanted to go to the beach and actually swim.

On the dinner menu was Cheeseburger in Paradise.  Another place with an amazing view.

"Big Boy" Beach

Joey's favorite activity was to spend time in the water.  He is my little water baby.  We found a beach that had been named baby beach.  You could walk out a 1/4 mile and be up to your thighs.  This was a great place for Joey.  Only he did not like the name, so he renamed it big boy beach.

Yummy, salt water!

Horse and School

Christmas flew by in a flash.  Joey had a wonderful Mickey themed Christmas.  My uncle did not get the memo, which actually was a blessing.  Instead, he left Joey a wonderful gift.

A horse, of course.  Joey insisted that we put it together right away so that he could go for a ride.  Now, let me tell you, having an toddler impatiently waiting for his toy to be put together is no fun.  It lead to him not eating dinner because he wanted to ride his horse.  Once it was put together, he realized he was missing one thing:

A cowboy hat!  He loves his horse.  He kisses it good night and feeds it carrots.

Another milestone in our lives is the first day of preschool.  Joey has attended classes here and there, but this was a drop off program, I was unsure of what to do with myself while he was in school.

I tried to get him to pose for a picture outside his classroom, but clearly the lunch box is way more interesting.

Before and After

It was certainly time for the little man to get a hair cut.  Look at him, his hair is in his eyes.

I am certainly not the biggest fan of getting haircuts. I love to curls.  Every time we cut them off, I fear that they will not come back.  But so far, they have returned.  Here is the result of the haircut.

Doesn't he look handsome?

Pumpkins, Pumpkins, Pumpkins everywhere

This year we went a little overboard on the pumpkins.  We grew pumpkins in our garden.  We bought some.  We bought some more.  I bought some white ones.  We had a lot of pumpkins.

So many, that Charles could not carve them all, but here is what he was able to create.

Devil Donald Duck

 Carved Jack O Lantern

 Joey's first carving attempt (with Dad's help)

 Vampire Mickey

 Cookie Monster (Another Joey Creation) - And the pumpkin came from our garden.

 One Eyed Jack o Lantern

Bam Bam versus the Pirate

Now around our house there was a Halloween battle being waged.  Every year, I end up at the party store the weekend (or some time the night) before Halloween to pick out a costume.  This year I was determined to not be a part of the last minute rush.  So in September, I got Charles to pick a costume and away I went to order our costumes on the internet.  Woo Hoo! No Party Store for me this year. 

Well, as fate would have it, I was not destined to be that lucky.

As Halloween night drew near, Joey tells his grandma and everyone who will listen that he is was going to be a pirate.  Well that would have been awesome, if I had ordered a pirate costume.  Now, I listened to him tell me about the pirate and then I politely informed him that he was not going to be a pirate, but he was going to Bam Bam instead.  The response I received was: "No Bam Bam, Pirate." So being the sucker that I am, I ran off to the party store to find a pirate costume for my darling little boy.

Now, if you have ever been to a party store the weekend before Halloween, you know the zoo that it can be.  So I waited in line and got Joey his darling pirate costume.

Luckily, Joey had many occasions to wear his costumes.

Some how we managed to convince him to wear his Bam Bam costume to a birthday party the day before Halloween.

But on Halloween night, Joey would not join us in our family costume.  So Charles and I dressed as the Rubbles from the Flinstones.

But Moe the dog did help us complete our look.

And Joey wore his pirate costume.

We went trick or treating with our neighbor, who was also a pirate.  I think I know where Joey got the idea for his costume now.

Fall Has Arrived

It is not officially fall until I have made a little pumpkin bread and apple cake.  Those wonderful baked treats make the house smell warm and toasty.

Since I was hosting a play group, I thought it was the perfect opportunity to don my apron and make some baked goods.

The pumpkin bread was fabulous and a big hit with all the mommies.  They all wanted to take some home with them.

I still need to type up this recipe, but I got this one from my mother.  It is a true classic and a staple of my fall baking.

My other creation is my apple cake.  My husband absolutely loves this cake.  He was excited that I made him his own to take to work.

This recipe is one that comes from my southern cookbook entitled "The Land of Cotton."  Surprisingly this cake calls for oil instead of butter.

I encourage you to test this out in your own kitchen. The dish shown here is half a recipe. I sometimes make it in a loaf pan.  Just depends n your preference.

Fresh Apple Cake

2 cups sugar
1 1/4 Cups vegetable oil
3 eggs
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon soda
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
3 cups flour
1 cup chopped pecans (optional)
3 cups chopped apples

Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Grease and flour a 10 inch tube pan. Mix sugar, oil and eggs. Add salt soda, vanilla, cinnamon, and flour. Mix well: add pecans and apples. Bake for 1 hour. Remove from pan and our glaze over cake while still warm.

Glaze:
1 cup light brown sugar
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup margarine

Mix well and our over cake.


MY NOTES:
I don't add the nuts, it is your choice.  I have made this in regular cake pans and bundt cake pans, any will work, just adjust the cooking time accordingly.  It is a dense cake, so it takes a while to bake.  I also add a little apple pie spice (nutmeg, cloves) and usually about a tablespoon of cinnamon.

Octoberfest

September passed so quickly and here we are already in October.  Do you know what October means?  Why Octoberfest, of course!

What other excuse would I have to dress Joey up in some Authentic Austrian Lederhosen and get him to dance the chicken dance.

 

Joey had a great time hanging out with his friends and dancing to the music. 

Pineapple Squares

I do not care for pineapple, but my mother came across this recipe in the box and immediately became nostalgic for her childhood.  She told me how grandma used to make these all the time when she was a girl.

So off we went to my mom's to make pineapple squares.  Joey was thrilled about the prospect of making cookies, but did not enjoy the taste of pineapple.

This was a relatively simple cookie to make.  It is comprised of a two layers of dough with a layer of crushed pineapple in the middle.  The dough is a cross between a shortbread and pie dough.

When all is said and done, you add a few chopped walnuts on top.  After a little baking, here is the result.

Once they cooled, my mom tried one and said that we were on the right track.  They need a little tweaking, but all in all the flavor was there.

So for now, I will refrain from publishing the recipe until it is perfect.

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

 Yes, I actually made something called cheese burger pie.  My husband came home from work and saw the recipe sitting on the counter and said "Why?!? Why are you doing this to me?" 

This recipe probably came from the 50's where featuring specific products in recipes was popular.  This one called for good old Bisquick.  Apparently it is not just for pancakes.

It was a very simple dish to put together.  You brown a pound of meat (it called for ground beef, I per usual used turkey) with an onion.

You put it in a pie dish.  Then you top with a mixture of Bisquick, milk, and eggs.  Bake and then top with cheese until it melts.

The result was different.  It was was quiche like.  The pie was very fluffy and tasty I think I need to add to this into our regular dinner rotation. Despite what my husband thinks.

Impossible Cheeseburger Pie

1 pound ground beef
1 1/2 cups chopped onion
1 tablespoon oil
1 1/2 cups milk
3/4 cups Bisquick baking mix
3 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
2 tomatoes, sliced, opitional
1 cup shredded Cheddar Cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease a 10" pie plate. Heat a skillet over medium heat.  Saute onions in oil. Add meat.  Cook and stir until beef is brown.  Drain and spread in the pie plate. Beat milk, baking mix, eggs, salt and pepper until smooth. Bake 25 to 30 minute. Top with tomatoes and sprinkle with cheese.  Bake 5 to 8 minutes. Cool 5 minutes before serving.

Minneapolis, Minnesota

Our first baby free vacation in more than two years and we went to Minneapolis.  Yes, Minneapolis!  Not my first choice for an excited vacation spot.  But my husband needed to go there for some business and I decided to tag along for some child free fun.

And fun we did have.  Soon after we arrived, we sought out some lunch. We happened upon a little pub called Brits Pub.

This was a good find.  We ended up returning there for happy hour, late night happy hour and late night drinking every night.  Can you tell that we have not been baby free in more than two years? 

The highlights from our trip included a Twins game.  We saw the Twins take on the Detroit Tigers.  The Twins lost, but we still had a great time at the newly built Target Field.

We also made a visit to the Minnesota State Fair.  It was a sight to be seen.  It was more crowded than Disneyland.  We were entertained by the parade, featuring large animals and fried food.
The Twins also stopped by for a photo op.

Keeping on the sporting theme.  A Vikings game was in order in the newly fixed Mall of America Field.  I have never been to an NFL game before.  I did not realize that they were so campy.  The songs and the flag boys celebrating every touchdown.  The Vikings lost.  We were two for two on the home teams losing.

The last stop on our tour was the Mall of America.  I was unimpressed.  Perhaps if it had been 20 below outside, I would have had more of an appreciation for it.  So we went to the movies, something we cannot do with Joey, unless we want to see a cartoon.

While I missed our little guy, it was lovely to sleep in and stay out late.

Staying Above Ground

The last two nights have featured ground turkey as the star. On our trip, I picked up a copy of Family Circle magazine.  Yes!  It is official I have turned into a mom and I read Family Circle.  It was a great magazine.  Good enough that I brought it home with me so that I could try a few of the recipes.

I found feature on 10 different ways to make ground beef.  Now I do not keep a lot of ground beef in the house, but I do keep ground turkey.  I figured they were one in the same.

Last night we had Jamaican Beef Patties.  They were really like little beef pies.  I thought they were super yum. Now, I have the picture from the magazine here, mine however did not look so pretty. But they tasted just the same.

 

Want the full recipe, check out this link: http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/jamaican-beef-patties/

Tonight, I thought I would continue the theme and make Korean Rice Bowls.  I was a little wary of putting ground turkey in a rice bowl.  But I thought I would give it a whirl.  I am not much of an Asian cook, but this recipe really made me think that I could do it.  I am sure some purist would cringe at this idea.  But I have to say the results were pretty good for the amount of time it took me.  I am not sure that I would make this again with ground turkey, but would probably be super yummy with chunks of chicken. 

 

Want the full scoop?  Here you go: http://www.familycircle.com/recipe/korean-rice-bowl/

We will see what I make with ground turkey tomorrow night.

What's for dinner?

This question is posed to me almost nightly by my husband.  Some days, I have a great plan, other days, not so much.  I always want to have an answer to question, but some days get out of control and I cannot think about dinner or fail to take something out of the freezer.

Last night, I actually had an answer and had spent part of my afternoon getting the elements ready for that long simmered taste.  So, what's for dinner you ask?

Pasta and Meatballs.  No not just any pasta, but pasta with fresh tomato sauce.

Hey, I had to use up the rest of the Tanaka farms tomatoes before my crop of tomatoes is ripe.

The first step in making the sauce to is to remove the skins from the tomatoes.

I have to say this is one of my least favorite kitchen tasks.  Once the skins have been removed you crush them by hand, which is fun.  Come on, don't you love to play with your food.

The sauce consists of the deskinned tomatoes, onion, garlic, basil and white wine.  You can leave the sauce chunky with the tomatoes.  My husband prefers his sauce to be a little smoother, so I look my immersion blender to the mix.

The recipe called for the sauce to simmer for 10 to 15 minutes. I personally like long simmered sauces if you have the time.  So I let mine simmer for 2 hours.  I periodically taste tested to ensure it was not becoming over reduced.  I salted it toward the end of the cooking time.  I also added a tablespoon of sugar to bring out the naturally sweetness in the tomatoes.

I served it over pasta.  It was delish.  I brought some to my neighbors and they returned the empty dish and asked that age old question "What's for dinner tomorrow night?"Unfortunately, I did not have an answer for them.  I suppose I should think about it.

Now, I could not just serve pasta. So I paired it with some yummy meatballs.  I used ground turkey, since it was what I had on hand.  But it is really up to you on the type of meat.

Ground meat, bread crumbs, Parmesan cheese, Italian seasoning, garlic, and eggs.  What could be better?  I baked them in the oven and served them as a side dish.

You could throw these into the sauce and let them simmer away, that is what grandma would have done.

Fresh Tomato Sauce

3-5 lbs fresh ripe tomatoes
1 bunch basil leaves (removed from the stems and finely chopped)
1 tablespoon oregano leaves (finely chopped)
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 small onion (finely chopped)
8 to 10 cloves of garlic (minced)
1/2 cup dry white wine
1 tablespoon sugar
salt and pepper

Place tomatoes in a large pan with water to cover. Cover and bring to a boil over high heat. Cook until the skins crack, about 4 to 5 minutes. Drain in a colander. Rinse with cold water.  Then squeeze the pulp out of the skins (or just peel) into a bowl. Crush by hand and set aside.

Heat a heavy-bottomed sauce pan over high heat Add the onion, garlic, basil and oregano and saute 3 to 4 minutes. Add the wine and cook 1 to 2 minutes. Add the tomatoes and sugar.  Salt and pepper to taste. Continue cooking over moderately high heat for 10 to 15 minutes.

Meatballs

2 lbs. ground chuck (or turkey or pork, any meat of your choice)
2 eggs
1 cup bread crumbs
1/2 cup Parmesan cheese
2 teaspoons chopped fresh parsley
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
2 cloves minced garlic

Mix all ingredients together and form into round balls. Put on a greased cookie sheet. Bake 20 minutes at 350 degrees. NOTE: If you use a lower fat meat like turkey, add a tablespoon of olive oil.