SMP 4.24.13 (with recipes!)

SMP = Seven Minute Post

My phone has an annoying habit of autocorrecting my name. MY NAME! I guess I typed it "Metedith" a few times too many because now it defaults to that spelling and autocorrects when I actually type it correctly. OY! I have to pay such close attention to my name when I'm sending email from my phone. Especially work email. I actually had a guy respond to a work email I sent [that slipped through my vigilant eye] and ask if he'd been mispelling my name? Ummmm, that's not awkward now is it? Who can't spell their own name correctly? Evidently, Metedith can't. 

Moving on.

Sunday night we grilled burgers for dinner and John and I had these Smoked Gorgonzola Sliders. They were YUMMO! I also made the grain-free burger buns mentioned in the recipe and they were pretty good too, although everything I make with coconut flour has a slightly coconutty taste. Kinda weird on a burger.

This morning I made some grain-free muffins (recipe below) that were really yummy! They're really similar to the pancakes I've been pushing on y'all but they're not quite as sweet. Very good though. I will definitely make them again.

Grain-Free Almond Butter Muffins 

1/2 cup creamy almond butter (I buy Maranatha from Costco)
1 egg
1/4 cup almond milk (I used unsweetened, but vanilla would be good too!)
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 Tbsp honey
1/4 tsp baking soda
1.5 tsp cinnamon
chopped nuts, optional

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Mix wet ingredients together (almond butter, milk, egg, honey, vanilla) and stir in baking soda, cinnamon. Stir until combined. Pour about 2 Tbsp into 6 lined muffin tins. Sprinkle chopped nuts on top if desired and bake for 16-18 minutes.
NOTE: This only makes 6 muffins. I'm the only one who eats them in my house (they don't know what they're missing) so this works out nicely...but if you have adventurous eaters, double the recipe.

[I feel like I need to tell y'all that I haven't gone grain-free despite my recipe posting of late. I DO find grains to be troublesome and highly inflammatory for me, but I continue to eat them. In fact, I ate pizza (gluten and dairy--oy!) for dinner last night (and paid a price). I just like finding versions of foods that I enjoy made with ingredients that are easier on my system!]

Tell About It Tuesday: Berries!

My family LOVES strawberries. I've been buying them at Costco lately (4lbs for $5) and we've eaten 16 (SIXTEEN!) pounds of strawberries in less than two weeks! I spend a ton of money on fresh fruit and veggies in the summer but I'm convinced it's money well spent.

ANYWAY, I can hull four pounds of strawberries in record time because of this handy dandy little tool that I have. 

I've had it for probably 10+ years. It's from The Pampered Chef and honestly, it has wrangled with my garbage disposal more than a few times and has seen better days. It's wonderful, though! (I just clicked on the Pampered Chef site and this tool appears to be discontinued. Maybe there's something similar at a kitchen store?)

I use it to remove the stem and any bruise spots from strawberries. I also use it to core tomatoes, and scrape the seeds out of bell peppers. It gets a LOT of use in the summer months. 

(Forgive my amateur photography skills.)

The only downside to strawberries is that they go bad so quickly. I'm fortunate that ours usually get eaten before they have a chance to go bad, but I read this great tip last summer for a quick vinegar rinse to kill the mold and keep your strawberries fresh a little longer.

I like to wash/hull my berries and store them in the fridge. I've found that it helps to get them completely dry before storing them. If they're wet, they seem go bad more quickly.

Here are a few of my favorite recipes with strawberries.

Smoothies (try pouring any leftover smoothie in popsicle molds for a yummy treat on a hot afternoon!)
Homemade strawberry ice cream
Skinny strawberries Romanoff 

I've been eating them plain because I'm still avoiding sugar. My family hasn't had to sacrifice though. I made this (super quick and easy) strawberry pie for them last week. It took every ounce of willpower not to give in to the sugary sweetness...they said it was good!

Who's hungry?

I like to share!

I want to share a few links today!

I'm always on the lookout for fun summer boredom busters and I love these ideas:

Liquid sidewalk chalk. My friend, Kendra, made this with her boys and now I'm dying to try it too!

Design-Your-Own-Sprinklers. I saw this link on my BlogHer sidebar the other day. WAY fun!

Rainbow cookies. This is right up my girls' alley.

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We bought a new grill a couple of months ago and are enjoying it SO much. Here are two yummy recipes for grilled chicken:

Chicken Bryan (like at Carrabbas). Delicious and decadent.

Mexican Chicken Salad (it's rare for me to find a recipe I don't have to alter with all of my current dietary restrictions but this one fits the bill!)

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My husband has been consumed with a book project for a really long time. Things are finally wrapping up for the book's release this fall. John posted the video trailer on his blog yesterday if you want to take a peek. It's good--really really good! (And it's only 1.5 minutes long.)

Also, he wrote about shopping for swimsuits with our girls last week. It's a very sweet post. Maybe one of my very favorites. My girls are so lucky to have him as their daddy, and I am so very grateful for the way he loves our three children.

Happy clicking!

Tell About It Tuesday: Spicy

I've got something new to tell you about. AND, it's Tuesday. So there ya go.

I love chipotle peppers. Basically, chipotle peppers are very ripe jalapenos that have been smoked to perfection! They add terrific flavor to certain recipes and I'm slightly partial to their sweet, smoky heat!

Typically, I buy a can of chipotle peppers in adobo sauce and find myself using only one or two for a recipe. Not wanting to waste an entire can, I've been freezing the rest in small ziploc bags. I've had good results with that BUT a couple of weeks ago I decided to try this:

It's ground chipotle peppers (looks sort of like chili powder) and it is W-O-N-D-E-R-F-U-L! I've heard about this powdered form of chipotle for a while but never remembered to look for it until a few weeks ago when I stumbled upon it on the spice aisle.

I'm guessing a bit here, but I think that 1/2 tsp of the powder is roughly equivalent to 1 chipotle pepper. Unfortunately there isn't an equivalent measuring guide on the can. I love spice but my family doesn't so this seems like an easier way to control the heat in certain recipes.

I bought the above can at King Soopers (which is Kroger here in Colorado) for $1.99. I saw a can at Walmart for around $4.50, so if you have a Kroger close to you that's a much better deal! I'm sure there are lots of different brands, but I'm good with the Kroger one for now.

Anyway, here are a few of my favorite recipes using chipotle peppers, uh, I mean chipotle pepper POWDER:

Shredded beef tacos
Quinoa salad (I love, love, LOVE quinoa!)
Chipotle burritos (Very similar to the popular Chipotle chain's burritos)
Chipotle chicken pasta in fire-roasted tomato cream sauce
Southwest stuffed peppers

I just ate breakfast, but my mouth started watering when I added those links. I bet yours will be watering now too. You're welcome.

Sharing some "INGS"

PrayING for Joanne, her girlies, her husband and her family. Praying she wakes up, for peace in the waiting, and for her mind and body to be fully restored.

WaitING for snow. It's snowing hard at this very moment but we're not expecting much accumulation. I'm sad about that because we need some moisture. I read somewhere that we're 60% behind our normal snow totals this year.

LovING the cords I found at the Eddie Bauer outlet last weekend for $10. Sorta wish I had gotten another pair in a different color. Also wish I'd had a $5 EB Rewards coupon like my friend, Jennifer, did. She scored a pair for $5. Lucky.

Also lovING this smoothie recipe from my January issue of Everyday Food. I can't find a link to it, but it's easy: Add 1 orange (peeled), 1 banana, 1 cup frozen berries (any kind), 1 cup pomegranate juice (I like this brand), and a handful of ice to the blender and blend until smooth. YUM!

ReadING The Hunger Games for book club. Actually I finished it early this morning and I thought it was very good. I borrowed the second book today and I am anxious to start it. Have y'all read it? What did you think?

CookING. I've tried some really good recipes lately. This one for "the easiest spaghetti and meatballs" was delicious and definitely lives up to it's name. This soup (pasta fagioli) was also super yummy.

StudyING Esther. I gotta be honest, I'm not a Beth Moore "devotee" like so many of my friends are but this study is really, really, REALLY good. I've learned tons and much of the material has been so relevant to what's going on in my life. I know that's not a coincidence. The last session was on fear and this morning's session was on timing/waiting...very, very timely stuff for me.

Tell About it Tuesday: Searing

Okay, this might not seem like a life-changing thing to you, but it was to me.

Sear your meat before you put it in the crock-pot or oven. 

Honestly, my mom has suggested I do that for years. I've been married for twenty years and that's probably how long she's been telling me that.

One night during Thanksgiving week, my mom made pot roast for all of us. I've eaten a lot of pot roast in my day but her pot roast was to die for. My sister and I both commented that our roast never tastes that delicious or tender. And of course, my mom said that the secret was to sear the meat.

I came home from Thanksgiving and decided to try it. Twenty years later I decided to listen. No, I'm not the least bit stubborn. Why do you ask?

Guess what? My mom was right! Searing is the key to tender, fall-apart meat.

Perhaps you've known this for awhile but humor me because I'm just now realizing that I can make delicious roast too!

I mentioned yesterday that we had friends over for dinner the other night. I made shredded beef tacos (really easy and really good!) and of course I seared the meat and of course they were delicious and tender.

Here's the nitty gritty:

Pour some oil in a heavy skillet or stock-pot and let it get really hot.

Add your meat.

Let it get nice and brown on every side. I use my tongs to help me hold it at weird angles to get the sides nice and brown too.

Then transfer the meat to your crock-pot or oven to finish cooking.

See how simple that is? It's a tiny bit messy but very worth it!

Confession: I put the ingredients for beef stew in the crock-pot a few minutes ago and I didn't sear the stew meat. Gasp. I didn't sear it mainly because I enjoy irony, but also because it wasn't completely thawed and I was in a hurry. It will still be good, but it would be better if I had seared it first.

Don't be a stubborn, slow learner like I was. SEAR your meat!!!

Thank you, mom!

All is (finally) calm.

Christmas break officially began yesterday afternoon.

I think my happiness exceeds that of my children.

The few days before school lets out for the long break are full of craziness and busyness and all sorts of activity.

That craziness is behind us now though. I'm sipping coffee in a quiet house while the snow is falling gently outside.

Things are finally calm.

Very calm.

And if feels very wonderful.

Our weekend isn't too crazy either which thrills me. There are some fun activities thrown in there but nothing that compares to the week we've had!

I have a couple of links to share with you.

The girls and I made these Mint Brownies (we chose peppermint) to give to a few of their teachers along with some packages of gourmet coffee. I don't usually give food gifts, but the coffee just begged for some brownies to go with it. John and the girls said these were delicious. I wouldn't know because I didn't eat any don't like chocolate but they sure looked pretty!

We also made these "gingerbread" salt dough ornaments for Abbey's class to paint at their party yesterday. It's a typical salt dough recipe with cocoa powder added to the mix to give it a nice brown color.

I bought some Sharpie paint pens (at Michael's by the acrylic paint) and some inexpensive, plain ribbon to make a hanger for the tree. They turned out pretty cute!

(This one cracked and I didn't end up using it for the party, but my kids painted it anyway!)

If you think you want to try this, here are a few tips:
Spray them with clear acrylic spray and let dry completely BEFORE you paint them with the paint pens. The dough is very porous and the paint will bleed like crazy.

Don't make the mistake I did and assume that the ModPodge Dimensional Magic will make them all shiny and bright. It will until it dries and then it will turn milky white and you'll have to start all over again. Use a spray acrylic glaze like this one instead.

One batch of dough makes about 20-24 cut out ornaments. I made 1.5x the recipe and ended up with about 34 ornaments to paint.

One more idea to share...

The girls have been making these three-dimensional snowflakes. They are so pretty!!!

I saw the idea on Leah's blog last year and thank goodness she posted a link to the tutorial. The video is cheesy but watch it once and you'll be on your way to making dozens of gorgeous snowflakes to hang in your windows or from your ceiling!

They're really not hard to make UNLESS you try to make them with a group of twenty one kids at a class party and there simply isn't enough of you to help each kid individually. The party ended with two boys crying. I felt TERRIBLE!!! (But it's sorta funny to think that I made kids cry).

Happy crafting!

Off to pour another cup of coffee and enjoy the calm and quiet while it lasts!

Help?!?

I have three questions for y'all.

1. Anyone know if you can clean a self-cleaning oven by hand or with some sort of product? I'm scared to lock my oven at extremely high temps. And it is beyond filthy.

2. Does anyone have a great pie recipe? I have to make two for a dinner next Wednesday and I'm not a pie kind of girl so it must be easy and no-fail.

3. I also have to make a cobbler of some sort for Sunday. I don't make cobbler very often. I think someone is bringing peach and someone is bringing apple. I was thinking some sort of berry cobbler. Ideas? Recipes? I'm picky about my cobbler though. I don't like a doughy crust. I like it to be more pie-crust consistency. I know I can google a recipe but I prefer to make on that is tried and true.

THANKS in advance!

LinkyList

Good morning friends! I just have a few minutes but wanted to let you know that HisGirlAmber is giving away a copy of John's book, Start With Me, on her blog. Amber won the copy I was giving away, read it, wrote an awesome post about it, and decided to give a copy away as well. If you're interested go here to enter her giveaway. You have until Friday. Thanks for your kind words, Amber!

A couple other things I wanted to link you to.

I love this candy corn dispenser that Angela made.

I also love her decorated pumpkins and her candy corn kiss cookies. Rumor has it that Target is where you should look for the candy corn kisses; I've looked numerous other places without any luck.

If you only click on one link, make it these Halloween pancakes. They are simply adorable and a guaranteed smile-maker for your kids! If you're not following Angela's blog, you should be!!! (That's the bossy me telling you what to do. My sister would tell you that I've always been good at being bossy.)

The girls and I made these cute ghost necklaces last weekend. So easy and super cheap!

I'm dying to tell you about the costumes I'm making for the girls but I'd rather just show you the finished project. Patience, grasshopper. I ordered Will's costume (because he's thirteen and homemade is just so uncool) but I almost had him talked into dressing as iPod earbuds. Sweet, huh? That's the best costume I've seen in ages.

Bunco!

I hosted Bunco last night. My neighborhood Bunco group is THE best ever. I guess we've been playing for 3-4 years now and I can't remember ever having a bad time. Ever. We usually laugh so hard we cry and last night was no exception.

I saw this conversation game on a blog that I stalk love and I've been trying to find a group to play it with. Y'all, it was hysterical! I took some time earlier in the week and wrote down really random and  goofy sentences then gave one to each Bunco guest last night. They had to work their sentence into conversation at some point during the night with the goal of pulling it off. Here's a sampling of some things overheard:

Does anyone know where I can buy a Chia pet?

I love Lady Gaga. P-P-P-Poker face.

I always try to color coordinate my underwear with my outfits.

Football sucks. I hate it. (Funny, because I hosted a football-themed Bunco).

Who farted? (Because we're such a mature group.)

I love kittens. I wish I had one. (Ripped that one from Darby.)

Oh. My. Gosh. Some people were so sly and totally pulled it off. Others got busted immediately. It was hysterical at the end of the night to go around the room and listen to everyone's sentences. I highly recommend this game. And hopefully you'll have fun coming up with wacko sentences. That was my favorite part.

Anyway, I decided to shake things up a bit and go with a football theme. Everyone wore their favorite team's jersey or a t-shirt or their teams colors. I told the non-football lovers that as long as they didn't wear pink or lime green we could probably find a team for them. :) 

I'm going to the Arkansas/Alabama game in a couple weeks so when I saw this Swanky Sooie t-shirt last month I ordered it right away. It came yesterday afternoon...just in time for football Bunco! I love it (but wish I had gone with my gut and ordered a smaller size.)

I meant to take a pic of our group, but I forgot. We're an eclectic bunch. The Broncos, the CU Buffs, the Razorbacks, US Air Force Academy, Green Bay Packers, Nebraska Huskers, and even a German soccer team (football, no?) were well represented. 

Deena wanted to know what I served. Here's my Bunco menu.

Mississippi Sin Dip (my very favorite, not-at-all-fattening dip!)

Buffalo Chicken Dip

Assorted cheese and crackers

Veggie tray with dip (ranch from a jar thickened w/some sour cream)

Rice krispie treats

Rolo Pretzels

Fall mix

Assorted beverages

And lastly, some decorations! My friend let me borrow a ton of football stuff (thanks, Heather!) and she even cut these cute footballs with my Silhouette machine (that is still not Mac compatible. Sigh.) I wanted to tie some ribbon on that football garland but should have planned that more than a few hours before kick-off, I mean Bunco. My local Wallyworld didn't have anything to match what I had in my head so I just left it plain and it was still cute!  And that sign above it is one of my chalkboard Wallies. I used the other one to post my beverage menu. Can't say enough about how wonderful those Wallies are!!!

If you're a part of a Bunco group, then you know how much fun it is! If you're not and if it sounds like fun, then why not start your own? Here is a great post explaining how easy it really is! Hope you all have a great weekend. Football, anyone? :)

10 on the 10th

It's been feeling very much like fall here lately and I think I'm finally ready to bid summer farewell and welcome my second favorite season. Here are ten things I love about fall. In no particular order.

1. Tracy's Fall Mix. Oh my goodness. This stuff is so yummy. There's no recipe really--it's just a blend of candy corn, peanuts, and Reese's pieces. I was pleasantly surprised to find candy corn at the grocery store on the very first day of September so I picked the ingredients up to make a batch of fall mix for Bunco tonight!

2. Football. I think I could seriously sit and watch football all weekend long. My husband got the artist gene instead of the sports gene so I mostly watch with Will. Will and I even joined our neighborhood Fantasy Football league together this fall. Neither of us really know what we're doing but we're having fun so far!

3. Jackets, sweaters, sweatshirts, and layers! I really never pack those things completely away during the summer, but you know it's fall when you need to wear a sweatshirt all day long as opposed to just while you're sitting outside in the evening. The fact that I've needed one a couple of days lately makes me smile.

4. The colors. Orange, gold, brown, green, red--fall colors are my favorites!

5. Vegetation. I love pumpkins and squash and gourds and vines and apples and pears and pecans and acorns. Our next door neighbors have a garden and one of their pumpkins is growing on our side of the fence. I see it every time I look out my bedroom window and it makes me happy. I'm keeping an eye on it because we've had a few nights with temps in the 30s; I don't want it to freeze!

6. Cooking. I am so ready for some fall comfort food. I really try not to turn my oven on in the summer any more than I have to. I also can't stand eating "fall/winter" foods like soup and pot roast in the summer. I love to cook but I love it most in the fall.

7. Aspen trees. I like maples and elms and hickory trees too, but aspens are my very favorite. Their leaves turn the most beautiful shade of gold which is so striking in contrast to the white bark. The slightest fall breeze causes the aspen leaves to quake ever so gently, and it's one of my very favorite things in the world. Stunning. Yesterday afternoon, John and I planned a mountain drive for an upcoming weekend--all we need are for the trees to cooperate and turn colors! I hear that's beginning to happen at higher elevations. 

I took this picture in Cripple Creek, CO a few years ago. 

8. Crisp air. I love opening our windows and feeling the cool breeze blow through the house. I think crisp fall air even has it's own unique smell. 

9. Time change. I know lots of people don't like it getting dark at 5pm, but I love it. I love having an early dinner then putting on warm pjs and settling in for the night. Plus, after a summer of re-runs all the good television shows are back on in the fall! (I'm looking forward to Glee and Friday Night Lights. And really wishing we had a DVR).

10. Pumpkin Spice Lattes from Starbucks. I love the gingerbread lattes too but pumpkin spice is my fall favorite!

If you're feeling listy today, link up with a post of any ten things on your mind. The possibilites are limitless! Hope you all have a great weekend. Peace out, peeps.

Got Answers?

I'm soliciting answers/advice to these three questions today:

1. Does anyone know of a brick and mortar store that sells open stock Fiestaware? I only want to buy dinner plates and bowls, but every store I've been to only sells the place settings. I don't want or need more cups/saucers. I know I can buy open stock online, but I'm looking for an actual store!

2. Mothers of teenagers: do your kids handle all of their own social scheduling? Am I being old-fashioned, unhip, and/or unreasonable by insisting that I hear from a parent when my kids are invited somewhere? I almost always talk to a parent (by phone, text, email) when my kids invite a friend to do something, but my kids are being invited places by text and I'm often so far out of the info loop that it's not funny. Am I alone? Am I wrong to expect a little more parent-to-parent communication? John thinks this is just how kids do things these days. I need insight from experienced moms!

3. Does anyone have a recipe for a meal that freezes really well? My friend, Elizabeth, is expecting her fourth baby soon and she's trying to stock her freezer with meals she can thaw, cook, and serve. I do lots of meat prep and freezing, but when she asked me for meal ideas I realized that I don't really have any meals that I make and freeze. Suggestions? Links? Recipes? Please share!


Thanks, you guys. You all are really my best resource!!!

Platter Project

Remember that tiered serving platter idea I shared last week?

Well, I made one!

It was super duper easy to make and I think it turned out GREAT!

I was at Kohl's one afternoon and found the cute melamine plates on clearance. They were C-H-E-A-P! I even had some Kohl's cash to spend so I guess technically they were free!

I ran in our downtown thrift shop the next day and found the candle holders. I only needed one but I bought two because they were on the red-dot/half-off shelf so I got them for .50 each. SCORE!

The most expensive part of the project was the epoxy. I bought it at Home Depot, but later discovered that my Walmart carries it for almost a dollar less. It think it was around $4. I bought this kind (for plastic) because I was using melamine plates.

It literally took my family more time to eat these yummy scones (thanks, Chef John) than it did for me to assemble the platter! I'm thinking of making another one using fall-themed plates for Bunco next month.

If you're interested in making one of your own, click here for detailed instructions! And be sure to show me photos of your completed project!

Loves of late

Things I'm loving of late...

Basil plants sprouting up. I finally got tired of buying fresh basil and bought some seeds so I could grow my own. I use lots of fresh basil when I cook. Love it.

Emeril's Kicked-Up Tuna Melts. Oh my. We love these. The recipe is from Everyday Food magazine and I've never made a single recipe from that magazine that wasn't wonderful.

I love this quote from Annie Proulx:
"I read omnivorously, I always have, my entire life. I would rather be dead than not read. So, there's always time for that. I read while I eat, and our whole family did. We all had very bad manners at the table. All of our books are stained with spaghetti sauce, and that sort of thing."
I love even more that my husband sent that quote to me with a note that said: This reminds me of our family.

I love the rhythm that our weekends have developed over the last year--they feel almost sacred to us.

Our dairy delivery service. After taking a break for a year or so, we started it back up again this summer. It seems so quaint to open our front door and retrieve milk and eggs and bread and lots of other things from our dairy box. The only thing I don't love is that the eggs come in styrofoam cartons. I haven't found any place that recycles styrofoam.

I love that it's almost football season. Specifically I love that it's almost SEC football season. Twelve more days, and yes, I'm counting. I've been excited about college football since all the pre-season SEC chatter started in July! I love that the Hogs are ranked #17 right now. And love that I get to go to a Razorback game this year! Go Hogs Go!!!

I also love that my sister's due date is almost here. We can't wait to meet her little guy! She's due in less than two weeks.

Trader Joe's Joe. It's my very favorite. Thanks to my friends, Julie and Lane, I have enough to last me for awhile!

Mondays. I really have grown to love the fresh start to my week! Hope your Monday is a really great one.

Fun Mom Friday: Movie and S'more Pops

Will came up with an fantastic idea for a fun family activity this week.

He wanted to watch a movie outside one evening so we took our small television with a built-in dvd player outside and made it happen!

We popped a big bowl of popcorn, but we also made Rae's S'more Pops, a fun twist on traditional s'mores! 

You stick large marshmallows on lollipop sticks (or a plastic fork in our case) and dip in melted chocolate (I melted Hershey's milk chocolate chips in the microwave) and then dip in crushed graham crackers. Easy, fun, and yummy! Thanks for such a great idea, Rae!

This was such a simple idea for big fun. All five of us, six if you include Jack-the-Fat-Beagle, sat under the stars on a perfect summer night watching one of our favorite movies. I'm going to be soooooo sad when summer ends. 

Were you a fun mom this week? I know you guys are fun because I read your blogs and you inspire me all the time! Link up here with your own fun idea. Moriah happens to be a real-life friend of mine, but you don't have to know her (or even read her blog regularly) to link up!

Happy Weekend to you all!

Half and Half

I'm sitting here drinking coffee and that title just came to me. Half and half.

Half catch-up.
Half links.
Half-y Saturday morning to you!

John was in New Jersey (again) this week. After a super long day of flight delays, cancellations and crazy pieced-together flights he made it home around 3am this morning. Ugh.

I'm thrilled that he's home. We all are actually. And we have a fun family day on tap!

I told you last week I'd post pics of our tie-dye projects. 

One more picture. This poor, poor book. I was sitting outside reading one morning and ran back inside when my doorbell rang. I forgot that I'd left my book out there until mid-way through a huge afternoon downpour. I'll be buying the library a replacement book. I'm thankful it was paperback.

Alright, here's some links I wanted to share:

Thanks to Betsy, I am now a Sporcle addict. So is Sarah. We've spent a LOT of time on that website this week. It's sorta like an online Outburst. You pick a category list (for example Pixar movies) and have a limited amount of time to guess/list the answers. Seriously fun. Seriously addictive. Don't say I didn't warn you.

I've been wanting to try these cookies ever since I saw a giveaway on another blog. They're made right here in Colorado but aren't available in my little town so next time I head to Colorado Springs I'm going to pick some up. Can't decide which flavor to try first!

I also really want to make this blueberry-zucchini bread. Doesn't it look yummy? I've had this recipe bookmarked for a week or two but every time I bring blueberries home the kids gobble them up immediately. I'm going to have to put a "Please don't eat these!" post it note on the next carton I buy!

Speaking of baking, please tell me that you guys know about Silpat? I don't ever bake cookies without it.

I've found a couple of new blogs recently that I'm really enjoying. FunMom has some GREAT ideas of things to do with your kids. I really want to try this one (water gun art) soon! And I'm also enjoying Make and Takes. Super, super cute stuff there as well.

A couple of you asked about the shirt Abbey is wearing in the picture on yesterday's post. I won a giveaway last spring from Snootie Patootie and let Abbey pick out a shirt. She wears it all the time!

Earlier this spring I bought a red and blue striped polo shirt that I love. I had it on one day this week and my friend told me it reminded her of Zoom. I laughed so hard. Do any of you remember Zoom? I used to LOVE that show. If you loved it too, click here and sing along! (And laugh). I also used to love The Bloodhound Gang segments that were part of the PBS science show 3-2-1 Contact. Anyone remember that? I found some of Bloodhoung Gang clips on YouTube! I was sad that my kids weren't the least bit interested in the blast from MY past.

Hope you all have a great Saturday. I think we're going to see Ramona and Beezus later this afteroon. I loved all those books when I was little! (And I have a tiny crush on John Corbett).

Fun Mom Friday: Watermelon, Anyone?

I came across this recipe for watermelon cookies this week and knew immediately that Sarah and Abbey would LOVE to make some.

Didn't they turn out cute? They were as yummy as they look, and surprisingly they didn't taste a thing like watermelon!

I have to admit that baking with my kids isn't one of my favorite things. But you know what? They love it. They chatter and smile the entire time and that makes me happy! 

Have a fun mom idea of your own? Visit here and link up! 

Food Chain

Here are a few food links I've been wanting to share.

Links.

Chain.

Food.

Food Chain.

Get it?

Okay, never mind.

Last weekend I made Kellie's Roasted Corn and Tomato Tart.
It was AMAZING! Especially with my farmer's market loot. You've got to try it!

I also rediscovered a recipe that I'd forgotten I loved for Greek Pasta Salad. Oh my word. I think I could eat this every single day.

I think I've linked this before, but this is my new favorite way to dress up strawberries. Tangy and tart and pure deliciousness!

I was flipping through Sarah's old photo albums this week and came across some pictures of her making painted toast. It's a super easy, super fun idea to use with kiddos at breakfast.

We grill burgers almost every weekend during the summer months. My favorite thing to eat with them are sweet potato fries. Someone asked me if I make my own. Nope. I just buy this brand. They are DELICIOUS. So are the onion rings! And so are the oven fries. Yum.


Do you make homemade guacamole? I do sometimes, but I usually end up eating the avacados on a sandwich (or just sliced with some salt)  before I can get the guac made. I've been buying this product for as long as I can remember and it's perfect when you need guacamole in a flash. It's great straight out of the packet, but it's even better when you add tomatoes, onion, garlic, and lemon juice. This spring I discovered the 100 calorie snack packs. I love the smaller size not so much for the calorie count but because there is less waste! I'm picky about the tortilla chips I use with my guac though. These are my favorite. These are a close second. And these come in third.

I think that's enough links for now. Happy Thursday to you guys.

Fun Mom Friday: Sno Cones

Moriah@pleasepassthesalt is one of my oldest and dearest blog friends. When she emailed me earlier this week to tell me about her Fun Mom Friday carnival I jumped in with both feet because I had something fun I wanted to do with the kids. Sadly, my super fun activity was derailed because of evening thunderstorms this week so I'm going with Fun Mom Plan B:

Sno Cones.

Yum! My kids L-O-V-E sno cones and I love to be a fun mom and say yes when they ask me to make them.

Years ago when I was pregnant with Abbey (and sick round the clock) my sweet neighbor, Kathy, gave me this ice shaver. It was a super thoughtful gift at the time because I constantly craved ice, and it's been a gift that has kept on giving us lots of summer sno cone fun!

I usually try to stock up on sno-cone syrup at the beginning of the summer to pour over our shaved ice but since I kept forgetting to replenish my supply I finally decided to make my own. It is SOOOOOOOOOO easy, so good, and so cheap! It tastes much better than the flavors you buy in the store. Does anyone else think the store bought syrup tastes like soap? Blech.


Here's the recipe:

Sno-Cone Syrup

2 cups white sugar
1 cup water
1 or 2 pkgs unsweetened Kool-Aid (flavor of your choice)

Mix sugar and water in a saucepan and bring to a boil. Boil for about a minute, stirring constantly. Remove from heat and stir in contents of Kool-Aid packet(s). Let cool. Pour over shaved ice. 

I put ours in one of my old sno-cone syrup bottles, but if you had one of those sports-type water bottles with the pull up spout, that would work GREAT. 

Store in the refrigerator. Makes about 16 oz. 

Sarah and Abbey made up a name and label for this particular flavor: "Sabbey's Savvy Tropical Punch".

I don't think you necessarily have to have an ice shaver to make snow cones. When my kids are sick I chop ice into small chips with my Pampered Chef food chopper (You know the one that hurts to use because you hit it repeatedly with the palm of your hand? Yeah. That one). You could try it that way. Or pulse your ice in the blender and then pour the syrup over it.

We don't just enjoy sno cones in the summer though. We scoop cupfuls of snow in the winter and drench 'em with syrup for a tasty (albeit freezing cold) treat.

Fun trivia: I worked at a Tropical Sno stand one summer. Some friends' of my parents owned it and I got to make a little money and eat all the sno cones I desired. And I ate a lot of sno cones that summer. A whole lot.

For those of you who know that I care quite a bit about nutrition and are wondering why I'd give my kids pure sugar mixed with Kool-Aid, I'll just go ahead and tell you that I've been lazy about what my kids are eating these days. Need proof? Okay. 

So...how were YOU a fun mom this week? Check out Moriah's blog for other fun ideas or post your own and link up!

A summer evening

We bought way too much ice for our 4th of July block party. I was in the garage yesterday morning and noticed that we still had two coolers full of it. I hate to waste anything so I suggested to John that we make some homemade ice cream. And he readily agreed.

I was hoping for strawberry but there are some in my family who aren't fans of strawberry ice cream. Unbelievable.

I asked my Twitter friends for suggestions and Holly chimed in with peach. Her recipe looks fabulous but this recipe for plain vanilla won out last night.

It's not so boring when topped with chocolate syrup and strawberries. Or just berries for the sole chocolate hater in our family. (Me).

See that bowl in the photo above? John and I chose Poppies on Blue by Lenox as our everyday china pattern twenty years ago. We still use it daily. We also got this ice cream maker as a wedding gift. Still works great but is showing some wear and tear.

Hmmmm...I think they liked the ice cream, don't you?

Jack-the-fat-beagle didn't get any ice cream. This is his sad, pouty face. 

Lame attempt at a self-portrait. Yesterday was a make-up free day. My apologies to you.

This sneaky boy took my camera and deleted all the pictures of himself. Grrrrr. And then posed like this when he saw me try to snap another one.

We ended our evening with a little trampoline lovin'.

A little dancin'.

(Grrr...the beagle tore the screen on our door on Sunday!)

And more rain. Which ruined the rest of my fun mom plans for the evening. But there's still plenty of summer left. And still plenty of ice in the cooler. I think tonight we're going to try Jimmy's recipe for cookies and cream!