Blending

I have about 10 half finished posts that I will get to when I come up for air. Moving forward.

I'm in love with my blendtech. I've been making smoothies like crazy for months, mostly because the kids (ahem and Aaron) will drink them and I can hide nuts and greens in their diets. I got some new ideas at our enrichment activity a few weeks ago and had to share our new favorite recipe. The measurements are approximate. 

Cheery Chocolate Cherry

8oz milk

1/2 c whole raw almonds

2 c fresh spinach

1 fresh banana

1 1/2 - 2 c frozen dark sweet cherries. 

1 TBS unsweetened cocoa powder

Enjoy! 

On a Freezing Day in October

We were out for a drive to look at the colorful trees on Saturday evening and decided to make a spontaneous trip to the pumpkin patch. We got there an hour and a half before they closed.  It was cold and windy, so we layered up in what we could find in the trunk of the van and huddled together. Soren slept most of the time and enjoyed the pumpkin patch from the comfort of his cozy carseat nest that we pulled around the patch in a wagon since we didn't think to bring a stroller. We picked pumpkins off the vines, sipped hot cocoa, ate hot dogs for dinner, rode the mule train, played on the haystack tunnels, and caught the last hayride of the evening (which was more entertaining than Jungle Cruise at Disneyland).  When we got home, we had homemade warm cinnamon applesauce before bed.

Crockpot Cinnamon Applesauce

Fill crockpot 2/3 full with peeled and sliced apples (nothing fancy, just 4-6 slices/chunks from each apple. You can use one of those hand held apple slicer things to get the cores out easily). This takes anywhere from 6-10 apples.  (usually a 3lb bag is plenty)

Add 1 TBS water to keep the apples from scorching and sticking to the bottom of the crockpot.

Depending on the sweetness of your apples, add about 1TBS white sugar (or none, or more) to the crockpot.  If you use fuji, honey crisp, or granny smith apples, you will have a pretty tart applesauce (our fave).  On saturday night I used golden delicious (because that's what was on sale for $2/bag at Aldi and I ad matched) and the applesauce had a less tart and more mild flavor, but cooked an hour faster.

Add a shake of nutmeg and 2 shakes of cinnamon to the pot.

Cook on High for 3-4 hours (3 for soft apples, 4 for hard apples)

Give apples a quick stir.  No need to puree or use a masher...the slices will practically dissolve with 4-5 beats with a wooden spoon.

Eat while it's still hot and delicious, or chill overnight, or freeze in plastic glad containers and enjoy it a month later.

As Reese says, this recipe is "easy-peasy-lemon-squeezey" and sure to become a fall favorite in your home, too.

Meg In the Kitchen

I've been putting our garden veggies to use, this week!

First up: a freezer meal.

There's a restaurant in Gilroy called OD's Kitchen that serves an awesome breakfast dish called The Kitchen Sink.  It's basically homefries with ham, onions, and peppers with cheese and an egg fried over medium on top. You get the crispy savory goodness of a breakfast skillet, but the eggs and cheese add a heavenly gooey heart attack that makes it the best breakfast over.

So, why not have the Kitchen Sink in my own kitchen?
#1 The Kitchen Sink:
I diced up some peppers and onions from the garden, and gently boiled the potatoes and diced them up. I froze everything on a large cookie sheet for a couple hours so it didn't stick together, then separated it into freezer bags in serving sizes for our family.  Now, I can just dump the bag onto a hot skillet with some oil or butter, wait 15 min for it to brown, then add the cheese and egg.  Dinner in less than 20 minutes! I made four bags plus a bag of plain diced potatoes and the only thing I had to buy was a package of ham for a few bucks.

#2: Pickles!  Homemade pickles are sooooo good.  I haven't made them in a few years, but if you want the recipe, click here for the 2009 post when I made a fazillion pickles with Jerushia.  One thing we learned is to NOT process them. The batch we processed in a waterbath got really mushy and the batch we left alone stayed nice and crunchy.
The best part about homemade pickles is that they are fast to make.  We whipped up 10 quarts of pickles tonight in about 45 minutes from start to finish, and it would have been even less time if I had done them by myself. Fast, easy, delicious, free!

#3 Veggie Pesto Pizza. 
Pizza dough recipe found here (CPK pizza dough)
Pesto recipe found here (Elena's recipe)

Seriously, how good does that look?  And y'all know I am a terrible photographer, especially when it comes to food pics.  This is actually as good as it looks and even my kids ate it.

For the perfect garden pizza, thinly slice up garden veggies. We used bell peppers, green and yellow squash, onions and tomatoes.  I thought about adding spinach, but forgot to get it out of the freezer to defrost in time.
toss with a little EVOO in a bowl.
Spread a thin layer of pesto sauce on pizza.
Top with veggies.
Now, add drained black beans (optional) and mozzerella cheese. Fresh mozzerella is better. All we had in the fridge this time was homemade gouda and white cheddar, so that's what we used, and it was still awesome.

Bake.
Chiffonade  some basil and throw it on the hot cheese right when it comes off the stone.

Eat.
Pat yourself on the back because dinner was great.

Worth Waiting For

Four months ago, we made a giant wheel of white stirred curd cheddar...

 ...and tonight, at book club, we busted into that bad boy!  I don't know why I am always surprised, but I was a little shocked that it actually had the sharpness of cheddar to it.  We were nervous whether or not it would "turn out" as we tucked it away into the cheese fridge for aging, but here it is, four months later, a perfect medium cheddar.  Totally delicious and a totally different flavor than the buttery gouda we also snacked on.

4 months is a long wait, but totally worth it for some cheesy excellence.  This is turning out to be a pretty fun little hobby.  Time to make more!

"She got the way to move me, Cherry Baby!"

My sweet friend, Sue, generously gives me some of the sour cherries from her tree, every year.

I know it is not easy for Sue to reach the cherries on the high branches of her tree and this act of service is one that is truly selfless.
Sue's husband passed away on Sunday morning and Sue was on my mind, all day.

After church, Aaron and I were talking about her and Jim, and Aaron thought about our own cherry tree and walked around the fence to check on the cherries.  They were ripe!

15 mintues later, we had 4 cups of perfect cherries.

Aaron suggested that I go over to Sue's to visit, then offer to pick her cherries for her and bake her a pie. 
After the kids went to bed, I made a card and some cookies, then picked up Kasey and a couple ladders and we headed over to Sue's to hopefully do a little service and cheer her up.

   She got home right when we were unloading the ladders in the driveway.
The first thing she said when she got out of the car was a tearful,

"I'm so sorry to tell you this, girls, but the cherry tree died!"

Oh. man. Did I feel like a jerk. 

I'd thought I was going to visit my friend and offer some comfort, company, and bring a little distraction and normal-ness to her day, by doing something we do together every year.

Instead, poor Sue was left feeling sad about one more loss in her life, that day.

Regardless, we still had a really nice visit, and I am so glad we were there right when she got home from dinner so she didn't come home to an empty house.  I'm headed back over there today to plant her geraniums and help her get ready for the arrival of her children who will be coming in from all over for the funeral in the next few days. 

Last night, I realized I still have 4 cups of my own cherries in the fridge.

So to honor Sue and Jim, (and also Neil Diamond, because I just can't eat cherry pie without a little "Cherry Cherry") I made mini cherry pies.
 

 +

this recipe and 5 ramekins

=

midnight mini cherry pies at the Willy's.

Or Pie Babies.
a Che-rry Bay-bay! (said in Neil Diamond's voice)

When you eat it, you automatically start singing, "Baby loves me, yes yes she does!"

bap-bap! ba-da-bap-bap-ba-dap! 

Sue's cherry tree may have died, but luckily, her friends now have cherries to spare and we will be bringing her pie every year to let her know how just loved and appreciated she is by everyone who knows her. She is humble, cheerful, wonderful, and definitely sweet as pie.

The Golden One

Please note: this post is about food more than anything else.
I have oodles to catch up on (Q's field trip, Branson, more projects, preschool, and the usual kid antics) but let's cut to the chase.
I turned 30 on Monday.
thirty.
Denial was the course I chose as the date approached, and it was a course of failure.  I'm married to a 36 yr old.  I can only pretend to still be in my 20's and get away with it for so long. Like 2 minutes...not even.

So 30 was embraced.  We celebrated early because birthdays last all weekend/week (ahem...ok all month long) in this house.  After Aaron got home from work on Friday night, we left the children in the fun-filled care of my parents (thanks, guys!) and drove up to Kansas City for a night away. 

We arrived in KC at 9:30pm and were totally starving. 
And totally stoked that we were in the city, where restaurants are still open and serving dinner that late.

We hit CPK and tried like half of the appetizers on the menu.
Attention Earth: deep fried mac n cheese is a real thing. and it is amazing. Get to a California Pizza Kitchen asap and order some.  I think this invention could quite possibly solve most of the world's problems....because who can be in a bad mood while eating crispy little breaded and deep fried balls of mac n cheese?  World Peace?  Done and done.

Anyway, we checked in to our suite at the Intercontinental on the KC plaza and settled into "the most comfortable bed" Aaron has ever been in and, comically, the minute our heads hit the pillows we heard a baby crying through the walls. And an obnoxious father "goochie goochie goo-ing".  And an irritated mother yelling at the father about her suitcase.

No way, man.  I had JUST lived the kids not sleeping in a hotel nightmare 2 nights before, in Branson, and was still traumatized.  Not tonight. Not on the night we paid a fortune and drove 3 hours to have the exact opposite experience.

15 minutes later we settled into our upgraded (and more importantly, totally silent) room. 
It was lovely.

We ordered room service in the morning and as waffle crumbs got in the bed I giggled at the thought that I would not be the one to clean up after myself.  Happy Birthday, indeed! Pass the syrup, please. 
Aaron's omelette was huge and we felt like royalty as we stuffed our faces and watched house flipping shows on cable.

KC plaza is a blast.  We visited the apple store and checked out the MacBookPro, but left without making a final decision.  Man, the apple store offers some high quality people watching.  It's like there are only two channels: geeks who care, and people who don't know how much more awesome their lives would be if only they cared as much as the geeks.

In Sur le Table we ran across these darling la rocherre drinking glasses that some friends of ours had 11 years ago. We loved them so much that we didn't include any glasses on our wedding registry because we had every intention of buying ourselves a set.

Then we realized we were a) poor and b) that nice drinking glasses were totally impractical for the college student/putting everything we own in and out of storage boxes lifestyle.  So we had plastic cups in our cupboard for years. 

Aaron spied the glasses first and we reminisced over how much we'd wanted them. 
It was silly, since they're only glasses, but I shamefully admitted that I still love them.
So did he.
Alas, we were both too lazy to carry around a heavy set of glasses all day while we shopped and walked around the plaza. We left empty handed, but were pleased and entertained by the satisfaction that we had actually found something (however tiny and trivial) that had managed to not change on us after 11 years.

We drooled over these oversized zinc letters in Anthropologie, and probably would have left with one if a) they'd had a W in stock, and b) we hadn't been too lazy to carry it around (see above).  Then Aaron left to check out a store next door, and walked right past this hottie on display with the mannequins in the window when he returned a few minutes later.  Obnoxious, I know.  I probably would have ignored me, too.

We got lost in Barnes & Noble for awhile.
Without warning, I threw up our fancy room service breakfast all over the street while people walked by all around us. Classy. Aaron held my hair up and proudly told all of the onlookers that I'm pregnant.  Then he took me back to the car to change my clothes. One might think that this is a terrible thing to have happen on a "romantic getaway" but for me, it was purely a reminder that I married a really great guy. 

Next, we tested out Toledo chairs at Restoration Hardware and Aaron finally got to see the farmhouse table that originally inspired me to build my own.  I was quick to point out flaws in craftsmanship and he was quick to point out how happy he was that our one of a kind table cost $3000 less. 

How great is this chair?  Drafting chairs at the kitchen table?  Why not, I say. We didn't buy them, but we're closer to finding something that we both like. Aaron still favors the Navy Chair over a drafting chair. We're both drawn to the industrial styles of both and the nice contrast the chairs would be placed around our black walnut harvest table. I prefer a wood seat and he likes the simplicity of an all metal chair.  One thing we love about them both is that they don't tip over every day like our ladder back chairs, do. If only we'd known.

More window shopping and Lunch for 3 (I couldn't make up my mind between two entrees so I ordered them both) at Noodles & Company.

We discussed baby names and 100 other things on the way home, and since the drive went so quickly, we actually decided to extend our date another 30 min and took a drive over through the area where we hope our future home will be.

We grilled steaks with my parents and Jimmie and Kasey on Sunday night and the weekend ended perfectly.

On Monday morning, the sound of thunder stormed outside and as I blinked awake I found Reese and Quincy inches from my face wishing me a happy birthday.  I took one look at my beautiful girls donning nightgowns and bed heads and awkward toothy grins and knew it would be a great day, a great year, a great decade.

The girls went to school and Corbin unloaded the dishwasher.  Good thing the dishes in it were clean, because he did a really thorough job!   My parents came over and Corbin had a play date with Grandpa while my mom and I went to lunch at The Red Onion...a cute little bistro in Bentonville.  My mom and I played Farkle at our table while we waited for our food (read: I SMOKED my mom in Farkle with the best game of my life and had 10,000 pts in 5 rolls.) I unfortunately wasn't feeling so hot at lunchtime, but the tomato bisque was just what I needed!  The food was awesome, and I was extra pleased to find all of the fixings for italian sodas at the soda fountain. 

Raspberry italian soda for the birthday girl!
Then a black cherry one when it was time for a refill.
Ok, and a mango one for the road... (In my defense, I didn't feel great. Liquids only seemed to be helping, and besides, it was my birthday. I can have what I want, even if that means 3 italian sodas for lunch. And a slice of turtle pie.)

On the way back home we stopped at Lowe's and I picked up a screen repair kit so I could milk my dad into helping me finish up one last project before they left town the following day.  My mom bought me a beautiful creeping tea rose bush and lattice for the front yard. Now that the tulip bulbs have all withered, the flower beds look pretty pathetic.  I grabbed a couple of grape vines to go on either side of the rose bush and it looks really great.  Thanks Mom and Dad!  I just need to get some mulch in there, now. 

Aaron stopped by on his lunch hour with 30 GORGEOUS red and white long stem roses and wished me a "happy golden birthday" before heading back to work for a meeting.  He had a really busy day lined up, but still found time to make the day special.

Kids napped, my dad replaced the screen in our back sliding door, and I threw up a bunch then took a wonderful and uninterrupted birthday nap.  Just what every mother dreams of...or at least this mother!

We went to Mellow Mushroom for dinner, where I promptly tossed every birthday cookie I'd eaten that day. Such a shame to puke on your birthday, I tell ya. Luckily, Kasey had Corbin over to her house for a lil' dinner date, so our meal was actually pretty relaxed.  The food was good as always, service was the best we've ever had at MM, and Reese and Quincy were hopped up on hawaiian punch and enjoyed singing to me (loudly) in the restaurant. 
The day was filled with birthday wishes and cards and phone calls and feeling loved and all things great.  I am very lucky to have everything I've ever wanted in life and all by age 30.   The rest of life will just be icing on the big fat cake that was the perfect birthday weekend....or birthday week, really...

...because on Tuesday, a set of 6 la rochere bumblebee glasses arrived on my doorstep!  Aaron was just FULL of surprises this year! They arrived just in time, too, because I had pointed out to him earlier in the day that we were down to 4 drinking glasses. Out of 12. WHERE were they all going?  Are the kids breaking them and not telling?  I know they aren't in the house, because every nook and cranny of my home has been organized and or cleaned out, lately.  More on this mystery to come, soon.  For now, the new glasses are sparkling in the prime real estate shelf in the glass cabinet and we are happy to host them.

Birthday Festivities continued at preschool on Wednesday and Thursday with cupcakes and birthday wishes from 9 sprinkle and frosting covered faces. 

On Thursday night, Kasey put together a small and perfect casual get together with a few of my favoritest people.  Among other really yummy treats, there was chocolate creme brulee with fresh berries, sweet cards and gifts from friends, loud talking and funny stories, and a great, relaxing night with 6 beautiful women that I love and admire.   To Kasey, Michelle, Katie, Tia, Emily, and Angie: thanks for making me laugh regularly, lifting me up when I need it, not judging me for having a hole in the armpit of my shirt that night, and being everything that great friends are.  I am surrounded by examples of excellence.

And today, a surprise package full of Trader Joe's goodness came in the mail from my incredibly thoughtful friend, Angie. So thoughtful, that she threw in a jar of Miracle Whip with a sinister laugh.  (I could hear your cackles in the foam packing peanuts, Angie!) Maybe 30 is my year to embrace Miracle Whip....or give it a second chance, at least ;)

I've read a lot of really cool things that people have done to celebrate a new decade.  30 acts of kindness, crossing 30 things off the bucket list, 30 presents, 30 day challenges, etc. and I feel inspired to do something, too. The one emotion I felt more than any other on my birthday was gratitude for the good people around me. This year, I'll write 30 cards or letters of appreciation to influential people in my life.  Without them, I wouldn't have much to celebrate, at all.   
 
29 was hard.
This has been one wild and wonderful week.
Whatever lies ahead for me this year, good or bad, 30 and I can handle it.  I have a lot to be grateful for, and I plan to celebrate all year.  
Thanks for giving me a golden birthday that I will always treasure!

Willy 2012 Garden

Our garden is coming up roses.
Not really. I don't have any roses.
But I have just about everything else!
Right now, everything is just in the baby stage...except for herbs and broccoli.
We harvested our first few crowns of broccoli yesterday.
On April 11th! I can't believe it, either...there have been years that our garden wasn't even started until after April 11, and this year, we are already enjoying fresh produce. Happy Spring!

I found a little surprise in the corner of my yard today...the nasturstium seeds I threw in the ground a month ago (in a rock hard, acidic, partly shaded, neglected corner of the yard) actually sprouted! If they bloom, our chickens will be feasting on some delicious snackies.

The strawberries and kiwi plants came back from last year, and they have doubled!
We cleared out the rest of the rocky area next to them and hope to expand their play area a bit...because who can have too many strawberries? We can't. We've only eaten one so far, this year, but the plants are full of pink and white blossoms.

Also returning from last year (with a bang) are the grape vines! Yay! We planted them last year and are pleased to see the vines making their way up the pergola. Last year the birds ate the grapes (there were only a few), but this year we'll play it smart and throw a net over the goods and hopefully have a few to eat. The vines are still very young to be depended on for production, so we're pretty pleased with the several tiny bunches we see forming after only 1 year of growth.

In front of the grapes are a couple potted rosemary bushes and a basil plant.

Our ever sterile raspberries (left). It's a mystery. Hundreds of blossoms, dozens of bumble bees and not one dang raspberry. I think they need more direct sunlight. They are planted on the north side of the house and are always shaded by the house.

The blackberries (right) gave us a few pints of berries last year and are back in action this year...hopefully with even more fruit to enjoy. I love that I don't have to do anything to these bad boys, they just come back each year and give us food. Easy. Yummy. And they're thornless, so that's a nice bonus.

Oh tomatoes...I can't ever grow enough. Especially after discovering ina garten's tomato basil soup. My mouth is watering for July. We planted a few heirloom rutabegas this year, some better boys, big boys, celebrity, romas (this is roma's last chance, they used to be our garden tomato of choice, but they never seem to thrive in the Arkansas heat, so we've moved on. I planted a couple with the hope that this summer will be a cool one. hahaha.) and an early girl. 14 tomato bushes in all and not one too few. I can never run out of uses for tomatoes, and even after canning and saucing and souping and roasting and brushetta-ing last year, we still picked every last greenie off the vine in november and wrapped those babies up in paper sacks to be enjoyed until mid december. It was wonderful. Garden tomatoes are gold...especially after the hell-tempered summer that tortured us in 2011. We know very few people had a tomato crop at all last year, so we feel very blessed that ours was plentiful. Hopefully this year will be just as productive with 1/2 the bushes in a new location.

Behind the tomatoes are our traditional zucchini and yellow squash. I love them and sing to them as I water (not really. ok maybe I do.) and look forward to baskets and baskets of squash and am determined to not use any curse words when we inevitably become over run with squash bugs.

More tomatoes (back).
12 lovely bell pepper babies that won't take off until the heat arrives. Fine by me. We love our summer peppers and just ran out of the diced frozen bells from last year.

What's in the empty beds, Meg?

Well reader (yes. you. the only one actually reading this.), on the left we have some baby red potatoes that baaaarely surfaced 2 days ago, so I buried them with more compost. In the other half of the left bed and in all of the right bed we have a newbie to the Willy garden: Asparagus! I finally got around to planting some, and if we aren't around next year to enjoy them here, well...I'll dig them up and take them with us wherever we go. I have almost a dozen spears that crept up above the surface (only to be buried again with compost...poor asparagus, such a trodden down life they live...dumped on for weeks and then blamed for stinky pee when harvested.) and while I am sooooo tempted to just pick a few, I know we will have a better harvest next year if we wait it out and let these little babies do their thing this spring. They are beautiful. Waiting sucks. Next year, asparagus...next year.

By the way...I think I planted at least half of the crowns upside-down. Oops.

Here we have the real wait. Sunflowers in the waaay back, more tomatoes (the early girl is back there), pea vines on the back right, green onions (seeds..just planted), cucumbers (right) just sprouted and will be climbing soon, and kale on the left side, which sprouted a week ago but is taking it's sweet time to not look pathetic. I might re-seed.

A jalapeno plant will go in the front right corner after I get more compost in there.

Spring veggies are thriving!

In the left bed:

the thyme is back from last year and looking lovely (far left front corner)

bush variety green beans galore! (right front and back)

yukon gold potatoes (lots of em, baby) (left).

pettite sweet carrots (back left)

dill (back right)

In the right bed:

romaine lettuce (back left)

bush variety sweet peas (back right)

black seed simpson lettuce (front left)

frog skin melon (just planted the seeds, they haven't sprouted yet) (front right)

when the lettuce is done in a month, we'll plant butternut squash (and lots of it) and maybe acorn or spaghetti squash in the right bed.

And finally, more spring goodness.

in the back bed left to right:

cilantro

pettite sweet carrots

broccoli
beets

more carrots

vidalia onions

yukon gold potatoes

in the front bed left to right:

loads of basil (can't get enough)

kale (just sprouted!)

romaine lettuce (for the spoiled hens)

spinach (some is ready to be picked!)

vidalia onions

carrots
greek oregano (back from last year and out of control!

In front of the house, the mint I planted last year has spread and covers a 2 ft space. I love it.

There ya have it. (are you still here?)

More posts (too many, I'm sure) to come!

What are you growing this year?

Am I forgetting anything?

Aye Un Amigo En Mi

We celebrated the 4th Annual Gringo Fiesta, last night.
Usually, this glorious made up holiday kicks off around the 18th of February, but due to the fact that around the 18th of February I couldn't keep any solid food down, well....a big feast didn't sound so great. And cooking? Hahahahaha! Out of the question.

Rather than cancel, we postponed for a month, and I am so glad we did!

My friends did most of the work this year, which made el party easy cheesy for me and I only threw up once during the party. Viva la Gringo Fiesta!

I love love love this tradition! We always have our "regulars" over, and then mix it up and introduce a few newbies to the goodness of the Willy House Party. Fun fun times.
And now for what you've all been waiting for :

The Menu:

Main Dish: (prepared a la crockpot style by the lazy hostess)
Lime and Chili Shredded Pork (this recipe can easily be halved...and probably even quartered, although I'm not really sure why you would want to make so little...)
4 Pork Tenderloins
2 cans diced (or chopped) green chilies
4 TBS Caldo de Pollo
juice and pulp of 2-3 fresh limes
2 tsp minced garlic
1 jalapeno (Whole. Remove and discard before shredding the meat)

Dump everything into crockpot and let that sucker slow cook on low for 6-7 hours.
1 hour before dinner, remove jalapeno and shred the meat with a knife and fork. It will fall apart very easily.

Carnitas are traditionally served after baking or frying in a pan so they get a little crispy, but these were just right so we left well enough alone.

Serve with Tortillas, Cilantro Lime Rice, and Black Beans
toppings (brought by friends): cheese, sour cream, guac, salsa, and http://meandmyapron.blogspot.com/2011/01/salsa-de-tomatillo.html

Appetizers a la Kasey and Tia:
Kasey's Mango Salsa, green salsa, guac, homemade jalapeno gouda, guacamole deviled eggs, and a lot of chips and olives.

Beverages a la Kasey: Dr. Pepper and Brazillian Lime Punch (recipe coming soon)

Desserts a la Ruthy, Tia, Kasey, and Tanya: key lime bars, lime bundt cake, butterscotch cookies, lime finger jello, and strawberry spring delight, which, thanks to Ruthy's facebook page is the only thing from the evening that I have a photo of!

I totally forgot to take out my camera last night, but basically, we sat outside, we ate, we talked, we ate more, then we talked about how much we ate, we ate dessert, then we packed up the leftovers to eat later. It was a great, casual evening. Big thanks to the Meadows, Glovers, Jefferys, Murrays, and McMurrins for a fun night of friendship and feasting. Thanks for doing all the work, guys!

And let's not forget to express our gratitude for the real reason we celebrate this great holiday:
The END of winter. Wahoooooooo!

We made it, guys.

Distraction

from a due date come and gone.
What was great about today is was the healthy, nutritious, balanced yummy breakfast I made that disappeared in minutes.

Katie's monkey bread recipe is the best I've ever had, and my family agrees. I keep baking it with the intention of stuffing my face capturing a photo to post with the recipe, but it always seems to get eaten before I can remember that I wanted a picture. Here's the recipe:

Monkey Bread
Place 12-14 frozen Rhodes dinner rolls in a bundt pan
sprinkle with a .5 oz pkg of chopped pecans
sprinkle 1/2 package of butterscotch pudding mix
mix together 1/2 brown sugar and 1/2 c melted butter and 1 tsp cinnamon and pour over the rolls.
Cover with a towel and let thaw/rise overnight.

Bake 20-30 min @ 350* in the morning and have a very happy family.
Take a post breakfast/sugar coma nap and make everyone late for church.

A Good Day

Today, we woke up to the first snowfall of the year.
Then, the stars aligned and all the kids went to school, a playdate, and a swap all at the same time. I found my lucky self sitting down for a (quiet/lovely/rare) lunch with Kasey at the Green Bean.

Locals, have you been to this place? It's only open for lunch, but it is quite the gem.

Who thinks to put blackberries, red peppers, blueberries, black grapes and avocado on a hummus on a mesquite smoked turkey sandwich? The lovely little lady who owns the Green Bean, that's who, and she knows what she is doing. She might as well have spread a layer of crack all over that sandwich because I can't stop thinking about when I will be able to go back for another.
The bread for my sandwich was still warm when I ate it.
The pecan bar was devoured instantly. Twice. Because I bought a second one.

The company was excellent. I highly recommend lunch anywhere with Kasey.

The rest of the day included:
-cleaning my kitchen (I've been an organizing fool lately and it is finally starting to pay off)
-a phone call to my sister (hollah Amy! I miss you!)
-a nap
-a surprise package from my parents' trip to London. I had to use serious self restraint to keep from eating the entire package of McVitties cookies (mmmm delicious...and digestive)
-receiving some good advice about having charity (from my friend who knew I needed to hear it today)
-re-mopping a path of about 200 sets of snow covered footprints that ran back and forth from the ourside door to the hallway (right across my clean kitchen floor. I should have known it would snow as soon as I mopped. That'll hopefully teach me to put it off a little longer next time). The kids loved the snow.
-friends coming over to play
-hot chocolate and marshmallows
-a dinner that was served, with love, from the freezer (bless my parents for talking me into that purchase. I don't know how I lived without it.) to my family.
-Relief Society Meeting.

I came home to find everyone asleep and a book waiting for me on the sofa.
It might be 17* outside, but it is a toasty 75* in my living room.
Not a bad Thursday.

What's Cookin?

4 more lbs of gouda...
BTW, we did the math for homemade vs store bought gouda and the price difference is pretty ridiculous. Plus, homemade cheese tastes pretty incredible. We'll be cuttin' the cheese up in here on Valentine's Day!

and homemade greek yogurt!

I was pretty shocked at how easy, delicious, and frugal this is. Click here for full details, but here's the basic recipe:

1) Mix 8 TBS plain store bought greek yogurt (1 single serve container) in a small bowl with 8 TBS cold milk. Set aside.

2) Heat 1 gallon of milk (1% or 2%) in a heavy bottom stock pot on the stove.
3) Remove just before it reaches 200* (begin stirring constantly once it reaches 180* to prevent scorching).

4) Set the pot in a sink that is filled halfway with cold water, and watch the temperature of the milk drop.

5) If you want to sweeten the yogurt, stir in 1/2 - 1 cup of sugar now, while the milk is still hot.

6) When the temp of the yogurt reaches 105* - 100* stir in the yogurt/milk mixture. Then, put a lid on the pot, and wrap the entire pot with a large bath towel and place it in the oven with the light on.

7) The light in the oven + the towel should keep the temp in the oven around 100*. (it helps to warm the oven for 3 or 4 min before you add the yogurt, but don't let it get over 105* or the temp could kill your yogurt cultures!
Keep the yogurt in the 100* oven for 16 hours.

8) Remove pot from oven, and strain the yogurt in a colander lined with cheese cloth in the fridge for 6-8 hours (or until desired yogurt thickness is reached.
9) Add nuts, granola, jam, fruit, chocolate, whatever, and enjoy!

10) Make more when you run out. I'm going to add vanilla beans to the next batch.

Don't forget to pat yourself on the back for saving a load of cash. The cost of one little serving of store bought Brown Cow or Fage greek yogurt is how much it costs to make 10-12 servings at home, and you can control the flavor, thickness, and amount of sweetener in it.

Worth it? YES.

Where the Wild Things Are

This took 2 minutes. I sent the kids to take showers and get in pajamas, while I finished preparing dinner. (chicken piccata. Yum. Recipe here.)

What you can't see in the shot are the dirty contents of the white basket, dragged to every room of the house, blood and bandaids in the kitchen, or the happily satisfied faces on my very naughty little heathens streaking behind me.

Yep. Streaking.

Somewhere between getting undressed and actually getting into the tub, a roll of wrapping paper was pulled down the hall and my (easily distracted) children realized they could "ice skate" on it in their slippery socks.
Socks were all they were wearing at this point. Classy.

All while I naievely oohed and ahhed over my stove top masterpiece in the kitchen, and even made a lovely facebook post about the lovely day and my lovely kids and the lovely giggles I could hear coming from them in the hall (red flag, meg! red flag!) and how lovely they are at Christmastime.

"Lovely ice skating" was actually naked "ice skating" and it quickly became naked "slip n slide", and naked "slip n slide" turned the fate of all activities that involve my son:

Wrestlemania and someone crying. Or as we call it: Kung Fu Corbin.

A wrapping paper tube fight broke out in the bedroom.
Reese appeared in the kitchen with a giant paper cut on her stomach.
Wrapping Paper Slip n Slide was banned in the Willy House.
Q screamed a lot.
Corbin "Hoooooooooy-YA! Hoy-YA!"d until the cardboard tube battle ended.

The children were fed dinosaur chicken nuggets, and went to bed without showering.
Aaron and I devoured the chicken piccata in silence, took this picture, and cleaned up a 2-dozen-paper-snowflake-mess inthe kitchen,
Then we wrapped a few presents with pieces of the "slip n slide".

Reasons to love winter break

Since it is Wednesday, we had a pizza party!

Quincy's pizza: mozzerella and black olives and 2 drops of marinara sauce

Reese's pizza: marinara, bacon, black beans, black olives and mozzerella

Corbin's pizza: marinara, pepperoni, olives, mozzerella

Meg's pizza: caramelized onions, pineapple, bacon, black beans, avocado, mozzerella, cilantro, fresh lime juice

Aaron's pizza: marinara, pepperoni, black olives, bacon, black beans, mozzerella

Excellence.

We are celebrating every day left of 2011.