After-school Snacks

I've been trying to step up the after school snacks, plus the kids really like it when they walk in the door to ready food. Monday, Wednesday, Friday all three big boys have school, so those the days I have more free time since when Kyle's home we play games while Sean and Caroline nap. Monday I made one of their favorites, banana bread muffins--only I added blueberries. I was totally puffed up by what a great mom I was making muffins during naptime instead of reading a magazine or etc. Boom! It was a tremendous flop: they came in and thought they smelled cookies, and then mistook the blueberries for chocolate chips . . . so today I went the savory route with boring plain nachos. A hit!

Mesmerized

Wednesday night I had a cheesecake to make for Thursday . . . and watching the mixer is one of Kyle's all-time favorite activities.  We introduced Sean to it, and he was captivated.  He even forgot to be fussy since he forgot that he was sleepy.  He is still sleeping in the baby buggy, which is in our en suite; which is where Deacon was pretending to be a submarine or shark or something, so Sean had to wait to go to bed, until his "bedroom" was vacant.

The cheesecake was delicious, even if I overcooked the crust by setting the setting for 25 degrees higher than called for.  But what were to do? Not eat the cheesecake . . . never a good option.

Guess who's six . . .

Deacon John!
He requested a chocolate-chocolate cake, and sprinkles and picked out which cake plate he wanted (oh the small things that make me happy).  He even chose a family favorite for dinner Spaghetti with Sans-Vodka Sauce.  He is wearing his new camo clothes from cousins Katie & Colton--he had worn an older camo shirt for gift opening, but when he opened the new camo he kept his old shirt on underneath.  Phil asked why, and said, "Aren't going to get hot?"  Deacon replied, "Dad, when a bad guy comes and takes my new shirt, I'll have my old one underneath and so I can smack him!"

(I took so many photos of Deacon with his cake, and yet he blinked everytime--but you can enjoy Bryce's smile in the background.)

Sunday Afternoon Nappers

Phil did this while all the other kids were napping or resting, and I was blissfully preparing dinner early (rather than last minutes, per my current s.o.p.). Alas, I had frozen salmon past it's use by date, and it turns out no amount of garlic or butter conceals such over-ripeness. Which is probably a good thing. Note, the cat wouldn't even eat it.

Zoku Popsicles

 

Grandma Greta gave us this sweet popsicle maker. It's pretty fun. Fortuitously, Nana Judy gave us lots of juice, so we got to dive into rainbow popsicles . . . which taste even better.

Carbonarra

 

This time I made it lite by using half as much bacon--but not draining any of the fat. So good, and yet I missed the bacon. There's a reason we have this only sometimes: some foods you just can't make lite.

Dad's got dinner

So on a recent Friday I checked in with Phil about 4pm for his eta as dinner was a quick prep. He surprised me, "Honey, I just picked up dinner. Don't do a thing". And he was serious. As the grave. Ta da!

 

Brownie Pie

Very dear church ladies and friends volunteered to bring us two weeks' worth of meals.  So far we've enjoyed: tortelinni casserole, chicken with white beans & tomatoes, tamale pie delivered for my lunch when I couldn't make a bible study luncheon, chicken & rice casserole (I got to pick that one--even better than great-grandma's), and a potato-sausage-bell pepper goulash.  This is just the absolute best gift a family can receive.  I was overwhelmed that a friend was willing to organize this, and even more so when I realized how many meals she set up.  Along with tremendous delicious main courses we've had amazing veggies, finish-the-loaf-off good bread, desserts, drinks. . . blessings overflowing!  Not to mention how much we enjoy anticipating meals.  There are not words to express how much this blessing is blessing us all.  So down in your bones good.

Tonight turned out to be a sad dessert day for me.  Dinner was good, and I was so stuffed I knew there was no way I'd be able to fit brownie pie.  So instead, I rallied my spirits by taking an absurd about of photos of Kyle devouring his.  (Bryce & Deacon ate their portions too fast for a photo op).

Bless these wonderful church ladies, who make it so I can spend dinner prep time playing with my new son, being entertained by my big boys, or in today's case, shoppping with my dad while my wonderful husband babysat . . . and I even have time to fold the napkins for dinner . . . fancy!

BabyCake: professional vs. "It had better taste good"

So, we're having a boy.  I think we know his name, but honestly we've changed the name ten-zillion times already, and we have another 20 1/2 weeks to go.  But this post isn't about the baby's name.  It's about how I am a terrible person to have do anything that is for a nice get-together.  Above are two cakes.  The one on the left was made by the amazing Jessica.

The ultrasound tech called her with our baby's gender, and then she brought us a cake with the interior frosting color coded: pink for girl, blue for boy. Originally, we were supposed to wait and bring Jessi's cake to Phil's family Easter get-together, so we'd find out as one big family.  Only, we couldn't wait.  (Okay, I couldn't wait--the only thing Phil doesn't like to wait for is me running 30 minutes late to get out the door.  Otherwise he's as patient as the grave.)

So, we found out boy, early, and that meant I had to make a cake myself for our very McMurray Easter.

Pictured right: my dreadful cake.  A carrot cake--per Phil's request, with cream cheese frosting--to die for.  And I smuggled in some raisins.  (Here's my thinking on raisins: they are delicious.  If you don't like them you have problems, because they are delicious.  They make any baked good better.  If you disagree with me, then that just means that there will be more of said baked good for my consumption.)  Bryce protested the raisins.  I said, "Daddy likes raisins".  This ended Bryce's complaint, but now he's not sure whether or not he himself likes raisins--wait with bated breath and I'll let you know.

So here's the dealio with my dreadful cake.  I made it too big (10") and got all ambitious when cutting the layers (4).  Jessi's cake had four layers; however, I lost sight of the fact that her cake was not fat an squat like mine . . .

I'll just hope my cake tastes good, even if only looks semi-ok due to the centerpiece--I stole the Jessica handmade cake-topper to try to salvage the cake.  I'm also too lazy to actually remove the platic wrap or even take my cake out of the fridge for a photo.

So take heart bakers! At least you're not me. 
Next up: lemon bars.  I think I can't ruin these.  However the fact that I'm planning to take some to Easter means I will probably do something innovative like try to fashion them into egg shapes . . . Laurens should not be ambitious.  Laurens should stick to the directions.

Pizza Cookie

 

Yesterday someone asked me if I used our bar & barstools much . . . thinking about it, it's just about the best thing about my kitchen. The kids are right there helping, eating, coloring, stirring, licking the beaters, glueing, playing . . . it's the best.

Also, the pizza cookie happened on pizza night. How did I not think of this before? Instead of making regular cookie dough and then patting it into a big circle, I rolled out the dough and gave each of them little bowls with topping choices to press into the dough. They loved it!

Mini-Pepperoni

 

Bryce meticulously placed each dime sized pepperoni. Deacon ricocheted between stuffing clumps into his hamster cheeks . . . then whilst swallowing . . . pressing other clumps into sections of dough--aghast, Brcye would say [kindly] "not that way, Deacon, we have to spread them all over".

I love homemade pizza night!

Country Roasted Chicken a la Goodweight Chickens

So I'm not going to lie to you, or even attempt to be a poser. I don't give a rat's pah-tooty about recycling, green living, or the newest eco-trend to hit my radar, upcycling (yes, I'm a little slow). Sheesh. Also, I don't so much care about organic food. Cough-cough. Yes, I am the very same woman, married to the very same Scots-Irishman that raises organique beef and pork (albeit because we only like rare meat), oh and the occasional free-range egg. I don't care! I don't want to pay more! I don't want to be like one of those people I mocked while reading Bobos in Paradise for the first time years ago.

But the truth is, I do like my friends. And I do like to support my friends. And if they care about organic, sustainable food sources, then I want to be a good friend and support them with my wallet, not just my lips. In the case of what this over-long introduction is leading up to, currently I am supporting "them" with my [husband's] wallet and my lips!

Goodweight Chickens. That's right. My friends and yours and their not so little endeavor to grace the fields of Palousedom with chicken I can cook up as rare as I want without fear of some creepy cage-born illness.

Tonight, with a little help from another friend, V. Wintz--via that hot number the church cookbook of church cookbooks, Hot Providence--our last October Goodweight Chickens chicken was done up a la, Country Roasted Chicken, page: 153. Alas, there is one typo and one omission in the recipe, so I am taking the liberty to write up this little baby for your chicken pleasure.

1 whole chix; quartered: potatoes, onions, carrots; 1 c each: chix broth, white wine (I used cheap and then drank wine whilst I cooked, just like Julia--the drinking, not the cheap wine!); s&p. I also secreted an overly large garlic clove in the cavity.
Put all this goodness in your trusty dutch oven for 1 1/2 hours on 375. Whilst this goodness is busy in the oven, saute: 2 pieces of chopped bacon (I did 4), sliced mushrooms, and garlic. *This is to be added to the pot and cooked for 15-20 more minutes . . . BUT instead, I made a roux and poured the liquid from the pot into the roux, adding s&p, and then served it all up with the sauce over the chix, with a little mushroom-bacon-garlic as a heavy garnish. Also, I extra-garnished Phil's plate with that overly-large garlic clove.

So good! So easy! Bless you Goodweight Chickens, because before you, I seldom bothered cooking whole chickens, and it's so fun, and fallish, and June Cleaverish.

Summer Lovin': Mexican Corn

Summer technically ends tomorrow (endless cheering), and I could wax on about all that good, hot, sticky, frappe, popsicle fun . . . but instead I'll mention one of our new favorites.
This recipe is so amazing that I'm sure we've made every member of Phil's immediate family sick of it--because we either served it or brought it to nearly every extended family get-together that we could. To be fair, we first had it well over a year ago at the O'Donnells . . . shows you how we all have good gourmet sources, Cooks Illustrated Magazine.

Mexican-Style Grilled Corn
1/4 C mayo (we use that new olive oil base one, because the idea of mayo sort of makes me gag a little)
3 T sour cream (we have special feelings for Daisy)
3 T cilantro leaves, minced (we use an obscene amount)
1 medium clove garlic, pressed (we use like 3 or 4 large ones; we also buy mint gum in bulk at Costco)
3/4 t chili powder
1/4 t black pepper
1/4 t cayenne pepper
4 t lime juice/juice from one lime (we use keylime flavoring 'cuz we always have that on hand; limes . . . well, somehow when we have them on hand that means we also probably have G&T fixings on hand)
1 ounce Pecorino Romano cheese, grated OR about 1/2 C

Mix all this goodness together with a fork. Lick the fork. Get a new fork, and slather your saucey-sauce onto corn that has previously been grilled a la individually wrapped in tin foil. Magnifique. We just tried it tonight on some Jones Family Farm locally grown corn, and survey says: Extra-Magnifique.

You're welcome!

Camo & Cantelope

 

Sneaky-snack before dinner.

Buttermilk Bread

 

We tried another bread recipe (Kathryn's), and we loved it! I forced Phil to try a piece (who's not up for hot-from-the-oven-bread?) and then he declared it was amazing (and this is not a man that goes nutzo over his carbs. We've made it lots since, and it's so, so good.

Homemade Sandwich Bread

 

I braved Rachel's Childhood Bread recipe from the Hot Providence cookbook (Annie swore it was easy-peasy). I even went rouge and did a fancy cinnamon-sugar loaf that proved pretty yummy. Bryce loved it, and ate two pieces straight away. I only halved the recipe, making three loaves, since we have a ton of bread on hand already--but I had promised Annie that I'd make it within one week, and if I don't give myself a deadline I never do things (hey you out there who never got your thank you note for that wonderful wedding gift you gave us--see what happens when I eschew deadlines).

Okay, next I'll try Mick's fancy Dutch Oven bread recipe. Deadline: Fall 2011.

Happy Valentine's Day!

 

The boys woke up to candy bags, cards, and big chocolate kisses; which someone let them dig into before breakfast (don't worry, they didn't finish them until Friday). I asked them each to smile, and here's what I got: Deacon devouring his, and Bryce smiling tenderly at his.

Christmas Calls for a Big Cookie

 

Phil's childhood dreams . . . realized again.