To My Salt Lake Friends...

My sister-in-law is doing a giveaway on her blog for a photo session. Head over here to check out the info & enter to win yourself some fabulous photos!

Snow Day

Oklahoma got socked by another severe storm from the West. This time we received about 1/4 inches of ice, and another 4.5 inches of snow.

The worst part of the storm: a tree branch landed on my truck. Fortunately, the only damage was to my driver's side mirror.

N'awlins...Almost

Yesterday I asked Megan what she'd like for breakfast today (she said she was getting a little sick "burned out" with all the hash). Megan said she wanted donuts or beignets, so I obliged.

Today we took a brisk (and fattening) trip to New Orleans. Certainly nothing beats a great beignet from Cafe du Monde in New Orleans, but these babies came close. The recipe comes from the book, The Joy of Cooking: All About Breakfasts. You can find it here.

It's quite simple and took me less than 10 minutes to mix up. The biggest difference is that this recipe is a liquid, and creates a beignet more akin to a German puffed pancake, than the fried bread which is common.

The original recipe makes 15 beignets. I doubled it, and we only have a few left over. I'm going to try Paula Deen's recipe next time, I think this will produce something closer to Cafe du Monde's.

Our Secret Agents

I was not pleased when I got hurriedly aroused from a deep and blissful sleep on Sunday.

At about 6:30, Megan quickly nudged me and said, "they shut the door." I didn't catch it the first time, or the second - when I thought she was talking about Hannah & Milo closing the door to their room, and I thought "who the heck cares, and why is that so important that it can't wait?" - or even the third time when I really got annoyed that she really cared this passionately about the "milestone" of these two going back to their room in the early morning.

By the fourth nudge though, I'd gathered enough cohesion that my brain understood the two mischievous beings were running their own secret, covert operation; and as any parent knows, a secret and covert operation by any 2 and 5 year-old is never good. They'd closed the door intentionally trying to block out any sounds coming from the playroom. (I want to clarify, they closed OUR door.)

As quick as my aged legs could carry (I am 33 after all), I darted to the playroom to discover my angels playing, happily. "Too easy," I thought.

Then I discovered the sticky and slick film, as the unmistakable stench of spray starch wafted into my nostrils. Panic set in...

"What are you doing?!" I queried. I looked around searching for the source. Standing there, in the center of the room, was my 2 year-old with the canister. My heart sunk. (His heart sank at the thought that his favorite child could be so naughty.... hehe.)

I rushed to his side to discover that he had emptied the once-full container. A brand new can sprayed over every surface of the room. My little devil sat there content, looking at me, mocking me, with his broad, goofy smile.

I rushed to two to their room until I could find an appropriate punishment. I figured the damage was done, therefore I would leave them in there until I had cleaned up the mess, played some Wii, and perhaps ate a little breakfast snack.

Megan and I cleaned up the room - did you know it's almost impossible to remove starch on the first clean up? (Actually, I did know this... because earlier in the week Jeff left a can of starch that he claimed to be empty in the garbage. Milo found the can, & heavily starched the kitchen floor proving that it was NOT empty.)

We then pulled Hannah out to discuss the situation. She informed us that Milo decided to climb up to the top shelf of the closet. After the mess was done, she tried to clean it up using paper. We advised her it was a mess that no 5 year-old could clean up, and that it was not alright to let Milo climb wherever he decided.

Unfortunately, she's learning the sad reality of being an older sibling: you need to look out for the younger ones, and act as the "responsible adult" sometimes. (We tried to drill into her head that she should run & get us or scream for us in these type of situations. I didn't go as far as telling her to tackle & restrain him.)

In this case, no harm was done, but what do you do? The phrase "keep out of the reach of children" is almost a misnomer when they're climbing to the top of the cupboards. (Seriously, we'll take some advice.... what do you do? There is only so much room on the top shelf of cupboards & that obviously doesn't stop my kids. What's more dangerous, the item itself or the scaling of the closet to get the item?)

I just have to think that this is the sick kind of karma our parents wished upon us as children. I have to believe that it's Megan's genes causing the miseries, because I can't ever remember being this bad. Then again, I do have a vague memory of flames, our house, dry grass, wind, fire engines, and two little 7 year-old twin boys watching their creation in amazement. (Hmm... my mom couldn't come up with any similar situations that I got into, but we've heard LOTS of stories of Jeff & his "covert operations"!)

Thanks for the "well wishes" mom and dad.

Ice Cream & Tasty Cakes

January 20 is my birthday. Since we've been married, I've always requested that Megan make some odd sort of cake. One year I requested an English trifle, then an ice cream cake, and even the most delectable specimen of chocolate decadence from Costco. (He forgot to mention the strawberry rhubarb pie, the tiramisu, the brownies. I am always a little nervous to ask what he wants for his birthday, because I swear he tries to come up with something to torture me.)

This year, I kept it quite simple: a homemade chocolate cake.

Here's what she came up with:

The cake was as delicious as it looks, and the greatest thing was that it was only 100 calories (per bite).

Thanks for making my birthday great!

Retraction Request

I want a retraction on the French Dip post... Jeff made some comments that made it sound like his cooking has perks... and it does, but not the ones he mentioned. The perks for me are a night off of cooking & a belly full of yummy food. Perks for him, he gets to have exactly what he wants to eat for dinner, & a happy wife, because she got the night off! The perks for the kids, yummy food and the chance to see & help Jeff cook. Hopefully Milo will learn some things & be a great husband that take his turn in the kitchen like Jeff.
So don't believe everything Jeff writes, he's not as lucky as he makes himself out to be!

You Can Do It!

Brought to you by Jeff
I'm going to start a new series about all the meals I'm cooking. Specifically, the meals that I'm making, just to show you guys how easy it is to make a great meal. You've seen my other meals here and here, so this series will just add to the mix. So, today's post is about...

Crusted French Dip w/"Pear Glacee" Salad

Guys, the French Dip sandwich is literally one of the easiest "foofy" sandwiches you can make. Add to it this delicious salad, and you're sure to hit a love nerve with your wife. In total, you'll spend about 15-30 minutes cooking. Here's how:

For the French Dip you'll need (makes approx 4):

4 Sandwich rolls (use "artisan" breads you'll find in the bakery section)

1/2 lb. Roast beef sliced

1/2 lb. (2 slices per sandwich) Swiss or provolone cheese

1 package Knorr au jus mix

Start by gathering your sandwich fixings. Turn on the broiler in your oven. Move your cooking rack to the lowest rung (you can leave it higher, but you'll have to watch your bread constantly - it's a hassle). Slice your sandwich rolls lengthwise into halves. Spread the rolls onto a baking sheet, place them into the oven under the broiler. Check on them every 2-3 minutes as you prepare the rest of the meal. The rolls are done when they're lightly brown and crusty.

Prepare your Knorr au jus (pronounce "aah gew") as directed (nothing special - about 5 minutes). After the au jus is ready, add your roast beef slices and stir gently. You're just trying to get the au jus flavor and the roast beef to mesh.

When your rolls are brown, remove them from the oven. Onto one half of the roll, add 2-3 slices of roast beef. Use tongs to remove the roast beef from the au jus - it should be dripping, but not severely wet. Add 1-2 slices of cheese. Move the baking sheet with the sandwich halves back to the oven. You're going to broil your sandwich again until the cheese is slightly brown (about 1-2 minutes).

After your cheese is browned, remove the baking sheet from the oven. Close the empty halve of the roll over the other, plate and serve next to a small bowl of au jus and salad.

For the salad (4 servings) you'll need:

1 bag of spinch salad mix (or other mix)

1 small pear, apple or other fruit

3 tbs. sunflower seeds

1/4 c. feta cheese

1/2 c. Brianna's Poppy Seed Salad Dressing (or your favorite fancy dressing or vinaigrette)

Slice your fruit into small wedges or cubes (about 1/2 inch by 1/2 inch).

Combine salad mix, sunflower seeds, and fruit in a large bowl. Add 1/4 c. crumbled feta cheese, mix evenly. Drizzle on the salad dressing, and mix generously to coat.

If you're looking for some variety (or you don't like sunflower seeds), you can substitute your favorite nut or other seed. You might try toasted walnuts or caramelized pecans (melted butter, brown sugar, pecans mixed over heat).

To save some time, you can prepare the salad ahead and let it sit in the refrigerator, and then add the dressing when you're ready to serve.

Note: as I said before, if you'll fix this simple meal, prepare to hit the love nerve - aka: you're getting some. Clean up the dishes, and watch out!

Entertainment for All

Sometimes it's the simple things that offer the most entertainment...

Who would have thought that a quick trip to the mailbox would turn into this....

And the entertainment lasted a long time.

Surprised by Simplicity

During the Christmas holiday I didn't do much blogging & my reader had over 800 posts. (Lots of those are cooking/craft/decorating blogs, so they are quick to go through.) I finally sat down to the task. I have been reading all the wonderful Christmas posts. It's so fun to see how different everyone does Christmas, some are more simple & some more extravagant. (Does anyone else ever panic on Christmas Eve as you put everything out, thinking you don't have enough... even though it seemed like enough the day before? Well I do!) But Christmas comes & it is usually more than enough! Now there are some things I would like to do different next year, but I'll save that for another post. But as I looked at all the Christmas blog posts I am more than pleased with our Christmas.

I had a theme/goal this year... I wanted simple & NO PLASTIC! I started cleaning out the play room throwing toys out for weeks before Christmas, not knowing what was coming our way from grandparents (I can't control, just suggest, what they send.) Christmas came, I stuck with my simple theme & the only plastic we got for the kids was 2 plastic utensils that came in the pack I got for their kitchen. It felt like a simple Christmas & I loved it! We managed to get lots of my favorite things, books & games!! Hope everyone else had the Christmas they wanted!

Beads

Oooh... I like...

I just have to grab it...

Got it...

They taste as good as I imagined!
(Don't worry, that pencil never got any closer.)

(Can I tell you how in love I am with my squishy little Vivvers!)