Bee Invasion at the Little Red Schoolhouse

By the time the second graders from Anna's class and another class whose teacher's name I don't know were done squirming on wooden benches listening to a naturalist give very brief history of the Little Red Schoolhouse the sun was out. My group of Anna, girl S and boy J and Lucy's Mom's group of three quickly blazed through the Nature Center and were ready for  hike.

Unfortunately, the gate to Black Oak Trail (aka the long trail)  was locked.  Apparently, road construction occurs in nature as well as on all our highways. So we hiked (aka the kids ran ahead and used their outside voices)  on the White Oak Trail (aka the trail not long enough to tucker out those kids). Sixty kids on two trails on a goregeous almost fall day.  From time to time, I was able to hold their attention with my limited and slighly embellished knowledge of Nature.  Other times I could have used an Advil--or two. Overall, I thought it was a great day for a hike, the kids enjoyed the Little Red Schoolhouse and I made plans to return for  long walk...by myself.

Before getting on the bus to go over to the picnic grove for lunch, we went into the Vistor Center for a pitstop.  A group was crowded around the help desk and one of the teachers was on the phone. A couple of boys had their shirts off, a couple of girls had ice packs.  My first thought was that someone must have fell on the trail and tripped the kids behind them causing a kid/wildlife trail pile up on the White Oak Trail. 

Nope.  A couple of the groups were at a small pond across from the beehives (the white boxy manmade kinds) and the scoop is a little swarm of bees came along and blamo! Parents and kids running willy-nilly swatting screaming and getting stung. Luckily no one was allergic, and all the stingees were troopers.  They dried their tears and everyone got on the buses and we headed over to the picnic for lunch.


The kids were starving, the sun was shining, and the picnic area was shaded.  The kids were skipping with joy.  Everyone sat down to tuck into lunch.  I brought a lunch for Anna and I to share.  We had yogurts and no spoons, carrots, crackers with cheese, and pretzels & cut up apples with caramel sauce.  The kids I was chapareoning had their lunches, J had some pringles and S had a cheese pizza lunchable.  S was just putting together her little pizza and J had eaten 1 pringle when the Bees Attacked!

Fresh on the heels of kids (and parents) getting bee stung--Bees descended everywhere.  You couldn't sit and eat. The poor kids who'd already been stung were crying, Anna was being over-the-top dramatic.  S tried leaving part of he food at the end of the table as an offering for the bees.   J packed his lunch up and ran around with other boys.  We loaded up the buses after a short lunch filled with bee-dodging and headed back to the school.  As Oragami Yoda would say: Comical it was.

Those kids won't forget that field trip.  Neither will the teachers.  Heck the bees might not forgot today for a while.

Emmylicious Cooking Day

For the last 1/2 hour I have been going through old blog posts trying to find my favourite soup recipe: Golden Winter Soup.  There has to be a way to search my blog w/o paging down all the posts right?  Well whatever that is, I don't know it.

So below you will find the recipe.  It's all made right now and so so good.  It's part of my Emmylicious cooking today.  Can you guess what show inspires Golden Winter Soup? 

Right! Game of Thrones.  "Winter is Coming"  for the Starks of Winterfell and Golden for the Lannisters of Casterly Rock!

Next I am making Cabbage Soup, that is a play on the required super thin figures actresses and actors have to keep in order to stay employable.  The recipe I found at all recipes required a bunch of stuff I didn't have like french onion soup mix, tomato juice, but I forged ahead anyway see below.

I also made Cabbage Rolls, why two cabbage dishes?  That is because 2 cabbages were included in our organic food delivery from Timber Creek Farms  !  I have no Emmy tie in for the Cabbage Rolls.  Wait, I am making one up right now. During Prohibition, cabbage rolls were a popular dish.  Boardwalk Empire on HBO is nominated for some Emmys!

Next up I am making Nana's Apple Cake.  Nana's Apple Cake is an ode to Mags Bennett on Justified--cake because I don't have any moonshine on hand to make Apple Pie Shots.

Lastly I am making Bountiful Corn Bread because it calls for creamed corn and I accidently purchased a can of Green Giant Creamed Corn instead of reg. corn when they were on sale last week at Jewel.  Corn bread matches the tone of my formerly fav. show True Blood which was ridiculously corny this season.

Golden Winter Soup

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons butter
• 5 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled butternut squash (about 1 1/2 pounds)
• 2 cups (1/2-inch) cubed peeled russet potato (about 12 ounces)
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• 1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
• 2 cups sliced leek (about 2 medium)
• 4 cups fat-free, less-sodium chicken broth
• 1 cup half-and-half
• 12 ounces baguette, cut into 16 slices
• 3/4 cup (3 ounces) shredded Gruyère cheese
• 3 tablespoons chopped chives
• Freshly ground black pepper (optional)

Preparation

• Preheat broiler.
• Melt butter in a large Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add squash, potato, salt, and pepper to pan; sauté 3 minutes. Add leek; sauté 1 minute. Stir in broth; bring to a boil. Reduce heat, and simmer 20 minutes or until potato is tender, stirring occasionally. Place half of potato mixture in a blender. Remove center piece of blender lid (to allow steam to escape); secure blender lid on blender. Place a clean towel over opening in blender lid (to avoid splatters). Blend until smooth. Pour into a large bowl. Repeat procedure with remaining potato mixture. Stir in half-and-half. Cover and keep warm.
• Arrange bread slices in a single layer on a baking sheet; sprinkle evenly with cheese. Broil bread slices 2 minutes or until golden. Ladle 1 cup soup into each of 8 bowls; top each serving with about 1 teaspoon chives. Serve 2 bread slices with each serving. Garnish with freshly ground black pepper, if desired.
• Wine note: This is one vegetable soup that can easily handle a lighter red wine. Stick with the French theme and look for bargains from Burgundy, like Louis Jadot Pinot Noir 2005 ($20). This wine has pretty red berry fruit, great balance, and gentle tannins that make it ideal for lower-fat dishes. The underlying earthy, leathery flavors bring out the rustic nuances of the potatoes and squash. —Jeffery Lindenmuth

Barbara Kafka, Cooking Light
JANUARY 2008

Original Recipe Yield15 servings

Ingredients

• 5 carrots, chopped
• 3 onions, chopped
• 2 (16 ounce) cans whole peeled tomatoes, with liquid
• 1 large head cabbage, chopped
• 1 (1 ounce) envelope dry onion soup mix
• 1 (15 ounce) can cut green beans, drained
• 2 quarts tomato juice
• 2 green bell peppers, diced
• 10 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 (14 ounce) can beef broth

Directions

1. Place carrots, onions, tomatoes, cabbage, green beans, peppers, and celery in a large pot. Add onion soup mix, tomato juice, beef broth, and enough water to cover vegetables. Simmer until vegetables are tender. May be stored in the refrigerator for several days.

Had one of those A Ha Moments

Of course Oprah has A Ha moments, I on the other hand, have D'Oh moments a la Homer Simpson. This afternoon in the middle of another day of feeling completely awful even after having taken allergy medicine, I thought, maybe I have a cold.  Maybe, my allergies aren't really this bad, maybe, just maybe, I am sick.  Wouldn't be the first time, this happens..usually around the time the kids go back to school. 
Oh Hell, I have a cold.  So now that I have, changed up my self-medication I feel much better. If you like to know about good deals and giveaways, like I do, you have to check out the site "Deal"icious Mom she has the scoop on lots of good stuff!  So I put a link to her page down on my page if you scrooollllll down.

Last night I watched the series premiere of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills.  I don't know if I am going to watch it this season. I find I can't relate to the RHOBH, which is strange because I've always felt that even though their lives were quite different than mine-I could easily relate to the other Real Housewives.  I've been watching the original housewives (Real Housewives of Orange County) since the first show.  I remember Bethanny before she was 'the' Skinny Girl (Real Housewives of New York).  I went on the crazy ride that was New Jersey the first season.  However when it comes to the RHOBH, something is missing. Are they too slick?  Are the other shows better at acting like they are not acting?  I don't know and the promo showing "Coming up this season..." gave me the feeling the RHOBH don't like each other either.  

The man will be super happy though, not suprisingly he doesn't care for any of the real housewives shows and I do have to catch him on a good day if I plan to watch it while he is in the room!

Storage Wars, on the other hand, is a show we can both agree on watching!  Who knew they could make a show about resale shops so interesting.  Everytime we watch it I start dreaming of my shop.

Trinkets & Treasured Tales.

That's my resale shop that also has new and used books and a small coffee shop where I have coffee shop drinks, yummy pastries and light lunch fare. We live either in a house on the same property or above the shop, and we have a great mountain & lake view.

Upgrades on Labor Day

I don't know if you can tell but, on my end here in the post editor, it's a whole new layout.  It's pretty nice.  How was your labor day?  Mine was a bit sucky.  High Weed Pollen.  Kids were pretty cranky too.  Lastly, it was one of those days where Patrick needed help with a project he should have done a couple days ago, so his deadline became mine.  This involved me nagging him to finish the project and lots of explaining why most of his questions I can't help with because they aren't questions about the project they are him asking me to do the project.  *sigh* homework on a holiday stinks!

Tom just got home a bit ago from taking Anna and Bryce with him up to the hospital to see his dad.  I was very suprised to learn that children are allow to visit at the hospital on Sundays and Holidays.  Who knew. 

Basically today was a very ho-hum kind of day.  The highlight of the day was using the new Tastefully Simple Tender Pot Roast Sauce to make a nice pot roast in the slow cooker.  Yum.  Would have been even yummier accompanied with some nice crusty bread and a glass of Merlot!  To bad for me, yesterday I decided to go back to using sparkpeople to track what I eat and so fun stuff like crusty bread is not in the 'calorie budget'.  Boooorrring Right?  I know! Just a funny kind of day. 

I am looking forward to my Tuesday, I'm going to go out and run even if the weed pollen is high and my office is almost back to usable space after serving as a resting area for potential garage sale items all summer!  Woo Hoo!

So what is everyone up to this fine day?

Right, I know if you are in Chicagoland, it did rain, and now it's dark so maybe not so much a fine day.  On the other hand, it's Saturday and many people had the day off.

Around here, we have Anna's friend spending the night and the boys had to spend an agonizing amount of time today w/o media.  I know right?  The horror, I made them read and go outside.  I am terrible. 
Hubs spent the early part of the day golfing and then he went up to the hospital to see his dad for several hours.  Now he is on the phone with his mom.  He is now officially part of that tween generation. What's that you say?  Tween Generation?  That is when you have kiddos at home and you are also dealing with parents as well as working full time. Woe is me, how can I whine about the man when he is working hard to help out his parents.  It's not fair I tell you!

Okay enough with that sad tale. Since I am on a vacation, a self declared vacation, Tom picked up some Wendy's value menu food items for the kiddos and our sleepover guest and we are trying some chinese food tonight.  Something spicy.  Hopefully it is yummy. Today I had Artichoke & Spinach Dip , from Tastefully Simple, with Pretzel Crisps for lunch.  Two thumbs up on that lunch.  I would have had some watermelon, however all our watermelon was gone due to the kiddos! 

So along with the whole "I had to walk 2 miles to school" thing, recently Patrick was  giving me grief about tiny white seeds in watermelon and how that clearly showed that 'seedless' watermelons were not truly seedless.  I shook my head, he has no idea about what a true watermelon eating experience is at all! '

Now the kids are settling down and soon I will tell them to go to bed.  I know the boys are ready for sleep, they were up at the crack of dawn today, but I imagine it is too early to get Anna and her friend to settle in for the night.  Tomorrow I have no specific plans for the day time --wooo hooo!! The man is going to go golf and hopefully he will make it home in time that we will perhaps be able to go to the Naperville Last Fling!

Still waiting on my Chinese Food!

Labor Day Weekend.

Hola. 
Before I start typing my upbeat it's the last blast of summer little bloggy thing, can I complain for one moment?
Great thanks!
You know what is annoying?  Many things true.  Here is something I find annoying.  I've been devoting much time to going thru all the misc. stuff around our house and selling off what we don't use that has value left, swapping boxes of gently used stuff via thredup.com (click this and you'll go there w/my referrer code) as well as boxing up a good 3 cubic yards of misc. stuff for Purple Hearts.  Everyday people who live here, come home to beds that are made, swept floors and laundry that has been put away.  I am sure you can appreciate how lovely that is to come home and see, right?

Ah but what do I get but someone acting a bit huffy about a basket filled with laundry that isn't washed yet.  It's 8pm on Friday night--I'm on my labor day weekend break.

I think I'm going to run with that one. I'm on vaca til Tuesday!  Home Coordination Managers Unite!  We get the weekend off too!

Im done with my whining now--wait, I do have one pretty uncharacteristic thing to say--if you know me you know I highly prefer summer to winter and like to wear flip flops as long as possible.  Nevertheless, this little heat wave we've had around here the past few days has me watching the weather maps and counting down to the  precipitous drop in temps from high 90s to high 60s we have been promised.  Give me that cold snap.  I'll happily throw on a hooodie.  I suppose I would be complaining less about the heat if I had gone ahead and put on the air conditioning....(stop laughing! LOL)

Tomorrow afternoon Al Gore is coming over to give me an award for being super environmentally friendly.  Really, he is...it's because we've been line drying our laundry. And instead of buying new clothes from China for the kids for school, I did swaps via thredup.  And we only have one car instead of 2.  And I gathered up all the unused pencils the kids had all over the house from last year (christmas pencils, halloween pencils, and so on) sharpened those and sent them to school with those.  --funny how being environmentally friendly can be pretty close to the same as being frugal eh? But what has pushed us over the edge from being environmentally friendly to being AWARD Winning Super Environmentally Friendly with the Al Gore seal of approval is our backyard.

Our backyard is home to a very unique Natural Weed Species Refuge and Bug Sanctuary.  How did we achieve this one-of-a-kind landscape feature that balances our suburban aesthetic and forward-thinking?  Well I didn't plant the garden before we went to GA for a couple weeks (back when summer had just begun) because I didn't have anyone to come water while we were gone.  When we got back seemed too hot to start a garden, and the man only mows grass on a very as needed basis, so the garden became filled with native species of many plants AKA weeds.  So there you have it.  We are super green over here.

What's for eats this weekend? I don't know, but the man said something about burgers on the grill and that sounds like a job for me and the Tastefully Simple !!! The rest of the weekend I'll be reading A Dance with Dragons by George R R Martin.

Game of Thrones, Southside Chicago

Anna: ohhh it's hot in here.  It's so hot, it's a heat wave.
Me: It will cool off after tomorrow. What are our words?
Anna: Winter is coming, Go Bears!
Me;  Aye!  Winter is coming.

And speaking of Game of Thrones.  Thanks to the FB group Florish & Botts. for turning me on to this website!

In the Game of Food You Win or You Wash the dishes.... Inn at the Crossroads

Gratitude App

To the side is what I am reading now.  Im in the midst of the second book. 


On my dreadfully slow old iphone (it's 2 years old that's like 200 in cell phone years) I have an app called Gratitude.  The idea is you type 5 things you are grateful for each day and then as a result you are a happier person.  So I do it on and off, more off lately b/c it is taking too long IMO for apps to load on said old phone.

Here is what I have down for today:
1. That the kids are too old for 'The Wiggles"  (This one is a result of hearing an ad on the radio for an upcoming Wiggles show in Chicagoland--so glad the wiggles is no longer part of my daily life!)
2. That our air conditioning works, it wasn't working until about July 10 when Tom was able to get it fixed.
3. Bryce is washing the dishes and I only had to tell him it was his turn to wash them once.
4. Aldi sells a variety of their brand of philly swirl italian ice-y products and they are $1.89 a box
5. We are going swimming in a friends pool today

What's for dinner?
Tom defrosted a skirt steak, so I took in and rubbed it with Tastefully Simple Garlic Pepper Seasoning, Fiesta Party Dip MIx and Roasted Garlic Infused Oil covered it and stuck it in the fridge to be grilled later and then served with corn tortillas, Tastefully Simple Corn & Black Bean Salsa, and corn. Should be delish!

Back from Vacation!

Well we got back on Friday from our trip down to the fantastically goregous and very laid back Lake Chatuge area of Northern Georgia/Western No. Carolina. 

One highlight of the trip was the amazing Shrimp and Grits I had at The Ridges Resort and other highlights would be the kids playing 24 /7 with their cousins. Bryce jumping off a diving board and swimming sans life jacket, the fantastic cooking of my bro, SIL and her awesome mom.

And the big highlight of the trip my brother adopting his step son. Woo Hoo!  Congrats to the whole gang! 

The kids in historic and artsy Berea, KY whilst Tom was on a conference call for work.

I wish this was the view from back yard!

Sunset ahhhh

Patrick and Uncle J at Anna Ruby Falls

A pic of one of the falls at Anna Ruby Falls

Tom make a new friend.

While we were gone Tom's dad was hospitalized and since we've gotten home, Tom has been at the hospital or talking to his dad or his brothers and other family members non-stop.  He is giving his dad a peptalk right now on doing his breathing treatments and concentrating on getting better and getting out of the hospital.  He is a very good son.

Hopefully when he gets off the phone, he'll enjoy a new recipe I found in Real Simple magazine yesterday. It's Spiced Chicken Salad with Plums and Chickpeas  now the recipe calls for Garam masala.  Garam masala is a seasoning blend typically composed of black pepper, cadamon, cumin, nutmeg, etc.  I didn't have any of that on hand but I though it was the perfect time to pull out my Tastefully Simple's Flavors of India Seasoning and it worked really nicely!.

Restaurant.com: 80% Off Certificates ($2 for $25)

Restaurant.com: 80% Off Certificates ($2 for $25)  A link from a blog I follow called the discount queens.

The other day I found a recipe in the Fresh Summertime Fun Booklet from Jewel and I have to say it was quite good.  I splurged on a big package of Fresh Express Tender Ruby Reds Salad which was on sale for $3.99 which seems pricey IMO, but like I said splurge.  Anywho so that was my mixed greens in the recipe below, which was really good.

Tarragon Chicken Salad
Ingredients
1 cup Dannon All Natural Plain Yogurt. 
* I had a coupon for Yoplait Greek Yogurt so I used that and I have to say if you are going to try this recipe, get the greek yogurt.  It rocks and has lots of protein.
1 tsp. dry tarragon, I didn't have dry so I used some fresh minced tarragon like 1 tbsp
1 tbsp Dijon Mustard.  I used Gulden's   yep that's right I had a coupon so the other week I paid 35 cents for it. 
3 cups of cooked diced chicken
2/3 cup mined celery --I had used all the celery a couple days before so I had to skip this ingredient.
2/3 cup scallions--I didn't have any scallions so I sub'd 2 tbsp of dry Onion Onion from Tastefully Simple
1 1/4 cups halved cherry tomatoes
salt and pepper to taste (didn't use)
6 cups of the aforementioned Fresh Express salad.

Directions
1. In a bowl combine yogurt, tarragon and mustard.  Let stand for 10 min. 
2. To the yogurt mix add chix, celery, scallions, tomatoes and seasoning (skip the scallions and seasoning and use Onion Onion I say) to taste. Let stand for 15-20 minutes.
3. Serve over mixed greens.

Super good and healthy.  Pairs well with a glass of Savingnon Blanc (sp?).

***Today Anna took purple eyeshadow and put it all around her right eye.  Said she wanted to make a black eye. 

Me: Why did you  want to make it look like you have a black eye?
Anna: Cause I wanted to.
Me: But why did you want to?
Anna: So Dad would think I had a black eye.
Me: Oh.
Anna: Then he would think the brothers did it and they'd be in big trouble. I like when they get in trouble.
Me: hmmm how to respond.  That's not very nice Anna.
Bryce: Anna that's not very nice.  Now move it's my turn to play the game.

Happy bday to Anna

Its a very exciting day here at the house. Miss Anna is celebrating her 7th bday. I didn't sleep well or much last night so I would like to celebrate her birthday with a long nap, she wants presents and cake---currently I am undecided on cake, I have Dukin Hines devils food cake but I will need to go buy frosting and like I said I am so so tired.

Speaking of sleep and lack thereof, I heard on the radio yesterday that a study was done that showed if the woman in a relationship doesn't get enough sleep there are more quarrels. This just proves, women need there beauty sleep.

Let the summer begin!

Right now I at the local high school gym. The kids are in the lovely cool water having their first real swimming lesson. I am in the stands above the pool sweating. It's about 1000 degrees up here. Wait I just thought of a positive spin... Along with the swim lesson, moms get free sauna treatments. It's like a BOGO deal.

Today it is going to be in the mid 90s with a heat index of 102. What to have for dinner? I'm thinking Smoothies? Or ice cream?

Back to the pool, when the lesson started I could see Bryce was clinging to the instructor (they are in groups of 2-4 kids per instructor (aka High School or college? Student). A mere 25 minutes later Bryce is jumping in the pool.

LEAN CUISINE, Asiago Cheese Tortelloni

LEAN CUISINE, Asiago Cheese Tortelloni Lean Cuisine sent me a coupon for a free meal. I think it was because I had trouble with a promotion they were running for free soft sided lunch bags. Yesterday I redeemed the coupon for one of the new Market Creations. The Market Creations is a single serving meal that comes in a steamable bag that you pop in the microwave. I went with the Asiago Cheese Tortelloni. It was scrumptious. Now Lean Cuisine is my fav frozen low cal meals. and if they keep innovating with stuff like this, I'll def. keep buying. I was really pleased with the flavor of the meal and that the pasta wasn't all mush as can tend to happen with frozen meals. Now I wish I had another to eat for lunch today! Our stove needs a new part so right now it isn't functioning. Given that Im thinking grilling again tonight and frozen veggies for a side. Tomorrow crockpot for sure. Im thinking of making this:

Italian Beef


Submitted by Stephanie Fager (GA)



Ingredients

4 Tbsp. Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning (divided)

1 Tbsp. Onion Onion™

1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™

1 tsp. salt

2-3 lb. beef roast

2 (12 oz.) cans beer

Italian bread or rolls



Directions

Sprinkle 2 Tbsp. Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning and Garlic Garlic™ in bottom of slow cooker. Place beef roast on top. Sprinkle remaining 2 T. Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning, Onion Onion™, and salt on top of beef roast. Pour beer around roast. Cook on high for 4 hours; reduce heat to low and cook an additional 4 hours. Remove roast; cool slightly and shred into pieces; return to slow cooker and simmer on low until ready to serve. Serve on Italian bread or rolls. Makes 8-12 servings.

Shamrock Shuffling

I'm all reshowered and I am ready for the best post race activity. A nap. In fact, I'm too lazy to get up and use the laptop, so I am texting this entry from my phone.

This year the Shamrock Shuffle was the biggest 8K race in the universe. 40k runners waiting to run, rounding up 5 miles. Today is also possibly the warmest 4/10/11 on record.

In a nutshell the race was hot. I don't know how I did timewise, I know it wasn't a PR , but so what. I'm sure the race coordinators are going to hear from many runners because it took a ridiculously long time to get to the start line--almost an hour. We actually were lined up to start by 845, so the H corral waited over an hour to inch up to the start line. That's way too long, especially considering the unseasonably warm weather, twas a mass of dehydrating!

On the plus side, it is a beautiful day. The shirts are super cute this year. Also,
I got to go with some other girls who were running their first Shamrock Shuffle and they did great! Thanks again to Kim P for inviting me!

Now off to my nap. I hope no one here thinks I am cooking lunch, it's my off day!

Friday Friday

Foggy and raining.  I'm not sure what the temperature is, but  let me tell you my idea to break of the flip flops left me will super cold feet.  I sure hope Tom Skilling is right on the money and that temps will rocket up tomorrow and we'll be in the 70s for Saturday and Sunday.

Tonight is the Father Daughter Dance at Anna's school.  She is very excited and here she is practicing her dance moves.  During the holidays, I bought Anna a dress that came with leggings and a pair of black boots. She got lots of use out of the outfit and the boots were her go-to shoe apparel all winter.  The dress and the boots have seens much better days.  Nevertheless that outfit was what Anna was going to wear to the dance.  She even wore it to school.

While she was at school, I went to target to see if I could find a dress she could wear to the dance and this spring and summer along with some shoes that sparkle.  Above is what I found.  The dress was on clearance for $5.18, the leggings on sale for 5 and the flip flops $6.99 the flip flop straps are sparkly rainbow colored.  Anna says I'm the best Mom ever. LOL

Totally Distracted.

All day long I've not been able to focus. I don't know why, I'm feeling very ADD.  Too much caffiene? maybe. Too many kids talking to me at once?  maybe. Lack of Vitamin D? A very distinct possibility.

This morning, when I walked back into the house after the bus picked up Anna.  Yes that was me sporting my bathrobe at the bus stop. The sun fooled me, I thought that my bathrobe would be warm enough, however I was chilly.  Back to me walking back into the  house, the first thing I see is Anna's Illinois Packet.  The packet should be in Anna's backpack to turn in at Daisy Scouts. 

I put the packet on the kitchen counter so that I could bring it with when I pick Anna up from Scouts.  I washed dishes and saw the packet repeating to myself that I was going to bring it with to Daisy Scouts. I walked by the packet as I did laundry, made lunch, and went through the mail.

When it was time to get Anna, I grabbed my jacket and my purse and headed over to the school.  I thought, "Anna will be happy to see I brought her packet and she can get her badge." Parked the car, and opened my purse and looked for the packet.  Looked again and then dug through my purse, it wasn't there.  I forgot the darn thing. Jeez.

Note to self, should have put the packet in my purse, not left it on the counter.

***good stuff in the mail today***
Rec'd some coupons and a book from Paperback Swap.  "Fool Moon"  by Jim Butcher.  It is the second book in his series about the cases taken and solved by Harry Dresden, the only professional wizard listed in the phone book.  Making it extra juicy for me is that Harry lives in my fair city, Chicago.  Also the reader for the audio version is James Marsters aka Spike from "Buffy the Vampire Slayer." Perfect voice for the character.  I listened to the first book so while reading this book, I'll be hearing Spike's voice albeit w/o Spike's English accent.

A Guest Blogger, a young author named Patrick

Patrick wants to have a blog.  So I said he could post on mine.  He wrote a story for school so he is posting it here.  I hope you enjoy it!

Young Cowboy

Hi I'm Sam and this is the story of how I became a cowboy. It was June 1st, the first day of  Summer Break. But not just any Summer Break . This was the Summer Break that would change my life.

It was noon when Black Eye Joe, the meanest outlaw in town was robbing the bank. Someone called the sheriff. The sheriff came running out of his office to fight Black Eye Joe. They fought for hours until Black Eye Joe snuck up behind the sheriff and killed him. He started laughing maniacally and then he went to the jail cells and freed all the outlaws.

Soon the city was filled with danger. The outlaws stole all the money and horses except for the ponies. I told my Dad that the town was crazy dangerous and that we needed someone to fight Black Eye Joe and the outlaws. My Dad said, "I know son, and you're going to be that someone because I'm going to train you how to be a cowboy.You can't fight Black Eye Joe and the outlaws by yourself. Go get your friends and meet me at 7:00."

So I went and brought my friends. Oh and by the way, my friends' names are Patrick, Brenden and Katelyn.  Then at 7:03 we were all at the cave to meet my Dad. I said, "So, Dad, you said you're going to train us how to be cowboys. How's that possible?"
"Well you see son, your Grandpa used to be a cowboy. When I was your age, he taught me how to be a cowboy. Now I'm going to teach you and your friends how to be cowboys. But first you must pick a pony. "

I picked a brown pony. I named him Lightning. Then Patrick picked a white pony. He named him Water Wave. Then Brenden picked a black pony. He named it Lucky. Katelyn picked a white pony. She named it Princess.

After that my Dad taught us how to ride ponies and handle cowboy weapons and the skills all cowboys need. Then he gave each of us a cowboy weapon. I got a gun, Patrick got a lasso, Katelyn got a whip and Brenden, a boomerang.

The next day we all got on our ponies and then we all split up and took down all the outlaws one  by one. The only one left was Black Eye Joe. I was looking for him, but he found me first. He said, "So you're the one who caught all the outlaws."
Then I said, "Yah, so."
Then he said, "Well you're out of luck kid."

Right when he was about to shoot I yelled, "Now!" Katelyn knocked the gun out of his hand with her whip. Then Patrick tied his lasso around his arm and I said, "Looks like you lose."
"Did I?" he said. He grabbed on the lasso, pulling Patrick.  Then he got his knife out and threatened to kill Patrick. That's when I got my gun out and shot his knife. I said, "Now!"
Brenden threw his boomerang at Black Eye Joe knocking him out.

Finally we brought him to jail and saved the town.

THE END

Spring Open House 2morrow

It's the home stretch of Spring Break, or so I've decided that is how I am looking at it.  Tomorrow is my Spring Open House (no fooling) and then saturday is our 12th anniversary.  How are we going to celebrate?  My DH is picking up his nephew (he lives in a group home) and his other nephew and they are coming over here for the evening.  Great way to spend our anniversary, I say with very very little enthusiam, but w/o going over the line into seriously crabby saracasm.  I am very proud of my restraint.

Now back to my open house.  Turns out as I review the recipes for posting below,  I accidently left out a step on my cake lollipop making.  I was supposed to put in the sticks before chilling, not wait until tomorrow.  Hopefully the darn things will stick on the sticks.

Wish me luck. 

Pop Quiz:
Do you think that I realized that April 1st was part of Spring Break when I picked that day for my open house?

Answer: Of course I didn't.  I thought April 1st would be good because Spring Break was in March not April, not realizing that Spring Break started in March but end in April.  Good thing the basement is ready for the children's banishment.

Awesome Pulled Chicken

3lbs boneless chicken
½ bottle Awesome American BBQ Sauce

Add chicken to slow cooker pour BBQ sauce over the top and cook on low for 6-8 hours. Then shred chicken re-mix w/juices and serve on buns.

Honey Teriyaki Bacon Bites
Submitted by Jo Wolanski (NJ)
Ingredients

2 lbs. boneless, skinless, cubed chicken breasts
1 lb. sliced bacon
Honey Teriyaki Sauce

Directions
Wrap each chicken cube with 1/2 slice bacon; slide onto skewers. Brush generously with Honey Teriyaki Sauce; marinate 20 minutes. Grill until golden brown. Makes 4-6 servings.

Tempting Taco Pinwheels
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
Tempting Taco Cheese Ball Mix™
8 oz. softened cream cheese
1/2 cup shredded Cheddar cheese
6 oz. pkg. deli-sliced smoked turkey, diced
6 flour tortillas

Directions
Combine first 3 ingredients; fold in turkey. Divide mixture evenly among tortillas; spread to edges. Roll up tortillas; wrap in plastic wrap. Chill at least 2 hours. Cut into 1-inch slices. Makes 8-10 servings.

Instant Ole Ole Fiesta Dip
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
8 oz. cream cheese
3-4 Tbsp. Olé Olé Fiesta Sauce
3 tbsp sliced green onions
1 Tbsp. sliced black olives

Blue Aztec Chips or tortilla chips
Directions

Place cream cheese on a small serving plat; drizzle with Olé Olé Fiesta Sauce. Sprinkle with tomatoes and olives; serve with Blue Aztec Chips or tortilla chips. Makes 8-10 servings.

Cutie Cake Lollipops
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef
Ingredients

Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™
3/4 cup (1 1/2 sticks) melted butter
1 cup water

16 oz. container cream cheese frosting
Sprinkles or sanding sugar for decorating
1 lb. 4 oz. package white almond bark

60 lollipop sticks

Directions

Preheat oven to 350°. Combine first 3 ingredients; stir to blend. Pour batter into a greased 9x13 baking pan. Bake for 25-35 minutes or until toothpick inserted in center comes out clean and top is nicely browned. Cool completely.

Break pound cake into crumbs with a fork until you have small, uniform crumbs (the smaller the better for smooth lollipops). With a sturdy spoon, stir in 3/4 of the cream cheese frosting; stir until a stiff dough forms.

Roll dough into 1-inch balls; insert a lollipop stick into each ball. Place on a foil-lined baking sheet. Cover; chill 1 hour.

Melt almond bark as directed on package; pour into a small deep bowl. Dip each lollipop into the warm almond bark. Set on wax paper-lined baking sheet. Continue with the remaining lollipops. Decorate each with sprinkles, sanding sugar or a drizzle of melted brown almond bark. Makes about 5 dozen (60) lollipops.

Spring break day 2

Well here I am at PGN, mini golf, arcade & indoor playground. I tried, obviously unsucessfully, to get out of having to come here.

Maybe you are thinking, Victoria don't you enjoy spending time with your children? Of course I do! Well mostly I do. The begging for tokens and French fries I can do without---and the piercing screams of preschoolers not wanting to leave.

It's still too cold outside to believe that Spring is here. I heard the weatherman say no above average temps are in our future for at least the next two weeks. Then I threw out the radio. No not really---did turn it off though.

Just told Patrick I am going to keep track of how many times he tells me he is hungry or asks why we can't get food from here and when he gets to 10 we are leaving. So far the count is 4.

*****
Yesterday I was on thesookieverse.com and saw that Charlaine Harris author of the books I was talking about yesterday, is doing a book tour and found she is coming to Chicagoland. Yippee!!! I'm going to get the new book Dead Reckoning signed! Also saw there is an excerpt of the new book (release date 5/3/11) on the publishers website (penguin) It's the whole chapter 3. Oooo ahhh love it!

Here is Patrick now...I'm ready for whining about nachos...

Cold Cold Spring Break

Alright, I need to take a moment and complain about the weather.  That's what we do here in Chicago. Forecast is in the 30Fs all week. Being that I could spend all winter huddled in bed reading books and sleeping, this weather isn't conducive to me changing out of fleecy pjs.

The children however, need to get out and should have some activities going on during their week break from school.  In retrospect, I should have seen about going down to GA to visit my family.  That would have been fun for the kids and refreshing for me. Temps in N. Georgia this week, well shoot the weather isn't very good there either.  Well back to our Spring Break here.  Since I know how I am about going out doing stuff in the cold, I talked with the kids and planned an activity a day for Mon-Thurs knowing that their nagging would get us out of the house.  Today's activity is a trip to the library--nice free activity. 

What am I reading now?  After re-reading Club Dead over the weekend, I want to dive into re-reading Dead to The World as I go through the Southern Vampire Mystery/Sookie Stackhouse Novels on my personal countdown to book #11, Dead Reckoning which will be out on 5/3.  Nod, yes, you are correct I am way to into the series--and a total Sookie/Eric shipper.  Much to my current dismay, Dead to the World is checked out of my library.  Boo.  Now I have to wait. 

What's for dinner?  I've been meal planning and it should be Garlic Roasted Chicken with mashed potatoes and green breans.  But since we weren't home last night--we didn't have Sunday's dinner of pizza set-ups from S&T's--so it's Pizza Monday.

I've held out as long as I could and now the natives are running around outside yelling and chasing each other, time to head out to the library.

Talk about Mondays

I have been working on having systems and routines to get my life and our household more organized.  So for example, we have a electronics ban from after school until 5pm daily.  The kids come home and we get right to a snack and homework.  Another one was to start a bath or shower) schedule. (Tues, Thurs & Sat) now there is way less drama from Bryce on the horrors of having to take a bath.

I was feeling pretty good about the schedule, feeling like I was on top of things.  Then Patrick walked up the front steps today after school, and he was wearing his Phineas & Ferb PJ bottoms.

Yep that's right.  He went to school wearing his pajama pants because he forgot to change them this morning.  All day in the pj bottoms in the 5th grade.  Oh I feel bad.  I know it's not my fault really, he is quite old enough to manage to put on clothes and go to school. He remembered his lunch and forgot to change his pants.

I still feel bad because I didn't notice this morning! 

Sometimes living in Illinois just blows.

As if the crappy winters weren't enough, and the higher property taxes/lower property values AND the increase on state income tax from 3.5% to 5%...now this...

Hello,


For well over a decade, the Amazon Associates Program has worked with thousands of Illinois residents. Unfortunately, a new state tax law signed by Governor Quinn compels us to terminate this program for Illinois-based participants. It specifically imposes the collection of taxes from consumers on sales by online retailers - including but not limited to those referred by Illinois-based affiliates like you - even if those retailers have no physical presence in the state.


We had opposed this new tax law because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It was supported by national retailing chains, most of which are based outside Illinois, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors. Similar legislation in other states has led to job and income losses, and little, if any, new tax revenue. We deeply regret that its enactment forces this action.




As a result of the new law, contracts with all Illinois affiliates of the Amazon Associates Program will be terminated and those Illinois residents will no longer receive advertising fees for sales referred to Amazon.com, Endless.com, or SmallParts.com. Please be assured that all qualifying advertising fees earned prior to April 15, 2011 will be processed and paid in full in accordance with the regular payment schedule. Based on your account closure date of April 15, 2011, any final payments will be paid by July 1, 2011.



You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of Illinois. If you are not currently a permanent resident of Illinois, or if you are relocating to another state in the near future, you can manage the details of your Associates account here. And if you relocate to another state after April 15, please contact us for reinstatement into the Amazon Associates Program.

To be clear, this development will only impact our ability to continue the Associates Program in Illinois, and will not affect the ability of Illinois residents to purchase online at www.amazon.com from Amazon’s retail business.


We have enjoyed working with you and other Illinois-based participants in the Amazon Associates Program and, if this situation is rectified, would very much welcome the opportunity to re-open our Associates Program to Illinois residents.
Regards,


The Amazon Associates Team

Fat Tuesday

And so today is Fat Tuesday, and around Chicagoland it is all about the paczkis.  Paczkis are not pronounced like it looks.  According to Wikipedia it is pronounced paunch-key. But I've  also hear it pronounced more like punt-key.  In any case, it's big jelly or custard filled doughnuts people eat on Fat Thursday (thurs b/4 lent) or Fat Tuesday (day b/4 Ash Wed.). Cept here in Chicagoland people eat them on both days because, hey who wants to turn down the opportunity to have a nice big filled doughnut, right? 

Personally I've never had one, I don't like filling in my doughnuts.  Instead to celebrate Fat Tuesday, I gave in to my chocolate craving and bought chocolate easter eggs.  Yum.

We have to pick Tom up from the airport tonight, he is on his way home from NYC. Last week when we were talking about him going out of town it seemed like a fine idea to pick him up from the airport vrs. having a cab bring him home.  Now that the time is here, I really don't want to go to the airport, and there is no gas in the car.  So I have to stop and get gas b/4 going to the airport.  Blah.

Am I going to fill the tank up?  Oh no, I can't deal with putting more than $20-25 in the gas tank at a time.  I would cry to see how much it costs to fill it up, at least we get good gas mileage. Still would have been better to encourage Tom to take a cab, it's cold outside.

Pulaski Day

Here in the Chicagoland Area, kids get Casmir Pulaski day off school.  Who is C. Pulaski, he is a polish Revolutionary War hero.  Im sure you can find out more about that on wiki.  So now thanks to a 3-day weekend, all 3 of the kids have declared that they don't want to go back to school. *Sigh* this will make tommorrow morning a bit harder. Even Anna is on the No School Forever bandwagon, which is a suprise b/cause she loves her teacher and wants to be a teacher.  I better go reminder her of that...

And speaking of Anna here is a little something she wrote at school.

I wish it would rain kittens.
I would grab one and take care of it.
I would buy a leash.
I would buy food.
I would take him for a walk.

Too funny I don't know if she thinks people take cats for walks or if she started writing got distracted and switch her thoughts from having a kitten to having a puppy. 

I'm voting for neither.  Too much to clean up around here already.

This recipe popped up on my facebook news feed from Food & Wine Magazine, so I am just about to go make it.  It's a crummy late winter day here, one with gloomy skies and cold temps. This recipe pairs well with this weather. 

Winter-Vegetable Shepherd's Pie
2 lbs baking potatoes (about 4 potatoes) peeled and cut into large pieces
1 1/2 tsp Seasoned Salt
1 cup heavy cream (I  don't have any of that so I will improvise)
6 tbsp butter
2 large onions, sliced
1 tsp Garlic Garlic or 1 clove garlic, minced
4 cups sliced mixed winter vegetables such as celery, turnips, brussel sprouts, parsnips, fennel, cabbage or celery root.
2 carrots, sliced
1/4 tsp dried thyme...I think I am going to put in a wee bit of rosemary.
3 cups chix broth or veggie broth

Directions


1.Put the potatoes in a medium saucepan of salted water. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, and simmer until the potatoes are tender, about 15 minutes. Drain the potatoes and put them back into the saucepan along with 1 teaspoon of the salt and 1/4 teaspoon of the pepper. Mash the potatoes over very low heat, gradually incorporating the cream and 4 tablespoons of the butter. Cover and set aside.
*Like I said I don't have any cream on hand, I'll use some milk.

2.Meanwhile, in a Dutch oven, melt the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter over moderately low heat. Add the onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until golden, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic and cook, stirring, until fragrant, about 1 minute. Stir in the sliced mixed vegetables, carrots, thyme, and the remaining 1/2 teaspoon each of salt and pepper. Mix well.
* I am going to use the Tastefully Simple Roasted Garlic Infused Oil instead of butter to sautee.

3.Stir in the broth and bring to a simmer. Cook over moderate heat, covered, until the vegetables start to soften, 5 to 10 minutes. Uncover, increase the heat to moderately high, and cook until the vegetables are tender and almost no liquid remains in the pan, about 10 minutes longer.

4.Heat the broiler. Transfer the vegetables to a 9-inch pie plate, spread the potatoes over the top, and cook until lightly browned, about 5 minutes.



.

What's new?

Woo hoo, February is over!  Meterogical Spring is here! Okay so it is going snow and ice for the next 10 days or so, but at least February is over.  I saw this on the rightathome.com website and thought it was a good idea, so I wanted to share:

Magically Self-Sorting Socks


When the whole family has socks in the same load of laundry, trying to find matching pairs takes forever. Instead, get each family member a different color mesh laundry bag suitable for the washer and dryer. When socks need laundering, each person places both light and dark socks together in his or her own bag. No need to separate them because when you toss the bags into the washer, an added Shout® Color Catcher® sheet will absorb any dyes in the water. When the socks are dry, return the bags to their original owners for sorting.

___
A mesh laundry bag for socks who would have thought!

*** March 1st is not only the start of Meterological Spring but also the start of the new Tastefully Simple Spring Line !  Tonight I used some of the new products in Chicken Enchiladas.  I took refried beans and mixed them with some of the Simply Southwest Seasoning & Rub (can't wait to try that on grilled chicken!). I added some cooked chicken , diced red bell pepper and onion.  Put that in tortillas, dolloped on the Vine Ripened Salsa and rolled them up for Tom's mozarella topped enchiladas.  For mine I added a couple tbsp of prepared with cream cheese Hoppin Jalapeno & Bacon Dip and then over the top I pour my new favorite Tastefully Simple Sauce the Ole Ole Fiesta Sauce .  Pop that in the oven and 1/2 hour later dinner is served and it's even better than the Enchiladas I could go get from Pepes Restaurant.

Another bonus to Chicken Enchiladas is it's so easy to make plenty for dinner and have enough left over for lunch too.  So that's what for lunch 2morrow.

What's for dinner tomorrow?  I'm not sure yet.

Shamrock Shake Time.

Another sure sign of spring!  Patrick informed me about 10 times before breakfast the other day that he'd heard of their return.  Then everyone wanted to run down to the McDonalds and get a shake stat. Fortunately I was able to remind Bryce and Anna that they don't even like them before we got to the drive-thru.  But wait there is more, we actually got our order right, the Shamrock Shake was plain.

I don't know why McDonalds decided they need to add whipped cream and a cherry on top of their shakes.  Totally overkill.  I bet there is an easy way I could make Shamrock Shakes at home now that I think about it...

Thinking about frosty treats reminds me that in a week, Bryce's Diorama of a Tundra Habitat is due. Ugh I am not a fan of projects that need my assistance to get done.  And the tundra?  Ugh what should it even look like?  A mound of cottonballs is not likely to cut it.

Have kids? Need a smile?

If you have kids and you need a smile, go get the game Just Dance or Just Dance II for Wii.  It is so funny to watch them dance their little butts off.  You know, now that I think about it, it's funny to watch kids of all ages dance their butts off, so if you need a smile get Just Dance today!

Tonight was my Italian Feast & Wine Pairings Open House, thanks to those who came!  And for those who didn't make it...
1. What about hosting your own Tastefully Simple Party?  Fiesta time is coming March 1st!
2. Below is the menu w/recipes for what I made--and it's was all simple and very tasty!
3. Im having a a Fiesta Freebie Friday April 1st.  For this open house I'll have recipes from our Simple Starters recipe booklet, Slush Buckets and Coupon Swapping!



Amy's Amazing Artichoke Mushrooms Paired With Pinot Noir
Submitted by Amy Freund (PA)
Ingredients
1 packet Artichoke & Spinach Warm Dip Mix
1 cup shredded Swiss cheese
8 oz. softened cream cheese
8 oz. jar artichoke hearts, drained and chopped
2 (8 oz.) packages fresh mushrooms, cleaned and stemmed

Directions
Combine first 4 ingredients and mix well. Arrange mushrooms, rounded side down, on greased baking pan. Mound filling in mushrooms, press to compact slightly. Bake mushrooms at 350° until tender and filling begins to brown, about 15-20 minutes. Serve hot. Makes 6-8 servings.

*NOTE: Jewel had a sale on wonton wrappers so since this recipe makes a ton of the filling I made about 2 dozen appetizers w/the filling in wonton wrappers. (baked at 425 for 10min)


Salad:

Panzanella Bread Salad Paired with Pinot Grigio
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef
Ingredients
2 large tomatoes, cut into chunks
3/4 cup chopped cucumber
1/4 cup sliced red onion
6 cups (about 1/2 lb.) day-old crusty peasant-style bread, cut into 1-inch cubes
1/2 cup Balsamic & Basil Dipping Oil
Seasoned Salt
Shredded Parmesan cheese

Directions
Combine first 5 ingredients in a large serving bowl; toss to blend. Season with Seasoned Salt  to taste; garnish with Parmesan cheese. Serve immediately. Makes 6-8 servings.

*NOTE: I had a small head of butter lettuce from my Timber Creek Farms Organics delivery so I put lettuce in the salad.
Entrée:

Baked Pesto Rigatoni paired with Cabernet Sauvignon
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef
Ingredients
1/2 lb. ground beef
3 Tbsp. Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
8 oz. prepared rigatoni pasta
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning
Directions
Brown ground beef in large skillet until no longer pink; drain. Add next 2 ingredients; simmer 20 minutes. Stir prepared hot pasta into hot sauce; pour mixture into a greased casserole dish. Top pasta mixture with shredded cheese and Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning to taste. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese melts and is lightly browned. Makes 2-3 servings.

*NOTE: I doubled this recipe and it makes a TON!

Entrée:

Tuscan Chicken & Artichokes Paired with Sauvignon Blanc
Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef
Ingredients:
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
14.5 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained
Directions:
Combine ingredients in a greased slow cooker. Heat on low 6-8 hours. Serve over angel hair pasta or rice. Makes 4-6 servings

Dessert:

Absolutely Almond Biscotti Paired with Moscato
Submitted by RoxAnn Mannuzza (MN)
Ingredients
Absolutely Almond Pound Cake Mix™
1/2 cup (1 stick) softened butter
2 eggs
1/2 cup white chocolate chips
2 - 3 Tbsp. flour

Directions
Combine AA Cake Mix and butter; blend until crumbly. Add eggs; blend dough with hands if necessary. Stir in white chocolate chips. Knead dough on a floured surface until no longer sticky. Form into two loaves on greased baking sheet; pat dough to 1-inch thickness. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden brown. Cool 15 minutes. Cut into 1/2-inch slices; bake an additional 10 minutes. Cool completely. Makes about 24 biscotti.

Victoria Hamel,

Yourtsconsultant@aol.com

708-598-9415

Looking for a good read?

This weekend I read a fantastic book.  Its one of those books where you find yourself a little sad at the end, not because the ending is sad, but because you are going to miss hanging out with the characters.  The book is set in Chicago and Las Vegas; which is fun for me since Chicago is my town and I've been to Vegas more than a couple times. 

What's the book like? It like a yummy blend of action, history, thriller, and sci fi with just a dash of romance.  To even call it romance is not quite fitting.  If you liked that book, The Davinci Code, you'll love The Thousand because it is like 1000 times better. :-)

Now my friend K and I read Kevin Gulfoile's first book, Cast of Shadows, and honestly we were worried--how would he be able to follow up on his first book.  But he rocked it with this sophmore effort.

I always have trouble thinking up titles for posts

Well, is it just me or has this week been a long week? It has certainly been very cold, does cold weather make the day seem longer?  I know it makes the Nicor Gas bill bigger. The weather experts are hinting at better weather ahead.  I heard the word fifties mentioned.  If it hits the 50s, I think we'll see people breaking out their shorts and sandals!  Not me though, I am in serious need of a pedicure before any sandals can be worn.  My toes are still not the same since the Chicago Marathon back in October.

If you hear the wailing of schoolage children, it's probably mine.  Our Cupboards are bare!  What can they possibly eat for a a snack after school today! Does this happen often at your house?  We *never* have anything to eat here at Casa Hamel.  I'm fairly hopeful they will survive this afternoon since my mom sent us Cheryl's Cookies  the best cookies every.  Ahhh except Girl Scout Cookies of course!  Feel free to contact Anna to find out where GS Cookies are available in your area.

Anna's Auntie K is coming over tomorrow night so I am going to pick up this month's wine from Coopershawk Winery in Orland and then I am going to test an entree for my Italian Feast with Tastefully Simple that is coming up a week from Sunday.

Here is what I will be trying out this Saturday:

Baked Pesto Rigatoni

Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
1/2 lb. ground beef
3 Tbsp. Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
28 oz. can crushed tomatoes
8 oz. prepared rigatoni pasta
8 oz. shredded mozzarella cheese
Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning

Directions

Brown ground beef in large skillet until no longer pink; drain. Add next 2 ingredients; simmer 20 minutes. Stir prepared hot pasta into hot sauce; pour mixture into a greased casserole dish. Top pasta mixture with shredded cheese and Italian Garlic Bread Seasoning to taste. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes or until cheese melts and is lightly browned. Makes 2-3 servings.
 
****Ooooo I think I found my other entree...and it's a slow cooker recipe!...even better!
 
Tuscan Chicken & Artichokes

Submitted by Rosemary (MN) HQ Resident Chef

Ingredients
4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1/3 cup Dried Tomato & Garlic Pesto Mix
28 oz. can crushed or diced tomatoes, undrained
1/2 cup white wine (optional)
14.5 oz. can artichoke hearts, drained

Directions
Combine ingredients in a greased slow cooker. Heat on low 6-8 hours. Serve over angel hair pasta or rice. Makes 4-6 servings

Superbowl Sunday

Snowing today.  So not cool!  Tom is one the phone worrying about his Mom and Dad.  His mom just returned from a 4 day stint at the hospital where she had her gallbladder removed and is now on the phone because she feels Tom dad doesn't feel well.  Yes things are back to usual.

Over here at our Casa I am looking forward to my Italian Feast & Wine Tasting Tastefully Simple Open House in a couple weeks.  This means I have to test recipes.  We don't have any wine for tasting, at present, but I did whip up a nice salad dressing with our Sensational Caesar Veggie Dip. So that will be on the menu.

As far as food here is what I made this afternoon:

I took some ground sirloin and cooked that & drained the oil & made:
1 cup prepared Trader Joe's Organic Quinoa, prepared w/chicken stock

Then in a pan I sauteed 1 thinly sliced shallot, 4 garlic cloves minced, & 1 red bell pepper sliced.  After a couple mintues of cooking I added  2 diced plum tomatoes, 10 leaves of fresh basil chopped--along with the quinoa and ground beef. It needed some flavor so I added 1 tbsp of the TS Garlic Pepper Seasoning and sprinkled some TS Seasoned Salt.

It's a grey dreary cold day outside.  Lucky for me Im not 100% filled with Seasonal Affect Disorder because I had a 2 days shot of dreams of spring and summer tastes at Tastefully Simple on Tour.  All the delicious new products are still underwraps.  I do think it's safe to say that Im looking forward to Fiestas!!!!!!

And  Im so glad that the BLANK and the fBLANK and the awesome BLANK is coming back. It's going to be great.  I can't wait!

How many days til spring?  42 more days ahhhhhhh 6 weeks?  Hmm where is that darn groundhog???

Take 2

Ah ha here it is!  My picture worked!

Blizzard 2011

I was all set to post some pics from the big blizzard yesterday and the day before, but for whatever reason Blogger isn't in the mood for pics.  I'd try and figure out why it's not working but it's 1045 and I'm thinking I'll skip it for now.

It's a funny picture of anna becoming one with snow.  I don't know exactly what she was trying to do.  I think she was diving into the drift like into a wave at the beach.

Right now it's ridiculously cold and we have a ridiculous amount of snow piled all around everywhere, including where the turn lanes are located for most of the roads around here.  All this snow snow snow has me looking very forward to going to the Tastefully Simple On Tour event tomorrow where they will be unveiling the Spring Summer line. You know what that means?  Hours of people talking about Sunshine, Vacation, Grilling and Warmth.

Ah I can't wait.  Now how long til Spring?  6 weeks and 4 days I believe.  Maybe 6 weeks 3 days?  In any case, I'll bask in the imagined glow of Sunshine 2morrow.

Third Monday in January.

Turns out the 3rd Monday in January is also know as the most depressing day of the year.  Shocked? 

Ya me neither.

I had the day off work, so I spent the day cooking and cleaning.  In retrospect, I should have skipped the cleaning and watched Love Actually.  Since watching the Golden Globes last night and seeing Colin Firth win for The King's Speech, Im in the mood for a Colin Firth movie marathon and why not kick it off with Love Actually.  Not only does it feature Colin Firth but also Liam Neeson, Hugh Grant AND Professor Snape. Yes I know, it's very strange that I harbor a crush on Professor Snape.  But there it is.

And then were do we go from Love Actually ?  Pride & Prejudice.  Of course. Probably best to watch that a couple times---and then watch the 2005 version with *sigh* Matthew MacFayden.  Now that would have been a proper way to spend my day off.

On the food side:
For dinner I had salad topped with shredded chicken cooked in the slow cooker yesterday.  I took the chicken breasts and poured Corn & Black Bean Salsa over it and cook it on low all day & then shred the chicken.  Then it is good in enchiladas, tacos or on salad.  So Chicken Slow Cooked with Corn & Black Bean Salsa (from Tastefully Simple, natch.) on top of salad and then I topped it with light ranch dressing mixed with our Pomegrante Chipotle Sauce. You can't beat the smokey chipotle mixed with cook ranch.

Now in the Slow Cooker is a Spicy Seafood Stew. It's my first try on seafood stew, so I'll have to try it and then let you know if it is worth giving it a go!

Know anyone who needs Girl Scout Cookies?  Yes Anna is on a  mission to sell 125. I think she is 1/2 way there....
I've got this Spicy Seafood Stew going in the crockpot, let's see how that turns out

My goal for my day off.

Today I am off work and as such I have one goal.  Not to leave the house.  Well except to walk to the busstop.  Other than that I'm not going anywhere.  Just call me Green, no driving anywhere, no buying anything. Earlier I decided it was a good day for making soup.  Chicken Soup.  I didn't want Chicken Noodle Soup,  just chicken soup with vegetables. So I went over to foodnetwork.com and I search for recipe.  After about 10 minutes, I decided that I was wasting time searching for 'the one.' LOL

Here is what I did:
1 tsp Garlic Infused Oil

2 turnips peeled & chopped
1 cup baby carrots chopped
2 red potatoes peeled & chopped
1 parship peeled & chopped.
1 shallot chopped
1 leek sliced
3 stalks of celery chopped.

8 cups chicken broth
1 boneless chicken breast


Heat the tsp of oil in the bottom of your pot, then add the leeks & shallot saute for 2 minutes then add all other veggies & saute stirring frequently for about 6 minutes.  Add broth & chicken breast and cook on med low for 1/2 hour.  Take out chicken breast & shred it.  Taste & add salt/pepper/paprika to taste. Serve hot in bowls. 

In a different pot I cooked some brown rice.  For dinner I'll put some brown rice in a bowl and pour the soup on top and have Chicken & Rice Soup.

The whole recipe is low fat, low cal, full of lots of veggies.  And you could put noodles in it if you want.  I didn't feel like it today!

Now it is 4:14pm and the kids are downstairs unwinding after a hard day at school by watching some TV.  This is the start of their 4 day weekend.  Did you realized it's just about 2 weeks into the new year already? 

Next thing you know, it will be Spring.  Yep that is what I keep telling myself!

Slow Cooker and What the kids are reading

Yes the boys and I are reading the Strange Case of Origami Yoda.  They love it.  And Patrick is trying unsucessfully to make his own Origami Yoda.

The end of the Jewel-Osco Cookware for a penny with  reward stickers was right around the bend, so Sunday night I went and spent my whole paycheck at Jewel. Well, not really the whole thing, it wasn't as if I was at Whole Foods, but I stocked up and earned enough stickers for my grill pan. 
Since it was a Sunday and I had time to plan my purchases, I got everything needed to make a slew of Slow Cooker Recipes.  Tonight on the menu is Chicken Cacciatore, which is a big fave of 4 of 5 members of our household and honestly, that's as good as it gets.  I should start putting a star on the calendar anytime everyone likes dinner simultaneously.  I splurged on Butoni whole wheat refrigerated linguini noodles for dinner.  I will report back and let you know how that part of the meal goes---since I am too cheap normally to pay for the refrig. pasta.

I have been thinking for a good 2 years about how I would like to put together a Wine Pairing list to go with Tastefully Simple recipes.  To that end, I really need to host a night at my house to practice and to get feedback on what I come up with for the pairings.  Why am I writing that here?  Now I feel more compelled to actually work on getting that together.

Now if you are looking for a good pairing.  Try a nice Charles Shaw Merlot or Coopershawk Shiraz with this recipe from http://www.tastefullysimple.com/web/vhamel

Merlot Beef Stew

Submitted by Dodi Kuehl (WI) Modified by me.

Ingredients

2 lbs. cubed boneless top round steak (or chuck roast,it's cheaper)

1/4 cup flour

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter    Just use a tsp of olive oil to brown the meat.

4 medium peeled, sliced carrots

8 quartered small red potatoes

12 sliced mushrooms

1 chopped medium onion

I'd use a sliced parsnip as well --that's how I roll

1/2 cup Merlot Sauce

2 Tbsp. Bacon Bacon™ Shrug I's skip this and throw in a TBSP of Onion Onion (TM)

1 Tbsp. Garlic Garlic™

4 cups beefbroth

Directions

Coat beef with flour. Melt butter in pan; Put Oil in pan heat up the pan and oil just a little then sauté beef in batches (don’t crowd), add butter as needed. Layer carrots, potatoes, mushrooms, onions and beef in slow cooker. Sprinkle Garlic Garlic™ and Bacon Bacon™ over beef. Combine Merlot Sauce with beef broth, pour over slow cooker ingredients. Cover; cook on low for 8 hours. Makes 6-8 servings.

I was starving and really looking forward to my dinner tonight. I tried out a new recipe a slow cooker corn chowder, a healthy recipe. Much to my complete dismay it wasn't very good at all. Such a bummer. Cold crappy weather and bad food. I would like a redo or a big bowl of Creamy Wild Rice Soup OR wait better yet, a big bowl of chocolate ice cream.

And after my most subpar of dinners, Tom has on Frontline's Haiti documentary , I like interesting TV I'm interested in learning more bout the state of the world-- tonight however I'd rather be read a good Urban Fantasy.

Speaking of Urban fantasy, I have figured out how to reduce the unemployment rate. Encourage employers to offer job sharing. I like to share. I'm happy to give 1/2 my job to anyone who'd like it. I'll even throw in access to health insurance-- I have good coverage thru Toms job.

Please leave a comment or write ur congressman if you'd like to share like me!
;-)

New Year, so well whatcha gonna do?

How was your NYE?  The kids were really rowdy so there was lots of
"Stop it"
"Move Over"
"Can't we watch Nick?"

I guess making the kids watch the consistently really bad TV know as Channel 7 in Chicago's local NYE show, wasn't the best way to keep their attention... Tom I go got plenty of laughs out of the show.

The big excitement of my NYE was pre-ordering Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning, I have been re-reading her Fever Series in anticipation of 5th and Final book...she seems to have off'd one of my favorite male characters at the end of Faefever--she better have figured out how he isn't dead in the final book.

Tom is off at Walgreens looking for discounted holiday merchandise we don't need.  We are going over to his Aunt's house for a New Year party a bit later.  As aways I'll have to say a few times in the car.

"You better eat while we are there, We are not stopping at McDonalds on the way home."  Don't even ask. 

I don't know why I have to say that whenever we go to a party, there has not been a precedence set that we stop at a fast-food drive thru on the way home from family parties or any parties.  Yet somehow, it keeps coming up.

Each year I ask everyone in the family what their resolutions or goals or dreams for the new year are  and here are some for 2011.

Patrick:  Earn a Homework Pass, Go Bowling, Go on Vacation to the Nick Hotel and Participate in my school's talent show.

Bryce: Take a Lego Class at Moraine Valley in the Summer, Go Camping with Cub Scouts, have a cell phone
*that last one ain't happening!

Anna: Take swimming lessons, be rich, go to the beach and take a gymnastics class.  Spend more time with my family and friends.
*LOL like she has a job and doesn't get to spend time with her family.

Tom: Stop Worrying, Exercise more, Avoid white bread, be more positive.
*Id have liked him to put down yell less over trival matters involving the kids.

Me:  I wasn't feeling resolutions last night so all I came up with is, Be caught up on our bills.  Im sure Bank of Evil --errr I mean Bank of America is all for that goal of mine.