lara – Page 59 – Feed Your Kids

Over the Top Part II

A follow-up on Over the Top (Part I)… We celebrated Boy’s birthday last week. Boy requested a video game arcade/laser tag party at a place that does everything necessary for the party (except the cake – something I could NEVER delegate). Since we put so much effort into Girl’s party, with trivia quizzes and cooking … Continue reading “Over the Top Part II”

A follow-up on Over the Top (Part I)…

We celebrated Boy’s birthday last week. Boy requested a video game arcade/laser tag party at a place that does everything necessary for the party (except the cake – something I could NEVER delegate). Since we put so much effort into Girl’s party, with trivia quizzes and cooking and such, I was looking for a way to personalize Boy’s party, something to make him feel like we put as much effort into his party as we did for his sister’s, something to give his party that little something “over the top” that we’ve already established I enjoy.

Well, suffice it to say, I found a solution….

After riding 13 miles in a Humvee limo (from school to the party) with 16 over-excited boys, I was very appreciative that the party destination had a bar.

Boy’s cake was lemon with raspberry-flavored buttercream frosting, decorated with multi-colored fondant stars. Hubby tinted the different colors of fondant and cut out the little stars for me. I think that his fingers have finally lost their orange hue.

Later that evening, at Boy’s favorite restaurant:

Hubby’s birthday is next week and he’s making it very easy on me. To celebrate, he wants to go here to see this. Hubby has a HUGE crush on Milla Jovovich.

Hoisin and Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum…..this was SO good. I found this recipe in my current favorite cookbook (the All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook) and had to give it a try. We love pork tenderloins: they cook quickly, there are no bones to mess with and they can soak up whatever marinade you choose to … Continue reading “Hoisin and Bourbon-Glazed Pork Tenderloin”

Yum Yum Yum Yum Yum…..this was SO good.

I found this recipe in my current favorite cookbook (the All New Complete Cooking Light Cookbook) and had to give it a try. We love pork tenderloins: they cook quickly, there are no bones to mess with and they can soak up whatever marinade you choose to season them with. This recipe is particularly flavorful because it’s smoked on the grill. Hubby took over the meat-cooking duties tonight (and is washing the dishes at the moment – what a sweetie!).

To round out the meal, I served a little sauteed spinach (medium heat, a little olive oil, a sprinkle of Baby Bam, just until the spinach is wilted – Boy’s special request for tonight), some beets, and some skin-on mashed potatoes (boil in chicken stock with a little pressed garlic until fork-tender, mash until still slightly lumpy with a couple tablespoons of butter and a little “glug” of half-and-half). A very nice little meal and pretty simple to put together. If you happen to have any Norton Reserve Malbec around to go with it, that’s even better…

Yet ANOTHER reason why I’d like to move to a high-rise condo downtown…

THIS baby rattlesnake was in our garage last night. But, Hubby took care of it with his heroic “attacking the Hydra stance”. BLECH! OK, yeah… it was tiny, but we’ve heard that the smaller ones have stronger venom. That may be an old wives’ tale, but it sure creeped us out. (Be sure to notice … Continue reading “Yet ANOTHER reason why I’d like to move to a high-rise condo downtown…”

THIS baby rattlesnake was in our garage last night.

But, Hubby took care of it with his heroic “attacking the Hydra stance”. BLECH!
OK, yeah… it was tiny, but we’ve heard that the smaller ones have stronger venom. That may be an old wives’ tale, but it sure creeped us out.
(Be sure to notice the industrial-sized bucket of tile mastic from our half-failed attempt at tiling our own bathroom).

Rangpur gin review

I tried a martini made with Tanqueray Rangpur gin this week. It was really yummy, but a bit too citrus-y for a martini, in my opinion. I think, however, that it’s lime essences would be OUTSTANDING in a gin and tonic. It had a very limited distribution and isn’t even showing up on Tanqueray’s website … Continue reading “Rangpur gin review”

Happy Birthday Staci!

Have a great day and we’re thrilled that you guys are moving back home!

Mexican Vanilla Ice Cream (in a Play & Freeze ball)

Each of the kids had a friend (or a cousin, as the case was for Girl) spend the night a couple of weeks ago and we decided to let the kids make ice cream in our Play & Freeze Ice Cream Ball.

We had used this once before, on vacation, and it was a lot of fun. The recipe that comes with the ball should be discarded – it makes a “soft serve” ice cream that is too soft to be worth all of the effort, in my opinion. I would highly recommend making a custard-type recipe, instead (mine can be found here), because it will make your finished product more like “real” ice cream. Yes, it’s more effort, but you’re already going to the trouble of making homemade ice cream, so you might as well go ahead and make it good, right?

The kids enjoyed using the ball-maker, although they do get a little tired/bored toward the end of the 20 minutes or so of rolling the ball around that is required. It also tends to be a little NOISY – so noisy that just about the time that you’re ready to slice off your own ears with a mandoline to escape from all of the salty ice water rattling around, voila, you have ice cream.

Grilled Chicken Tenders, Buttternut Squash Risotto, Sauteed Spinach

The risotto recipe is from this month’s (Oct 2007) issue of Bon Appetit magazine. It was a HUGE hit with all of us, so I will definitely be doing more risottos this year, as the weather gets cooler. This recipe was really simple, too, very non-intimidating. The butternut squash were from my in-laws farm. In … Continue reading “Grilled Chicken Tenders, Buttternut Squash Risotto, Sauteed Spinach”

In the magazine, the risotto was served with crispy cornmeal-breaded shrimp, but that would NOT have gone over with Hubby or Girl. It’s a shame, because it sounded really good. We’re taking Boy to his favorite restaurant for his birthday on Friday, so he’ll get his seafood “fix” then.

The spinach was just sauteed in a little olive oil until softened and wilted and then sprinkled with a TINY bit of Baby Bam seasoning.

The chicken tenders were marinated in a little BBQ sauce and then grilled and served with more BBQ sauce (not the same as it was marinated in!) on the side.

Actually a very easy/quick dinner – surprisingly so.

I have apparently done something to please the TV programming gods…..

What I’ll be doing tonight: First, some of this: and then, some of this. I’m sure that I will also be doing some of this: (2 oz. of gin, a tiny splash of vermouth and 2 bleu cheese-stuffed olives, in a frosted glass) PS – Has anyone tried “Rangpur” gin yet? If so, let me … Continue reading “I have apparently done something to please the TV programming gods…..”

What I’ll be doing tonight:

First, some of this:

and then, some of this.

I’m sure that I will also be doing some of this:

(2 oz. of gin, a tiny splash of vermouth and 2 bleu cheese-stuffed olives, in a frosted glass)

PS – Has anyone tried “Rangpur” gin yet?
If so, let me know.

Chicken with Cranberry-Port Sauce

This recipe is from September 2003 Cooking Light magazine. Usually, Hubby doesn’t care for “sweet” sauces, but this was a hit with everyone! Instead of using entire chicken breasts, I cut each breast into 3 pieces, for a smaller portion size.

Top Chef Ilan Hall’s Fideos with Saffron Cream Sauce Redux

We loved this recipe so much, that I’ve decided to adapt it again. I guess having the chorizo on hand (for the breakfast tacos) had me thinking “Spanish”. It’s not Romanesco cauliflower season yet, so I substituted asparagus (sauteed in a little garlic and olive oil), instead – peas would be good, too. We are not fans of clams, so I used two shredded chicken breasts (leftover from the rotisserie chicken that I used in the tortilla soup – it’s been stowed in the freezer since then) and the remaining half-link of chorizo left over from the breakfast tacos. I also added a little bit of pimenton (Spanish smoked paprika) to the sauce when I added the saffron. I also baked the dish in a large casserole instead of the individual dishes, just for simplicity. This photo was taken before I sprinkled the parsley on top. Believe it or not, this dish came together in all of 10 minutes. The most time-consuming thing was washing and cutting the asparagus. The chicken and chorizo were already cooked; I had pre-toasted the fideos a couple of days ago when I was working in the kitchen and already had the oven going. Yay – forethought! This is going to be lunch for Hubby and me, but I’m sure we’ll have some leftover for the kids for their lunches tomorrow. We haven’t even eaten it yet, but it sure smells good! I already have something else planned for dinner tonight (stay tuned).