Maple Cookies and Candied Bacon, Oh My!

Oh my! may have been your first words after seeing theses pictures. I totally get it. I do. 

Vanilla Chip Maple Cookies from Taste of Home. The first time I made these, I thought they were my favorite candy, maple nut goodies, but in cookie form. The link will take you to the recipe I use but here are a couple of tweaks that I think would elevate this cookie even more. Toast the pecans before adding them to the dough and on top. A toasted pecan is just a gift and would add a bite of crunch. The second tweak would be to add a bit of coffee to the frosting, a la Pioneer Woman's cinnamon rolls. 

The next one with the bacon? Well, friends, this is something worth trying. This is what I call Candied Bacon. I used this recipe. What is happening on the right side of the photo is this- I dipped the candied bacon into melted chocolate. Yes, yes I did. A bunch of us did and none of us are sad about it. (Jessica and I hosted a shower for Danny's bride, Morgan, and served chocolate fondue.) My only advice about the candied bacon is to watch it very carefully towards the end of its baking time otherwise there is a high possibility your neighbors will witness you flying out the front door with a smoking baking sheet in an attempt to keep the smoke alarms silenced.   

(Also, let's do a little tiny handclap because I figured out how to post pictures again!)

Favorites: Podcasts and Their Hosts, Super Bowl Food

Here are some favorites for you this week. 

Podcasts: I love a good podcast. You know I already listen to Another Mother Runner and Trail Runner Nation. Amidst my podcast queue is The Big Boo Cast hosted by two women, Sophie Hudson and Melanie Shankle. Both are from the South and have the most delightful accents. They talk all manners of things: fashion, makeup, crackers and dip, football, furniture, music, etc. It's literally like listening in on their phone conversation. (I linked it to some podcast listing site but I download all my podcasts from iTunes.)

Blogs and Books: Besides their blogs, both Sophie and Melanie have written a couple books each. I wanted to tell you about Sophie's latest "Home is Where My People Are" a couple weeks ago so you could pre-order it but, well, things don't always work out as hoped around here. In any case, whether you did or did not read her first book "A Little Salty to Cut the Sweet" which I shared last March during Spring break and you so need to read it, I believe you will really enjoy her second book as well.

Melanie has written two books and her third will be released soon. "Sparkly Green Earrings "is about mothering. "The Antelope in the Living Room" is about marriage. "Nobody's Cuter Than You" is about friendship. Pick the first two up and pre-order her third and be prepared to share them with your friends. 

Super Bowl Food: As you know the Super Bowl has come and gone. I really enjoy the food that accompanies the game. I inquired of my Facebook friends what they were eating and the most common answer was wings. Nice choice, friends. Here at the Ward household we went with burgers. The kids always like burgers and they really like it went I make them into sliders, too. I leave the burgers pretty plain as far as construction goes. Then I fancy them all up with toppings. I draw on Ree for slider inspiration. While searching for tomato toppings I found one using sun-dried tomatoes and cooking them down into a tomato jam. Oh yeah! A great way to use up those tomatoes I preserved last summer. (Also, I am really digging Foodie with Family's blog. Her food is solid, the recipes are right on and her writing is real and entertaining.) An avocado basil dressing, caramelized onions and caramelized mushrooms finished off my burgers. I nestled in some potato wedges, too.

I'm going to call it good today, friends. There are so many links today that I'm going a little nuts. 

Can you spare a minute to tell me what you do about Super Bowl food? It seems that I feel the need every year to make something new. Every year I love coming up with something new just for the party. Do you do that also? What recipe won your Super Bowl party this year? 

Last year it was these Tator Tot Nachos Supreme. 

I just made a Super Bowl Party Food board on Pinterest.

I'll stop now.

Don't forget to leave a comment.

Bye. 

Favorites

Here are some favorite things in my life lately. Foods I've tried, things I've listened to and recommend, books I've read, or just plain I really like these. Hope you enjoy this new (and hopefully here to stay) series.

Candied Jalapeños -In my Instagram feed this past summer someone posted a recipe for pimento cheese spread and topped it with candied jalapeños. It took me a while to save up enough jalapeños from my garden to make a half batch but I did. Oh my! I'm equal parts happy I made them and sad that I only made half a batch. We only have one jar (1/2 pint) left! This next year I will definitely put in more jalapeños plants. Put them on a cracker with a slice of cheese or the aforementioned pimento cheese spread. Pile 'em on a burger. I'm drooling just thinking about them.

More Run Hoodie- Ha! The moment popped up in my Instagram feed, I gasped out loud and told Bill I wanted it for Christmas. I put it on my Pinterest board, got him signed up for Pinterest, and maybe even sent him the link for it directly. You know that fine line between here's what I'd like to see under the tree, hint*hint*hint, and here's what I know will be under the tree? I think I crossed it. Especially when I picked up the mail and I grabbed package with a big return address label emblazoned with Run Pretty Far on it. Not sad at all.   

Crock Pot Maple Dijon Pork Chops -Who cares how I found these? These are delicious. And very easy. You can brown the chops and soften the onion on the stove first (I do) but you don't have to. (That's a major pet peeve of mine- here cook all of this food on the stove first and then throw it in the slow cooker. People, the point of a slow cooker is to do the work for you.) Make some sweet potatoes, green beans, or another veggie to pile on your plate and watch it all disappear. It does every time at my house.

Cornerstone Church's teaching series online -We've been asked if we miss church with our bike racing and the answer is yes, we miss church. When we first started racing, there was a Saturday night service but currently there is not. However, we can still hear the messages online or through the app on your phone, which is how I listen to them. There are over 30 message series online alone. Maybe you'd like to read through a book of the Bible but would like some guidance along the way. Or you need to fill your ears and mind and heart with more Truth, try these, please. 

Green Smoothies -A long time ago, I posted that I would try a kale and avocado smoothie. Then I reported back that it didn't go so well. Since then, I added spinach to quite a few smoothies but always laced it with berries. Then I came across these three and collected the ingredients to try them. Here's my take on them.

1. Green Protein Power- tangerines, spinach, pineapple, cashews, chia seeds, flaxseed oil. I didn't juice the tangerines separately, just threw them in whole. The rest went as directed. I couldn't place the taste as one particular thing but the smoothie was good. There was a little texture to it due to the cashews but it wasn't crunchy or disturbing. I will make it again.

2. Ultimate Green Smoothie- avocado, banana, parsley. To an average smoothie drinker, this list is weird. But the taste is great! It's creamy and bright flavored. I've made it twice just to make sure I liked it.

3. Sour Apple- Grape Crush- spinach, Granny Smith apple, green grapes, flaxseed oil. Maybe if I had a high-powered blender the texture could be improved since there is a lot going on but I don't. The taste is off-putting at first then grows on you, kind of like a sour candy. It's not bad but it's not for me. However, you might like it.

So there ya go. I'll try to keep the list a good mix (not all food). Let me know what you think of this new series and what you're curious about. Also, what are some of your favorites?

  

  

Sun-Dried Tomatoes

Were you wondering how long it would take for me to write about food again? Wonder no more, friends. Today we talk sun-dried tomatoes. Except the tomatoes aren't dried in the sun. Today we talk candied tomatoes. Yet again, they aren't candied exactly.

Today we talk about tomatoes that are oven roasted and preserved in the fridge/freezer with a covering of olive oil.

Well, I'm making a mess of this whole thing.

Here ya go. Head to Anastasia's blog and read about how to make your own sun-dried tomatoes. 

I made a batch a couple weeks ago and it really can't be easier. Easier than writing this post, at least. I froze most of the tomatoes and left a jar in the fridge to use right away.

Last night I made Chicken with Sun-Dried Tomato and Basil sauce for supper. Bill commented that it was a nice, lighter version of chicken alfredo. While technically not true, he was right in essence. It is a lighter sauce with bright flavors. I would maybe add a pinch of salt to pop the flavor a bit more. 

Here's the thing. I sort of got to the point in the last couple of years where I felt like sun-dried tomato had been over-used. Every thing I tried didn't end up tasting nearly as spectacular as my taste buds were prepared to receive. After munching a few plain one right off the pan and then in the chicken dish, I'm ready to give them a try again.

I rounded up a few recipes I thought I might try out in the future.

Sun-Dried Tomato and Mozzarella Quinoa Burgers
If my family caught me trying to pass this off as an actual burger, I would be hanged. I will call them patties, instead. Also, I will use two eggs and not one and a half and leave out the chives.

Sun-Dried Tomato Jam and Whipped Feta Crostini
I think you just drooled a little bit there. Bill and I have had some sort of tomato jam/compote at our favorite restaurant, The Cafe, and now I'm think I pretty much must make this for us. Only change I can see with this one is skipping the fat-free part, unless it comes naturally fat-free.

What would you toss these tomatoes into? Pile them on a sandwich? Blend them with mayo and fold into a kitchen sink kind of pasta salad? 

Enjoy!

A Rungry Salad/Sandwich

Hey, I didn't give up blogging for Lent, although it seems like it. Thanks for checking in and reading whatever and whenever I throw things on here. 

A what kind of salad? A rungry. It means I'm hungry after running. Even spell check doesn't like the word. 

Let's get to the salad and you don't have to be hungry from running to enjoy it.

Through Pinterest, I came across a pin of a hummus sandwich that looked great. I acquired all the ingredients listed, assembled it and promptly ate it too fast. 

I knew this was a keeper but now I had a little problem, namely my girl, Audrey. She loves red pepper hummus, which is what I use instead of regular, and Granny Smith apples. Okay, she's not really a problem.

Today, I made a one slice version of the sandwich because I had only one slice of bread left. However, when I got to the last bite of it, again much too quickly, I wanted more. And right then and there, I had a brilliant idea- make it into a salad! I didn't really want the bread anyway.

Here's my take on the hummus sandwich heaven recipe

• spinach or kale torn into salad bites
• cheese in salad bites- I used pepper jack and give that option a thumbs up
• other veggies: cucumber, peppers, whatever you want just make them salad sized
• Granny Smith apple cut up- only used a quarter of an apple
• dried cranberries
• hummus- again, I use red pepper hummus- as your dressing

I go in salad spurts. Sometimes I love them and can eat one every day. Other times, I'm not so in love. Like I've said before, sometimes I need the lure of something tasty at the end of my run to get me through my run. This just may be the next new thing. 

Two New Cookies, Three Recipes

Some things never change about college kids. I'm not going to go into a full discourse but I will tell you that 1. They always think your kids are cute and fun. 2. They crave being in a real home (even if they live in an apartment). 3. They love homemade food. 

I had a breakthrough myself. I didn't make any new recipes to try out on them! This probably isn't something you consider blog-worthy and it kind of isn't except in my case. I almost always make something that I've never made before when having people over. Its kind of a big deal in my recipe world. 

Hang on, before you yawn and turn away, I'll share with you what I did make.  

I made one of those cookies pictures above… and another one.
But I thought you said…

It's getting complicated here.

I made chocolate chip cookies and chocolate peanut butter cookies for the girls. Both of which were not first timers for me. But in the picture above, which I made for high school small group leaders, it was a first time for each of those.

Follow?

Sorry.

All of the following recipes are from Annie's Eats. 

White Chocolate Chunk Macadamia Nut Cookies- I used regular white chocolate chips. I didn't use any coconut flavoring but I think it would taste awesome with it added. These tasted good the first day but the flavors really melded together nicely the second day.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup Cookies- I have been craving chocolate peanut butter cups lately. This is not my norm. But this recipe looked so yummy and as it turns out, really is yummy so I made it again. 

Thick and Chewy Chocolate Chip Cookies- Ben is okay with me occasionally making a different kind of cookie but if I stray too long away from a plain chocolate chip cookie, he gets grumpy. These cookies don't disappoint. 


As a testament of the yumminess of these cookies, the girls took home extras for the ones who couldn't make it or themselves. I hope you enjoy these too! 

Keeping Fresh Ginger

Yesterday I did my victory lap of "everyone is better and we're back to our routine"! It feels so good.

I also shared the recipe for Tom Kha Gai soup and mentioned that it is easy to keep the main ingredients on hand. If you've ever purchased fresh ginger and had it go bad fairly quickly, you may be wondering about my statement about keeping it on hand. 

Wonder no more, my friends! Here's how to always have fresh ginger. (You want to always have fresh ginger. It is so yummy!)

This is a small knob of fresh ginger. It's all that I had left before deciding to take these pictures.

Scrape the skin off with the edge of a spoon. Can you see the flesh?

Place a piece of plastic wrap on the counter or draped over a container and grate the ginger finely. I don't have a microplane grater and this works just as well for me. The idea is that you want to keep the pulp and the juices.

Roll up the plastic wrap, smooshing all the pulp and juices together into a cylinder. Twist the ends, place in a plastic bag and freeze.

Now you have fresh ginger all the time, just cut off however much you need.

At a loss for what you might use fresh ginger in? 

Try this Citrus Ginger smoothie. 

For supper try Chicken and Vegetable Lo Mein (It calls for shiitake mushrooms but I use regular mushrooms). 

I'll stop now. What about you? What do you love to use fresh ginger in? 

Home Alone with Soup

I am home alone today.
I will be from 8:00 am to 3:00 pm.
This is the first day in 10 days.

We have had a round or two of the flu/cold here. It's been mainly settling on the kids. Luke started things up at 3:30 am Sunday morning. Then, Ben got hit with it. I tell you, I have never seen a kid actually turn green before until Sunday night. He came upstairs to tell me he didn't feel well and well… we soon knew he didn't feel well. It took him all week to recover. On Tuesday, Luke was back to school but Audrey stayed home along with Ben. The day started out with both of them in bed. Then they moved out to the family room. One in the bean bag and the other on the couch. When I checked on them again, they had switched places. And another check had them back to their original spots. Luke was very concerned about his sick siblings (that he infected). 

Bill and I didn't get sick, amazingly. I did have a day where I had that ominous feeling and so promptly settled myself down to rest but no yakety-yak. Thank goodness.

Meal times consisted of toast, applesauce and ramen noodles. For all three meals. I had practically forgotten how to cook. 

But by day 4 with Ben I was looking for ways to just get his stomach to settle down. I had come across a soup recipe that I decided to try on him because it was yummy and had more nutritional value than noodles alone. 

It's Tom Kha Gai or Thai Coconut Soup. 

It's very easy to keep all the main ingredients on hand and super easy to make. It might seem spicy but I don't think it is. The flavor is subtle and the broth is creamy yet light, so easy on the stomach. 

I'm a fan, obviously. Ben is not quite. Of course, he really only loves chicken noodle as far as soups go. I made that Sunday night and now he's better and off to school. Audrey came home early yesterday because she needed to get ahead of a cold but she's in school today.

I'm home alone today.
Did I mention that?

I think I'll have some leftover soup. 

Meal Planning

Recently a friend asked me if I planned meals and I was happy to enthusiastically tell her I did. I relayed this story to her:

I was sitting at the counter one evening either working painfully slowly or lamenting about working on it or procrastinating altogether about my meal planning when it occurred to me that this should not be an issue in my life. I have been cooking/baking/providing meals every day for 18+ years. Sitting here with this kind of attitude wasn't doing me any good. That thought cut all my excuses to the quick and I decided to put a stop to it once and for all. 

So here are the tools I use and how I meal plan.

First off, figure out what to have for supper tonight. Make sure that is taken care of. I mean, stop reading this right now and go figure it out if you have to. This idea is from FlyLady.

Second, print off the Dinner Menu from Paperworks or assemble some writing material for planning for about a month.

Third, look at your activity calendar. Its important to note what days you might need specific meals or types of meals. Since Thursday is both basketball practice and speech, having Parmesan Chicken Strips that I hand bread isn't going to work. I want a casserole that can be ready to go or reheated once the late stragglers come in. 

Fourth, start writing in meals. Write specifically and as much as you need. Don't think you will remember where that recipe is located when you get to it two weeks later- example: honey glazed pork chops/Nourished app, etc. Go about it any way you want but write it out and do it fast. Fill in as many meals as you can right then. Later you can fill in the blanks. Don't over think it. You can do this!

My rating system: a star means definitely make again, a bullet points means maybe, an x means never again (and I get rid of the recipe)

Fifth, assemble your shopping list. Use whatever you want for that. On a very rare occasion do I write out my shopping list. When I do, its because I'm planning something bigger, like family coming for an extended stay with many meals or my brain just isn't clicking and I've got to write it out. However, I always use ZipList for my final go to the store list.

I'm quite excited about ZipList! 
It's an app that functions as a recipe box and a grocery list maker (You can also add other lists, too.) so you have it with you always.
It's a recipe clipper that you can tag and organize. This is an online function in which it will capture the recipe on the webpage you are on, make the ingredient list for you and allows you to decide what you need to purchase.
These two functions sync between each other.

Confused? Don't be. Go to Ziplist.com, create an account and add the recipe clipper to your toolbar (like the Pin It button for Pinterest). Also download the free app to your smartphone and get those synced. Now visit a webpage with a recipe you want to make. Hit the Recipe Clipper button and a box should pop up with the recipe in it and usually (but not always) a picture. From there you can tag the recipe- chicken, oven baked, etc.- whatever tags you want to use. Or add the recipe to the calendar feature it has if you want.) Or add ingredients to your shopping list. It will split out what you might need and what you might already have but no matter you can add what you need from whichever list.
Clipping the recipe allows a couple of things to happen more easily. You have not only the ingredient list/shopping list with you, you also have the recipe with you. I've found this to be handy on several occasions when traveling or when I need refreshing with how that recipe is made. Also, with the tags you can pull up, say, only crock-pot recipes for better meal planning. 

Sixth, go shopping. Sometimes I will shop for only a week's worth of meals at a time, sometimes I will shop for meals for everything I have planned. (I almost never plan an entire month at a time.) I generally go to the grocery store once a week because of fresh produce since that is always gone first and I only have so much fridge space for it.

This isn't a post on how to save money on groceries. It's how to plan for feeding yourself or your family every day and not let it stress you. Sort of like my training plans where I don't want to think, I just want to run and get it done, it's the same with meals. I can't let it consume more of my time and energy then it should. 

A few last tips

• Make sure to plan "normal food" at least once a week. "Normal food" is Ben's way of saying "Please make regular spaghetti and not only Mexican Beef with Spaghetti Squash." My kids are good sports and I think stretching their taste buds is a good thing but I have more willing kids when I keep "normal food" in regular rotation.
• Clean out your fridge. Starting with the condiments and only one shelf at a time, take them all out. First check the expiration date. Toss if it's past. {gross} Wipe the shelf out and put the rest back. Keep the jellies together, the salad dressings together, etc. Do the same for the main compartment. Unless it's a leftover that you will eat for lunch or that is supper tonight- toss it! Wipe the shelf off and move on. Top to bottom. Set a timer for 15 minutes and see what you can get done. 
• Do the same for your freezer. Wrap properly and label it well. Toss unkept/unmarked/freezer burned/suspicious looking items. I did this last week and it took me less than a half hour total even though I split up the fridge and freezer work into two separate times. 
• Make a list of what is in your freezer and meal plan off of those items. If you know what you have then you'll use it. It's also budget friendly.
• Do the same for your pantry/cabinet items sometime. (Do fridge/freezer first)
• "It's leftover night, honey. What do you want? We've got steak, chicken, pasta…" The Incredibles movie is maybe my favorite Pixar movie. Leftovers. First off, make sure you leave a meal for them- maybe Sunday night or Saturday lunch or even lunch the next day. Then make the leftovers consumer friendly. Store them properly. In containers. With lids. And labels. Eat them (within a week or less) or toss them. Nothing gets pushed to the back of the fridge without you knowing it. Plan for them. Make a giant pot roast for a meal then shred the meat for something else you plan to eat in the next day or so or freeze it (add it to the freezer list).  

I'm obviously a list/planner girl. I really can't imagine how some function without either. Even so, I have to let that not overrun me. The point isn't the planning and the lists. The point is caring for my family. You can do this!

Alrighty, I'm wordy and bossy today. I don't mean to be. Now it's your turn. What works for meal planning for you? And, what are you eating tonight?

Brussel Sprouts, Cheese, Cinnamon Rolls, Scotch Eggs or Food On My Phone

It's a hodge podge this week for What 2 Eat. These are foods that I felt strong enough about to take pictures of so that explains for the oddity of the collection.

First off, this cheese: Cheddar Cheese with Cracked Black Pepper. It's pretty good, if you ask me. I love a good cracked black pepper anything and this cheese holds it own. Best of all, you can find it at Aldi. Here's a little secret: Right now, Aldi has a bombdiggity selection of cheese. You don't need to make a trip to Trader Joe's for cheese for that upcoming wine and cheese party. You can swing by Aldi. You will be pleasantly surprised. FYI: bring a quarter and your own grocery sacks. If you happen to have any Trader Joe sacks definitely make sure you bring them because TJ's and A are related (the founders were brothers!). 

And then I made brussels sprouts again this year. 

I am the only one in my family who is in any remote way even slightly happen that the b sprouts are back in season. I am kind of deliriously happy they are available right now.

My friend, Laura, has a cooking blog, The Kitchen Tutor, and she takes you step by step through her recipe of brussels sprouts. My recipe is in the comments of her post. 

Yesterday I promised you the story of what I brought for Thanksgiving dinner. Well, I told Jessica that I would bring a wild rice and broccoli casserole and rolls. I have to bring the rolls. My kids will not eat a celebratory meal without the rolls. I'm also known as the bread person in my family. I bring the bread. I've got the bread touch. Except for this Thanksgiving.

I decided I would use The Pioneer Woman's basic dough recipe for the dinner rolls this year instead of my tried and trusted Betty Crocker Traditional Roll recipe (except I always add more butter to the dough). I've mentioned before how PW's cinnamon roll recipe baffles me but I still use it because it works. I was skeptical that it was going to make an equally delicious dinner roll but since I'm a pretty good judge of recipes, I went ahead and made a batch and a half. I got a little mixed up with my baking soda and baking powder and let out a yell that Halena heard while laying down her kids but I wasn't worried about the dough. This dough is so resilient it'll be fine, I thought, and I popped it into the fridge for overnight. Early the next morning before I left for my run, I pulled it out to start warming up. I was a bit concerned because it seemed to be in pretty much the same state as when I placed it in the fridge but decided I'd let the yeast work it's magic while I was gone.
Six miles later and some considerable time in front of a warm over, both the dough and me, I concluded that this dough wasn't going to be transformed anytime soon. I pulled Betty C. down from the shelf, turned to page 58 and made her Traditional Dinner Rolls with more butter and chopped rosemary and sea salt sprinkled on top. Make them and your kids will not eat a celebratory meal without them either.

I knew what happened to my PW recipe. I killed the yeast by mixing in the too hot milk too soon. I knew I couldn't solve this 13 cups of flour dough blob problem right away so I just let it sit on my counter for two days until I decided to see if I had killed it all the way or only seriously maimed it. Aha! It was slightly alive and needed just a little bit of time to let the lone surviving yeasts to come out from hiding and work through the dough. So then I made cinnamon rolls.   

As I mentioned, I also made a wild rice and broccoli casserole. I prepped all the ingredients the night before because it's not a good recipe to assemble all the way and bake the next day. While I was cooking and assembling the next morning, I realized this was going to taste like broccoli and wild rice soup only in casserole form and was pretty excited about it. 
I learned a couple things about this particular recipe that I'll share with you. Starting with two cups of uncooked wild rice is a lot of rice. It's also quite expensive as far as rice goes. I only used about half of my cooked rice in actual assembly because I knew it would be too much rice. (I froze the other half for another time.) Second, the amount of sauce or gravy or roux or whatever you want to call it is not enough for this particular amount of rice (the full amount or halved), I feel. I was expecting more of a saucy casserole and it wasn't all that saucy. If I had used all the rice, it would have been too dry. Finally, and this is really my own preference, I do not care for Panko crumbs. I've tried them before on a couple of other dishes and they fall flat in terms of taste and crunchiness for me. I can't recommend a better substitute for this recipe at this time but if you don't have Panko you don't need to panic-o.
Of course I brought home leftovers. It's Thanksgiving! But I knew, however, that this was going to be a hard sell on leftover night and wondered if I could revive it in a new form. This was, after all, broccoli and wild rice soup in casserole form. So I scraped as much of the crumb topping off that I could, scooped a bunch into a pot and added chicken stock until I felt I had the right proportion of casserole to broth to make a soup and heated it through, seasoning it with more salt and pepper. Right at the end I added in some cream, heated that until warm and served it up. Guess what my family said? It was better as soup than as casserole!

Lastly, here are Scotch eggs. Scotch eggs are hard boiled eggs with sausage wrapped around them then fried and served either warm or cold. Accompanying them is a mustard that will clear your sinuses out mighty quick but is so good. Bill and I tried them at The Mucky Duck Pub in Ames.   

Now tell me, have you ever saved a food from disaster? What's your favorite double take recipe? Do you want some cinnamon rolls? 

Hopped Up On Halloween

A brief recap of our Halloween festivities...

We took those apples and dunked them in caramel and covered them with all sorts of goodies. It was the kids' mission to stick as much stuff as they could onto one caramel apple.

A and L spent the night and the next morning their mom painted their faces for the party at daycare. I could not get a good picture of them. Once these two are awake, they are awake and going. This morning they were awake and excited. They bounced around like they were hopped up on candy already (which wasn't possible because it was 6:30 in the morning.)

The rest of our day was no less exciting. I took Audrey to see Wicked at the Civic Center. Let this be stated for the record that this is my favorite musical. Nothing will replace The Sound of Music, the movie, for its role in my life but Wicked… Wicked is like nothing else. I was so happy to be able to take Audrey. Musicals speak to our souls.

Our ninja boy dashed from house to house. 

Homeboy, Ben, wanted to skip out on the treating this year and do the tricking. He and his masked buddy, Brady, passed out the candy in all sorts of manners. Lil' sis, Mya, joined in later on. 

Now my counter is covered in candy and carmel apples. Help!

Cinnamon Pull Apart Bread and Marshmallows

I want to write something deep about some things that have been stirring in my soul for a while. About some things that I have wrestled with and have rocked my world once I started taking hold of them. That kind of writing is going to require me to sit and sit and think and tap out and backspace and walk away and come back and down a cup of coffee. Sort of like the scene in You've Got Mail when Tom Hanks is working on the perfect reply to Meg Ryan as to why he stood her up the night before. Except I'm hoping my would be deeper than that.

That kind of writing, however, is not going to happen tonight and I'll tell you why.

It is Thursday night. I have had ten minutes to sit at my computer and somehow that is just long enough to convince myself I can tap out a quick blog post. I remember daily I have a blog and also that I haven't written anything, so if you think I've forgotten, I haven't. Today has been my calmest day of the week. I think. I had Bible study this morning. Bible study now involves me picking up Mama B and Baby K and taking them to church so Mama B can work in the nursery for two hours. She calls it one of her jobs. (Including this one, she now has three. All three occur during the day hours although if you ask her about one shift of one day, she calls it the night shift because she works starting past noon.) Chaos surrounds her. She gets in the car and dumps. I don't know why. Is it because I'm the first outside person she can talk to? Is it because that's what a person so lost in themselves does, not once thinking of me and wondering how I'm doing? I don't know. It's not my decision to make. But I do secretly cry out about the chaos that surrounds her. It makes me laugh out loud sometimes at how ridiculous it all is and yet she can't/won't or is somehow unable to escape it, save for Christ. So I share with her the gospel over and over. She needs Jesus. From where I sit, He is what she needs. So I pray even more and I beg you to continue to pray.

Later on I mop the floor. This is nothing compared to someone knowing Jesus and the God math should always win out but for some unknown reason, I was granted an entire afternoon home, alone, with me and my mop. If I die tomorrow, please know I went out with a semi-clean floor. It's how happy I feel about being able to mop my floor. 

On Wednesday I let Ben sleep in because he had an orthodontist appointment in the middle of the morning. In fact, he skipped school altogether because it was an early out. He was very happy about that. We instead filled our time after the appointment with a little bit of clothes shopping (in a sports store, so he mostly didn't die), grabbing a cup of coffee for me and a big cookie for him and then buying him a hermit crab. It's his third one. After doing a little bit of reading, Ben thinks the first two croaked because we didn't give them enough space to be a hermit crab. I have no idea but now I need to find a 10 gallon tank because that's apparently enough room for one. On the ortho note, Ben will eventually have to have braces as he has an overbite that keeps getting worse instead of better. The good thing is that Bill is very involved in Ben's orthodontics. He gets up from his chair and asks all the questions. Ben is second generation braces on Bill's side.

I don't remember much of Tuesday. I think I did stuff during the day. Like maybe start laundry, which was finally all folded and put away today (so again, if I go, know that Bill has enough undershorts to get him through a week but then someone help out and do a load or two please). Oh, yes, Tuesday. I asked Bill out for a lunch date. We ate at House of Chen. I ordered the Chicken Pad Thai and the Hot and Sour Soup. He got the Honey Shrimp and the Egg Drop Soup. 

It's my week to drive the youngest kids in our little carpool to their school. The drive takes about ten minutes. Four boys: 1 early kindergartener, 1 kindergartener, 2 second graders. The drive is somethin' else, I tell ya. Here's the conversation I overheard Tuesday morning. 

LW: "My mom made cinnamon pull apart bread yesterday."LH: "Actually, all bread can be pulled apart."DH: "Yeah, that's right!"CH: "I have marshamallows in my lunch." 

That right there, my friends, is good logic. 

In a very longish way, that's how I'm getting to my what 2 eat. I made cinnamon pull apart bread Monday afternoon because somewhere between helping a friend move stuff into her new art studio and all the rest of life, I thought it a good idea. I originally pinned Joy the Baker's recipe but ended up using Pioneer Woman's recipe, which is her cinnamon roll recipe, which by the way baffles me. I have no idea how only stirring milk, yeast, sugar and flour and then letting it sit an hour only to add baking powder and baking soda in at the end is able to produce a dough that is immediately usable as bread dough. It goes against all my years of bread making. But if you are new to bread making or now have your interest piqued by my description of her method, then you should give Ree's recipe a try. And if you aren't up for it now, go for the marshmallows. 

Spiced Carrots and Honey Mustard Chicken

Ben and I harvested the carrots the other day. Besides our cherry tomatoes, this was our one crop that turned out well. At first he wasn't thrilled to join me but then he got to see what all those months of watering and waiting had produced and went to town pulling the rest for me.

He liked pulling the really big ones.

To Ben's right is a good crop of kale, in the middle are the carrots, and to his left is the broccoli that never would be.

We didn't thin them as recommended and so we pulled several clumps. 

I've had this carrot recipe for a long time. I made them for the first time when I needed to feed a bunch of guys who came over to help our re-roof our first home. In the kitchen I had help from the guys' wives: Marcia, Michelle, Miranda, Mindy and me. We cooked up a feast for our hungry bunch and these carrots were on the menu. They were a hit then and they are a hit now.

Spiced Carrots 

• 5 large carrots, julienned or sliced
• 2 Tbsp. butter, melted
• 1 Tbsp. sugar
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1/4 tsp. ground cinnamon

Place carrots in saucepan; cover with water and cook until tender, about 8-10 minutes. Drain. Pour butter, sugar, salt and cinnamon over carrots and toss to coat. Serve immediately. Serves 4-6

Depending on the size of carrots you are using, this may or may not make 4-6 servings. I'd say, make more than you think just in case your kids gobble them up. 

I served them with Honey Mustard Chicken. This recipe comes my friend Jayme via our church cookbook, though I've made some modifications for boneless breasts. You could replace the chicken with pork chops and it be equally yummy.

Honey Mustard Chicken

• 4-6 chicken breasts or boneless pork chops
• 1/2 c. butter, melted
• 1/2 c. honey
• 1/4 c. Dijon mustard
• 1 tsp. curry powder
• 1/2 tsp. salt

Place chicken in a baking dish. Combine butter, honey, mustard, curry powder and salt and pour over the top. Bake at 350 degrees for 30-40 minutes until tender and cooked through. Baste occasionally. 

I'm not a food stylist or food blogger, but this is still a yummy plate of food.

Are you enjoying this What 2 Eat series? Is it helping with your own weekly menu planning? 

Burrito Bowls

What have you been eating lately? Is it still burgers and brats from the grill or have you just said to heck with the weather (which here is up and down more than my kids avoiding bedtime) and pulled out the crockpot, casseroles and soups?

Combine the weather and the busy evening schedules with one kid going as another kid goes. I mean, coming. I mean, what day is it? 


Last week, I was craving Chipotle but my wallet was not wanting the price hit. So I turned to Kristin of Iowa Girl Eats for her knock off Chipotle Bowls. I made them with leftover chicken. 

I made them for the whole family. And they all liked it (in varying degrees).

You need to make these for your whole family.

Use fresh chicken, leftover chicken, leftover turkey, make Spicy Dr. Pepper Pulled Pork and use the leftovers in this. (I love a recipe that I can turn the leftovers into something different.)

Store all the parts in separate mason jars. Layer a mason jar with rice, meat, beans and send with someone for lunch. 

I don't mean to be bossy, but this is should probably go on your menu in the next day, week or in the very least, month. I'll let you decide how you choose to store the leftovers.

I have no pictures because we, I, ate it all. 

Also, if you're fueling for a long run or afterwards, this is awesome! 

So tell me, what are you eating that is a surprise hit? 

Racing in New Hartford

It is going to be impossible for me to catch up with all the riding and racing that took place this summer. 

What I can say is that it happened and it keeps happening.

Ben has had a goal for the racing season and reaching it required lots of racing and practicing.

Bill is trying to stay ahead of Ben for as long as he can, so that requires a lot of racing and practicing.

Luke is just getting started and he requires a lot of racing and practicing. 

So that's what they've been doing.

Here's their latest race which was just yesterday in New Hartford.

My parents and Bill's parents all came to cheer the boys on. (No pictures of all of us, which is my bad.)

Luke's race started out dry but by mid-race it was raining and it was difficult riding. Luke wasn't having much fun. I couldn't be with him at the end because I had to take care of Ben but Luke was cold and shivering and was pretty much done riding forever because he was miserable. 

Ben's race was rain for half of it and then it stopped. The course all the way through was wet, muddy and slick. Hard riding conditions for the riders. (I don't have any pictures because Audrey was done picture taking and I was taking care of Ben. You've seen him ride before; he looks the same.) Ben managed a great start and was in the lead right off before his bike died. Bill rushed out to the track to get it started, which it did finally start, but now Ben was way back in the pack. I wandered over to a section where I could see the riders coming through a couple of times. I caught a glimpse of Ben, except he wasn't way in the back. He was in the lead! In the first lap! 

After his race, we lunched on burgers and pasta salad and such and the boys got their award.

There isn't much that turns Luke's frown upside down faster than an award. Since all the rest of his awards have been plaques, this was his first trophy! 

This isn't Ben's first trophy but it's a happy win for him all the same.

Conditions for Bill's race was dry all the way through and the track started to tack up a bit so he didn't end up as muddy as the boys. Bill is doing great getting off the line and is now starting to hang in the top five of most every race.

We watched and cheered for him. And ate cookies.

Nothing draws the boys faster than cookies. All the snickerdoodles were wiped out in a short amount of time.

We've only a couple more races left on the schedule. It's a good thing, too, because I'm going to have to do some trophy rearranging during the off season. 

Usually I like to narrate the pictures but for some reason my computer/Blogger isn't cooperating and I'm not willing to fight it today.