Camp Meal

Besides getting Shawn and my girlies home I also get these.

And I'm pretty sure all those calories I sweat out cleaning the pool house.

Sooooo worth it.

The Big Texan!

We headed to Lubbock this morning because our beautiful bonus daughter is graduating high school tomorrow night. As we were getting closer to Amarillo Shawn started talking about The Big Texan. He's wanted to go forever and this time it was going to happen.

The place is so cute. We bought some fudge and turtles from the candy store and stared at the 72 oz. steak and all the food that goes with it that's part of the challenge. You see, if you can eat a 72 oz. steak and all the things that go with it in an hour, it's free.

If you don't eat it, you pay $72. Luckily Shawn wasn't interested in doing that so we ordered off the menu and hoped someone would take the challenge while we were there.


We were in luck.

But before we knew that we took in the scenery.

We were sitting right next to the challenge table. See the 6 clocks? As soon as the insane person takes their first bite and says it's cooked as they wanted it, they timer starts. I had a picture of the steak on the grill and apparently went to be with the Lord, because I can't find it. But if you look closely you can see the grill master holding it up. She did that when people wanted a picture of it. She also yelled "72!!" at the top of her lungs. I have to say, it startled me every single time.


And then he sat down. He had to be about college age. And let me just say, he had muscles in places that I didn't know you could have them. His jaw was muscular. He had on a tank top with no arms...or sides, and we could see the muscles in his back. I wondered if his stomach had muscles.

By the time we'd paid he still had 20 minutes left....and it wasn't looking good. Poor guy. If we hadn't had family waiting we would have hung around.

We did take time to take a few pictures and sign the boot. It sure does help to always have a Sharpie in my purse. Even though my boss repeatedly steals them.

Sadly there was no time for cow pictures.

I'm so sorry Mr. Cow.

So we'd finally been to the Big Texan. And I'd discovered they have MSG in the seasoning...that they put on everything. At least the experience was worth the stop.
Oh, that and the turtle we bought at the candy counter. I don't eat fudge. Holy cow that thing was good! I'd drive back to Amarillo right now to get another one.

Unless someone wants to deliver...

i heart crumbs

I have a sweet friend I met when I joined the Phoenix Mitchell's Angels.  I fell in love with Renee the first time she opened her mouth.  She's hilarious!  And sweet.  And cute.  I could so easily hate her, but she won me over with her humor.  Not only does she run and entertain me with her Facebook status updates, she also bakes.  Amazing things.  And she wanted me to take pictures of her creations so she could start a website and eventually a bakery.

We started with cupcakes.

My newly purchased studio lights and I showed up at her house this morning ready to go.  But the girl wasn't ready!  Her excuse?  She can't do the math to half a recipe so she just made 11 full recipes of cupcakes.  They were everywhere.  Literally. 

As I set up she got started.  6 pounds of butter, 9 bags of powdered sugar, a Prozac, a 5 hour energy drink, and a Red Bull later...she'd made 9 different recipes of icing and frosted enough for me to photograph.

Here are some of my favorites.

Shimmers!

The weather might still be deciding what it wants to do; be cold and rainy, or hot and windy, but Shimmers is not waiting around. 

Our tongues are so happy!

I may or may not have already had 4.

Okay fine, 5.

But for the first time in a long time, I'm ready for summer!

I hate wearing a coat and eating a snow cone.  It just seems wrong.

Garlic Noodles

For the last four years we've gone to eat at P.F. Chang's for the after All State concert meal. Sing it with me. Tradition! Last year Mom asked if we could go somewhere else since she really doesn't like that type of food. Unfortunately when I mentioned it to McKinley she broke down in tears and said it was her last year and we had to go there. This year before we left I talked to Kennedy about other choices and she said, "But we have to go there. It's tradition." Sorry Mom:c)

I of course got what I always get, because I'm not going to waste money by getting something I might not like. But McKinley went for something new, Garlic Noodles. She was served enough for the restaurant to share. Luckily she only shared with us. I. Fell. In. Love. They were delicious. Garlicy with a slight spice. Perfection.

I came home and started searching for the recipe. I found three and they all seemed to be the same so I stuck with the one that let me adjust the serving size. I upped it to 8 because we love leftovers and started writing it down. When I noticed I needed four pounds of vermicelli I got a wee bit concerned. I bumped it down to six servings and Shawn went to the store to get me everything I needed. (Love him!)

Monday night I started making Garlic Noodles. My mouth was watering the whole time. I made some stir-fry vegetables to go with it and considered it a full meal. I couldn't wait until 6 pm. Let me just say, the wok was full. Completely. When everything was ready we sat down to eat and the girls raved about them before I could even take a bite. But when I finally did it was such a let down.

Let me say now that the recipe wasn't exactly thorough. It never told me when to add the Cantonese Stir Fry Sauce so I guessed. But really, it wasn't that hard of a recipe. So now I had almost 3 pounds of not really flavorful Garlic Noodles.

Shawn came home around 11 that night and went to bed Garlic Noodleless. I got a text today from him while he was eating lunch saying they weren't very garlicy. (You'd think 12 cloves of garlic would be more evident.) I agreed and told him I was trying again with the leftovers for dinner tonight.


So tonight I made my amazing Baked Almond Chicken, put it in the oven, and set to work on chopping more garlic. I did a few things differently and was excited for dinner. When the oven timer went off I got the oven mitts and pulled the chicken out of a very cold oven. How did I not notice that the oven hadn't ever heated up?? How did I not notice there were no delicious smells coming out of it? I think I was bit too over focused on the Garlic Noodles. So we had noodles and stir fry vegetables again. And the chicken went to spend some quality time on the outdoor grill. When Shawn got home an hour later he had the full meal. The girls and I had chicken for dessert.


And the noodles?? Still not right.


And I don't want to alarm anyone...but it doesn't look like we've eaten a single noodle.


I think they're multiplying when we're not looking.


Guess what's for breakfast. Scrambled Eggs...with Garlic Noodles!!

I Missed My Kitchen!

After traveling and recovering from those travels for nearly two weeks I was sick and tired of eating out. I'm not a big fan of eating out and having no other choice but to do so it a bit much. So this morning I got reacquainted with my kitchen.

I noticed there were some over ripe bananas so I made Banana Split Bread. Then I decided we needed a dessert so I got everything out for a Cherry Coffee Cake that is so rich we don't eat it for breakfast anymore. When I opened the cherries though I realized I'd opened cherries when I needed Cherry Pie Filling. So I made a layered Jell-O salad that McKinley just loves. Oh, and I started a great new recipe that you'll hear more about later.

My kitchen and I were having so much fun together:c)

When I put on Facebook that I was spending the day cooking a couple of people commented and said I should start a blog with my recipes and it got me thinking. Is that something you all think I should do? Would you all like to see what I cook? I don't want to invest my time and effort (although I think we all know by now that I love sitting) if no one is interested.

So let me know what you think. I'd love to hear your thoughts!

Our Thanksgiving

We were expecting 14 people for our Thanksgiving. In Shawn's family I host it every third year. With four brothers, four wives, two parents, and 10 grandchildren it could be a big group. Last year when mom had it she held it at their church so we'd all fit. My aunt and grandmother are included each year so we're over 20. But for my year, one brother and his family went to Branson to see different family, one brother and his wife aren't speaking to any of us, and the third brother called the morning of with news of a sick kiddo. That dropped us down to 10. But with only a three hour warning, I couldn't cut back on the food. I make everything the day before to save my sanity on the actual day. I just take everything out of the refrigerator about 30 minutes before I'm ready to bake it all.

So now, six days later...we're still eating Thanksgiving food. And have plenty to share. Want to come over??

So what did I fix??

Get ready.

Cranberry Cheese Ball-One of the two recipes I have made up on my own. Based loosely on one I tasted at a tea room. It's heavenly.

Mushroom Puffs-Six ingredients of what I hear is pure heaven. I hate five of those ingredients so I go no where near these things.

Turkey-All Shawn. From picking it up at the store, to marinating, to injecting, to frying, to cutting. All him. I love him for that. Oh, and for reaching inside and removing the yucky things. I will not under any circumstances do that. We wouldn't have a turkey.

Dressing-I have yet, in five years of making it, made a good batch. Send help. And recipes.

Gogo's Cranberry Salad-Absolute delight on a fork. Marshmallows, whipping cream, pineapple, and cranberries. Absolute delight. Have I said that already? It's what I asked her to bring.

Burgundy Mushrooms-Nine hours of simmering. 3 a.m. alarm set to start them. Whole house smelling like them. I hate mushrooms. Hate. They were loved by almost all.

Mashed Potatoes-I add cream cheese and sour cream, put them in a casserole dish, and bake them the next day. I had the very last of them today for lunch. I cried knowing it had come to an end.

Gravy-I hate gravy. Except cocoa gravy which we had the next morning for Reagan's birthday. I don't boil the yucky innards to make broth like I should, I just make a roux of flour and butter and add beef broth. I know I know, I should be ashamed. But I'm not because I don't eat it!

Spicy Sweet Potatoes-Sweet potatoes and I have had a long relationship of not getting along for many years. I don't like them mashed with marshmallows on top. I do like them grilled with butter and cinnamon and cayenne. And I've now found I love them roasted with oil, brown sugar, and cayenne. Reagan hates them because they're 'hot'. She will have to learn.

Hominy Casserole-This was McKinley's only request. (Reagan's side dish request was Crock Pot Lasagna...but that's another story for another day.) It's a Pioneer Woman recipe and McKinley had five servings. We finished it last night. She cried.

Broccoli Rice Casserole-This is an absolute tradition. We can't celebrate a holiday without it. I found an easier version a few years ago and it made my life happy again.

No Knead Knot Rolls-The easiest bread recipe out there. Make the dough the night before, no kneading! Kelly tried them this year and loved them:c)

Pumpkin Pie-I can't stand pumpkin pie. I don't even have a recipe for it. I made it anyway. I heard it was good.

Pecan Pie-Pecans are my favorite nut but put them in a sugary pie, no thanks. Yuck. I heard it was good.

Whiskey Sauce-I tried the Pioneer Woman's recipe that was supposed to take minutes...it took me almost an hour. I'm a pretty good cook. I don't know what I did wrong. It went on the pecan pie so therefore I didn't try it.

Marshmallow Pie-This was my pie. Sadly not everyone knew that and I did have to share. It was delish.

See why I have food left over?? It was a bit much!

But soooo delicious.

What did you all have for Thanksgiving?

Marshmallow Artwork

When I was printing out a picture for a gift for a 4 month anniversary...yep, I came across some pictures I'd forgotten to share.

For Kennedy's 11th birthday party we made marshmallow skewers as thank yous. I'd seen the idea on The Decorated Cookie and purchased the markers she'd suggested.

I did the artwork and Kennedy did the wording. We had a blast.

I've done these for lunches a few times with rave reviews.

Okay, so who's going to buy the markers and make these?

I can't wait to see your creations!

Family Grown

One of my favorite parts about going to my in-laws is stopping by the family farm store. As we pulled onto the street I saw it. This sign must have been done just for me.Tomatoes? No stinking way.

Squash? Yes please.

Cucumbers? They were for pickling, so no. Pickles are just a sad sad way to get a nice cucumber drunk.

Eggplant? Never again.

Peaches? Those we get somewhere else.

Purple Hull Peas? Yes, yes, yes!!!I waited until I was checking out to decide if I would be getting a watermelon. Sadly because I found family made and labeled Barbecue Sauce and Picante Sauce I was out of money.

Even more sadly, Shawn threw away the cute Picante Sauce jar I wanted to save and display on a shelf in the kitchen. Guess I'll have to drive 4 hours to get another one.I did however buy one of the medium size Athena cantaloupes. I also sent a picture of the sign with the name to my friend Athena and asked if she knew she had a cantaloupe named after her. She replied something about her 'melons' that I won't share on here:) These lovelies found their way into my cart. They were used for an Enchilada Soup from the Mitchell's Angels cookbook that I'm selling again. How's that for advertising??And hello there. I bought three pounds. It wasn't enough. We all fought over who would get the last bite.

And I fry it in oil after coating it with half flour, half cornmeal. Any other way is just wrong. Just plain wrong.Purple Hull Peas. I never knew if I'd like these or not until I just broke down and tried them. The girls love to hull them so I buy some unhulled for us and some hulled for my grandmother. I found a recipe that involves bacon grease so now of course we love them.

Bacon grease makes everything better.I love this place. I wish we had one close to us.It was started by Uncle Chester. He was my father-in-laws uncle. One of the originals of the family. I knew him for many years before he died and there just wasn't a nicer guy.He was the world record holder for largest watermelon in the Guinness World Records Book one year. This fake watermelon just reminds us of our families one year of fame:) We got more than 15 seconds.So I left with raw sunflower seeds, poppy seeds, sesame seeds, raw pumpkin seeds, the squash, okra, cantaloupe, peas, some new potatoes, and barbecue and picante sauce. Most of it family grown. We feasted like kings for several nights.

I can't wait until our next trip!

Happy President's Day!!

It's the day of the year again...my favorite holiday....President's Day!!

George Washington's Cherry Pie is done.Herbert Hoover's Chicken In Every Pot Pie looks delish.And ready to chill until baking time.The Watergate Salad is next followed by Lincoln Log Cabins.

Considering the morning started out like this...and this, I'm still sure we'll have a wonderful meal tonight.Want to read more about this craziness?? Check out last years post.

How Can Snowmen Be Evil?

I found an adorable idea for Reagan's class here. The directions weren't clear and I basically decided I was smart enough to wing it. Edible markers and something for the nose....aha! Mike & Ike's, the orange ones. The more I read about them from clicking on the links from that website I found one that said to make the noses out of clay and tell the kids not to eat them! Not the best idea.

I went to two stores I was sure would have edible markers only to be looked at strangely when I asked. I knew I could order them online but at this point didn't have the time. I finally used my new fancy phone to look up cake decorating places and set off.

My first store had them but only in purple and pink. Apparently they only sell black at Halloween. Good grief. I decided since one of our school colors is purple it would work. I was so excited.

The night before the party I got everything out and started planning my attack. My only problem? I couldn't find the markers! They had been loose in my car and we couldn't find them anywhere. We tore the house, car, and patio apart. I blamed everyone I came in contact with including the dog.

I gave up and starting going through possible alternatives. Food coloring? Perfect. I used the end of a watercolor brush and made a hole, dipped a toothpick in it, and filled in the hole. But I didn't have a black or brown and didn't want to have to mix and concoct until I figured it out.

Gel coloring for icing? Even better. I had black. I again used the end of the paintbrush and filled it in.

So cute!! I finished them all while my Red Hot Popcorn baked and went to bed happy.
But in the morning when I showed them to Reagan??Yep, they'd gone bad. Really bad. My sweet little girl told me, "It's okay Mommy. I still think they're cute." I love that girl.

I just couldn't send them though so I whined to Shawn and he said he'd take care of it. He is quite resourceful and got right to work. He grabbed these, flipped the donuts over, and saved my day.I didn't take an after picture but trust me when I say they were caaaa-ute!!

Just like this guy:c)