Tag: family

Broken Dishwasher and Delayed Genius Moment

This may be the only new thing I get around to today, but I had a stroke of genius about dealing with the family’s glassware issues. Wooden clothes pins clipped to the glasses sitting on the counter. I can just hear Wile E. Coyote’s voice in my head whispering “Genius, sheer genius!” Then I think that it is pretty sad how it took me TWO WEEKS to come up with this idea, and Wile E. quiets down. The dishwasher has been out of commission for more than two weeks. I don’t recommend a Samsung. Now, I’m thankful for the family; I’m grateful for the dirty dishes indicating our ability to feed the family; I’m blessed to have both my parents and both in-laws as part of our life… I just wish we could keep track of whose glass belongs to whom! Last weekend saw my parents here, next weekend we have them and the mom-in-law, the following weekend will be the in-laws. Let’s just say we are thirsty people around here (checks the tequila supply and wonders if we need more Cabernets, too)

I think I’m gonna break out the red solo cups…

But, I digress. It is Teacher Appreciation Day tomorrow and I have a couple dozen Cinnabon Knock-Offs to bake- here’s last year’s photo of my table:

Teacher Appreciation Day- The Aftermath...
Teacher Appreciation Day-
The Aftermath…

Want the recipe? I bought the book “Top Secret Recipes” by Todd Wilbur, it is in there, and all over the intertoobz:

http://www.topsecretrecipes.com/Cinnabon-Cinnamon-Rolls-Copycat-Recipe.html

I think you have to purchase this recipe; it will set you back a whopping 79 cents…

Wile E. says “Now go do something smart!”

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New Menu Monday- A Twofer! Bratwurst AND Enchiladas are discussed…

My mom-in-law and her golf buddy made sauerkraut recently and we scored two jars of it. Normally, she shares prepped nopales (cactus), Mexican oregano or tamales that someone in the family has made… sauerkraut is quite a different treat. My dad was excited to get a jar, too, and is looking into the steps to make his own- I predict he will abandon the project when he sees how many steps it takes to ensure well made sauerkraut. Ha.

We made enchiladas one time, and Phyllis let me snap this photo and share her recipe on Pinterest. I honestly don’t care for enchiladas any way or anywhere else now, these are unequalled:

Phyllis showing me how to make the best enchiladas. Click photo or link for recipe...
Phyllis teaching Enchiladas 101. Click photo or link for recipe…

https://www.pinterest.com/pin/18155204717714396/

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Left- our usual Bratwurst and corn on the cob dinner Right- Brats with kraut and potato salad

Grilled Bratwurst Dinner in our home usually will have corn on the cob, a seasonal fruit and some other vegetable… yum! It is simple, but great eats, I tell you. However, I was so glad that I (finally) tried braising the brats in the sauerkraut and beer after grilling them for about ten minutes. The potato salad was fab, too, with its big chunks of Kosher dills and the right amount of a spicy brown mustard put out by Sierra Nevada brewery. You can check out the mustard here:

http://www.amazon.com/Sierra-Nevada-Porter-Spicy-Mustard/dp/B000R1RQCW

Every time I make potato salad it turns out differently- does that happen to anyone else?

Once again, I am sure that my son will be accusing me of trying to kill him by making him try sauerkraut. The fact that his gramma made it will give me some pull, at least. I’m surprised he was able to survive last night’s Cajun Night as it is.

January Theater with The Mom- Pirates of Penzance

Last year my mom and I decided that since we enjoy theater so much, we should try and see a play at least once a month… grand total that we made it to? Zip. We didn’t make a single one outside of my teen’s high school productions. This year we are determined to hit 12 shows, dammit!

Tonight the family saw a youth theater production of Gilbert and Sullivan’s Pirates of Penzance, yea! We brought grandparents, teens and a spare boyfriend- I tell you, I’m going to commit to getting out to do these new activities once a month and invite as many people to come along so they hold me to it!

This show was FABULOUS! We hope to see more productions by the J*Company Youth Theater at the Lawrence Family Jewish Community Center this season. “Annie” is up next this March, followed by “West Side Story” in May, and both will undoubtedly be fine shows.

The Good on The Web

It’s common knowledge that The Intertoobz is both a gateway to knowledge AND a portal to Hell. It all depends on where we allow ourselves to travel down the Information Highway.

If admitting this brings you down and now you need a pick-me-up, go hit the search engines and look up “random acts of kindness.” Here… I’ll do it for you:

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We all look out for friends and strangers each and every day, but I love how some kindhearted souls have shared how much joy they experienced when completing a list of RAOKs challenges. Some ridiculously easy, simple, kind actions are right there. Here is the Net at its best. On your screen. And we can play, too! all we have to do is just pick one.

One blogger took her children and turned her birthday into a day of good deeds- one for every year. Very sweet, simple and a great learning experience for her kids!

I borrowed one of her small ideas- my son wrote the note and we left a bottle of soap in the laundromat near our house. Thanks for the inspiration, TicklesToGiggles.blogspot.com! (links to the original birthday article)

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New Menu Monday- Herbed Salmon with Artichokes

In trying to stick with the goal of serving up our favorite meals in different ways, today I made the family switch from this:

Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce, Buttered Spinach, Brown Basmati Rice
Baked Salmon with Dill Sauce, Buttered Spinach, Brown Basmati Rice

and try this instead:

Salmon Baked with Olive Oil and French Herbs, Steamed Artichokes, Green Salad, and Whole Wheat Rolls
Salmon Baked with Olive Oil and French Herbs, Steamed Artichokes, Green Salad, and Whole Wheat Rolls

The family LOVES brown basmati rice, and somewhat willingly chokes down the spinach, but we always serve these same sides with our salmon. So, I decided to up the torture for my son- I made the kid eat an artichoke. He complained so little that I suspect he secretly liked it. My daughter and I not only really like artichokes, but think that they make a great excuse to get more butter into our faces, yeah!

Three out of five of us think that we need to eat artichokes more often- the spare 5th person was the boyfriend… he redeemed himself because even though he can’t stand the artichokes, at least he’s a salmon lover… so he can stay.