We all live in a yellow submarine...

So. I have been meaning to rant about this story for a while but life happened. 

Two 'educated' parents epically fail at an attempt to go  around the world in a sailboat. With TWO toddlers. And no one questioned their mental health. Or parenting. Seriously. 

Let me just say this. I know everyone is entitled to their own opinions and whatnot. I get it. But COME on!

Clearly this was a suicide mission. I HAVE two small toddlers myself. They can't even handle being in a car together for a 20 minute ride to Target. You think they would make it 1 hour in a sail boat. In open water. With no Mickey Mouse Clubhouse or yard to run in? Doubt it. 

And the parents. Let's talk about that for a moment. What were they going to do for food? Or more importantly, wine? There is no way on God's green earth my Husby could get me in a confined space with just the four of us in a rocking 'house' for over a year with nothing to drink but water. I highly doubt the Pacific Ocean had a drive thru liquor store. Or Mc Donald's. (Someone should look into that....might be decent money in it....)

And lastly. Y'all what happens when someone's stomach is upset? Not just 'oh I need some mylanta'. I'm talking full on, 'clear the room, what did he eat' stomach issues. Like the ones that really test the strength of a marriage. Do you just throw that person overboard with a life preserver until it 'passes'? 

I feel like these people did NOT think this through despite their feeble attempts at explaining themselves.  Get it together people. Seriously. 

Hoping my children can handle being cooped up due to rain tomorrow (praise Jesus we don't have a boat!!)

XOXO Summer

Cheddar Coins

An amazing road trip this weekend with Besties means I'm cooking up a storm before hand! (Y'all know I gotta eat every hour!). I found this gem in my latest Good Housekeeping magazine. YUMMY! They are like cheesy, savory cookies-but NOT sweet!

Ready for the low down?

Ingredients:

1 1/2 c flour

1 1/2 c shredded cheddar cheese

1 TB corn starch

1 tsp sugar 

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper (I used chili powder)

10 TB butter, cold, cut into pieces-- you HAVE to use the real deal in this recipe!!

Combine everything but butter in food processor. When mostly combined, add butter cubes. Combine for 1-2 minutes, you'll know it's ready because a dough ball of cheesy, heavenly goodness will magically appear. 

Form into ball, chill for 2 hrs (or 15 mins in freezer). 

Roll dough into 1/4 in thickness, cut out and place on cookie sheet. I am cheap so I used a glass turned upside down as a cookie cutter. I used a silpat (EVERYONE NEEDS ONE!!) but parchment paper also works well in your cookie sheet.  

Bake at 350 degrees for 15 minutes. These cheesy guys don't rise, so watch carefully at around 13 minutes.

Happy eats!!

XOXO Summer

Just keep spinning...

Dear friends. The life span of an average hamster is 1-2 years. I know this because I inherited one from a dear friend from school. And I knew nothing about hamsters when I naïvely agreed to inherit my new furry buddy. 

His name is PJ (Percy Jeffrey). He was one year old when he shuffled into my world. We instantly bonded. And by bonded I mean he escaped from his hamster ball in a chaotically unorganized pre-k classroom I was putting together last summer. There was panic. Mostly on my end (I assume). And some screaming. (Definitely on my end). Turns out, PJ feels right at home balled up in a kiddo cubby. Who knew?

PJ was supposed to live at school. But I felt bad for him during the weekends so I brought him home to Bee and Turtle. 

Clearly the air-head in me thought this thru. Yes, he will have a calm, relaxing, quiet weekend at school. Let's take him on vacation every Fri-Sun at a place where toddlers HURL things across the room and shove sharp objects in small spaces. (Don't believe me? I just found toddler silverware in our AIR CONDITIONING VENT in the kitchen).  Let's do it. PJ put on his game face. And sure enough, his poor cage was over turned in less than an hour. 

He survived. And persevered. And in fact, he is still alive and kicking. Literally. (He has learned some hamster defense moves since moving into our living room). 

And shockingly, he may only eat once or twice a week- I tend to forget he needs sustenance....only sometimes. Often. Whatever. He stashes food. And he still lives!!

Elmo, cat king, has established quite a relationship with him also. One would think a small rodent being in the presence of a morbidly obese feline would tend to shave months off of the small being. Adherently no. It's almost extended his life. I mean, he is now on THREE years. That's fantastic! Elmo talks to him daily.  I'm currently researching hamster vitamins. 

I end this rant with a wheel. A hamster wheel. I am convinced cardiovascular health is the key to PJ's longevity. No matter how rough his day, I hear him hauling his hind end off on that blasted hamster wheel. Seriously he runs it like he is in fire. If PJ were a person he would be competing in Ironmans and Olympic activities. I know the toddler snacks my Loves 'gently' shove in his cage aren't pills of youthfulness. It's gotta be the wheel. 

Now I'm thinking. I know, hold into y'all's seats. Can I get a hamster wheel? How does one go about inheriting a person sized wheel?? Would I break my collar bone (again)? How fast could I go? What if my t-rex arms can't support me if I start to spin with the wheel? Maybe it's best I leave the wheeling up to PJ. After all, it's keeping the old guy alive!!!

What other animal toys can I use??

XOXO Summer

Wordless Wednesday

What's your nightmare?

XOXO Summer

Stir-Fried Leeks w/ Salt & Pepper Shrimp

Oh Ya'll!  This dish was SO GOOD!  And SO SPICY.  My poor babes enthusiastically munched down the shrimp until they could barely handle it and ended up with yogurt and milk to soothe their poor mouths.  Even I thought it was too spicy.  So here's what I did, feel free to omit or add what you want to change the heat factor.

Stir-Fried Leeks w/ Salt and Pepper Shrimp

For Shrimp:

2 tsp sesame seeds-- toasted (I didn't have any so I skipped 'em)

1 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red pepper flakes-- seriously skipping this next time!

1/2 tsp sugar

1 lb large shrimp, peeled (I took the extra five minutes to yank the tails off each one as I was rinsing them) *Aldi's grocery store sells a 1 lb bag of these raw babes for under $10.  Good quality!!

For Stir-Fry:

2 TB peanut oil (I used canola)

2 tsp ginger (I had dried...)

6 cups sliced-- thinly-- leeks (I just bought a 'bunch' which was 3 stalks)-- finally found them at Super Target...no one else has them in yet...

1/4 c diced red bell pepper

1/4 c chicken broth

2 tsp soy sauce

For shrimp:

Toss cleaned shrimp in mixture of salt, pepper, & sugar.  Stir fry in pan of 2 TB oil until firm.  Cooking shrimp takes literally 2 minutes.  Pink on outside.  Firm to touch.  DONE.  

Remove shrimp from heat, set aside.  

Take a minute to start to boil some water for some minute rice (in another pot).  Stir fry your leeks and red bell pepper and ginger in another 1 TB of oil (in same pan shrimp were in).  When the mixture cooks down and soaks up the moisture, add the chicken broth and soy sauce.  YUMMY!  I let my leeks cook way down in the broth, this took about 10 minutes.  Perfect for the rice to cook and be ready at the same time.

Plate it out and enjoy!

What are you eating tonite?

XOXO Summer

Thanks so much, Cuisine at Home for your delish recipe!  You never fail me! 

Pizza! Pizza!

Poptarts. Pizza. My rambunctious Bass Babes are quite particular in certain things. It is definitely safe to say that my 1 1/2 yr old is as much of a foodie as I am. He eats sushi and edamame for crying out loud. 

Our newest obsession? Pizza. Any way, shape, or form. If Turtle sees it on a billboard whilst car riding he screams bloody murder until he is konked out or sees a bus. (God help us, busses are also a big deal....)

One night I toiled and slaved away over a twenty minute dinner-shocking I know- and we sat down to eat. My husband said, 'Bubba, do you want pizza?'  And that was it. I had a flailing, screaming, MAD toddler on my hands that wanted nothing to do with the dinner I presented him on a plastic, toddler sized platter. He refused to eat because it was not pizza. And he wouldn't eat anything else we had at home. He loves pizza just that much. 

Bubba doesn't care how steaming hot the pizza is. He doesn't care if there are gross veggies on it. He doesn't even require ranch dip. The kid simply wants crust and cheese with tangy marinara.  

A sweet friend took us out for lunch a few weeks ago. I had to order two kids pizzas (6 slices each, mind you), and both of my children scarfed the entirety of pizzas in less than 15 minutes. Like a hyena on a wildabeast.  Not my proudest mommy moment. 

I suppose I should be grateful. Three months ago the obsession was poptarts. He had it bad for poptarts. 

One time, on the way to church, I had to pull over to the nearest gas staton to buy the boy a poptart because we didn't have time to eat one before leaving the house. He was shaking he was so distraught. Then as soon as the sweet pastry was in his grasp he LITERALLY KISSED IT before demolishing it.  

I wonder what the new food craving will be soon. Hopefully not steak and potatoes. Or lobster bisque. Or baked Alaska....

What are you craving?

XOXO Summer

Friday Five-Food Crawl

You know you have a true friend when they will share good with you in the back of a minivan with four small children.

Today Bestie Super Mom (Super for short)  and I introduced our poor children the art of being a foodie. Mind you one child will choose carrots and peas over junk food and cake, another child (mine, ironically) is only really interested in something worthy of being dipped in ranch THEN ketchup.

Here' goes!

1.  ITR (In the Raw) food truck was FAB!  Bestie Super got California Rolls and I ordered NY Rolls.  We concluded the difference was hers were crab, my NY rolls were shrimp.  And something in the NY was almost sweet.  Bestie Super's California Rolls were perfectly savory and just the right amount of 'seafood'.  Could. Not. Get. Enough.  Even Turtle had a few!  (Bee just decided to 'dip' herself in the soy sauce...Sigh...

ITR

Explaining Sushi...they were not thrilled!

2.  The Bone Pile Food Truck.  Oh my word!  Ya'll hold onto your bar stools!  We discovered bacon tacos served with fresh lettuce, pico de gallo, guac and a spicy mayo.  Let me first say this.  I HATE mayo but this stuff was so good and not quite fire burning that it really made the tacos.  Life changing.  Must have more.  I talked to the sweet people in the truck (I practically climbed in myself to eat more bacon....luckily I'm short and those trucks are tall...) and they told me they were in the process of opening a restaurant but for now you can find them on Facebook and their awesome food truck is in Owasso.  Clearly I will be making some road trips in the near future.

Bacon Tacos, Ya'll!

3.  Bestie Super also ordered a cheeseburger which was divine!  The kiddos helped her devour it, I stole a few bites!  And their fries?  Wowza!  They are super crispy yet thick and the spice they put on them hits the spot.  Salty with a kick.

4.  Momma, this will make you smile.  My minivan.  Spring is a tad moody here in these parts, and it was chilly.  Too cold to just plop down on some grass nonchalantly with a bacon taco.  We literally shoved strollers to front seats and blanketed the back of my van and had a lil picnic.  The kids were a tad spastic until we fed them and then we former teachers had quite a feeling of success when they sat quietly.  For three minutes.  HA!

Most angelic, sweet girl!  Miss A!

Mr. Personality!  Gotta love Mr. G!

Sushi?!

G and Bee were a bit more excited about their first food crawl!  (See the soy sauce on her skirt?!)

Thank you sweet stranger who took this.  Bestie Super was getting our food!

Sweet Babes

5.  Good friends.  The past three weeks have been quite challenging for me and Bestie Super really helped me get out of my funk and embrace life's changes.  And she ate bacon with me.  That enhances any relationship as far as I'm concerned.

Love. Her.

Food crawl = Food coma

Happy Weekend, Ya'll!
XOXO Summer

Wordless Wednesday

XOXO Summer

Marinated Grilled Chicken and Tomatoes

Ya'll I am on a cooking roll!!!  And I did some research, last night's recipe and today's are actually from Prevention Magazine.  Who knew?  So, these dishes are also presumed to be healthy!  YAY!

I served the chicken and tomatoes with 'garlic pull apart bread' and corn.  (Another blog about the garlic bread another time, promise!)

The chicken was delish!  Here's how I did it:

Marinated Grilled Chicken and Tomatoes 

3 TB balsamic vinegar (this REALLY made the marinade!  Don't cheat with regular vinegar!)

2 tsp Dijon mustard

3 TB olive oil

1 tsp minced garlic (jarred garlic is always a staple in my fridge)

2 medium tomatoes, quartered

1 onion, sliced

1 1/2 lb chicken breasts

Combine all ingredients EXCEPT tomatoes.  I made the marinade the night before, poured it over the onions and frozen chicken breasts I had, and let it thaw and absorb the juicy goodness overnight.   

You could grill this outside for amazing 'grill' taste, but I used my trusty cast iron skillet grill I could use on my stove top.  Once I was ready to start cooking, I used a med-LOW heat so the chicken would be juicy and cook evenly.  If you get the skillet too hot, it will burn on the outside and be raw grossness on the inside.

I sprayed the grill with non stick spray, poured the chicken and onions and the marinade on top.  I let it cook about 8 minutes on one side, and while I waited on that to cook, I quartered my tomatoes.  I flipped my chicken and added the tomatoes.  The dish took a bit to cook, the chicken was pretty thick.  A meat thermometer should read 165 degrees for optimum 'doneness'.  :)

I hope ya'll try this in the summer time.  It will definitely be a fun grill meal!

How was your Monday?

XOXO Summer

Bow Ties with Bacon and Peas

Ya'll, this dish is SO YUMMY!  Thank you Prevention Magazine!

You will need:

Bow Ties with Bacon and Peas

3 slices of bacon (ya'll know I used three times that......)

3 med. leeks (only white, pale green parts)-- 4 c.

1 1/2 c frozen peas (I used what I had-- 1 CAN canned petite green peas)

1 box bow tie pasta

2 lg eggs

1/2 c finely grated Parmesan (I normally use freshly grated but I had a ton of that powdery 'fake' parm just sitting there....I hate that stuff but it worked for this!)

• Boil pasta in water-- you will be saving some pasta water!

• Cook bacon in a large skillet, make it crispy.  Drain on paper towel, save grease and cook chopped leeks in it for about 7 minutes until golden.  Add peas, cook another 3 minutes.  Reserve in skillet off heat.

• When pasta is done, reserve 1 cup pasta water.  You are going to whisk (in a separate bowl) 1/4 c of the cheese, 1 tsp pepper, 2 eggs, and pasta water.  SLOWLY add water, you don't want to cook the eggs in the hot water and get weird eggy lumps (GROSS).

• Add egg mixture and pasta to skillet of vegetables on a medium heat.  Stir constantly, the eggs will cook fast.  The cheese and egg mixture make this amazing coating on the pasta.  It's yummy!  This process only takes about 3 minutes-- the mixture should coat all of the pasta.  Top with bacon and remaining cheese.  YUMMO!

 

**Ya'll should know, I couldn't find leeks at Aldi's or Target, my primary grocery stores and I never had time to scope out Whole Foods...So I used 1/2 a chopped green pepper and I cooked it the same time as the recipes calls for the leeks.  It still turned out great!  But leeks are a super food, I encourage you to try it as is!**

What did you cook up Sunday?
XOXO Summer