New Year

 Happy New Year! 

Today I am hanging with my favorite (and only) grandson while his parents move into their new house. Shout out to Donvan and his family for making this happen for them. They finally have a place for their little family to call home. 

We had breakfast and watched Encanto. Charlie and Rowan both love this movie. As does Michelle, but she was helping Carolynn clean and pack.

For Christmas, Carolynn got me this great cookbook. 

The Unofficial Disney Parks Cookbook

I love it. Today I decided to try out a recipe from it. I made clam chowder from New Orleans Square in Disneyland park. I even served it in a bread bowl. We listed to the sounds of the Pirates of the Caribbean ride while we made it. Rowan sang "Yo Ho, Yo Ho!" It was easy to make and fun. And most importantly delicious. 

An Old Favorite

This year at Thanksgiving I made bread pudding. I make it all the time, but not usually as part of Thanksgiving. I usually stick to pie. But I found a bag of stale burger buns on the counter and I had an abundance of eggs because I got them at Smart and Final. Anyways, I had a lot of requests for my recipe. ( I also had a lot of "OMG THIS WAS HAMBURGER BUNS?!?!")

Anyways, I knew I posted it on here before, so I dug it up and here it is, from 2011.

Bread Pudding

My Little Chef

My little Carolynn has been quite the chef lately.

One night, while I was at work she made some kind of carrot curry soup. I didn't try it. I was at work.

On another night, while David and I were at Disneyland with Michelle, she made, for her and Catherine, some kind of barbecued portabello quessadillas. They looked yummy. She was going to save me one, but she missed.

Then she made this fabulous Orecchiette Pasta with Chicken in a Creamy Rosemary Lemon Sauce.

She used twice as much chicken as it called for and she put in all the rosemary at once.

It was delicious. There were no leftovers. We are making it again.

Hopefully we can get some more of her fabulous cooking around here.

Hint, hint...

Days Of Wine And Bacon

They say you shouldn't cook with a wine you won’t drink. I don’t drink wine. So where does that leave me? Buying the cheapest wine I find, that is where.

I found this pork chop recipe a few months ago and it has been a hit around here. Pintrest… is there anything it can’t do?

It calls for white wine.

I was going to make it a few weeks ago and I was out of white wine. Around the same time, Carolynn wanted me to make her and Michelle’s favorite, bacon fried rice. We were also out of bacon. So I ask David to pick up those two items on his way home one day.

He picks up the girls from school and heads over to the Winco. He picks up a $2.97 bottle of white wine and a pound of bacon. Quite the combo; Less than $6 purchase.

He takes it up and the cashier won’t ring it up for him. He shows his ID. Okay, he looks young. Good for him. But he has his ID so no big deal… Or so you would think.

But the checker won’t sell him the wine. She insinuates that David is buying this wine to give to Carolynn and Catherine who are with him. Because they are under aged and he looks like the kind of guy who buys $2.97 bottles of wine for minors. Or so he can get them drunk and take advantage of them. Whatever.

The manager is called and basically tells him the same thing. He tries telling them that they are his kids but no one is buying that. We just cook with it. They aren’t buying that either. They eventually let him make his purchase, after making him feel like a creepy child predator first.

I know a lot of dumb criminals.

But in this case…

If you are planning on buying alcohol for minors, why would you bring them with you? Why would you make the purchase in broad daylight at a large market? And why would you buy a cheap bottle of white wine? And why would you need bacon?

Bacon…

Tastes Like Meatloaf?

One of Catherine's favorite things to eat is Swedish Meatballs. I never made them. She loves to get them in frozen dinners or out to eat. So I decided to try making them. I like Swedish Meatballs too.

Once again, on Pintrest, I found a recipe that sounded good. So I made it.

Swedish Meatballs

Ingredients:

1 tsp olive oil
1 small onion, minced
1 clove garlic, minced
1 celery stalk, minced
1/4 cup minced parsley
1 lb 93% lean beef
1 egg
1/4 cup breadcrumbs
salt and pepper to taste
1/2 tsp allspice
2 cups reduced sodium beef stock
2 oz light cream cheese

Directions:

In a large deep saute pan, heat oil on medium heat, add onions and garlic; sauté until onions are translucent, about 4-5 minutes. Add celery and parsley and cook until soft, about 3-4 more minutes. Let cool a few minutes.

In a large bowl combine beef, egg, onion mixture, breadcrumbs, salt, pepper and allspice. Mix well and form meatballs with your hands 1/8 cup each (fill 1/4 cup then divide the meat in half).

Add beef stock to the pan and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low and slowly drop meatballs into the broth. Cover and cook about 20 minutes. Remove the meatballs with a slotted spoon and set aside in a serving dish. Strain the stock, add to blender with cream cheese and pulse until smooth. Return to pan and simmer a few minutes to thicken, then pour over meatballs. Garnish with parsley and serve over noodles or with toothpicks if you want to set these out as an appetizer.

First of all, I doubled the recipe because Robby and Gena were here. Second, I was out of fresh parsley having used it earlier in the week on a Moroccan stew. So I used dried. My meat was 80/20. I didn't use reduced sodium beef stock. And my cream cheese wasn't light.

But it was a huge hit with Catherine. I should have used a different pan, and I made the meatballs in batches. Catherine ate the first batch before I finished the second. I could have made them all at once in a different pan. The sauce didn't come out very thick. I will have to figure out a way to make it thicker. We ate it with egg noodles and the sauce just kind of fell through. I didn't chop the veggies small enough. Probably I could have pureed them.

Carolynn liked it. But she agreed the sauce needed to be thicker. Michelle got to taste the sauce, and she liked it. Had it been thicker, it would have stuck to the binky better and she would have tasted more. I liked it. I assume Robby liked it. He ate it. Gena picked at it and then gave her meatballs to Robby. David said it tasted like meatloaf. And he would have liked the veggies pureed too. He doesn't like to see the onions. He also said he needed to invent a "Noodle Magnet" so he wouldn't have to chase his noodles all over the plate.

Noodle Magnet.... Coming to an infomercial near you.

Casablanca

I have been trying lots of new recipes lately. David is helping. Mostly by not objecting. He has a friend who tries new recipes and posts them on Facebook. This one looked good so he read it to me and we decided to try it. I never made anything from the Middle East before. But I will try anything. (Except lima beans or beets. Eww.)

Harira (Moroccan Lentil and Tomato Soup)

Ingredients

1 lb of Lamb or Beef, Cubed
6 Large Tomatoes, Peeled, Seeded and Pureed
2 Cups of Dried Chickpeas, Soaked Overnight or 4 1/2 Cups of Canned
2 Cups of Dried Lentils
2 Celery Stalks with Leaves, Finely Chopped
1 Large Onion, Grated
4 tbls of Fresh Cilantro
4 tbls of Fresh Parsley
3 tbls of Tomato Paste
3 tbls of Rice or Broken Vermicelli
1 tbls of Butter
1 tsp Salt
1 tsp Ground Cinnamon
1 tsp Ground Ginger
1 tsp Black Pepper
1 tsp Cayenne Pepper
1 tsp Tumeric
3 tbls Vegetable Oil
2 Eggs, Beaten

Directons

Heat oil in a pan and cook meat for 5 minutes.

Add everything except the tomato paste, lentils and rice. Also, only add the chickpeas if you were using dried. If canned wait until later. Add eight cups of water. Stir well.

Mix tomato paste with 1/2 cup of water. Add it and the lentils to the pot. Bring to a boil and simmer uncovered for 2 hours.

Add in the rice or noodles and the chickpeas if you are using canned. Simmer another 10 minutes.

Slowly pour the beaten eggs into the simmering soup, stirring constantly. Simmer 1 more minute.

Now I adapted this from the original recipe and my conversions may be off. I used canned tomato puree. My soup was really more of a super thick stew. And I really needed to add the rice earlier. 10 minutes was not long enough to cook the rice. Maybe I should have added precooked rice. It didn't say.

It smelled like nothing I ever smelled before while it was cooking. Sort of like a cinnamon beefy smell, but better. It smelled good.

And it tastes good too. A little spicy kick in the end. David tried it. He doesn't eat beans and this is a very bean soup. So he just tasted the meat. And we ate it with naan bread. He tried that too. Carolynn and Catherine gobbled it right up. It was super cheap to make. Dried beans are cheap. A cheap cut of beef and some herbs and you are all set.

We might have to do this one again.

New Mexican Flair

Sometimes I like a vegetarian dish. Mostly because sometimes I forget to take meat out of the freezer for dinner. I found a recipe for these southwestern egg rolls on Pintrest (of course). So we tried it.

Baked Southwestern Egg Rolls

INGREDIENTS
2 cups frozen corn, thawed
1 (15 oz.) can black beans, rinsed and drained
1 (10 oz.) package frozen chopped spinach, thawed and squeezed dry
2 cups shredded Mexican cheese blend
1 (4 oz.) can diced green chiles, drained
4 green onions, chopped
1 tsp. ground cumin
½ tsp. chili powder
1 tsp. salt
½ tsp. pepper
¼ tsp. cayenne pepper
1 package egg roll wrappers (about 24 total)

DIRECTIONS
In a large bowl, combine everything but the egg roll wrappers. Mix well to blend. Lay an egg roll wrapper out on a work surface so that one of the corners is pointing toward you and place ¼ cup of the filling in the center. Fold the tip closest to you up over the filling, roll a bit, then take the points pointing outward and fold them in toward the center. Continue rolling into an egg roll shape until a small part of the remaining point is still free. Dip a finger in water or beaten egg and lightly brush on the edges of the free corner. Finish rolling and press to seal closed. Repeat with the remaining wrappers and filling.

Preheat the oven to 425˚ F. Lightly oil a baking sheet with cooking spray. Place the sealed egg rolls on the baking sheet seam side down and spray the tops of the egg rolls with cooking spray. Bake for about 15 minutes, or until lightly brown, turning halfway through baking. Serve warm with salsa.

Talk about spicy.... WOO! But good. I think they would have been a bit better had I fried them. Also, my egg roll wrappers only came in a pack of 20, so my egg rolls were a little stuffed and some of them oozed a bit. And I think we needed a dipping sauce. Salsa was not the answer. Spicy on spicy. But sour cream or guacamole would have been awesome. Since they had beans in them David didn't try them and they would have been too spicy for him anyway. And way too spicy for Michelle. Carolynn and Catherine liked them a lot. I liked them. They would be a good party food.

If At First You Don't Succeed....

In our quest to try new foods, I was trying to find something that David would like. He is such a picky. He is trying not to be as picky though because he doesn't want Michelle to be like him in that way. (Though don't give her the peas.... OMG!)

I found a recipe on Pintrest for Salisbury Steak. It led me to this blog and this recipe.

Salisbury Steak with Caramelized Onion Gravy

Ingredients:

Onion Gravy
2 large red onions, thinly sliced
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
3 cups low-sodium beef broth
1/2 cup dry red wine (optional)
1 tablespoon tomato paste
1 teaspoon cider vinegar
Salt and pepper

Meat Patties
1 pound lean ground beef
1/2 cup cooked white rice
1 egg yolk
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon pepper
1 clove minced garlic
1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce
3 tablespoons chopped parsley
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1 tablespoon olive oil

Directions:
1) To make gravy: Heat butter in a large sauté pan. Add onions and cook over medium-high heat, until onions start to brown, stirring occasionally. When onions are slightly softened and turning a deep honey brown, add 1/4 cup broth. Reduce heat, cover and continue cooking, adding more broth as needed to prevent caramelized bits at the bottom of the pan from burning. It should take at least 25 to 30 minutes to properly caramelize onions. Stir in flour and cook for about 2 minutes. Add wine and reduce by half. Stir in remaining beef broth and tomato paste. Stir in cider vinegar. Simmer for 10 minutes. Add salt and pepper to taste. Reduce heat to low and keep warm.
2) To make patties: Mix ground beef, rice, egg yolk, salt, pepper, garlic, Worcestershire sauce, parsley and thyme in a bowl. Shape into 4 oval patties about 3/4-inch thick. Heat olive oil in a large nonstick skillet set over medium-high heat. Sear patties about 3 minutes per side, or until a brown crust forms. Pour gravy over patties and simmer for an additional 10 minutes. Serve warm with mashed potatoes or noodles. Yield: 4 Servings.

Well, it sounded delicious. But I don't think we will make this one again. First of all, I think we made the patties a little off. Catherine made them more like hamburger size when I really think they should have been flatter. And they were not as moist as I would have liked. And I don't know what was up with the rice in them. David thought they were onions and almost refused to try it. Finally, that made a ton of onion. A TON! Way more than was needed for 4 little patties. It was a good sauce though. We also added mushrooms to it. They were good. And we served it with mashed potatoes and purple cauliflower. Michelle enjoyed the mashed potatoes.

Salisbury Steak is a good idea. Even David thought so. But we just need to try another recipe.

Trip To Asia

We like Asian food. And by we, I don't usually mean David. If we go to Panda Express, we drive through the burger joint next door for him. He will eat some orange chicken if we make him.

But eating out is expensive. Especially at Panda Express or other Chinese take out. And since we are trying to stay on budget and still eat fun stuff, we decided to try and make some Chinese take out at home.

I found this recipe on Pintrest and it led me to this blog and this recipe for Cashew Chicken.

Cashew Chicken (with a kick)
2 chicken breasts cubed
1 tbsp cooking sherry
2 tbsp low sodium soy sauce
¼ cup oil
1/2-1 tsp red pepper flakes (depending on how spicy you want it, a little goes a long way)
3 green onions, sliced diagonally
2 cloves garlic, minced (about 1 tsp of jarred minced garlic)
1/2 cup cashews, unsalted
toasted sesame seeds
lightly or unsalted cashews.

Sauce:
4 tbsp soy sauce
1 1/2 tbsp cornstarch
4 tsp sugar
2 tsp white vinegar

Combine 1 tablespoon soy sauce with the cooking sherry in medium sized bowl. Cut chicken into bite-sized pieces, put chicken pieces in soy/sherry mixture. Let sit while you prepare the other ingredients.

In a small bowl, whisk 4 tablespoons soy sauce, 1 1/2 tbsp corn starch, 4 tsp sugar, and 2 tsp vinegar. Set aside. Slice the green onions, and measure out the red pepper flakes and minced garlic.

Drain chicken in strainer to get the marinade off as much a possible. Heat oil in a wok over high heat. Add red pepper flakes to oil,stir a couple times. Add chicken all at once, let sit for a minute or two till golden,then turn chicken. Add garlic to chicken. Cook chicken till golden on all sides and cooked through. drain oil if there is still an excessive amount. Add cashews. Move wok off hot stove and immediately pour in sauce while constantly turning chicken over to cover everything in sauce. Sauce should thicken quite a bit, if you want it thicker put it back on medium heat for about 5-10 seconds, and stir, stir, stir. Sprinkle toasted sesame seeds and add sliced green onions. Serve over Rice. ENJOY!

I didn't use a wok. I just used a big non-stick skillet. I didn't use low sodium soy sauce. I didn't slice my onions diagonally. And my cashews were lightly salted. I only used a 1/2 teaspoon of red pepper flakes. It had a little kick to it.

David said it was edible. Carolynn and I liked it, but we both felt that there were too many cashews. Catherine said it was too spicy. Also, it didn't make a whole lot. But enough for 1 serving each. We might try this one again. We ate it with white rice. But I think fried rice would have been good too.

Trying Something New

So in order to eat out less and save money, we are trying out some new recipes. Less money is spent and we even tend to eat healthier. A winning combo. Our first experiment was Chicken Tortilla Soup. I got the recipe from Food Network.

Chicken Tortilla Soup
Recipe courtesy Danny Boome
Show: Rescue Chef Episode: Sunday Soup for Supper

Total Time: 35 min
Prep: 10 min
Cook: 25 min
Yield:4 to 6 servings
Level: Easy

Ingredients
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 small onion, diced
2 tablespoons minced garlic
2 jalapenos, finely diced
6 cups low-sodium chicken broth
1 (14.5-ounce) can fire roasted diced tomatoes
1 (14.5-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained
3 chicken breasts, boneless and skinless
2 limes, juiced, plus wedges for garnish
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
1 cup roughly chopped fresh cilantro leaves
1 (8-inch) flour tortilla, grilled, cut into thin strips
1 avocado, pitted, sliced
1 cup shredded Monterrey cheese

Directions
In a large saucepan heat the vegetable oil. Add the onions and cook for 2 minutes. Once the onions have softened add the garlic and jalepenos and cook for another minute. Pour the chicken broth, tomatoes and beans into the pot and bring to a boil. Once at a boil lower heat to simmer and add your chicken breasts. Cook the chicken for 20 to 25 minutes. Once chicken is cooked remove from pot. When cool enough to handle shred it and set it aside. Add lime juice and fresh cilantro to the pot. In a serving bowl add a mound of shredded chicken. Ladle soup over chicken and top with a lime wedge, grilled tortilla strips, avocado slices and cheese.


I didn't follow this exactly. First of all, I was out of chicken stock. So I used turkey stock instead. Also, I didn't make my own tortilla strips. I bought tortilla chips at the store. And also, I added a cup of frozen corn. I thought it might be spicy and I thought the corn might help. It wasn't too spicy. We also didn't think it needed lime wedges. The avocado was good though.

Carolynn, Catherine and I liked it. It was too spicy for Michelle to try. David doesn't eat anything with beans in it. This is something we will be sure to make again.

Coke For Dinner

This is what you're going to do.

First, you're going to go to the store and buy some pork roast, (about 2 lbs) some BBQ sauce (1 bottle), and some Coke. Next, you're going to put that pork roast in the crock pot and pour in a can of Coke. Let that cook for about 6 or 7 hours. Then drain off the Coke. Shred up the pork with some forks. Then pour on the sauce. Stir it around, heat it through and serve it on a bun.

And it is awesome.

Make yourself some macaroni salad and some baked beans and you got one heck of a dinner.

Unless your name is Gena.

Then you don't like BBQ sauce or beans. But you can drink an entire 12 pack of Coke in one day.

Oh well.

Autumn Smells Good

It's my favorite time of year. Autumn brings all my favorite stuff. The weather is finally cooler after all that summer heat. (Checking black roofs on the top of prisons in 113 degree heat does not rock.) The leaves start changing colors. Holidays are coming. Halloween is so fun. There is a lot of candy. There are all of my cool decorations. The kids get awesome costumes. Then comes Thanksgiving. That's my favorite part. I love me some Thanksgiving dinner. Actually, I love all the fall foods.

We have been making all kinds of autumn foods. We baked banana bread and pumpkin bread. We baked some regular bread. We made potato cheese soup and vegetable beef stew. We baked cake and cupcakes. But one of our favorites this fall is bread pudding. The girls just can't get enough of it. And it is so yummy and so simple.

When my grandpa was little his dad worked in a grocery store and his uncle had a farm nearby. They didn't have a lot of money, but they always plenty of eggs, milk and bread. So bread pudding was one of his favorite treats.

You can make bread pudding with any bread. I really mean any bread. I made it earlier this week with leftover hot dog buns, see picture. With some eggs, milk, sugar, and cream and you can be enjoying this yummy treat. The kids like it with maple syrup. And since it is bread with milk and eggs and you can put maple syrup on it... They eat the left overs for breakfast.

Jennifer's Bread Pudding

Ingredients

2 Cups of Milk
¾ Cup of Cream
4 Eggs
½ Cup of Sugar (Plus some extra to sprinkle on top.)
1/3 Cup of Nut Flavored Liqueur (I used Di Saronno. But if we are all out, I just leave it out and it still tastes yummy.)
1 Teaspoon of Vanilla
½ Teaspoon of Salt
2 Teaspoons of Cinnamon
7 ½ Cups of Diced Bread (Any bread will do. But if your use cinnamon bread leave out the cinnamon.

(I like mine plain, but you could add nuts or raisins or any other dried fruit mixed in.)

Directions-

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Whisk together everything but the bread. Then pour it over the bread. Let it soak for 15 minutes.

Spoon it into 6 ramekins. Sprinkle the tops with sugar. Place the ramekins into a large roaster and pour hot water into the roaster, filling the roaster with water half way up the sides of the ramekins. Be careful not to spill water into the puddings. Place the roaster in the over and bake for 40 to 45 minutes. Take out of the water to cool. Let cool at least 30 minutes. We like to eat them with maple syrup.

Wordless Wednesday

Chicken Fried Steak
Made By Me...
With Tyler Florence's Recipe
Apple Valley, California
September 2009

See more Wordless Wednesday here.

Not Exactly Red Lobster

So I made fish for dinner. It was snapper and I got the recipe from the Food Network. And as usual, my fish turned out like poo. I just don’t understand it. Why can’t I make decent fish? I like fish. Red Lobster is one of my favorite restaurants. I like fish tacos. But when I buy it and try to cook it, I get poo. Maybe I better stick to eating out for fish and stick to cooking chicken. Anyone have any good chicken recipes?

Thursday 13- Edition 12

Thirteen Tasty Pies

1. Banana Cream Pie
2. Cherry Pie
3. Lemon Meringue Pie
4. Carmel Apple Pie (From Julian Apple Pie Co. YUMMY!)
5. Dutch Apple Pie
6. Rhubarb Pie (From Mrs. Knott’s)
7. Strawberry Pie
8. Mince Meat Pie (Maybe not that tasty)
9. Pumpkin Pie
10. Pecan Pie
11. Peach Pie
12. Chocolate Cream Pie
13. Cream Cheese Pie (Also known as Cheesecake)

Nagging In A Nutshell

I know, I haven’t been writing like I used to. After my vacation, I got back to work and had a lot of catching up to do. By the time I got that caught up, March was over. That means a month end and a quarter ends. So I was busy again. Now I am all caught up at work. Also, Spring Break ended and I got three big projects for school, one in each class. On top of that I have regular life and the kids and everything, so I guess I have been slacking here.

Maybe it’s not me… maybe it’s you folks with nothing better to do than to read my little ol’ blog.

I am not the only one who has been slacking either. Carolynn finished another book she hasn’t reviewed yet. She also took a bunch of cool trips over spring break she hasn’t written about that yet either. Not to mention, she is having a birthday soon and it planning a fancy tea. Catherine finished a book to review last night and began a new one. I haven’t been keeping up with my good and bad reports, but Catherine has been pretty even over all… not too bad, but not that good either. She popped the lens out of her glasses and I almost had a heart attack, but it didn’t break and was quickly fixed. I noticed Trisha’s blog hasn’t been as frequently updated. But she has been sick and she too has a life. She just yesterday uploaded some of her vacation pictures. I know I promised a vacation video. It’s coming soon. I promise. By the end of this weekend you will be able to have a video of our chick vacation.

Someone who has been blogging regularly, my mom! Yep, she started a blog and it’s pretty good too. Be sure and stop by and leave her a comment. She has been writing about baseball. My parents and Grandpa are huge baseball fans. My grandpa is a huge fan of any sport really.

I gave up writing about American Idol. Carolynn and I just weren’t into it this year. There is not anyone we really liked. They are all pretty good, but nothing so special we feel compelled to watch and vote.

I have been watching a few movies lately. Recently I got No Reservations on DVD. I enjoyed it. It’s a chick flick for sure. David got I Am Legend on DVD for Easter. I thought the movie was pretty good, but I felt like something was left out. It made me want to read the book to see if it is in there. I added it to my ever growing list of books to read. I wonder if they have a book delivery service like Netflix for books. If not, I should start one. They have one for video games like that I know. Carolynn got Enchanted for Easter. She and I saw that one at the theaters with Aunt Paveena. Catherine and David watched it for the first time. Catherine enjoyed it. David said it was cheesy. I agree. I got Across the Universe on DVD, but I have not watched it yet. Tuesday we got Sweeney Todd on DVD. Carolynn loved it. She said it is her second favorite movie (first being Hairspray). I liked it, but it was very bloody. Anyone who has seen the stage play knows the songs, but when there is killing it is done mostly off stage or in the dark. It scared Catherine.

This weekend, we plan to continue to clean out the apartment and make a donation to Goodwill. This is in preparation of our upcoming move at the end of June. I want to move only the good stuff. I don’t want to move crap we don’t need. Moving is expensive as it is without the added junk.

Speaking of expense… If anyone has cheap easy meals we could try, send them our way. I get sick of the same old stuff. But I don’t want to get too fancy because I am trying to save for the big move. I turned my Easter ham into 5 dinners… Easter dinner, ham sandwiches, au gratin potatoes with ham, a ham and egg casserole, and I used the bone to make a navy bean soup.

Okay people, that is my life in a nutshell. Enjoy.

Iron Chef America- Battle Guacamole

When Trish was here, we bought avocados from a guy in a stand near Pala. The plan was we were each going to make some guacamole and see the difference. However, the avocados took too long to ripen so I made both guacamoles today. Here are my results:

-Catherine liked Trisha’s version better.
-Carolynn liked mine better.
-Trish’s had better consistency. She uses tomatillos for hers. I never used those before.
-Mine was spicier than hers.

Both were tasty and neither was wasted. I declare a tie.

It's All Greek To Me

We finally got to try our Greek food. We got it from Daphne's Greek Cafe. We got Falafel (a deep fried veggie patty), Tzatziki, (a Greek yogurt and cucumber sauce), pita bread, rice, a Greek salad, Gyros,(sort of like a meatloaf, made of beef and lamb, roasted on a spit and sliced really thin) spanakopita, (filo dough filled with spinach and cheese), a fire roasted pepper feta cheese spread, hummus, and bakalava (a pastry with nuts and cinnamon). We liked most of it. The Falafel was okay. We give it a 3 out of 5. The Tzatziki gets a 3 also. The pita bread got a 5, as did the rice and the salad. The Gyros got a 4. I was the only one who liked the spanakopita. The feta spread was too spicy and no one wanted any hummus. The bakalava got a 3 too. It certainly was different.

We will have ham for Easter. I already know I like that.

India In The Kitchen

Well, we just finished our Indian/Mediterranean dinner. It was not exactly the best food ever. Nevertheless, we had an adventure and we all tried something new. Hummus is gross. Just so you know. The curry-creamed chicken was good. I was going to make curried chicken tenders, but we tried this instead. Couscous is okay, but it was a little bland. I never thought Indian food would be bland. Catherine made pita chips that are good too. David would not try the Hummus. We could not blame him. Catherine tried a red bell pepper. She made an awful face. Carolynn somehow ended up wearing her chicken. It was an adventurous dinner. Next week we are trying Greek food from a near by diner. It will be another adventure.

Thank You, Come Again

I went to the grocery store and I got some Indian foods. I got the idea from the FoodTV website. Tomorrow we are having hummus, couscous, and curry chicken tenders. We got pita chips. It is going to be an adventure in foods. David even tried something new today. He ate a sandwich that did not contain peanut butter and jelly. It was a meatball sub. He even liked it. Tomorrow he will even try the Indian foods. He needs to be less picky because Catherine wants to do what he does and I don’t want Catherine to be afraid to try new things. Kids are weird.

The only adventure this weekend will be the adventure in food. We are not going anywhere. We are doing some serious cleaning. That is it. I am sure that will be exciting to write about.

Do not forget about the car pictures.