Fun with Food

I have been experimenting with new recipes over the summer. I know when school starts again I won't have time to go through all this trial and error so I am hoping to find a few keepers that I can add to our dinner time rotation. If you have any ideas, be sure to send me the recipe :)

In keeping with our current Chocolate and Peanut Butter theme, I made devil's food cupcakes and topped them with Peanut Butter Frosting.

I needed a big batch of bite-sized food for a church social and these were a big hit. I somehow managed to have leftovers to bring home, but they didn't last long!

This next one isn't really "new" but I thought it was sweet.

We were having a really full weekend recently and Brad said he'd make dinner. We didn't have a ton of options on hand so he whipped up one of my personal favorites: Chocolate Chip Pancakes! Yum!

 

And since we had Bisquick on hand, I thought I'd see what recipes the box had to offer. Sure enough, there was a recipe for Chicken Fingers :) Since I don't fry and don't intend to learn, this was right up my alley. I will say this first attempt was pretty bland, though, so when I try again I'll spruce it up. Right now I am marinating some chicken in Italian Dressing so I'll let you know if THAT turns out better :) Oh, and on the side we had Ranch Potato Wedges :) Easy Peezy and kinda pretty, too!

Now, for my last New-Thing-To-Attempt, I tackled Chicken Pot Pie. I've never made one myself so I consulted a few people with more experience :)

I should preface this experience by saying that all-told it took me about 3 hours!

First, I made a Martha Stewart pie crust because I'm a glutton for punishment...

I also made a Bechamel Sauce Base to cook my veggies in (and to add my cooked chicken to).

I've tried to make this sauce many times before...and my results usually look more like gravy, but this time I had tremendous success!! I was so proud of the sauce that I almost forgot it wasn't destined to be Alfredo this time :)

And when Brad saw it, he immediately declared, "We need to make pasta again!! That was so good!"

So, a fun side note about the vegetables. I put "frozen stew / soup veggies" on the grocery list thinking Brad would grab the mixed bag of potato chunks with carrots, etc from the freezer section. He couldn't find those so instead he grabbed one that is designed for soups and maybe even gumbo...

I've never had a chicken pot pie with tomatoes and ocra, but it was pretty good :)

We decided next time we'd just do crust on top because having it on the bottom ended up being too much... But if we do the same crust recipe we'll have half for the pot pie and half for a dessert pie :)

As for this first attempt at a pot pie, I'd say the end results turned out beautifully!

Reese's Pie!

For Father's Day, Wesley picked out a delectable pie and dessert book (by Martha Stewart, no less!) So as part of that gift, I told Brad to pick any pie and I'd make it :)

He surprised me by flipping past all the fruit concoctions... and we almost settled on Coconut Cream Pie (Wesley's favorite)... then we spotted it and it was love at first sight.

Frozen Chocolate Peanut Butter Pie!

I had recently had delicious success making these peanut butter brownie cookies so I thought I could handle this :)

One look and you'll want to try it, too.

See what I mean?

Here you go, I'll save you a step:

RECIPE

First, I gathered my ingredients and made a Wal-Mart run.

Then, I donned the very flattering chef hat made by my adoring husband and set to work.

I knew I'd have no trouble with the chocolate crumb crust... We didn't have the exact type of cookies it called for, but I improvised with these. The substitution made beautiful crumbs in my food processor.

After baking and cooling the crust it was time to mix up the yummy filling.

The trouble started when I realized it really does matter if the cream cheese is at room temperature. It never would get what I'd call "fluffy".

After I got the cream cheese to an acceptable consistency, it was time to add the peanut butter. I called Brad in to help with that step so we could test out his other Father's Day gift (see photo). It worked like a charm and was easy to clean up, too!

My next problem occurred with the recipe being written by Martha Stewart :) The first part of the filling has to be mixed by a mixer... the second part also requires a mixer and a chilled bowl... Ug! I had to clean up the sticky peanut butter goo with hot water and then chill the bowl in order to whip my cream.

Somehow, I bypassed the "soft peaks" phase and went straight on to cool whip. If I knew that would happen I would have just bought a tub and skipped that step!

Just look at it!

After I made cool whip, I was supposed to whisk it in batches into the peanut butter mixture.... Well since my cream cheese wasn't warm, that mixture wasn't light and fluffy. It was like whisking into regular ole peanut butter! Not easy!

Not surprisingly, the end results looked nothing like it did in the book - but it sure did taste great!

And despite having to wash my mixing bowl in the middle of the process, I still wound up with a ton of dirty dishes after I was done.

I was going to write this whole process off and never make the pie again ...

Then, as I looked for images to use in the blog, I spotted these.

Hmmm...

Ah ~ Romance :)

Wesley has been out of town visiting his grandparents so it seemed like the perfect time for a date with my hubby. And I must say we crammed a LOT into this past Saturday!

We tried on various glasses styles at the Wal-Mart vision center... And walked away empty-handed, unfortunately.

Then, to replace our rusted and broken fire pit, we picked out a beautiful new chiminea :)

 Next, we headed to our little Thai restaurant. I had been eying their wonderfully ornate mirror and thought a self-portrait was a good excuse to get a picture of it :)

Sadly, the picture doesn't do it justice. In the daylight, it twinkles with tiny gems. It's really, really something to see!

After dinner, the one thing Brad has been longing to see was finally spotted along the highway.

The blueberry sign was out signifying that it was time to go get our first bucket of berries!

And even though I had tried to dress cute for our date and it was 95 degrees outside... we picked blueberries! Thank goodness I keep a hair band in the car for just such an emergency!

I have to say that's the weirdest thing I've ever done on a date, but Brad was so excited and we had a great time.

I'd love to hear from my 5 readers. What's the weirdest thing you've done on a date?

Awards Abound

It's that time of year again.

The end of another school year.

I have been very thankful for this year though, because in comparison to previous years, 4th grade has been a wonderful experience! Wesley is really coming into his own and making friends. He finally got to participate in the gifted program and was able to spread his wings through that avenue.

And this has been an excellent year in AWANA. Last year, you may recall, he received the Book One Award... which is the award given to kids who have completed the first book (huge surprise, right?)

This year, he received the Excellence Award... which is for children who have completed THREE Books!

He was so proud of himself! He puffed out his chest and told me his goal next year was to win the Timothy Award, which is the highest award reserved for kids who complete all of the books for the T&T program (3rd-6th grades)

I think he is on track to accomplish that goal!

Monday night, Wesley emptied out his book bag and discovered all sorts of things he had been meaning to give me (haha) Some of the forms had deadlines back in April... including the school photo order form! Another form was a permission slip for Fun Day this Friday (we barely got that turned in on time).  And one other tiny little slip of paper was stuck in with the bunch. It was a paper I had never gotten from this school before.

It said, "Congratulations! Your child will be receiving an award on Wednesday at 10:30 AM."  I jumped up and down and cheered! It has been a couple years since we've gone to an awards ceremony and it was just a tremendous confirmation that all the struggles with homework and assignments were worth it! Wes had no idea what the award was so we waited for the big reveal this morning.

Granny even came over for the big day :)   ... and I didn't manage to get her picture :(

So, what award was it?

Wesley made the President's List! That is for the students who maintained all A's and B's for the year!!!

I couldn't be prouder! Granny and I spent a good 10 minutes taking turns hugging and bragging on him!

It must have made him stand a little prouder... and a little taller... because according to this picture he's almost up to my chin!!

I guess he's not my Little Man anymore!

Now that Wesley has finished elementary school (*sniff sniff*) I can see big things on the horizon. Wonderful times lay just around the corner!

Just like our back doors on a chilly May day... the future is wide open!

Birthday Party & Mother's Day

We had a VERY busy week last week!

Tuesday, Brad went to the church to prepare for Wednesday.

I stayed home to clean for the weekend.

Wednesday was the Ice Cream Olympics (you can see in a previous post how that took over our evening!)

Thursday was May 5th. A pretty important day :)

~*~ WESLEY'S BIRTHDAY ~*~

After school, we stopped by Cup of Hope for a little treat. He didn't like the sound of any of the cupcakes (I did, but he didn't) so he opted to try a chocolate chip scone instead. 

After the snack, we had to finish up a science project (only the 3rd this year...) We were making a model of a plant cell. Since it was assigned and due during his birthday week, I thought Wes would enjoy making it as a cake :)

And didn't he do an awesome job? 

Then, Thursday night, we had a very special dinner! Pork filets with baked potatoes and the very last ears of corn from Wesley's crop. What a special treat! As you can see in the photo, he LOVED it! 

 Finally, after the project and dinner, it was time to open gifts!!
We gave him a Ripley's Believe It or Not book. ... and he couldn't believe it!   :)   In fact, he was so fascinated that he almost forgot about his other gifts!  (almost)

The 2nd gift was a bit of a mystery.
What could it be?

Computer Parts!! Brad and Wesley had a wonderful time putting the pieces together to make Wesley's very first computer!

When Saturday arrived, it was another crazy day!

We started the day off icing a LOT of cupcakes. Then we headed to Collinsville Day for lunch :)

After that, it was...

~*~ PARTY TIME ~*~

All the usual fiesta supplies were on hand...



Sombreros for all the kids...

and some of the adults!

Even a pinata - from Mexico no less!

The newspaper stuffing was in Spanish!

 I have to say the party was a complete success - everyone seemed to have a great time and the food was yummy.

After the party, we were all pretty exhausted. My parents stayed in town so I got to briefly see my mom on Mother's Day before they headed back to Birmingham.

~*~ MOTHER'S DAY ~*~

We had a good service Sunday morning and a wonderful breakfast for the ladies :) Then I headed home with my 2 favorite guys and was spoiled with relaxation, fun, and gifts.

Brad gave me 12 (!) petunias to plant in the front garden. I waited for it to cool off outside, but finally I couldn't wait any longer. I now have 11 bright pink accents and 1 purple / white plant. Can't wait for them to grow and grow :)

I logged some time playing video games with Wesley before I was presented with a beautiful purple flowery frame (custom-wrapped by Wesley himself)

I love the frame, don't get me wrong, but my favorite part was the card...

It says, "To a Mom who is terrific, fun, caring, a great cook, special, helpful and most of all.... very, very loved"

I certainly FELT very, very loved.



AWANA Ice Cream Olympics

Every year, AWANA goes out in style by hosting the Ice Cream Olympics. It's basically field day with Ice Cream in every activity... Oh yeah, and the kids get to eat a Sundae with all the toppings they can stand :) After everyone is good and sticky, they get rinsed off on the Redneck Water Slide.

This year was just as much fun as last year, despite the chilly weather.

And we had a massive turn-out. Take a look at this crowd:

Here is Wesley trying to warm up after his umpteenth trip down the slide. He thought he'd warm up and eat some ice cream!

After grabbing some sundaes, Wesley found some friends to hang out with.

He looks like he's Up To Something, too!

Here is his pal from across the street, Clare :) 

And, for a small taste of the fun, Check out this video of Wesley going down the slide for the first time.

Judging from his reaction at the end, I'd say he loved it!



Roses in bloom

What could be more beautiful than these roses?

The "red" ones that Kim convinced to bloom in a dark shade of pink are from Valentine's Day 2010. The Peach ones are new for 2011 :)

I have to say the peach ones are positively gorgeous in person and they are more fragrant than the previous ones... and they remind me of my favorite Barbie from my younger years :) Anyone else remember Peaches n Cream Barbie? I wanted her dress SO badly when I was little... and you know what, I still kinda do :)