1. Ikea's $1 meatball plate. (Going out to eat on the uber cheap! woot woot)
2. Blockette playing in the backyard
3. Getting the dryer fixed...again.
4. Feeling like things are getting back to normal.
5. Naps.
6. Eating dinner as a family on a semi regular basis.
7. Computer games played together as a family.
8. Blockette's new found excitement for the slug bug game.
9. 31 cent scoop night at Baskin Robbins
10. Giggle fits.
Thursday, April 29, 2010
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Play D'oh!
I'm helping out with Blockette's Sunday school class until the end of the school year. Unfortunately, both of her teachers quit at a the same time. No, this was not because Blockette is such a handful. That is purely coincidental!
I grew up in a really large church and there were only 4 other kids in my Sunday school class...on a good day. There are usually around 10 kids in Blockette's class. If everyone came every Sunday there would be around 15. That's a lot of 4 year olds.
The curriculum is good, but not designed for a large class. Some of the activities include sculpting things with play doh, but there is only enough playdoh in the lesson kit for 4-5 kids. Many times the other teacher and I are left wondering what we are going to do instead of having the kids do the sculpting activity.
Then I had a "d'oh" moment. Blockette's school makes playdough for the kids to use and I have the recipe in my handy dandy recipe binder. I made 2 batches. The blue one was supposed to be purple, but I re-discovered that food coloring does not make a good purple. It ends up looking like elephant gray. I used a lot of blue coloring to get the dough that color, and it still looks battleship gray. Oh well.
I grew up in a really large church and there were only 4 other kids in my Sunday school class...on a good day. There are usually around 10 kids in Blockette's class. If everyone came every Sunday there would be around 15. That's a lot of 4 year olds.
The curriculum is good, but not designed for a large class. Some of the activities include sculpting things with play doh, but there is only enough playdoh in the lesson kit for 4-5 kids. Many times the other teacher and I are left wondering what we are going to do instead of having the kids do the sculpting activity.
Then I had a "d'oh" moment. Blockette's school makes playdough for the kids to use and I have the recipe in my handy dandy recipe binder. I made 2 batches. The blue one was supposed to be purple, but I re-discovered that food coloring does not make a good purple. It ends up looking like elephant gray. I used a lot of blue coloring to get the dough that color, and it still looks battleship gray. Oh well.
The kids had a lot of fun playing and sculpting with this stuff, and no one complained about the color selection either...bonus! The dough did stick to the kids hands a bit more than the brand name stuff did, but it washed off easily with soap and water. (Note to self: do not let boys go into men's room alone or they will come back looking like they had a water fight, which they probably did.)
Another great thing about the homemade play dough is that it washes out nicely. Blockette got some of the blue clay ground into the sleeve of her white sweater. I washed it yesterday and there was no trace of anything blue. Double bonus!
PLAY DOUGH
2 c flour
1 c salt
4 t cream of tartar
2 c water
2T oil
food coloring
Mix the dry ingredients together in a large pot. Add wet ingredients and combine until there are no lumps. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly until mixture thickens and clumps together in one giant lump. By this time your arm should feel like it is going to fall off. Store in an air tight container.
Tuesday, April 27, 2010
Crab Rangoon Dip
What can I say, I've never met a crab rangoon I didn't like. What's there not to like? Crabby goodness paired with cream cheese, balanced with the crunch of the deep fried wonton skin. Do appetizers get any better than that? No. No they do not. If you think they do then you are wrong. Oh so very wrong.
Naturally, feeling the way I do about crab rangoon, when I saw the Hungry Mouse's recipe for crab rangoon dip, I thought it would rock my little world.
Do not make this dip. Whatever you do, stay away. Just say no. Remember you have been warned. Should you fail to heed these warnings you are going to be sorry. So sorry, that the next day your pants will be tight cause you and two of your friends ate the whole thing.
One of my friends told me that I could never make it again. Of course I am so evil that I am going to make it ALL THE TIME! (insert lightning, thunder clap and evil maniacal laughter here.)
The recipe said to used canned or fresh crab meat. I used a package and a half of imitation crab meat. I live in the Midwest and even canned crab meat is kind of pricey. The fake stuff tasted awesome so I'm giving you permission to use it, that is if you are foolish enough to not heed my warnings!!! Just make sure you chop the meat up. Big chunks of crab would not be conducive to dipping.
I served this dip with carrots, celery, pita chips and tortilla chips. I had to keep testing over and over to find out which combination I liked best. The results were inconclusive, and I need to make another batch..for scientific purposes. (Yay science!) The original recipe says you can use the dip as a filling for actual crab rangoons, or serve the dip over rice as a meal. Those both seem like too much work for how lazy I've been lately. I'd rather just shovel the dip into my mouth and get instant gratification.
Crab Rangoon Dip from the Hungry Mouse
13 oz. fresh crab meat (or canned, well drained)
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbls. chopped scallions or chives
2 Tbls. heavy cream
1 Tbls. horseradish
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground white pepper
hot sauce, to taste
Preheat oven to 375F. Butter an oven-proof dish (a 9" pie plate works well) and set aside. Blend all ingredients together and spoon into greased pan. Bake for 20 min.
There are a couple ways you can serve this: over rice, as a main course; or with crackers or bread as a hot appetizer.
Naturally, feeling the way I do about crab rangoon, when I saw the Hungry Mouse's recipe for crab rangoon dip, I thought it would rock my little world.
Do not make this dip. Whatever you do, stay away. Just say no. Remember you have been warned. Should you fail to heed these warnings you are going to be sorry. So sorry, that the next day your pants will be tight cause you and two of your friends ate the whole thing.
One of my friends told me that I could never make it again. Of course I am so evil that I am going to make it ALL THE TIME! (insert lightning, thunder clap and evil maniacal laughter here.)
The recipe said to used canned or fresh crab meat. I used a package and a half of imitation crab meat. I live in the Midwest and even canned crab meat is kind of pricey. The fake stuff tasted awesome so I'm giving you permission to use it, that is if you are foolish enough to not heed my warnings!!! Just make sure you chop the meat up. Big chunks of crab would not be conducive to dipping.
I served this dip with carrots, celery, pita chips and tortilla chips. I had to keep testing over and over to find out which combination I liked best. The results were inconclusive, and I need to make another batch..for scientific purposes. (Yay science!) The original recipe says you can use the dip as a filling for actual crab rangoons, or serve the dip over rice as a meal. Those both seem like too much work for how lazy I've been lately. I'd rather just shovel the dip into my mouth and get instant gratification.
Crab Rangoon Dip from the Hungry Mouse
13 oz. fresh crab meat (or canned, well drained)
16 oz. cream cheese, softened
2 Tbls. chopped scallions or chives
2 Tbls. heavy cream
1 Tbls. horseradish
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. ground white pepper
hot sauce, to taste
Preheat oven to 375F. Butter an oven-proof dish (a 9" pie plate works well) and set aside. Blend all ingredients together and spoon into greased pan. Bake for 20 min.
There are a couple ways you can serve this: over rice, as a main course; or with crackers or bread as a hot appetizer.
Monday, April 26, 2010
Cheater Cheater Peach Cobbler: Pop Quiz
It's Monday and I bet you didn't know you were going to get tested. I sure hope you studied and did your homework!
Topic: peach crunch cake
1.) This is the dessert you get when:
A. You forget you were supposed to make a dessert for your spouse to bring to a dinner meeting and you don't want to go to the store...again.
B. you realize you don't have all the ingredients in the house to make the brownies you promised your spouse over email.
C. you want to gross everyone out by how disgusting a dessert looks
D. All of the above
2.) This is a "cheater" dish because:
A. It contains a cake mix instead of other various ingredients.
B. It only contains five ingredients.
C. The only instructions are to : layer ingredients in order, and bake for 40 minutes.
D. All of the above
3.) If you make this dish for a gathering that you aren't attending you will:
A. Try to sneak a taste by scooping the tiniest bits from the corners.
B. Be presented with a dirty empty pan.
C. Have a doozy of a time cleaning said pan because the sugars caramelized and cemented themselves to the edges.
D. All of the above.
4.) You could make this cake:
A. In a dutch oven for a tasty treat while camping, substituting A can of Sprite for the butter.
B. By using a can of cherry pie filling, a can of crushed pineapple and chocolate cake mix.
C. By using a pint of blueberries, a can of crushed pineapple and a lemon cake mix.
D. By using 2 cans of apple pie filling and a spice cake mix.
E. And use granola instead of the nut topping.
F. All of the above and more.
Good Luck and thanks to Bakerella for posting the recipe on her site.
Peach Crunch Cake from Bakerella
24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup
1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 16 pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Layer ingredients in a 13 X 9 dish, in order starting with the peaches. Bake for about 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold… with or without ice cream.
Topic: peach crunch cake
1.) This is the dessert you get when:
A. You forget you were supposed to make a dessert for your spouse to bring to a dinner meeting and you don't want to go to the store...again.
B. you realize you don't have all the ingredients in the house to make the brownies you promised your spouse over email.
C. you want to gross everyone out by how disgusting a dessert looks
D. All of the above
2.) This is a "cheater" dish because:
A. It contains a cake mix instead of other various ingredients.
B. It only contains five ingredients.
C. The only instructions are to : layer ingredients in order, and bake for 40 minutes.
D. All of the above
3.) If you make this dish for a gathering that you aren't attending you will:
A. Try to sneak a taste by scooping the tiniest bits from the corners.
B. Be presented with a dirty empty pan.
C. Have a doozy of a time cleaning said pan because the sugars caramelized and cemented themselves to the edges.
D. All of the above.
4.) You could make this cake:
A. In a dutch oven for a tasty treat while camping, substituting A can of Sprite for the butter.
B. By using a can of cherry pie filling, a can of crushed pineapple and chocolate cake mix.
C. By using a pint of blueberries, a can of crushed pineapple and a lemon cake mix.
D. By using 2 cans of apple pie filling and a spice cake mix.
E. And use granola instead of the nut topping.
F. All of the above and more.
Good Luck and thanks to Bakerella for posting the recipe on her site.
Peach Crunch Cake from Bakerella
24.5 oz jar of sliced peaches in light syrup
1 package yellow cake mix
1 stick butter (1/2 cup), cut into 16 pieces
1 cup brown sugar
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Layer ingredients in a 13 X 9 dish, in order starting with the peaches. Bake for about 40 minutes. Serve warm or cold… with or without ice cream.
Thursday, April 22, 2010
Thankful Thurs 7
1. Finding coins on a walk
2. Mrblocko was able to jerry-rig the grill to work for just a bit longer
3. The dryer fluff in the robin's nest outside Blockette's window.
4. Nicor didn't ruin either garden when they were working on the gas line.
5. Nicor tilled up a particularly rooty part of the yard and now I can easily plant something there.
6. The dryer doesn't always make that weird noise.
7. The awesome sale at Old Navy.
8. Giving the loaners back...again.
9. Mrblocko giving me a bit of a break by driving Blockette to school 2 days in a row.
10. Grocerys costing a lot less that I budgeted for.
11. Pigs, natures perfect food.
12. Getting a chance to finish a good book.
2. Mrblocko was able to jerry-rig the grill to work for just a bit longer
3. The dryer fluff in the robin's nest outside Blockette's window.
4. Nicor didn't ruin either garden when they were working on the gas line.
5. Nicor tilled up a particularly rooty part of the yard and now I can easily plant something there.
6. The dryer doesn't always make that weird noise.
7. The awesome sale at Old Navy.
8. Giving the loaners back...again.
9. Mrblocko giving me a bit of a break by driving Blockette to school 2 days in a row.
10. Grocerys costing a lot less that I budgeted for.
11. Pigs, natures perfect food.
12. Getting a chance to finish a good book.
Wednesday, April 21, 2010
Baked Chicken Parm and Spaghetti Squash
Do you ever make one of those meals where your entire family has made the assumption that the meal is going to be sub par, but you know it is going to be something super rockin awesome? This baked chicken Parmesan from Taste and Tell definitely fell into that category.
Mrblocko thought the dish was going to be bland. He asked me,"What are we having with the chicken." I replied, "Well the recipe says to serve it on a bed of Spaghetti squash." He shook his head and said, "No, what are we having with it?"
"I thought we would have salad and bread." Mrblocko got a weird look on his face after I said that, so I asked, "Do you think that's not enough to eat?"
"No, that sounds like enough food. I was just wondering what we were going to have on the chicken."
I scanned the print out of the recipe once more. "It doesn't say anything about a sauce." I peeked in the pantry and saw that we did have some pasta sauce. "Try it first, and if you think it is bland or dry you can put some red sauce on it if you want."
Mrblocko took the first bite out of the three of us. As I was taking my first bite he turned to me and said, "Hey, you were right this doesn't need any sauce. The squash is really sweet and it tastes really good with the spices in the chicken."
I just nodded and smiled with the satisfaction that I was right. Then, as I was writing this blog entry, I pulled up the web page from Taste and Tell that contained the recipe. Go ahead. Click on the hyperlink at the top of the page. What do you see? Yup. Red sauce. I think the main point that I would like to make here was that I was right. That's all that really matters now isn't it.
Unless you have a big family, you are going to have a bunch of leftovers. We ate this twice with Mrblocko eating 1 chicken breast and Blockette and I sharing another. The grocery store had a sale on mutant chicken breasts again. I suppose if your grocery store stocks run of the mill meats you won't have an excess of leftovers.
I don't know about you and your families, but in Casa de Blocko we are sick of leftovers by the third time. If a dish is going to feed us for more than 2 meals I'll just freeze the rest. Cooked chicken breast gets dry and tough in the freezer. At least it does for me.
So what did I do with the remaining 2 chicken breasts? Well, we had half a package of ramen, half a can of chicken and rice, and a cup or two of veggie stock in the fridge that needed to be used up or tossed out. I cut the chicken up and dumped that into the 3 leftover soups, along with the rest of the squash, and some diced carrots and celery. The breading on the chicken fell off, but the spices from the breading flavored the broth wonderfully. I even think the bread crumbs (BTW, I used breadcrumbs from the can, about 1/4 c. I didn't have the right kind of bread to make them from scratch) thickened up the soup base.
Even the left overs made from left overs were wonderful. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Baked Chicken Parmesan from Taste and Tell
vegetable oil spray
4 slices whole wheat bread
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 cup nonfat or low fat buttermilk or egg whites
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, all visible fat removed
Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly spray a rectangular baking sheet and a slightly smaller cooling rack with vegetable oil spray. Put rack on baking sheet. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, process bread into fine crumbs. Pour into a shallow bowl. Stir Parmesan*, parsley, paprika, garlic powder and thyme into crumbs. Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Dip chicken into buttermilk, shake off excess liquid, dredge in crumbs and shake off excess crumbs. Put chicken on cooling rack. Spray each breast with vegetable oil spray. Bake for 15 minutes, turn chicken and bake for 5 minutes or until done.
Mrblocko thought the dish was going to be bland. He asked me,"What are we having with the chicken." I replied, "Well the recipe says to serve it on a bed of Spaghetti squash." He shook his head and said, "No, what are we having with it?""I thought we would have salad and bread." Mrblocko got a weird look on his face after I said that, so I asked, "Do you think that's not enough to eat?"
"No, that sounds like enough food. I was just wondering what we were going to have on the chicken."
I scanned the print out of the recipe once more. "It doesn't say anything about a sauce." I peeked in the pantry and saw that we did have some pasta sauce. "Try it first, and if you think it is bland or dry you can put some red sauce on it if you want."
Mrblocko took the first bite out of the three of us. As I was taking my first bite he turned to me and said, "Hey, you were right this doesn't need any sauce. The squash is really sweet and it tastes really good with the spices in the chicken."
I just nodded and smiled with the satisfaction that I was right. Then, as I was writing this blog entry, I pulled up the web page from Taste and Tell that contained the recipe. Go ahead. Click on the hyperlink at the top of the page. What do you see? Yup. Red sauce. I think the main point that I would like to make here was that I was right. That's all that really matters now isn't it.
Unless you have a big family, you are going to have a bunch of leftovers. We ate this twice with Mrblocko eating 1 chicken breast and Blockette and I sharing another. The grocery store had a sale on mutant chicken breasts again. I suppose if your grocery store stocks run of the mill meats you won't have an excess of leftovers.
I don't know about you and your families, but in Casa de Blocko we are sick of leftovers by the third time. If a dish is going to feed us for more than 2 meals I'll just freeze the rest. Cooked chicken breast gets dry and tough in the freezer. At least it does for me.
So what did I do with the remaining 2 chicken breasts? Well, we had half a package of ramen, half a can of chicken and rice, and a cup or two of veggie stock in the fridge that needed to be used up or tossed out. I cut the chicken up and dumped that into the 3 leftover soups, along with the rest of the squash, and some diced carrots and celery. The breading on the chicken fell off, but the spices from the breading flavored the broth wonderfully. I even think the bread crumbs (BTW, I used breadcrumbs from the can, about 1/4 c. I didn't have the right kind of bread to make them from scratch) thickened up the soup base.
Even the left overs made from left overs were wonderful. This recipe is a keeper for sure!
Baked Chicken Parmesan from Taste and Tell
vegetable oil spray
4 slices whole wheat bread
1/4 cup plus 2 tablespoons grated Parmesan cheese
1 1/2 tablespoons finely snipped fresh parsley
1 1/2 teaspoons paprika
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme, crumbled
1/2 cup nonfat or low fat buttermilk or egg whites
6 boneless, skinless chicken breast halves, all visible fat removed
Preheat oven to 450F. Lightly spray a rectangular baking sheet and a slightly smaller cooling rack with vegetable oil spray. Put rack on baking sheet. Set aside.
In a food processor or blender, process bread into fine crumbs. Pour into a shallow bowl. Stir Parmesan*, parsley, paprika, garlic powder and thyme into crumbs. Pour buttermilk into a shallow bowl. Rinse chicken and pat dry with paper towels. Dip chicken into buttermilk, shake off excess liquid, dredge in crumbs and shake off excess crumbs. Put chicken on cooling rack. Spray each breast with vegetable oil spray. Bake for 15 minutes, turn chicken and bake for 5 minutes or until done.
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Moroccan Carrot Dip
I present to you Moroccan carrot dip a la the blog Stylish Cuisine. This is not a dip exclusively for carrots, but a dip made with carrots as it's base. As far as dips go, I'm not sure you could get much healthier than this.
Mrblocko and I could not stop eating this dip. I think it got better after the first day. Sitting in the fridge gave the flavors a chance to meld and get friendly with one another.
What did Blockette think? After the first bite, she made the scrunchy face and proclaimed it to be "yucky". A few days later, after seeing mommy and daddy gobbling the stuff down, she asked for another taste. Why the change of heart? The first time I brought the dip to the table, the olives were perched on top of the dip. Blockette as an aversion to all olives, so when she saw the dip, she saw the olives and knew it was super gross. By the time she asked for another taste all the olives had been eaten or hidden in the bottom of the dip. Guess what? With the offensive olives out of the picture, she actually liked it.
It was a good thing she had a change of heart. This dip makes a lot. I mean you are using a whole pound of carrots as a base. It took a week of lunches for us to get through the whole bowl. Not that I'm complaining about that. Just be aware if you are going to make this for yourself and you have a small family, you'll be eating the dip for a while.
Moroccan Carrot Dip from Stylish Cuisine
16 ounces carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons seeded green olives (left whole or chopped, your preference)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
4-6 rounds flat bread or pita pocket bread
Cook the chopped carrot and garlic in simmering, salted water, for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain well, then return them to the hot, dry pan for a minute or two, over medium heat, to dry them out further.Tip the carrots and garlic into the food processor bowl, and process until smooth. Add the cumin, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, sea salt, honey and lemon juice and process again. With the machine still running, add the olive oil gradually. Allow to cool. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, scatter with olives and cilantro leaves (if using), and serve with lightly warmed flat bread or chips for dipping.
Mrblocko and I could not stop eating this dip. I think it got better after the first day. Sitting in the fridge gave the flavors a chance to meld and get friendly with one another.What did Blockette think? After the first bite, she made the scrunchy face and proclaimed it to be "yucky". A few days later, after seeing mommy and daddy gobbling the stuff down, she asked for another taste. Why the change of heart? The first time I brought the dip to the table, the olives were perched on top of the dip. Blockette as an aversion to all olives, so when she saw the dip, she saw the olives and knew it was super gross. By the time she asked for another taste all the olives had been eaten or hidden in the bottom of the dip. Guess what? With the offensive olives out of the picture, she actually liked it.
It was a good thing she had a change of heart. This dip makes a lot. I mean you are using a whole pound of carrots as a base. It took a week of lunches for us to get through the whole bowl. Not that I'm complaining about that. Just be aware if you are going to make this for yourself and you have a small family, you'll be eating the dip for a while.
Moroccan Carrot Dip from Stylish Cuisine
16 ounces carrots, peeled and chopped into large pieces
1 clove garlic, peeled and left whole
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 pinch cayenne pepper
sea salt, to taste
1 tablespoon honey
2 tablespoons fresh lemon juice
3 tablespoons virgin olive oil
2 tablespoons seeded green olives (left whole or chopped, your preference)
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro leaves
4-6 rounds flat bread or pita pocket bread
Cook the chopped carrot and garlic in simmering, salted water, for about 20 minutes or until soft. Drain well, then return them to the hot, dry pan for a minute or two, over medium heat, to dry them out further.Tip the carrots and garlic into the food processor bowl, and process until smooth. Add the cumin, paprika, ginger, cinnamon, cayenne, sea salt, honey and lemon juice and process again. With the machine still running, add the olive oil gradually. Allow to cool. Spoon into a serving bowl, drizzle with a little extra olive oil, scatter with olives and cilantro leaves (if using), and serve with lightly warmed flat bread or chips for dipping.
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