the answer is always ALWAYS yes. 殺 A gastronomic experience unrivaled… And thankfully my mom and stepdad were here so they could watch the kids!!
A quick stop at Binny’s! It’s a huuuge liquor store I’d never been to.
Here’s what having kids looks like.
Owen accidentally tried to kill us all and burn the house down.
Kinda.
I had left these instructions to reheat his cinnamon roll in the toaster on a metal tray:
“Take out and put on tray [that the note was setting on] and TOAST on 3-4.”
I was getting ready in the morning and smelled something kinda burning so I went to check it out and the entire kitchen and dining room was filled with smoke that made my throat instantly hurt. I don’t know why the smoke detectors were not going off. Owen had the sliding door open but it needed way more than that. Both kids were trying to tell me what happened as I was trying to open more windows and doors while choking on the smoke (neither one said it hurt them?!) and seeing if anything was actually on fire.
I initially thought he had put the plastic container in the toaster oven (he’d done it before, hence the note) but the oven looked fine. It took me a minute to realize he had put it in the microwave. On a plastic plate. For three minutes.
I opened the microwave and was blasted with the worst burning smell. Of course the roll was was burnt to a crisp and the plate had started to burn and warp.
I tried not to lose my shit because everyone was safe and there was no fire but still trying to figure out just why he thought that’s what I told him to do while also trying to impress upon him that this was a serious issue while also still fanning the smoke so the smoke detectors didn’t go off and freezing my ass off since I was barefoot in a robe (having just gotten out of the shower).
He’s a smart kid but like any kid doesn’t really pay attention. So he ignored my actual words and did what he thought.
So now all the windows and doors are open downstairs (it’s a balmy 23° today!) and I get to try to get the burnt plastic smell out of my house for the next week.
When chicken breasts are on clearance at Sam’s Club, you make two kinds of shredded chicken for the freezer.
Ahhhh. Margaritas. Casa Bonita with friends for Parents Night Out. This pitcher was Jalapeño Cilantro and they were delicious. Pomaritas came later.
We were excited about it…but it was way overcooked. We’ll try again—I bought a whole bag.
This is what an entire stick of butter looks like when it explodes in your microwave. Just in case you were wondering.
FYI: I thought I had it set low enough (defrost at 30%) but apparently the time was too long. I was multitasking and forgot about it. I normally do like 30 seconds at a time and changed this time. FAIL.
…aside from brownies or maybe a loaf of bread. I swear I followed the instructions but these are not cute little bite-size cookies. Oh well. They still taste good.
Recipe: https://diethood.com/cranberry-and-walnut-pinwheels/
I don’t remember what foods I liked or didn’t like as a kid. I wish I did because my kids food (dis)likes right now drive me to the brink of insanity and I want to know if I was as annoying as they are or if they are a special kind of annoying… 😜😂 It’s a crapshoot if Katie will eat anything I ever make (chances are the answer is no unless it’s boxed mac and cheese or plain noodles) but at least Owen eats a lot more variety than he used to.
So tonight we went to Anna and David’s house for dinner and we brought charcuterie. For the adults. Because all four kids wouldn’t touch this. (It didn’t look pretty but I was more about just getting it on the tray vs. presentation. And the tray wasn’t big enough for everything anyway because I don’t do anything half-assed when it comes to food.)
Oh well. It was more for us! And after we were all stuffed…it didn’t even look like we touched it (I missed that pic, though).
Tom did a thing. (A brined, spatchcocked, and smoked turkey.)
A family photo before we left…
Dinner prep was fun. I got to make gravy. 😄 I didn’t take any pics of the rest off the food but it was all yummy.
A real non-selfie family photo since we had someone who could take the photo for us!
Decorating turkey cookie pieces.
Snuggling with Katie and Anna’s brother’s dog, who I nicknamed Peanut because he was all of maybe 2#, tops.
He cuddled in my lap for at least two hours. No, I don’t want a Chihuahua.
When you take some pistachios labeled 2015 out of the freezer and you’re pretty sure you’re going to throw them away because they’re four years old but you taste one and damn they’re still just as good as new.
It pays to live close to your bestie. Anna posted on Facebook that she made fresh biscuits and I invited myself over and the biscuit was still warm. And oh so delicious.
These were all from a tomato plant we didn’t plant but that came up on their own from seeds the Chipmunks dispersed last year…so they got a late start and will never fully ripen. I hated to waste them so tried roasting them. DELISH. They turned out sooooo good. I ate a bunch straight from the pan and froze the rest.
Neither of these are appealing to me but I know Tom would want to try them.
But it was sooooo worth it. We tried a new place for my birthday dinner (recommended by a friend)! Wow. It’s delicious. Pig Candy Grilled Cheese and White Peach Sangria for the win! Oh yeah, and of course a margarita (Mango Chile).
If you walk into Sam’s Club and see this and get excited, we should be friends.
Packing it up for the freezer!
Organizing the pantry today…
I’m not sure exactly what this is going to turn into, but I know it’s going to be delicious. How can you go wrong roasting red onions, garlic, and garden fresh tomatoes, banana peppers, and serrano peppers? (The serrano peppers were from our friend’s garden.)
After roasting I decided to just grind it all up into a paste. I think maybe bruschetta or on pizza? It has a little kick to it!
And then I just sliced and froze some jalapenos because we can’t use all these before they go bad!
Tom really loves his smoker and he will try smoking just about anything, so today his assignment was fresh corn.
Olive oil, Chipotle lime seasoning, on the smoker for two hours, spritzed with water now and again since we didn’t have another extra two hours to soak the corn ahead of time. I finished mine off with another light sprinkling of the Chipotle lime seasoning. Mmmm. We’ll definitely do this again.
I’m trying to decide whether to do a full tequila watermelon or just half for the party…? I’m thinking a whole…and any leftovers get turned into watermelon margaritas?!
(I ended up doing the whole thing.)
We looooove potato chips and are always up to try a new flavor. (I honestly don’t want to admit how much money we spend on chips. It’s utterly embarrassing.) So Tom saw these at Costco and sent me a pic to gauge my interest. You can see our exchange. 😂
Fast forward to tasting them. 😳😳 Yeah, we should have really gotten 23. Holy hell they’re good. It was SOOOOO hard to put them away after a small handful with dinner, but… accountability. If I didn’t physically put them away I could have easily eaten half the bag. Plus the kids actually like them, too.
That said, I’m not sure they beat my all-time favorites Ruffles Cheddar & Sour Cream and Lay’s Biscuits & Gravy, but they’re right up there.
What are some of your favorite chips? Bonus points if it’s something new to us that we can source locally and try!!
We found some thimbleberries on the path by the house!
And a few blueberries that got missed earlier in the week.
Today I was a busy bee in the kitchen: roasted garlic Rosemary butter, pickled peppers, and pesto. The peppers have to sit for 24 hours but the butter and pesto were divine. I only got a pic of the butter.
We wanted to have a party but inviting the whole team seemed overwhelming so we just invited the coaches and team mom. And it was awesome! Everyone was able to come (minus one kid who had a sleepover already planned) and we all had a great time! The party didn’t break up until midnight!!
It’s not a margarita and I’m surviving! Go me!!
Tom making the other guys want a smoker and a flame thrower. Mark was even Instagramming it!! 😂
And of course, fireworks.
This might have happened late in the evening.
This is only part of what the kitchen looks like when making a triple batch of an amazing bourbon BBQ sauce. I despise bourbon but you can’t even taste it. We’ve already been through a double batch so figured might as well go bigger.
IT’S S’MORE SEASON, Y’ALL!! And I’m a 2 all the way. If you are a 4 we might not be able to be friends. 😂🔥 (Just kidding! We can be friends but there’s no way in hell I’ll ask you to toast my marshmallow!)
You have to s-l-o-w-l-y toast it over the coals–no sticking it straight into the fire 🤦🏻♀️–turning it consistently so that it melts evenly throughout. Once it starts to droop (if pierced in two spots) or rotate (if only pierced once), then you can get it closer to the coals so that it starts to brown but not burn. NO BURNING! NO BLACK!! 🤮
This method gives you the ooiest gooiest stretchiest meltiest marshmallow that really melts the chocolate nicely. Trust me. I’m a s’mores guru–I’ve been making my own s’mores for probably 35 years from campgrounds to gas stoves to backyard bonfires.
I might also put peanut butter on mine (it goes perfectly with the chocolate PLUS it keeps the chocolate bar attached to the graham cracker). LIKE I SAID, TRUST ME.
So, which one are you?
Today’s margarita drinking vessel, again courtesy of Target. Also, lipstick that’s been on since 9am and still looks good as new, even after shoveling McDonald’s fries into my face three at a time because I’m classy like that, sucking down an A&W Freeze like my life depended on it (have you HAD one? So much better than a float!), inhaling a margarita post-museum-adventure-afternoon with the kids…and it will last through the BLT pizza Tom is picking up right now.
The zoo was fun and all but now it’s my relaxation time. Target, you get me. Also, egg chair, I am in you.
I am on a family vacation in Indiana and for some reason thought about a wine cooler-esque non-alcoholic beverage my cousins and I bought in the late 80s while we were camping. Imagine the exhilaration of being in middle school or early high school, being old enough to not need parental supervision, and walking around a state park campground drinking something that LOOKED adult but wasn’t. Living the dream, right? Feeling all adult and fancy. Like maybe we were getting away with something. 😂
But not one of my stepsiblings could think of what it was. We spent a half hour looking at Google’s suggestions for “1980s and 1990s beverages.” There were a hell of a lot of good memories but NOT what I was looking for.
I then texted my cousins (who I love dearly but rarely text with) and they both IMMEDIATELY got back to me with their ideas!! One who was on a road trip driving up I-75 in Michigan and the other at home elsewhere in Michigan. After a few texts and Google searches on either end, we got it!
What would we have done before the internet and instantaneous communication?! How could I have survived not knowing the answer to that most pressing of questions?! 😂
What is something from your past that you’ve needed to Google or use technology to help answer?
P.S. Bonus points if you remember Sundance or drank it. 🙋🏻♀️🙋🏼♂️
The kids really wanted to get in the pool the minute we got to the house but I was a mean mom and made them look through the house first and then actually put their suitcases in a bedroom and not just leave them splayed open in the middle of the living room.
Watching intently as I opened the pool cover.
It’s like this pool house knew I was coming.
They might already be in the pool and I might have bought them an inflatable unicorn. 🦄💦
Ahhhhh.
We had a bit of time before everyone else got here. It was quite a steep journey to the water and fire pit.
Dinner tonight was shish kebabs from the Coes. They were delicious!
A friend shared this recipe with me so I figured why not try it?? I only made a very small batch—and now I have to figure out how I’m going to use it—but at least I can say I tried something unusual.
