Hi folks! While it’s not time yet to go on and on about tomatoes and pesto I thought I would throw out a few recipes we have tried lately that will now stay in the rotation! The basil plants aren’t ready for quarts of pesto we are tossing basil and fresh herbs into just about everything these days!  I would love to have more pictures to share but since I am just now back into cooking again I am not in my cooking/picture groove.  Since I don’t have many new pics I’ll toss in some from my day trip to Italy last May.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Giada’s Tri Color Orzo Pasta Salad This one is light and fresh! I subbed spinach for arugula thinking the kids might like it more but really the adults were the ones that ate it! My mom turned me on to this when my cousin made it and it was all the rage. Unlike lots of pasta salads this one is light and lemony without a heavy sauce!

Grilled Marinated Flat Steak This is the best marinade I have found in a while. I found some sirloin flap steak at Costco a couple of months ago and had never used “flap steak” before so I did a quick searcharoo. Up popped this recipe and it has been great every time we use it! *Just to clarify, the link takes you to a blog that has both a rub and a marinade. I used the marinade but my mom tried out the rub. The rub looks spicy, the marinade has lots of flavor but no spice which is nice with a crowd!

Any season appetizer…Baked Fontina  . This is delish! You literally cut up fontina, toss it into a small cast iron skillet and top it with fresh herbs, olive oil and garlic. Broil it and serve it with baguette! Thanks, Ina! It’s not for an outdoor summer gathering like a bbq but we had a chilly afternoon a few weeks ago when we had family over and it was a great preview to the above steak. To make it more summery you could toss sun-dried tomatoes on top and then when it comes out top it with fresh chopped basil or drizzle with pesto. Or even be really adventurous and in season and try it with one of those raspberry chipotle sauces or sliced peaches.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mini potatoes- once it gets hot we are not in the mood for heavy potato meals but I am not always in the mood for all cold salads as sides. We have used the mini potatoes from Trader Joe’s before for fondue but I picked up a bag last week and they were a perfect summer dinner side. I boiled them for 15 or 20 minutes or so until they were tender. I then heated a cast iron skillet and added a little bit of butter, olive oil, garlic and a small shallot sliced. I tossed in the potatoes for a quick saute. When they were looking nice and golden I turned off the heat and tossed them with a tablespoon of fresh herbs. I used parsley, thyme and rosemary since we had those handy.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Don’t despair….tomatoes and pesto are on their way! Tomato basil pie will be here before you know it!

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Yesterday we hosted a casual get together with friends for Memorial Day. These dear friends are the people we met the week we set foot in DC over 6 years ago. They have stuck with us through our comings and goings. We all have older kids now and have spread out geographically so we don’t all see each other as much as we would like.  It was nice to get everyone together, comment on how big the kids have gotten, eat yummy food and relax on a holiday from work!  The guest of honor was an adorable 7 week old golden retriever puppy, Wesley Friesen!  He was a charmer!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

At dinner time we set all of the kids up outside with their plates and headed in to eat, a few sprinkles later and all of the kids had successfully shifted their picnic of 11 kiddos into the clubhouse of our swing set.  Why we run around coordinating the kids so much I don’t know, they can clearly fend for themselves!

The Menu

(only possible because I think morning sickness has finally passed!! It only took 17 weeks but I am thankful)

many of these recipe links might be repeats because we pull them out each summer!

Appetizers

Sun-dried tomato artichoke dip with baguette (with this recipe I sub goat cheese for feta, it’s more of a spread then a dip)

Spinach dip and veggies

dinner

fried chicken- cheated here, left it to the experts and picked up KFC!

loaded baked potato salad-another cheat, thanks Costco!

corn salad with cilantro lime vinaigrette

Barefoot Contessa’s Pasta Salad with Sun-dried Tomatoes

Fruit Salad…thanks, Margaret!

Dessert

Blackberry Peach Cobbler Bars, thanks Rebecca (and Southern Living)!!

Homemade ice cream a la Seth and the kids who helped crank it!

 

The absolute best overflow of a great night was that we finally wore Owen out. He fell asleep immediately and slept until 7 AM for maybe the second time in his entire life. I was about to keel over from exhaustion after such a packed weekend but clearly it was just the right balance for the O man.

Happy Memorial Day! And of course more important than any friendly gathering and yummy food, we want to thank those who have served our country and those who continue to serve.  We greatly appreciate all you do. And this year we especially remember the Foreign Service Officers who gave their lives doing what they love!

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I know it’s not February yet and I know that some of my readers are not in the US or celebrating Valentine’s Day but I couldn’t resist sharing a few ideas I have seen lately. And if you are anything like me you will need a couple of weeks to get anything done. I did a harmless search [read my sarcasm in the “harmless search”…we all know that each harmless search on pintrest, facebook, blogs and the like often leave us temporarily inspired, defeated and feeling less enthusiastic than when we originally typed in the search term :)] on Pintrest and around my favorite blogs to get the creative juices flowing and here are some of the things I found that I might attempt this year….

via Pintrest ( I have been on the hunt for the original source for this but the “Day in my life” blog isn’t coming up for me…if anyone knows the source feel free to add to the comments!!) This looks like a fun, easy card to make for the boys!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

via

via

via

pretty sure we’ll use these valentine’s for Jackson’s class…from Handmade Home

and a few things we have done in the past at our house that I’ve shared on the blog…

heart-shaped waffles and pizza

red whoopie pies (mine were more hot pink) from this recipe 

We have a little white mailbox that I have used in the past at v day to put little notes in for the boys. I saw a blue one at Target the other day in the $1 section! This might be good for year round!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Not sure about you but I have no intention of making pink hard boiled eggs, sewing flannel sheets with heart fabric or making hand-dipped chocolates. More power to ya if you have the time and energy. I want to do a little something extra sweet for my lovies but need to keep it simple! Which is why I loved the above ideas!  Guessing this year will boil down to some free printables for the Kindergarten class, some notes in our little mailbox and maybe some heart-shaped pancakes!  And a nice dinner for Seth of course!

What do you have planned for Valentine’s Day this year?!

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You know on here I am huge on having people in your home and building relationships. My friend Ashley’s mom comes to mind when I think about entertaining and having an open house!  Ginger and her hubby have people in and out of their home ALL of the time. There is always a bag of chips and homemade salsa on hand and people are typically discussing the next meal! Because they are amazing cooks and love to gather around a great meal! I haven’t been to Ginger’s house in probably 10 years at least but I know it’s still the same.

As I was thinking through holiday activities and things to share with all of you I thought of Ashley and her family and wondered if I could talk her into sharing a bit about their gingerbread house party tradition. Now, like Lisa from the last post, these gals are in Texas so they do it up big.

 

One of my favorite times building up to Christmas is my family’s
tradition of making gingerbread houses.  As far back as I can
remember, my mom had made the dough (as did her mother), rolled it
out, cut it into little pieces, and baked the pieces for assembly day.
We could much easier go out and buy the kits, but the process of
actually making the houses has been a fun memory of mine.

I think I was 4 when I remember (only by seeing pictures in old photo
albums) my mom starting this tradition passed on from my grandmother.
Mom did one house for our family for a long time, but my mom wanted
more and more families to enjoy the joy of “art” of making their own
house.  This year (2012), my mom and I rolled out 20 (!) gingerbread
houses.  Mom made the dough and I was her workhorse for the rolling
and cutting the next day.  We started rolling and cutting around 9am
and carried on until about 4 in the afternoon so that everyone we had
invited would have their own house to do.  Turns out my little family
took up 3 of the houses this year.  Landon (12), Riley (6) got to do
their own houses and I had to do mine myself (or I would have taken
over the boys’ houses)! OK, it was mine and my husband’s house, but he
graciously let me have all the fun 😉

 

 

 

 

 

On assembly day, I got to my mom’s house around 8 in the morning to
help set up.  My grandmother, aunt and Mom were already hard at work
in the kitchen making the “glue” for the houses.  Mom has a recipe for
Royal Icing she uses to glue the houses together and for all the candy
to stick on, as well.  While the icing is being whipped to oblivion
(it’s gotta be STIFF– think DQ Blizzard thick), we are setting up
more candy than you can imagine!  A few bowl on every table leaves
just enough room for the actual houses to be decorated!  Our guests
arrive around 10 and the fun really starts!  There are always people
who have not assembled a house before, so we help get them started,
but from there, it’s just icing and candy flying around for the next 4
hours.  It’s literally a SWEET time:) 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We try and get pictures of everyone before they leave with their completed houses and it’s so
much fun to look back every year and see how the houses have
progressed.

 

 

 

 

 

 

I could go on and on about the houses, but I’d rather Kristen share
with you our pictures!  Hope you enjoy!  Merry Christmas!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Thanks  for sharing, Ashley! I should be sending my boys down for gingerbread house school with you and your mom next year!  I might just have to try my hand at making some homemade next year. I do love me a good kit but this looks like so much fun!  Another friend mentioned doing gingerbread nativities so that might make the list next year too!

For those of you that find yourselves bored this weekend (this is kind of a joke because I don’t know anyone who isn’t packed with activities) before Christmas and your house does not yet have a little fragrant gingerbread house roll up your sleeves and give it a try! Don’t be intimidated! The walls might fall in and your hands will be sticky but it will be a good time!    And you don’t need 50 kinds of candy although they look divine, start slow and small. Pull out graham crackers if you don’t want to bake!

For you brave folks, Ashley has shared the family recipes!! Invite someone in to enjoy it with you!

this is my 90 year old Nana making on with the boys last yr! This is their “tada”

 

BASIC GINGERBREAD HOUSE RECIPE

6 cups flour

1 ¾ cups sugar

2/3 cup shortening

1 tablespoon ground cinnamon

1 tablespoon ground ginger

2 teaspoons double-acting baking powder

1 ¼ teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 8-ounce container sour cream

2 eggs

To prepare dough:  Into large bowl, measure 3½ cups flour and remaining ingredients. With mixer at low speed, beat until well mixed, constantly scraping bowl with rubber spatula. With hands, knead in remaining 2½ cups flour to make a soft dough. Wrap dough in plastic wrap and refrigerate 2 hours or until dough is not sticky and is of easy kneading consistency.

To roll dough: Keep refrigerated until ready to use. Working with half a batch at a time on lightly floured work surface with lightly floured hands, knead dough until smooth. (Do not skip this step!!!) Roll out to 1/8” thickness on well-floured surface such as muslin stretched over a cutting board. (To help create uniform thickness, roll out between 2 wooden dowels placed on either side of dough.) Lay patterns on top and cut with sharp knife. Place on ungreased baking sheet. Bake at 350 degree oven for 15-18 minutes until golden brown and very firm when lightly touched with finger. Cool on wire rack.

 

ORNAMENTAL ICING

1 16-ounce package confectioners’ sugar (about 4½ cups)

½ teaspoon cream of tartar

3 egg whites at room temperature

½ teaspoon vanilla extract

Combine all ingredients in bowl. With mixer, blend until smooth, then beat at high speed until very stiff. Makes 3 cups. Keep icing covered as it dries very quickly. Yum.

This recipe came from Grandma Lina, who got it out of a Good Housekeeping magazine sometime in the 1960’s. The original gingerbread houses she made were placed on a paper Coke carton for stability. As long as the air inside remains humidity-free, the house should stand. In 2007, Kelly’s lasted through August of 2008!

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