25 August 2011

Phew!

Its been a while, I know. I have been MIA, or as I like to say, busy offline lately. Busy thinking of ideas and changes for this here blog and busy with my job and life in general. I am not sure we would know how to act if we weren't running around all of the time. We kind of like it.  

Our Fall season of softball has started so Daughter and Hubber are running multiple days a week which means I have increased the amount of times I cook.  Yes, people I am in the kitchen about 4 times a week now. I know ... I know, I was a little shocked too. HA!  While they are at softball I have been working out; working towards my goal (you will learn more soon) and, well, preparing a few meals here and there.

The things you will [enjoy] reading about are:
  • My personal 30 day challenge (a workout thing)
  • Financial/spending tips from a normal person just like you
  • More recipes because, well, I am starting to experiment {waa ha ha ha}
  • Softball and Jeter - of course
  • and mucho more yeeeeeeeeee
Oh my geeshness, Daughter's birthday is in a few months and I have a super cute idea for her invitations.  Stay tuned ... 

PS, how cute is this centerpiece? Perfect for some sort of party don't you think?
[via]

See you back soon! I'm looking forward to it.

16 August 2011

Another cooking milestone

Hi Friends!  As you are well aware, I have not been the best cook in the world nor did I enjoy cooking that much. I was a 'much rather do the dishes' kind of gal.  As you also know I have been experimenting over the past couple of years and have been getting kind of good at this whole cooking thing that I once thought was completely overrated. :o) 

Although I don't cook often (thank you Hubber), I do dabble in it from time to time. Mostly when the family is at softball practice, lessons, etc.  I stay home so I can have dinner ready when they get home. 

Each time I try something new, and succeed, it reminds me that cooking isn't so bad after all.  Guess what? I am still kind of liking it!

Sooo ... my big deal is a tri-tip.  Hubber seasoned it on Saturday night so it would be nice and ready by last night.  Daughter had softball stuff so I was tasked with BBQing that big piece of meat.  I will admit, I was a little scared that I wouldn't do it right.  

Thanks to Hubber's excellent directions it turned out very delicious!  And we have leftovers!  YUMMA!  

Look, if I can do it so can any novice, trying to get better, kind of cook.

Here's what I did (per Hubber): Light the right side burner and the left side burner only. Close the lid and let the BBQ get to 400 degrees.  Once at 400 degrees put the tri-tip in the middle and cook with the burners on low.  Pull off when the inside temp of the tri-tip is 140 degrees.  That's it!  I was paranoid so I checked the temp every half hour.  In an hour and a half it was done! mmm mmm good!

I think I am ready to be on Hell's Kitchen! Bring on Gordon, I can take him.  :o)

PS, I was so worried about the meat that I forgot to do a veggie. Whoopsies!


  

10 August 2011

What's in your lunch box? {It's a back to school thing}

What? It's back to school time already? Whoa!  Where is the time going? Seriously. In 5 days I will have a sixth grader [weep...weep...sniffle].

Our kiddo likes to bring her lunch to school instead of buying it.  Thank goodness because I think she eats a little better that way.  So let's take a looksie at what you can stick in your [insert # here] graders lunch box ...

                                              
Bagel Sandwich
Using cream cheese instead of mayo = yummy-ness.  I like to put cream cheese on half of the bagel then add turkey, lettuce, colb cheese and a tomato slice. Cut sandwich in half and place in baggie, or tupperware container.

Peanut Butter and Marshmellow Puff Sandwhich
This happens to be Daughter's favorite sandwich right now.  I use regular sliced bread and put peanut butter on one side and the marshmellow puff on the other. Done.

Ants on a Stick
Umm, how cute is that name? I didn't come up with it but I sure do use it. :o)  Just cut celery stalks into about 3 pieces, spread with peanut butter then top with raisins.  Easy and yummy.

Light Fruit and Granola
This one is a little bit more involved but worth it. 

All you'll need:
2 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup spelt flour
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
3/4 teaspoon ground ginger
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 cup applesauce
3 tablespoons maple syrup
1/4 cup diced dried apricots
1/4 cup chopped pecans
3 tablespoons flax seeds, ground

All you'll do:
Preheat oven to 300 degrees. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper.

Toss the rolled oats, spelt flour, brown sugar, cinnamon, ginger, canola oil, applesauce, maple syrup, dried apricots, pecans and ground flax seed together in a bowl, and mix well. Spread the granola mixture on the lined baking sheet.

Bake for 20 minutes, stir the granola, then bake for another 15 minutes until dry. Cool completely before serving.

Now that sounds yummy!

Good luck on your first day of school!
 



03 August 2011

What's in your baggy? {homemade ice cream}

This one is so easy and so fun - daughter loves it! As a matter of fact, she makes this ice cream with all of her friends that come over.  Thank you Summer Art Camp for the recipe.

Here you go ...

All you'll need:
1/2 cup Milk
2 tablespoons Sugar
1/2 teaspoon Vanilla Extract
1 tablespoon of flavoring (chocolate powder, kool-aid, etc)
6 tablespoons Salt -> don't worry, this does not go in the ice cream. :o)
Small sealable plastic bag (aka, Ziplocs)
Large sealable plastic bag (aka, Ziplocs)


All you'll do:
Place Milk, Sugar, Vanilla Extract and Flavor in small ziploc and seal.

Fill large ziploc 3/4 full of ice and add the salt.  Bury the small bag in the ice in the large bag.

Shake for 10-15 minutes.

Tah dah! Ice cream.  Told you it was easy. :o)

Enjoy!

02 August 2011

Triple Crown :: Opening Ceremonies // The Games // A Great Time

All last week we were away at Daughter's fast pitch softball world series.  Oh boy, it was a blast!  This was the last tournament of our Spring season {sniff sniff}. 

Such an amazing experience for the team - they were all first-timers.  From pin trading to the opening ceremonies parade to 4 straight days of softball to getting introduced at the Reno Aces baseball game to a teary-eyed farewell made for a week full of unforgettable memories that the girls will always remember - hopefully.

Monday we arrived and started trading pins right away. Daughter started with 40 of our pins and traded 39.  There were teams from Hawaii, Arizona, Idaho, Utah, Colorado and California.  140 teams total, 38 were 10U. 

After pin trading and check-in we had to head over to the opening ceremonies.  For the parade the teams were allowed to dress up to represent the area they were from, their team name, etc. Since we are All American Mizuno we decided to stick with the good ol' red, white and blue.

The streets were jam packed with kids - 140 teams to be exact.  They did a good job organizing everyone, thankfully.  While the team waited Hubber, aka Head Coach, snuck off to put on his costume to surprise the team (and the parents).  It was hilarious!

      [he won best 10U coach's costume]

Starting Tuesday we went on to play 8 games of softball over the 4 days.  The team played so well, we were all very proud of their performance.  So well in fact they place 9th out of 38! Woot! Woot! Not bad for a first year team, eh?!

On Thursday the teams were invited to the Reno Aces baseball game. They were having World Series night so the teams that participated got to be introduced as they walked around the field.  It was a fun time. 


Friday morning we had an 8:00am game so we had to leave the baseball game early to get our energy sleep. :o)  We won our first two games on Friday then lost our third which knocked us out of the tournament.  I don't think anyone was upset about that loss. It was a great So Cal team and their pitcher was throwing about 55mph. Yes, 10 year olds are throwing that fast ... whoa!
Since we are moving up to 12U and using bigger softballs, ummm next week, the coaches let the team sign their names on the 10U balls so they could each keep one for themselves with all of their teammates names on it. Yippee!!!
After a week of fast paced, well played softball the coaches got to sit down and thank the players for a job well done all season.  Most of the girls, and a few coaches, got tears in their eyes.  It was so sweet and so sad at the same time.  Afterall, we did become a family. 
[After a long 6 month season and 81 games they are all still smiling] 
Their impressive record was 63-17-1. Yep, that's how they roll.  :o)  Now let's see what we can do in the Fall!