Busy In Kitchen This Week

We have a new—well, it opened a year ago—local meat market in our tiny town. You can see the beautiful pinwheel steaks stuffed with spinach and provolone that I bought. (They were delicious!) But I also bought a tray of pre-sliced yellow squash and zucchini. I had seen a picture of squash and zucchini cooked like this a few days before. This was a good time to try it.

STAND UP VEGGIES

Arrange thin slices of yellow squash, zucchini and onion in a baking dish. (You can also add slices of tomato and/or eggplant.)

Drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with Italian seaoning and House Seasoning, or the seasoning of your choice.

Sprinkle with mozzarella cheese. (I left this off since I'm currently counting WW points, but it could only be better!)

Bake at 375º for 30 minutes, or until you reach desired doneness.

Because I was cooking the pinwheel steaks at 350º for 30 minutes, I just put my veggies in with the steak. I did put the steaks under the broiler in the other oven for a few minutes to brown them a little and let the veggies keep baking a little longer.

The biggest squash hater in the world (Daddy-O) actually said—yes, said it out loud—that this was pretty good. He even ate some the next night. I think what he has not liked about squash for all these years was the squishy texture of cooked squash. This dish was not cooked long enough to reach the squishy stage. Big plus is that it looks pretty standing up in the dish.

My other purchase from the market was the chicken kabobs. I know this isn't a big deal to most of you, but I am delighted to have some pre-prepped foods available locally. I didn't have to make the kabobs. I only mixed the marinade.

I searched for a chicken marinade recipe and found several, all named "best chicken marinade ever." There were slight differences in all of them. I picked the one that contained flavors we all liked...and then made some slight adjustments to suit me. I'll bet one of those "best" recipes was the original one and the others were all riffs on the first one.

Here is what I mixed up. I'll be using this one again, for chicken pieces, chicken strips, etc. It was very good. You can decide about the "best" thing.

CHICKEN MARINADE. (makes about 1 cup)

1/3 cup olive oil

3 tablespoon fresh lemon juice (I got that from 1 large lemon)

3 tablespoons soy sauce

2 tablespoons Balsamic vinegar

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1/4 cup brown sugar, not packed down

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder (or 3 cloves garlic, minced)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Mix all ingredients together. Pour over chicken. Let marinade at least 30 minutes. 4-5 hours is better. 

Last night I cooked the kabobs in the oven, in the dish I had used to marinate them in. The plan had been to grill them, but you know how plans go. If you are removing chicken from the marinade to cook, be sure to discard the remaining marinade. It's a big safety thing.

We celebrate Independence Day next week. Whatever your plans are, remember why we celebrate, stay safe and have fun. We are having our annual family week. I'll see you back here the following week.

Hydrangea at our back door planted by my mother-in-law so many years ago,

Getting Ready For The 4th

The July 4th week means family gatherings and big dinners and cooking out for many of us. Here are some recipes that you might find handy for those occasions.

Borrowed this photo from a previous grilling session.

Last night it was my turn to take supper for our Monday night group of friends for dinner and a movie. I decided that in the interest of undoing some of my overindulgences this summer, I would take something that was Weight Watchers friendly—grilled chicken salad.

I made a giant green salad, put homemade croutons, toasted pecans and fresh shaved Parmesan in separate containers so if anyone wanted to leave off ALL the point busters, they could. And Daddy-O, being the best of Daddy-Os, came in a little early on the tractor to grill the chicken for me. I took it and sliced it up after I got there.

I love this recipe and have used it so many times. It's quick to mix. Doesn't have to be marinated all day. And it gives the chicken a flavor boost but not an overpowering lemon flavor.

LEMON PEPPER CHICKEN

1 cup lemon juice (I used Sunkist bottled this time)

1/2 cup olive oil

1 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 tablespoon lemon pepper

1/2 teaspoon salt

4-6 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (this time I used 8 smaller ones)

Whisk marinade ingredients together. Pour over chicken and let it marinate for 1 hour (not longer) in the refrigerator. Remove chicken from marinade and discard the marinade. Grill until chicken is done. Outdoor grill or grill pan both work. I've done it both ways.

Baby Girl likes her ice cream on the side.

And in the "not so healthy" category, here is a recipe that we made during Mimi Camp. (It's part of what I overindulged in.) I had planned to let the little girls make it. It's that easy. But I ended up and threw it together on the last day and we had it for our dessert. If you need a quick, easy dessert to take to a family gathering, you couldn't go wrong with this one.

PINEAPPLE-CHERRY DUMP CAKE

1 (20-oz) can pineapple tidbits, plus the juice

1 (21-oz) can cherry pie filling

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

1 box yellow cake mix (2-layer size)

1 stick butter, melted

Preheat oven to 350º. Grease a 2-qt. baking dish with butter. Place pineapple tidbits, cherry pie filling and vanilla extract in a bowl and mix. Pour into baking dish. Sprinkle dry cake mix evenly over the fruit. Pour melted butter evenly over dry cake mix. Use a spoon to spread it if necessary. Bake for about 45 minutes, until top is golden brown and filling is bubbling.  We like to serve it with ice cream on top.

Confession:  I grabbed a 9x13 dish (3-qt) without thinking. There wasn't enough butter to cover that much more surface area, so I melted another half stick of butter to pour over the top. It was really good. ☺️

I'm sure you could switch out the cherry for another flavor pie filling. And I even wondered how apple pie filling and a spice cake mix would work. I haven't tried that, but after I've lived on salads for a few weeks, I like to.

Pasta salad will keep for several days so it's a good make-ahead dish.

Minutes after the girls left and headed home from camp, I headed to the grocery store to buy ingredients for my annual big pasta salad making. For years I have made a double—sometimes triple—batch for the Salkahatchie Summer Service work camp that is hosted by our church each summer. It keeps well, so they can use it at lunch for several days.

I have also made this many times for our July 4th week at the lake...because I can make it at home and take it and have enough for several meals. My family loves it. And the Salkahatchie kids must, too, because they keep asking me to make it. You've probably seen this recipe here before but it's good enough for a repeat. It's the perfect summer side for all your gatherings.

GARDEN PASTA SALAD

1 (16-oz) box of pasta -- rotini, bowtie, or penne 

5 cups of chopped fresh vegetables

fresh parsley, chopped (optional)

1 (16-oz) bottle Italian salad dressing (I like Wishbone)

3-4 tablespoons McCormick Salad Supreme Seasoning

Cook the pasta according to package directions. Rinse under cold water. Drain well. Put pasta and vegetables and parsley into a large bowl. Add salad dressing and Salad Supreme Seasoning. Toss gently until mixed well. Cover. Refrigerate for at least 4 hours, or until ready to serve. I like to make it a day ahead.

This recipe filled a 5-quart plastic container.

The only secret I know for this pasta salad to use a big assortment of vegetables. I aim for lots of color in my mix. This time I used zucchini, carrot, celery, red pepper, yellow squash, cucumber, grape tomatoes, corn and broccoli.  You can use any combination that suits you. For no particular reason, I didn't add any onion this time. I love to cook fresh corn and cut it off the cob. (Dunk the broccoli in the boiling water first for a few seconds to brighten the color.) The corn adds a nice touch of sweetness.

Another hint is to put a large pot of water on to boil before you start chopping. A big pot of water takes forever to come to a boil. 

There are other recipes here on my blog that would be good summer time picnic/covered dish recipes. I'll make it easy and add a few links.

Carol's Marinated Veggies (she brought this to our dinner-and-a-movie last night)

Indian Summer Salad (I love this salad. Keeps for days.)

Greek Yogurt Chicken Salad (no mayo if egg allergy is a problem)

Blueberry Pie (easy to make—no fruit to peel)

Sweet Tea (you don't HAVE to buy it)

And a reminder that there is a recipe index at the top of the page, just under the name banner. All the recipes from this blog are there in categories. If you find something missing or out of place, let me know. Sometimes I forget to add a new recipe. Thanks.

The Wonders Of Being A Grandmother

Just when I'm thinking "I have nothing to write about" one of my readers who is a frequent commenter does it for me. Thank you, Chloe, for your beautifully written words about parenting and grandparenting that you made on my last post about our Mimi Camp. Since they are already online for the world to see, I'm hoping you don't mind that I post them again.

Just when you think your own child has past the last fun stage of their lives and you no longer marvel at every new experience that they are going through - they go and have grandchildren and this time it is all fun and fresh and less responsibility. Thank you for all the wonderful ideas to engage our grandchildren at a time in our lives when it might be a lot easier to just sit on the porch and watch them watching Sesame Street. The scavenger hunt idea is just the best. I had forgotten things like that. Chloe. P.S. My one brainstorm was giving a Backwards Party for my daughter when she was 8. A good age for that!

Chloe is exactly right. My favorite line from her comment was "...and this time it is all fun and fresh and less responsibility." As my little campers were getting buckled into their carseats to head home, Baby Girl (she's 5) said, "I want to live here all the time, Mimi." And I told her that if she did live here, it would not be Mimi Camp all the time. Her older, wiser sister (age 8) chimed in, "That means no treats from Daddy-O every day." 

As a grandmother, I can bend the daily rules. Trust me, Mommy, I try not to break them. But the girls do get some special treatment when they are here. They get jelly on their normally plain peanut butter sandwiches. They stay up later at night. They get to drink pure cranberry juice for breakfast and not the usual, healthier juice/water mix. All the good healthy things they learn at home are stretched a little here. We say these are treats for Mimi's house. At home they go back to the regular rules.

Let me assure Mommy that they do not get unlimited treats despite what they may tell you. They do brush their teeth before bed. They do hear the word "no" every day. They do pick up their toys. They have vegetables at supper every night. We try to limit TV time and monitor what they are watching. It is not a free-for-all when we have them.  But, as it should be, the rules are different when they are with us. 

I take my role as grandmother very seriously. I feel like my job is to support the parents. To reinforce the values that these children are learning at home. To provide unconditional love for the grandchildren. But also to let grandchildren explore and experience and do things that make colossal messes. We want to have fun with them. To be silly with them. To hug them tightly. To enjoy every minute of this small window of wonder that grandchildren pass through. All too soon, they will reach the stage where the interaction will become, "Hi, Mimi. Bye, Mimi," as they come and go out to be with friends, head off to practice of some sort and do whatever teenagers do.

Make these memories now, grandparents, while these little people still think we are all-wise, all-knowing and completely wonderful!

P.S.  I love reading comments from you. I still cannot reply to any of them. I have tried every way I can think of on every device I own. Sometimes I know who you are, and sometimes I only know you from seeing your comments here, like Chloe. Thank you, Chloe, for being a regular commenter. Congratulations to "unknown" who told me she was going to be a first time grandmother in a few weeks. How exciting! And Jane and GoodnightGram and Buttercup and Missy and the other "anonymous" and "unknown" commenters, hello to you, all! 

P.P.S.  Chloe, what's a backwards party?

Mimi Camp Wrap-Up

Another Mimi Camp is in the books. "It was the best one ever!" declared both little campers. (I think we say that every year.)  Every morning at breakfast, they opened "the box" to see what the day's activity would be. That let me decide day by day—based on weather, how tired this Mimi was, etc—what we would do. They loved opening that box. It was almost like Christmas every day.

Here is a quick recap of the second half of our camp week.

Wednesday was a scavenger hunt. They hunted inside and out. This turned out to be more fun and lasted much longer than I anticipated. When I plan these things I never know what they will enjoy.

Let me say right up front...the secret of a good scavenger hunt is clipboards. (A clipboard at Walmart is $1.88. Buy them!) It makes it easier to mark off items as they found them. And they look so official.

A quick google search for "kid scavenger hunt" will provide plenty of ready-made pages to print. I looked for ones that matched what could be found around our house and ones with pictures so the 5-year-old could work on her own. We had two pages for outside hunting and two pages for inside. They loved all of it.

Finding a pinecone turned out to be the hard one. There are pine trees way over on the edge of our yard that required tromping through tall grass to get there. It's good to have a Daddy-O to help.

They found a beading kit in Thursday's box. I bought a kit ($20 at Target) and added a box of alphabet beads and some stretchy beading cord to the terrific assortment of beads and cords in the kit. Oh, and beading mats...or a towel...is needed to keep the bead from rolling off the table.

 

They made jewelry for everyone. (I wore mine to church yesterday.) And they came back to this day after day. If you do a camp like this, it's good to leave the craft makings out for days if you can.

By Friday we finally left the farm. For one whole week these girls did not get in a car. I have friends who do similar weeks with grandchildren and plan outings for them. But for these little girls, the bigger treat is to stay in one place. We met a dear cousin for lunch and then visited at her house where they got to feed the fish. 

Then it was back to the farm for the final activity. Water balloons! This was so much fun. To be honest the biggest fun was filling the balloons. (This pump, which included the balloons, was from Walmart, $6.)

The pump to fill the balloons worked great. But enough balloons popped off the nozzle as they filled them to soak all of us. They loved it. 

Filling the balloons took about an hour. Tossing them took less than 10 minutes. They made targets in the driveway with sidewalk chalk. And there might have been some "use your sister as a target," too. Keep in mind that all of those bits of broken balloons have to be picked up. When this fun was over, they got on their low riding toys—big wheel and plasma car—and rode around picking up the pieces. I hope you are equally lucky.

Yes. Mimi Camp 2019 was a complete success, even though we had rainy days. What good memories we made.

INDOOR S'MORES

Place a Hershey's chocolate square on a graham cracker and top with a marshmallow. Microwave for 8-15 seconds. Watch it closely. When the marshmallow starts to puff up, they are ready. Top with another graham cracker.

On Friday night as dinner was ending, Little Sister said, "Let's toast!" She raised her glass of milk and said, "To the best Mimi Camp ever!" We all clinked our glasses and declared Mimi Camp officially ended. 

Although "camp" was over the girls were here for a couple of more days. We let them do what they wanted. Bike riding, digging for rocks, swinging. drawing, making more jewelry. It was great to have some winding down time.

And Sunday night when it was only me and Daddy-O here in a very quiet house, we collapsed and gave thanks. Thanks for grandchildren. Thanks for good health so that we can enjoy them. Thanks for cool weather. Thanks for this spacious farm with room to play. Thanks for family. 

Midway Through Mimi Camp

We are at the midway point of camp. I'm up early enough—before they wake up—to share a few things here that have kept us busy. I know if I don't post this now, I'll forget part of what we've been doing. I was worried that I wouldn't have enough planned for us to do. Now I'm worried we won't get it all done!

Sunday night they surprised me by making dinner. Daddy-O was the kitchen supervisor. They made party sandwiches, fruit kabobs and the big surprise was fancy pretzels. They dipped them into melted chocolate and white chocolate and covered the chocolate with sprinkles. Daddy-O melted the chocolates and they dipped and sprinkled. These pretzels were a major treat. We will do this again for sure.

 

Monday we had a friend come and show us how to weave a basket. She's taught many people over the years how to do this, including entire classes of third graders. (She was a third grade teacher.) I can't imagine how she does this en masse.

In the afternoon, the girls made fluffy cloud dough. This turned out to be great fun—if very messy fun. They stayed at it for over an hour. Here's the recipe for this crazy easy, inexpensive activity. Making two batches (one for each child) cost less than $5.

FLUFFY CLOUD DOUGH

2 heaping cups cornstarch

1 cup hair conditioner

Mix together in a large bowl with a spatula until you need to switch to squishing with your hands.

 And on Tuesday we finished the baskets with Mrs. Joanne's help. These are seriously gorgeous baskets!

Although we've had some rain each day, we've also had lovely cool, low humidity time for outdoor fun. We could not have ordered more perfect weather. So there has been lots of outside play.

It's been a camp tradition to open "the box" each morning at breakfast. The box contains something that will be one of our day's activities. Tuesday's box contained loopy yarn. And it was just before bedtime before we got a chance to work on this. You can google "loopy yarn" for videos that show how to do this easy finger knitting. You can find the loopy yarn at most craft/hobby stores.

Oh....and I nearly forgot! The girls made blueberry banana smoothies for their afternoon snack. They were delicious!

BLUEBERRY BANANA SMOOTHIE

3/4 cup frozen blueberries (or other berries)

1 banana, sliced in 1-inch pieces

1 cup blueberry yogurt

1 cup milk

whipped cream, optional

Put all ingredients into a blender and blend until smooth. 

If you will be having your grandchildren for a day, a week or even longer, I hope this will give you a few ideas of keeping the kiddos busy. Little Sister brought one of her cookbooks. That's where we found the recipes for the chocolate covered pretzels and the berry smoothie. So many kid-friendly recipes in it. 

  

Check back here later for the second half of Mimi Camp. 

Mimi Camp Has Begun

There might not be another post here until after Mimi Camp. I'll see how time goes. Things stay busy here for this special week. But I'll be sure to share some of the things we will be doing. It might give you some ideas for your own grandkid camp.

Mimi Camp is in full swing. Because I've been away for most of the last month, I've said that this year will be a "freestyle camp." But it's coming together better than I expected. We have lots of room for riding anything with wheels and they would be happy to stay outside most of the day. So there's always that.

There will be camp surprises for them as the week progresses. Our "camp box" tradition will start tomorrow. They get to open a box to see what the day's activity will be. They have already asked about it.  (I need to make a mad dash to the craft store today!) I told them it starts on Monday.

But yesterday when the rains came they moved inside for some Magic School Bus. (After 25 dry days, so we aren't complaining.) See the rocking chairs? Daddy-O dug them out of the barn and cleaned them up for this new generation of little girls. Glad I didn't give them away years ago when our own little girls outgrew them.

Outdoor adventures just before dark are fun at camp. Daddy-O and Baby Girl went on a whang doodle hunt last night. Thankfully they didn't find one! But they did see "a couple of bunnies and some birds." Baby Girl was happy with that.

Sunday breakfast was on the porch. It's still raining outside. And Daddy-O made his famous French toast for the girls. According to them, he is the "king of treats." You're welcome, Mommy.

My own cooking last night was less exciting, but delicious nonetheless. It's the most kid friendly meal I know. I've made this recipe for hundreds of kids over the years. Our own two little ones like it as much as everyone else always did. The oven fries are also easy. And it's a "real food" side, unlike frozen fries which have a longer list of ingredients.

SLOPPY JOES

1-1/2 lbs lean ground beef or turkey (I've also made it with a 1 lb pkg)
1 cup ketchup
1 tablespoon sugar
1 tablespoon vinegar
1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce
1 tablespoon yellow mustard

Brown meat and drain. Stir in remaining ingredients and simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes. Spoon over toasted hamburger buns.

If I use ground turkey, which comes in one-pound packages,  I will add some chopped onion when I brown the meat to help bulk it up. It also helps flavor the milder turkey.

OVEN FRIES

4 baking potatoes

1 teaspoon cooking oil

Preheat oven to 450 degrees.

Spray baking sheet with PAM. Scrub potatoes, pat dry and slice each potato lengthwise into 8 wedges.

Put potatoes in mixing bowl and drizzle with 1 teaspoon of oil. Toss to coat.

Bake on sheet for 15 minutes. Turn and bake 15 minutes more, or until they begin to brown.

(This time I cut my wedges thinner and they cooked much quicker.  Just go by the color.)

If you ever find one of these wire baking sheets, grab one! I bought this one about 25 years ago at Walmart for $5. Because the hot air comes from the bottom, too, it will brown both sides without turning. Is this like the original air fryer?

Ireland And Knitting

I'll be honest. When I read the itinerary for this trip, I was a little concerned that all the sheep and mills and yarn might be too much and it could be a dull tour. (I did understand that this was a "knitting" tour, but how many sheep did I want to see?) Thankfully I could NOT have been more wrong. It was wonderful. I learned something at every stop. Something about yarn. Something about the history of the area. Something about global economics and how these small businesses manage to survive. This part of the trip—and it was only part of what we saw—was fascinating.

The Constant Knitter, Dublin

 Aoibhe Ni, Tunisian Crochet designer

 Kieran Foley, textile artist

The Constant Knitter welcomed us into their shop

 and provided upstairs space for us to meet and learn from these designers.

 Anne O'Maille, Galway

The restaurant, Ard Bia at Nimmons, 

hosted us for lunch in a private space

before Anne O'Maille joined us. 

 

Anne O'Maille told us about her business that sells hand knit aran sweaters. 

She said the end of her business is in sight because her knitters 

range in age from their 50s to their 90s, with no younger knitters coming along.

 Cushendale Woolen Mill, Graignemanagh, Kilkenny

Philip Cushen told us about the mill that has been in his family for 6 generations.

Kerry Woollen Mill, Killarney

This mill was founded 300 years ago.

 The mill changed owners in 1904 and is now 

in the capable hands of the fourth generation of this second family/owners.

Hedgehog Fibres, Cork

The specialty of this business is hand dying 

artisan luxury yarn in spectacular colors.

Helen Stewart, knitting designer, 

Mount Juliet Estate, Kilkenny

 A pattern, appropriately named Mount Juliet, 

was designed for our group by Helen Stewart.

And yarn dyed by an indie Irish dyer, was provided for each of us.

We walked into our knitting space and each found a pattern and yarn waiting for us.

We then had a morning to cast on our shawls 

while Helen was available to answer questions about the pattern.

 Helen and me, standing in the Moongate in the walled garden at Mount Juliet.

There was also ample opportunity for yarn and wool shopping at these stops. I might have brought home some yarn. And a couple of woven shawls. And maybe shipped a couple of blankets home. All in all, I was a simple shopper. I did not require an extra bag to get my purchases home. That was my goal. But I kind of surprised myself that I managed to do it.

This tour was designed by Celtic Journeys, especially for us, a group of avid knitters and fiber enthusiasts. It was a fascinating look at the traditional woolen industry and how those businesses are woven (no pun intended) into the history of this country.

If you are interested in making your own Mount Juliet Shawl, the pattern is available for purchase now on Ravelry.