Cherry Cabernet Cheeseburgers

June 10, 2016June 9, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 10 Comments

I don’t know what I was thinking trying to make this gourmet burger on a weeknight. But I was determined to make and eat these burgers with our handpicked cherries.

Wednesday was going to be the day I upped our weeknight dinner game with these burgers. As if the children knew it, they simultaneously took a two hour nap. I took full advantage and made the cherry chutney and the caramelized onions. While washing the never ending supply of dirty dishes.

An hour or so before I wanted to have dinner served I started working on the wine reduction for the burger patties. And cooked the bacon. At that point all cooperation was out the window. Treat has taken to being intensely clingy and fussy around 5 o’clock making it difficult to do anything that can’t be done with one hand. Good thing pouring wine in a saucepan over a flame doesn’t require much skill. I kept a watchful eye on the wine but it went from “not quite” to “burnt and sticky” in the blink of peeling an orange.

I had to step away from the stove to recollect myself, wipe Firecracker’s sticky orange hands, and change a couple of diapers. It was now too late to get dinner on the table in time to ensure the new earlier bedtime for the boys. So, we ordered pizza. I would try again tomorrow.

Thursday rolls around and I thought I’d be able to make the reduction and form the burger patties during nap time. Too bad nap time didn’t happen! After fighting with them for an hour I gave up. Very surprisingly Firecracker took his grounding from the TV the rest of the day quite well and pulled every single toy out of his cabinet. Around 4:30 Treat caved in and took an hour nap. During that nap I strapped Firecracker into his seat at the table with some crackers and his laptop. Mission accomplished!

The resulting burger was worth the two day wait! That cherry chutney provides the perfect sweetness to a well balanced burger. And I’ll eat almost anything with caramelized onions on top of it. Smoked Gouda cheese rounded out the burger with its savory bite.

I set aside some of the meat mixture before adding in the wine for the boys. Both boys quite enjoyed their burger patties! Granted, it took me telling Firecracker that there was bacon in it for him to take a bite. His dinner plate was a “deconstructed” cheeseburger: a slice of smoked gouda, a little bread, and his burger patty. Treat was given just the patty followed up with green beans.

Cherry Cabernet Cheeseburgers

Ingredients for the chutney:

4 tbsp balsamic vinegar, divided use
2 tbsp honey
1 tbsp olive oil
2 C fresh cherries, pitted and halved
1 poblano pepper, diced
1/4 C Cabernet Sauvignon
1/2 tsp chopped crystallized ginger
pinch cardamom

Ingredients for the onions:

1 tbsp butter
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 tbsp red wine vinegar

Ingredients for the burger:

1 C Cabernet Sauvignon
1 tbsp brown sugar
6 strips bacon, chopped
1 lb ground beef
1 tsp Worcestershire sauce
4 slices smoked Gouda
4 buns
spinach

Steps:

Make the chutney: Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Whisk together 2 tbsp balsamic vinegar, honey, and olive oil. Season with S+P. Add the cherries and peppers, toss to coat. Place on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast 14 minutes, stirring halfway. Transfer cherries to a medium saucepan and add remaining balsamic vinegar, wine, ginger and cardamom. Simmer 10 minutes until thickened. Allow to cool.
Make the onions: Melt butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Add the onions and red wine vinegar. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onions are tender and golden. Add more butter or olive oil as needed. Season with S+P to taste. Set aside.
Cook the bacon in a skillet over medium-high heat. Remove from the skillet with a slotted spoon to a paper towel lined plate. Set aside.
Combine wine and brown sugar in a small saucepan over medium heat. Bring to a gentle simmer and let reduce to 1/4 C. Allow reduction to cool.
Form burgers: Combine ground beef, bacon, Worcestershire, and S+P. Mix in the wine reduction. Form into 4 equal sized patties.
Cook burgers in a cast iron skillet over medium-high heat. Cook about 4 minutes on each side, or to desired temperature. Top each patty with cheese and cook until melted.
Assemble burgers: Place spinach on the bottom bun, top with the cheeseburger, chutney, and caramelized onions.

*This recipe is adapted from Erin at http://thecrumbycupcake.com/cherry-cabernet-burger/*

Cherry Cabernet Cheeseburger Sew You Think You Can Cook

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

Homemade Tahini

June 8, 2016June 7, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 14 Comments

With two busy boys it takes quite a long time to completely move into a new home. Or so I’m finding out. But maybe it’s just us. I have friends who also moved from Ohio around the time we did and they seem like they’ve unpacked all of their boxes and hung art no problem.

When we got to Ohio, I knew we’d only be there 18 months and didn’t bother to decorate. There were boxes of books that were simply taped back up and put on another moving truck to come to California. But now I know that we’ve got a minimum of 3 years here and I was determined to make this place feel like home; to look like a family really does live here. And we’re getting there. More art and picture frames are on the walls than not, however half of those picture frames are still waiting to be filled. (I really need to get the printer hooked up!)

But I did finally, after 2 months, declutter the kitchen counters and dining table! Random pieces of mail have been sorted and a “junk drawer” created of unused child safety locks and tape. Having a completely clear table and more counter space in my already cramped kitchen makes the transition to cutting out processed foods that much easier.

I made hummus every now and then in Ohio and was looking forward to doing so again when I could justify having a giant jar of tahini again. One of our very first grocery trips included chickpeas, but I couldn’t find tahini! I figured I’d try the commissary on base as they have a fairly impressive international foods aisle. No luck. I instead grabbed a large container of white roasted sesame seeds, it couldn’t be too difficult to make my own tahini! (For the record, the commissary does carry tahini, they were simply out of stock the day I was searching for it.)

Making your own tahini is in fact quite simple. And cheaper! While the consistency of my tahini isn’t as smooth as a store bought jar, it is quite delicious. The consistency is dependent though on a couple of things: the amount of oil used, the power of your food processor or blender, and the amount of time you process it.

This recipe will make just under 1 C of tahini.

Homemade Tahini

Ingredients:

1 C toasted sesame seeds
2 tbsp – 1/4 C canola oil

Steps:

Place sesame seeds in food processor with 2 tbsp oil. Puree until smooth, scraping the sides of the bowl as needed. Slowly add more oil until desired consistency is reached.
For increased sesame flavor, add a touch of sesame oil. Season to taste with salt.

*This recipe is adapted from http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-make-tahini-cooking-lessons-from-the-kitchn-203314*

Homemade Tahini Sew You Think You Can Cook

Cherry Whole Wheat Scones

June 6, 2016June 3, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 11 Comments

Apparently the thing to do in Southern California on Memorial Weekend is go cherry picking. Cherries have a very short season, only about a month! Through the connectivity of Facebook, I found out about a U-Pick Cherry Farm an hour and a half north of us. We decided it’d be a fun thing to do on our 6th wedding anniversary.

There were notifications on the farm’s website about a smaller crop yield this season and that their Memorial Day weekend hours would be shortened. We made an effort to leave first thing in the morning. That “first thing in the morning” didn’t quite happen and we arrived at the farm at 11am. (Their hours for the day were to be closed at 1pm, so still plenty of time.) The traffic halted about a mile and a half from the gate and people were parking on the side of the road. We found a spot to park a mile away and started to unload. We noticed however a ton of people returning to their vehicles empty handed. Stuart asked someone and she said the farm was closed but that there were other orchards further down the road.

cherry picking 1

Down the road we went. We joined another mass of people and waited in line for almost an hour to get into this smaller orchard. They grow 6 varieties of cherries but two of them had already seen the end of their season. Predominately Bing and Rainier were the varieties ripe and ready to pick, though we did snag a small handful of Brooks and Utah Giants. Don’t ask me which are those latter two out of our three pound bag though!

Cherry Picking 2

Unlike our first choice orchard, this one didn’t have a picnic area. We instead ate our packed lunch in the back of the van when we returned from our harvesting adventure.

picnic in the car

Next year we will be more prepared and arrive when they open so we can check out the largest cherry orchard in Southern California. While still satisfied with our yield, the day ended up not being the one I’d envisioned. Fruit picking in California is quite different than in Ohio; way more people and a little more stress. But, now we know. Time to look for other fruit picking opportunities!

I will do my best to share my cherry creations while cherry season is still on. First up: scones.

When I told my mom we were making scones she immediately had to whip up her Blueberry Scones. I watched her make the dough via FaceTime and realized that her recipe looked a lot like the one I’d just made for the cherries. The only variations: whole wheat flour in place of all-purpose and heavy cream in place of milk, oh, and obviously cherries instead of blueberries.

Cherry Whole Wheat Scones (prep)

Cherry Whole Wheat Scones

Ingredients:

2 1/2 C whole wheat flour
1/4 C sugar
1 tbsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 stick cold butter, cubed
2/3 – 3/4 C heavy cream
1 C chopped fresh cherries

Steps:

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F.
In a large bowl, whisk together the flour, baking powder, and salt. Cut in the cubes of butter until it looks like crumbs.
Add the cream and mix with a fork until combined. Fold in cherries.
Form (“mush” is the term my mom used) dough into a disk and place on a baking sheet. Cut into 6-8 wedges. Spread wedges apart slightly if you want crispy edges or leave touching for soft edges.
Bake 15-20 minutes, or until golden brown on the edge/top. Scones will be done when toothpick inserted comes out cleanly.

*This recipe is adapted from Amy at http://www.wholesomelicious.com/cherry-pie-scones/*

Cherry Whole Wheat Scones Sew You Think You Can Cook

Pork Ramen with Mushrooms and Spinach

June 3, 2016June 3, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 10 Comments

Would you believe me if I told you I’d never had ramen before making the recipe I’m sharing with you today? Well, it’s true! Even on a college dime I never tried it. I’ve always been a macaroni and cheese kind of girl, ever since I was a wee one. The kind in the blue box that’s 98 cents. Or if I’m feeling fancy, the liquid gold kind for 2 dollars a box. A guilty pleasure that I haven’t indulged in since we moved into our new place.

When we moved we decided that we’d go ahead and alter our diet a little bit. I don’t care much for a strict diet – there isn’t any gluten-free, paleo, or vegan-style eating in my house. What we discussed doing to eat a more healthy and balanced diet is to start cutting out processed foods. It’s a slow transition that’s taking place in my grocery shopping and until I feel completely settled in, it won’t be in full force. But, I haven’t bought those childhood favorites of mine. And I’m not buying those canned cinnamon rolls that we require every Sunday morning, either!

I feel like there are a lot of changes taking place and definitely a lot of “firsts.”

I just spent my first week “home alone” with the two boys while my husband was in Denver for work. To say I was scared would be an understatement. I’m happy to report that the three of us did survive, and with very minimal scarring. Treat decided it was high time to learn to stand the day Stuart left. At six months old! I expected the second child to do things more quickly to be able to keep up with the older sibling, but I was not prepared for things to happen this fast! He seems to only half master a skill before careening head first into the next milestone. At the age of 6 months he started to sit, started to army crawl, started to hands-and-knees crawl, mastered the army crawl, mastered sitting, pulled himself up, and started to scoot along the couch. If you ask me, that’s way too many things to discover in 4 short weeks. He needs to stop trying to be a toddler and just be a baby!

Among the “firsts” is my first taste of ramen noodles (not including the flavoring packet, just the noodles) and my first usage of miso in my own kitchen. Due to the enormous size container of miso, you’ll be seeing a bit more of the Japanese product on the blog in the future. Pork Ramen (components)

I loved the flavors of the roast pork tenderloin, sweet from the honey with the warm spiciness (not heat) from the Chinese 5 spice powder. It paired nicely with the subtly salty broth. I even actually ate the mushrooms in the soup – gasp! As for the ramen, I don’t think I’ve met a noodle I don’t like. For 12 cents and a 3 minute cook time, I’ll be looking to the Chinese noodle more often.

Pork Ramen with Mushrooms and Spinach

Ingredients:

1 lb pork tenderloin
1 tbsp sugar
1/2 tsp Chinese five-spice powder
4 tbsp soy sauce, divided use
1 tbsp sherry
2 tbsp honey
2 tbsp canola oil
1 large sweet onion, thinly sliced
1 portabella mushroom cap, thinly sliced
7 C chicken broth
1 tbsp white miso
6 C baby spinach
3 pkgs (3 oz) ramen noodles, soup mix discarded
sliced scallions, for garnish

Steps:

Put the pork in a large bowl and sprinkle with sugar, Chinese five-spice powder, and salt. Pour 2 tbsp of the soy sauce and the sherry over the pork as well. Let marinate at room temperature.
Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
Place pork on a foil lined rimmed baking sheet. Roast for 10 minutes. Flip and roast another 15 minutes, or until an internal temperature of 145 degrees F is reached. Brush the pork with the honey and roast about 5 minutes, until pork is 155 degrees F. Set aside.
Heat oil in a dutch oven over medium-high heat. Cook the onions until tender, about 10 minutes. Add the mushrooms and cook another 2 minutes. Add the chicken stock, remaining 2 tbsp soy sauce, and the miso. Bring soup to a boil, reduce to simmer, and cook 20 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the spinach to the soup until wilted.
Cook ramen according to package instructions.
Assemble: Divide the ramen among 4 shallow bowls, ladle soup over the noodles, and top with sliced pork. Garnish with scallions.

*This recipe is adapted from CookFresh Spring 2016*

Pork Ramen with Mushrooms and Spinach Sew You Think You Can Cook

#FoodieExtravaganza: Midsummer Eve

June 1, 2016June 1, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 18 Comments

foodieextravaganza-300

Laura of Baking in Pyjamas challenged us to create a dessert that is Midsummer Eve themed. I’m not going to lie, I had to Google “Midsummer Eve.” All I knew was that the summer solstice, the longest day of the year, falls on June 21^st in the Northern Hemisphere. What I didn’t know was that in some countries it’s an official holiday! In Sweden, celebrations involve dancing and singing around a florally decorated maypole. In Scandinavia, people clean their homes and decorate them in flowers. In Denmark, traditional foods include pickled herring and strawberries.

Thankfully, Laura’s instructions were to make a dish that meant “midsummer” to us. To answer her call, I immediately thought ice cream! Though really, any time of year is good for ice cream in my book.

I found myself in possession of a massive amount of mint when the grocery store was sold out of the small packages. I’d only needed a couple of tablespoons to mix into Greek yogurt for some lamb burgers. (A recipe that is still under development here in order to be photograph-able) As such, you’ll be seeing a couple more minty recipes on the blog over the next couple of months.

Mint Gelato for #FoodieExtravaganza from Sew You Think You Can Cook (1)

But back to the recipe at hand. Fresh mint gelato. Egg-free gelato.

We are within walking distance of a very delicious gelato shop and our sweet teeth know it! I think I’ll be making ice cream much more often now so we can enjoy a cup for a fraction of the cost.

I didn’t have any chocolate in the house when I made the gelato but found that the fresh mint really did need another flavor to balance it. I decided to use some of my farmer’s market yield of berries to make a sauce. The brightness of the fruit was exactly what the gelato needed; better than chocolate even! To make the berry sauce I put some fresh (frozen works, too) berries in a small saucepan with a little sugar over medium heat until syrupy then gently mashed them with the back of a spoon to achieve the texture I wanted.

Egg-Free Mint Gelato

Ingredients:

1 C sugar
2 tbsp corn starch
2 C whole milk
2 C heavy cream
6 sprigs fresh mint

Steps:

Whisk together sugar, corn starch, milk, and heavy cream in a sauce pan over medium heat. Stir constantly until the mixture starts to bubble and thicken.
Place a large bowl in an even larger bowl of ice water. Pour gelato base into the bowl to cool. Put the mint in the gelato and let steep for 5 minutes. Remove the mint. Place the gelato base in the refrigerator at least 4 hours to chill completely.
Place gelato in ice cream maker and follow the directions for your ice cream maker.
Serve with either a berry or chocolate sauce.

*This recipe is adapted from Leigh Anne at http://www.yourhomebasedmom.com/fresh-mint-gelato/*

Mint Gelato with Berry Sauce for #FoodieExtravaganza from Sew You Think You Can Cook (2)

Be sure to check out these other midsummer treats:

Blueberry Slab Pie by A Day in the Life on the Farm

Carrot Vanilla Custard by Sneha’s Recipe

Chocolate Fondue with Strawberries by Making Miracles

Dark Berry Gelato by Baking in Pyjamas

Kladdkaka by Culinary Adventures with Camilla

Mango Souffle by G’Gina’s Kitchenette

No Bake Lemon Cheesecake by Fearlessly Creative Mammas

Nordic Walnut Cake with Coffee Icing by Food Lust People Love

Simple Peach Crisp by Cooking with Traci

Swedish Cheesecake with Strawberries by Caroline’s Cooking

If you are a blogger and would like to join our group and blog along with us, come join our Facebook page Foodie Extravaganza. We would love to have you! If you’re a spectator looking for delicious tid-bits check out our Foodie Extravaganza Pinterest Board! Looking for our previous parties? Check them out HERE.

SRC: Honeyed Lemon Fruit Salad

May 30, 2016May 30, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 24 Comments

newsrcbanner

Good morning and welcome to another edition of The Secret Recipe Club. For a little “behind the scenes” information, The Secret Recipe Club (SRC) is divided into three groups. Each group posts on a different Monday of the month. I am in Group C and always post on the 3rd Monday of the month. Which meant that during those special months with five Mondays there’d be two weeks without any fun reveal day! So now, on the 5th Monday of the month there is a themed reveal and it’s a “free for all,” which means that there aren’t any group restrictions. I’m looking forward to getting to know some of the other bloggers in the club.

The end of May unofficially marks the beginning of barbecue season and so today, the Secret Recipe Club is sharing recipes that would be perfect for your upcoming summer picnics and barbecues.

I was assigned the blog An Affair from the Heart written by Michaela. Michaela and I sound like we could be great friends! She describes herself as a “party thrower, gift giver, wish I were craftier, liver & lover of life” kind of gal. It’s that “wish I were craftier” bit that made me smile as I can relate completely. She is a stay-at-home mom to four children and has been married for 25 years this year!

I searched for great side dishes to accompany any summer picnic barbecue or family reunion. I always love a good pasta salad to eat alongside my grilled burger or dog and her Creamy Bacon Ranch Pasta Salad is definitely on my radar. Any family reunion isn’t complete without my Aunt’s 7 Layer Dip and Michaela’s Not Your Average Mexican Layered Bean Dip looks like it could compete (because it’s avocado free, an allergy I developed while pregnant with Firecracker that I won’t try again until I’m done breastfeeding Treat). Ultimately I went with a fruit salad, after being distracted by a Shirley Temple Float, because how could I not be?!

I altered her recipe to use fruits that were available to me and that met my family’s taste preferences. That’s the beauty of fruit salad – make it however you want! Because of my overall volume of fruit, I only ended up using one carton of yogurt instead of two. I didn’t adjust the honey accordingly and my local variety of Eucalyptus honey was quite over powering. I would of course make this fruit salad again (and use a sweeter honey). My husband loved having it as his mid morning snack in his lunches all week. Truth be told, this fruit salad was part of the very first meal we cooked in our new home!

P.S. I know I said in my SRC Reveal Post two weeks ago that I was supposed to get internet that day, well, it didn’t happen and now today’s the day! Theoretically. I’m not holding my breath on it though, that’s for sure. So, once again, I’m sorry to my fellow club members, but I promise I’ll be stopping by all your picnic worthy posts soon!

Honeyed Lemon Fruit Salad

Ingredients:

2 C grapes, halved (I used red)
2 C cubed fresh pineapple
1 ½ C chopped strawberries
2 tangerines, segmented
1 Granny Smith apple, cubed
1 container (6 oz) lemon yogurt
¼ C honey
Juice ½ large lemon

Steps:

*This recipe is adapted from Michaela at http://www.anaffairfromtheheart.com/2015/08/honey-lemon-fruit-salad/*

Honeyed Lemon Fruit Salad for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook

To see the other bloggers who participated in the themed Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

Thursday Thoughts #18

May 26, 2016May 21, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 4 Comments

Thursday Thoughts

This move to California was our second real military move. (Our first from Auburn to FL hardly counts as we had very little inventory to relocate and the distance was only 200 miles.) You can read about our move to Ohio here.

We left a small home in Ohio and were expecting something even smaller out in the Los Angeles area. In preparation for that we gave some of our furniture to my brother-in-law who just purchased a home with his fiancé, and my in-laws were more than generous in offering to store some other items until we return to the East coast. I begrudgingly left the majority of my fabric, quilting and scrapbooking supplies, and Monopoly collection behind with them. Stuart and I had many conversations about the “must-haves” in a new home and a third bedroom for an office/craft space was simply a “nice-to-have” as my free time with two little ones is quite limited and this blog is my hobby priority number one.

Unlike the previous move, this one was not a “door-to-door” move, meaning we did not have a destination address. With two boys under two and a husband in a grueling Masters program there simply wasn’t any time to take a trip to California to house hunt ahead of time. So, we booked a stay in Temporary Housing and used the 8 days provided upon reporting to find a place to live. As a result, we knew our items would end up being held in a storage facility until we could provide the moving company with our final address.

The moving company we were assigned to this move was incredible. A crew of three guys came the Monday after Easter to pack up everything. They were punctual, friendly, patient, and very courteous. They worked quickly and efficiently and while the team lead was inventorying every box, the other guys started to move everything into the garage to make loading day go smoothly. The same crew returned the following day to disassemble furniture, and along with the driver load the moving truck. We provided Subway for lunch on day one and tipped them on day two. Having the same crew for both days really helped things go smoothly.

We had a bedroom marked off as a “do not pack” room containing anything and everything that would be traveling across the country in the van. My parents came to attend Stuart’s graduation and while here, they helped us pack the other vehicle before the movers arrived. That car was loaded down with my grandmother’s antique secretary desk, quilts, and scrapbooks, along with all important documentation.

When there are young children involved, I highly recommend dropping them off with a friend while the movers are packing your home. Unfortunately that wasn’t an available option for us, but luckily my mom planned to stay and help us with the cross country drive. My mom and I were able to keep the boys occupied in the “do not pack” room and run errands. We handled the weighing of the van and returning of cable equipment to keep out of the way while my husband stayed at the house. We also handled the lunch pick-up and delivery.

That same piece of advice is even more important when the movers are unloading your belongings into your new home. This time we had my mother-in-law who flew out to California to help. She was able to keep Firecracker out of the house and at the park almost the entire day! I was able to wear Treat during his nap and keep him more easily contained as he was much less mobile.

While our delivery crew didn’t start out as personable as our packing crew, they were quite competent and earned both the taco lunch and a tip for having to deal with our inconvenient location and countless stairs.

Because my mother-in-law stayed for the first week in our new place, I was able unpack our boxes myself instead of allowing the movers to do it. I had learned from our previous experience, when the movers unpack the boxes they essentially dump everything out on the floor, which I knew wouldn’t work well with two curious boys. There were a few exceptions to what we had them unpack – we wanted them to open up all of our wedding china and stemware and art boxes to ensure they weren’t damaged during delivery.

Unfortunately, a few boxes didn’t make it all the way to California including our bin of snowboarding gear and one box of our wedding stemware. At first inspection my husband’s weight plates didn’t make it either, but the team lead called the storage facility and they were found. He returned the next day with the weights and took away all of the boxes and packing paper that we had gotten through on that first night, which was over half of them!

One bookshelf, a desk, and our Keurig ended up in the “RIP” category.

Overall I am happy with our moving experience.

We moved many essential things ourselves because of the length of our trip and the unknown amount of time we’d be living in a hotel. Here are some of the things I wish we had added to our long list: vacuum cleaner, tape measure, scissors and/or exacto knife.

I’m going to reiterate: The biggest piece of advice I have for anyone moving with children – get help! My mom helped us get out of Ohio and traveled with us all the way to California. Having a third set of hands was invaluable. My mother-in-law was able to fly out to California the week of our delivery and she was able to take Firecracker to the park and on walks while the movers were unloading the truck. My sister-in-law came down the day after delivery and was a huge help with both boys keeping them entertained while we did a lot of unpacking and organizing of our home. She and my mother-in-law were able to share the brunt of the kids’ energy, too. If they weren’t able to provide so much help I know that I’d still be living in a house of brown cardboard boxes over one month later. I look forward to their next visits when things aren’t quite as hectic and more valuable time can be spent with them. I know their presence was much appreciated by the boys too, if their behavior after their departure is any indication!

Thursday Thoughts #17

May 19, 2016May 19, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

Thursday Thoughts

Now that you’ve read about the toys and gadgets that got us through a cross country road trip, I’m going to share the more exciting story of our journey, with lots of pictures!

Because we were moving two vehicles and two children my mom more than generously volunteered to help us. If she weren’t with us I have no doubt that the timeline you see below would have had another day or two added to it, and a whole lot more frustration. Being able to have two people in the car with the boys was amazing.

We planned the general idea of our route from Ohio to California but the details of each day’s drive weren’t hammered out until the night before. I was hesitant to book hotel rooms in advance because, truth be told, there wasn’t any way to predict how the boys would handle the long stretches of driving or how long 6 hours would actually take. We knew we wanted to start out on the North route to see friends from Auburn located in Omaha and Denver. After that we knew we wanted to stop at the Grand Canyon and I wanted to add a second detour to the Four Corners.

Day 0

Our movers showed up on the Monday after Easter to pack up our belongings and on Tuesday they loaded everything onto the moving truck. (I’ll do another Thursday Thoughts on handling the move later.) We knew we wanted to turn in our house keys that day and get started on the drive.

Day 1

To our surprise, loading day took under 5 hours and we were on the road a little before 3 pm ET after having grabbed lunch at a diner in town. After the boys napped for 2.5 and 3.5 hours we stopped at a Pilot for gas, bathroom breaks, diaper changes, and water. We let Firecracker run around in a grassy area and he had a blast running races against Daddy. Cross Country Move (1)

Another two hours later, at 8 pm CT, and we stopped for dinner in Bloomington, IL. We picked a pizza bar, Lucca’s, but almost had to search for something else. This place was the kind of restaurant where you need reservations. Not because it’s fancy, but because it’s that good. To our luck the reserved table of 6 dwindled down to a party of 2 so we were given their table and the two gentlemen sat at the bar. When we walked in I was surprised to see a fair number of children! They had highchairs, but no changing tables. Firecracker was provided two coloring books and a cup of crayons for use while we waited on our order. The pizza was incredible – thin crust, crispy, and cut into square, as all good Illinois pizza should be! Their sausage was easily the best I’ve ever had.

While at dinner we looked ahead at the map and called a couple of hotels less than an hour away. We ended up spending the night in Morton, IL. Both kids fell asleep after dinner but only Treat transferred to the Rock ‘n Play Sleeper without waking up, and he slept through the night! Firecracker ended up waking up on the walk into the hotel and picked up a burst of energy. He did not end up in the port-a-crib and instead had to be pinned down between us in the king size bed, where he did eventually sleep through the night.

Day 2

WDE 5 months Before getting started back on the road I had to take Treat’s 5 month photos in the hotel room!

We got going at 9:45 am CT and drove until noon for lunch and gas in Iowa City. There was a big hill by the parking lot and Firecracker got out some energy running up and down it. Our next break was a rest area just outside of Des Moines where there was a small playground! Firecracker preferred to play with the rocks and mulch while I nursed Treat.

The early evening drive was fairly smooth; almost every toy was pulled out, and Scout
was a favorite. But, nearing our destination, Firecracker let out some crying outbursts of “Dada!” Thanks to the wonderful technology of Bluetooth, I was able to give Daddy a call and have his voice broadcast through the van’s speakers. It worked beautifully and we made it to Omaha a little after 5:30 pm CT.

We had a great visit with one of my best friends from college and his wife. Firecracker loved playing fetch with their dogs before we went to dinner where conversation was flowing as if 2.5 years hadn’t gone by without seeing each other.

Both boys again fell asleep after dinner and this time they both stayed asleep. Our hotel room had two queen beds this time and we put Firecracker in the center of one surrounded by pillows. He slept all night. Treat woke up around 2 am and stayed awake for 2.5 hours.

Day 3

We got a little bit of a late start owing to the need to give the boys baths. At 10 am CT we started the drive, this time Stuart joined me in the van and my mom drove our other vehicle. There weren’t a lot of opportunities to stop, and with 7-10 miles between exits every child meltdown got harder to stop. Around lunch time Firecracker really wanted a turn behind the wheel so after a very loud 5 minutes we took a break at 1:40 to eat.

It was my turn for a meltdown when we missed the Welcome to Colorado sign. We pulled off at the Welcome Center rest stop so I could calm down and decide if I was actually going to turn us around so we could cross the state line again. Thankfully they had the same signage at the Welcome Center and backtracking was not necessary. This Welcome Center was insanely hospitable, there were countless pamphlets for what seemed every city in the state and we were given a free state map. The volunteer staff tried to help us plan our route to the Four Corners, too. We spent an frighteningly long break at this rest stop.

Middle of Nowhere Emergency Diaper Change About an hour outside of Denver, Treat had a major diaper blow out. We literally stopped in the middle of nowhere to make a diaper and wardrobe change. I was quite thankful for the bed pad I’d put down. I was also quite thankful for deodorized diaper disposal bags!

We got to Denver around 7:30 pm MT.

The hotel had a full sized fridge in the room and I was able to completely refreeze the breast milk I was hoping to transport to California with us. (Spoiler alert, it didn’t survive…) Staying in the city meant our vehicles had to be valeted during our stay. I felt the pressure to unload the 50 million items we need each night quickly, I absolutely hate holding people up. Unfortunately in my rushed state I failed to grab food for Firecracker. Before we walked to dinner we had to ask the valet to bring the van back around so I could make him a sandwich. We met up with another friend from college and we got to meet his fiancé. We’re looking forward to seeing him some more, as we were stationed in FL together. His job sends him out our way every now and then and my husband’s his way. And of course we’ll see him for their wedding in the Fall!

Day 4

The night was really rough. The time difference really got to Firecracker and he was overly tired, which meant next-to-no sleep. I woke up with him at 5:30 am MT and we took a quiet stroll down the hall until breakfast was served at 6.

We booked a hotel for the night and got an early start and walked to Starbucks before leaving Denver at 9 am MT. Firecracker absolutely loved riding on each and every luggage cart we needed to use.

The stunning drive took us through mountains and plains and very few places to stop. Good thing my boys (husband included) took long naps! It was an interesting drive leaving Denver – there were stretches of road where I was in the only lane headed West with three lanes of traffic heading East – and no median! Down mountains! I would have loved for Mom to have been the lead vehicle at that moment.

With stomachs growling we stopped in the tiny town of Saguache, CO. The diner where we ate was a great find. All of the food was fantastic. Mom got a BLT on homemade jalapeno cheddar bread. After tasting hers I regretted not doing the same. With breakfast served all day Firecracker enjoyed the fluffiest blueberry pancakes ever and I had French toast (because who can resist homemade bread!?). I don’t recall what they named the dish that Stuart ordered, but it was a flour tortilla topped with refried beans, potatoes, onions, cheese, a gravy-type sauce, and sour cream. I loved it! Mom also got a slice of homemade mixed berry pie.

Overall, we took a two hour driving break and did some walking down the main street and popped our head in some of the shops. They actually had a working paper press for their local newspaper which was neat to see!

We made it to Cortez, CO at 7:30 pm MT. We did laundry and went to bed.

Day 5

Today was a fun day. Our first stop was to the Four Corners! I was the only person excited about this pit stop on the drive, but by the time we left everyone was wishing we’d had more time and can’t wait to go back. We had a lot of fun taking pictures at the corner and we even got to do a little hiking nearby.

Four Corners Monument Four Corners Hiking

At the Four Corners there are local vendors selling lots of jewelry and pottery. I got an ornament to commemorate our trip. There was also a stand selling fry bread. This pastry was delicious! We tried a few different toppings: apple butter, honey, and cinnamon sugar. (You can probably guess which one was mine!)

Fry Bread

We weren’t entirely sure how long it would take us to get to the Grand Canyon and at one point we pulled off on the side of the road to double check the maps. My car’s GPS was taking us to the North Rim of the Grand Canyon, which would have been closed at this time of year. Thankfully we thought something was fishy about how long it was supposed to take us and we re-consulted with Google. We needed the East Rim, cutting 3 hours off the travel time! There weren’t any good places to stay along the way past the Grand Canyon so our options were to spend the money in the tourist area or backtrack to Flagstaff. We called a Holiday Inn Express at the Grand Canyon and they had one room available, and at a decent rate. My mom was going to have to bunk with our family of four for the night.

As we approached the Grand Canyon we saw a sign that said $30 per vehicle. Well, we had 2 vehicles! I started to fret over the price and convinced myself that instead of thinking of it as a “per vehicle” cost, to divide that number amongst our party and look at it as “$20 per person and kids are free” which seemed much more reasonable.

Upon arriving at the entrance to the Grand Canyon I was reminded that as an active duty military member, we get access to all National Parks for free!

Both Stuart and I had been to the Grand Canyon as children with our families, but it was a whole new experience going as adults. Pictures can’t illustrate the sense of awe and wonderment that one feels looking at the expanse, seeing the reds, oranges, and browns. If the boys were older we would have planned to spend much more time at the Grand Canyon, but our couple hour visit was well worth it and we can’t wait to go back. I don’t know if we’d ever camp in the canyon, but we’d definitely love to do some actual hiking. Firecracker kept wanting to go “down” and I definitely watched my husband’s hold on him tighten the closer they got to the edge.

Grand Canyon National Park

Day 6

Somewhere still in Arizona (I believe Seligman), Firecracker got to watch his first real life train at one of our stops. There were a lot of train sightings along the way and he had fun spotting them from the car window.

This final day of driving was the hardest on me. I wasn’t mentally prepared for the expanse of desert after crossing the California border and there were only a handful of places to stop on I-40. Time seemed to stand still while we drove on a never ending highway of sand.

Day 7 & 8

We spent our first two nights in Los Angeles in a hotel by the airport while we waiting for our temporary housing to be available. Firecracker loved watching the airplanes land and take-off. My mom flew back to Florida on day 8. There aren’t enough words in my vocabulary to indicate how much we appreciated her taking so much time out of her hectic schedule to help ours.

Days 9 – 22

Two weeks were spent living in temporary housing while we explored the area and did some house hunting. The small space was equipped with a little kitchen, in which I made my Cali inspired Fish Tacos. While the boys learned how to share a room in hotels on the drive, they really started their co-habitation in our temporary living quarters. Firecracker discovered the joys of a community laundry facility and had great fun pushing the baskets across the room and being pushed in the baskets. Treat even learned how to roll over during our stay! The location of the temporary housing was 30 minutes south of where we ended up finding a home in which to live, and my boys definitely became less than enthusiastic about the traffic. Firecracker learned the phrase “slow traffic” from the van’s GPS.

I am grateful for the availability of temporary housing and the permissive time off provided to Stuart for house hunting. We were able to explore the surrounding neighborhoods and find the perfect fit for our family.

On day 24 the movers delivered {almost} all of our belongings. Stay tuned for that grand adventure next week (or the next chance I get to use internet)!

Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links.

SRC: Double Chocolate Cookies

May 16, 2016May 8, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 18 Comments

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It’s Secret Recipe Club Reveal Day! In the Secret Recipe Club, each participating blogger is assigned a blog from another participating blogger and secretly searches their site for something to recreate. The accompanying blog post then goes live on reveal day! So while I was immersed in my assigned blog, someone else was picking through mine! I’m so excited to be part of this group, to see what on my blog peaks other’s interests and to stumble upon new blogs and new recipes.

It’s actually a miracle I’m even posting with The Secret Recipe Club today! We moved to California from Ohio last month and I felt quite confident that skipping out of April’s SRC reveal day would be the only break necessary to get through the travel.

I had no problem selecting and making my dish for today’s reveal, but I did have a problem blogging it! We got the keys to our new home April 16^th, moved in April 18^th, and received delivery of our goods on April 19^th. I’m supposed to get internet installed today. Hopefully that happens. It’ll be a while before I get a chance to stop by and check out all of the other SRC posts today, but you can see them via the link at the bottom of my post.

Everything I’ve been doing has been via mobile, except for the rare occurrences when I was able to get away from the boys and sit at a coffee shop with wifi. I actually never left the house, if I had to drive, without my computer so I could at least type up blog posts (this one included) in Word so that when I did get a moment of internet bliss I could quickly and efficiently schedule some posts!

We met a few of our neighbors after moving in and one of them generously and thoughtfully brought over a 6 pack of beers from local breweries that he put together. I knew I’d be searching through my assigned blog, Dessert Before Dinner written by Stephanie, for a thank you treat. The Jalapeno Beer Cheese Bread caught my eye, but it was another SRC post. I knew everyone loves cookies so I decided on her White Chocolate Chunk Chocolate Cookies. I put most of the cookies in a large mason jar and tied it with a bow. It’s a good thing I did, too, because I found these cookies to be insanely addictive. I definitely broke my “only two cookies at a time” rule and even sneaked one for breakfast the following morning.

Double Chocolate Cookies for Secret Recipe Club from Sew You Think You Can Cook (1)

This recipe makes 18-20 cookies.

Double Chocolate Cookies

Ingredients:

1 stick butter, softened
1/3 C sugar
1/3 C brown sugar
1 egg
1 tsp vanilla
1 C flour
1/4 C + 2 tbsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
3/4 C white chocolate chips

Steps:

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, cream together the butter and both sugars until fluffy.
Add the egg and vanilla and mix until combined.
In a bowl, whisk together the flour, cocoa powder, baking soda, and salt. Add to the stand mixer and mix until combined. Fold in the white chocolate chips until evenly distributed in the dough.
Drop spoonfuls of the cookie dough onto two baking sheets. Bake 10-13 minutes. Allow cookies to cool 5 minutes on the pan before removing to a cooling rack.

*This recipe is adapted from Stephanie at http://dessert-before-dinner.blogspot.com/2011/07/white-chocolate-chunk-chocolate-cookies.html*

Double Chocolate Cookies for #SecretRecipeClub from Sew You Think You Can Cook (2)

To see the other bloggers who participated in the Secret Recipe Club this month click here:

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Shrimp

May 10, 2016May 10, 2016 ~ lk529 ~ 6 Comments

We’re feeling pretty settled here in California (minus still not having Internet installed – this post comes from my WordPress app on my phone) and we couldn’t be happier with our home’s location. We live across the street from a park that Firecracker loves and the beach!

We didn’t go to the beach very much when we were living in FL and now that we’ve got the boys we have some serious beach preparations to make before any real trips by the water happen. I want to get a tent so that Treat can stay in the shade and have space to crawl around.

I can walk most places I need to go and appreciate not getting in the car daily. There are a lot of restaurant options in either direction about a mile away and we’ve enjoyed walking to dinner once a week.

On one evening outing we found ourselves in a tiny vendors market. We stopped and talked to a man selling specialty balsamic vinegars and olive oils. Stuart took the bait and we tried some flavor combinations. We ended up purchasing a 4 pack including our choices of rosemary olive oil, Meyer lemon olive oil, original balsamic vinegar, and raspberry balsamic vinegar.

The Meyer lemon olive oil has gotten a lot of love already. We immediately created a vinaigrette with the Meyer lemon olive oil and raspberry balsamic vinegar to dress a spinach salad with chorizo, glazed walnuts, caramelized onions, and strawberries.

I also whipped together a chicken cream pasta dish by sautéing sliced chicken in the oil and butter. Then sautéing some mushrooms, onion, and broccoli in the same skillet. A deglaze with chicken stock and a little bit of cream created a very satisfying pasta dinner in next to no time.

Our desire though was to use it with shrimp and that’s the simple recipe I’m sharing with you today.

Meyer Lemon Olive Oil Shrimp

Ingredients: