Missed Brandon's Birthday

I forgot to post pix of Brandon's Birthday.

Just to remind you, it was during the flood, and a blizzard, and power was out to half the city....

We had a really hard time getting to any open store to even get the ice cream cake he wanted, and the Texas Road House got power only 30 minutes before our arrival.

Brandon's friend Davis (who's bday is 1 day apart) joined us for dinner out and an ice cream cake. It wasn't much, but with everything closed because of the flood, we made the best of it. It was definitely an adventure and a Birthday to Remember! :)

I was just thinkin'

We were on a weekend outing downtown when we stopped into our favorite variety store, Zambro's. Tyler sat there pondering this airplane and stick sculpture for the longest time. I have a feeling I'll need to keep an eye on my cardstock over the summer or I might have one just like it floating from our vaulted ceiling!

I do have to admit, it was kind of cool though!

Chick Magnet

Tyler took the camera to school for his last week with Mrs Lund's 3rd grade class. He came back with some very interesting pictures. They are all of CUTE GIRLS! When I asked him about this, he just replied, "I took pictures of my f-r-i-e-n-d-s, that's all Mom!"

3rd grade and already he's a chick magnet. What are we ever to do with this one?

LOL!

Paula Deen’s easy fruit skillet coffee cake

Easy fruit skillet coffee cake
Paula Deen

INGREDIENTS

• 2 tablespoons unsalted butter
• 2 tablespoons light brown sugar
• One 12-ounce tube buttermilk biscuits
• 1 cup blueberries, fresh or thawed frozen (or canned, drained fruit)
Streusel topping
• 1/4 cup slivered almonds
• 1/4 cup granulated sugar
• 2 tablespoons butter
• 2 1/2 tablespoons all-purpose flour
• 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon

DIRECTIONS
1. Preheat the oven to 375 F. To make the streusel, combine the almonds, sugar, butter, flour and cinnamon in a food processor and pulse until large crumbs form.

2. In a 9-inch cast iron or other ovenproof skillet, cook the butter and brown sugar over medium heat until melted. Arrange the biscuits in a single layer in the pan; scatter the blueberries over the biscuits and the streusel topping over the berries. Bake until the biscuits are golden and a tester inserted into the center of a biscuit comes out clean, about 30 minutes.

Allow to cool slightly and serve from skillet.

Slice & Grill Bacon Cheeseburgers

Slice & Grill Bacon Cheeseburgers

2 pounds ground beef, no more than 85 percent lean

¼ cup finely chopped onion

1 egg, lightly beaten

3 tablespoons catsup

2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce

1 teaspoon salt

½ teaspoon ground black pepper

1 cup shredded cheddar cheese

16 slices bacon

8 hamburger buns, cut in half

In a large mixing bowl, use clean hands to combine all ingredients except bacon. Use a gentle touch and work the mixture until just combined. Form the mixture into a log, about 10 inches long. Seal tightly in plastic wrap. Refrigerate until ready to use.

Before it’s time to cook the burgers, prepare bacon slices. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a large baking sheet that has sides with aluminum foil. Arrange bacon slices in a single layer on the baking sheet. Cook the bacon in preheated oven for 8 to 10 minutes. Bacon should be partially cooked but still pliable enough to wrap around burgers.

Remove ground beef log from refrigerator. Unwrap and use a sharp knife to slice into 8 rounds. Use two slices of bacon to wrap around each hamburger patty, using wooden toothpicks to fasten the ends that meet.

Grill the burgers over direct heat, medium to medium-high, turning once, until nicely charred and cooked through. About 1 minute before the burgers are done, place the buns directly on the rack, cut sides down, and grill until toasted. Assemble burgers on the buns with embellishments of choice. Makes 8 burgers.

Tips from the cook

For safety purposes, the USDA recommends cooking ground beef to an internal temperature of 160 degrees. Just don’t cook the burgers until they are so dry they become hard disks.
Use your fingers to make a slight depression (about ½-inch deep) in the center of each burger before placing them on the grill. This helps keep the burgers flat during cooking.
Do not be tempted to smash the burgers with a spatula as they cook. You’ll squeeze all the flavorful juices from the burgers.
When my mother-in-law made these burgers, I don’t think she had a choice when she purchased ground beef about how fat or lean it was. I’ve discovered ground beef with some fat in it makes the juiciest burgers. I use 85 percent lean ground beef for these burgers.

Abc's of Praise

The kids had their Spring musical performance at Church this weekend. It was so cute and adorable. They remembered all their hand signals and in Tyler's case at the expense of lip singing some of the words, but it turned out great. It was fun to watch their facial expressions as they sang and also as they saw someone in the congregation looking at them. They both got the biggest grins and so did we! Way to go boys!

The Great Outdoors

Saturday we had the misfortune of having to go into the office for a while to do some stuff. The whole family went along, including the dog! The kids worked on homework for a while, the dog practiced his 'therapy dog' behaviors, Michael was doing computer networking, and I finished up a bunch of things for the Chemistry themed party Thursday.

Within a few hours the kids, dog and I were done and headed off to the park across the street. I LOVE this particular park because the trees are HUGE and OLD. They offer so much shade in the summer that you can stay cool even in the hottest temps. The boys played on the playground equipment while Cole and I took a walk.

The air was perfumed with the blossoming trees, shrubs and bushes while the melody of a piano played from a neerby wedding in the park's gazebo. Cole couldn't decide which way to look as fat northern grey squirrels darted in every direction totally unafraid of people or dogs. I couldn't stop smiling because of all the vibrant color, aromatic smells, and suite music. I don't think I've ever seen such a glorious day in all my life.

I scooped up the boys and we all walked down to the tennis courts to burn off some of Coles anxious energy from watching the squirrels. As soon as he got into the gate the boys let him off lead and just giggled and laughed as they chased him all around the enclosure. When he settled down we went outside the gates and the boys and dog played tag on the expansive observatory area for the cities courts. They had a blast running UP the steep stairs, but were a little more cautious on the way down so as not to plummet to the ominous cement below.

After the courts we took the long way back to our car and saw several couples in wedding attire getting their pictures taken in the park along with oodles and oodles of attendants in brightly colored dresses. We passed one old tree which had a hollowed out section (probably an old squirrel nest) that was now inhabited by large bumble bees. We actually heard them before we saw them, that's how large and loud this hive was. Cole looked inquisitively at the strange sound, but we gave the tree a wide berth when passing by and made our way to the skate park where we observed some amazing feats. We did eventually find the car and some cool water to drink and rest our happy feet.

WOW what a trip to the great outdoors! I love Fargo Springs!

Mango Salsa

Mango Salsa

1-2 Mango

1 Papaya

1 Red Bell Pepper

1 Orange or Yellow Bell Pepper

Juice of 1 Lemon

1/2-Whole Cantaloupe

2-3 Roma Tomatoes

1 Red Onion

2-3 TBS Frozen OJ Concentrate

2 TBS Chopped FRESH Mint

2 TBS Chopped FRESH Basil

1 pint of finely chopped Strawberries (optional)

Chop Mint and Basil.  Set Aside in Large Bowl.

Peel and coarsely chop remaining fruits and vegetables.  Using a food processor chop fruits and vegetables until small consistency occurs.  

Add processed items to chopped herbs.  Add Orange Juice concentrate and Lemon Juice.  Stir and refrigerate for at least 2 hours.  Keeps in fridge for up to a week.  Stir in Strawberries just before serving.  (I often omit Strawberries.  They shorten the shelf life of the salsa to 48 hours.)

MAKES A LOT!!!

Our Little Letter Writer

Tonight Brandon was honored in front of the West Fargo School Board for his contest entry in Letters for Literature. http://www.loc.gov/loc/cfbook/letters/index.html

The Center for the Book in the Library of Congress, in partnership with Target Stores and in cooperation with affiliate state centers for the book, invites readers in grades 4 through 12 to enter Letters About Literature, a national reading-writing contest. To enter, readers write a personal letter to an author, living or dead, from any genre-- fiction or nonfiction, contemporary or classic, explaining how that author's work changed the student's way of thinking about the world or themselves.

With 'The Thief Lord' by Cornelia Funke as his muse, Brandon made it to the state level of the competition. We are so proud of him! Go Brandon!

Spring Tea

More info and pictures later...