Road Trip Prep

The excitement is beyond.  As a little girl, we didn't take very many out of state trips as a family... with the exception of ONE.  South Dakota.  I must've been about 5 or 6 years old, packing it up in the family station wagon and headed west.  I remember hotel swimming pools with my brother, a trip to the corn palace, adventures in deep dark caves and of course, seeing Mount Rushmore.
As a mother, I'm ALL for packing up the kids and heading out of state.  I want them to see it all and have all sorts of travel experience. So... we're headed back to South Dakota.  WITH my parents! Say whaaaaaat????  Yes, I'm pretty pumped about it.  I'm also a bit nervous.... I haven't spent that much time with my parents since... well... since I moved out of the house.  But I'm really excited that my children will be able to have this special time with Grandma and Grandpa, I will get that special time with my parents and my dear husband is going to be the ring leader of this trip.  YIKES!  Bless his heart... he is a KEEPER!
So... traveling with my husband, two children, my parents, and of course, Pixie (the family dog) I'm trying to prepare as much as possible.  One of the things I'm doing is fixing a few snacks for the road.  I'm not really a huge fan of giving my kids fruit snacks.  I really think they are just big huge cavity makers.  No, thanks.  Instead, I give them dried fruit.  Mostly mango and strawberries.  Honestly, they don't even miss the fruit snacks.  They are easy peasy to make!  I just go to Costco and get a big ol' carton of strawberries, rinse them, slice them and throw them in the dehydrator.  About 8 hours later... VOILA!  Healthy snack!

Mmmmmm!

Another one of my FAVORITE road trip snacks (and Little One is a big fan, too) is homemade beef jerky.  My Recipe?  Simple...

*package of round steak (up to 3 lbs), sliced into strips

2 cups soy sauce (or reduced-sodium soy sauce)

1/2 cup brown sugar

1/4 cup liquid smoke

Mix the soy sauce,  sugar and liquid smoke together.  Throw in the round steak and let sit in the fridge for 5-8 hours to marinade.  (I find if I let it go longer than 8 hours the taste is too strong for my liking)  If you have a dehydrator, lay the strips on the racks and let them dry according to your dehydrator recommendation.  Mine is set to about 145 degrees.  OR if you don't have a dehydrator, you can stick tooth picks through one end of the strip and hang from the racks in your oven. Set the over to 200 and leave it cracked open a bit so the meat dries out nicely.  Low and slow.  Check after about 6 hours.  Then check every hour or two after that until it's done.

We've been getting some MAJOR rain this past week.  Since the last few days have been sun shiny and bright (thank goodness) you just know I can't resist some relaxation time on the deck.  My latest book I finished is The Unlikely Pilgimage of Harold Fry.  I loved it.  Read it. 

Ahhhh... water with lemon and strawberries.  DELISH. 

And just because I'm obsessed with flowers everywhere in my house during the warm, summer months...

Fresh flowers.  In the bathroom.  Yes.  I just take one of two and stick them in a little vase.  I get compliments on them all the time.  Never mind the big bouquet as a centerpiece in the dining room.  Nope.  Bathroom flowers are apparently where it's at. 

 

Give the treats a try and let me know if you're a fan.  What are your fav road trip snacks?

 

A Healthier Side

This past week has been absolutely crazy busy.  However, we've been enjoying the beauty summer brings.  One of our FAVORITE places to go anytime of the year, (but let's face it... warm weather brings more opportunity!) is the Minnesota Zoo.  The girls and I met up with some friends for the day and we were so excited to see that they were offering camel rides.  I mean, how often does one come across a chance to do that??  Of course, they were all for it. 

Then, they spotted the best surprise... BABY camels!  Here, the three little ones are checking out Mama Camel and her babes. 

Other than keeping my Sweet Girl and the Little One busy, I've been trying my hand at some more healthy dishes.  That's not to say I'm giving up my comfort food, but I figure swapping out a few of those meals now and then for something healthier certainly couldn't hurt.

One of my favorites was a meal I made for a friend and I for lunch.  Grilled tuna, grilled asparagus, wilted spinach with garlic and morel mushrooms.  If you aren't able to get morel mushrooms, portabella mushrooms would work well too.  I was lucky to have a cousin who just happens to be an excellent morel mushroom hunter, that was willing to share the goods!

I got myself a sushi grade ahi tuna steak from a local grocery store. I poured some Lawry's Sesame Ginger marinade on in and let that sit for about 6-8 hours.  Turn your grill up super high and sear the tuna steaks for about 2-3 minutes a side.  DO NOT overcook them.  You really want that nice pinkish red center and the beautiful grill marks on the outside.  If you overcook the steaks, they just won't taste right.  Tuna steak isn't meant to be cooked through.  Before you put your steaks on the grill, start preparing the asparagus.  Trim the woody end off of the asparagus, toss them in some extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper.  Turn one side of your grill to low and throw on your asparagus.  No need to put them on foil or anything, just watch them closely so they don't burn.  I cook mine for about 4 minutes, turn and then do another 3-4 minutes.

Wilted spinach is about the easiest thing ever, and SO delicious.  It's a good side for almost anything.  I put a big pot on the stove and heat it to a medium, put in a tablespoon or two of extra virgin olive oil and a tablespoon (or two if your a huge fan like me) of minced garlic.  Cook the garlic for about a minute and then throw in a whole bag of spinach.  Stir it all up so the oil and garlic mix with the spinach and watch it as it wilts. You'll really want to use the whole bag of fresh spinach.  When it wilts, it really doesn't make that much.  Take it off the burner as soon as all of the spinach has wilted down.  Again, you don't want to overcook.

Now, for the morel mushrooms.... MMMM!  I'm a bit of a newbie to this, but I must say, they were delicious.  Soak the 'shooms in saltwater for about 10 minutes.  This will bring out any bugs or worms that may be in them.  (Ew, I know.  Thankfully, nothing came out of the ones I got.)  Gently squeeze the water from the mushrooms and lay then in a sauté pan that has been set to a medium heat with a few tablespoons of butter added.  Let them sauté for 7-8 minutes or so until they start to get a golden brown.  Sprinkle with Lawry's Garlic Salt. (I put that stuff on pretty much EVERYTHING.) Turn them over and let the other side sauté for 7-8 minutes, or until that side turns a nice golden brown too.  Done. So absolutely delicious!

 

 

Another thing I make A LOT during the summer months is caprese salad.  It's SO easy, pretty, yummy, fresh... everything.  Did I mention easy???  Grab a fresh mozzarella ball and slice it up.  Grab a fresh tomato and slice that up.  If you choose, grab a few little orange sunburst tomatoes or yellow tomatoes to throw in for color.  Grab a handful of fresh basil.  Now, you can either layer it all like I did in the picture below, or toss it all together in a bowl.  Pour a little olive oil over it for dressing, sprinkle on some Lawry's Garlic Salt, (see... I told you I use it on everything) salt and pepper.  Done.  A bonus to caprese salad is that it tastes SO light, but it's actually really filling! And beautiful.

 

Now... you've had yourself a nice meal so sit down and enjoy a sunset.  You deserve it. 

I caught this on my way to bed the other night as I was headed to bed early. I felt like my patience was drained from just the constant demands of the day.  As soon as I saw this, I was filled with peace and my heart just felt full and light.  God is good.  Count your blessings... even the days that seem hard are FILLED with reminders of His love.

 

Pineapple-y Deliciousness

I loooooooooove me some pineapple.  I mean, who can resist?  Certainly not me.  While I have so many pineapple desserts that I love, here are a few that the kids and I made today. 
First up?  Grilled pineapple.  I don't even need to make an ingredient list for you.  Seriously.  That easy.  First, I cut up a fresh pineapple and leave one whole chunk intact.  Heat up your grill to a medium heat and then turn it to low heat.  Toss on that big chunk of pineapple.  Watch it closely and turn a few times.  Be sure to get those pretty grill marks! Remove the pineapple from the grill, drizzle some honey on it and top it with your favorite ice cream or frozen yogurt.  OR if you wanna be super healthy, skip the ice cream and yogurt all together.  (If you have that kind of self-control.) Grab the biggest fork you have and ENJOY!

 Next up... pineapple upside-down cake.  The nice thing about this recipe is that you get not one, but TWO cakes!  (YES!)  I've been known to share the second cake with a lucky neighbor or friend, but not very often.  Here's what you need to make this deliciousness:

*1 box yellow cake mix

*1 stick of butter

*1/2 cup packed brown sugar

*8 pineapple slices (fresh or can is fine)

*pecan halves

*2- 9" round cake pans

Prepare cake mix according to package directions. Set the batter aside. Split the butter in half and put one of each half in the pans. Turn your oven on to 350 and set the pans inside to melt the butter as the over is pre-heating. After the butter is melted, remove the pans from the oven and add 1/4 cup brown sugar to each pan.  Mix it all together with a fork and spread it so it makes a nice glaze in the bottom of each pan.  Lay 4 pineapple slices in each pan and arrange the pecans around them.  Next, pour 1/2 the cake batter into each pan, on top of the brown sugar, pineapple and pecans.  Bake at 350 for 30-35 minutes. Cool for about 5-10 minutes and then take a knife and loosen the sides.  Invert onto a plate.  Serve warm.  SO good.  My husband and kids go crazy when I make this... It will take you about 10 minutes to put together.  So quick and the rewards are scrumptious! 

Gardening and Graduation

This weekend has been absolutely perfect.  The BIG news of the weekend?  My Sweet Girl graduated from preschool on Friday! She is a giver, and had so much fun putting together these cute little thank you gifts to her teachers.  She even helped me decorate the bags!

Our next stop was THE GREENHOUSE!  Honestly, one of my very favorite places.  The smell of fresh flowers, herbs, even the dirt...  ahhhhhhh. The possibilities are endless.

I mean, how adorably charming are these colorful watering cans? 

We had LOTS of seeds, veggies and herbs to pick up, and thankfully I had my Little One there to help me out. 

This is our third year gardening and we've already decided to double the size of our garden.  I was absolutely THRILLED at the opportunity to try out some new things this year.  We decided to take the frame from our old garden, move it and let the kiddos have their own little garden to care for.  Here, Sweet Girl is busy planting strawberries and flowers. 

High fives complete with adorable gardening gloves. 

Of course, all work and no play makes Sara a dull girl.  I just had to relax on the deck for a bit with my sunshine, lemon water and In Style magazine.

All year round, one of our favorite go to lunches we enjoy is my veggie pasta.  I'm SO excited that soon I will be enjoying this dish, using a mix of fresh veggies from my garden and the supermarket.  I normally use zucchini, yellow squash, baby spinach, mushrooms, asparagus, onion and garlic. YES!  In the meantime, I use my favorite frozen veggie combo, which is the Archer Farms (Target brand) asparagus stir fry. It's got ALL the good stuff. 

Here's what you need to make this easy, scrumptious dish:

*1 pound of your fav noodles (my girls always choose the bowtie shapes)

*2 tbls olive oil

*2 cups heavy cream

*1 bag frozen veggies or a few handfuls of your favorite fresh veggies, chopped

*1 cup shredded parmesan cheese

*salt, pepper and garlic salt

Boil and drain your pasta. In a skillet, heat your olive oil to a medium high heat and then toss in those delicious vegetables! Cook for about 5-6 minutes, stirring often. Add the heavy cream, turn heat down to medium and let it simmer, reduce and thicken up a bit. After about 5 minutes, remove from heat, stir in the parmesan cheese, salt, pepper and garlic salt.

I love this dish because it helps my kids eat their veggies!  Not only that, but it's a great base recipe... you can do SO many different things with it.  I've added fresh sage from my herb garden to the oil with a bit of butter and it adds a whole new taste. You could use cheese ravioli as your choice for pasta, fresh cherry tomatoes for a creamy tomato sauce, or add leftover steak or chicken and make it a nice dinner meal instead.  Use that imagination of yours and let me know how you make this pasta your own! 

20 Minutes & Dinner is DONE!

Wow.  Just, wow.  Today was crazy busy.  I needed something fast, something easy and something delicious since we got home much later than usual.  I made spaghetti last night and as always made WAY to many noodles.  Never fails.  So with that on hand, I turned to my tasty lemon chicken recipe.  Here's what you will need to make this fantastic meal:

• 2 boneless skinless chicken breasts (cut in half lengthwise to make 4 thin breasts)
• salt and pepper
• 1 cup flour
• 1/4 cup olive oil
• 1/2 cup white wine
• 2 lemons (juice 1.5 lemons and use the other 1/2 lemon to slice and garnish)
• 3/4 stick butter, room temp
• small handful capers, drained
• 1/2 pound spaghetti noodles, cooked (or in my case, whatever you have leftover from the night before)
• parmesan cheese

Sprinkle your chicken breasts with salt and pepper, and then dredge in flour. Heat your skillet to medium high heat.  Toss in the olive oil, let that heat up quick and then gently lay your chicken breasts in the oil.  Let them go for about 5 minutes and then flip.  After about 4 minutes add the white wine and lemon juice and turn the heat down to a medium.  Let that simmer and reduce for about 5 minutes and then remove your chicken breasts to a plate. Turn the heat off completely but keep your pan on the stove and add butter.  Let that melt into a sauce, stirring frequently, add your noodles and capers and then add back the chicken breasts.  Sprinkle with parmesan cheese and prepare to fall in love.  Seriously. 

Puzzles, Prayers, and Pasghetti

After a weekend of beautiful weather, farmers markets, four-wheelers and flowers, dearest Mother Nature decided to hit us with a day of stormy weather.  So, naturally, mama had to step up her game and keep these kids busy. Thankfully, since a few days have been spent completely outside, a day in wasn't THAT difficult to pull off.  However, tomorrow looks like a nice one... and I'm TOTALLY okay with that!

 My Sweet Girl is a preschooler and is now familiar with letters and sounds.  Word finds are the thing around our house lately... she loves them! I love listening to her sound out the words and we enjoy searching for them together. I think it's amazing to see how far she's come in just the last 6 months.  It's crazy how smart these preschoolers are!

While I was browsing the dollar bins the other day, (if you are one of those who can actually pass by those things, I'm stunned.  HOW??!!) I came across the cutest little pail and decided I had to do something with it.  I decided on a "Prayer Pail" and had a great time with the girls

coming up with inspiration for prayer.  Some of the ideas we came up with were:

*Family

*Health

*Happiness

*Hungry Children

*Healthy Food & Clean Water

*Our Soldiers

Tonight before bed, we sat on the bed and each girl closed their eyes and pulled out a prayers.  Little hands folded, I lead them in prayer and we decided that would be our new way to pray before bed. I love that it will be something new each night and it's very direct, which can be SUPER helpful to those small children that are just learning how to pray.

Another thing my kids really enjoy is cooking with me.  YES!  I really love to cook and I'm glad it's something I can pass on to them.  Tonight was a crowd pleaser.... spaghetti!  Or as Little One calls it, "PASGHETTI!"  In the fall, I make a big batch of sauce from a mix of my own garden veggies, and those I pick up at the local farmers markets. I freeze it in freezer bags, but we go through it pretty quickly around here.  So, on nights when I have a bit more time, I forgo the jar sauce and use my OTHER go-to marinara sauce recipe.  This is easy and fabulous. You'll need:

* 1/4 cup olive oil

* 1 red onion

* 6 garlic cloves, chopped

*2 (28oz) cans of crushed tomatoes

*salt to taste

*a pinch of sugar to balance the acidity (or more of you want sweet sauce)

*3 tbls chopped fresh basil

In a saucepan, heat the olive oil over medium heat.  Add the onion and garlic, and cook until golden brown, about 8-10 minutes. Add the tomatoes and salt.  Bring to a boil and then cook over low heat for around 20 minutes.  Be sure to stir often! Add a bit of sugar to help out with the acidity and cook another 10 minutes.  Turn off the heat and throw in that delicious fresh basil... by now your mouth will be watering and your family will be slowly trickling into the kitchen asking what that delicious smell is.  This recipe is fail proof.  You will love it.

 

No Matter How Long the Winter...

Spring is Sure to Follow.  Even in Minnesota.... right?

Well, today definitely felt like spring.  After what seems like the LONGEST WINTER EVER (and PS I say that every winter) it was nice to have a day without rain and one that was warm enough to get the kids outside.

As a stay-at-home mommy of two little girls, I'm forever trying to come up with new and interesting ways to make the day fun.  One of our very favorite things to do, no matter what the season, (ok.  I'm lying.... this doesn't include winter) is a nature "treasure" hunt.  It never fails that, especially in springtime, these little excursions always uncover some interesting finds!  Today was no different.  We found what my kids now refer to as "the dandelion garden" out in the fields by our house.  My little sweeties gifted me with absolutely adorable little dandelion bouquets.

Amongst our findings, there was also a mallard nest with the prettiest pale blue eggs.  I hope we get a chance to see the little babies!

Of course, no spring day is complete without a little grilling. Chicken breasts, corn on the cob and foil potatoes were on the menu tonight.

With stuffed tummies, the kids ended the day playing in the backyard.  By then, the sun had gone down and our Minnesota spring day turned quite chilly.  But that's ok!  Nothing beats snuggling up in a fuzzy purple blanket while watching two adorable girls giggle and run around.

 

What's your favorite way to spend a spring day?