Woohoo!

Ok, is it sad that I didn’t realize his 6th birthday party was on the 6th? Because it didn’t connect for me until just now.

But enough of the sadness! Because the party was all about gladness.

Back up a little to the day before: the boys and I had fun prepping the house. I baked the cake part of the cake. Thank you very much, Trader Joe’s, for the exceptionally good vanilla cake with vanilla bean bits and lots of yum. Two boxes: four layers. Yumx4.

Then, we started blowing up the balloons. In our home, we have at least two working ball pumps. They should work, right? It took me five minutes to inflate a balloon to a diameter of three inches. In less than two minutes, J manages to inflate one to capacity. Believe it or not, between us, the boys inflated about half the bag of balloons and it contained 72 12-inch balloons. With our own lungs. If you wondered about how much hot air I have in me, wonder no more!

We finished blowing them up on Saturday morning. You know what? 72 balloons didn’t cover our entire living room floor. But 72 balloons was just the right amount for fun.

Later that night, around when I should have been going to bed, I made some chocolate mousse. I’m not sure if I did it correctly because I managed to taste bits of gelatin in the piece of cake I had so it’s safe to say I could have left it out. I’ll show you what happened with that cake in a bit.

FF>> the day of the party. We had fun! J was very happy to see his friends and get to hang out with them. NM was bored but he played tennis outside and his friend R came over so they got to hang out. The kids all played hard and enjoyed the balloons while the adults hung around the food. I mean hung around each other but with food.

And there was cake, of course. Here it is:

Now let me try to remember how the mousse happened, because it was easy and it wasn’t bad, though I was concerned for a bit.

Chocolate Mousse
1 pint of whipped cream
1 c. sugar
1/2 tsp. cream of tartar
1/2 c. cocoa (instead of melted chocolate, hence easy)
2 tsp-ish of vanilla
1/2 tsp. kosher salt

Run the cream of tartar, sugar and cocoa through a sifter to remove lumps. Add salt, mix all thoroughly. Whip cream and cream of tartar until you get stiff peaks. Fold in sugar/cocoa mixture along with vanilla. I read you can put all the ingredients together and chill before you whip it so I might do that next time to avoid having to fold it all together.

I did have some Knox gelatin in there somewhere, but I wouldn’t bother.

So I eyed the mousse and figured out how to divide it three ways for each layer. Viola!

The frosting? That was a mish mash, also. That’s what happens after reading too many recipes.

Whipped Cream Frosting
1 pint of whipping cream
8 oz. cream cheese, softened
1/2 can of condensed milk
2 tsp. vanilla
pinch of salt

Whip the cream cheese. Add everyone else and whip them, too. To be honest, I think there was a bit too much cream but everyone seems to have liked it. It wasn’t too sweet at all, either. Hubby liked it and he isn’t a cake person.

J’s expression isn’t from the cake, it’s because the candles’ flames have colors to match the wax:

He was a little concerned about the wax melting onto the icing. Reasonable thing to worry about but we didn’t let that happen. He enjoyed it. And the lettering? Let me just share a tip: don’t put melted chocolate in a baggie and cut a teeeeeeny hole and try to pipe it unless you’re absolutely sure there’re no unmelted bits too big to go through said hole and insist on making them go through the hole only to cause the bag to sprew gobs of chocolate and eventually break open. The plus side is your mess is entirely edible should that happen.

Note to self: learn how to use flash with the camera.

The celebrant enjoyed his day. I had fun watching him open his gifts. I heard myself automatically say “Now say thank you, J, to the person who gave you your gift” when I realized that he had been SO polite and loudly said thank you for such-and-such gift to each person who gave it. No prompts needed. Such a thankful heart!

Afterwards, the kids went upstairs to watch a 3-2-1 Penguins DVD. J had been asking for one and I was so happy that he enjoyed it.

When all was said and done, I asked him if he had fun and without hesitation he said “yes” and “I’m so happy, I got everything I wanted!” It was a blessing to watch him enjoy the day and to see him express such a thankful attitude. God has certainly been working in his spirit.

Gal 5:22-23 NKJV – But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.

Sedimentary rocks are formed when earth is eroded by water and wind. Bits and pieces flow down stream or river until they settle. With time and pressure, the bottom-most layers become rocks.

Here we go! First, we need our water to do some eroding. The part of water today will be played by 1/2 stick of melted butter.

Then, you add to that 1 1/2 cups of graham cracker crumbs. Or in this case, Teddy grahams which the boys got tired of eating. Poor teddy grahams. Mix and toss the crumbs with the butter until well incorporated. If you notice, the smallest particles always end up at the bottom of a mixture.

Now, apply lots of pressure. Each layer of sedimentary rock gets the pressure treatment after all. Press it evenly on the bottom of the pan.

Add more fluids to wash down more sediment.

Pour it carefully over the graham cracker mixture:

Spread it across so you have an even layer:

Now, you will add the larger particles that are washed downstream. In this case, 1 1/2 c. of pecans, chopped and 2 c. of chocolate chips (we only had 1/2 c. of chips so we chopped up some semi-sweet chocolate to make up for the rest).

You could replace some of the pecans with coconut, if you like (we don’t). Mix both gently so that they’re spread around more or less evenly. That way the chocolate will do a better job of holding it all together.

Now you’re ready to apply pressure and heat. Put your pan in a preheated 350 degree oven for about 1/2 hour. Check at that point to see if the chocolate is melted and the condensed milk is absorbed. You may have to spread the chocolate around a little bit (we did).

Cut into pieces while still warm so that things are fair. If you want it to be more “real” you can try and break apart the pieces. The wise parent knows that this can sometimes cause unwanted issues. Hehe. Now, enjoy your rocks and observe the layers, reflecting on how they were made.

“Mommy, this isn’t a rock!”

“You mean we put pecans in this?” Don’t worry, dear reader, he did warm up to them very quickly after the first bite.

Yes, yes, yes, science is fun. But it can also be delicious!

2 tbs. peanut oil
About 1 lb. (likely a bit more) or beef fajita meat, sliced into thin strips
4-5 cloves of garlic, finely minced
4-5 whole star anise (had pcs. which were very hard to fish out afterwards)
2 inches of ginger root, peeled and sliced thinly
1/2-2/3 c. dried mushrooms
2 1/2 c. water
1 tbs. arrowroot powder

Bring water to a boil. Add mushrooms and allow to steep until fully hydrated. Do not discard the water.

Heat peanut oil in the pan. When it’s smoking, saute half the meat until browned then set aside and brown the other half.

Saute the ginger, anise and garlic for a few seconds then add put the meat back into the pot. Add in 2 1/4 c. of water reserved from the mushrooms and rehydrated mushrooms then bring to a boil. Turn the heat down to a simmer. Allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or until the meat is tender.

Mix arrowroot powder and about 1/4 c. of the reserved liquid until fully desolved then add to simmering pan. Cook until the sauce is clear and thickened. I don’t know if you’re supposed to mix the powder in water, but that’s what cornstarch calls for so I did.

In the recipe I’d come across (and lost) there was beef broth and sherry. I have no beef broth which is why I used the water from the mushrooms to replace both. Also, there was a mention of sesame oil but I have no idea where that gets used. It is something that can be added in small amounts when you’re serving the meal, though.

Serve with rice.

6 oz. white chocolate, melted
3 oz. cream cheese, softened
3 tbs. heavy whipping cream
1 1/2-2 c. powdered sugar
1 1/2 tsp. vanilla

Whip cream cheese and melted chocolate together.

With your mixer to the lowest setting, whip in powdered sugar, 4 tbs. at a time until you get the consistency you prefer. Add in about 2 tbs. cream, keep whipping. Add cream or powdered sugar until you get the consistency you want. Whip in vanilla. Use to top cooled cake.

Sooooo good you can eat it on its own!

You need a pork tenderloin, 2 lbs. or so.
Salt & pepper
2 tbs. stone ground mustard
2 tbs. cider vinegar

Tie up the loin and then brown it on all sides.
Mix the vinegar and mustard.
Season loin, brush on mustagar (or should that be vinegard?).

Temp in the oven should be 375. If you used a cast iron pan, keep the loin there and bake it for 45 minutes (I think) but check for proper internal temp of 145F. Since my meat thermometer fatally succumbed to an untimely death, I had to guesstimate. Fortunately, it was fine when I did take it out.

After you remove it from the oven, let it sit, covered with foil, for at least 10 minutes. Slice and serve.

This is meant to be served with vegetable cobbler but last night we had it with applesauce and some orzo tossed with olive oil, salt & pepper and parmesan. I was worried it would be tough, but it was really tender! I enjoyed it and NM asked for seconds.

More notes: I actually doubled the amounts above. One of them went to a friend so I’m happy I tested it last night and it turned out ok. Also, kitchen twine would be good to have. I used sewing thread…um…that was hard. I don’t recommend it.

Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. In a large pot over medium heat, whisk flour into broth until blended. Add 2 tbs. of butter and mustard, blend. Add veggies, salt & pepper and simmer until the sauce thickens and veggies are partially cooked. Add to a 3 qt. casserole dish or two smaller ones so you can save the extra for future use.

In a separate bowl, mix flour, baking powder and some salt until blended. Cut in butter until the mixture resembles a coarse meal. Pour in cream, reserving about 4 tbs. or so and toss with a fork until all the flour is incorporated. Mix in chopped parsley. Spoon dollops of the dough over the veggies.

Bake for 35 minutes or until the top is nicely browned.

NOTES:

I don’t have an original recipe to link to because I can’t remember where I found it. I need to be better at using bookmarks in addition to sending something to print. It’s ok, I changed a little of the original anyway. I ended up using more cream that called for because the original 3/4 c. didn’t moisten all of the flour in the bowl. I think that using half and half or 1/4 cream and 3/4 milk would probably work just fine.

I’m not sure why there isn’t anything green in this. I almost added some celery but I wasn’t sure if it would fit (it wouldn’t have). If I get to make this again, I’d trade one of the potatoes for celery and a couple of parsnips if they’re available. This seems to lend itself to a lot of variation, doesn’t it? It’s also very filling and my oldest almost tried it because it smelled so good. Almost.

Let the rolls rise for 4-5 hours or until doubled in size following package directions (heh…I didn’t and forgot to cover the rolls).

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees F.

Flatten the rolls out until they’re about 5″-6″ across. You can just pinch them from the middle and then keep pinching outward evenly so it stays round. Years of Playdoh experience is very helpful, as is a willing 5 year old helper though neither is required.

On four of your dough disks, place a mound of meaty sauce and top with cheese. Amount is up to you, but you do want it to fit relatively well. Not everyone is a fan of burnt cheese like I am. Take another disk and place it above the other and pinch the sides together well. Water may help with this, but we just pinched them very, very tightly together and we only had one open during baking (and that ended up looking like a cyclops sticking his tongue out at us…pity the camera is on its way to London!). Place them on a lightly oiled or parchment-covered cookie sheet.

Bake, per package directions, for 15-20 minutes. Let cool for at least 5 minutes. Cut them in half to speed the cooling process even further.

Enjoy! J is really, really not a fan of my dinners but he ate the entire pocket pizza that I gave him this evening. Yay!

Brown the chicken thighs in oil.
In the crockpot, layer the chips, chicken, beans (I didn’t drain them), broth, herbs and green chilis. Cook for 8-10 hours on low.
One hour before serving, add the shredded cheese. Remove the chicken bones and shred the chicken.

NOTE: This tasted a little salty to me. I’m sure in my throw-whatever-in-the-pot method, I put in around 2 tsp. of salt. The chips I used are salty anyway which I forgot, so I dropped the amount I listed to 1 tsp. This recipe is a guesstimate of one I found in a magazine in the dentist’s office. I tried to take a photo but it came out so blurry! Anyway, it was very good so I have to write it down so we can have it again.

Next time, I will double it. We need more leftovers!

1/2 c. peanut butter
1/2 c. water
2 tbs. soy sauce
2 tbs. (or more!) brown sugar
2 tbs. oil
7 cloves of garlic
1/3 well-packed cup each of: basil, cilantro, mint
1 lb. chicken tenders or strips of lean chicken
1/2 c. seasoned rice vinegar
1 bell pepper, cut into strips
1 small head of broccoli, cut into florets
2 tsp. dark sesame oil
salt to taste
3/4 package of spaghetti
Honey roasted peanuts

Start the water for your pasta.

Mix the first five ingredients in a bowl as best as you can. Warm in the microwave for 30 seconds on high to help blend. Keep heating in 30 second increments as needed. Set aside.

Start cooking the pasta. Drain when done.

In a food processor, pulse garlic, basil, cilantro and mint until very, very fine mince.

In an oiled broiler-safe pan, toss chicken, garlic and herbs mixture, and vinegar. Broil about five inches from the flame, three minutes on each side. Check for doneness by cutting one of the largest pieces and making sure the juices run clear.

In a large pot—I used the one I cooked the noodles in—toss broccoli and red pepper. Add chicken and all pan drippings as well as the peanut sauce. Toss everything together. Add cooked spaghetti and toss very well to ensure everything is completely coated. Cover pan and let sit over very, very low heat for a couple of minutes just to help warm and very slightly cook the veggies.

Serve topped with honey roasted peanuts.

NOTES:
This recipe was a mash-up of a few I had come across. It came out very well this evening, but I didn’t use any crushed red pepper which most of the other recipes I read included. Also, the garlic was very “raw” tasting in this and I’m not a fan of uncooked garlic or onions. It tasted good, but it did have that bite to it so next time I’ll probably saute the garlic first and just toss it with the chicken instead of pulsing it with the herbs. Also, I would chop up the peanuts instead of serve them whole. They’re hard to eat with a fork!