Basil Corn on the Cob

Yummy!  Ours was slightly singed meaning it was a bit firey when pulled from the grill, but very good.  Next time, I'll use some parmesan cheese and garlic powder to mix with the butter to make it taste a little different. Also, we left one ear with just regular butter on it so the kids would eat it.  Should have left 2.  First sweet corn of the year, purchased at a local market and it was heavenly!!!





Basil Corn on the Cob
From Simple & Delicious June/July 2010
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
6 ears fresh sweet corn
8 Tbsp butter, softened
1/2 tsp dried basil
1/4 tsp sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp garlic salt
Kitchen string
1 cup basil leaves (optional)
Lime wedges (optional)

Directions:
1- Carefully peel back corn husks to within 1" of bottom to remove sillk. Remove all silk.
2- In a small bowl, combine butter, dried basil, sugar, salt and garlic salt.  Spread over corn.
3- Place basil leaves over butter mixture on ears.
4- Rewrap corn husks and secure with kitchen string.
5- Place in a stock pot and cover with cold water.  Let sit 20 minutes.
6- Grill corn in husks over medium heat, covered, 25-30 minutes or until tender, turning often.  Serve with lime wedges.

Sweet & Spicy Pork Tenderloin

Notes- Very spicy, but in a secondary type of way.  Like you'll take a bite, think "Oh it's not bad" but then it hits you.  We served fish sticks for the kids but if you wanted to leave some meat not marinated with rub, the finishing glaze would be yummy alone.
From: Weight Watcher's Magazine August 2010 edition

Sweet and Spicy Pork Tenderloin
Serves: 6

Ingredients:
1 Tbsp Mexican-Style Chili Powder We used about 3/4 Tbsp Chili powder with 1/4 tsp Chipotle Chili Powder)
1 1/2 tsp garlic powder
1 tsp dried oregano
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 (3/4 lb) pork tenderloins
3/4 cup orange juice
1/4 cup packed brown sugar
1 tsp onion powder
2 Tbsp Worchestershire sauce
2 tsp yellow mustard

Directions:
1. Mix chili powder, garlic powder, oregano and cinnamon in a cup.
2. Place 1 tenderloin on a cutting board. Holding a sharp knife, cut tenderloin lengthwise three quarters of the way through and open up like a book. Place pork, cut side down between 2 pieces of wax paper and pound to 1/2 inch thickness.  Repeat with remaining tenderloin.
3. Transfer to a large bowl & rub all sides with spice mixture. Cover and refridgerate at least 2 hours or up to 24.
4. Meanwhile, make glaze.  Whisk orange juice, brown sugar onion powder, Worchestershire and mustard in a small sauce pan until blended over medium heat.  Bring to a boil,  Reduce  heat and simmer, stirring occassionally until mixture reduces to about 2/3 cup.  Let cool completely.
**All prep above could be done the night before & kept in fridge**
5. Preheat grill to high.
6. Spray both sides of tenderloin with non stick spray. Place on grill and grill until well browned (3-4 minutes).  Turn and brush ith glaze.  Grill until well browned (another 3-4 minutes).  Turn again and brush with glaze, repeating until thermometers inserted on either side read 155 degrees F.  Transfer to cutting board.  Cover loosely with foil and let sit 5 minutes before cutting. 
7. Cut each tenderloin in to 9 slices each.

NI (per 3 slice serving): 202 cals, 2 g fat, 48 mg chol, 145 mg sodium,16 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 23 g protein, 34 mg calcium

I'm serving this with grilled basil corn!

Geneology Project: Wedding Day

My great grandparents on their wedding day in 1934.  They are reunited in heaven, though we miss them down here very much.  Credits: All in the Family Grunge Masks by Kerry'd Away Designs, Echoes of Asia {free} from Jessica Sprague, Boheme Sophistique {free} by HeatherT Designs, & Photo Masks by Carina Gardner.

Layouts for the week!

Oh, I've been having so much fun!  Between joiningthe new Creative Team, participating in the June challenge on ScrapOrchard & my regular scrapping for Kerry, it's been a very busy week!

U-turn!

Kit: Licensed to Drive by Lucky Smith Designs   Font: Round Birdie by Audacious Designs

Our Little Monster

Monstrosity Kit by Britt Ish Designs submitted for her weekly Show Off

Staycation:

Part of the ScrapOrchard June Challenge- A free kit piece every day with challenges daily.  Kit- It's a Good Life by Ettes Design  Also find the free template to play along here  Font is Tall Drink (Freebie) From Heather T's blog

Scrap Lift! Mindy Hanson

So, Mindy is the 4th Pea to be spotlighted at Two Peas on the digital scrapping board.  She's incredibly talented and I love reading her blog.  One of her layouts definitely caught my eye to lift.  It's called "Walls Around Us". I love this and have definitely, at some point, been able to relate to the sentiment the layout captured.  But, not really at this moment, at this time in my life.  Instead, a quote from a friend's Facebook page drew me in as I thought of lifting her page.  So, I created!  Tutorial for the bracket here.  Credits: Boho Sheek by Brandy Buffington, Round Birdie Font by Audrey Neal, Glittery Edge Effects by Betsy Tuma and masks by Jennifer Barrette.

Game On

Love this kit from Jen Markatis at Two Peas: Robots  Alpha from Growth Spurt by Connie Prince  Overlay from the Play All Day Kit  Inspired by the Sketch from Liz Qualman

Sweet Sweet Boy

I love this kit from Page Frocks: Little Boys Dream  (Another example of bargain shopping- I got this on a 50% sale for $2.50.  Traditional scrappers, could you make this page for $2.50?)  Anyway, I also used a new kit from Kerry'd Away Designs at Two Peas- another edition of Curvalicious Masks!  Gorgeous stuff!  Grungy photo masks: 365 MasksVer 4 by Carina Gardner at Design House Digital. Journaling reads: Son-

Mommy, I want to stay under this big roof every day with you and be happy and laugh...
Mommy:
Me too, son.

The dust settles from my preschooler's busy feet

Whether it's the "Wow, you've got your hands full" or "Gee, I wish I had that much energy" to the "Boys are just different" comments I get daily, it's a no brainer that my son isn't a kid who will sit nicely, listen to a story or lesson and go along with your instruction if that's all that there is to do in his day.  So, after a morning of hard-core playgrounding (including a beautiful, free kids park with water features and wonderful learning spots), I decided to try the Clothes Pin Matching Game with him while my toddler napped.

Total success.  He loved it and we went through both sets of letters.  I need to finish another box of cereal to free up some cardboard for the pictures & letter matching though I have it printed, cut and ready to go.  I printed the circles on cardstock and then used basic cardboard from a cereal box to make them a bit more sturdy.  He loved the chance to talk about the big and little letters but also the motor skills practice of using a clothes pin.

And yesterday, we visited story & craft time at Barnes & Noble.  We read "Watch Out Little Wombat" which was very cute.  Then, made paper bag puppets.  The kids loved it!  You'd need brown paper bags, construction paper for ears, arms & tails (if you make the crocodile, both of my kids made wombats), foam pieces for eyes (or googly eyes, buttons, whatever), glue sticks & crayons for decorating. 

Ham Carbonara

I will 100% make this again.  It was my first "real" carbonara but it went quickly and we all loved it.  For the kids, that meant there was enough pasta that they could easily eat just that and didn't find it too offensive.

From Simple & Delicious Magazine June/July 2010

Ham Carbonara
Serves: 4
Total Time: 30 minutes

Ingredients:
8 oz Smart Taste spaghetti, uncooked
1 medium zucchini, chopped
1 medium summer squash, chopped
1 tsp onion powder
2 garlic cloves, minced or pressed
2 Tbsp olive oil
1/2 lb thick sliced deli style ham
1 cup frozen green peas
2 eggs
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
1/4 tsp dried thyme (1 tsp fresh)
1/4 tsp salt
1/8 tsp black pepper

Directions:
- Cook spaghettit according to directions.
- Meanwhie, saute in a large skillet the zucchini and summer squash with the onion powder and olive oil.
- Add ham and peas; heat through.  Remove from pan and keep warm.
- Reduce heat to low; add eggs to skillet.  Cook and stir until egg mixture coats the back of a spoon (mixture will look frothy). 
- Drain spaghetti and place in a bowl. Add eggs to spaghetti.  Toss to coat.
- Add vegetable mixture, 1/4 cup cheese, thyme, salt and pepper.  Toss gently to coat.
- Sprinkle top with remaining cheese.

NI: 464 cals, 15 g fat, 125 mg chol, 1,083 mg sodium, 53 g carbs, 9  fiber, 28  protein

Another round of "What are you reading?"

I finished up #29 "Say You're One of Them" by Ukem Akpan this week on audiobook.  I have to admit, I didn't love this series of stories.  I'm not sure what it was, whether it was the literal translations of the dialect or just my own personal distractions from the story.  But, it was hard to get through.  I can say for sure if I hadn't picked it up on audio, I wouldn't have finished it.  I love reading works from international authors via audiobook so that I can really "get" the wan names or cities are pronounced.  Reading in my own head words of another language is more difficult & I find it harder to engage myself with the work.

I did pick up & breeze through #30 "The Girl Who Loved Tom Gordon" by Stephen King. If you haven't read this, you should.  Even if you aren't a huge King fan, you should read this.  Though I do have loads of respect for King as an author and human being.

Currently, I'm working on "Obsessed" by Ted Dekker as well as two audiobooks "The 19th wife" by David Ebershoff and "American Gods" by Neil Gaiman.  "The 19th Wife" has a very Jodi Picoult feel to it, though there's no one touting the benefits of the polygomy, but still, multiple voices on a complex social issue.  The theme is there.  I'm not in to "American Gods" enough to have a good feel for it, but I think I'll love it.  We'll see...  hope to address next week!

So, what's on your night stand?

Buffalo Chicken

From Taste of Home Simple & Delicious Magazine June/July 2010

I served with Crash Hot Potatoes from Pioneer Woman Cooks (My favorite "spice" for them is parmesan cheese, lol!)

Buffalo Chicken
Serves: 4

Ingredients:

4 boneless, skinless chicken breasts (about 5 oz each)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper

2 eggs

1/2 cup seasoned breadcrumbs
3 Tbsp canola oil
1/4 c buffalo wing sauce
1/4 cup shredded provolonecheese
1/4 cup shredded mozzarella cheese

(Or 1/2 cup combined shredded mozzarella/provolone mix if you find it)

Directions:
Prep: Start a skillet with about 1 Tbsp oil over medium heat to warm up.
1. Flatten chicken breasts to 1/2 inch thickness.
2. Sprinkle with salt & pepper.
3. In a shallow bowl, whisk eggs.  Place breadcrumbs in another bowl.
4.  Dip chicken in to eggs then coat with breadcrumbs.
5. Place in the skillet for 7-10 minutes on each side, adding wing sauce during the last 2 minutes.  Turn to coat chicken.
6.  Add cheese and turn down to low heat, covered until ready to serve.

NI*: 373 cals, 18 g fat, 142 mg chol, 1,220 mg sodium, 11 g carbs, 1 g fiber, 40 g protein
*Assumes all breading is used and only 1 egg in total adheres to the chicken in the process.

And as much as I hate doing it, here's what the kids ate.  Despite both of the picking the hot dog octopus off their plates, they ate both of them.  I used 1 and cut it in half, then up long-ways to make the tentacles.  And finally, I kabob'd it.  Just because.  The skewers also worked to pick up their Ditalini pasta :)

So, you're a runner?

I saw my PCM (Primary Care Manager) at our new clinic today for the first time.  The nurse took all my stats and upon finishing that up, looked at me and said "Are you a runner?"  I was sort of stumped.  I knew my blood pressure (90/50) and resting heart rate (50) have lowered and those all indicate "runner" but to actually call myself that? So, I said, "Yes, I'm a runner."

And I am...  I've said I set out this year to run a 5K in under 30 minutes.  Well, once I started working towards that goal, apparently I just couldn't stop.  My list for the year (so far):

Races:
Feel the Love 5K 2/13/2010
Frostbite 5 miler 2/20/2010 51:05
Snowball 5 miler 3/7/2010 48:48
Flying Pig 10K 5/1/2010: 58:02
Mother’s Day 10K 5/8/2010 58:57
Susan G Komen 5K 5/13/2010 27:38
Trail Run- ORRRC 5/11/2010 10K 1:09
Strawberry 10K Troy OH 6/6/2010 57:21 (PR)
Sugarcreek Trail Run ORRRC 10K 6/9/2010- 1:09
Dash for Donors Half Marathon 7/10/10- 2:29:11
Cottage Hill Trail Run ORRRC 5K- 28:44 (PR)

For Mother's Day this year, my husband bought me this, the Garmin Forerunner & I was elated.  I was a real runner!  But, I'm not in maintenance mode for both running & my weight loss.  I'm happy with where I am on both fronts- I'm not ready to commit the time and energy required to train for a full marathon and I never dreamed I'd run a half.  But, I'll be happy to cross it off my "bucket list" of sorts.  And to keep off the total of 35 pounds I lost this year.

Here's what I looked towards the end of last year:

And after I finished at the Susan G Komen:

I'll have the perfect side by side in September after we get back from our journey on the Disney Magic!

Muffin Tin Monday & Preschool Eating Habits

1- Cookies (Kept separate until he ate the rest) 2- Blueberries 3- Corn

4- Skewered Naked Chicken Nuggets fried in butter 5- Pooh animal crackers 6- Apple slices

Today's theme was "Get my preschooler to eat something" and it worked.  We hit Costco this morning before lunch and they were passing out samples of the Naked Chicken Nuggets (which I have a bag of at home but he turns his nose up at when I make them).  Of course, at Costco, he ate two and was trying to steal a third.  The secret?  They served theirs on toothpicks.  Gotcha.  So, I broke a skewer and voila! He ate 3 at home, sat on my lap while he ate, telling me how much he loved me. 

You've probably noticed a trend- my preschooler doesn't really eat.  Usually, I could at least count on him eating peanut butter on a spoon or oatmeal for breakfast.  Both of those have fallen away as stand-by's and I've yet to find something equally inticing for him.  He loves the concept of the 100 calorie sandwich breads now- we call them "circle sandwiches" and at least it's carbs which he needs.  I'm trying all my normal ways to sneak calories in: whole fat dairy, cooking pastas and rice in chicken broth, adding butter when possible (he won't eat it if he can see it, so only possible on hot things), etc.  He's refusing the newer options I've had suggested: Pediasure, Carnation Instant Breakfast, dips, sauces, are some of the things I've tried. 

So instead, it's currently me sitting with him at each meal, coaxing every bite and every sip.  I'm thankful that when there are people either aching for a baby or living with the loss or illness of a child, this is my biggest "issue"... that my 3 year old is too busy and active to spend his time eating.  I'll take it with a thankful heart... and just keep my mind working at new things to try.  Do you think protein powder would work in oatmeal?!?