Saving Dinner 2014 week 12 Classic for 6

Day 1.  Citrus roasted chicken.  Good.  Would smash the rosemary more and use a bit less of it.

Day 2.  Beef and Tortilla casserole.  Tastes good.  Looks kind of gross, so not a for company dish.  Might look better if done puree the tomato and sour cream parts.

Day 2.  Red Bell pepper soup.  I made a half recipe and it would still feed 6 people.  Tastes good.  I froze the leftovers.  Haven't used it yet.

Didn't do Day 4 or 5.

Day 6.  Eggplant Marinara with Penne Pasta.  Really good.  Easy to make.  Feeds an army - easily 8 to 12.  Good the next day too.  Froze the leftovers, haven't used them yet.

Our First 60 Degree Day

After school I surprised them with ice cream cones for after school snacks, and let them eat outside, barefoot.  Life doesn't get much better than that, right?

 

Yes, they were both barefoot.  And yes, that's snow in the background.  Pictures were taken on       10-Mar-2014.

 

As I'm writing this post on 25-Mar-2014, it snowed off and on all day and the low tonight is 15.  Luckily the snow didn't really accumulate. 

The canal is thawed between the two bridges.  The lake was frozen over when I went past at 5:30 this evening.  Forecast is for above freezing for the next week (after it warms up tomorrow).  I bet there is still ice on the lake on April 1st, but hopefully it's getting closer to being ice-free. 

Titus Last Friday

 

He's getting so big.  This is what he picked out to wear to school on Friday.  Complete with real tie (and yes, as his mother, I can tie a tie).

So when you are old, Titus, and you say you don't have a first grade class picture, here is what you wore to school the day of your class picture that I didn't purchase. 

Easter Dress

 

Front of Isabele's Easter dress.

 

Back of Isabele's Easter dress.

 

I made this dress - just finished it today.  It is fully lined in the light blue you can see on the front view.  Isabele has had it on a couple of times for fitting, but hasn't had it on since I finished hand-sewing the hem.  Overall I'm very pleased with the way this turned out.  I'll add pictures of Isabele wearing it when it warms up a little and I can get some good outside pictures (which might take till Easter at the rate we are getting rid of winter this year).

 

I'll have to add some close-up shots to my sewing / crafting blog for my personal reference.

 



 

Saving Dinner Menu Mailer Paleo Vol 2 week 4 2014

I'm doing the menu-mailer again, thanks to my mom and sister :-).  One of the frustrating things about using this in the past is remembering which recipes were well liked and would be good to make again.  Since I have the menus and grocery lists downloaded to my computer, I just need somewhere to list what was good and why, and any changes.  So I'm going to try putting it here (then Mom and Hannah can see what I liked).  Here goes.

Day 4 - Lamb Ginger meatballs.  Good, not too complicated.  I used ground turkey and served with egg noodles.  I used soy sauce, regular flour and honey.

Day 1 - Fish with Mexican Slaw.  Spicy.  Wouldn't make for the kids, but Brian liked and used the leftover (slaw) on eggs several times.

Day 2 - Cashew Chicken Stir-Fry.  Okay.  If I made it again, I'd use shredded bagged cabbage for making cole slaw.  Storing the Cabbage in the fridge and then only needed half was a pain.

Day 5 - Honey Orange Pork Tenderloin.  Very moist for pork.  Everyone ate it up, including the baked butternut squash.

Day 6 - Spiced Roast Chicken.  Isabele said she'd eat the leftovers for lunch.  (Isabele hates leftovers)  Definitely would do this again.

I didn't make the day 3 recipe - Garlic Herb Slathered Prime Rib. 

Dad-Titus Day

Sunday we had a girl day/boy day.  So Titus spent the afternoon doing boy stuff with Brian and Isabele spent the day with me. 

Titus and Brian ended up making a new fire pit and having hotdogs and s'mores for us for dinner when we got home.

 

 

Yes, they did this on February 23, 2014.  Yes there's LOTS of snow left on the ground.  Yes, it was below freezing all day.  And yes, the boys had fun with their project.

The Result of the Mom-Isabele Girl Day

Isabele has a sorry collection of hand-me-down dolls.  Some were mine, most were found in the trash at the high school by my dad.  Isabele took a dress off of one of my old dolls to put on one of the adopted dolls, however the dress didn't fit.  I decided I could probably make the adopted doll a dress from a pillowcase, like the one Isabele tried to put on the doll. 
Isabele and I went over to my mom's to see if she had any pretty pillowcases to donate to the project.  Isabele picked the one she liked best.

So here is the doll and the pillowcase.

Here's the completed dress.  Set in sleeves and all.

 

 

I think I finally mostly figured out how to get my sewing machine to make button holes.  Those of you who know me, understand about the button holes and my machine.

 

And another view of the doll in her finished dress.

 

 

Isabele posing with the doll.  I think she likes the dress, but as expected, she's not nearly as impressed with what I made, without a pattern, as she would be if she understood what I did in 3 hours.