What we eat when Tim is gone

Yes. That IS a box with 10 sleeves of Oreo cookies. Because who doesn't need 135 Oreos. I wish I could tell you that this will last us a good while, but at 3 cookies a piece per day...

Cold Coffee House Style Drinks

I love Starbucks.  But I live 20-30 minutes from one.  And even I lived closer, I don't think my wallet or my rear end would survive spending $5 a day on Iced Lattes and Frapachinos all summer.  But I think I just found something that will double my coffee consumption at home.  And while that in itself might not be a good thing, this new recipe is.  I found this concept in my latest issue of In Style magazine and am hooked.  The article explained that pouring hot coffee over ice rendered it bitter and offered a simple solution called cold brewing.  It's simple and costs a little more than the price of one drink from Starbucks.

1.  Start with 3/4 lb of good coffee.  (I used pre-ground, regular Dunkin' Doughnuts.)  You can use a flavor or grind your own.  Just don't grind it too fine or the coffee will not be easily strained.

2.  Place coffee in a container with 8 cups of cold water.  Use only good water here or your coffee flavor will be affected.  I used filtered water from my fridge.

3.  Let the coffee mixture sit overnight in the refrigerator.  

4.  Strain the mixture with a fine mesh strainer or cheesecloth.  I used a mesh strainer and strained it 3 times.  The final time I added a paper towel to the inside of the strainer to make sure I got all the solids.

You'll be left with a very strong coffee that will keep in the fridge for up to two weeks.  You can use the coffee to pour over ice with milk for an iced latte.  Or freeze it into cubes, then blend with milk for a blended coffee drink.  (I'm guessing that you could make it even yummier by adding a small scoop of ice cream!)

I like to pour 1/3 -1/2 cup of the coffee over ice in a large cup.  Then I add 1/2-1 oz of flavored syrup and fill with fat free milk.  Stir and enjoy!

Making my own coffee at home Works for Me!

Decorating Easter Cookies

Before Mimi left we decided that she and Mark Garrett would enjoy decorating cookies together.  Anything involving icing and cookies is a winner for Mark, so he was all in.  I used his vinyl placemats under cookie racks to put the cookies on and it worked great.  I put the icing in squeeze bottles for them, but next time I'll thin it out a bit more.  It was pretty stiff and difficult to squeeze.  Mark definitely had trouble getting his to flow out.  But they both really enjoyed it and I have to admit, it was hardly messy at all.  I would definitely let him decorate cookies again with me.  

Eating them was an even bigger hit than decorating them!

Maybe I should reconsider my business...

Why should I reconsider my business?  Well, because I have now branded myself with the Pampered Chef logo.  Apparently, if you take a hot quiche out of the oven and grab the Pampered Chef pie crust shield in the wrong way, it will snap upward and over your hand searing your arm with 375 degree aluminum band.  Maybe if Southern Living at HOME doesn't work out I can explore other direct sales companies...  

Mmmm...bacon!

Mom got up early to set a nice table for our family breakfast. It happens so rarely that we all get to enjoy a relaxed breakfast together I thought I'd make it a nice one!

Mark slept until 8 am this morning. Happy Valentine's Day to us!


We had heart-shaped "Toad-in-a-holes" and bacon...



Poor Lukie only got bacon. He seems pretty happy with it though.
Notice his spoon. He insists on having one when he eats now.



Mark got a magnetic cars fridge set and a new Thomas DVD.
Luke got a new book that squeaks and Dad got his favorite candy - Sweet tarts!

I hope you all had a wonderful Valentine's Day with the ones you loved.

Dinner In...

I mentioned that we aren't going to dine out for Valentine's Day this year. Tim just got home from sea and I wasn't expecting him home in time for celebrating. Since the holiday falls on a Saturday I imagine a call now to reserve a table would be met with a hardy chuckle on the other end of the phone line. And I want to do something special for Tim that I think he will really enjoy. No dressing up. No pressure. Just a romantic dinner in.

Our kids go to bed early and well. (I don't think I'd be a sane person if they didn't!) That means that we will have the television and house to ourselves around 7:30. My plan is to set up a picnic in the living room. I'll be serving Tim's favorite fondue. (Don't worry it's a very manly recipe that he always enjoys.) We'll have lots of bread and Lil' Smokies for dipping, along with some veggies. Then we'll watch our wedding video. I don't know if you have a wedding video, but we love ours. I recommend a videographer to all of our friends getting married. It costs a little extra, but we watch our video at least twice a year.

After the video we'll have chocolate fondue with fruit and angel food cake. It's the perfect plan for an evening in. We don't have to fork out money for the babysitter, drive to Jacksonville to find a nice restaurant or dress up. We can just be together and remember how it all started.

Having Valentine's dinner in works for me and is just one way I'm honoring my husband this week. Read more inspiring stories of loving our husbands at We are THAT family this week.

Sweets for My Sweetie...

My friend Sandra hosted a "Sweets for My Sweetie" party last year for Valentine's Day. It works like a cookie exchange. Every guest brings a dessert to share and a container to take home goodies. After some great fellowship, everyone shares their sweets with each other take home a sampling to their own sweetie. How fun!

We are doing a virtual Sweet Swap at Today's Housewife this week. We are sharing our best recipes for sweets in plenty of time for you to make one (or more) for your sweetie this Valentine's Day. Check out Tim's favorite cookie at Today's Housewife and come back on Friday to link up your own favorite recipe for your sweetie. That's when I'll be sharing my own favorite, "Heavenly Chocolate Trifle."

Dinner...

I can't decide if this scenario puts me into the category of "good" mom or "bad" mom. You decide.

"Mark, how would you like to order pepperoni pizza for dinner?"
"Ummmm...I think I would like salmon, asparagus and garlic bread."

Uh, yeah. Let me just whip that right up for you, since it's 4:15 and I have none of those ingredients in my house. Instead, we have a refrigerator full of "Dad's at sea" food. Not necessarily unhealthy, but definitely foods of convenience and speed.

So, does it make me a good mother that I've obviously served my child healthy meals and that he requests food other than mac & cheese?

Or does it make me a bad mother that I didn't feed my child the dinner full of vitamins, omega-3 fatty acids and balanced nutrition that he asked for, but instead gave him this...

Or maybe it says more about my child's need to be in control than my mothering. I wonder where he gets that!

Sadly, there's no one here to eat the peppers with Tim at sea...