Road Trip Day #3 - Recap

Day 3 proved to be quite successful.  I woke up early and went down to breakfast in the hotel and let the kids sleep until almost 9am.  We only had a 3 hour drive so I figured the longer I let them sleep, the less likely they'd be wearing the cranky pants.  I truly believe the amount of sleep they get is inversely proportional to the amount of cranky the exhibit... which is why I think the truism "never wake a sleeping baby" should be amended to say...or a sleeping teenager!

We seemed to have avoided most of the cranky, but sometimes my kids just make me wonder... Zack chose to have french toast for breakfast.  So, he got his french toast, he buttered it, he poured syrup all over it and then he proceed to pick it up with his hands and eat it like a regular piece of toast!   And YES, before you ask, the syrup ran all down his hands and arms practically to his elbows!  Well... if you know anything about the Hyzy's then you know that we proceeded to immediately jump all over that shit and teased him mercilessly!  Observation.... the amount of teasing you do to a teenager is directly proportional to the amount of cranky they exhibit.   He was grossly offended and couldn't understand why we were making fun of him.   I'll let you be the judge!

We arrived safely at my Aunt Linda's and all the introductions began.  The oohing and aahing, the "your so big," "your so tall," "you look greats." I discovered my niece Laney and I are long lost twins, she has blond strips in her dark hair to match my pink and blue stripes.  We spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out and getting to know each other.  We ate like frigging pigs and played with the dogs.  Only kerfuffle, my Uncle John had a Dr. appointment and when he got there he was a lot sicker than they thought and they admitted him to the hospital.  Some sort of renal failure, but he's feeling better so we're hoping he'll get out today.

We took all the kids to the movies, they saw Brave and Ian and I went for a second serving of Avengers.  Oh how I love me some Avengers.

Today we're heading to Bricktown and then Tie Dyeing!

Road Trip Day #2

If yesterday was the honeymoon phase of our trip, today can only be described as the divorce proceedings!  There was good and bad.  It started out nasty, but as the day continued things smoothed out and ended on a good note.  We actually make it all the way to Fort Smith which is 2 hours past Little Rock!

Zack woke up in THE FOULEST mood I've ever seen him in. He woke up wearing the cranky pants and they were obviously tight and uncomfortable.  He didn't do anything but glower and ignore us.  Reacting rudely to the mildest request, so while nobody cried today... somebody certainly yelled.  Once we got on the road we relegated him to the far back of the van and followed the tried and true "No Touch, No Talk, No Eye Contact" rule!  He laid down and didn't resurface until about 2pm.  I'm not sure what he was doing back there, either sleeping or secretly eating as much candy as he could before anyone noticed.  I think his entire diet today consisted of pancakes, sunflower seeds, nerds and a grilled cheese sandwich.  Whatever... I didn't want to fight that fight today.

It was a quiet day in the car.  We all just did our own thing.  I listened to books on tape or my music.  Can I say that I officially LOVE. MY. IPhone4!  It's a phone, it's a music player and it has my books on tape.  One thing...does it all!  LOVE IT!   Brenna watched movies on her computer and listened to music.  It was a quiet day in the car, but that seemed to suit everyone.

The worst part of the ride was the rain! Oy Vey the rain!  It rained the entire time, except for the last hour.  But it wasn't regular rain... it was either "spit rain" which is too little for even the delay function on your windshield wipers, but too much to not use the wipers.  So you have to do it all manually or listen to the wipers scrap and skip across the windshield.  Or it rained so hard that even the highest speed couldn't keep up.  Oy Vey the rain!

We had two bits of very exciting happenstances.  #1 - I filled my car up for $2.99!  I couldn't believe it!  Less than 3 bucks... awesome!  And...We found the one and only JACK IN THE BOX in Tennessee!  Brenna and I were so excited we squealed like little school girls which woke Zack up and probably extended the cranky for a couple more hours!  Let me tell you we exited off the highway as fast as my little van would take us and raced through the drive through.  I gushed and gooed all over the drive through girl who probably thought I was all kinds of crazy.  I have loved Jack in the Box tacos since at least 5th grade.  Jack in the Box was the first place my BFF, Carol, and I were allowed to go by ourselves.  In the 5th grade, we would ride our bikes up to The Box and order our own food, pay by ourselves and eat.  We thought we were the shit!  And I think ever since then they've been my favorite. I can't tell you how many 2am "2 for 99cent tacos"  I ate on the way home from my boyfriends house to my dorm.  I know, I know, before anyone says anything... I realize they aren't "real" tacos, the probably don't have any "real" food actually in them. I understand that their whole texture is all the same... soft and mushy.   I. Don't. Care!  I LOVE them and I enjoyed the hell out of my 1030am tacos today.

So, while I did eat 1030am tacos and they aren't exactly part of my "Eating Awareness" program I didn't really care... I was totally AWARE of them while I was eating them.  The rest of the day, we actually ate out of the cooler I brought.  Brenna and I ate fruit, veggies, cheese and crackers and even a hard boiled egg (which didn't stink at all).   Go us!

Because we ate out of the cooler and Zack didn't resurface until 2pm we made great time.  We actually hit Little Rock about 330pm, which was where we were originally going to stop, but we all decide it was too early to stop so we pushed on to Fort Smith.  Found another Holiday Inn Express, my new favorite, and settled in.  The good news is we only have about a 3 hour drive tomorrow... seems easy enough, we should all be able to survive that....she said hopefully!

Road Trip Day #1

We've survived our first day on the Great Pilgrimage to Oklahoma!  The kids and I left this morning about 8am and stopped about 530pm in Knoxville, TN.  We're driving to Okla for a mini family reunion for Mimi's 70th birthday.  We're all (Ian + family, Pam + family) meeting up at Aunt Linda's house to hang out and celebrate Mimi. We had to leave John at home to save the world.  It's going to be a lot of fun especially considering my kids have never even met Pam's kids and Pam has never met Zack and believe it or not Aunt Linda and Uncle John have never met Brenna or Zack.  It's a shame that's what it is.  So we're going to make the most of the visit.

Today was good, we had a little bit of bad weather and one brief stoppage on 81S.  We sat for an hour at a dead stop, but then got moving again.  The kids were great,  they watched Zombieland, read, slept and generally entertained themselves.  I made them both travel fun bags and I think they really enjoyed them despite the fact that when they are 14 and 19 it's not real easy to find "cool" stuff to put in their bags.  So instead I pretended they were about 8 and I made "retro" bags.  They got sticker books, bubbles, activity books, markers, candy, new headphones and stuff like that.

We found a really nice hotel in Knoxville - Holiday Inn Express.  Came with 2 queen beds and a fold out couch, so NO ONE HAS TO SHARE A BED!  Best news ever!  It has a pool so they swam and played together.

It was a good day... no one fought, no one cried and no one even wore the cranky pants.  Let's hope my luck holds for 2 more days in the car!

New Recipe Night - Asparagus Magnificence

Tonight it's a side dish that is vegetable awesomeness!!  Not only is it a vegetable that I have only just begun to eat,  but Brenna ate it too!!!

Bacon Wrapped Sesame Asparagus

1 bunch of asparagus, about 20-25 spears, stems removed

4-5 slices bacon

1 1/2 Tbsp olive oil

1/2 Tbsp sesame oil

1 1/2 Tbsp brown sugar

1 garlic clove, minced

1/2 Tbsp (or more) toasted sesame seeds

Preheat oven to 400 degrees.  Line a baking sheet with aluminium foil and place a wire rack on top.  Spray the rack with non-stick spray.  In a small bowl, whisk together oils, brown sugar and garlic.  Set aside.

Bunch together 5-6 asparagus spears and tightly wrap a piece of bacon around the bundle.  Place on the wire rack seam-side down. Continue with all asparagus spears.  Using a pastry brush, a spoon or even your hands, brush the spear bundles throughly with the oil/sugar mixture.  Give each bundle a hefty sprinkle of sesame seeds.  Roast for about 30-45 minutes or until bacon is crispy.

These should just be called Asparagus Awesomeness!!! They were really, really good and they looked very pretty.  

New Recipe Night - Green Bean and Potato Salad with Skirt Steak

I'm still cooking and John actually got to eat this dinner fresh out of the oven instead of warmed up.

Green Bean and Potato Salad with Skirt Steak

1 1/4 lbs skirt steak 

kosher salt

3/4 lb thin green beans, trimmed

1 large shallot, diced

1 Tbsp dijon mustard

1/4 cup white wine vinegar

1/2 cup + 2 Tbsp olive oil

2 lbs small Yukon Gold potatoes, peeled and halved

fresh ground black pepper

1/3 cup black olives, rinsed and halved

2 Tbsp rough chopped parsley

2 Tbsp chopped chives

2 handfuls arugula

*** I substituted whatever steak I had in the freezer.  I also used Gnocci instead of potatoes***

Quick boil green beans for 3 mins.  Set aside to cool. In a small bowl combine shallot, mustard, vinegar and pinch of salt.  Set aside and let rest for 5-10 minutes, then whisk in 1/2 cup olive oil.  Meanwhile boil potatoes until fork tender, transfer to a large bowl and top with half vinaigrette.  Gently fold together and set aside.

Season steak with salt and pepper.  Heat skillet until very hot, add olive oil and place beef in pan without overlapping.  Cook for 2-3 minutes or until nicely browned.  Turn and cook another 2-3 minutes until desired doneness.  Transfer to cutting board and let rest for 5-10 minutes.

Add green beans, olives, parsley, chives to the potatoes.  Drizzle half of remaining vinaigrette on top and gently fold.  Distribute steak on plates and spoon bean and potato mixture around it.  Scatter the arugula on top and drizzle with remaining vinaigrette.

*** While the steak was resting I added the gnocchi to the pan and sautéed gently for 5-10 minutes until puffed and golden.  Added it to the green bean mixture.***

For purposes of reheating, it might be better to keep the gnocchi separate so it can be warmed up and then added to the salad later.

This was very tasty.  Definitely worth keeping!  Yummy!

New Recipe Night - Dijon Chicken Linquine

It's been a long stretch for New Recipe Night.  It's actually be a long stretch since I've cooked.  With John's new job, he's working 14-16 hour days, 7 days a week - Zack doesn't eat real food and Brenna is here hit or miss so I haven't seen the point in cooking.  But, now that the new clinics are open and it looks like his hours may settle down a little I'm jumping back in with both feet.

Dijon Chicken Linguine with Mushrooms and Toasted Almonds

350 gram package linguine, cooked

4 boneless, chicken breasts

1 cup mushrooms

3 Tbsp olive oil

4 cloves minced garlic

salt and pepper to season

1/2 cup toasted, slivered almonds

4 oz white wine

2 cups whipping cream

3 Tbsp Dijon mustard

Heat olive oil in large frying pan.  Add chicken breasts, garlic, season with salt and pepper and continue to cook chicken until done.  Remove chicken from pan and hold in a warm oven.  Add to the pan wine and simmer until volume is reduced by half.  Then add whipping cream, mustard, salt and pepper to taste.  Simmer until sauce thickens enough to coat a metal spoon.  Return chicken to sauce, add the mushrooms and simmer for an additional 2 minutes.  Serve over cooked linguine.  Sprinkle with toasted almonds.

John loved it, but I don't know if he loved it because it was really good or because it's the first time I've cooked in weeks.  I thought it was good, but I'm not sure it was good enough to counteract the fact that it has 2 cups of heavy cream in it!  I'll keep the recipe for now.

Garden Bounty?

I've come to a decision... I'm not cut out to be a gardener.  Much as I love the idea of tilling the soil, nurturing the little plants, watching them grow and produce and then reaping the bounty....it just doesn't work out that way.  My garden this year has been... I wouldn't say disappointing, because it is trying... but it's been more of a chore than a joy.  Now only is it not doing much, but it's just another thing for my to feel guilty about.  I seem to forget to water it and then I am consumed with guilt.  Really?? Do I really need something else to feel guilty about??  My lettuce plants were a bust, mainly I think because we started hitting 90 degreed temps in May and lettuce much like myself wilts under all that heat and humidity!  My zucchini and squash still refuse to have sex.  It's like an abstinence zone in our yard.  They grow big and beautiful and promising and then nothing... the big teases.  I do have some tomatoes on my "grow yourself" tomato plants but they've been green forever and don't want to ripen and my peppers are definitely stunted.

No more home gardens for me... We have a brand new farmers market about 10 mins up the road where I can buy all the lovely produce I want.  I've also discovered a Farm Co-op program thing.  You pay for a membership, it's like $400-$500, and from June through October the farm DELIVERS a magical mystery basket with fresh fruit and veggies!  To.Your.Door!  I'm really excited about it.  Start saving my money now and by Jan I'll be able to pay up.  I love the idea of fresh, local produce delivered to my door.  Even more I love the idea that I won't know whats coming and so I'll be forced to be creative.  We've become quite adventurous on our New Recipe Nights, so I am very excited about the idea of getting veggies I've never had or tried before and having to figure out what to do with them. After all take asparagus as an example... always claimed I didn't like asparagus, until someone at a BBQ wrapped it in bacon and I tried it.  Now I've made a hugely successful New Recipe Night with it and I actually have some sitting in my refrigerator right now!

 My only harvest so far!

So, Goodbye dirt under my fingernails,  guilt inducing thirsty plants and frigid, sexless squash and hello fresh veggie delivery to my door!  Bring. It. On!