Archive - 2013

Pork Carnitas

My e-maginary friend Brenda shared this recipe with me and 200 of our closest homeschooling friends. Brenda makes me laugh, she’s married to a tough fire fighter and she’s a 49er fan. Doesn’t get much better than that! As a bonus, this recipe is quick, easy, tastes great and makes a ton.

 

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Pork Carnitas

Pork Carnitas

Ingredients

  • 1 pork roast (Cheap is good!)
  • 2 T oil
  • salt
  • pepper
  • 1 large onion, sliced
  • 2 cans (7 oz ea) or 1 jar (16 oz) verde sauce (Get Herdez brand if you can, don't sweat it if you can't.)
  • flour tortillas
  • shredded Monterey Jack cheese
  • sour cream

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in a skillet.
  2. Season roast with salt and pepper and sear roast on all sides.
  3. Place in slow cooker, cover with onions and verde sauce. Cook on low 8-10 hours.
  4. Shred the roast and serve with warm tortillas, cheese and sour cream
https://themacandcheesechronicles.com/2013/07/15/pork-carnitas/

Disneyland Popcorn Guys

A little while ago I told you about some of our favorite lesser-known spots at Disneyland. Those are the little details that I love! Another detail I make sure not to miss are the little characters that turn the popcorn in the popcorn cart.What would you call them, anyway? Popcorn crankers? Popcorn turners? I’ve always been fond of them. When I was younger I would try to figure out how the popcorn got out of their little machine and into the warming area.  (I will neither confirm nor deny that I was over 18 when I figured out that those little guys weren’t actually making the popcorn.)

Each Disneyland popcorn cart has a different theme to coordinate with the land they are in, and the popcorn cranker is different in each one.

This is the Rocketeer from the movie of the same name.  He is the first one I ever noticed as being different from the others.  You can find him in Tomorrowland.  I love his little boots!
RocketeerPopcorn

Check out the creepy undertaker!  He is found in New Orleans square, next to the Haunted Mansion (of course), in front of the train stop.
UndertakerPopcorn

During Halloween, the undertaker is replaced by…the Oogie Boogie!  He might just cook a special batch of snake and spider stew!

OogieBoogiePopcorn

This guy can be found in Toon Town.
ConductorPopcorn

The clowns are usually found near It’s a Small World.
ClownPopcorn

Scary Yeti is next to the Matterhorn.  Just take your popcorn and back away slowly…
YetiPopcorn

Dapper Dans can be found around Main Street, USA.
DapperDanPopcorn

But during Christmas, Santa takes at turn at the popcorn!
SantaPopcorn

As far as I know, the popcorn turners are unique to Disneyland.  Have you ever noticed them?

In Search of the Perfect Planner

It’s the time of year where I go in search of the perfect planner. I feel like Lancelot searching for the Holy Grail – I know it’s out there, I just can’t find it. I’m a fan of the academic year calendars so I can write in an entire school year’s worth of activities at once. Those calendars and planners come out in July or August, so it is time to mount up and seek glory, er, go shopping.

My favorite format so far has been Amy Knapp’s Family Organizer. It has one week at a time on the right side of the planner, with a to-do list on the left hand side. Each day has enough space to write what I need and I love keeping a running to-do list on the other side. This is by far my most favorite ever layout. It has a spiral binding so it lays flat. Honestly, without some sort of lay flat binding, I won’t even look at a planner.

FamilyOrganizerPlanner

The problem with the Family organizer is…well, it’s kind of plain. I’m all for a clean, uncluttered look, but this one needs some oomph. So I went in search of something pretty. And pink. Pumpkin Girl says pink is my signature color.

I didn’t find pink, but I did find Sandra Boynton’s Mom’s Family Desk Planner . (Link goes to Amazon.com, but I don’t get compensated at all.) The right side has the week’s calendar, the left side has a full color Sandra Boynton cartoon. It really doesn’t get more fun than that. I wanted to fall in love, but I could only get as far as “really like.” Even though the included stickers are the cutest ones out there, I missed the to-do list every week. I wish Sandra Boynton would sell the calendar stickers separately and more of them. The set with the calendar only came with 5 “dance class” stickers. Really? Who only takes 5 dance classes? Pumpkin Girl takes 5 classes a week.

MomsFamilyDeskPlanner

If only I could get the cute and fun design Sandra Boynton’s planner with the functional layout of Amy Knapp’s organizer, my quest would be complete and I could die happy.

I have scoured the Internet looking for my perfect planner. Only Moleskine has the week plus to-do list layout that I like. But not spiral bound and sort of plain. Lots of pretty planner pages are available to purchase and download on etsy, but none had the layout I wanted.

What’s a girl do to? I’ll show you next time. Until then, do you have a favorite planner or calendar?

Pinterest Win: Shower Grout

I love me some Pinterest! Have you heard of the blogs that feature Pinterest fails?  They are kind of funny, but sometimes it seems like the person was deliberately trying to fail. I have to admit, there are a number of pins that I’ve seen that make me think, “Yeah, right.  There is no way I’m going to pull off those projects.” But I’ve actually tried some of the other ideas I’ve found. So I thought I’d start a series of posts highlighting my Pinterest Wins.

To start us off  is the idea to use cotton coil (found in beauty supply stores) and bleach to clean shower grout. The original idea can be found here: Getting Mold Out of the Shower.  I rarely use bleach at all – it stinks and it can ruin anything it touches.  But showers sometimes need that level of help.  Like mine…grout beforeSo I did pretty much what the original link said: line your icky shower grout with cotton coil and gently pour bleach over the cotton coil.  Here’s a hint from me- get a cheap squeeze bottle to help control where the bleach goes.  Use a Q-tip to push the cotton right up against the grout.  Wait a while, check the progress, remove when done.  That’s it!  It works because the cotton coil keeps the bleach in constant contact with the grout, instead of it running down the drain.

grout after

What do you think? Easy and cheap, that makes it a Win!

I ended up getting cotton coil through Amazon.com as an add-on item after I’d forgotten for the bazillionth time to stop by Sally’s Beauty Supply while I was at Target (they are in the same parking lot).Grout Collage1

Strawberry Pie Goodness

Yum!

Note: This is a repost from June 2007.  This recipe for strawberry pie is just too good not to share again!

My Mom is a Baker, with a capital B. There were always baked goods in our house. I think her love language must of have been Baking Sweets. Luckily, my Dad’s love language appears to be Eating Baked Love Offerings.

Of all the things that my Mom baked, one of my all time favorites is her strawberry pie. One of the major advantages of living in California is that it is a veritable cornucopia of strawberry goodness. Philip and I had the good fortune to live in the same region once during strawberry season, taking advantage of the bounty with many a pie.

Suzanne at Blessed Among Men and Kristen of Small Treasures hosted a Strawberry Festival on June 27, 2007  on their cooking blog The Virtual Kitchen.  In honor of the occasion, I shared my mom’s strawberry pie recipe. Besides, any opportunity to combine SAT vocabulary words and overused blogisms into a phrase like “veritable cornucopia of strawberry goodness” is too good to pass up.

My Favorite Strawberry Pie

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Strawberry Glace Pie

Strawberry Glace Pie

Ingredients

  • 1 pastry shell (frozen from the store or make your own)
  • 8 cups medium strawberries
  • 2/3 cup sugar
  • 2 Tablespoons cornstarch

Instructions

  1. Bake pastry shell according to directions/recipe.
  2. Meanwhile, remove stems from strawberries. Cut any large strawberries in half lengthwise; set aside.
  3. For glaze, in a blender container or food processor bowl, combine 1 cup of the strawberries and 2/3 cup water. (*note from me-if you don't have enough fresh strawberries, you can use frozen strawberries for the glaze. Just make sure you defrost them first.) Cover and blend or process till smooth. Add enough additional water to the mixture to equal 1 1/2 cups.
  4. In a medium saucepan combine sugar and cornstarch; stir in blended berry mixture.
  5. Cook and stir over over medium heat till mixture is thickened and bubbly. Cook and stir 2 minutes more.
  6. Cool for 10 minutes without stirring.
  7. Spread about 1/4 cup of the glaze over bottom and sides of baked pastry shell.
  8. Arrange half of the remaining strawberries, stem end down, in the pastry shell.
  9. Carefully spoon half of the remaining glaze over fruit, thoroughly covering each piece of fruit.
  10. Arrange remaining fruit over first layer.
  11. Spoon remaining glaze over fruit, covering each piece.
  12. Chill for 1 to 2 hours.
  13. Eat up the whole thing or the filling may begin to water out. It still tastes delicious, though.
https://themacandcheesechronicles.com/2013/07/05/strawberry-goodness/

 

Pinterest and Pumpkin Girl

We let Pumpkin Girl get a Pinterest account.  I am so glad we did.

She’d been saving pictures from the internet that she loved and she always shared her favorites with me.  One day it dawned on me that she would really enjoy Pinterest.  I was right.

As a condition to her having an account, I follow all of her boards.  I love the insight that this gives me.  The quotes that she finds inspiring, the tons of ballet pictures, the cute animals – all of these things that have meaning to my sweet daughter.  Sometimes she tags me to make sure I see something.  Other times she’ll ask if I saw a pin and she’ll make a point to show me.  It is just one way to connect with her through technology.

One of my favorite of her boards is the one she calls “Things me or my family have done.”  I especially love the captions she writes.

pinterest Collage 2

 

Pinterest Collage1

Another is her “So me” board.pinterest Collage 3

Technology can seem so cold and impersonal, but this is one instance where we have used it to become closer.  A small glimpse into Pumpkin Girl’s world that might not be accessible to me.  I’ll take it!

*Please note that Pumpkin Girl approved of this post.

 

 

Owl Puffs

I haven’t done a lot of knitting since I hurt my thumb.  It is mostly better, but it likes to act up now and then.  But before that, I made these little owl puffs.

OwlPuffs2

Oh, the cute!!

They took less than two hours to knit, stuff and put on the eyes.  The instructions said to embroider the beaks but after about 5 tries, I gave up and used felt.  Because really, ain’t nobody got time for that.  And how much do you love me for saying that? The yarn is I Love This Cotton (from Hobby Lobby) in Spring Ombre and pink. I gave one owl to Pumpkin Girl and the other I sent to a friend.  The pattern if free on Ravelry here: Owl Puffs!

These little guys are everything that makes a good summer project -  FREE pattern, quick, easy, cute results.  And the yarn was cheap but soft.  Doesn’t get better than that!  Mad owl making skillz, I has them. (Loving me again, aren’t you?)

 

A Month of Instagram – June

June Collage 2

1.  I guess the box was better than the toy inside.

2. and 3.  First s’mores of the season

4.  Playing Mr. Potato Head with daddy

5.  Selfie with baby.  No duck lips.

6. Mr Potato is all set for Disneyland

7.  Helping Boo do pushups

8.  What kind of person would draw a mustache on the baby?!?

9.  Bip and Pipsqueak watching videos in Bip’s iPad nook.

Efficient Summer

Heat Miser with MinionsIt’s summer.  Blech.  I’ve said it many times before, but I am not a summer person.  Too hot, too sweaty, not enough air conditioning.  Shorts make my knees look chubby.  It’s like I’ve got Heat Miser and his minions dancing around my house. And apparently, my state now has a tendency to burst into flames.

But I will make the best of it.  I have decided to be Efficient this summer!  I am going to Get Things Done!  I have…A Plan, and it’s a good one.

Mainly it is sitting on the back deck, drinking iced tea and hanging out on Facebook.

Ok, not really.  Summer of Sloth II is Boo’s plan, which I delight in thwarting daily. My Efficient Summer Plan involves having one focus area for each week of summer.  Like so…

Week 1. Basement, Round 1
Week 2.Work on the blog (have you noticed?), work on projects with Bip
Week 3 Refine the housekeeping schedule, such as chore assignments. Pumpkin Girl projects
Week 4 Basement, Round 2, Work on projects with Bip
Week 5. Home Ec with the kids
Week 7. Prep for coming school year, Pumpkin Girl Projects, prep for upcoming cruise
Week 6.  Craft Room, Projects with Bip
Week 8.  Home Ec with Kids.

I’m on week 3 now.  I’m sure my minions are extra thrilled with this one!  Too bad, we wouldn’t want them living the Life of Riley now, would we?  Or having me talk to the walls?

So basically, I’m getting to all the need-tos and should-haves that have been building up, along with tackling some projects that I’ve promised to do with or for Pumpkin Girl and Bip.  Also, they decided they wanted to learn to cook and bake.  Or I decided, I can’t remember which.  And that pretty much takes up the summer.  I might have one more week in there, depending on when Pumpkin’s dance studio starts their Fall schedule.

How about you?  Anything as thrilling as I have planned?

Buh bye, Google Reader

Dissatisfied-SmileySo yeah, Google Reader is going away. I find that to be super annoying because I don’t like change when things are going well. But this being a rather minor inconvenience in the grand scheme of life , I will adapt.

Actually, I already have. I’m using Feedly now, which has an app for my mobile devices or I can read on the big computer by logging into their site.  If you are using Google Reader, you need to find another way to get your blogs before July 1. Feedly is nice and easy and will import your Google Reader feeds without much fuss.

 

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