Staying Warm

Hey, y’all!  What did ya’ think about the outcome of Groundhog’s Day?  I know I was bummed about it.  Not that I believe a furry little rodent controls the weather (is a groundhog a rodent??), but it sure would have been a nice to have him on my side.  I hate winter!!!  I’ve been anticipating spring since December 26.  It happens that way every year for me.  I go straight from thinking, “Merry Christmas,” to, “Is is spring yet?”  I’m sick of winter coats, short days, cold weather, barren trees, and brown grass.  I need green!!!  (I also need to be able to kick my children out of the house for a while so they can burn off some energy.)
Luckily, I live in Louisiana, where, within a week’s time, we usually experience temperatures ranging from 28 to 68 degrees.  Thank goodness for those “68” days.  I try to enjoy them as much as possible.  On the cold days, I pass the time by dreaming about what I’m going to do when spring does arrive:  plant tomatoes & squash, raise some more chicks, spruce up the flowerbeds, shop for Easter dresses, take annual spring pictures of the monkeys, set up the pool, cook on the deck… I can’t wait!
Yesterday was a particularly cold one.  I’m pretty sure the mercury didn’t make it past 35 degrees.  Brrrrr!  The best way I know to stay warm on days like that is to cook up a big ol’ pot of soup.  A steamy bowl of delicious soup always does the trick, warming me up from the inside out.
I don’t know about y’all, but sometimes I get in a soup rut, bouncing back and forth between staples:  taco soup and potato soup.  But last week we feasted on a new recipe I found on Pinterest. It was so yummy and very easy to prepare, so I thought I’d be neighborly and pass the recipe link on to y’all.

It’s called 20 Minute Italian, Turkey, Bean, & Spinach Soup, and it was pinned from rachelcooks.com.
Now don’t let the the “S” word in the name scare you off.  The spinach becomes so soft and tender and soaks up the flavors of the broth.  It’s just delicious!  And if you are feeding hard-headed people who refuse to try spinach, well, they can just eat around it, because there’s not really all that much spinach in the pot.
Without a doubt, the best part about this recipe has to be the “20 Minute” part.  I am all about simple suppers lately, and this dish fits the bill.  The only actual cooking involved is browning some onion.  How hard is that?
So next time you’re feeling chilled to the bone, why don’t you try out this new recipe?  Then kick back in front of the fire and think warm, happy, spring thoughts.  It’ll be here before we know it.
Lindsey

Happy, Happy, Happy Birthday, Ty!

It’s birthday party season here at the Allen household.  As I mentioned earlier, Ty chose Duck Dynasty for his party theme.  Y’all know me.  I loooove to plan my monkeys’ birthday parties, but it seems the more monkeys I have, the harder it is to get everything done.  So this year I tried really hard to scale back…somewhat. 

The fun started at the back door with a rustic sign to welcome party guests.

Although I completely forgot about them once the party started, I prepared some photo props for goofy pictures.  Oh, well, at least I got one picture of Lucy.  Can she rock a beard or what?

I always tell my kiddos they can have a killer cake or a killer party, but they can’t have both.  I’m not super mom.  Personally, I’d rather spend my time on party planning rather than cake decorating.  Luckily, they agree.  Initially, I baked this small cake for Ty and colored the batter so that it would look camouflage when cut open.  After the cake was all baked, Ty decided he’d rather have a cookie cake.  OK by me.

Let them eat two (simply decorated) cakes!

Would you like to take a stroll around the food table?  Here we go…

Duck Bills:  Pringles and dip

Sausage and Quackers:  Homemade summer sausage and Ritz

Duck Calls:  Pirouette Cookies

Yuppie Food:  Fresh fruit and veggies

I set the cakes on the buffet and made a garland to string across the mirror.  I included images of the Duck Commanders and some funny quotes from their show.

Ty had a talking Jase doll figure that was perfect for the occasion, and I found the gator head at Dollar Tree.  Of course, I had to include a picture of our family with Phil and family from the time they shot the commercial at our restaurant.  (More about that here.)

For party favors, I bagged up some fishing bait, or gummy worms, and I packaged marshmallow ammo for the marshmallow guns we made. 

I also bought the kiddos flag bandanas like Willie wears.

The Tool Man worked really hard and finished our swimming pool and deck in time for the big party.  The kids had a blast swimming!  They spent most of their time practicing their cannonballs and belly busters.

When we finally dragged the kids out of the pool, we all had cake and ice cream while Ty opened his gifts.  Then the Tool Man led the kids in building marshmallow guns using PVC pipe.  Once the guns were assembled the kids really got into decorating them with assorted colored duct tape.  Redneck craftiness at its finest! 

Happy, happy, happy birthday, Ty!  You’re the sweetest kid a mom could ask for.  I love you!

Now it’s time to start planning the next party.  It’s less than a month until Lucy’s big day.  She has requested a cupcake decorating/ swimming party.  I don’t know how we’ll be able to squeeze so much fun into just a couple of hours, but I’m sure we’ll manage.  I’m also sure that whatever we do will involve a TON of sprinkles!

Lindsey

Sour Attitude

About three weeks ago I had a crazy idea.

A really crazy idea.

I decided I needed something else to do in my “spare” time.

Like eat bread.

Fresh bread.

Homemade bread.

Sourdough bread!

For some time now, I’ve been curious about sourdough “starter.”  I’d seen it called for in recipes, but I had no idea what it was or where it came from or even what it looked like!

Hmm… time for a little research.  Thanks to the wonder that is the internet, I educated myself on the ins and outs of making sourdough starter. Then, I plunged headlong into making a starter of my very own.  (See, I told you it was a crazy idea.)

I decided I wanted to do it the most basic way possible.

Flour + Water.

That was it.

I fed my magical mixture of goo more flour and water twice a day for the next three weeks, and finally…success!  I had grown my own culture of yeast.

Let the baking begin!

I chose to begin by baking a country-style sourdough round.

With a dark, crispy crust on the outside…

…and a moist, soft, chewy texture on the inside.

What about the flavor?

Well, thanks to the slow, overnight fermentation, the taste was fabulously acidic.  Delightfully tangy, just like sourdough should be.

Yum!  I can’t wait to try more recipes with my beloved starter.  I’m thinking I’ll make rolls next.

Lindsey

P.S.  If any of my friends would like some starter, y’all know where to find me.  I’ve got plenty to share.

Mermaid Party–Decorations & Food

Instead of doing two separate posts on the Mermaid party food and décor, I decided to cover both today.

First, the decorations.  The fun started at the back door with a welcome to all the little mermaids.  I painted this sign on a piece of scrap wood left over from when we built our chicken coop.  I actually had this sign hanging in the corner over a bubble machine.  The little mermaids loved being greeted by a deluge of bubbles as they entered the party.

I made this simple “4” wreath to hang on the back door.  I just knotted strands of tulle around the wreath.  The 4 is made from cardboard that I cut from a pizza box top, painted, and sprinkled with glitter.

I had so much fun planning and prepping for the party room décor.  Most of the decorations came from the dollar store.  You have to be creative sometimes, but it’s possible to find some cute stuff to work with there.  For the mermaid party I was able to pick up the fish nets, table cloths, vases, votives, candles, serving dishes, sand, and seashells.

One of the main projects I worked on for this party was making the twisted tissue paper tassels.  I used these tassels to make a few garlands and to decorate the chair backs.  Tissue paper is probably my favorite party staple, because it is so versatile and inexpensive.  It can be used for so many things – table runners, placemats, vase filler, tassels, pom poms, flowers, and of course for gift bags.

I made the placemats by cutting seashells shapes from a plastic table cloth.  Inside the little boxes were favors for the girls - tiny Ariel Squinkie rings that I picked up at Target on clearance.  What a score!  There was also a seashell hair bow waiting at each place setting for the girls.

Down the center of the dining table I used my burlap table runner which sort of reminded me of sand.  Then I scattered some seashells and glass beads on top.  I also filled candle holders with water which I dyed with food coloring.  And to my surprise, I discovered that tea lights would float in the water.  Love it!

Here are a couple of those tissue paper tassels tied on the chair backs.

For the china cabinet behind the guest of honor I made a “Happy Birthday” bunting with scraps of burlap and muslin.  I used foam stamps and acrylic paint to spell out Happy Birthday.

Now on to the food table!  I tried my hardest to come up with some cute mermaid-y treats for the party goers to enjoy.  I’m aggravated with myself, though, because in all the party rush, I totally forgot to take a picture of the food table.  All I managed to get were a few shots of the individual dishes after they’d already been picked over.  Oh well, at least I got something.

I created these simple food labels using some free mermaid clipart I found online.

The oyster cookies were probably my favorite treat simply because they were so cute!  Ty and Lucy helped out by rolling the fondant pearls for them.

What little mermaid wouldn’t love to sink her teeth into a Peanut Butter and Jellyfish Sandwich?  I’ll tell you who.  Lucy!  She’s not a fan of PB&J.

And a little something for the older mermaids… Seaweed Sushi.  No cooking involved here.  These are just assorted pinwheel sandwiches I picked up at Sam’s.

Sweet & Sour Eels because every mermaid needs her sugar fix.

The easiest nautical treat of all – Goldfish!

I also served up some Oyster Firecrackers, Chicken of the Sea Sandwiches (chicken salad), and Assorted Shells (chips) with “Shore is good Dip.”

Nothing like a glass of Ocean Water to wash everything down.

One more birthday post to come – the birthday girl and friends!

Lindsey

Mermaid Party–The Cake

Well, Lucy’s mermaid birthday bash is ancient history now.  I took nearly 200 pictures to document the big celebration, so I have tons to share with y’all.  I decided that it would be best to break the party down into 3 separate posts:  the cake, the food, and the décor.

Today is all about the cake.

Lucy asked for a big mermaid castle cake with Ariel sitting on top, but it’s hard for me to decorate an elaborate cake and plan a big party.  So I compromised with her a little bit and just made a sand castle cake with a mermaid on top.

I cheated a bit on this cake and used canned icing instead of making my own.  I’m glad this cake wasn’t all about a smooth finish, because that’s nearly impossible to achieve with the store-bought stuff.  However, no one could tell once I slapped the “sand” on the cake.

The sand is an assortment of crushed cookies. (I just cleaned out my pantry!)  There were graham crackers, vanilla wafers, and ginger snaps all in the mix.

Little Miss Mermaid was sculpted using a combination of gum paste and my homemade fondant.  I added the gum paste to help her dry rock hard and sturdy.

The turrets on the castle are the ends of ice cream cones that I iced and then rolled in cookie crumbs.  Easy, peasy!

I thought the cake turned out nice enough, but Lucy quickly informed me that Ariel did NOT live in a sand castle.  (How she would know is a  mystery to me.)  She did like the mermaid on top, though.

Lindsey

Wall-E Party

It’s birthday season at the Allen household again.  I admit I always look forward to planning and preparing for the monkeys’ birthday parties.  Birthday parties are the perfect excuse for me to get crafty and creative with food and decorations.  Even though things get a little crazy, and I get a little stressed on party day, I always insist on taking the party theme to the extreme.

Let’s do a quick run-through of Ty’s previous party themes.

2005 – Bon Voyage!  We were leaving on Ty’s first cruise on his first birthday.

2006 – Mexican Fiesta 

2007 – Pink Panther Party  Who says pink is just for girls?

2008 – Pirate Party

2009 – Puppy Party

2010 – Super Mario Bros.

2011 – Angry Birds

This year Ty went back and forth between several different themes before finally settling on Disney’s Wall-E.

Hmmm… Wall-E.  It’s one of Ty’s favorite movies, but how in the world does one design a party around such?  Well, if you know anything about the movie, Wall-E is set in the future, and a lot of the movie takes place in outer space.  So I decided to use space as the inspiration for the food and decorations.  I also chose to stick with shades of yellow and black since that’s what color Wall-E is.

First let me just say that this was the party that almost wasn’t.  Turns out June is not an easy time to plan a party.  All of Ty’s friends were super busy with all-star baseball games and practices.  At the last minute we cancelled, then rescheduled and downsized the party.  Next year I’ll try to have his party closer to his actual birthday.

Welcome to the party!  Here’s the decorations I put together to welcome the party guests.

Let’s begin the party at the food table.  ‘Cause, let’s face it, the kids may be preoccupied with presents and games, but the adults are only concerned with the food!  Like I said earlier, I stuck with a yellow and black color scheme, and I kept the space theme in mind when planning the dishes.

Fruit and veggie trays are pretty self-explanatory…  If you know nothing about Wall-E, the whole point of the movie was finding signs of vegetation growing on abandoned planet Earth.  EVE was the name of Wall-E’s robot-friend.

Craters…Crisp eggroll wrapper cups filled with chicken and crab salads. (Usually I would have made the salads myself, but I took the easy way out and just purchased these at the deli counter.)  I was really pleased with how the eggroll wrappers turned out.  I cut uncooked wrappers into squares, pressed them into mini muffin tins, sprayed them lightly with cooking spray, and baked them at 350 for about 7 minutes.  They turned out beautifully golden brown and crisp.  They’re the perfect vehicle for all sorts of fillings, savory or sweet.  Be sure to try these for your next party.

My Mini Moon Pies are simply Ritz Cracker and peanut butter sandwiches covered with melted chocolate.

My sweet friend Ellen supplied a yummy black-eyed pea dip for the Space-Chips.

The Meat-eors were meatballs simmered in alfredo sauce.  (Yes, I took another shortcut here and used frozen meatballs.)

We also had Flying Sausages (the Tool Man’s homemade smoked venison sausage), Trash Cubes (peanut butter krispie treats), and Rocket Fuel (lemonade).

Looks like Cassie enjoyed her meal!

Now for the cake.  Not exactly the cake I had intended to make for Ty.  I had every intention of making a replica of Wall-E, but I simply ran out of time.  Instead I went with a very artistic (and simpler)interpretation of Wall-E and EVE.  I think Ty was pleased with his cake in the end.

In the movie, Wall-E finds one lonely little plant and keeps it in a boot.

Hard to believe, but I didn’t have a single birthday candle in the house.  Instead we just lit a match and stuck it in the cake.  Hey, it worked!

My sweet little girl went straight for the icing!  This monkey loves her sugar.

Presents!  I’m hoping this Ranger Rick subscription will encourage Ty to read.  I’m afraid he inherited his lack-of-love for reading from his mom and dad. Oh, well, if we survived, so will Ty.

The youngest party-goer.  Ty loves babies.

Party favors included Flying Saucers and Milky Way candy bars.

The birthday boy with all his pals.  I think they all had a great time!

Thanks for stopping by today and letting me share with you.  Now it’s time to start working on the next party.  It’s only a month away!

Lindsey