Books and other misc. news.

First, I am reading The Covenant. It, like most other Naomi Ragen books, is gripping and can be mentally exhausting (I've read a few of hers in a row.. I think I'm ready for a light read, like a Jan Karon read...).

Secondly, John just read Caleb a Lois Lenski book about trains. Lois Lenski does the "Small" series, and Caleb loves them! After John finished the book, Caleb went back through it and "read" it out loud to himself! It was so fun to watch! I love how he's putting words and thoughts together (although this time it was just mostly noises). Does anyone else have any great book suggestions for a 2 almost 3 yr old who loves trains, and trucks?

Third, I love this blog. It makes me feel much closer to my sisters and sister-in-laws...

Fourth (and this just in!!): Caleb just went potty in the toilet! I heard "WOW! You did it!" and "Bye Poop!" all in the same few seconds... :)

Movies I want to see

Okay, I have several posts to make. But I thought I would just do a quick one outlining the movies that are on my "To See Wish List". Let me know if you've seen any of them. We just saw 27 Dresses last night which was pretty cute.
Autumn Hearts
Other Boleyn Girl
P.S. I Love You
Love In The Time Of Cholera
Becoming Jane
The Jane Austen Book Club
The Bucket List
The Bourne Ultimatum
Vantage Point
All In

P.S. I made the recipe of the week--Chipotle Chicken Salad and it was delicious! I'll write more on that later. Also, I made the Mexican burgers again, which we really enjoyed and the same night as Sarah, I too made Peach Crisp with Maple Sauce which is wonderful. I'll write more later, because I tweaked all of the recipes I made.

New Recipes

*Ahem* So I didn't actually get around to getting the ingredients for our other mexican dish this week. I just.... didn't. But I still want to! I did make a yummy dinner tonight consisting of:

Broccoli Quiche (made with broccoli from the local farmer's market)
sliced tomatoes (topped with balsamic vinegar, salt, pepper and basil, also from the FM)
Lipton noodles (ok, so I cheated here ;))
and for dessert, on Duke's recommendation...
Peach Crisp with Maple Cream which was realllly good.

I love this quiche recipe-- it's super good and easy. I usually use all cheddar (or half ched, half mozz depending on what I have) and it turns out great every time. Gotta love a recipe like that. :)

Do you guys have any stand-by, "oops I have no idea what to make for dinner" recipes?? I'd love to hear your ideas.

Fun Picture

I thought this was a fun picture of most of the Block ladies. :)

Books

Wow! I'm a posting fiend these days! :)

I just read "The Saturday Wife" by Naomi Ragen. It was good; if anyone else reads it, I'd love to discuss/email about it. I'm still mulling it over in my head. Very interesting, on many levels... Has anyone else read it?

love kak

Recipe Results Part II and A New Recipe

I made the Mexican burgers last night with a few minor modifications. First of all, based in part on Sarah's post, I cut back on the cilantro. Joel is a fan of cilantro but me--not so much. Then I threw in some basil and a beaten egg. ( I added the egg because we bought some grass fed beef from a local farmer's market, and the man selling the meat recommended an egg!) In the burgers I substituted a chipotle chile for the jalapeno. (I'm not sure how these compare in terms of spiciness; any ideas?) Since we were having company for dinner, we also grilled some plain hamburgers and some brats. The kids only ate the brats/plain hamburgers. Joel really enjoyed the burgers, the salsa and the guac but didn't try the mayo. I put everything on my burger and thought that some bites were a bit too spicy. I'm not sure why some bites seemed spicier than others; perhaps I didn't get the chile chopped up finely enough and mixed in the burger well enough? Or, maybe some bites had more mayo, etc? Overall, I really liked the guacamole and the salsa and thought the hamburgers were pretty good--I might try them again with some changes. I will definitely make some of the sides again. I really liked the guacamole on the burger.

Here's a suggestion for another weekly recipe idea. It's Mexican again, so if we want to wait on it for a bit that's fine with me. I made it this past week and will probably make it again soon. It's very summery, easy and flavorful.

Chipotle Chicken Taco Salad

http://find.myrecipes.com/recipes/recipefinder.dyn?action=displayRecipe&recipe_id=1215905

A Block Family Blog?

Is anyone interested in contributing to a Block Family Blog so that we all can be updated on each other's comings and goings? Joel and I were talking about this very thing yesterday morning.

We know you guys read this... why don't we create a place where everyone can share--not just the Block ladies!? :)

love you all-
kak

Library adventures.. and other news.

No new recipes. No new book reviews. Just a recount of my evening last night. :)

So, last night, I stopped at the library on the way home from a bbq. I really wanted to get the new Jodi Picoulte books, or the new Naomi Ragen books that thee mentioned, Sare. I knew Caleb had a poopy diaper, but I went anyway. I have no idea how to use the Dewey Decimal system, but I knew how to locate authors by their last names, etc. So, I have both boys, Matthew's fussy, Caleb's waddling beside me, saying, "I'm poopy! I'm poopy!" while I'm looking fast and furiously for "P..Pi...Pic..." No such luck. Then I start looking for "R... Re... Reg...." We're in luck! I grab the three books by her and make our way over to the kids section, at Caleb's urging: "Me read it? Read it bus? Read it choo-choo? I'm poopy!"

So, we hurry over to the kids' section; I'm carrying the car-seat with a crying baby, Caleb's waddling, saying, "I'm poopy! I read it!" Again, no idea how to use the dewey system, so I grab the first few books that Caleb grabs (by Woodie Guthrie, of all people!) and head to the desk, then out the door.

The evening is full of tears for both boys; Matthew's just plain fussy and fusses himself to sleep, and Caleb's bottom hurt, so I bathed him, much to his chagrin. But, whew! Once they were both ensconced in their respective sleeping arrangements, they were quiet for the night. :)

Oh, and yesterday, there was a sunbeam on the kitchen floor that Caleb had to jump over each time we went back and forth to the sink, etc. I thought of a title for a future book of mine: Jumping over Sunbeams and Other Adventures of Motherhood.

That's it for now. I haven't tried any new recipes or anything, but I look forward to seeing Shelley and Joel next week! :) Caleb's been talking about you guys non-stop. He's been talking about all the cousins, for that matter. :) Every time he puts his shoes on, he heads to the door to "See Doot?" :)

Love you guys--kak

Recipe Results!

Ok, so I made the Mexican Burgers for dinner tonight. I pretty much followed along with Duke's changes, except I added chopped onion & garlic to the guac as well.

The results were (unfortunately) mixed. I thought it was ok.. I am not a huge cilantro fan, but I couldn't find fresh basil today, so I just went with it. I loved the guac and salsa. I think I ate half the guac myself! Tristan ate tons of guac as well. W & H tried it, but weren't too impressed. Will ate 1/2 a burger, but Hallie just poked at it.

Dan thought it was very good, but wished I had made some sides to go with it. To my way of thinking, the burgers, guac, salsa & lime mayo were enough for a dinner, but... Duke, did thee make sides with this? Dan is definitely a "full meal" type guy, meaning preferably meat, 2 sides, bread and dessert type of thing. I definitely lean toward the "one dish" meals, and this was sort of up the middle, in my opinion. I guess I could have thrown together a salad or something too. (And the first thing he asked for before I sat down was A1 sauce... ugh..)

Anyway, I don't know if I'll make this again. It was not too bad on the prep (I have an old grater, so the lime peel was tedious) but the rest was easy. Maybe next time I'll have fresh basil and I'll be able to sub that in for the cilantro and my "problem" with cilantro will be solved. :) Or maybe we'll be in our house by then and I can pick my own basil!!! :)

More on Books and Movies

The other night Dan and I watched Fool's Gold, the new Matthew McConaughey/ Kate Hudson chick flick. It was ok but not really that great. Not that there was anything bad... it was just kind of lame. So I don't really recommend it.

I was looking online for the author that most of us have read, Naomi Ragen, (Sotah is one of hers I think we all have read,) and I saw that she has a lot more books that I haven't read yet! (Yay! :)) I'm listing all her books below, in case any of you want to request them at your libraries or order them. (I use half.com for buying a lot of my books; unless it's a brand new book, you can find most titles for around $5-8.)

Sotah (1994)*
Jephte's Daughter (1995)*
The Sacrifice of Tamar (1996)*
The Ghost of Hannah Mendes (1998)*
Chains Around the Grass (2002)
The Covenant (2005)
Women's Minyan (2006)
The Saturday Wife (2007)

* I own these, and if you are interested in borrowing one or more, let me know before our next get-together and I'll bring it along!

I know Duke mentioned this already, but if anyone reads a good author, please post about it. I am always looking to expand my author horizons. :)

Recipe of the Week

I was wondering if anyone had a good idea for the Bimonthly Recipe test. I thought Sunday would be a good time to post, so that we can plan it into our menu and grocery list for this week or next. If we like this idea enough, maybe we can move to weekly recipe tests, and if you can do it fine, if not, we'll catch you next time? What do you ladies think? In my opinion, the recipe can be anything--dessert, main dish, or side. For some of us who don't like to or have time to cook desserts as often, perhaps when we offer a dessert recipe, we can also offer a main or side dish recipe. I propose the Mexican burgers, as they can be grilled and are summer friendly. You can just make one side (I would suggest if nothing else, the lime-jalapeno mayo--I think even Joel would enjoy it, and it's not spicy). What are you propositions for this first one, I'm game for anything!

Mexican Burgers

I made these burgers and Jalapeno-Lime Mayo, Salsa, and Guacamole last night and they were so delicious. I am usually a ketchup (and lots of it) kind of girl with burgers, but with these, I just used the mayo, which was delicious, as well as the salsa and guacamole! Wow, these really have a great, intense flavor! The prep is mostly chopping, but it's well worth it! I hope you enjoy. Feel free to ad lib with the recipe, for instance, I added garlic powder in addition to the minced garlic, and I used a fresh jalapeno, seeded and deveined so that it didn't carry much heat, just flavor. The lime peel adds great flavor. We skipped the cheese.

1 1/2 lb. ground beef chuck (80% lean)
1/4 cup chopped cilantro
2 tablespoons thinly sliced green onion
1 pickled jalapeño chile, finely chopped, if desired
2 teaspoons minced garlic
2 teaspoons chili powder
1 teaspoon grated lime peel
3/4 teaspoon salt
4 slices Monterey Jack cheese (we didn't use cheese)
4 Kaiser rolls or Mexican bolillo rolls, split (we didn't use buns, either)


1. In medium bowl, gently mix together beef, cilantro, green onion, chile, garlic, chili powder, lime peel and salt. Shape into 4 (4 1/2-inch) patties about 3/4 inch thick.

2. Heat grill. Place burgers on gas grill over medium heat or on charcoal grill 4 to 6 inches from medium coals; cover grill. Grill 8 to 10 minutes or until thoroughly cooked and no longer pink in center, turning once. Top each burger with 1 slice cheese; grill 1 minute or until cheese has melted.

3. Spread each roll with 2 tablespoons of the Jalapeño-Lime Mayonnaise. Top rolls with burgers, salsa and guacamole.

Jalapeno-Lime Mayonaise
1/2 cup mayo
2 Tbsp lime juice
2 tsp lime peel
1 Tbsp finely chopped pickled or fresh jalapeno

In small bowl, stir together ingredients.

Salsa
1 large tomato, diced
2 Tbsp finely chopped onion
2 Tbsp diced canned green chiles, or fresh jalapenos
2 Tbsp chopped cilantro

Mix ingredients together in bowl. I added Fresh lime juice to this as well and added different proportions of the ingredients based on taste. Also, we made a bigger batch than this, so that there was plenty for all. Be free!

Guacamole
For the guac, I smashed up 4 avocados (for three adults and Abby, but we LOVE guac) and added some of the fresh salsa and a little bit more lime juice and salt to it. It was perfect!


4 sandwiches

mom block is in the house

Hi ladies, my fabulous son in law just walked me through how to get on this blog...hopefully I'll remember all the details for next time. Love to you all!

Blueberry Smoothie

I saw this recipe on The Pioneer Woman Cooks! yesterday, and it looks yummy and easy. I really want to pick a bunch of berries this summer and freeze them so I can make blueberry pancakes, smoothies, etc. all winter long! My "plan" is to get up around 6 two days a week, and go pick for an hour before Dan has to leave for work. We'll see if it happens. :)

My Blueberry Obsession

Ok, so you ladies are all well aware of my blueberry obsession, or as Joel calls it LOBO (late onset blueberry obsession.) After enjoying the wonderful berries we bought at Sam's in PA, I bought some at the Sam's here and was sadly disappointed in the color, texture, taste, etc. Since they really weren't very good to eat plain, I decided to use them for cooking. Wednesdays are the days my grandma usually comes over to spend the day with me, and we often cook/bake together. One of her specialties is the cream pie, so today we improvised and made a blueberry cream pie, which got rave reviews from the gang here. (Disclaimer: some of the children may have inherited my malaise: they seem to love anything blueberry, so the pie really may not be that good.)

Cream Pie Filling

1/4 cup flour
3/4 cup sugar
3 tablespoons corn starch
1 teaspoon salt
3 egg yolks--beaten
3 cups milk--whole works best but you can use reduced fat
2 tablespoons butter
Mix first five ingredients together. Add egg yolks and stir to make a paste. Add milk while stirring. Cook over medium heat until filling boils. Add butter and vanilla--to taste.

To this basic recipe we added about 1 1/2 cups blueberries while the pudding was still hot.
You can also add raisins, cocoa, bananas, coconut, or pineapples for other variations.

Pour filling into baked pie crust.

Tamale Pie

This recipe takes a little bit of time (with simmering, etc) but is worth it! We really love it! We like to add sour cream, salsa or taco bell sauce, and fresh pico de gallo. This dish is medium on the spicy scale, if you're worried about it, I would decrease the amount of chili powder. My kids will eat the casserole as is, as long as I add sour cream.
I made this for company and they both had seconds, so I guess that's a good sign. Let me know what you think.

Filling:
2 Tbsp olive/canola oil
2 cups chopped onion
1 Tbsp minced garlic (I usually add more)
3 Tbsp chili powder
1 tsp cumin
1 1/2 lbs ground beef (I usually do only 1 lb)
1/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
2 cups lower-sodium chicken broth
1 cup crushed tomatoes in puree
1/2 cup diced fresh green Anaheim or jalapeno chiles (1-2 chiles)
I combine the tomatoes and diced fresh chiles and use 1 can of rotel instead. Again, if you're looking to decrease the heat, you can just use one can of diced tomatoes.
1/4 cup masa harina (finely ground white corn, I bought mine at Aldi)
1 tbsp cider vinegar

Topping:
2 Tbsp Butter, melted
2 cups shredded sharp cheddar cheese, divided
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 cup sour cream
1 8-oz can creamed corn
1 Tbsp baking powder

Directions:
1.Spray 13x9 inch glass baking pan with cooking spray. Heat oil in large skillet over medium-high heat until hot. j Cook and stir onions 4 minutes or until soft. Stir in garlic; cook and stir 30 seconds or until fragrant. Reduce heat to medium. Stir in chili powder and cumin; stir 1 minute or until onions are well-coated and spices become fragrant.

2.Stir in beef, salt and pepper, breaking up with side of large spoon (try to keep it in 1/2 inch chunks). Cook 5 minutes, stirring gently. Add broth, tomatoes and chiles. Increase heat to medium-high; bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium-low; cook 20 minutes.

3.Combine masa harina, vinegar and 1/2 cup of the liquid from meat mixture in small bowl. Stir into skillet; cook 5 to 10 minutes or until thickened. Place in baking dish. (Recipe can be made to this point 1 day ahead. Cover and refrigerate.)

4.Heat oven to 400F. Pour melted butter into medium bowl; stir in 1 1/4 cups of the cheese and all remaining topping ingredients. Spread topping over filling; sprinkle with remaining 3/4 cup of cheese. Bake 25-30 minutes or until crust is golden-brown.

5. Eat and enjoy. For fresh pico de gallo, I chop onion, cilantro, and tomatoes and toss them together--you can add salt or lime juice if desired.

Recipe of the Week Idea

Ladies, what do you think of doing a "Recipe of the Week" (or of every other week) and we all try that recipe at some point during that time period and comment on it, or tweak it, etc? Maybe this should be a new recipe for all of us, even the one who submits the idea, or maybe the one who submits it has tried it several times. What do you ladies think? I am super excited about this blog!

A Great Movie and Book

Last night Dan went out quading with Anj and a friend, so I decided to catch up on laundry (5 loads!) and watch a movie. I watched Les Miserables (the 1998 version w/ Liam Neeson and Uma Thurman) and I really enjoyed it.

I've never read the book or seen the play (or seen any other version of the movie!) so it was totally new for me, which was fun. I really recommend it. The story is of a ex-convict and his parole officer and takes place over about about 30 years. I found myself thinking several times during the movie that I had no clue how it was going to end! So big props for that movie-- it was clean and very well done.

I also just re-read The Wedding by Nicholas Sparks. I am not a huge NS fan, (the sex scenes and occasional swearing irk me) but this one is one of my favorites, and if you are looking for a fun, easy, clean summer read, I recommend it highly. :-)

Grilled Salmon with Dill Sauce

Hey, ladies--

Thanks SO much, Corey, for setting this up for us! That was done in record time!
I have a recipe that I wanted to share with the group (and anyone else who cares)...
I love you guys!
kak

Salmon on the grill with dill sauce (super easy; we are huge fish fans around here. Fresh is best, if you can find it without spending a fortune. Even Caleb eats it!).

1lb Salmon (atlantic is best)
tin foil
salt and pepper
extra virgin olive oil
a few sqirts of mayo
1 dash lemon juice
1 tsp dill

preheat grill until hot
spread tin foil out..
dash olive oil on tin foil with dash salt & pepper

rinse salmon under water to remove errant scales, etc.
place on oil/salt and pepper/tin foil, skin side down

Dill/Mayo spread:
Tbsp of mayo
1 dash lemon juice
1 tsp dill
Mix together, spread evenly on salmon

Place salmon on grill. Close grill. Cook until salmon is white, flaky.