Unexpected Coffee.

     Jason is so adorable.

I was outside getting stuff situated for the yard sale tomorrow and when I came inside, he was standing there with a mug. He handed it to me saying "Here Daddy. I made you a cup of coffee." At first I thought the mug was empty but then I noticed that he was being very careful while handing it over. There was something in the mug. My first thought was water...but I decided I had better take a quick smell before taking a sip. It didn't have to get too close to my nose before I realized that it was in fact coffee. My brain quickly put the pieces together and came to the conclusion that it was cold coffee leftover from Sunday morning that I forgot to empty out.

I thanked him for the thoughtful gesture. He said "You're welcome.....now drink it!"

I pretended to take a sip, but apparently I am a really horrid actor. I saw it in his eyes before he could say the words..."Daddy, that wasn't a real sip"

So...I did what I had to do...

Jason was very pleased with himself....and despite the grossness of it, I'm pretty proud of him too.

Smoking.

Why can't this kinda thing happen for everyone who wants or needs to quit smoking?

It doesn't even have to be divine intervention, 

just someone constantly around, nagging the smoker to quit...

...oh wait...

...I guess that's one of the many benefits of having a woman around...

...suppose I better find one...

...is there an immigration office in Pocatello that I can hang out in front of?

Ravioli.

Last week the (very attractive) UPS girl also dropped off a different box from Williams-Sonoma (aside from the amazing KitchenAid) that Grandma sent. Inside was a pasta roller and ravioli maker.

I decided to give it a try the other day to see how difficult it was...

...it was almost too easy.

However, after making the dough, I realized that I hadn't quite thought the idea all the way through...I had no clue what I was going to stuff them with. It was very hot outside and I really did not want to drive to the store so I started digging into those deep dark sections of the refrigerator and pantry that rarely get seen by any human eye to find something, anything, to stuff inside the ravioli. 

In the very back of the freezer, smashed behind Jason's dinosaur shaped chicken nuggets, was a bag of okra that I must have bought sometime late last year...It would have to do. 

But just plain okra wasn't enough. In the bottom of the cheese drawer there was about 1/10 of a bag of shredded mozzarella cheese...perfect. As I was digging the bag out, I caught sight of that big Costco size bag of bacon bits...got to use them up somehow...

I added a bit of salt, pepper and olive oil and my stuffing was ready.

I assembled the raviolis and put them on the stove just as I realized that I had no pasta sauces to go with them. I then thought about it and came to the conclusion that if I did have some pasta sauce, It probably wouldn't really work well with the okra.

So I ate them plain.

They were surprisingly tasty. I will definitely make the okra ravioli again. 

Maybe with some raspberry vinaigrette drizzled over them...

It Has Arrived!

Last night there was a knock at the door. I opened the door to find the big box sitting right outside and saw the UPS girl getting back in her truck (the very attractive UPS girl by the way). She apologized for making the dog go nuts and drove away. Jason and I brought the box inside and set it on the table.

 I cut the tape and Jason quickly opened it up revealing some packing material and a beautiful sight slightly visible through the plastic air pockets.

I pulled the box within the box out as Jason exclaimed "This is just what we've been wanting!"

Yes. Even Jason was excited about it. After-all, no household is truly complete with out a KitchenAid mixer.

 There isn't much this 10 speed bad boy can't handle. It can mix enough dough for 4 loaves of bread, 9 dozen cookies or 7 pounds of mashed potatoes thanks to it's 5 quart mixing bowl and 325 watt motor. It's a beast. But not just any beast...a KitchenAid mixer is one of those things that you display proudly in your kitchen. With a variety of colors to chose from, some people will seek out that perfect color to match their kitchen. My philosophy is that it does not matter what color you get...a KitchenAid mixer is what you should use as the basis for your kitchen decor.

Anyways...after cleaning up our dinner mess, we spent a bit of time rearranged the counter top so that the mixer would fit...but the hardest part of the evening was deciding what to make first. After much deliberation, it was finally decided that cookie dough was going to be the first treat to come together in this amazing mixer since it was, in fact, a cookie dough crisis that enlightened Grandma to come to the rescue with this gift. ( read about it here: http://jasonaeh.blogspot.com/2011/07/star-wars-cookies.html?spref=fb ) 

 

Jason was very happy to finally be able to help with the mixing. In the past, using just a hand beater, it was a little too hard for him to really help. Now, he is my official 'pour stuff in the bowl guy'. And he takes his job very seriously. If I try to put something in by myself, he very sternly reminds me that he was there to do that.

Well, I need to stop typing and get back to mixing...I saw a recipe in the manual for a cheese ball that looks delicious!

Table Manners.

A clip from Home Improvement. 

Tim is attempting to teach the boys some table manners.

Salad Pizza.

I was planning on having a salad for dinner...then I got the urge to make a pizza instead.

Then I had a revelation...do both!

Topped with crisp romaine lettuce, juicy tomato slices, delicious chunks of green pepper, smoked ham, oven roasted turkey slices, four different cheeses and ranch...yep, all of my favorite salad toppings. (with the exception of the ranch...I do actually prefer my salads without dressing)

I was concerned that the lettuce might get too soggy but it actually still has some crispness to it.

It really is quite yummy in my tummy!

It also has me trying to think of what other favorite meals I can make into a pizza....

Puzzle Time.

          I had always seen Photomosaic Puzzles in the stores and always thought that they would be pretty difficult. 

     I was in a thrift store yesterday and saw this cool 'Pirates of the Caribbean' one. It was only a 300 piece puzzle (and only 50 cents) so I figured I would try it out and see how painful the process of putting it together would be...

     I finished it within an hour.

     My opinion of Photomosaic Puzzles has now changed....They are way too easy. Probably because you can easily figure out which way the pieces should fit into the puzzle so you don't waste so much time rotating it around all 4 sides 2 or 3 times (you know you've done that...just in case the piece will magically fit where it wouldn't before). 

     Anyways, The plan was to glue it and frame it to hang in Jason's room....but he broke it back up before I could find the glue....oh well...maybe one of these days when I have a few minutes to spare, I will put it back together real quick!

The Duel.

I figured that for my first little nugget of joy on this blog, I had better use something from the BBC....after-all, British comedy is much more hilarious than anything we Americans manage to scrape together.

So here you go...this is a sketch from "A Bit of Fry & Laurie" Season 3 - Episode 2. 

Enjoy!

Feel free to share this post and give someone out there a chuckle or two...