Feel Good Friday!

Happy Friday to my Orchard Lab Peeps!

Today I'm feeling good about....

• My son takes his caddie exam today.  Send him some good vibes!
• My son also has his first "dance" tonight.  
• Tomorrow is Opening Day for Homewood Baseball & Softball.  The parade, pictures, opening ceremonies, etc. is my gig.  I'll be glad when it's 1PM tomorrow.  Then it's over.  
• Poker night with my girlfriends tonight!

Kind of bummed about the Blackhawks, but now I don't have to revolve schedules around theirs.

How about you?  What are you feeling good about today?

The countdown is on....

34

34 more school days until MY summer break.  June 8th is the last day for teachers, so that's the date I'm going by.  

Here is your Boggle board for today!  There are 308 possible combinations.  How many can you find?

Wordy Wednesday!

The countdown is on....

34

34 more school days until MY summer break.  June 8th is the last day for teachers, so that's the date I'm going by.  

Here is your Boggle board for today!  There are 308 possible combinations.  How many can you find?

How was my weekend?

This weekend was nice and relaxing.  Friday we didn't do much.  I graded papers.  Super exciting!

Saturday my son had hockey practice.  Saturday night we had some friends over to watch the Bears game.

Sunday, we had my other son's baseball team party at Skyline pool.  Lots of fun with our baseball family.

Halloween Dinners

I'm having fun making Halloween dinners this week.  Monday night we had Mummy Pizza Breads.  

Last night we had meatloaf in the shape of a gross face.  I'm not sure what exactly it was supposed to be, but it stirred quite the comments on the Facebook!  

Before it went in the oven - I didn't have onion to use as the eyes and teeth, so croutons was the next thing that looked like it would fit the bill.

Here is the finished product.  Adding a bit of ketchup to the face made it a little more gross looking.

Holiday Road.....Family Road Trip 2K14 - Memphis

Last summer, we trekked to Niagara Falls, stopping along at every single "Largest Ball of Twine" type place available to us. We were back at it again this summer, channeling the Grizwalds and their "Pig in a Poke" itinerary.

We chose the Deep South as our road trip. One night Memphis, two nights in New Orleans, three nights in Orange Beach, AL and one night in Nashville. We put almost 2,500 miles on the family truckster and honestly had the BEST time! 

Day One

Our first stop as we got into Memphis was Lunchbox Eats. The place has this old school elementary school feel. We sat in school chairs, there were textbooks on the wall and the tables were kind of like lab tables.  I heart Yelp!  Lots of fun reviews for this place and it was close to the National Civil Rights Museum, which was our next stop.

The menu was on notebook paper and we ordered on these orange sheets.  The pencils were those thick kindergarten-type pencils.  So cute!

Every day there is a different type of fresh-squeezed lemonade.  Blueberry Lemonade was the flavor of the day.

The boys played Rock 'Em Sock 'Em Robots!!  

My youngest, Nick, ordered the Scooby Snack, which was just chicken fingers and fries, but holy smokes...so fresh and yummy!

Jack ordered Mac & Cheese.

I ordered fresh pickles and kale chips.  Now I've got to tell you...I've been wanting to try kale chips for some time now. Seriously, I wanted to like them.  I really did. One word...Earthy. The pickles were bread & butter style. So incredibly good!

Brian ordered Chicken & Grids. Same awesome chicken strips inside a cheddar waffle with a honey mustard dipping sauce. Again...awesome!

National Civil Rights Museum

Next on our agenda was to to check out the National Civil Rights Museum.  The Lorraine Motel. This is the location of the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.

The wreath marks the location of his death.  The hotel and property has been kept the same since 1968.  It's very eerie.

The top right window is where the shots were fired from.  This is directly across the street.

Sun Studio, often labeled the birthplace of rock-n-roll, and home to the "Million Dollar Quartet".

The Peabody Hotel in Downtown Memphis. Elvis signed his first record deal here!  Anyhow, they are mostly famous for their ducks that walk the red carpet

How cute are these ducks?  They are like royalty!

The march to the elevator.  They live on the roof of The Peabody when they aren't in the lobby during the day. 

The gates of Graceland.

You can sign your name on the wall outside of Graceland. 

Beale Street in Memphis.  The street is shut down and there is music everywhere!  So much fun!

Stay tuned....The next stop on our trip was New Orleans! 

Puppy Chow Cookies

 Have you had these babies yet??  Holy smokes.  Talk about heaven!  This recipe first came up in discussion a couple of weeks ago when a friend said her daughter made them.  We were like...whoa...what??  The next night, my friend Jen brought over a platter she made.  I then made a platter the next day for family coming for dinner. Kind of like a domino of puppy chow goodness! 

Super easy.  Super delish.  You should totally try these.

Puppy Chow Cookies 

Ranch Tortillas

This is the easiest appy recipe evaaaa.  It's a huge hit when I bring it places.  I can seriously eat an entire batch of these if nobody is looking!  Stop looking at me so I can finish these off.  :)

1 pkg. flour tortillas.  It doesn't matter what size, but I use the regular size.
1/2 c. butter (1 stick) - softened
1 pkg. Hidden Valley Ranch Dip Mix
Sesame Seeds

• Preheat oven to 350 F.
• Combine ranch dip mix with softened butter.
• Spread ranch butter on tortilla.
• Cut into triangles.  I used a pizza cutter. 
• Arrange on baking sheet.  I use pre-cut parchment sheets for less clean-up.
• Sprinkle with sesame seeds.

Bake for 5-7 min or just until they begin to turn a golden color.  Let cool or you will burn your tongue.  Trust me, I know.

Bacon Avocado Salad. Yes, it's as good as it sounds!

This one was a keeper!  I mean, bacon anything is a keeper, no?  Another Pinterest find.  Sorry, I only have one pic.  While I can drool all I want at those bloggers who take a photo of every single step of a recipe, I don't have that kind of patience.  Who am I kidding?  I have the short term memory/attention span of a goldfish.  I'm 3/4 of the way through the recipe before I even remember that I wanted to do a step-by-step picture to begin with.

Bacon Avocado Cucumber Salad with Bacon Dripping Dressing

Above is the recipe, but it's basically tomatoes, cukes, bacon, avocado, cilantro mixed together with a couple of tablespoons of bacon drippings. Add some salt & pepper and you've gone to heaven!

Enjoy!

Happy July 4th!

I adore July 4th!  It was my mom's favorite holiday.  Every July 4th morning at 6AM, my mom would put our big, giant speakers in the windows and put on her John Philip Sousa album as loud as it would go.  "Stars and Stripes Forever" echoed throughout our neighborhood and while I was mortified at the time, it's one of my favorite childhood memories.  Growing up in Dolton, we had a huge...HUGE, I tell you parade, carnival, fireworks extravaganza every year and it was all within a block of my house.  We had a big, honkin' party each year and those memories are near and dear to my heart. 

Growing up, The Carnival was THE social event of the season.  We would flock to good ole' River Oaks mall and carefully choose a new outfit for each night.  We were so BA in our new parachute pants and Def Lepard t-shirts and fresh perms (remember...this was the mid-80's).  It was so awesome.  I miss those days.

The last couple of years, Homewood Baseball & Softball has had a float in the Homewood July 4th parade.  Move over Disney...I'm thinking a parade float may be my "happiest place on earth"!  My friend Andrea and I run the show for anything social/PR for Homewood Baseball, so the float was our gig. Super fun!

Our super-fab July 4th float!

And since we're talking about 4th of July, check out these cuties I made!  Pinterest, of course!

Estherfest 2012 - Best Summer Highlight!

Great-Grandma Esther

If you know me, you've heard me refer to Estherfest.  Estherfest is the annual Calomino Family reunion, named after my husband's great grandma Esther.  When she passed away 27 or so years ago, the family decided to honor her legacy by continuing to gather each year in her name.  This year was our 26th year!  Even though I am not one of Esther's direct descendants, I have been to at least 20 Estherfests. 

Like all families, we have our traditions.  Each year there is a king and a queen.  Trust me, it's a highly coveted honor to be named King or Queen of the Estherfest.  When it began, the "elders" (Esther's children) all decided in advance on a king and queen.  They would have t-shirts made and the lucky person's name would be on the back (hidden until the last moment).  Someone would begin chanting..."We want a king...we want a king...we want a king".  Before you knew it, all of us are gathered 'round and are wildly chanting.  After fake drum roll, one of the aunts would flip the t-shirt around and reveal who the king was.  Madness ensues and everyone goes nuts.  Then the queen chants begin..."We want a queen...we want a queen".  You get it...

So after the king and queen are announced, they are crowned and given a whole pile of tacky fake flowers and a sash.  They promenade around the pavilion and the whole family follows in line.  It's too much fun!

The elders are getting "more elder" these days and now the names are basically picked out of a paper bag on-site.  However, it's still a pretty big deal for us older "kids" who have watched the crown pass from family member to family member each year to wait in anticipation for our name to be called.

You know where this is going..right????

I WAS THE QUEEN OF THE ESTHERFEST THIS YEAR!!!!!!

Cousin Bobby was the king and to be honest, if I could pick any family member to be my Esterfest King, it would totally be Bobby!  It was our year!!!!  We were so freaking excited!  Neither of us would give up our crown/tiara.  I wore it proudly all day and night. Hell, I even considered wearing it to bed!

Royalty :)

Summer Fun!

What a summer!  It's been so much fun! While we are winding down, I thought I would just touch on some of the fun things we've done this summer!  It breaks my heart to head back to school two weeks from today.  However, I am blessed to have a job, let alone one that I love.  No complaints from me!  I plan to pack every last minute of my last two weeks off with non-stop fun!

 

Back to school...

I go back to school tomorrow after being off for the Easter holiday and Spring Break.  While I most definitely didn't get everything I wanted to accomplish checked off of my list, it was a productive break!

On the upside...only 34 more days left of school, per my favorite school bud.

Lots to do this week!  Opening Day is Saturday!  

Dinner Tonight - Pioneer Woman Meatloaf

I've been pretty good lately about trying new recipes, etc. Tonight I tried the Pioneer Woman's Meatloaf. Thumbs up! The only thing I did differently was use leftover cheesy garlic biscuits from Easter. I'm out of bread!

1 cup Whole Milk
6 slices White Bread
2 pounds Ground Beef
1 cup (heaping) Freshly Grated Parmesan Cheese
1/4 teaspoon Seasoned Salt
3/4 teaspoons Salt
Freshly Ground Black Pepper
1/3 cup Minced Flat-leaf Parsley
4 whole Eggs Beaten
10 slices Thin/regular Bacon
Sauce:
1-1/2 cup Ketchup
1/3 cup Brown Sugar
1 teaspoon Dry Mustard
Tabasco To Taste

Directions

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Pour milk over the bread slices. Allow it to soak in for several minutes.

Place the ground beef, milk-soaked bread, Parmesan, seasoned salt, salt, black pepper, and parsley in a large mixing bowl. Pour in beaten eggs.

With clean hands, mix the ingredients until well combined. Form the mixture into a loaf shape on a broiler pan, which will allow the fat to drain. (Line the bottom of the pan with foil to avoid a big mess!)

Lay bacon slices over the top, tucking them underneath the meatloaf.

Make the sauce: add ketchup, brown sugar, mustard, and hot sauce in a mixing bowl. Stir together. Pour 1/3 of the mixture over the top of the bacon. Spread with a spoon.

Bake for 45 minutes, then pour another 1/3 of the sauce over the top. Bake for another 15 minutes. Slice and serve with remaining sauce.

Serving Size: 8

Number of Servings: 8

Review - Good Life Cafe

I had lunch with my chicas Tuesday at the newly opened Good Life Cafe'. It's nestled between Ridgewood Tap and Twisted Q on Ridge Road. It was a winner!

As soon as I walked in, I was welcomed from behind the counter. It's fresh and has a fun menu full of dishes that are named after special people close to the cafe'.

OK, and this is kind of geeky, but I felt sorta fancy with the glasses our drinks were served in. While they have a wide variety of libations, I hit the hard stuff out of the gate....Diet Pepsi! Come on, I'm on Spring Break! I'm allowed to live a little, right? Anyhooo, the glass reminded me of the ones we used in my house growing up.

Even geeky-er...it was good ice! I'm a dork, I know. Fancy glasses and good ice??? I'm in love!

Two of us had the Spinach Salad with strawberries, pecans and a raspberry vinaigrette. Oh yeah, it had bleu cheese crumbles as well, but I tend to avoid bleu cheese at any cost. I try, really...but GAG! My other friend had the Spicy Chipotle Turkey Wrap. It was a nice size, but wasn't ginormous and awkward to handle. She gave it a thumbs up!

We talked to the Assistant Manager, Christina for a bit and she told us about all the fun things they have going on. The 3rd Sunday of the month, they have a wine tasting! Sounds like fun to me!

They're open early for the breakfast crowd and there was some decent seating. One of the things that caught my attention was the sandwich special they have. It's a half sandwich, drink and a bag of chips for $5. I immediately thought of beach days. I'm not a huge Subway fan and Jimmy Johns (Vito...YUMMMM!!) isn't typically open when we trek out to the beach in the morning. Guess where I'm picking my lunch from?? You guessed it!

So...give the place a try! It's definitely a fun place to grab lunch or a light dinner with friends!

The Good Life Cafe'

Harden Family Fire Fund

On April 9th, the Harden family lost everything when their home caught fire on the corner of 191st & Center Ave. Many of you know the Hardens because of their involvement in the community. Calvin Harden has been the president of Homewood Baseball & Softball Leagues for the past two years and gives countless hours to the organization and children in our community. The Hardens are also very involved in the music program in District 153.

The Harden Family Fire Fund has been established at Chase Bank (183rd & Dixie) and is accepting monetary donations at this time. You can also donate to the account via PayPal. If you would like to help, please use the link below or stop in at Chase Bank.

Vocalpoint - Free Motts for Tots!

Are you a member of Vocalpoint? You should be! Sign up here and get yourself a free Motts for Tots! You have to register with Vocalpoint first. If you aren't familiar with Vocalpoint, it's a site where you can take small surveys, try new products, etc. and share with other members your thoughts.

Summer!

Well, I guess I've been out having too much fun! The past few weeks have been so much fun and the next few weeks don't appear to be any less entertaining. I've been to the beach, the Cubs game, in a parade...the list goes on! Super fun!

On my summer bucket list was to blog more often, as well as try lots of fun new recipes and share with you. Well, unless you call putting relish instead of ketchup on my hot dog down at the baseball fields a new recipe..I've failed miserably. I did manage to make a mean panzanella salad and a bruscetta platter last weekend that got rave reviews, so I feel like I haven't failed myself miserably yet. There is still at least 6 more weeks of summer vacation left. I'm on it!!!

Stay tuned....I've got to do something coupon-y or food-ie soon!

Great Weekend!

It has turned out to be a really nice weekend. Thursday morning started out with big storms and massive rain. Check out our flooded street...(ironic that there is a boat parked across the street, huh?)

Thursday night, Brian and I went to see Kenny Chesney. It was his Father's Day gift (and maybe just a little bit for me, too..haha). I had no idea until around 3pm that day that Uncle Kracker was opening for him. Holy Smokes...UNCLE KRACKER!!!! If you know me, you know I have a bit of a thing for him. I was stoked!!! Even though it was like 52-freaking-degrees, it was still fun! I'm getting old, though. Kenny didn't even come on until 9PM. Maybe if I wasn't frozen by 7:30, I would have had a better attitude. Anyhow...it was still fun! And Uncle-Freaking-Kracker was there!!!! I tried to get some pictures with my phone, but I didn't really get anything good.

Friday was just a lazy day. It was nice because we didn't even leave the house all day. I had one of those total ADD days. You know, the kind where you start something and then it's a domino effect? It was 3:30PM and I was going to make homemade pizza for dinner. Aurelio's uses dried mushrooms on their pizza and Brian really likes it. So, I'm making my list for the store and open the cabinet to see if we have mushrooms. Ugh....I swear, this cabinet hasn't been cleaned out once since we moved here eight years ago. You know what's next, right? Yep...I then decide that the cabinet needs to be cleared out and re-organized right there at that moment. So out everything comes.....

So I successfully threw out a boatload of spices, seasonings, 1/3 used pudding packs (for my Mom's awesome Pecan Coffee Cake) and all sorts of other random items. I'm a happy camper now. I can see what's in there! And yes...we had mushrooms. TWO packs! However, by this time, it was well past the time to begin dinner. I know.......it's shocking that I would get side-tracked on 15 other things before the cabinet was done. We got some carry-out from Cilantro with a gift card we've had forever. Productive day!!

Saturday Jack had a game and then it was off to the Oyster's house for their annual Bean Bag Tourney. We had so much fun! While the guys were playing bags, the girls wound up playing Kick The Can with the kids out in front. I hid in a bush for what seemed like FOREVER and I'm pretty sure I had bugs and who knows what else in my hair by the end of that game! It was all worth it, though! We had some good food, fun times and Brian even won 3rd place in the bags tourney. Unfortunately, Jack's game didn't go so well. He got a couple of nice hits, though. And of course the time I'm actually standing by the plate with the camera, he gets a walk! Oh well..here is a picture of Jack watching the ball...haha!

And finally, today...Sunday. Made some blueberry pancakes for breakfast, some cupcakes for no particular reason, and now that it's been established how many packages of dried mushrooms I have, we were finally able to have that homemade pizza for dinner tonight. Jack rolled out all the dough for me. It thought maybe that would be an incentive to actually eat some. No dice. That kid is so damn picky!!!!

And that's it....after heading down to Izaak to catch a game, I'm home. And i'm tired! G'Nite!!

Yummy! Roasted Tomatoes with Pesto

I made this the other night and even Brian, who isn't a big fan of tomatoes, really liked it. It's a Barefoot Contessa recipe and it was a hit!

Slice Roma tomatoes into discs and drizzle with olive oil. Sprinkle with salt, pepper and dried oregano. Roast at 450 for 12 min. Then place a dollop of pesto on top and some grated Parmesan cheese. Roast an additional 10 min or until they are golden and bubbly.