#24 Salsa Stoup and Double Decker Quesadillas

This day almost slipped away from me. I was sitting here in my sweltering home, sipping, gulping down some Pink Moscato when I realized I had not yet posted today's dinner.

Back in March I stumbled across a winning recipe for tortillas in the Gluten Free on a Shoestring Bakes Bread. I have come back to it a few times over the last couple months and when I saw today's recipe needed tortillas I knew just what to do. A tip for those who may try to make them, use parchment paper, roll out your tortillas, cut them to your desired shape, I use a bowl or lid, then transfer them to your skillet with one side still attached to the parchment paper. Once you begin to heat the other side the paper peels right off. (YEAH!!!)

 The cut vegetables smelled deliciously of salsa.
#24 Salsa Stoup and Double Decker Quesadillas

 The quesadillas were fantastic dipped in the salsa stoup. Yum! Another win for me.
-Mom

The quesadillas were awesome. The stoup? I prefer my salsa cold.
-DD

Bonus shot- Hubby put the floor of the loft in this weekend. The kids have been enjoying their secret spot. Here DD is reading to her older brother., enjoying each others company even. An even bigger win than tortillas and tasty stoup.

#10 The T2: Turkey Chili-Topped Turkey Chili Burgers with Red Pepper Slaw and Funky Fries

That has to be THE LONGEST recipe title!
Fantastic day today! First off it was payday so I went to Target and picked up some kitchen supplies.

 Score! Then Meijer had the cast dutch oven on clearance as well as the colander. Triple score.

#10 The T2: Turkey Chili-Topped Turkey Chili Burgers with Red Pepper Slaw and Funky Fries.
For my gluten free peeps the only substitute I made was the bun. I still had a coupe Udi's Classic Hamburger Buns so the kids used those.

 Mixing up the meat. This was not her first time but it is a job she likes as she is the grill master in our house. Daddy taught her all his secret tricks.

 Look at the beautiful colors going into those babies as well as into the slaw.

 Plated nicely on my new set. Since I have gone gluten free I have found I don't miss buns. I have now gotten to the point that I actually prefer burgers without them.

 The slaw was really tasty with a new kind of vinaigrette for me. It is a meal that will be enjoyed again.

We ate dinner early because of a local event called Blast in the Moonlight! A blast it is. Everything but the hot dog dinner is free. Our family plans our summer around this event, we will not go out of town during this time. We will reschedule something if we think we will miss it.
Here the kids are inhaling watermelon in the watermelon eating contest.

 And here I was trying to defend my title. It was this point I was thinking why did I eat our meal right before. But it did not deter me, inhale I did. I came in second, I lost to the young adult with downs syndrome that won over the crowd. For the record though, I did eat more. ;) As well as beat my nephew.

 A little later we tried our hand at dodgeball. I have some practicing to do if we plan on doing that again next year.

 Then it was on to the hula hoop contest, which is always a highlight for my kids. This year they were both in the same age division. They ended up taking first and second and got to go up on stage.

I always love this event. During the concert they hand out glowsticks to everyone in the crowd. As the sky darkens the hill glows. Finished off with a firework show at the end.

Fantastic day!
-Mom

It is just after midnight and DD has gone to bed. She said to tell you that she would have liked the burgers if there were not veggies in them. Also, that the watermelon eating contest for her age was rigged as they gave the smallest piece to the biggest boy. And she was very happy her brother and her won the hula hoop contest. All that practicing this week paid off.
-Mom paraphrasing for DD

D.E.A.R. ---> D.E.A.L.

 Every now and then we declare a D.E.A.R Day, drop everything and read. Not that long ago I read the book, The Phantom Tollbooth by Norton Juster, a queer story full of allegories. It was on the kid's reading list so the plan was for them to read it, after reading it I thought it would be better for them to listen to it on audiobook.

 Today, we decided to make it a D.E.A.L....drop everything and listen. We hooked up the computer to the TV and the kids made comfy spots, the boy a nest.

Sweet tart made a multi-use bed with four stations.

Now we are listening as some zucchini bread is baking in the oven. Every once in awhile pausing to discuss all the crazy allegories and analogies throughout the story.

While a book is good when read alone, every now and then it is better to share.

“The most important reason for going from one place to another is to see what's in between, and they took great pleasure in doing just that.”


and...“You may not see it now but whatever we learn has a purpose and whatever we do affects everything and everyone else..... for whenever you learn something new, the whole world becomes that much richer.”

― Norton Juster, The Phantom Tollbooth 

Check It Out

A month or so ago I decided to contribute to our church, Family, Faith and Fun blog.
You can find my latest post here: http://trinityfamilylife.blogspot.com/2010/04/minute-to-win-it-fun.html
Enjoy!

Another Exciting Day

Lately the weather has been ABSOLUTELY gorgeous! Needless to say we have been trying to make the most of it.
Yesterday we decided to pack a picnic lunch and head over to Hawk Island. We ate, played, walked the board walk and soaked in the sunshine as the ducks swam out on the lake.

Since it was Babler's birthday we decided to go to on of her favorite places...The Dairy Farm.
And lo and behold, we go to see yet another birth. This one was a boy. :( So it won't be staying on the farm but we named him anyway. Introducing Axe. Hopefully this is not a foreshadowing of his fate.

Regardless he is a cute little thing with a white heart on his forehead.

Looking for something to do? Check out the MSU farms. The horses, cows and sheep are all expecting little ones. Oh and it's FREE!

Highlights of Meijer Garden 2010

With the butterflies flying at Meijer Garden we joined our homeschool co-op on a visit.
I must say the diversity of the plants and flowers there is amazing. I must also state that the following pictures were taken by my mother, who did a fabulous job. Thanks mom!

Cactus

Pitcher Plants

My beautiful butterflies.

Butterflies all around in the aviary.

How many butterflies can you find on this one plant?

Don't forget to look for the birds...here is a blue one, an orange one and a yellow one.

Jailed? Not really, they are enjoying the kids gate of the Children's Garden.

Butterfly dress-up.

Archeological dig.

When we did our sculpture study back in January we studied Marshall Fredrick. After reading, The Outdoor Museum: The Magic of Michigan's Marshall M. Fredericks, we fell in love with his work. We even visited his museum. So we were delighted to revisit so many of his sculptures at Meijer Garden.
Here is the Leaping Gazelle...

Which is actually a fountain.

More Marshall Fredrick.

Red-Tailed Hawk looking for lunch.

Davinci's Horse...we were highly anticipating this sculpture after reading Leonardo's Horse by Jean Fritz

I absolutely LOVE the expression of the grandfathers face.

What kind of bird do you think might hatch from these?

Strike a pose.


Hope you enjoyed our trip to Meijer Garden as much as we did.

Face to Face With a Butterfly

The butterflies are back at MSU gardens.
The thing I love about the butterflies at MSU besides the fact that it is free, is you can get up close and personal.
My boy face to face with a Zebra butterfly.

You can hold them just remember to never touch their wings.

It's best to dip your fingers in sugar water and hold your finger in front of them. They will climb on and you will get a close look at your favorite butterfly.

Chrysalis await to emerge and newly emerged butterflies dry their wings. In a few more weeks you will be able to see all 4 stages of a butterfly as eggs are laid and caterpillars can be found on some of the plants.

While there we always go on a hunt for tree frogs. Hint look on the cement wall and the large tree by the pond.

Next we head out to play in the Children's Garden. While there are not many plants in bloom, there is still plenty to do.

Yesterday we had perfect sunshine for testing out the sundial.
4:20pm


If you haven't been, I highly recommend the MSU Children's Garden and Butterfly House!
Don't forget there are parking fees during the week. Not sure about the weekends this year.

Our Intro to Community Gardens

As a child I hated vegetables. I know hate is a strong word but when it came to vegetables it adequately communicated how I felt about them. With the exception of carrots, corn and ketchup I fought every bite my parents forced me to take.
As an adult I was a vegetarian for 2 years; exploring all types and varieties of vegetables. Slowly over time I learned to love them. Even my childhood nemesis, green beans!
At this stage in my life it appears I am entering yet a new level with the green earth and that which it produces. I, my friends, will be involved this year in a community garden.
Last month I got word of a meeting for those interested in starting a community garden on the Southside. After seeing the Hunter Park garden and all the positive stuff happening on that side of town, I was definitely interested so I attended.
I was encourage, inspired and über excited!
I began seeing this as a way for my neighborhood kids to get outdoors. Learn about nature. Take pride in growing their own food. Having a safe place to hang out and do something productive. I began to dream.
The kids and I attended the Youth Gardening Conference where we gained an immense amount of information. Two of my adopted neighborhood kids came along too. We were all hooked and definitely wanted to do this community garden thing ourselves.

Tomorrow is another planning meeting for the Southside community garden which will be located at the corner of Jolly and Pleasent Grove across from the firestation. If you find yourselves in this area and our interested in joining our efforts and vision casting yourself, JOIN US! Let's make a positive change in our neighborhoods.

Community Garden Interest Meeting Saturday, March 6, 1-2:30 p.m., Lansing Fire Dept. Station #6 Community Room (5135 Pleasant Grove Road)

For those in the greater Lansing area, call the Garden Project to find a garden near you. Literally 20-40 gardens are in the works in and around Lansing. Chances are there is one near you!
To contact the Garden Project you can email gardenproject@ingham.org or call anytime! (517) 887-4660

How about you? Are you involved in home or community gardens? I would love to hear what you are doing.

Saturday Afternoon Skiing

Inspired by the Olympics we decided to try out Cross Country Skiing at Birchfield Park.
We suited up, rented skis and hit the trail.

The boy was a natural. Easily finding his rhythm and conquering the hills.


Little girl found her balance and plugged away. The first challenge we had was "Duck Walking" up our first hill. Which she did. She even made it down rather well.


My sweet 'adopted' daughters joined us as well. The first 15 minutes or so were rough but by the middle of the course we were all staying on our feet.


Our clan...I propped the camera on a post and scooted over to get in the picture.


It was a beautiful sunny day to hit the snowy trails.


Victory! We made it.


We totally enjoyed it and will be doing it again soon.

Birthday Party

Little girl's 6th birthday she wanted a castle cake. She wanted to be a princess. And she wanted her party at Chuck E. Cheese. Let's just say my mother-in-law is amazing. She made the cake. The dress-up bin provided our princess and Chuck E Cheese it was.
Cinderella and her castle.

A closer look at the cake. Again my MIL is AMAZING!! The cake was awesome and delicious.

Sweet! Money...

Our traditional photo sketch