Reading...

I always read a lot during the summer.  The summer after I graduated college (when I should have been working)...I laid on the couch and read the entire unabridged Sherlock Holmes collection.  I have always considered myself a pretty well-read person when it comes to classic literature in particular.  I came from a pretty rural (po-dunk) high school, but they valued good literature.  So by the time I had reached college, I had some great literature under my belt.   But I'm finding I "haven't read nuttin'".  There are so many books that I just haven't read, especially in the young adult category.  Why didn't I read this when I was a kid?    So I decided to print out the Newbery Medal Winners and start reading through the list.  Granted, I've read 25 or so already, but I'm working on reading the entire list.  Probably not going to happen before summer is over, but it's a start.  There are some on the list that we own but I never finished or just haven't started.  Since, my kids love reading so much, this is opening them up to a whole new world of literature.  I like that!

Here's what I've completed in the past few weeks:

This is one of those books that I've just never gotten around to read. 

Tera and I really like these books and wish our library had more.

Another, I had heard about but never actually read before.  Very good story, very intense!

I picked this one up for Tera, then she passed it on to me...great scrapbook type journal on WWII and the Japanese internment camps.

Great story!

I've been reading some pretty intense books so far, so we're off to the library to replenish our supply. 

What are you reading lately?  What's a book you never read growing up and now wonder why not? 

Turnip recipes

I've tried to plant root vegetables before, but this has been year we've actually had any kind of harvest.  I'm not a big turnip eater...actually, I don't know if I've ever tried them before this actual planting.  My grandma used to make turnip greens, but I absolutely can't stand them at all.  I can't get past the smell. 

Anyway, I planted 3 short rows.  For future reference, that's a lot of stinkin' turnips.  I've given away to all my neighbors, but have tried a few recipes for ourselves.  I won't post the Turnip Puff recipe that had Tera gagging and me trying hard not to. 

 Here are our favorites:

Turnip and Potato Patties-- The kids ate these up!

Cornish Pasties

1 pound ground turkey, chicken or beef or boneless beef round steak (I used ground chicken)
1 medium potato, peeled and chopped
1 cup chopped peeled rutabaga
1/2 cup chopped onion
2 Tbsp. minced parsley
1 Tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic, minced
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt
2 pie crusts (mine were store bought)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.  Brown ground chicken.  Combine all ingredients in a bowl.  Place half of mixture on pie crust and fold over to form a semi-circle.  Crimp edges.  Repeat with other crust and meat mixture.  (I actually had a great deal of the mixture that wouldn't fit inside the pie crusts.  We just sauteed it later and ate it separate)  Cut slits in the top of the pasties.

Place on ungreased baking sheet.  Bake for 35 to 40 mins. or until golden brown.  Cut into wedges and serve warm with catsup or pizza sauce.  (No one in our tasting party wanted sauce...they were great plain)

Prairie Hash

1 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 cups chopped cubed potato and turnips (whatever ratio you prefer)
1 onion chopped
1/2 cup chopped green pepper
2 tsps. Worcestershire sauce
salt to taste

Coat your skillet with cooking spray then add oil.  Heat to a moderate temperature.  Add veggies and saute on medium heat until browned.  Add salt and Worcestershire sauce.  Cook until your preference...we like our potatoes a little on the crispy side. 

Again, the serving suggestion was to pour catsup, chili sauce or leftover gravy on top.  We basically ate it plain again. 


I'd love to try these recipes found on pinterest: 

Yukon Turnip Gratin

Sweet Potato Turnip Mash


We also got a few small kohlrabi that we just ate raw.  All the kids really liked them--very small part you can actually eat, though.  So, I'm not sure we'll replant that in the future.  It's always nice to try new things. 

Summer Theme Night: Pop Night

Thursday night is Theme Night during the summer.  I have to say these are kinda stress creating at times...not the actually doing but the planning and thinking of good ideas.

Here are some things we did last summer, before I gave up:

Come on Down...

Water Battle

Origami Fest- not really sure if I followed through with this one but some great ideas.

"C" Night- I was desperate!

Tonight was our first theme night of the summer...we had a play date planned and that was going to be my excuse, ahem, I mean my theme night.  Well, something came up and it fell through.  So, I needed to come up with our theme night without a trip to the store.  I had pinned a banana pop bar, so I decided to use up the very ripe bananas on the counter.  I cut them into bite sized pieces, stuck a toothpick in and put both plates in the freezer.  Then I scoured the cabinet for toppings (graham cracker crumbs, cheerios, dried raisins and cranberries, various sprinkles and sugars, peanut butter and melted chocolate).  Thus,  POP Night was born!   After the kids got over brown bananas, they had a blast making combinations. 

To round out this very nutritious dinner, the kids had POPCORN!

Then, watched Mary POPpins. 

We finished with POPsicles!

I have to say, I was feeling a little guilty about this menu until I realized the kids had fruit, healthy protein and whole grain.  That sounds tons better, doesn't it? 

Vacation-Staycation, whatever you want to call it.

When we go on vacation or  take a staycation, we have a few criteria.  We are looking for a cabin usually, inexpensively but that has things for our kids to do- (pool table, foosball tables or air hockey and most importantly, an indoor pool).  We've had good experiences with Fireside Chalets, especially with the indoor pool.  We basically had the place to ourselves every time we went.  And we went a lot.  There were only 2 bedrooms so we invested in a twin size air mattress and Tera had her own out of the way place to sleep.  It worked great!

Besides the aquarium on our first day, the only other attraction we did was Dixie Stampede.  The food was awesome---hot on the plate!  For me, it was a once in a lifetime kinda thing.  I'm not a big show, big crowd person.  I will say it was good for that type of entertainment.  Fast moving, exciting, lots of variety.  If you are local to the area, you can sign your kids up for the Food City Kids Club and they receive a free ticket every year for their birthday.  It's good until the following June.  So, we really saved a lot getting the kids in free.  We payed the extra for the souvenir boot cups for the pre-show.  $4 a kid --filled with a drink (awesome orange slushy in our case).  That really helped with the wait for dinner.  Skip the flags, no matter how much your 3 year old may want one...there is really no time to wave it during the show and it's basically just a souvenir.  Oh, and I was thinking the kids' plates would have smaller portions--NOPE!  They got the same thing we did and basically everyone brought home their entire cornish hen and we had it for lunch the next day.  Overall, a fun time, just not an every year thing.  Also, they take your picture ahead of time...first package $30, 2nd one $25- I was prepared to pass on that one.  I will say, they were great photos and I tried hard not to think about them getting shredded. 

Before we left, I tried to find a couple of new toys for Michael.  We don't usually go for fad toys, but when I saw a set of Cars Squinkies for $6 at Wal-mart,  I thought that might buy me some peace for the week.  He played with those things the entire time.  Good buy, even if we had to keep finding them over and over again. 

Pool, pool and more pool

 By the end of the week, the kids' swimming had improved so much.   

Goofy again!

There was a HOT and Fresh sign---and we just couldn't resist.  The coupon on the back of our grocery store receipt was a great confirmation, we should indulge.  I cannot tell you how much I love Hot glazed Krispy Kreme donuts...they are comfort food.  I won't say that two people I know, once polished off a whole dozen before reaching their home 10 minutes from the store.  Ahem...that was long before kids of course.  Needless to say, our kids liked them just as much and my husband reminded me that maybe we should be thankful there aren't any Hot and Fresh signs near our house anymore.  Sad to say, I think he's right. 

Good food, good times, good memories!

Aquarium

The first day of our vacation, we headed to the Ripley's Aquarium.  Daniel had won 4 passes at the Science Fair so our total admission was under $8.  We splurged on a totally tasteless yet expensive lunch at the aquarium.   One piece of advice---bring some snacks.  McDonald's had more taste than the meals that were totally overpriced.  Oh well, live and learn. 

I wish I could just sit and watch the tanks all day...but my brood are a little more restless than that.  I still got some great video of the tanks.  I'm still learning the settings on my camera, so a lot of my pictures did not turn out as well as I hoped. 

 

The Shark exhibit...just a bit on the freaky side

 My beautiful yet goofy children... 

 

Where they get that goofiness, I'll never know. 

The tunnel...this is our first trip where Michael has not been in a stroller...he decided to take a break on the moving sidewalk. 

 

 Not happy after lunch 

Penguins- one gripe...adults, please don't hog up the KID tunnel at the penguins. 

 

 Somebody all tuckered out 

We did have a great time and the crowds were very manageable this time.  We actually bumped into a pastor we knew from our time at Trevecca.  I thought he looked really familiar and then I just had to approach and ask.  It truly is a small world.