We’re getting ready to go camping and I’m totally terrified. I love camping but am not so sure the tot will. Along with packing tons and tons of crafty goodies, I’m putting together food for us to eat – and share – while at the campsite. They’ll be other families around, which will hopefully make our first “family camping” outing successful.

So, what to make to feed a crowd? Ground turkey sloppy joes, of course! But, instead of bringing boring old store-bought buns, I decided to use some of the rosemary growing like crazy in our garden for something tasty.

Garlic rosemary buns.

All you need is a bit of patience to pull these off – and your friends and family will love them with hamburgers, grilled eggplant rounds, veggie burgers, or whatever! Memorial Day weekend is the official start of summer, which means picnics, parties, and cookouts. These garlic rosemary buns are a great way to make anything just a bit better.

Ingredients 

2 1/2 teaspoon yeast (or one small packet)

1 teaspoon sugar

1 1/2 cup warm whole milk (around 110 F)

1 teaspoon chopped garlic

1 tablespoon olive oil

1 1/2 teaspoon chopped fresh rosemary

1 teaspoon salt

1 egg

3 1/2 to 4 cups flour

1 teaspoon olive oil (for drizzling)

Directions

Sprinkle the yeast and sugar in a bowl and then gently cover with the warm milk. Give things a stir and then let the yeast, sugar, and milk do its job. In no time, things will get a bit bubbly.

Add the chopped garlic and olive oil to a small saucepan and bring to a simmer over low heat. This creates a really lovely garlic oil for creating the buns. The minute you see the edges of the garlic starting to brown, turn off the heat and let things cool. That garlic will continue to brown, so, really, take it off the heat the minute you see browning. Burnt garlic is nasty.

Sprinkle the salt and chopped rosemary over the foamy milk and also mix in the egg. Drizzle in your garlic oil and then start stirring in the flour. Once the dough comes together, knead for a few minutes on a flour-dusted work area. Pop your garlic rosemary bun dough in a bowl, drizzle with more olive oil, and cover with a clean towel. Let that dough rise for at least two hours.

Divide the dough into 12 small balls and then roll and pinch to create flat, round circles. Place on a greased sheet pan, drizzle each with a bit more olive oil, cover with that dish towel and let rest for at least another hour.

Yes, yes. This isn’t a quick process, but that’s how it goes.

Preheat your oven to 400 F and bake your buns for 18 to 20-minutes.

YUM!

Now, while they’re baking, you can toss together a super simple Sloppy Joe mix!

Ingredients

1 onion chopped

1 red pepper chopped

1 carrot chopped

2 cloves chopped garlic

1 teaspoon oil

1 teaspoon water

2 pounds ground turkey

1 teaspoon balsamic vinegar

1 teaspoon red wine vinegar

1 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon sugar

1 teaspoon flour

1/4 teaspoon Italian seasoning

1/4 teaspoon paprika

1 cup of your favorite barbecue sauce

1 14.5 ounce can diced tomatoes

1/2 cup water

Directions

Toss the chopped onion, pepper, and carrot into a large saucepan and then add the oil, 1 teaspoon water, salt, sugar, paprika, and Italian seasoning. Bring the veggies to a simmer and then continue stirring and cooking until they start browning.

Now add the ground turkey and cook until nice and browned.

Sprinkle the flour over the nicely browned turkey and veggies and give a stir. Now add the vinegars, barbecue sauce, canned tomatoes and water and let your yummy sloppy joe mix simmer for a minute or two.

You can leave your mix big and chunky, or add half to a blender and give it a quick whir. This creates that really smooth and happy sloppy joe filling….

I bagged up my mix – and buns – and popped them into the freezer so everything would be frozen solid for our camping adventure!

Enjoy!

Memorial Day is right around the corner, which means taking a moment to appreciate those that have served for our country, people who are currently doing what they do best for our country, and ones we lost while in service. My tot is a bit young for understanding, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great opportunity to do something crafty that might offer up the chance to chat about respect and love. Stars and strips are popping up all over the place, so I figured we could create something festive for decorating our home.

This is a simple project that can go in lots of different directions. Older kids can be in charge of bending and twisting the wire into star shapes while younger kids can focus on wrapping pre-made stars with string and then sprinkling with glitter – or painting. And, this is a great project for any time of year -Fourth of July, Memorial Day, or even the Holiday Season!

Start a length of 12-guage craft wire about 1 to 2-feet in length. To keep things nice and safe, wrap the ends of the cut wire with masking tape. Now your child can bend and form the wire into a star shape. Offer adult assistance as needed to twist and secure the star shape when finished. Working with wire is a great way to encourage hand-eye coordination and build fine-motor skills.

We experimented with all kinds of string, from white sewing thread to thick hemp string, and using plain white craft string worked the best. Tie an end to the wire star form and invite your child to twist and wrap that string all over the place. You’ll need about a 6-foot length of string (or more) for each small star.

Secure the end of the string with a nice knot. Now your child can brush the string with glue and then sprinkle with glitter or paint with watercolor paints. Once dry, the stars can be hung individually or tied together to create a special star mobile, perfect for any window. We enjoyed painting one of our stars with red and blue watercolor paint and sprinkling the other with silver glitter.

Sparkly!

Things have been seriously crazy over here. I had an awesome job interview last week, the tot and I spent lots of wonderful quality time together (now that we stopped going to the preschool), and I made the big decision to have us start eating dinner together every night. What we had done was I fed our daughter dinner around 5 or so. Then, when the hubs arrived home at 6 – 6:30-ish, he’d have one-on-one time with her until bedtime at 7:30. But, by that time, she was out of control, not fun, and my husband wasn’t having any sort of quality time with her at all. Then, after we put the tot to bed, I’d cook dinner (and have a drink) and we’d have adult dinner around 8:30.

Exhausting.

Since stopping the preschool (another story for another time) the tot’s behavior has been better, but we still seemed to be running into a bit of trouble during the last few hours of her day. And the two dinner thing wasn’t working. I decided we’d try eating all together around 6:30. I figured she’s old enough to start sitting with us while eating, and we’re old enough that we really should be eating much earlier in the evening, so we tried it for the entire week.

Some nights were better than others.

I’ll be honest, by the weekend I’d decided I needed a break, so the tot  enjoyed peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches (her new favorite) while I cooked our adult dinners that we enjoyed after she went down for the night.

The highlight? *Creamy yogurt fettuccine! Along with a more enjoyable time together in the evenings, our toddler loves setting out napkin placemats for us, learning more about table manners, and assisting with dinner clean-up!

Eating together as a family has so many benefits, including an opportunity to really chat together about everyone’s day, and studies show eating family meals encourage healthy eating habits, better school performance, and positive behavior. I grew up in a family that ate together every night, which was sometimes seriously annoying as a teenager, but it worked. I sulked my way through many a dinner, but deep down I valued that time together with my family. Even after my sister had gone off to college, I sat down to eat with my parents most nights of the week.

On a side note, I had a tragedy over the weekend. My laptop crashed. This was seriously traumatic for me – resulting in a bit of crying and some serious brooding. Wonderfully, it was an $80 fix, but I lost everything on the computer. Everything. I hadn’t backed-up my pictures in months, resulting in hundreds and hundreds of lost pictures. Yes, I take a lot of pictures, and, now that I’ve got the fancy phone, many are on the phone, but I’m still a bit sad over what’s not there anymore. I got a seriously wrist slapping from the husband about how I hadn’t backed up. All I’m saying is invest in a small hard drive, or get yourself set up with a back-up system, and back your stuff up! This way if your computer decides to take a dive you won’t lose your precious stuff.

Seriously.

Do it now.

(It was also my birthday and my husband bought me a cake – and lots of chocolate)

Happy Monday!

*I’ll share the recipe for yogurt fettuccine later in the week….

It seems all I’ve done lately is clean. From going through closets to wiping down counters, I am crazy in the midst of spring cleaning. We’ve been in this house for just about three years, making it the longest time the husband and I have ever lived in the same spot. Instead of moving boxes that haven’t been unpacked (like ever), I’m on a serious attack of dust, old stuff, and more dusty old stuff.

I came across a whole box of unused frames – even one that had never ever been used – along with some other really awesome vintage frames. This one was boring and made of black plastic or something. It seemed a shame to not do something with it, and, while cleaning out the craft drawer, came across some super-fine glitter…

Super sparkly glitter picture frame!

This a fun project for both kids and adults. But, WARNING! If you aren’t a glitter person this is NOT the project for you! Super-fine glitter is even more invasive than the regular stuff. You’re going to have glitter in your house (and maybe your hair) after this project.

I’m all good with glitter at my house.

All you need is an old wooden or plastic picture frame, super-fine glitter, a wide paintbrush, an old shaker-top seasoning container, and Mod Podge. It’s a good idea to cover your work area with a sheet of paper to help make clean-up easier. Remove the glass and backing from the picture frame, give it a quick clean, and then place on the paper.

If you have small packets of glitter (like I did), open the packets and pour into a container with a sprinkle top. You can buy super-fine glitter in sprinkle ready containers, but I went with the mongo-multi color package at the craft store…. I used three small packets of glitter for my 8 x 10-inch frame.

Using a wide brush, generously coat the frame including the sides. Now the fun part – shake, shake, shake the glitter all around the frame. You can work in sections if you prefer – or if working with young helpers that might take a bit longer to shake-a-shake (you don’t want the Mod Podge to dry!).

Let the frame dry for at least an hour.

Gently pick up the frame and tap it while trying not to manhandle the frame. If you’ve got any areas that need more glittering, dot with glue and then coat with more glitter. Keep going until the entire frame is covered. When done, you can gently fold the paper to collect the glitter and then pour back into the container.

Let dry again for at least an hour

Give that frame a final few taps to release any not glued glitter and then you are good to go!

I had the perfect picture for our finished glitter picture frame and love looking at it hanging on the wall. Just think how cute smaller glitter picture frames would be – sparkly pink for baby girl pictures, bright silver for wedding frames, or vibrant red for the holidays!

The other day someone asked me if I was more of a baker or a cook. My first reaction was that I’m a cook – but I’m also a baker (kind of). I’m not a patient person, so waiting for something to bake drives me batty. I can’t open the oven and stir or baste or season. With baking, you’ve got to wait, wait, wait a bit more, and then wait. You can’t frost cake until it’s cool. Let the cookies rest before removing from the pan…

But, I do love making quick breads.

And I love yogurt.

Today the tot and I whipped up a simple yogurt quick bread. It’s nice and moist, lovely drizzled with glaze, and perfect for taking to any picnic or gathering. Use a good, thick plain yogurt for a delicious, tangy bread.

Ingredients

1 egg

1 cup plain yogurt

1/4 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1/4 cup melted butter

1/4 cup sugar

1 packed tablespoon brown sugar

1 teaspoon vanilla

1/2 teaspoon baking soda

1 teaspoon baking powder

1 1/4 cup flour

1 tablespoon pain yogurt

1 tablespoon powdered sugar

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Preheat your oven to 375 F and get out a mixing bowl. Whip together the yogurt, egg, oil, salt, sugars, and melted butter. Sprinkle in the baking soda and baking powder and then slowly add the flour. Once the batter comes together, pour into your greased loaf pan and pop in the hot oven for 45-minutes.

Yes.

It’s that easy.

Now the hard part. While the bread is baking your house is going to smell really good. Really, really, really good – and you have to relax and wait. You can whisk together the glaze by smoothing together the yogurt, powdered sugar and vanilla so it’s ready when the yogurt quick bread is. After 45-minutes, take out the bread and let cool for at least 20-minutes before drizzling with the glaze.

Enjoy!

We had this cubby in our bedroom that needed something. I happened to have an unused canvas that needed a little something, too. It was also the perfect day for doing an art activity with my toddler. Mother’s Day is all about being a mom, celebrating mom, honoring mamas all around us, making special memories with your kids and remembering memories that you’ve had with your mom. Making something together that then would be displayed in our home was the perfect thing to do on a lazy Sunday afternoon. And, this is pretty much a no-fail way to create something seriously cool to hang in your house. Even if you’re not that crafty you only need a few things, it’s okay if things get messy and all smooshed up, and you can use any color combo you’d like. Older kids can get into creating patterns or intricate designs – or you can just go willy-nilly like we did.

Start by cutting lots of squares out of tissue paper. Older kids can be in charge of cutting tons of squares, big or small, and of any color. Once you’ve got a big pile, mix together equal parts of Mod Podge and water in a small container, get out a few brushes, your canvas (any size), and cover your work area with newspaper.

Now slather the canvas with Mod Podge and start layering on the tissue paper squares. This gets messy – and sticky – but it’s lots of fun. Your kids can watch as the tissue paper squares blend together and create new colors.

Once the entire canvas is covered, let the tissue paper and Mod Podge dry. What’s great is the Mod Podge gives things a nice gloss, creating a really finished feeling.

We decided on accenting our tissue squares with circles, but you can use any shape you’d like. Squirt a few drops of acrylic paint onto a paper towel to create a stamp pad. We found that paper cups created the perfect circle stamps and placed lots of black and white circles all around the canvas.

The finished toddler fine art fit our empty spot perfectly!

And I had a wonderful time spending Mother’s Day with my tot.

(lovely)

The tot and I have really been enjoying this glorious spring weather. While tending to the garden – and checking just about every 10-minutes to see if any strawberries are ready – we’ve been checking out the colors all around us. Thing are pretty cheery right now and I’m trying to soak up every moment. My somewhat-agreeable-but-often-stubborn toddler is growing up, which makes me happy and totally sad all at the same time. It is so awesome when she finds something she’s excited about and to hear her tell me everything she knows (this flower is yellow, bees like flowers, AND bees make honey!).

The one word that comes to mind when describing the artwork of Ted Harrison is cheery. The famed Canadian artist creates whimsical images full of color, line, and natural elements. From mountains to animals to sunsets, Harrison’s paintings are wonderfully simple but amazingly composed. His paintings depicting the Canadian Yukon are iconic and the reason he’s one of Canada’s most celebrated artists.

What I love about Harrison’s paintings is his use of balance. Through line and color, his images are balanced or arranged in a visually pleasing way. Balance is one of those art terms that is part of The Principles of Design, which are concepts that are used to organize or arrange elements of design (which also have their own collection of concepts). Balance is the idea of equal weight within a creation. It can be symmetrical (the same on both sides) or asymmetrical (not the same – or informal) where things work together to create harmony.

While looking at Harrison’s artworks, one can see how he uses line and color to create asymmetrical balance within his paintings. The tot and I spent a bit of time enjoying his creations and observing colors and subject matter. I figured we could create our own Harrison inspired artwork with the help of crayons and watercolor paints!

Older kids can use an artwork of Harrison’s for inspiration or create their own uniquely balance design. Start by outlining the artwork with crayons. Your child can use random colors or ones that correlate with the subject matter. While working, encourage your child to think about if they are creating an artwork using symmetrical or asymmetrical balance.

Once the outline is finished, your child can use watercolor paints to fill in the artwork. Along with creating vibrant areas of color, your child is also honing hand-eye coordination by concentration on painting within the lines. Once again, your child can use color to create balance within the artwork by working symmetrically or asymmetrically.

After the painting has dried, find a special spot to display the vibrant Harrison inspired artwork!

*My toddler is a bit young for this activity, but that didn’t stop us from painting over the crayon and watching as it poped through! I made a second outline drawing and encouraged her to paint her own unique Harrison inspired creation.

With Mother’s Day right around the corner I have been finding myself thinking about food. Honestly? I think about food pretty much all the time. Lately I’ve been thinking about the things my mom made when I was young that have stuck with me over the years. With my own tot at home, I want to start great cooking memories with her – just like my mom did with me. The theme for this month’s Shine Supper Club also fits right in – making your mom’s best recipe!

I absolutely love my mom’s homemade Sticky Monkey Bread. Sure, you can follow the recipe found on the side of the biscuit can, but this is the original version straight from the 1970′s church cookbook of my midwestern town. This is the stickiest, gooiest version of goodness out there. While growing up, my mom would hand my sister and I our own plastic baggies filled with cinnamon and sugar to shake-shake the bits of cut canned biscuits and then toss into our well-used bundt pan. After a serious coating of butter, more sugar and cinnamon, and a bit of love, that seriously sticky bread was devoured on Sunday mornings.

She still makes it for us every time we visit.

This isn’t the healthy breakfast dish. And, after talking with my mom, I was planning on adjusting the recipe to make it a bit less sugary and buttery but just couldn’t. Why mess with something so good?  I admit to updating the recipe with brown sugar and vanilla to give it a bit more kick, but other than that, this is the best Sticky Monkey Bread  you’ll ever make.

Ever.

This is a great recipe to make with the kids to surprise mom with on Mother’s Day. It’s super easy and you can’t mess it up. And, along the way, your kids hone fine-motor skills as well as learn more about cooking in the kitchen. Older kids can make this pretty much all on their own – just remember to offer a helping hand when melting the butter and using the oven.

Ingredients

3 tubes buttermilk biscuits

1/2 cup sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

3/4 cup butter

1/2 cup brown sugar

2 teaspoons cinnamon

1/4 teaspoon vanilla

Directions

Open the biscuit tubes (trying not to flinch when they pop) and then quarter. Your kids can use butter knives to cut the biscuits into bits or, if you’ve got young ones, they can tear the pieces into smaller pieces. Go ahead and preheat the oven to 350 F.

Fill a plastic zip-top bag with the plain sugar and 2 teaspoons of cinnamon. Enlist the kids to shake-a-shake the bits in the cinnamon sugar, remove, and then drop into the bundt pan.

While things are shaking away, melt the butter, brown sugar, vanilla, and cinnamon together until things are bubbly. You can also sprinkle in any leftover cinnamon sugar from the zip-top bag.

Pour the melted butter mixture over the sugar-cinnamon covered biscuit bits and then pop into the hot oven for 30-minutes.

Remove the bundt pan from the oven and let cool for 10-minutes. Place a large plate over the top of the bundt pan and carefully flip over. Let the big oeey-goooooey Sticky Monkey Bread rest for a few minutes before digging in.

Enjoy!

This week was full of ups and downs. The tot and I had a few disagreements (but what’s new, right?), a couple of things changed with my work stuff, and the cats continued being cats and waking me up the minute they saw the sun. But, there was one wonderfully, shining moment early in the week – the moment an actually somewhat-hunky guy showed up on my doorstep bearing wine – and he wasn’t my husband.

Thanks to Echelon Vineyards and the Clever Girls Collective, I had the opportunity to sample a few bottles of Echelon wine. Let me tell you up front, I wasn’t paid to write this review – just offered a few bottles to taste test and then share my honest opinion. I mean, really, twist my arm and all that stuff.

(I couldn’t wait to start sampling!)

Honestly? I pretty much like all wine. But, I do have a bit of a wine-snob husband. He worked his way through college while waiting tables at the San Ysidro Ranch and part of his job was checking out wine – and we’re talking the good stuff. He’s a bit of a snoot and is brutally honest while tasting, so I enlisted him to assist. I decided what better way to really get a full understanding of the flavors than by cooking up a special dinner for each bottle.

Let me tell you.

All kinds of wonderful.

We started out with the 2010 Echelon Vineyards Chardonnay that I paired with grilled garlic and oregano marinated boneless skinless chicken thighs over rice and fresh spinach topped with homemade tzatziki sauce. We had a sip of the Chardonnay before eating and both commented on how light and smooth it was. Neither of us had read the label, but the husband noted instantly the hints of honey, pear, and apple. It went wonderfully with our dinner, and, I’ll be honest, there wasn’t any wine left once we were finished. Echelon’s Chardonnay is a complex but light wine that I would bring to any barbecue.

The next night we cracked open a bottle of the 2010 Echelon Vineyards Red Blend. We both had a bit of hesitation – the idea of a red blend had me concerned (headache in the morning), but we figured we’d have a glass and then (potentially) use the rest for cooking. While putting the finishing touches on our oven-baked vegetarian eggplant parmesan, we sampled a small glass and both couldn’t keep sipping. Once again, neither of us had read the label, but commented on the light, fruity flavor of the blend and called out the oaky-ness as well as the smoothness, which didn’t leave a dry feeling in the mouth. Once again, there wasn’t any wine left at the end of dinner….

A few nights later I made barbecue chicken breasts along with a hot lentil salad with roasted red pepper, radishes, and beets. We couldn’t wait to try the 2010 Echelon Vineyards Pinot Grigio because the other bottles had been so good. Let’s just say we’d both had a nice, big glass before we even sat down to dinner. It was so cold and fresh and the husband noted the light but super-crisp flavor with the slight fruit undertones.  I simply tasted all kinds of goodness. We both decided this was our favorite bottle of the three – by far. It also went wonderfully with our dinner. This is a perfect summer wine and lovely with anything from grilled meats to big salads

Echelon Vineyards has won its fair share of awards and I can see why. Their wines are easy to drink and not overly anything in any way. And, they are wonderfully priced ($10-$15 per bottle), making them taste even better.

Head on over to Echelon Vineyards for more information about their wines and where you can pick up a bottle. Do it – seriously, do it now. You’re entitled to a nice glass of wine!

*Once again, I wasn’t paid to write this post – just provided with some really amazingly good wine to sample. I also wasn’t asked to write a blog post about the wines, but I did because they were that good.

I have a toddler that loves pasta. She could eat the stuff all day everyday and be happy. I’ve played around with different kinds of pasta with great success (homemade spaghetti-ohs, white bean mac-n-cheese) but she was ready for something different. After the fifth round in a row of homemade spaghetti-ohs, she was moping around and even asking for peeup-and-belly-witches.

So the other day, while she was chomping down her sandwich, I experimented with a new pasta dish for dinner. I had fresh carrot juice in the fridge along with a bit of Greek-style yogurt. Yes, they don’t sound like a good pairing, but along with the help of some cheddar cheese, anything is possible.

And, I was right.

This is a really easy recipe, you just need the ingredients. Most markets carry carrot juice, but make sure you don’t pick up a blend with orange or cucumber. If you’ve got your own juicer, you’re totally good to go.

Ingredients

8 ounces dry fusilli pasta cooked (which makes about 4-cups)

1/2 cup carrot juice

1/2 cup Greek-style plain yogurt

1/2 teaspoon seasoned salt (you know, that Lawry’s stuff)

1/2 teaspoon vegetable oil

1/4 teaspoon salt

3/4 cup shredded cheddar cheese

Directions

Bring a big pot of water to a boil, toss in a bit of salt, and then your pasta. Any shape works, but the fusilli really is perfect. While things are bubbling away, mix together the carrot juice, yogurt, oil, seasoned salt, and salt in a bowl. Give things a whisk to make sure it’s all creamy. Go ahead and shred your cheddar, too.

Once your pasta is cooked and happy, give it a strain. While it’s hanging out, toss the carrot-yogurt mixture into your hot pot and turn the heat down to medium-low. Give things a stir while the sauce starts heating up.

As soon as the sauce starts bubbling, add the pasta back to the pot. Stir to coat the pasta and then add the shredded cheese. Keep stirring and simmering until the cheese is all melty.

Now is the time for taste testing – this is a kid-friendly recipe, so it’s low in salt and also not too strong in flavor. If you know your kid loves garlic, add some in with the mix. Got a child that loves the spice? Kick things up with a few shots of hot sauce. Mine can’t get enough of that tangy yogurt flavor, so I added an extra dollop at the end, along with a dash of pepper (and another sprinkling of salt).

The finished faux mac-n-cheese has an almost neon-orange color and is good hot or cold. My tot scarfed down 2-bowls for dinner, and happily ate a big serving cold the next day at preschool.

*The first time I made this recipe, I included shredded, slow-roasted turkey breast, which was out of this world. For an adult version, finish the pasta with a couple of good handfuls of spinach, top with extra shredded cheddar and pop under the broiler for a fabulous side dish.