We ended the day with Jay & Lolo driving U Rod to catch his flight out from Long Beach and Lola preparing beef & broccoli and tons of lumpia for din din. Our friend and neighbor, Scott, came up to sip on mojitos and dine with us.
T’was a wonderful Easter Sunday. Thanks Easter Bunny!
Kicking Easter Weekend off with some Cinnamon Almond French Toast:
I just added some sprinkles of cinnamon and about a 1/4 teaspoon of pure almond extract to 4 eggs (or 6 egg whites) and a splash of milk. Soaked 4 pieces of Oroweat Double Fiber bread and…voila!
Drizzle with a little syrup and a dusting of powdered sugar and you’re off to a sweet & healthy start to the holiday weekend!
I hope your weekend is filled with vibrant colored eggs, chocolate bunnies, jelly beans, Peeps and that annoying Easter grass from the baskets that ends up all over the floor!
I am addicted to Coffeemate creamers. I know they are bad and I should learn to drink my coffee black or with nonfat milk, but I am hooked on the Fat Free Hazelnut and the Parisian Almond Créme. Recently they were on sale for $1 and I stocked up and tried Sweet Italian Créme. Yum!
There was a brand new one on the shelf ~ Honey Vanilla Créme.
Hmmm, not too sure who puts honey in their coffee, but I thought, I’ll give it a whirl. The cashier told me that some woman came in and bought a whole case of the stuff…then I was very intrigued.
I opened it this morning and took a whiff. I just couldn’t imagine that it would taste good in my nice, hot cup of French Roast. It dawned on me that this would be perfect for tea.
And it was…
After a 2-bag, 5-minute steep it’s just the perfect amount of sweetness with a touch of honey in my Earl Grey.
Tea for two is nice, but tea for one is much better when the house is quiet with two sleeping angels.
I used to think that the only way to make them is to buy a can of Manwich and brown some ground meat. But then I came across RR’s recipe for “Super Sloppy Joes”. I think the preceding “Super” is unnecessary and sounds silly, so I will just call them:
They are so delish ~ you will never want to buy another can of Manwich ever again. When I first read the recipe I was a little “huh?” … the red wine vinegar and brown sugar threw me off, but I went ahead and moved forward. They were fabulous! I have served them at 2 birthday parties as minis with little potato or dinner rolls and they were a big hit. I do use ground turkey rather than the ground beef, though. I love that there is a whole red pepper in the sauce…I throw a whole, seeded pepper in my mini processor and get it all finely chopped and it just blends in with the tomato sauce ~ the kids won’t even know it’s in there, folks!
Here is the line up:
Here is the meaty goodness:
And here is the final ‘wich:
So yummy I could’ve eaten another….but I didn’t because I had to go to “Boot Camp With Carmen” this evening!
That is where the “Oooowww!” comes in.
Ay Carmencita! It is night one and I am already feeling it.
OK, this may sound lame, but the whole time I was there, I was pretending that I was on Biggest Loser and that I was on camera. I made certain that my form was on point ~ standing with my stomach in, knees slightly bent, the whole nine. This really worked. I held the full body plank extra long because, afterall, I was on television in front of millions and I wanted to look like a rock star. Held the lunge like a statue because I didn’t want to look weak.
But then I reminded myself THAT THIS IS THE FIRST DAY and that it’s OK to have something to improve upon for goodness sake!
I did learn 2 things, however:
1. I have absolutely NO core strength!
and
2. I def need a better bra!
Jumping jacks and I have never been the best of friends, but if I’m going to turn this boot camp out, I need to invest in some serious sports bras. I’d better do it quick because I report back on Wednesday night to do it all over again!
A far cry from Jillian, but I think if I put my all into it I will see some good results after 7 weeks with Señorita Carmen.
Man, I must be a glutton for punishment this week ~ 2 nights of boot camp, a mammogram tomorrow morning and a scheduled 13.1 on the elliptical tomorrow night.
The Albertson’s down the hill was having an Easter egg hunt ~ the “golden egg” being a pass to Disneyland along with some other goodies for the little ones hidden inside certain eggs. Mr. Easter Bunny made a brief appearance which I was thrilled with because that saved me a trip to the mall and $25 for a photo!
The “hunt” took place in the produce section and it was hardly a hunt at all….just piles of candy filled plastic eggs under the apples, lettuce and potatoes! Super duper obvious and lasting a grand total of 3.5 minutes! My little chickens only walked away with mini Twix bars, Reese’s and mini Hershey’s bars…thank goodness the candy was good because I would’ve been real disappointed. But they had a great time and Albertson’s was nice enough to serve FREE hotdogs and sodas so this Mama didn’t even have to fix lunch ~ gotta love that. Here are some photos from the eggstravaganza…
Elliott gathering eggs:
The find:
Holden post hunt searching for the rabbit:
Emilie & Elliott with Mr. Easter Bunny:
Holdy with his new BFF:
Enjoying lunch:
Then, we organized a last minute redneck block party where a few neighbors parked their lawn chairs in the guest parking across the street, prepared some appetizers and enjoyed wine and chit chat while the kids ran amok, chalked the you know what out of the street and rode various modes of transportation including scooters, tricycles, bikes and the ever popular Disney Princess ride.
Here is the spread (yes, complete with boxed wine!):
This is my new fave $3.99 TJ’s wine find (and it’s organic!):
Holden decided to don a plastic bowl helmet:
Checking out the stars:
This morning we were up bright and early to head to a Scooter’s Jungle (bounce house place) birthday party for a little friend in E’s dance class, ran some errands to finish up shopping for Easter outfits, pick up some hand weights for my boot camp which starts tomorrow and then enjoyed an al fresco dinner of homemade crispy chicken tenders and mac n cheese (NOT homemade!).
I discovered this recipe in Parents magazine years ago and it is so easy and delish. I feel like I feed my kids dino chickens from Costco on a daily basis, so it’s nice to make them from scratch once in awhile. The recipe calls for corn flakes, but I used my leftover rice crispies from the treats earlier this week and those worked just fine.
Here is what you need:
12 oz. skinless, boneless chicken breast halves (I use frozen chicken tenderloins)
1 egg, lightly beaten
1 Tbsp. honey
1 tsp. prepared yellow mustard
1 cup packaged cornflake crumbs or 2 cups cornflakes, finely crused (or crushed rice crispies!)
1/4 tsp. salt
Dash ground black pepper
Dipping sauces: BBQ, Ranch or ketchup
1. Heat oven to 450F. Cut chicken into 3/4-inch strips. In a shallow dish, combine the egg, honey and mustard. In another shallow dish stir together cornflake crumbs, salt and pepper. Dip chicken strips into the egg mixture and then roll them in crumb mixture to coat evenly.
2. Arrange the strips on a baking sheet. Lightly spray with nonstick cooking spray. Bake 12-15 minutes, or until chicken is cooked through. Makes 4 servings.
I sliced mine and put them into a salad…still desperately trying to recreate the CPK bbq chicken salad!
Finally, I will leave you with this cute image:
Future blogger?
Here’s to another busy week ahead…2 boot camps, mammogram, bro-in-law coming on Wednesday and then the in-laws coming on Good Friday to celebrate Easter with us. Egg coloring and frosted Easter sugar cookies to be made in between. Oh, and sloppy joes (not from a can!) on the menu for tomorrow.
Hope you have all sorts of good stuff on the agenda this week, too!
It’s like pulling teeth trying to get him out of them each morning. Most mornings I just give up….I’m sure I’m known as “the mom that lets her kid wear his pj’s all day” at Elliott’s preschool. He’s in them when I drop her off and he’s in them when I pick her up! He’s been known to wear them to the park, his doctor’s appointment and even Target.
I try to pick my battles, but I think I am losing this one. I have given in too many times and now it’s next to impossible to get him dressed. Things are going to have to change, though…he starts preschool in August and as far as I know, they only have ONE “wear your pajamas to school” day a year!
I DO love the ‘jams though. Love, love buying E & H the Gap or Old Navy 2-piece pajama sets. And I just love pj’s in general….so it’s probably my fault that he is so attached to his sleepwear!
Just to share a recent find that will help you be more green and save some green at the same time…I found some super cute organic cotton 2-piece pajama sets at Wal-mart for $5 on clearance. Picked up a pair for Elliott for her Easter basket. They had TONS at the Wal-mart by me for both girls and boys. Short sleeved tops with long pants ~ perfect for the Spring into Summer transition. If you need new ‘jams for the kiddos and are at Wally World, check them out! (According to the on-line reviews, they get 5 stars.)
Now, I just hope Elliott doesn’t love her new jammies so much that she wants to LIVE in them.
Here’s to a fun-filled Friday whether you’re in your pajamas or not!
{Coming soon out of the recipe box…Crunchy Chicken Fingers, Roasted Thai Drummettes, Black Bean & Roasted Red Pepper Dip & Sloppy Joe’s}
I picked up the ingredients at the store over the weekend, but HE ended up making it last night and when I came home from my workout the house smelled soooo good!
This is one of those one pot meals. Comfort food, but on the healthier side.
We added a small bit of avocado, cilantro and some jalapeños, of course!
It makes TONS so we’re having it again tonight which means another night of no cooking for me!
Lately Elliott wants to “help” me in the kitchen…all.the.time.
I hate telling her, “Maybe tomorrow, honey.”, “Not right now.” or “Just let Mommy do it real quick.”
It makes me feel like such a crappy Mom.
So, while I was doing my grocery shopping this weekend, I decided to pick up some rice crispies and marshmallows and enlist her help with making some good old-fashioned rice crispy treats. After all, marshmallows are so Springy to me.
Pouring in the ‘mallows:
And some more…
Holden sneaking crispies:
Waiting:
Ready for an after lunch treat:
In case you forgot (like me!) or never knew just how easy these are to make, here is what you need:
1 stick butter
1 16 oz. bag mini marshmallows
6 cups rice crispy cereal
Here’s what you do:
Melt butter on stovetop over low heat. In the meantime measure out 6 cups of cereal into a large bowl. When the butter is melted, add half the bag of marshmallows and heat slowy, stirring frequently. Add the rest of the ‘mallows and continue stirring until they are melted and combined with butter. Pour mixture over the cereal and stir to combine. Pour into a greased 9″X13″ pan and let cool before cutting.
I wanted to color the marshmallows pink, but Elliott wanted to “keep them white at Easter”. OK. Will do!
I am committed to being a better “executive chef” in my kitchen and letting my sous chef help more.