10 years ago around this time, in my Marketing days, I went to New Orleans for the NADA {National Automobile Dealers Association} trade show. It was right before the Superbowl and Mardi Gras, but the beads were already flying, the zydecos were playing and the Hurricanes were certainly flowing. If it was {that} crazy a week or so before Fat Tuesday, I can’t imagine what the actual day would be like.
Good times.
GOOD times.
Last night for dinner I wanted to channel NOLA’s cuisine so I threw together some muffuletta sandwiches and red beans & rice.
These were so easy to put together and are great for summer picnics since they have no mayo and should be made an hour or so before enjoying.
I just picked up a fresh loaf of Italian bread, cut it in half and then in half again horizontally. Scoop out a little of the bread to make room for the fillings.
I threw a whole jar of Mezzetta California HOT Mix into my mini processor and reserved the liquid. Add 3-4 tbsp liquid to processed veggies before spooning onto the 2 halves of hollowed out bread. You want the extra juice to soak into the bread just a bit, but don’t want to oversaturate it ~ this will give it great flavor. {Muffuletta is made with lots of chopped olives, too, however I am not a huge fan of them so that’s why I used this mix ~ thanks for recommending, Lisa!}
Then just layer your meats and cheeses ~ I used ham {or capicola}, genoa salami and provolone.
Cut into triangles and eat up!
I cheated with the red beans & rice and just used a packaged mix.
And since I will be saying bye-bye to desserts during Lent, I had to go out with purple, green & gold sugar cookie bars!
Red boots and a red handbag make a statement when paired with a simple top and old, comfy jeans ~ {and don’t forget a red leash for the [Fido] in your life!}…
Holden had a t-ball game last night. His field was next to the A’s, who Elliott’s classmate’s sister plays for. It’s so cute to see Elliott & Cameron call out each other’s names on game days, run to each other and pal around together while their siblings play ball.
{Cameron, Emilie & Elliott ~ Photo courtesy of Cameron’s mama}
As I sat with one eye on the game and one eye on the threesome above, I couldn’t help but smile as I watched them skip and gallop around in the late afternoon/early evening sunlight.
Ironically, on the first day of kindergarten I filled out the last page in Elliott’s baby book ~ My First School Day. Under the entry, “I was so proud because I _______________ for the first time”, she wanted to fill in the blank with “met new friends”. She named a few of her new classmates and Cameron was one of them. Almost 10 months later, they’re sharing Red Vines on the t-ball field…..awwwww!
I’m thrilled that she has fostered friendships all on her own this school year. She really does love each and every one of her classmates. She’ll come home too and mention that she met a new friend in Mrs. So-and-So’s class. I love that she’s befriended other students since, without a doubt, each school year will bring some new faces to her classroom….chances are she will already know some {or all} of them.
Making my best effort to keep in touch with many of the sweet moms for some fun summer play dates. I couldn’t be happier with the nice group of kiddos and parents we shared this school year with.
Maybe the saying {all I ever needed to know I learned in kindergarten} really is true after all.
*****
“A friend is a present you give to yourself.” ~ Robert Louis Balfour Stevenson
This little ladybug was under the weather all weekend with a low grade fever and sore throat.
I think the worst part for her is that she missed out on a Chuck E. Cheese birthday for two little friends.
Therefore, our Easter included {Tangled} and {Yogi Bear} courtesy of Red Box. Gramma sat with her while the rest of us went to mass.
{the loot}
{new jams & a lolli}
{the Easter Wiener ~ how can you say “no” to this face?}
{with her Lolo}
{waiting for the pews to fill up}
{a quick backyard egg hunt before returning to the infirmary}
*****
Aside from a couple underarm thermometer readings, a dose of children’s Advil and some non-Chuck E. havin’ tears, the weekend was nice with my in-laws here from the Carolinas and a quick visit from Gramma K.
They were able to see her arabesque, passe and shuffle step at dance on Friday so all was not lost….
At Easter, we are blessed with renewed HOPE and FAITH.
Hoping yours was filled with the same….sans any long-haired princesses or Jellystone livin’ bears.
This morning I’m doing a little V-day shopping, reaching into my gorgeous cherry red MK handbag and paying with my {magic charge card}. You know…the one where the bill gets sent to Cupid.
But…he wanted a “real” burger and I could tell that he was eluding to a trip to Red Robin.
My penny pinching self sprung into action and after a quick trip to Trader Joe’s, created a burger bash for less than a fifth of the cost of a trip to RR.
Mini Burger Buns: $1.19
One Pound 80/20 Ground Beef: $2.49
Garlic Fries: $2.69
(I had all the other ingredients already on-hand)
I decided to make Pioneer Woman sliders ~ caramelized onions, blue cheese and Tabasco mayo!
And the TJ’s garlic fries are just like the ones from Gordon Biersch….garlic chunks galore!
But, the best part was that the kids ate them, too and I didn’t have to play short order cook and prepare 15 different things!
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!
I’ve had these funny pants for YEARS, courtesy of Target. Knowing me I probably paid less than $10 for them. I LOVE these pants, but I still haven’t figured out if they’re obnoxious or not. Who wears RED pants?
I guess I do.
I think what I love so much about them is the classic, simple style and not so much the fact that they’re RED! I would’ve bought them in every color, though, had there been more….
I’ve “tried” to donate them to Goodwill several times and I just can’t do it. I think another reason that I want to hang onto them is that they didn’t fit me for years and now they’re looser than before.
I really have not seen ANYONE else sporting such an article of clothing so I am aware that red pants may not be the norm…..red shirts, yes…pants, no.
People may look at me and laugh, but I’m going to hang onto my red pants.
I love you my little pantalones rojos. I can’t bear to part with you just yet. However, my fondness may be short lived, not because of your color, but because I hope that soon you will not fit me (and by “not fit me”, I mean be too big, not too small! Been there, done that.)
