Creative Parental Bragging

Admit it, you get really annoyed by people who can't shut up about their 'amazing' kids, whether on social media or in person, and then strangely enough, you turn around and do the exact same thing, but its okay, your kid really is that amazing.  If you are going to brag about your kid, my suggestion is that you only mention things that are truly amazing, such as my two year old's ability to do advanced math, namely calculus.  Strangely, no one is amazed that your kid can walk, has teeth, or can use the potty, but I bet very few toddlers have mastered calculus!  All I have to do is ask him what the derivative of 2x is and he says, 'two.'  Which is exactly correct (and about the extent of what I remember from calculus).  But did I mention 'two' is the only number he knows?  Minor details…

Peanut butter fudge ice cream 'cake'

It was my son's birthday celebration and he (and we) love ice cream cake but the nearest Dairy Queen is 80 miles away so I had to improvise.  This was a bit cheaper and much tastier, I think it is the best dessert I have ever made!  I just used whatever I had in the house, it can easily be altered to suit your own taste/handy ingredients.  I used my trifle bowl (which was a pain to freeze, but pretty!), I would recommend a large plastic container with a lid (an ice cream pail would be great).

You will need:

Ice cream (I used a quart each of chocolate and vanilla), softened (leave at room temp for 30 minutes)

Cake or brownies (I used 1/2 of a leftover chocolate cake with chocolate frosting) crumbled up

Hot fudge (I made my own, but you can use store bought), 1-2 cups

Toffee baking bits (find them in the chocolate chip section at the grocery store)

1 8 oz tub whipped topping, thawed

Peanut butter pie filling (mix 1 cup peanut butter with 1 cup milk and a small box of instant vanilla pudding until smooth, stir in 1/2 of the whipped topping above)

12 Peanut butter cup candies, halved, for garnish

Put 1/2 of the cake in the bottom of the container, top with 1/2 each of the peanut butter, the ice cream, the hot fudge, the toffee bits, and then repeat, saving a bit of the toffee for garnish.  Top with the remaining whipped topping and the toffee.  Freeze for at least 12 hours.  Before serving, remove from freezer 30-60 minutes before serving and top with peanut butter cups.

Roasted parmesan and herb potatoes

I have roasted potatoes in the oven before, but this variation came out very tasty and were not dry at all.  I had limited oven space and time over the weekend so I made them ahead of time and just warmed them in the oven before serving which worked well.  It is a little more tedious than some methods, but the result was well worth it.  This fed 14 people, adjust the recipe as needed.

5 pounds of potatoes, cut into bite size pieces (I use a mixture of yukon gold and red potatoes with skin left on)

1/4 cup butter, melted
3 tbsp vegetable oil

parmesan cheese
italian seasoning
celery salt
black pepper
chili powder
seasoned salt
onion powder
garlic powder

Boil the potatoes for 5-10 minutes until slightly soft, but not mashable, drain well.  Combine the oil and butter and pour over potatoes, toss to coat.  Place potatoes in a single layer in a baking pan (you may need several).  To season, I used a parmesan cheese container with approximately 1/3 cup parmesan left inside and added the other seasons to the cheese, mixing well and just eyeballing the amounts according to taste, adjust as desired.  Shake 1/4 of herb/cheese mixture over potatoes and toss, repeat until the potatoes are well coated and the seasoning is used up.  Bake in a 425 oven for 20-40 minutes, until golden and sizzling, stir every 10-15 minutes.  Serve immediately or refrigerate and reheat in oven for later use.

Easy cheesy potatoes

I finally made a cheesy hash brown casserole for the small herd that invaded my house this weekend, and after perusing 1.2 million recipes I decided to try my own variation as many of them tend to be greasy or heavy or bland.  It turned out pretty good and was none of the three.

What you will need:

A 9x13 disposable aluminum pan (you can use a reusable one, but this made cleanup a breeze!)

1 2 pound bag southern style frozen hash browns

1 can cream of chicken soup
2 tbsp butter or margarine
1 cup (8 oz) sour cream
salt and pepper

2 cups (8oz) shredded cheese (try colby jack or velveeta shreds)

garlic powder
parmesan cheese

In a bowl, combine the soup, butter, sour cream, and salt and pepper to taste, mix well and then mix in cheese.  Add potatoes and stir to coat, pour everything into the baking dish and sprinkle well with garlic and parmesan.  Bake in a 375 oven until golden and bubbly, about 30 minutes.

The weekend to end all weekends?

I have heard rumors that the world is coming to an end, probably started by the same folks who invented Y2K and worried about the Mayan Calendar, as the so-called 'blood moons' have come.  I have heard more worrisome rumors of a three day blizzard, though I can't find anything besides a 30% chance of snow on Thursday.  What is all the fuss about?  I am hosting a family get together for the first time ever.  I have somewhere between 7-9 people coming for a long weekend plus a possible random guy showing up for Easter dinner.  I have in-laws, outlaws, and everybody and their sister showing up, not showing up, thinking about showing up, and the guest list changing daily.  I've never done this before, I haven't a clue how how many to expect, but I've prepared as best I can so we'll just wait and see what happens, at least if the end of the world comes, I won't have to worry about it.  Or maybe being forced to eat my cooking and spend three nights in the same house might be construed as worse than the end of the world, who knows?  It should be fun, at least if the blizzard does not show up.  It has been interesting to try planning to feed so many people at once, I have a new respect for all the family dinners my grandmother has hosted and cannot imagine how people with eight kids do it day in and day out!

Shopping sprees for the overly frugal

I went shopping today.  I hate shopping.  I live 80 miles from the nearest Walmart (let alone fancier stores).  I bought an entire wardrobe for less than $20, did not leave town, and had a ball.  What is my secret?  Find a good thrift store.  Now there are thrift stores and there are thrift stores.  Many have poor selection or poor quality merchandise, most charge far too much (prices can be close to new in some locales), and some are downright scary.  My favorites so far, here in this outpost on the edge of forever and back home in 'Siberia,' have a good selection that changes often, insanely low prices, and very decent quality.  What is the secret?  Charity, goodwill, and community spirit I suppose.  Both take donations from community members (and thus can keep their prices reasonable), are staffed by volunteers (again, keeps prices low), and all proceeds go towards a good cause (which means your money buys both a bargain and something more).  Of course, it takes a whole community cooperating to keep one of these stores going.  They need donations and volunteers to run smoothly, but as our community pride depends in part on the success of this venture, everyone pitches in and everyone benefits.  If you have such a thing in your community, think about volunteering or donating your good quality but unused items.  It sure beats having a garage sale!