The tree has got to go

Did you have a nice Christmas? Are you sick of people asking that? We had a fabulous Christmas. Christmas Eve we went to church (candlelight service - love it!) and came home for a pull-out -all -the-stops meal. We had rib roast, yorkshire pudding (like popovers), mashed potatoes, spinach salad and jello (for Nick). We popped english "crackers" (tubes with a small popping sound and a paper hat, jokes and a toy inside). It was Lucy-dog's 13th birthday, and she was once again hiding from the crackers. She didn't like the little cowbell that was Nick's cracker-prize any better. Nor did anyone else! He kept yelling "More cowbell!" and ringing it until Nate confiscated it.

We gave the kids an x-box. We haven't seen them since. Not really, we all went to Paul's mom's house on x-mas day. Paul led a rousing discussion on the uselessness of car GPS devices. Guess what his mom gave us? Awkward! On the way home we had to stop at one of Paul's customers. The bakery computer was messed up and baguettes were not being made. Quelle domage! (yeah, I know, my french stinks. It gets better the more I drink.)

Yesterday, Paul began work on remodeling the basement closet. The previous owner of our house apparently thought of himself as quite a handyman. Not so much! Paul has had to re-do lots of stuff that has fallen apart or is a flagrant violation of building code. We almost lost the dog when she was a puppy after she chewed on an improperly wired, um, wire. Good thing we had a lifeguard in the house who knew how to do mouth-to-snout! She lost half her tongue from that. Anyway Paul spent most of the day yelling "Idiots of the world, unite!" and some rant about "Standard acceptable building practices". We relaxed by watching a movie.

Movie review: Hancock - loved it! Better than we thought it would be. (You've probably already seen it, we are behind the times). Other than an unfortunate sex scene at the beginning and the repetition of the word "a**hole", it was pretty good for the whole family. Paul is quite taken with Charlize Theron. He says she's the second prettiest blond in the world, after me. (Isn't he sweet?)

We watched "In Bruges" earlier this week. This is not a family friendly movie. It is rated R for bloody violence, drug use and "pervasive language", whatever that is. I think it was how the two main characters, hitmen, kept talking about killing people as if it were any other job. It was also VERY bloody. I liked it anyway. Collin Farrell has a nice Irish accent. The town of Bruge (pronounced brooj) is beautiful. I like movies with good scenery.

I'm trying to resist packing up all the Christmas stuff. I'm sick of it though. My house is cluttered enough without adding a tree and elves and candles and snowglobes and that dang tree! It has to go.

So here are 2 recipes for playdough. Send the kids outside, get some work done. Give them some playdough (it feels great on cold hands while it is still warm) and get more work done. The first recipe is from my boss, Maryann. She knows her stuff! The second is from ECFE. I like it because it smells fun. For both, the water really has to be boiling.

Best Playdough Ever
3 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
1 Tbl alum (spice area of the grocery store)
3 Tbl cooking oil
2 cups BOILING water
food coloring

Mix dry ingredients, set aside. Mix oil, boiling water and food color. mix at once with dry stuff. Knead until it is nice and soft and smooth. If it is sticky, add a little more flour.


Kool-aid Playdough
2 1/2 cups flour
1/2 cup salt
2 pkgs dry unsweetened kool-aid
mix then add:
2 cups BOILING water
2 Tbls oil

Mix, knead, cool. Store in refrigerator.

I wish you a merry Christmas

I forgot to mention on yesterday's blog that after playing the canned goods game, they are taken to the food shelf (which is the whole point of the game).

Today I went to put a bag of used clothes (gathered from his room by one of my kids) in the charity box when I noticed what seemed to be 6 perfectly good (but thoroughly filthy) sweat socks in the bag. This was suspicious on a couple of levels. They only have white sweat socks, all the same size, so as to make laundry easy for the momma. Therefore, there cannot be any that are too small. If the socks are ratty, they are discarded, not given to charities all stinky! When I asked the kid what was up, he said it must have been an accident that his laundry ended up in the bag. I think somebody cleaned their room in a hurry! (Also in the bag - 6 shirts suitable for rags and 1 (brand-new) shirt he meant to keep.

Here is my favorite Christmas morning coffee cake. It is like a "Butter Braid" with cranberries and cream cheese. The recipe makes 2.


Cranberry Cream Coffee Cake

1/2 cup lukewarm water
2 envelopes dry yeast
3/4 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp salt
1/2 cup sour cream
1/2 cup (1 stick) butter, melted
2 eggs
4 1/2 cups all purpose flour, divided
Cream cheese filling (recipe follows)
Cranberry filling (recipe follows)
Glaze (recipe follows)

(I dump all the ingredients in the bread machine, but I'm lazy) Pour water into bowl, sprinkle yeast on top, stir and let rehydrate for 5 minutes. Add powdered sugar, salt, sour cream, butter, eggs and 2 cups of flour. Mix at low speed until blended then on medium speed for 2 minutes. Mix in 2 more cups of flour, 1/2 cup at a time.
Dump onto lightly floured board and knead for 5 minutes, adding up to 1/2 cup of flour until smooth and elastic. Put into large oiled bowl, turn to coat with oil. Cover and let rise in warm place until doubled, about an hour.
Punch dough down, knead briefly. Divide dough in half. Roll one half into 12X10 inch rectangle. Spread half the cream cheese filling in a 3 inch wide strip lengthwise down center. Spread 1/2 cranberry filling over cheese filling.
Cut 3 inch long strips towards center at 1 inch intervals on each of the long sides. Twist strip twice; bring strips over filling, alternately from one side to the other; seal tightly. (now it looks like a mummy). Place on greased cookie sheet. Repeat with rest of dough and fillings.(Do ahead and freeze or refrigerate. Thaw from frozen overnight or take out of refrigerator 1 1/2 hours before baking) Cover and let rise in warm area until doubled (45 minutes?).
Bake in preheated 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden brown. cool slightly, then glaze. 2 coffee cakes, 12 slices each.

Cream Cheese filling
8 oz softened cream cheese
1/2 cup powdered sugar

mix until blended


Cranberry Filling

1 (16 oz) can whole berry cranberry sauce
2 tbls cornstarch
1/4 tsp almond extract
Combine cranberry sauce and cornstarch in small saucepan. Cook and stir until mixture boils and thickens. Remove from heat and stir in extract. Cool to room temp.


Powdered Sugar Glaze

1 cup powdered sugar
1 tsp soft butter
1/4 tsp Almond extract
1-2 Tbsp milk

Combine sugar, butter and extract until blended, stir in enough milk to make good glazing consistency.


Merry Christmas!

Christmas with my side

We had Christmas with my side of the family at my sister's house on Saturday. We had a great time except we missed my brother Erik (still in Iraq) and his family.







Ben, Sarah (Ben and Sam's mom) Sam and Sawyer open gifts. We decided years ago to only give gifts to the kids, and it has really reduced the stress on the adults.









This is Kristine Kellet. Yep, named after me! She couldn't be sweeter. She is a big fan of "My Little Pony". Auntie Sarah and Auntie Kellet (both blessed only with boys) were tickled to buy girl stuff. Funny thing is, with a whole aisle of Ponies to choose from, we both bought "Pinkie Pie"! Kristine didn't mind having twins. They have little pony shoes.














My mom Marie and her honey, Roger.











Hubby Paul is a big Gophers fan and was (fiercely) glad that they won!
















My Mom had a good idea this year for a game. Each family wrapped a food shelf item in wrapping paper for each family member. We ended up with 14 items. These were numbered 1-14. We numbered a list from 1-14 and tried to guess what was in each one. You know what you brought, but is this sloshy one a fruit or a vegetable? We let the kids unwrap them and counted up how many we had right. We had a tie, so the tie breaker was wrapping something else from Sarah's pantry. The kids enjoyed this so much, they kept wrapping up Sarah's pantry items! Christopher won and my mom supplied a new fleece banket as a prize. Hmm.... I should have tried harder.

After feasting all day, we watched The Mummy 3. Movie review? Not so good as the first 2. The new Evie is not as endearing as the last one, the villain is not as scary as Imhotep, and there is no Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson for eye candy. sigh. When does HE have a new movie?

Went shopping with my boys today. We went to Fleet Farm. First place I've been shopping that was actually crowded. The guys wanted me to buy a birdseed cake shaped like Santa for the Chickadees. I thought that was sweet until I found out they only wanted to watch birds peck Santa's eyes out! It is going to be a long 2 weeks.

Social Butterfly?

This is video of the Choir/band/orchestra concert at Nick's school. Nick (my 13 year old) plays viola. It is great to see how much this group has improved in the last 3 years. Sixth grade orchestra concerts are excruciating, and yet I was so proud! Now, the 8th grade concert was actually enjoyable. The "learning-to-use-my-computer" self assignment for the week was uploading video, so you can hear the music!















That cute face in the center, there, is Nick. (Below the girl in the hat)

But I am jumping ahead in the week of a thousand social engagements...... (okay, 5, but that is huge for me.)

Saturday I went to a swanky party. Stacy (preschool board member extraordinaire) invited us to a "Wines around the world" party at her house. She and her husband, Mike, had 5 tables set up in their (absolutely gorgeous) home. Each table represented an area (Down under, USA, South America, Italy, France), and had a red and a white wine. Each wine had a coordinating appetizer, and not tortilla chips like I would have served, I'm talking lamb chop lollipops and scallop ceviche prepared by the chef from the Canyon Grill. My favorite was the little cones made of wonton skins with raw tuna and mandarin oranges inside, yummo! We enjoyed ourselves and met lots of nice people.

Sunday it snowed, so the Preschool board meeting was rescheduled for Tuesday, (when I already had the concert). Monday was the meeting to which I brought the regrettably liquid rice pudding.
















This is the board meeting, also at Stacy's house, where we were happily eating the leftover appetizers (and drinking the leftover wine). Strangely, we did no business. My favorite wine was Starborough Savignon Blanc from New Zealand. I bought some today (only $12, I love that Stacy, she is never a snob).

Wednesday was bookclub, see the Nordquist family blog (listed under blogs I follow) for a photo of us.

Thursday and Friday were the Preschool Christmas programs, there is nothing cuter than a 3 year old singing "Away in a manger". The little girls wore taffeta party dresses, some of the boys wore ties...adorable. I wore my favorite red sweater with the black rabbit fur collar. My little friend Liza liked it too. She stroked the fur and said "It's so soft, is it cat?" Yes, dear, I'm wearing a dead cat on my neck. But really, to a 3 year old, cat is no better or worse than rabbit. Didn't make me feel any prettier, though.

So, somebody asked me for a Christmas dinner vegetable. I have 2 for you. One is a nice green salad and the other is a recipe from one of the Sweet Potato Queen books. Have you read these? Here is one of my favorite quotes (from the Sweet Potato Queen's Field Guide to Men) "Foreplay.....should not include anything that resembles a woodpecker after a pine beetle, starting a siphon, or stuffing bank notes up a chimney.."


Apples 'N Greens

1/2 cup apple juice 1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
2 Tbls Lemon juice dash of nutmeg
2 Tbls cidar vinegar 1 medium red apple
2 Tbls vegetable oil 1 medium green apple
1 1/2 Tbls b. sugar 1 tsp dijon mustard
salt and pepper to taste 8 cups red and green (or all green) lettuce

Combine all ingredients except apples and greens. WHisk to blend. Core and cut apples into bite sized pieces (leave peels on) Toss apples with dressing, put in bottom of serving bowl. put lettuce on top. Transport to party or refrigerate. toss just before serving. 8 servings




Cutest Boy in the World's Mama's Broccoli Casserole

Cook and drain 2 (10 oz) pkgs of frozen broccoli. Saute 1 big chopped onion in about a half a stick of butter. Add a can of cream of mushroom soup (please note this is a SOUTHERN recipe, not north country) and some shredded cheddar cheese (the queen does not specify, a cup or two?) a 4 ounce can of sliced mushrooms, a can of water chestnuts and 1/2 cup of toasted sliced almonds. Stir it all up and top with Ritz cracker crumbs and a little butter. Cook at 350 until bubbly (30 minutes?)

Octopus Hotdogs

Hmmm.... That plate of octopus hot dogs looks vaguely obscene. We had my nephews overnight on Saturday and made mac&cheese with octopus hot dogs. It was fun because my boys are too old for fun food such as this. (You know how to make these, right? Slice up 8 legs, hot tub treatment in the macaroni water?) They used to like lots of "fun food". Nate's favorite was lunch in a cupcake pan. I used a 6 muffin pan and filled 5 holes with cut up food like cheese, grapes, pretzels, lunchmeat, baby carrots, an oreo. The last hole was for a cup of milk. He loved it! Nick liked little pb&j pies made with that pampered chef tool that seals the bread of sandwiches together. Very wasteful on bread, though.

Last night I went to a potluck meeting. We were all to bring our favorite Christmas foods. To me, it's not Christmas eve without rice pudding. So I made some. Unfortunately, I had to leave to get to the meeting (I couldn't be late, I was co-hostess) before it was done cooking. Have you ever tried to transport boiling milk? In a casserole dish without a lid? "Hi, it's Kellet, please open the door, I'm dripping milk on your porch. Because it's 20 below the milk will be here until spring!" Very nice. I wonder why I don't get invited out much?

The rice pudding finished cooking there and was almost all gobbled up, so it must not have been too bad. I'm the only one who eats it in my house. I think only one of my siblings will eat it. Brother Gene says it is a sick thing to do to nice rice. He doesn't like cheese either. (more for me!)

Rice Pudding

1/2 cup rice
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp cinnamon
2 1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup raisins (optional)

Betty Crocker says to cook this for an hour in a double boiler, but I just bake it in the oven at 350. Should be done in an hour or so. Serve with butter, cream and cinnamon sugar. Serves 6-8.

Brit Things

I have a clarification: my little friend Brit had a BRATZ cake for her birthday, not a RAT cake. (but if you put a wig and lotsa makeup on a rat, who could tell the difference?).

I'm happy because today is Aloha Friday. (KQRS radio thing) Friday means "Eastenders"! This is a British soap opera that channel 2 shows every Friday night from 10:30 to midnight. The accents are very thick, the stories are tame compared to US soaps, and these are episodes that ran in England in 2001, but I really enjoy them. My guys all declare this the most boring show on TV (Iron Chef runs a close second) and leave me alone to watch (yet another reason to like it!).

I like all the British comedies channel 2 shows, actually. They have a small collection and rerun it all year. I've seen every episode of "Fawlty Towers" (John Cleese- Hysterical), Keeping up Appearances, Good Neighbors, As Time Goes By, and Are you Being Served? that they have. Most of these are very old. I don't know why I like them, but I always have.

Last Brit Thing: It seems the Britney Spears comeback includes perfume. Does it smell like Lithium or an anti-psychotic drug? Not that I can tell, it's doing a great job on my socks, though. I put all those free magazine and newspaper perfume samples in my underwear drawer. Free lingerie sachets! My grandma Elly would be proud.

Rat Cake and Banana Muffins

One of my little preschool friends told me today that her mom makes good "rat cake". Hmmm.....Rat Cake. "With real rats?" I asked. "Yep" she says. Her mom denies any knowledge of this recipe. Sure, don't share the recipe for using up excess rats.

I, however will share a good recipe for using excess bananas. When they turn a little brown, only one of my boys will eat them, and then only during a short window of opportunity. I just throw them in the freezer, peel and all, and worry about them later. I like the following recipe because it uses 5 bananas. They are indeed very moist.

Nuke those frozen bananas enough to make them squishy, break open one end of the peel, and squeeze them out into the mixing bowl. Put the peels into the compost bucket or worm bin. You don't have a worm bin? We'll talk.

If the nanas sit on the counter too long, fruit flies magically appear. My brother says they come into the house on the bananas. He sealed the (freshly purchased) bananas in a bag and some days later, there the little pests were. It explains a lot. Anyway, they gotta go. I make a fruit fly trap with a plastic bag. A tall skinny one like a bread bag works well. Put it inside a pitcher or vase or something if it keeps collapsing. It must stay open. Put something tempting (to fruit flies) inside, like banana peels or icky stuff from the crisper. Vinegar works in a pinch. Leave it on the counter overnight. Make sure there isn't any competition from other fruit on the counter. In the morning, SNEAK UP on the bag and grab the top shut. This must immediately leave the house. Repeat with new bags as needed.


Kona Inn Banana Muffins

1/2 cup shortening or margarine
5 very ripe bananas
2 eggs
1 cup sugar (white or brown)
1 1/4 cups flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 tsp baking soda
optional: 1/2 cup walnuts

Grease and flour muffin tins or spray with non-stick spray or use those paper liners (my choice). Beat shortening or margarine with bananas until bananas are liquid and margarine is in little pieces. Mix in sugar and eggs. Mix in dry ingrdients. Fill muffin tins and bake at 350 degrees about 15 minutes. Makes 12-18 muffins.

People who think differently than me

I'm not so wild about that title, is it proper english? I took a trip to Target on Saturday and learned a lot. Do I live a sheltered life? Do I need to shop more often so as not to be surprised by commonplace items? I dunno. I am not saying these things are wrong, just DIFFERENT.
I saw this vehicle earlier this fall at Target. It is a very large hot pink Hummer with the vanity plate "Hether". Now, again, I'm not judging. I drive a (14 year old) Ford Explorer, so I'm not throwing stones at the SUV community. It's just HUGE. PINK. And named Heather. (Remind me to tell you sometime about my two college roomates named Heather. It was hard to take phone messages: "Can I talk to Heather?" which Heather? "The Blond one" They are both blond, please be more specific. "The Cheerleader?" They are both cheerleaders, please be more specific.) This is just such a CONFIDENT vehicle.


This is a new Sleeping Beauty Barbie. As you can see, it has "magical lights and sounds". It makes twinkly fairy noises and.....Her THIGHS LIGHT UP! Clear plastic thighs with lightbulbs inside that flash blue. I'm not saying it is wrong, just...odd.

Here is a Christmas tree ornament of a hippo in a Santa-ish bikini. Nothing says Christmas like a hippo in swimwtear! Next to it is a flamingo in a hawaiian shirt, but somehow that seems less odd.
Above the hippo is the word "Diva" in purple glitter. I'm trying to imagine the tree that goes on. It's probably really pretty and sparkly. Again, not judging, maybe you have one of these. I just always thought it would be insulting to be called a diva, but apparently now it is a compliment.
Those are high heels next to the flamingo, but even I can see that they go with "DIVA".

I was a little distracted in the ornament aisle by a young man who kept yelling "Buttscratcher!" at the top of his lungs in a fake english accent. (Butt....Scratchahhhh!) over and over again. I didn't know whether to hope he had Tourette's syndrome or not.

It was the strangest trip to Target ever. That may explain why I came home with a peacock for the top of my Christmas tree and a rainbow colored icicle, too. I also bought a brand-new skirt, not on sale! I wore it to Paul's work party and hoped I didn't look like "mutton-dressed-as-lamb".

How's your shopping going?

good ads, bad ads

First the good ad: Next Wednesday (Dec. 10) is "Dollar Day" at County Market Grocery store. They do this once a quarter, and the bargains are terrific. Chuck roast and pork loin are$2 a pound. Bone-in chicken breast, apples, ground turkey, roll sausage all $1 a pound. Jack's Pizza $2. With 2 teenage boys, I stock up on meat, but I also buy a package of little debbies, since they are only a buck. Check out their ads at www.countymarket.net Fair warning: it is a madhouse ALL DAY! People fill their carts all the way to the top. Last time I saw a lady had hung 6-packs of pop (24oz pepsi products 4/$9) all around the edge of her cart so as to have more room inside. Small children will NOT enjoy the long lines. Really, the long lines go all the way down the aisles sometimes. They are open 12 am to 12pm that day, so those of you who got up on black friday might be able to hit them early. Grab a cart from the corrals in the parking lot, they are usually gone inside the store.

Bad ads are everywhere this time of year. I cover my ears everytime I hear the Herberger's shrill "Give joy" commercial. It's actually painful. I also think all the ads with big bows on automobiles are ridiculous. Who gives a car (besides Oprah)? I think the companies are trying to create the idea that this is normal. Let's all give cars and huge diamonds for christmas, you have to, the TV said so! I am also onto the "Cyber Monday" scam. Please! I think they just made that up so people would run to their computers and buy, buy, buy. I am not even going to get into the appalling spectacle of people hurting each other to be the first to get to a bargain. The "Christmas Spirit" is goodwill, not greed. Well, it might be brandy. Did your parents drink those vile "Tom & Jerrys" at Christmas? The tub of batter for them would hang around in the fridge until July. I prefer the festiveness of vodka. Goes with every holiday.

My vote for the worst ad on Tv continues to go to Charmin's butt-wipin' bears. I find these to be quite vulgar. ("Vulgar" is such a great word.) I get the joke ("does a bear *%#@ in the woods?") but building a whole ad campaign around them is stupid. The most recent one shows us that charmin will not create dingleberries on your butt. This may be important for furry bears, but I do not want to think about the implications for humans. This is not a problem I have ever had, is it a guy thing? Not an issue for the public airwaves.

It's been a long week. Today one of my little friends told me he wants a human body for Christmas. That's gonna to be hard to wrap.

I need an attitude adjustment. I'm going to go watch "A Christmas Carol". Which version? I have several (it's not xmas without it) but my current favorite is the 2004 NBC special starring Kelsey Grammer. Again, it's a musical, you know how I love those!

Happy Anniversary to us

So, to continue the fascinating tale of my weekend.... We stopped for lunch at Grand Casino in Hinkley. If Disneyland is the happiest place on earth, this is in the running for the saddest. Maybe it is just that I don't "get" gambling. I have many (many, many) vices, gambling just isn't one of them. It seems easier to just light your money on fire. I was so sad for the casino full of seniors who were just throwing money away. It is so easy to do, cash has been eliminated in favor of little plastic cards (attached to oneself with a retractable cord). Load the card from the ATM and insert into the machine. No need to even pull the lever, it's all done with the touch of a finger. Tap - down $1 - tap - down $2 etc. etc.

Needless to say, we lost the pre-agreed upon amount in short order, had a horrible lunch (but at least it was expensive) and started to really have fun. We started a fire in the stove at Paul's relatives' cabin and went to Cloquet to see the new Bond movie. Loved it! James Bond movies are one of the things we both enjoy. Then back to the (now heated) cabin for a steak dinner.

Saturday we poked around Canal Park in Duluth. We especially like antique stores. Paul got an old fishing reel for his collection and I bought a set of kangaroo salt-and-pepper shakers for my collection (of shakers, not kangaroos). Paul even started playing my favorite antique store game "What is the ugliest thing in this store?" For the record, I won by pointing out the basket made of huge safety pins and plastic beads. Hideous!

Then we went to Grand Superior Lodge in Two Harbors. We rented the Beach House. It is RIGHT ON the beach. It had a fireplace and hot tub! There it is, up at the top, I meant that photo to be down here. Hmm...nope, all the photos are going there, rats!

Anyway, Ate at Hell's Kitchen Sunday morning (highly recommended: sausage bread, portbello mushroom benedict, wild rice porridge, yum) and drove home and got the dependants. THEN I cooked a turkey dinner (because I love the big guy and he loves the big dinner with leftovers in our fridge.) Is that enough to pack into a weekend?

Also, Mr. Romance had his wedding ring re-sized and is now wearing it (after many years) and bought me ruby earrings! I'm a lucky girl (casino luck doesn't count.)

I promised you the fabulous pumpkin pie recipe and here it is (just in time for next year)


Microwave Pumpkin Pie

6 Tblsp butter
1 cup plus 2 tbls brown sugar - divided
1 1/2 cups gingersnap cookie crumbs
2 cups pumpkin (canned)
1 1/2 tsp cinnamon
3/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
3 Tblsp flour
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 cups half and half
2 eggs

In 9 inch glass or pottery pie plate, melt butter in microwave. Add 2 Tblsp brown sugar and cookie crumbs. Stir until blended, press crumbs onto sides and bottom of pie plate. Microwave on high 2-4 minutes until hot and set.

Mix rest of ingredients in microwave safe bowl. Nuke on high 8-12 minutes, whisking smooth every 2 minutes, until mounds form when whisk is removed. Pour into crust, smooth top and microwave on half power 10-14 minutes, until pie is set around edges and soft but somewhat set in center. Chill before serving with whipped cream. 1 pie, 6-8 servings

Thanks for the memories

I love Thanksgiving weekend, but it is a whirlwind of activity around here. Wednesday I worked all day setting up the preschool for the new month (new bulletin board, decorations, theme, toys, dramatic play and new playdough!) We had Sara and Jason over for pie and cocktails (it's a new tradition) I will post the pie recipe tomorrow, it's a good one. Thursday we went to my sister's house for Thanksgiving dinner. I brought breads, buns, Jello (I caved, teehee) vegetables and corn casserole. This is easy and yummy (my favorite). I got the recipe from my sis-in-law Renee.

Corn Casserole

2 cups corn (canned or frozen, don't matter)
1 can Cream of Celery soup
1 cup crushed saltine crackers
1/4 to 1/2 of an onion, chopped OR 1 bunch green onions, chopped
pepper to taste
2 tbls butter for topping

Mix all but butter, dab that on top, bake at 400 degrees for 35-40 minutes.



Friday we dropped the boys and dog off at my sister's and headed up north. This is because it was our 19th anniversary! We dated for 8 years before we got married, so we have been together more than half our lives, crazy, huh?

This will have to be continued tomorrow, I just remembered I promised to go to a Ducks unlimited banquet tonight (and I look like heck!)

We must suffer to be beautiful

Well, that's hardly a beautiful picture of me, but I needed to show you my eyes. My salon (doesn't that sound nice? Like I go there more than twice a year?) had their customer appreciation party yesterday. Champagne, chocolate fountains and free services made it a cool afternoon. Now, I'm pretty low maintenance, actually, I'm low maintenance with a vengeance, but I love girly stuff like nail polish and makeup even if I don't wear it much.

So I went straight for the brow waxing! The first time I had that done, I asked the waxer if I really needed such a treatment. She laughed and said, "OH, YES!". Hmm.. apparently I was as hairy as a yeti and didn't even know it! So now I have it done once a year (at the free party) whether I need it or not. My guys cannot understand the lure of this. "My, that does sound like fun", said the 15 year old (in that tone that only a 15 year old can achieve). The 13 year old wanted to know the exact temperature of the wax and hubby (wisely) kept his mouth shut, lest attention turn to his own eyebrows. Geez, tweeze a guy once while he's sleeping and he'll never forget it. You'd think it was a cattle prod from all the whining!

Guys are just not tough enough to be beautiful.

There's always room for Jello

Let's talk Jello. Most kids love it, which is why I will make some for Thanksgiving dinner. It will be just plain orange jello, though, cuz that is how this household's only jello fan likes it.

When I was a kid, jello was called "salad". Never mind that the main ingredients are sugar and gelatin, if it is called salad, it must be a vegetable. Most moms of the time even added vegetables to it. This is disgusting. Just because carrots and orange jello are the same color does not mean they go together! We even had one that involved celery and walnuts and cheese, I think. My stepfather's favorite was sliced bananas in strawberry jello. Fruit is a better additive than vegetables, but the bananas always got brown and slimy. Kids hate that. Some church cookbooks have jello salad recipes which feature a mayonnaise topping. Not my favorite. If jello must be topped, I choose cool-whip. These are compatible quasi-food items.

I like some plain foods at Thanksgiving to balance all the fancy stuff. Steamed broccoli, raw carrots, naked jello, that sort of thing. People know what they are getting, and every kid I know prefers not to have surprises on their plates. You should have seen my Nate's face when he thought he was taking cranberry sauce (the sliced, canned kind) from a buffet and instead had a mouthful of pickled beet!

That said, here's a recipe for tarted-up jello. My mom brought this for dinner one time, and it was pretty good.

Buttermilk Jello

1 (6oz) pkg Jello (any flavor, peach is nice with pecans)
3 Tbls sugar (because God knows jello needs more)
1 (8oz) can crushed pineapple - do not drain
2 cups buttermilk
1 (8oz) container Cool-whip
1 cup chopped pecans

Combine jello, sugar and pineapple. Heat on low until jello is melted. Cool mixture and add buttermilk. Fold in cool-whip and nuts. Chill before serving.

If you make this with orange jello, you could substitute mashed mandarin oranges for the pineapple and omit the nuts. I bet it would taste like a dreamsicle.

Wicked Good!

Kellet and sister Sarah at the Orpheum


Wicked was soooo good! I haven't seen a Broadway play in a million years and this one is terrific. The sets and the singing and the story were all I was hoping for.

I went with my sister Sarah and her colleagues. I was a little worried about hanging out with sophisticated downtown business people, but everyone was very nice and warm and generous. I was also reassured that Sarah's boss seems to know what an asset she is. (She's still my little sis, ya' know.)

We ate at Solera, which is right next door to the Orpheum. This is a beautiful restaurant with a Spanish theme. It serves "Tapas" which are little plates of appetizers. This tranlates as "Elf Food". Expensive elf food. Three deviled eggs were $9. There were 6 of us, so we doubled that order. We ordered 10 or 12 of these little plates and shared them all. They were all delicious and fancy, with flavored oil drizzles and fig jam (at least a teaspoon of that) and pretty garnishes. We all also shared 3 miniature desserts. Pear ice cream, Churros (deep fried pastries) and the most sublime caramel flan (custard) I have ever tasted. You will be proud to know that I did let other people have their share of this and did NOT lick the plate (but I wanted to).

The only blot on the evening was my choice of footwear. I chose my outfit with great care, I finally got to wear the gorgeous satin and velvet skirt I bought 2 years ago, with a black velvet top. I unfortunately also chose the black beaded pumps. I thought they were the most comfortable, but I was so wrong! They turned out to be too tight on the front of my foot, so they hurt, and too loose on the back, so they fell off. And the heels kept getting stuck in sidewalk cracks! High powered business women (like my companions) wear heels every day and they walk very fast indeed. I had a hard time keeping up, clomping along and having to stop and put the stupid shoes back on all the time! Yes, I am very sophisticated.

Anyway, it was a fabulous time. The play is much better than the book, which is dark and doesn't have a happy ending like the play. The play also connects better with the "Wizard of Oz" movie than the book does. The Strib has video of the actress (Donna Vivino) who plays the "wicked witch" Elphaba making herself green at startribune.com/video. I hope that made a link. I think this run is sold out, but the next time it comes to town, I want to go again. You can come with me, we'll wear shoes that are comfortable AND glamorous and we'll try another fancy downtown hotspot.

Vampire Literature

I see in the paper that people are going crazy for the new vampire movie and books (Stephanie Meyers Twilight series). I am absolutely going to read that, as soon as I've read all the other good books on my list ahead of it. This list is fluid and rankings change frequently depending on when I get lucky at the library and what I'm in the mood for.

I am somewhat embarrassed to say that I have read a great deal of vampire literature. (I warned you about finding out how odd I am) I was shocked to find out how much of it was out there. Some it it is really good and some is absolute garbage, like any genre, I suppose. Here's a list of what I've read on the subject:

Sunshine by Robin McKinley - Really excellent writing. This was the first vampire book (except for Anne Rice's) I stumbled on and it was so good that I just kept looking for more.

Anne Rice's Vampire Series - I actually found a little boring.

Charlaine Harris's Vampire series (starts with "Dead until Dark) is really good. This is the one made into a series on HBO called "Trueblood". It features a clairvoyant waitress named Sookie Stackhouse and is set in Louisiana.

Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake series ( starts with "Guilty Pleasures", I think) is one I am torn on recommending. It started out great, good characters, believable setting, strong writing, but after the first couple of books, it gets really smutty. I mean downright pornographic, and throughout the whole book. I've read them all, because I like the characters and I want to find out what happens to them, but I am uncomfortable reading such graphic descriptions of sex. You have been warned. The author's other series about Merry the fairy princess is likewise porn.

Tanya Huff's "Blood" series (Blood Debt, Blood Lines, Blood Trail, Blood Pact) is very good. It is about Victoria, a cop with failing eyesight who is helped in her cases by Henry the vampire. Good believable characters and good mystery plots.

Mary Janice Davidson's Betsy Taylor series is very enjoyable. These are light and fluffy quick reads. They move right along and are funny, too. Being set in Minnesota makes them even more fun to read.

Kim Harrison's Rachel Morgan series - This is great, I eagerly await each new book. The book titles are all based on Clint Eastwood movies: "Dead Witch Walking", "The Good, the Bad and the Undead", etc. Rachel is a witch and her best friend is Ivy the vampire. This world includes demons, elves and pixies, too.

Katie MacAlister (The only romance writer I have ever liked) writes vampire romances, too. These are okay, but some are so convoluted and stuffed with mythical creatures that they become confusing.

Other paranormal (but vampire-free) books I like are Julie Kenner's demon hunting soccer mom series (Deja Demon) and Delores Stewart Riccio's "Circle of Five" series about Wiccans.

In my defense, I read a lot and quickly. I do mix up the fun books with books that are chewy and good for me. It's all about balance, eh?

I am so excited because tomorrow I am going to see "Wicked" with my sister. I will wear lipstick and heels and try not to act like a rube in front of her co-workers. I' ll let you know how it goes!

My struggle for slenderness

I'm a big girl. I mean that on more than one level. I try to be a grown-up AND I'm big enough to eat hay. This has recently been brought to my attention by more then one source.

One of the organizers of the infamous bake sale asked me to dress as Mrs. Santa while selling baked goods. When I declined (I know, after all the whining about not getting to go out in costume on Halloween, you'd think I'd jump at the chance, but not to dress as a thousand year old fat lady) and suggested other people, she said they were all too thin, she wanted me! Very flattering.

I babysat for my sister a couple of weeks ago and played with the Wii fit game. This is actually pretty fun, lots of variety in the games and I got to pick a cute blond person with glasses to be me on the screen. Then my nephew set up the fitness test portion and all of a sudden, my little person looked like a whale! She grew before my eyes! Then the evil machine called me OBESE and suggested I work out every day with it. AS IF!

Geez, so I am trying to work out more and eat a healthier diet (see? I get it, eat less move more) although I will still be eating yummy stuff at restaurants. I eat out once a month, I don't think it'll ruin me. I went to the gym yesterday and used an elliptical machine. I like these, they are easy on the knees and you can watch TV while exercising. So I see from the instructions that for a person my age, for fat burning purposes, I must keep my heart rate at 117. Good enough, I fire it up and it seems that to keep my heart rate that low, I must barely move. Indeed, the machine turned itself off several times due to lack of significant speed. If I went faster, it chided me for getting out of the "fat burning range". I finally just kept it moving at a reasonable speed and figured any exercise is good at this point. Probably the more I exercise, the better the heart rate thing will get.

Anyway, yesterday my jaw locked up on me! It was better when I woke up but locked up again during class. Now some people would think this would mean a trip to the doctor, but not me. Every time I go to the doctor, they come at me with the sharp objects! I'd have to be a lot sicker than this to go see those villians. (It's possible that if I went in more often or BEFORE I'm at death's door they wouldn't need the sharp objects, but we'll probably never know.) So I took my favorite cure, (lotsa ibuprofen) and it loosened up. I'll reevaluate the need for medical professionals on Monday. In the meantime, not chewing may result in weight loss! See? It is an ill wind that blows no good.

Eating healthfully involves fruits and vegetables, like salad. My hubby (a dyed in the wool meat and potatoes guy) says "Salad is not food, salad is what food eats".

Here is my favorite salad dressing recipe. Made as is, it is only suitable for one of the low-carb diets or for skinny people with low cholesterol. It's really high in fat, but you could substitute the low fat versions of mayo and sour cream. I might even try that, if I can ever chew again.


Blue Cheese Salad Dressing

4 ounces crumbled Blue Cheese
1 cup Sour Cream
1 cup Mayonnaise (not Miracle Whip, that would be nasty)
1/2 tablespoon dry mustard
1 1/2 tablespoons lemon juice (vinegar in a pinch)
1 clove garlic, minced

Mix, thin with milk if it is too thick.

We live in a world gone mad

I saw this sign the other day outside a pet store. At the top it says, "New Pet Apparel", Then it lists the types of pet clothing they carry. Sweaters, jackets, p.j.s, boots.... Wait a minute! Pajamas? For pets? Jackets and sweaters, ok, little dogs without much fur might need outerwear in the northland in the winter, and I myself have put footwear on sled dogs so the snow will not cut up their feet, but Pajamas? Really? I don't get it. If your dog needs p.j.s, your house is too cold. Nate (my oldest) promises to take away any dog I put a nightgown on.

I think we can lay the blame for this at Paris Hilton's door. Because of publicity showing her carting her wee doggies everywhere, there is a boom in wee doggie accessories. My buddy Chris and I went up to a stroller in Old Navy one day, hoping to ogle a newborn. Lo and behold, in the stroller is a furball (gender and breed unknown)! Now I love dogs, my family would be incomplete without one, but should they wear tiaras and shop at Old Navy? I'm thinkin' not. I don't think they even want to. Dogs play on grass, girlfriends play at Old Navy.

It's a sad day when I have to be the voice of reason!

Meat in the freezer!

Look at that! Himself got a deer. He says it's only a forky, (two year old buck with forked antlers) but it looks pretty big to me. Must have been a big eater. Usually he just hunts with a bow, but took out the firearm on Monday. He has a license for both. So tonight will be the dismembering (all together now...EEEEEWWWW!) Some steaks, some roasts, maybe, but mostly ground for burger. We mix it with cheap hamburger or pork because venison is so lean. I do not participate in butchering, my job is to make room in the freezer and put the nice white-paper wrapped packages in it. Wimpy, I know. My sister-in-law Nicole does the whole thing, from shooting the deer to cooking him up. She is so perfect for my brother - he can't abide high maintenance women.

Incidentally, that is not my hubby's real smile. That is his "I'm-only-tolerating-this-because-I've-been-gone-4-days-and-I'm-hoping-to-get-friendly-later" smile.

I sent this chili with him this weekend. Four guys ate the whole batch for lunch one day! This is amazing because it makes an ice cream bucket full. It's odd how many of my recipes have that as a quantity...... By the way, this is an ideal recipe for using ground venison.


Chili

2 pounds ground beef, cooked and drained
1 cup chopped onion
1 chopped green pepper
1 chopped red pepper
4 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
(2) 28oz cans of whole tomatoes, chop up the tomatoes
(1) 28oz can of tomato puree
2 Tbls worcestershire sauce
1 Tbls salt
2 Tbls sugar
5-6 Tbls chili powder
1/2 tsp oregano
1/2 tsp cumin
(2) 15oz cans kidney beans (drained)

Combine all ingredients and cook until vegetables are soft. Serve with grated cheddar cheese, sour cream and saltines.

Out of the closet

After writing my blog in secret for a couple of weeks, I gathered my courage and told my friends I was writing one. Thanks to all for your encouraging comments and e-mails!

I have also decided that maybe there have been enough photos of me and posting photos of my kids will not necessarily result in their being kidnapped. (Note to kidnappers: My kids are likely bigger than you and have permission to fight dirty with perverts. If being picked up by someone other than mom and dad, our family password is "Run, I'm a murderer", said very loudly and repeatedly).

Anyway, we went to my sister's house on Sunday afternoon for her oldest son's birthday. That's Sam in the middle of Nick and Nate. (I have permission to post Sam's photo) I was pretty crabby when I got there due to bake sale overload, but man, there's something about hanging out with family. I soon felt much better (it was not the beer, I was drinking Diet Coke).

Tomorrow's episode: Did my hubby get a deer?

Bake Sale

The bake/craft sale went very well, but I'm exhausted! I was up there all Friday afternoon and most of the evening cutting and wrapping and pricing. Thanks to all Mary Ann's help, I was able to feed the kids dinner. All day Saturday was for selling with Mary Ann and Stacy (preschool board member extraordinaire). After we cleaned up the church, I got to check in with the kids again. Put up my feet and watched my favorite "chick flick".

I love "Bride & Prejudice" - This is not a typo nor is it a movie starring Keira Knightly (who frankly needs to be force-fed a sandwich or something). This is a Bollywood adaptation of Jane Austin's story. Yes! The sisters live in India AND it is a musical. So fabulous, it stars Aishwarya Rai, reported to be the most beautiful woman in the world. If she isn't, she's close enough for me. My favorite song/dance is "No wife, no life". Check it out, it's all in english and always cheers me up.

So, this photo was taken Sunday morning when I went back up to church to sell......yep, baked goods! These were all the leftovers that didn't sell on Saturday. Sunday is half price day and things were flying out the door, including me. After getting chewed out by a baked good donor who didn't like the prices I was told to put on his pizzelles, I waited until everyone had purchased and either gone home or into the last service, then put a basket on the table for donations and bolted. Anyway, we made pretty good money for the preschool and the youth group. If there's anything left tomorrow morning, I'll pack it up and mail it to Keira Knightly. There were none of these killer Carmelita bars leftover, because I think they were the best thing there, but they would do little Keira a world of good.

Oatmeal Carmelitas

1 cup flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1 cup quick cooking oats
3/4 cup packed brown sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
1/4 tsp salt
6 ounces semisweet chocolate chips
1/2 cup chopped walnuts
3/4 cup caramel ice cream topping
3 tablespoons all-purpose flour

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Grease one 9X9 inch square pan. Combine the 1 cup flour, baking soda, oats, brown sugar, salt and melted butter. Mixture will be very crumbly. Press half of it into greased pan.

bake at 350 for 10 minutes.

Let cool slightly, then sprinkle chocolate chips and nuts over crust. Mix caramel ice cream topping and 3 tbls flour and drizzle over chips and nuts. Top with the remaining oatmeal mixture. You will need to break it into small pieces to cover. Bake at 350 for 15 minutes. Let cool completely (like refrigerated) before cutting into 36 pieces.

Double for a 9X13 pan

Get out the vote

I am already done voting! Easy breezy, no lines. Tonight, my hubby will go to vote and cancel out my votes. What matters is that we both registered our opinion. Now, no matter who wins, I have the right to speak my piece.

How was your Halloween? Any leftover candy? (does such a thing exist?) I have a recipe for cookies made from leftover candy. More than one such recipe, actually. This one is for leftover malted milk balls. You could even go buy some just for these cookies, they are pretty good. The malted milk balls melt into toffee-ish bits, yummy.


Malted Milk ball Cookies

1/2 cup butter
1/2 cup packed brown sugar
1/4 cup white sugar
1/2 tsp vanilla
1 egg
1 1/2 cups flour
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup (about 6 oz.) crushed malted milk balls

Crush the malted milk balls in a zip-lock bag with a rolling pin. Heat oven to 375 degrees F. Cream butter, sugars, and vanilla until light and fluffy. Add egg and beat well. Combine flour, baking soda and salt. Add to creamed mixture. Stir in crushed malted milk balls.

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto greased cookie sheets. Bake at 375 for 8-10 minutes or until light brown. Cool slightly before removing from cookie sheets. Appx 3 1/2 dozen.

Happy Halloween!

Here is the finished Fiona costume. Hmm, not what I was hoping. It is far too large and shapeless, It looks like what prison matrons wear in the land of Oz! Luckily, preschoolers are far too excited about the holiday to notice what I'm wearing. With the two classes we had:
4 witches (one in a hoop skirt and light-up hat)
1 kitty cat
1 cowboy
2 transformers
1 vampire bat
1 spider
2 princesses (one Cinderella, one Barbie)
1 lion
2 spidermen
1 mickey mouse
1 adorable little military man in dress blues
1 monarch butterfly
1 pokemon (Pikachu)
and one reluctant Scooby-doo

Way too cute! I wish I could post photos of my little friends, but I'm pretty sure that is a violation. Matt the fire fighter came to school today with his fire truck to discuss fire safety. He gave me some strange looks (probably the green face). Still, it's better than last year. I noticed after Adam the firefighter left that my fly was open! Very professional!

Tonight, not one trick-or-treater. Oh, well, more chocolate for me. Hope your Halloween is just scary enough. Boo!

Halloween costumes

Right now I'm avoiding finishing my Halloween costume. I just need to hem it and add the back closure. I'm leaning toward velcro because I've made it too big, velcro will overlap and the pattern directions say to add this complicated lace-up thing. Looks too hard for something I won't be wearing very often (say, twice?). I don't do clothing sewing very much. I love to quilt and complicated patterns for quilting tickle me, but clothing seems hard. I have to read each step (more than one time) and interpret the lingo then do the step. Exhausting! And I never like how it looks when I'm done. The finished product never matches how cool it looked in my head. I hate that! My quilts are starting to look like what I see in my head, but not clothes.

Maybe its the model. I do not have a figure "that looks good in anything" to put it mildly. The Halloween costume in question is Princess Fiona from Shrek. Although I am not green, there are similarities.

When I was a kid, Halloween was my favorite holiday, better than Christmas. I loved to dress up, had a big box of dress up clothes, forced my siblings to dress up as well. When I was too old to trick or treat, I put on a costume to take the little siblings out. (remember when you could just let kids go out? even at night? all by themselves?) When I got to college, it was all about how sexy I could make the costume. Tinkerbelle, Vampire (very short skirt), Football player (told people I was a tight end, I shudder to say) and St. Pauli girl. That one involved athletic tape for authentic cleavage - ouch!

After college the parties got better. Our friend Jimmy and his housemates threw some amazing bashes, the whole house was decorated top to bottom. Jimmy made a very fetching Marge Simpson and a perfect Jack Skelton (from a Nightmare before Christmas).

Then we had children and Halloween (like one million other things) became all about them. My hubby was happy, he never liked dressing up for parties, anyway. I missed it but didn't really notice because I was so busy making dragon, knight and bat costumes and convincing reluctant toddlers to wear the darn things.

Where was I going with this? Well, now I dress up only for the preschoolers. I am an assistant preschool teacher and I love my little friends. Tomorrow and Friday they will show up dressed as tv and movie characters (disney princesses for girls, superheroes for boys - that is a whole separate rant). They will look astonished and ask why I am wearing a long green dress and green ears with a tiara. I was the only mom who dressed up for my oldest's kindergarten Halloween party. He loved it, I loved it, the teacher and other parents thought I was a nut.

Everything changes. Now we can't even say "Halloween" - it is a Harvest Party (and yet none of us are farmers. The kids won't have or recognize a costume that isn't on tv. After the age of ten, all the girl costumes are sexified. I was appalled at the ads in last Sunday's paper for costumes (and remember, I made Tinkerbelle look like a hooker) Nobody trick or treats on my street, too dark and too far between houses. I never go out on Halloween.

Secretly, I wish we still did. That may be the real reason I am making a Fiona costume. If I have one, we are halfway to "Shrek and Fiona go to a party". Hubby would make a perfect Shrek, although he isn't bald or green, he is large and cranky (well he would be if I made him dress up as Shrek)

Oh well, I'll try to post a photo of the finished costume. Happy Halloween!

Disclaimer

Here's the warning: I'm not very exciting. This is not a blog full of high adventure and hot secrets (I wish). But my favorite blogs are written by stay-at-home moms so maybe there is hope that you'll like it anyway.

Maybe you'd like some recipes? I'll throw some in. I like to cook, I have an embarrassing amount of recipes, I keep the ones I cut out of magazines, etc. in 3-ring binders. Some of them are downright odd. I made this one for the confirmation brunch at church this last Saturday. This egg bake features White Castle Hamburgers! Yep, sliders. It is more popular with burly men and teenage boys than with ladies, but burly men and boys are my life.

Slider Egg Bake

12 White Castle hamburgers or cheeseburgers
6 eggs
3 cups milk
3/4 tsp garlic salt
1/4 tsp pepper
8 oz shredded cheddar cheese

Grease a 9X13 pan and put the burgers in it (frozen is fine). Mix eggs, milk, garlic salt and pepper and pour over sliders. Sprinkle cheese over the top and refrigerate overnight. Bake at 350 degrees F for 45 minutes (uncovered).

See? that was interesting and easy! Shop around for the burgers, they are much more expensive at County Market than at SuperTarget.

Pilot episode

"Why do you want a blog?" asks my hubby. Hmmm, don't really know. "Because my friends have one" sounds very childish, but it is partly true. I love to read Sue's and Gretchen's and Julie's blogs. Since I've been thinking of writing one, I find I'm writing it in my head all the time anyway. Maybe if I write it, I can get it out of my head. (this works for quilts and other creative things that won't leave my head any other way.)

Also, my computer skills are woefully inadequate for this millenium. Since I recently purchased this fine laptop, I need to learn how to do all the stuff my kids learned ages ago. Last week I learned how to put music (legally purchased) into my mp3player/phone. I wrote it down, it's very complicated, it takes up most of a page of my scribbly handwriting. I think a blog will require many basic skills and be fun.

Last but not least, I need to practice talking without putting my foot in my mouth. Writing has the advantage of editing. Still, I'm afraid you are going to find out just how strange I really am...