Wordless Wednesday

What's cookin'?

This is a yummy recipe that I use a lot. New Year's Day, weekends, friends over for dinner--you get the point. It is from a Bon Appetite magazine, but I don't remember the year (probably circa 2003-2004). It is easy and quite tasty.

Roast Pork with Cherry and Honey-Mustard Glaze
**the recipe originally calls for apricot preserves which is also really good

1 C cherry/apricot preserves
1/3 C chopped, seeded jalapeno chiles
1/4 C red wine vinegar
1/4 C country Dijon mustard
2 T honey
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 t chopped fresh rosemary
3/4 t salt
3/4 t pepper
1 pork tenderloin (EVOO, S & P to taste)

**depending on the size of your tenderloin, you may have some glaze left over. It freezes well.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Whisk all ingredients except the pork in medium bowl. Set aside. Butterfly cut your tenderloin. Drizzle EVOO and S & P to taste. (Yuck...raw meat)



Cover tenderloin with glaze and pop into oven.



Cook for about 45 min. (again this will vary depending on tenderloine size). Spoon on extra glaze and serve. We had it last night with Indian flavored kale and brown wild rice. Delish!



What are you cooking for dinner tonight?

A slight obsession

A few weeks ago, when I went into the Noodle's class for her Easter party, I saw that the teachers had the little legos out for the kids. When I came home and told J, his eyes lit up. You see, J has always loved, I mean LOVED legos. One Christmas, Santa brought him some duplos and his older brother some of the regular legos. J wanted nothing to do with the duplos and moved right into the legos. I believe he was one and a half that Christmas?!

This fascination continued throughout J's childhood through middle school and even occasionally into high school (a little dorky, but oh-so endearing!). There was a room in his parent's house that was used as a closet. J would take over the entire closet floor and create elaborate cities in there. Since it was out of the way, he could build, expand and create to his little heart's content. Obviously, this had a profound impact on his career choices!

Fast forward to last night. I had to teach Centergy so J was going to get dinner ready and we'd eat when I got home. When I got back, he sheepishly told me that they'd been busy up in the attic...getting down the legos...all of the many, many boxes. Oh boy. Here's what our living room looked like and yes, each tackle box is FULL of little blocks and all the accessories that go with them.


The first thing that the Noodle said when she woke up this morning was, "I want to go play with my legos". J was quick to point out that they were, actually, HIS legos...lest she forget. Ha ha.

I foresee lots of of bruised feet in my future, as stepping on those little blocks is now going to become a way of life in our house.

Make a list and check it twice

The Noodle enjoys going grocery shopping and, overall, is usually quite helpful. It is one of her favorite games to play at home, especially when Grandma comes over. Price checks are a frequent occurrence. I decided to take an old clipboard, give it a "make-over" and create a master list for her to use when we go shopping. My ulterior motives also includes a little bit of pre-reading as well, but we won't tell her.

Wordless Wednesday

Happy Easter!

"Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia! Our triumphant holy day, Alleluia!
Who did once upon the cross, Alleluia! Suffer to redeem our loss. Alleluia!"





Hymns of praise then let us sing, Alleluia! Unto Christ, our heavenly king, Alleluia!
Who endured the cross and grave, Alleluia! Sinners to redeem and save. Alleluia!





But the pains which he endured, Alleluia! Our salvation have procured; Alleluia!
Now above the sky he’s king, Alleluia! Where the angels ever sing. Alleluia!




Sing we to our God above, Alleluia! Praise eternal as his love; Alleluia!
Praise him, all you heavenly host, Alleluia! Father, Son, and Holy Ghost. Alleluia!"

T-shirt refashion

I don't know about you, but I have a TON of T-shirts left over from college. Each spring, I bring them out and each fall I put them away again...never wearing them once. Why do I keep doing this?!?! L and XL baggy shirts may have looked good at one time (hmm, perhaps not), but certainly not now. Sentimental reasons, I guess. Fond memories and all that..........

Soooo, I happened to stumble upon this website and thought "A-Ha!" The perfect use for gently worn, filled with happy memories T-shirts. So, I pulled out 2 clean (though very wrinkled) tees:



and turned them into this:


She certainly knows how to "ruffle her stuff", don't ya think?!


A very blessed Easter to you all.