happy weekend!

Today was one of those days that I didn't really want to do anything, let alone my full time, constant, never-ending job (as mommy/homemaker.) Aside from the growing pile of dishes in the sink, and the pile of laundry that needs to be folded and put away, my house is currently at a satisfactory state of clean. I figured it wouldn't be so bad for me to skip out on some of my homemaker duties.

Around 2:30 this afternoon I got my behind in gear, and got myself and the kids ready to leave. Mostly so that we could be out of the house, since we are in most of the time.
First we went for a stroll through Babies'R'Us, as I was hoping to find a 1st year memory calendar, but they (apparently) don't carry those anymore. (Grrr...)
After that we went to Smith's to get a few items for our dinner. Smith's now has mini- shopping carts, and since Conrad wouldn't sit in the basket of the one I was pushing, I decided I'd let him push the mini- cart around.
To say he enjoyed pushing it would be a severe under-statement. But he wasn't very good at it. Within 2 minutes of being there he knocked some things over after bumping in to them. All because he wasn't watching where he was going. (Some kids...teenage kids...helped to pick everything up, which was super nice. And I made Conrad help as much as he could. After that, if I noticed him going off-course, I would grab the corner of his cart to try and lead him. Every time I did this he told me "No, mom! Put your hand on your cart!" (Fine, sheesh!)
He also had the bad habit of looking down, all while trying to push his cart forward, at high speeds. That he didn't knock anything else over is a miracle. But he did run into me once. (Luckily, I prevented him from running into anyone else.) Moments after running into me he started chatting up a stranger. (This kid is so weird. Shy in situations where he's with people he knows, and bravely out-going towards complete strangers.) I hear him telling this guy "I got a little cart!" ("Yeah, that's just your size!" The man replies, obviously surprised by this random kid talking to him.) "I ran over mama!" ("Oh, you shouldn't do that, you'll hurt her legs.") "Yeah, I hurt her legs..." Such a nerd, my boy.
Later, in the check out, he starts chatting up the lady in line behind us. "I got a little cart!" ("Oh, that's nice.." she politely responds.) Then Conrad notices the contents of her little basket, and reaches over to touch them as he asks "Do you have bananas?! And strawberries?!" (I watch her pull her basket away, but she remains good humored and asks him "Yeah, do like strawberries?") I called him a liar when he said "no." But right after he says, matter-of-factly, "We're just gonna have hot dogs." Which made me and the lady chuckle. Silly kid.
He also insisted the groceries be put in his cart. At the check out he put everything up on the conveyor. After it was bagged the things were put into my basket. As we walked away from the check-out, post-transaction, Conrad all of the sudden asks, in a worried tone "Where's the hot dogs?!" And he wasn't very happy to find out that I had them. Oh well...

We went to my Brother-in-law's for dinner. We provided the food, they (b-in-law, his wife, and their baby girl) provided the company. We took some dinner, and a dessert I made last night.

pineapple upside-down cake
It was my first time making it and, even though it was a super easy recipe, I was wondering whether or not it would turn out.
After we all had dinner Mr. Boss cut up the cake, and upon taking his first bite he informed me that I had to "bake this cake every day for the rest of eternity" (or until he develops diabetes.) That sure made me feel nice. But there is no way I'm making this cake every day, no matter how easy the recipe.

Pineapple Upside-Down Cake
1/2 cup unsalted butter (full stick)
1 cup packed brown sugar
20 oz can pineapple slices (set aside juice)
Maraschino cherries, halved
(but I omit them, because I hate them.)
Boxed Yellow cake mix

1. Melt butter in saucepan over medium heat.
Add brown sugar, stir until dissolved.
Pour caramel mixture into cake pan.

2. Place slices of pineapple in single layer
on top of caramel mix.
Place halved maraschino cherry
in center of pineapple ring.

3. Prepare cake mix according to instructions.
Use pineapple juice in place of water.
Pour mix over pineapple and caramel.
Bake according to package instructions.

4. Allow cake to cool,
Flip out of pan
onto cake plate
(or cookie sheet, like I did.)

**I also had some leftover pineapple tidbits, from the pizza we made for dinner last night. I put some into the caramel mix, with the sliced pineapple, and poured the rest into the cake batter, which was pretty tasty.**

Our night ended with a seriously awesome surprise, that I will tell you about soon.
Happy Friday, hope you have a great weekend!

p.s. Happy 17th Birthday to my wonderful sister-in-law!

a perfect evening

I started making preparations for dinner shortly before Mr. Boss was to arrive home. On the menu: Beef & Chayote (a traditional Costa Rican dish.) I chopped up my Chayote and green pepper and I was just about to slice up the onion, luckily Mr. Boss came home before I started, so I made him do it. (Ha!)
As soon as that was taken care of I started the cooking and 30 minutes later we were sitting down to eat.

Dinner was amazing. What? It was. When we were done I was feeling restless, so I suggested we take a family walk. Mr. Boss wasn't exactly interested, but I got my way.

It was the perfect temperature, and I felt energized. I planned for this to be a good sized walk, but I felt so good that I pushed us even farther.

Conrad was being so cute, he kept pointing up at the sky and birds. He was so excited about the birds!

Because we left later in the evening we were treated to a gorgeous sunset as we walked. Oh, it was breathtaking.

I planned to put the kids to bed when we got home, but not before Conrad took an opportunity to pour uncooked rice all over my kitchen floor.
It was still a really great evening.




Costa Rican Beef & Chayote
(makes 4 servings)
-2 TB olive oil
-medium onion, finely chopped
-1 tsp minced garlic
- 1 LB ground beef
-1/2 tsp curry powder
-1 tsp salt
-1/2 tsp pepper
-small green bell pepper
-14.5 oz can diced tomatoes
-2 TB tomato paste (optional)
-1 large Chayote*: peeled, cored, cut into 1/4 inch cubes (I usually use 2, because I really like the flavor)
-1/2 cup frozen corn
-fresh cilantro or parsley, to garnish (optional)

▪ In a large skillet, sauté the onion and olive oil over medium heat (about 7 minutes), stir in garlic--sauté a few seconds.
▪Add meat, curry, salt and pepper to the skillet. Cook until meat loses pink color, breaking it up as it cooks (about 3 minutes)
▪ Add green pepper, tomatoes, tomato paste, chayote and corn. Lower heat, cover and cook until chayote is tender (about 15 minutes)
▪ Stir in cilantro or parsley, salt and pepper to taste
(Serve with 2 or all of the following: rice, refried beans, flour tortillas)
*Chayote can be substituted with zucchini

What is a Chayote?**
Chayote are sold as "Chayote Squash" though they aren't really squash--they're gourds that are treated as Summer Squash in cooking.
Inside each Chayote there is one large, soft seed (unlike the many seeds found in true squash) and can be eaten. The white flesh is more firm and crisp than a cucumber, and sweeter than a zucchini.

When buying Chayote, choose firm ones with no bruising to the skin. (Though minor bruising hasn't been a problem for me.)
Major Chayote producers are Costa Rica, Guatemala, Mexico and the Dominican Republic.
**link is my information source, picture is my own.

a tasty treat

Raspberry Pretzel Jell-O Treat

{first layer: ingredients}
2 cups crushed pretzels
2/3 cup chopped pecans
3 TB sugar
3/4 cup melted butter
{first layer: directions}
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees. Combine pretzels, pecans, sugar, and butter in mixing bowl. Spread and press mixture evenly into 9x13 cake pan. Bake for 10 minutes. Let cool.

{second layer: ingredients}
8 oz cream cheese
1 cup sugar
1 lg container Cool Whip
{second layer: directions}
Blend together cream cheese and sugar. Gently fold Cool Whip into the mixture. Spread over cooled pretzel mix.

{third layer: ingredients}
6 oz (1 lg pkg.) raspberry Jell-O
2 cups boiling water
2 pkg frozen rasp/black/straw/blueberries (I use Private Selection 12 oz raspberries and 16 oz blackberries.)
{third layer: directions}
Pour boiling water and Jell-O together, stir until Jell-O is completely dissolved. Add frozen berries and stir until thawed. Gently pour over cream cheese filling, chill until set. (Overnight is usually best.)

ENJOY!