Grilled Cheese Week, Day 7

Today was the last day of Grilled Cheese Week!

We had a variety of leftover cheeses and breads to choose from, 

so it was a leftover sort of night to end the week.

this one sort of had a mind of it's own, a little dark and falling apart..

All in all, this week was a hit with the family! There was talk of an annual Grilled Cheese week, with kids coming back after they are older and moved out! lol

The over all #1 grilled cheese, for everyone, was the Grilled C.A.T. 

Then the favorites are all over the place, so we'll go with mine ; )

My #2 is the Tomato, basil, and Fontina. (two others agreed with me on this one)

#3 Bacon BBQ

#4 Hawaiian (this was a #2 for one of the girls)

#5 Pizza

#6 Cream cheese & cheddar (this one came in last with all of us, which is funny, because I think it got the most repins on Pinterest and comments on my facebook page)

Yes, we did have 7 days, but I didn't count today's leftover style in the rankings.

Monday Musings

• Today, I went on a field trip to a dairy farm, with a friend and her sons.
• I LOVE cows, they are so beautiful.
• I got to bottle feed a baby cow!
• I also got lots of slimy cow kisses on my hands
• You may see photos for WW, but they won't be great since they were cell phone shots
• Today is the last day of Grilled Cheese Week
• Surprisingly, I'm going to miss it.
• It was fun trying different things, yet having them be similar!
• I feel a headache coming on, so I think I'll go refill my water bottle
• I'll be back shortly with the Grilled Cheese Week wrap up

Grilled Cheese Week, Day 6

It's day 6 of Grilled Cheese Week, and surprisingly, no on is tired of it yet.

During dinner, I heard the words "After Grilled Cheese Week is over, we will not be as happy with a normal grilled cheese" The funny thing is, I jokingly said we should end with one. 

Processed American cheese on cheap white bread. 

It won't be quite that, but unfortunately it won't be anything exotic either. It may be whatever leftover cheeses we have in the fridge, on whatever leftover bread there is ; )

Today we had Fontina cheese, with tomatoes, and basil, on ciabatta bread.

I just love ciabatta!

This one ranked pretty high with most of us!

Grilled Cheese Week, Day 5

Welcome to Day 5 of grilled Cheese Week!

Today was a Bacon BBQ grilled cheese.

This one featured  barbecue sauce, cheddar cheese, and bacon, on Italian bread.

It was all sorts of tasty!

Grilled Cheese Week, Day 4

Here we are, on Day 4 of Grilled Cheese Week.

Because I can not seem to go a whole week without pizza in some form or another..
Pizza grilled cheese was dinner tonight. The kids wanted to use the whole wheat sandwich thins that were sitting on they counter. Why? Because they're round, like a pizza, of course.

Mozzarella cheese, pizza sauce, and pepperoni went on these. 

They turned out really good!

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Ah, me...I should get away from this thing and do some housework.

2. Grilled cheese is what's on my mind most lately.

3. When I talk to my best friend, I feel happy.

4. Drinking water is what's working for me lately.

5. I recently saw The Avengers.

6. Baking fills me with joy!

7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quiet evening at home, tomorrow my plans include housework and Sunday, I want to do some yardwork! 

To find other Friday Fill-Ins, go HERE

Grilled Cheese Week, Day 3

Day 3:

Equal parts of cheddar cheese and fat free cream cheese.

It was a little difficult to spread onto the bread and I ended up using my fingers to put it on the bread slices.

On "regular bread" 

I think having it on our normal bread was a let down for the family, but the .69 loaf of white bread has to come into play at some point.

This was good, but not great. It had a nice creaminess to it, and was nicely gooey and stringy when bit into. This is my lowest ranking one so far. My oldest daughter said it tasted too much like a regular grilled cheese. While everyone else disagreed with that statement,we all ranked it at the bottom of the list.

Thursday 13 - Movies

13 Movies that I love.
Some are newer discoveries *cough*Marvel*cough* and some are favorites that I have had for ages. In no particular order. And some I am listing together or my list would be just a couple of things.

1. The Avengers - I know it's not released yet, but I got to go to an early screening of it last night! A friend texted me in the late afternoon yesterday and said "You're jealous, I'm going to see The Avengers" I told her that I was, indeed, very jealous. (she's not even into that sort of thing) She then told me that I would have been her first choice to ask if her kids didn't want to go. I thought that was mean! lol She then texted me a bit later and said that a ticket opened up. I forgave her for earlier meanness. 
2. Iron Man & IronMan II
3. Thor
4. The Incredible Hulk
5. Captain America
6. Sweeney Todd - it's been awhile since I've watched, maybe I'll pop in in the DVD player later.
7. Grease - I know, but I can't help it 
8. Pretty Woman
9. Dirty Dancing 
10. Toy Story - I love them all, but I think 2 is my least favorite.
11. Harry Potter - all of them! 
12. The Boondock Saints
13. Dream a Little Dream - I've loved this forever, along with Corey Haim

You can find more Thursday 13 lists, HERE

Grilled Cheese Week Day 2

Grilled Cheese Week, Day 2
affectionately dubbed Grilled C.A.T.

Don't worry, It should make sense in a minute...

Today was a Grilled Cheese, Avocado, and Tomato.

The cheese was Colby-Jack, the bread was ciabatta.

It was delicious!!

Wordless Wednesday - Lake Michigan

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, head over HERE

Grilled Cheese Week

We are going to have grilled cheese sandwiches for dinner all week.
It's not quite as boring as it may sound. We will be having different variations of sandwiches, the only think that will be the same is that there will be some sort of bread and a type of cheese.

We started today, with a Hawaiian Grilled cheese.

Cheddar cheese, ham, and pineapple rings, on sourdough bread.

They turned out to be really good and everyone loved them!

Chocolate peanut butter pretzel truffles

What a name, it's a mouthful. And once you try these you will have a full mouth!
Everyone loved these. By everyone, I mean my my kids, one friend who was lucky enough that I shared, and myself.
I found the recipe on Pinterest, which is where I find a good portion of my recipes these days. It was linked to Six Sisters' Stuff for the recipe, which credited another site, which, in turn credited another. Good stuff travels fast!
I modified the recipe by using a chocolate coating instead of melted chocolate chips with shortening, I never like how the results of that end up.

Chocolate Peanut Butter Pretzel Truffles

Makes about 18 truffles.

1½ cups crushed pretzels
½ cup creamy peanut butter
1 tablespoon unsalted butter, at room temperature
2 tablespoons light brown sugar
Pinch of salt (optional)
3 tablespoons powdered sugar
chocolate candy coating (Wilton Candy Melts or CandiQuik)

1. Put your pretzels into a resealable plastic bag and crush into tiny bits, a rolling pin is helpful, and it lets you take out some aggression ; )
2. In a small bowl, combine the peanut butter, butter, brown sugar and salt (if desired.) Stir until all of the ingredients are completely blended & smooth. Stir in the pretzel bits and mix thoroughly. Add the powdered sugar and mix until completely combined.
3. Line a baking sheet with wax paper. Shape into a bite sized balls. Place the balls on the wax paper lined cookie sheet. One you have them all made, chill them in the refrigerator for at 30 minutes.
4. When ready to dip the truffles, microwave the chocolate coating according to directions, until completely melted and smooth.
5. Working one at a time, dip one peanut butter-pretzel ball into the melted chocolate and coat it completely using a fork to help cover it. Using the fork (and maybe a toothpick to help push it off of the fork, put it back on the wax paper lined sheet. Repeat with all of the peanut butter pretzel balls.
6. One the coating is set, garnish with a drizzle of melted peanut butter and crushed pretzels, if desired. 






Enjoy! Try not to eat them all in one sitting, but I won't tell if you do.

Monday Musings

• Today I made the friendship bread from the starter that I was given.
• Now, I'm screwed.
• I have 4 bags of starter, of which I may keep one.
• All of my friends live in the internet! 
• (OK, maybe not ALL of them, but close)
• I tried to give one to my mother, who shot me down.
• She said she had no one to give them to. I know the feeling lol
• I should post the chocolate peanut butter pretzel truffles here
• I think that's all I have to say for now..

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Vegetables are best when they're fresh, and local.
2. I drink out of mason jars; I also can with them.
3. How wonderful it is to have family.
4. Divergent is a book I'd love to recommend.
5. Using leftovers: I like when they actually get eaten.
6. The internet makes me incredibly happy!
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to
nothing, unless someone wants to go out, tomorrow
my plans include going to a mushroom log workshop
and Sunday, I want to stay home and relax!

For more Friday Fill-Ins fun, go HERE

Thursday 13 - me

Because I don't know what else to do a Thursday 13 list on this week, I'll use myself as the subject.

1. I shop at the health food store frequently, but almost never buy anything to eat.
2. I have been making my own cleaners and health/beauty products.
3. Today I will be trying to "sorta 'poo" 
4. It's totally NOT what you're thinking, so knock it off. You can learn more at Crunchy Betty's if you want
5. I have a bunch of reusable grocery bags.
6. They usually sit in the jeep while I'm in the store.
7. I need to work on that.
8. I love to bake and make various goodies.
9. My next baking/treat making will involve chocolate, peanut butter, and pretzels.
10. It kind of makes me all drooly just thinking about it.
11. I have 5 pets, only 2 of which are "normal" pets. Those 2 are dogs.
12. Come to think of it, my dogs aren't all that normal..
13. The other pets are a rabbit, and 2 bearded dragons.

That's all. I really don't like talking about me, I'm just never sure what to say. My excitement consists of sitting on the couch with the laptop. Woohoo!


You can find more Thursday 13 fun HERE

Wordless Wednesday - fruit

Wordless Wednesday, Fruit Garden

For more Wordless Wednesday fun, go HERE

no-bake Strawberry Milk Cheesecake

I saw a pin on Pinterest today, for a no-bake Strawberry Milk Cheesecake.
I knew I had to make it. I couldn't wait. I ran to the store to grab a few things for it and came home to get to work.

The recipe came from Sprinkle Bakes, you can go there for all of the details if you're interested.

Unleashing my inner geek

I claim all geekyness that is part of me. I play video games, board games, and mmorpgs. I read the Walking Dead graphic novels...I could probably go on.
Anyway, until recently I didn't get into super hero things. I mean, I did want to see Thor, for obvious reasons (Have you seen him? ;) ) but hadn't watched it.  Then I saw the previews for The Avengers. Next thing I know I'm renting the Marvel movies and seriously enjoying them.

Wordless Wednesday - Play Ball!

Wordless Wednesday - at the ball park

To see more Wordless Wednesday posts, go HERE

Monday Musings

• Waking up with headaches is never fun. Saturday morning's headache was purely my fault ;) But today? There is no good reason for it.

• I had a great weekend! I got out of the house and saw a couple of people that I hadn't seen in far too long, Had a nice day long texting session, Spent an afternoon hanging out with my mom , and Went to a baseball game.

• The baseball game = awesome! We had seats in the upper deck, but chose to stand at a rail on a lower level. We were approached about being "fans of the game" and as part of that deal, we got great seats and our faces on the jumbo screen! Plus, our team won in extra innings!

• I'm glad I was focused on walking down the stairs without tripping, instead of having time to really look at me on that giant screen!! lol
  
  
• I should get up and get some things done around here but I just want to sit with my computer and do nothing, or take a nap. I guess I better really go do something, though.
  
  
• Have a great day! :)

Friday Fill-Ins

1. Eggs are part of my favorite breakfasts.
2. Wine is awesome! 
3. When I look in the mirror, I am my own worst critic.
4. Good company and conversation, these are the things I like for a special dinner! 
5. Currently, my dog won't stop howling.
6. I like to play games.
7. And as for the weekend, tonight I'm looking forward to a quiet evening, tomorrow my plans include visiting family and Sunday, I want to watch the Tigers win!


You can go HERE to join in on the Friday Fill-Ins

Nowzad

Nowzad needs help!
I'm not saying you have to help, but if you have it in your heart and wallet to spare a few dollars, consider Nowzad.
I first learned of Nowzad though the Rurally Screwed blog. She just got their dog, Solha, sent home, followed a few days later by her husband returning home from Afghanistan.

The following sections were taken form http://www.nowzad.com/ so you can learn a little about this organization.

"When Pen Farthing arrived in the town of Now Zad he broke up a dog fight that I was involved in outside his compound. Pen couldn't say no to my big sad eyes, and I became Pen's buddy and found myself a name...Nowzad"MissionTo relieve the suffering of animals, predominantly strays and abandoned dogs in need of care, attention and to maintain rescue facilities for the care and treatment of such animals, especially the animals of Afghanistan.In January 2011, after many months of hard toil, Nowzad opened the very first and only officially recognized animal shelter in Afghanistan. To date Nowzad has reunited more than 200 soldiers from all over the world with their much loved adopted cats and dogs and we continue to be inundated with rescue requests on a daily basis.As well as rescuing soldiers pets we also assist the local people by way of providing vaccinations for their cats and dogs and education on how to care for their pets. We meet a lot of Afghans each week who care deeply for their pets and are thrilled to bits that there is finally a place they can take their pets to show them off and have them vaccinated against disease and neutered.

An Urgent Plea from Nowzad

Afghanistan is a country of equal hope and despair that inevitably leaves a lasting impression once you have experienced the best and worse it has to offer. And now I have to inform you all that Nowzad Dogs is in trouble. For reasons completely out of our control we now find ourselves homeless. Our land rental agreement has been revoked.For the last two weeks Louise has been working tirelessly to move the dogs to a temporary shelter that is still being built! But we can only use this land for three months at the most.We have no choice – we need to buy our own plot of land and build a permanent base where we can house and look after our rescue dogs and operate a large scale ‘trap neuter release’ program that will benefit the people and dogs of Afghanistan in the long term.But it is not going to be cheap. The coalition forces and civilian contractors have pushed the price of land through the roof and we are going to need to build kennelling, a new clinic and staff accommodation.So today we start the appeal to raise $250,000 and to do it by July.We need your help – now, otherwise our dream to make a difference in Afghanistan one dog at a time is over.Too many people do not know about the work that Nowzad is trying to do in Afghanistan to make a difference. I am asking every one of you to go out and tell somebody new – please actively post about our crisis everywhere you can. And then start a funding challenge – we need every single Nowzad supporter actively working to build the new Nowzad shelter.The Nowzad family can do this – myself and all of the team here at Nowzad are not even contemplating giving up. Full details of how to donate and what you can do to help are below.Believe.Afghanistan has not beaten us yet!All the best

Pen F

Thursday Thirteen - Garden Edition

This week's Thursday 13 is about gardening, because we keep getting teased with nice weather. Things are blooming that shouldn't be for another month or so. Gardening is one of my favorite things about Summer, that and sleeping in. I'm not typically a huge fan of the weather. Hot and humid are not my thing.

This is last year's, things aren't blooming quite THAT fast! ;)

Without further ado, 13 things that I grow in my garden..

1. Blueberries
2. Strawberries - we have a good sized plot of them, plus another in the works
3. Blackberries
4. Raspberries
5. Peaches - though the tree was planted last year, so we haven't actually gotten any. And who knows if we will after this crazy weather!
6. Tomatoes - we always plant a lot and they tend to grow like mad!
7. Bell peppers - a few different varieties
8. Banana peppers - even though I don't like them
9. Collard & Turnip Greens - these are to feed the dragons and rabbit
10. Garlic - new this year
11. Potatoes - new this year. We're going to try the tower type build
12. Onions
13. Green Beans - we way underestimated how many to plant last year, so lots more this time!

Plus some cucumbers, broccoli, kale and spinach and I'm sure more..who knows what else we will end up with.
*sigh* I wish it was time to start planting

You can check out other Thursday 13 pages HERE