Spring Banner Made With Kites

What are the things that take you back to your childhood in springtime?  For me, it's jump ropes, hula hoops, jacks, roller skates, marbles, bubbles, pin wheels and kites.  Remember playing on the playground at recess when you could bring your jump rope to school?  Everyone lined up waiting their turn to enter the rope being turned by two playmates, chanting all the rhymes.  "Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, turn around.  Teddy Bear, Teddy Bear, touch the ground."  I have spent hours untold jumping rope.   I have probably roller skated around the world - twice.  Hours were spent mastering the hula hoop and all the tricks that could be done with it.  Those were the days when you spent every possible moment playing outside.  There were no video games, we made up our own games.  We didn't spend all our time in a car going from this team to that lesson to another team.  We played whiffle ball and kick the can in our back yards until dark.  We caught fireflies and headed home when we were called.  I have to say, those were some awesome days.

One of the things I loved to do most in the springtime on a nice windy day was to fly a kite.  When I was a child you could buy a paper kite for a dime and a ball of string for a dime.  That twenty cents could make for an entertaining day.  All you needed was a good brisk breeze which didn't cost anything.  There is something so amazing about watching a kite lift into the air with it's beautiful tail swaying in the wind, sailing above the ground tethered to the earth by only one thin line and you acting as the anchor.  Letting the string out so it could go higher, pulling it back in to keep it from spinning out of control.  Beware of kite eating trees!

A kite can be a simple diamond shape made from paper, two sticks, a tail and a string.  That's it.  And yet, that simple paper kite can soar with eagles.  Wouldn't it be wonderful to be able to do that?  Soaring above the earth on a beautiful spring day, going where the wind would take you in the glorious sunshine, floating in the breeze, letting your mind drift - if only.  No, we are the one holding the string on the ground, but that is okay.  We can imagine the glory of sailing like that kite.

I wanted to make a spring banner for my mantle, so I bought four "fat quarters" in colors that I liked together.  When I sat down to make it, I realized I didn't want pennants, I wanted kites.  Nothing is more representational of spring to me than kites.  So I made a pattern and cut out kite shapes.  They are 6 inches long and 5 inches wide, cut in a diamond shape.  Then, I put ModPodge on the front and let it dry, then on the back and let it dry.  This gave it some body.

Now a diamond shaped kite has to have cross braces made of some kind of thin wood.  To represent that I used some silk cording I had bought for jewelry making.  I drew perpendicular lines with a pencil to make it easier to follow.  I used hot glue to place the cording.

As a crafter, I have all kinds of supplies on hand and I was very fortunate that this cording worked very well with my fabric.  I ran a bead of hot glue down the vertical line and placed a piece of cord on the glue and then did the same with the horizontal line.

Diamond shaped kites have a tail to keep them stable when flying.  The tail is string with fabric or rags tied on it.  I didn't want to use string because it would be too limp.  I wanted to be able to "shape" the kite and the tale, so I found some 20 gauge wire that I had from Lowe's.  Perfect.  I cut 12 inch pieces, one for each kite.

I used my needle nose pliers to twist the ends into curly cues like this.

I made two turns on each end.  That way I would be able to hang one end on the rope I used on the mantle and the other end would be long enough to make the tail.  I then ran a bead of hot glue down the back of the kite and hung the kite on the wire using the top curly cue.

To make the ties on the tail,  I used different colored ribbon that I already had and cut 1 inch pieces of it, 5 pieces for each tail.  I put a little dot of hot glue in the middle of each piece and pinched it together to make it look like a bow.  I held it until it dried and then hot glued each piece to the wire.  Love the way they look!

After I made 9 kites for the mantle, I placed them on a piece of lavender colored nylon rope that I had and hung the kites on it, spacing them out until I was happy with the look.  I hooked the end of the top curly cue through the rope so it wouldn't move, then bent the kites in different directions to make them look like they were flying in the wind.

Next, I cut 6 inch strips of the fabric used to make the kites and tied them on the line in a random pattern so they looked like the tail of a kite.

Oh, they make me so happy!  They say springtime and childhood memories and the joy of a perfect spring day.  If you look closely, you will see the paper pinwheels I made also.  We'll talk about those later!

Now, I want to go buy kites for all our grandsons and take them out to an open field and spend the splendor of a perfect spring day with them flying kites.   That would be quite a memory.  


Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Imagination is the highest kite one can fly!  Lauren Bacall

Baked Cheese Cake Supreme And It's Worth The Effort

In yesterday's post I mentioned a cheesecake I made for our cookout on Sunday.  This is it and it is terrific - Jack said so.  He said it is one of the best he has ever eaten, so now you know how good it is.  And, it really is.

Have you been to a Cheesecake Factory?  Do you love to go to the Cheesecake Factory?  I mean, seriously, who doesn't?  Even though they have a ginormous menu of every kind of entree you can think of, everyone really goes there for cheesecake.  Duh.  You may not have a Cheesecake Factory in your town, or even be within several hours of one, but you can enjoy fantastic cheesecake.  Just try this recipe.

If you don't have a spring form pan, go get one because you will need it to make a cheesecake.  That is the only way you can really remove it from the pan in one piece without the crust and everything sticking to the pan.  While you are at it, get at least a 10 1/2 inch spring form pan, otherwise it won't hold all of this filling and you don't want to waste one drop of this filling!  Once you have a spring form pan, you will discover many uses for it, so don't think you won't ever use it.  You will.  It also helps to have a stand mixer because it takes a lot of mixing for this recipe - 30 minutes worth.  I happen to have my beautiful yellow Kitchen Aid which was a Mother's Day gift from my daughter.  It has changed my baking forever!  If you don't have one, ask for one as a gift, go buy one, or hope and pray someone gives you one.  You will see what a difference it makes.

This recipe is one of the creamiest, most delicious cheese cakes I have ever eaten.  The recipe comes from one of those composite cook books that organizations use as a fund raiser.  It is from the Temple Adath B'Nai Israel Sisterhood in Evansville, Indiana and is called Years of Tradition Continued.  I bought it in 1991.   It's a really awesome book because it explains many of their rituals, definitions of terms, blessings and holidays and I have learned a lot from it.  AND, it has the best cheese cake recipe ever in it which I plan to share with you.

Here is what you need:

Ingredients:

Crust

3 cups graham cracker crumbs  (I use Rice Chex to make it gluten free)
1/2 cup sugar
1/2 cup melted butter

Filling

5 (8 oz) packages cream cheese, softened  (you read that right)
1 (3 oz) package cream cheese softened
1 1/2 cups sugar
5 eggs
2 cups diary sour cream
1 1/2 tsp vanilla
juice of one lemon (I leave this out)

For crust, mix together graham cracker crumbs, 1/2 cup sugar and melted butter.  Press into bottom and up sides of 10 1/2 inch spring form pan.

For filling, in a large bowl at medium speed, beat together cream cheese, 1 1/2 cups sugar and eggs for 15 minutes.  (This is where the stand mixer comes in handy so your arms don't fall off)  Add sour cream, vanilla (and lemon juice if using).  Beat an additional 15 minutes.  Pour into prepared spring form pan.  Bake at 350 degrees for 55 minutes.  Turn off oven and let cheesecake remain in oven for 2 hours.  (Try not to open oven to peek).  Remove and cool on counter.  Serves 12 - huge servings!

After the cake cooled, I put a can of cherry pie filling on the top and decorated it with home made whipped cream.  (Instructions for making whipped cream are in the post about Strawberry Frozen Pie from yesterday).  You don't need any topping, or you can use blueberry, strawberry or anything you like.  Your choice.  When you are finished decorating, refrigerate.

Not only is this a  pretty dessert, it tastes FANTASTIC!!  Reminder:   if you are taking this dessert somewhere don't forget the bottom to your spring form pan is under the cake.  Do NOT let it get thrown away.  This is the voice of experience speaking.  

For those of you who have to eat gluten free, I make this cake so our son in love can eat it by using crushed Rice Chex in place of the graham cracker crumbs.  That's all you have to do.   Makes a great crust and you have a fabulous dessert that is gluten free!   Just thought I'd mention that.

Anytime you need a dessert or have to take something to a pot luck, give this recipe a try.  It takes a little time for the baking and cooling, so give yourself plenty of time.  It serves a lot of people and will get rave reviews!  Give it a try and let me know what you think.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Strawberry Frozen Pie with Vanilla Wafer Nut Crumb Crust

Happy Monday to you!  Hope your weekend was a wonderful one.  Thankfully, it rained just enough on Saturday to wash away some of the pollen that has been plaguing me and half the population in Nashville.  I have never seen as much pollen as we have this year.  Guess that's the payback for a mild winter, but I am willing to make the trade off.   Yes, I am having allergy symptoms, but I will deal with those for the time being.  The warm beautiful weather and beautiful blooming trees are worth a few boxes of tissues.

Our first born daughter and her family moved here in December, right before Christmas, which thrilled us all!  Her in-loves made their first visit this past weekend and we all had a cook out Sunday evening.  The entire Nashville family was there.  The weather was stunning, the grandsons all got to play outside to their heart's content and we got to catch up with Alma and Jack.  I play board games with Alma on FB just about every night, but we haven't seen each other in person for many years.  You know how you can pick up with some people right where you left off - never skip a beat?  That's how it is with them, they are such wonderful people.    We had a great time catching up AND they asked us to visit their summer home on the Maine coast which would be awesome.  Perhaps we will get there one of these days.  We definitely look forward to their return visits to Nashville, that's for sure!

Daughter #1 asked if I would make dessert.  Me?  Why of course!  Thanks for asking.  You know how I love to bake.  Because it has been so warm, I was in the mood for something summery and super delicious so I decided to make this Strawberry Frozen Pie which is outta sight!  I have been making this pie since the first year we were married (1969).  The first time I made it was for Dan's grandmother when she came to our house for dinner.  She loved it and I have been making it ever since.  It is actually a combination of two different recipes.  The crust is from a similar recipe, but it has egg whites in it and I don't trust serving raw egg whites, so I always used the filling from one recipe and the fantastic nut crumb crust from the other.  Here is what you need to make this excellent frozen pie:

Ingredients:

Crust

1 1/2 cups vanilla wafer crumbs
1/2 cup finely chopped nuts (I use pecans)
1 stick melted butter

Filling:

1 8 ounce package cream cheese, softened
1 cup dairy sour cream
1 1/2 cups sliced fresh strawberries, or 2 10 ounce pkgs frozen strawberries with syrup
1 cup sugar for fresh strawberries
1/2 cup sugar for frozen strawberries


Whipped cream or cool whip for topping (I made fresh whipped cream)

If you are making your own vanilla wafer crumbs (which I do), place about 1/3 box of vanilla wafers in a gallon sized zip lock bag, squeezing all the air out.  Roll with a rolling pin until you have small pieces - enough for 1 1/2 cups.  (I don't like the crumbs to be like dust, I like very small pieces, about the size of the chopped nuts).  I chop the pecans in my nut chopper.  If you don't have a nut chopper, use a knife and chop into small pieces.  Place vanilla wafer crumbs and nuts in a bowl.  Melt 1 stick of butter in microwave and add to vanilla wafer crumbs and nut pieces.  Press in the bottom and up the sides of a 10 inch pie pan.  I use my trusty corning ware pie plate that I got for a wedding gift.  I realize it is now an antique.  Sigh.  Put in the oven and bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes.  Cool before filling.

Using a mixer, blend cream cheese and sour cream  in a mixing bowl until well mixed.    Mix 1 1/2 cups sliced berries with 1 cup sugar and stir.  Add to cream cheese mixture.  (If using frozen berries, thaw berries and add 1/2 cup sugar and mix.  Add to cream cheese mixture.)  Blend with a mixer to break up strawberry pieces, don't completely pulverize.  You want some strawberry pieces in the filling.    Pour into crust.

 Freeze until firm.  I usually freeze overnight.  Remove from freezer about 5 minutes before serving and decorate with whipped cream.   That strawberry in the middle of the pie  in the picture is HUGE.  Kroger had giant California strawberries on sale and I do mean GIANT!  They were delicious.

How to make whipped cream:

Put 1 pint heavy whipping cream in a deep bowl and beat with mixer on medium high until it starts to thicken.  Add about 2 Tbsp sugar and 1/2 tsp vanilla.  Beat until it forms stiff peaks.  Don't over beat or  you will have butter.  It should look like this.

I piped the whipped cream onto the top of the pie by placing it in a gallon sized zip lock back after cutting a corner off the bag and placing a large star tip in the hole.  Fill the bag with cream and pipe on however you want.  Now, this is a lot of whipped cream and I actually used part of it for the cheese cake I will write about tomorrow.  Just thought I'd let you know.  You could actually use about 1/2 of a pint of heavy whipping cream.

Now, let's discuss this pie.  Description?  Heavenly!  Delicious!  Amazing!  Fantastic!  Awesome!  Divine!!  And, it's really super easy.  Our 8 year old grandson doesn't like strawberries much, but he said it was the best pie he had ever eaten!  Today's endorsement from the world's pickiest eater.  Made me smile.  Jack and Alma raved about it - especially Jack who likes fruit type desserts, so it was definitely a good choice.  (Wait till we get to the cheesecake).  

Put this recipe in your arsenal and pull it out when you want something quick, easy, fantastic and special.  Summer is just around the corner and this pie is so good for warm summer days.  Think about making it for Easter, Mother's Day or Father's Day.  You will get requests to make it again.  The nut crumb crust is maybe the best crust ever and so much easier than a traditional pie crust.  The filling - well I could just eat it with a spoon right out of the bowl - it's somewhat like ice cream or frozen yogurt only better.  The combination of the crust with the filling - they write novels about those kinds of things.  That's all I can say about it.  You will just have to make one and eat it to understand.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Good friends are like stars.....you don't always see them, but you know they are always there.  author unknown

Not Your Traditional Sweet Potato Casserole - Sweet Potatoes, Pineapple, Coconut, and Pecans

Someday I may learn how to take a "food" picture that looks as good as the food tastes.  It would be so nice if there was a way to take a picture on your kitchen counter or table that looks like one from a magazine.  Unfortunately, it doesn't because I took this casserole right out of the oven ready to put on the table for dinner.  Do you know how hard it is to set up a shot in a hurry while people are waiting to eat?  It is not easy at all, especially when it is in a casserole dish or some sort of pan and you are looking down at it.  This one kind of looks like a pizza, but it's not.  It is a truly amazing sweet potato casserole with pineapple and coconut.  To that mix, I also add pecans.  Why?  Because I like them of course.

I then tried to take a picture of it served on a plate and I won't tell you what it looked like, so I nixed that picture.  Sorry.  The words dog and food come to mind.  It just did not look appetizing in any way so use your imagination and think about how wonderful it tastes because it does.

Do you like sweet potatoes?    We sure do, especially baked with some butter and a little cinnamon on them.  Yummmm.  Or, there is the standard sweet potato casserole with the marshmallows on top and it is really, really delicious I am not denying.  It's the one every mom made for Christmas and Easter when we were growing up.  But, there are more casseroles and recipes out there, and this is one of my favorites.  It is out of my Saint Louis Days, Saint Louis Nights Cookbook and I have been making it for years.

Do you know the difference between a sweet potato and a yam?  You know how some people call them yams?  I looked it up (of course) and it seems that they are two totally different plants botanically.  Yams come from Africa - sweet potatoes are grown here.  There are two varieties of sweet potatoes and one remains hard when cooked and the other is soft.  The canned ones in the grocery that say yams are actually the soft variety of sweet potatoes.  The soft sweet potatoes were called yams by African slaves because it reminded them of the ones they knew and that is how we came to call them yams.  Now, does that clear that mystery up?  Did for me.

Sweet potatoes are very nutritious!  Here is some information I found on the web that might actually shock you.  I knew they were nutritious, but not THAT nutritious.  Check it out.

According to nutritionists at the Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI), the single most important dietary change for most people, including children, would be to replace fatty foods with foods rich in complex carbohydrates, such as sweet potatoes.

CSPI ranked the sweet potato number one in nutrition of all vegetables. With a score of 184, the sweet potato outscored the next highest vegetable by more than 100 points. Points were given for content of dietary fiber, naturally occurring sugars and complex carbohydrates, protein, vitamins A and C, iron and calcium. Points were deducted for fat content (especially saturated fat), sodium, cholesterol, added refined sugars and caffeine. The higher the score, the more nutritious the food.

Sweet potato baked 184  next highest vegetable
Potato, baked 83

Now, are you shocked?  It is the MOST nutritious vegetable that you can eat.  The next vegetable to it is a plain potato.  Who knew?  Now we all know and that is amazing because they are versatile, delicious and nutritious.  Yay for the sweet potato!  At least it's not something like Brussel's sprouts and only a select few of us seem to like those.  

We were having company for dinner last night and I decided to bake a ham.  There is something about spring that says it's time to eat ham.  Maybe it's because so many people serve ham for Easter, I really don't know.  So, I needed some sides and when I bake ham, I think sweet potatoes - they just seem to go with ham.  That meant pulling out one of my favorite recipes - sweet potato souffle with pineapple and coconut.  Don't panic, it's not like a traditional souffle.  Not really sure why it's called that, maybe because of the eggs in it.  I will tell you this, it is fantastic and easy.  Here is what you need.

8 medium sweet potatoes (or 2 32 oz cans, drained)

1/2 cup (1 stick) butter

1/2 cup granulated sugar

1/4 cup  brown sugar

2 well beaten eggs

2 tsps baking powder

1 cup drained, crushed pineapple

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 cup coconut

1/2 cup chopped pecans (optional)

Wash sweet potatoes and bake, covered with foil at 400 degrees for 45 to 60 minutes until fork completely penetrates potato.

Cool, peel and put potatoes in a large mixing bowl.  Mash potatoes until smooth.  Stir in butter and both sugars.  Add the eggs and baking powder, pineapple, and salt.  Mix well.  Transfer ingredients into well-greased 2 quart casserole.  Bake at 350 for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and cover with coconut and pecans.  Bake an additional 10 minutes.

(Because yesterday was volunteer day for us, I used canned yams drained.  They worked fine.  I do think fresh sweet potatoes are a little better, just depends on how much time you have.)

Ooooooooooooh my, this is good.  Our daughter said it's like eating dessert for dinner and it is.  Even her 2 year old gobbled it down.  Now that is an endorsement!  

This is an excellent side dish to serve when you are looking for something different and it makes a lot - great for a crowd.  Also, keep in mind just how nutritious sweet potatoes are (just don't tell your children).   Let's all eat more sweet potatoes.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Sweet potatoes are not just for holiday meals!  Enjoy them anytime.  They are good for you and taste good too.

A New Twist On A Golden Oldie - Tuna Casserole With NO Soup In It

Wednesday is usually our volunteer day, but today we did volunteer duty of a different nature.  It was Grandma and Pawpaw to the rescue.  Our daughter had to chaperone a field trip for her 8 year old son's class, the 5 year old was at pre-K and that left the 18 month old home alone if we didn't show up.  Now, we could not let that happen (haha), so we got up bright and early (and I do mean early) because we had to trek across town and be at their house by 8 am.  Yikes, I have forgotten how much I dislike getting up at 6 am.  Yay for retirement.

After she returned home from the field trip, we spent a little time conversing and went to pick up the 5 year old from pre-K.  Well, you know Grandma and Pawpaw wanted to have lunch with everyone who wasn't in school, so we enjoyed a fun little lunch out and then made a trip to a fabulous place a friend had told me about that has outstanding home decor bargains and you know how I love a bargain.  We will definitely be going back there again!

We returned to their house and got in our car to head back to the east side of Nashville where we live.  On our way home, we made our usual Wednesday afternoon stop at our other daughter's house to visit with her and her two sons.  The baby is 5 weeks old today.  Wow, time flies.  We spent some time playing with the 2 year old and Grandma held the baby for a good while, and then it was time to head to the little yellow cottage.  Whew, Grandma was tired.

Of course, now it's time for dinner and what are we going to have?  I wanted something different and easy.  There was a tuna casserole I had pinned on my Pinterest board that I had been wanting to try so today was the day.  I had all the ingredients, so tuna casserole it was.  But, let me tell you, this is NOT the tuna casserole I was used to eating when we were growing up.  Everybody's mom had a variation on a recipe and somehow the casserole was always topped with crushed potato chips and made with canned soup.  Now, I have to say I always liked tuna casserole where most of my friends didn't.  But, I like tuna - tuna salad, tuna casserole, creamed tuna, however anyone fixed it.

This recipe is from a blog called Mmm is for Mommy and I thought it sounded really good and there is not one can of soup in it.  Yay!  I did a little tweaking of my own and Dan declared this equivalent to fine dining.  Yahoo, a keeper recipe to add to the repertoire.

I figured out the cost and I will tell you that this makes 4 huge servings, or you could serve smaller portions with sides and it cost less than $6.00 to make.  Now that is a bargain for a delicious meal - and we have leftovers for lunch tomorrow.  Even better!

There are no potato chips in this casserole, but there is bacon.  Yum.  Her recipe calls for sliced mushrooms and we are not big fans, so I added green peas which we love.  If you like peas and mushrooms, hey add both.  It won't hurt the taste in the least.  I also added some worcestershire and fresh thyme which was a super addition and I topped it with sliced tomatoes.  Trader Joe's had Roma tomatoes for 17 cents each this week and they were big, so I invested in a few and I am so glad I did.  She also added 4 ounces of cream cheese, which I left out.  The sauce was very creamy and I didn't want the extra fat.  Feel free to add it if you want.  Now, here is what you need for this recipe.

Ingredients:

1/2 pound rotini pasta, uncooked (I used tri-color)
4 slices bacon, fried crisp and crumbled (reserve 2 TBSP fat)
1 TBSP olive oil
2 TBSP reserved bacon fat
1/4 cup flour
1 TBSP dijon Mustard
1/4 tsp worcestershire
1 onion, diced
2 ribs celery, diced
1 garlic clove, minced
(1 cup sliced mushrooms)see explanation above
1 cup green peas - if you want to use mushrooms and green peas, use 1/2 cup of each
2 5 ounce cans Tuna in water, drained
1 1/2 cups chicken stock
1 cup milk
2 TBSP grated parmesan
1 sliced tomato
1/2 8 ounce block cream cheese (I left this out)
several sprigs fresh thyme, strip leaves from stem (or you can use dried)
salt and pepper

Cook the pasta according to directions and drain.

In a dutch oven, fry the bacon until crisp, remove bacon and drain.  Add olive oil to bacon drippings.  Saute onions, garlic, celery and mushrooms if you are using them in the bacon fat and olive oil.  Cook until softened.  Stir in dijon mustard and sprinkle with flour.  Cook for a minute or so to get rid of raw flour taste.  Whisk in chicken stock and milk.  Continue to stir over medium heat until the sauce thickens.  Add salt and black pepper to taste and add the thyme.  Add the drained tuna and half the crumbled bacon.  Add drained pasta and mix until all the pasta is coated with sauce.  Top with grated parmesan cheese and remaining crumbled bacon.  I then put a circle of tomatoes on top of the casserole and a little more parmesan cheese.  It looked like this in the dutch oven.

Put the dutch oven (uncovered) in a 350 degree oven for about 30 minutes.  Remove from oven and serve.  Fantastic!  You have protein, pasta, veggies, creamy sauce and so much flavor for under $6.00.  Now, who can complain about that AND it is not like the tuna casserole you have experienced in the past.  It is fresh and delicious.

I have to say I am ever so thankful to the creators of Pinterest.  They are geniuses who have changed our lives forever!  I could read a dozen cookbooks a week and never find a recipe I wanted to try. I find several recipes a day on Pinterest.   I have found that most of the things from Pinterest are really good, just beware of mistakes in the recipes.  I have found several - especially making baked goods.  That is where cooking experience comes in handy. Sometimes, I look at a recipe and know it's not going to work, something has been left out or a measurement may not be right and I can fix it.  Other than that, Pinterest rocks!  Thanks Mmm is for Mommy or this inspiration.  Hope you all give it a try.   As Dan said, it's the equivalent to fine dining on a budget!

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

Is this chicken, what I have, or is this fish? I know it's tuna, but it says 'Chicken of the Sea.'
Jessica Simpson

Peeps - This One's For You Susan B.

Peeps.  You know what they are right?  -  those little chicks and bunnies that are made from marshmallow and covered in colored sugar.   You find them on the store shelves close to Easter.  Do you love 'em or hate 'em?  Is anyone indifferent to peeps?  It doesn't seem anyone is indifferent.   If you start a conversation about them,  it seems you either love them or you really really dislike them.  I am a disliker, a major disliker of Peeps as far as eating them goes, but there is something endearing about them and the great colors they come in.  You immediately think spring and Easter and sunshine and lollipops and roses and any other other uplifting subject they have written songs about.  But, do I ever think about eating them?  NEVER!

This post is dedicated to my friend Susan B. and our friends from the Due North Productions family.  We were a group of parents who worked together in the theatre and choir department at the high school our youngest son attended several years back.  Susan was the choir director and we did anything and everything we could to help out.  We had a lot of fun conversations about Peeps and I learned a lot about all the ways to enjoy Peeps (if you can).  Some people like them when they get hard and crusty on the outside and some like them when they are soft and gooey.  Someone said they liked to microwave them before eating.   I, on the other hand, do not like them at all in any state of existence.  Ugh.  I even asked "the Easter Bunny" to please not put them or any jelly beans in my Easter basket when I was a kid.  I am shivering as I type this, just thinking about eating them.  Ewwwww

This crazy idea started with a bag of little marshmallow flowers I found at the Dollar Tree.  They were so cute, I thought I could make something with them.  But, they were so small I knew I needed something bigger to help fill in. Then, I had this crazy idea about making a colorful centerpiece for our table after looking at a large display of Peeps at Kroger.  They come in such fun colors and there are not only chicks, but bunnies.   Hmmmm, ideas began to formulate.

My creative process works a little contrary to the accepted norm on many occasions.  I sort of work backwards sometimes, but it works for me.  (That's a nice way of saying I start with no plan).  I had these two little green baskets that are about 6 inches square, they sort of look like berry baskets and my thought was one of them would make a good container for a centerpiece.  They also look really nice with the place mats I painted.  So, there was my base.  I put a piece of styrofoam in it and filled in around it with some paper shred I had.  Next, I skewered some bunnies to start the "shape" of the centerpiece.  I used wooden skewers like you would make kebabs with.  I swear I did not harm a single bunny or chick in the process.

That's the way it started.  Now, that looked a little plain and there was the issue of the skewers which I knew I would NOT like when I finished.  Lots of plain wood sticks showing.  Not good.  So, I had another idea and got out a bunch of colorful mini cupcake papers I had in bright colors.  I slid some up the skewer under one of the marshmallow flowers and I really liked the way it looked.

They looked like flower petals and added lots more color to the whole skewer/marshmallow effect and they would help fill in the centerpiece.  I was on a roll.  I started putting Peeps (the chicks and bunnies) on skewers and varying the colors of cupcake papers for a garden variety look. I trimmed the skewers to different lengths as needed.   I also stacked some of the marshmallow flowers on top of each other in twos and threes for another variation.  I kept working around the basket until I had it all filled in.  It's a hoot!  No, I guess actually it's a Peep.  Anyway, it looks adorable in the center of the table.

You know, there is all kinds of research I found on the web about Peeps and what will dissolve them.  It seems there is very little that will dissolve them, not even acetone.  There are even pictures of different chemicals they have placed them in and the results of the tests.  Do I want to eat these?  No way.  But,  they get hard and crusty if you let them set out so I figure this thing would survive a nuclear holocaust.  There will be nothing left but cockroaches and peeps.  Can't you see some archeologist digging this centerpiece up some day and wondering what in the world it is and what precious materials it is made from?   Now that makes me laugh.

I had to keep our two oldest grandsons from eating any of the centerpiece this weekend.  That had not entered my mind when I made it, so I had to give them the left over Peeps from the boxes.  Guess I know what to put in their Easter baskets because they loved them.  Ugh.

My friends Don, Rick and Marge were here on Friday and they all took pictures of my crazy Peep centerpiece.  Don called it a Peep tree and they thought it was the cutest thing ever.  You just never know when you start a project where it will go.  As for this one, it looks adorable in the center of the table, just don't make me eat any of it.

Everyday Donna

Things to Remember:

An annual "Peep Off" competition is held in Maryland on the first Saturday after Easter, when Peeps are greatly discounted, to see who can eat the most in 30 minutes. The first such event was arranged by Shawn Sparks in 1994, and had only six participants.^[6] Dave Smith startedSacramento's record-holding (102 eaten) annual Peep Off after contacting Jack Eidsness, a participant in the first Peep Off, with a question about it, through Mr. Eidsness' Peep-themed website.  Wikipedia


Now, how about that for an eating contest? 102 Peeps?   Oh Em Geeee

Pancetta, Peas, Orecchiette Pasta and Cream Sauce! Perfect For A Busy Monday

Oh look, it's Monday - again.  Monday, Monday, can't trust that day --  why oh why is Monday such a chore?  Somehow, it just can be and I have been a busy bee today.  I do hope you all had a fantastic weekend, we sure did.  The weather is amazing right now, more like summer than spring.  It was 80 today here in Nashville.  The blooming trees are stunning and the grass is growing like crazy.  Dan had to mow our yard for the second time already.  And, today was grocery shopping day which is lots of fun when I get to go to Trader Joe's even though we have to drive to the other side of town!  You may not think of grocery shopping as fun, but I rather enjoy finding new products that I want to try, especially when I have a specific recipe in mind and today I did.

Since it was so warm today, I didn't want anything heavy for dinner.  I wanted something light and refreshing and summer like.  There is a Jamie Oliver recipe I have been wanting to try that I had pinned on Pinterest.  There is another very similar one from Huffington post that I had also pinned.  So, I kind of combined the two and let me tell you, it is so delicious.  We will definitely be having this again and again.  And, the most important point thing, it is really quick and easy to put together which makes it a natural for Monday (or any day really).

The Jamie Oliver recipe uses mini shell pasta and bacon and the Huffington post recipe used orecchiette pasta which is kind of cup or bell shaped.  When I was at Trader Joe's today, they had orecchiette so I went with it and I am so glad I did.  It is a really nice chewy pasta that held the sauce beautifully.

Trader Joe's also had cubed pancetta in 4 ounce packages which was just perfect for this recipe.  Otherwise, you have to cut bacon into lardons for the Jamie Oliver recipe and the pancetta had just the right flavor for this creamy sauce, not too smoky like bacon can be.  It's just a matter of which you have on hand.  And, it has green peas which is one of our favorite veggies.  Yum.  So, you have pasta, pancetta, green peas and one of the tastiest cream sauces I have ever eaten.

This recipe only took about 20 minutes to put together which makes it a fantastic Monday recipe.  It also makes a large pan full and that means leftovers for lunches or another dinner for us.  Yay!  It says it serves 4, but those would be huge servings.  You may not have as much left as we had.  We enjoyed the pasta with a simple green salad and crusty bread and it was just right as Goldilocks would say.  Here is what you need to make this recipe:

Ingredients:

1 pound shaped pasta - mini shells or orecchiette
2 Tbsp Olive Oil
2 Tbsp Butter
1 4 ounce package cubed pancetta or 10 slices bacon cut into lardons
2 cups frozen green peas
2 heaping TBSP sour cream
1 small bunch fresh mint, stems removed and minced (I don't care for mint, so I used fresh thyme)
juice of 1 lemon
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
fresh cracked black pepper

Cook the pasta according to directions.  I made the sauce while the pasta cooked.  This is how you make it.

Heat the olive oil and butter in a large saute pan.  Add the pancetta (or bacon) and cook until crispy and brown, about 5 minutes.  I added a lot of fresh cracked black pepper while the pancetta cooked.  Add the frozen peas to the pan and cook just a bit until they start to thaw, then add the sour cream and herbs.  Stir until everything is coated.  (I added 2 ladles of starchy pasta water to the sauce before I drained the pasta).  Drain the pasta and return it to the pan.  Add the sauce to the pasta, squeeze the lemon juice over the pasta and stir to coat all the pasta.  Add the parmesan cheese and stir again to coat all the pasta, stirring until all the cheese is melted and creamy.  That's it - done!  Ready to serve.  Look at how this fabulous creamy sauce coats the pasta.  Yummm.

When you have had a really busy or tough day and need something quick and easy to put on the table, this is your dish!  It is inexpensive and super D-licious.  This is also a meal that kids would love - pasta, peas, bacon, creamy sauce!!!  Jamie Oliver said he makes this for his children all the time.    Give this recipe a try.  It is perfect for warm weather!  I am already looking forward to left overs tomorrow.  That makes Tuesday an easy day for me.  Wahoo!

Everyday Donna

Things to remember:

 A bee is never as busy as it seems; it's just that it can't buzz any slower.
Kin Hubbard