This and That

Let's talk about a few things for a hot minute here.

 1. The vending machine at school now takes credit cards, which means that I have been eating like complete shit every day at school. I really need to stop, too, because I'm afraid that I'm going to somehow influence young Charles and he'll grow to subsist only on Cheetos and Twix bars. And don't we all want our kids to be better than we were?

 2. I love powder cheese. I know it's disgusting and loaded with chemicals and likely part of the reason that I can't focus on anything for more than five seconds, but I love it. I love licking it off of my fingers, I love Kraft Macaroni & Cheese, and I love the Doritos Loco taco from Taco Bell. Admitting this on the internet feels akin to admitting that I bite my toenails or something (I do not bite my toenails). Is there some kind of support group for this?

3. I've been sick since Saturday, which sucks in regular life but super sucks in life with an infant. I want to just lie in bed with my dog and take one nap after another, but I now have a wee babe that I have to keep alive, and he's not too keen on letting me take naps. Also, I really don't want to get him sick, and short of just washing my hands a bunch and trying my best not to breathe on him, I don't know how to keep him from my germs. Oh, and we had to stop playing our latest favorite game, Miami Cannibal. Babies love when you pretend to eat their faces.

4. Made these cookies. They were really good, but more work than I feel like a cookie should be.

[source]

5. Want to see the cutest baby you've ever seen in his new favorite contraption? Okay!

6. I feel like Mitch and I need to go on a little vacation by ourselves. We haven't had a lot of good quality time together lately, and it makes me sad.

7. Matt and I haven't tried a new dinner recipe in a while. We feel like we're doing well by actually cooking dinner regularly instead of just going out, so we're not beating ourselves up about it or anything, but I'd really like a new dinner. This peanut chicken looks pretty tasty, doesn't it?

8. School's out on Friday! It's weird this year, though, because I'm torn about summer. On one hand, I can't wait. On the other, I am kind of afraid of returning home to babyland for two months. I wish that I could still go to work, except that I would only have like 2 students at a time, and that the workday would be from about 10:00-1:00. And I would like to get paid twice as much, while we're at it. How can I make this happen?

9. Want cake. Now.

10. Also, Matt and I are both in love with Adam from Girls.

11.  Babies love ribs.

12. Babies also love hats.  They love the hat even more if the hat features a pirate octopus.

Weekend Fun

We had a great weekend celebrating the births of Tom Cruise, America, and my favorite Jehovah's Witness crush from long ago.  (Oh, Aaron the surfer. . .)  True to form, we ate too much, drank too much, laughed a lot, played with the dogs, and enjoyed the company of friends.  Lovely, lovely, I tell you.

So here's what our weekend looked like.

I don't even know how it's possible to injure yourself on an elliptical, but I managed it.

Chicken chili from Dinner: A Love Story.  Mmmmmmmmm. 

 Holding hands with my dog child. Are you tired of pictures of my feet yet?

 Thank you, thank you very much.

 Car ride to visit Hugh and Cassie for the day!

The greatest potato skins on earth.

 

 Stand off.

Ribs! (Cassie's "Thanksgiving in July."  Um, okay!)

And ribs again!

 Matt went to the baseball game with friends.  I skipped it, took a nap, and watched fireworks from the couch.

Late night chats.

How did you celebrate the birth of our nation? And how did you celebrate the birth of everyone's favorite former pilot/sports agent/Irish immigrant/underwear dancer?

Blueberry Pie Bars and Other Fun Potluck Recipes

A couple of weeks ago, I went to my little slice of Savannah heaven, Back in the Day Bakery, and had what I think might have been the most delicious dessert I've ever had from there (for serious!), a blueberry pie bar.  I ate it TWO WEEKS AGO and I've been thinking about it ever since.  And then I was all, "Oh, shoot.  I totally have this recipe," when I remembered that I'd attended Cheryl's baking class back in the fall.  (I actually made them with blackberries way back when, which was also out of control with deliciousness.)  Then blueberries were on sale at Publix, and it was basically like the universe was telling me that if I didn't make them, bad things would happen.

Oh, fine, universe, twist my arm.

I even messed these up (butter too soft, forgot to let the bottom crust cool after par-baking, overcooked one corner) and they're still amazing.  And, they look very Americana to me.  For some reason, ever since I started making them, I haven't been able to get that "America, F*%$ Yeah!" song out of my head.  (Don't click on that, Grandma.  You'll be offended and then mad at me.  xoxo.  But do make these bars to share with your new neighbors.)

I think these bars would be a great thing to take to a picnic or potluck this weekend, plus they're super easy to make.  And here are some links (minus pictures because that'll take me like 2 hours to do for some reason--"There's  no time!  There's never any time!"  Actually, I've got plenty of time, I just don't feel like it.)

Blueberry Pie Bars (or cherry, or peach, or blackberry, or whatever fruit you'd like), from Cheryl the Baking Goddess

For the crust and topping
3 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1/4 teaspoon salt
3 sticks unsalted butter cut into cubes (room temperature)

For the fruit filling
4 large eggs at room temperature
2 cups sugar
1 cup sour cream at room temperature
3/4 cup all-purpose flour
pinch of salt
2 16-ounce packages frozen blueberries (or whatever fruit you choose), defrosted and drained

Directions
1. Preheat oven to 350.

2. Line a 9 x 13 inch baking pan with parchment (or spray with Pam).  In the bowl of a stand mixer fitted with the paddle attachment, combine the flour, sugar, and salt.  Turn mixer on low until completely mixed.  Add cubed butter a little at a time until mixture looks dry and crumbly.  Set aside 1 1/2 cups and reserve for crumb topping.  Press the rest of the mixture into the lined pan.  Par-bake the crust for 12-15 minutes until lightly golden.  Let cool at least 10 minutes.

3. To make the filling, whisk together flour, sugar, and salt in a large bowl.  Add eggs and sour cream until combined (be gentle!).  Gently fold in the blueberries.  Spoon the filling over the crust.  Sprinkle reserved crumb topping evenly on top of the filling.

4. Bake for 45-55 minutes until the top is golden brown and bubbly.  Cool at least an hour to cut into bars, or scoop out warm and serve with ice cream.

Other Fun Recipes for a Potluck

Ribs!

Pork Rub (also very good on chicken)

Fancy Hot Dogs

Vanilla Bean Cake

Blueberry Cheesecake Ice Cream (only if you're going somewhere with a freezer)

Rosemary Chicken Salad

Grilled Wings

Guinness Steak

Boston Butt

Thomas Jefferson's Vanilla Ice Cream (OMG, you should totally make the blueberry pie bars and serve them with this!  Or I should!)

Strawberry Shortcake Cookies

How do you plan to celebrate America's birthday?

RIBS!

A few things to share on this fine Thursday morning.

1.  Went outside for like 2 seconds the other night and got approximately 37 mosquito bites.  Now I keep scratching my arms, and I'm afraid that people think that I'm a meth addict.  

2.  New elliptical is kind of amazing.  Now, I got home from school today and was all ready to go ellipt, to get back on the ol' fitness train.  But then I started to feel really tired, so before ellipting I took a little Brothers & Sisters nap.  Didn't wake up from that nap until 10:00.  Hmph.  In the meantime, Matt ellipted for like three hours.  Right next to me.  So, the bad news is that I continue to be a lazy sloth; the good news is that the new elliptical is so quiet that I can take a coma nap while Matt ellipts for three hours right next to me.

3.  Norm MacDonald has a new show on Comedy Central that is basically just his Weekend Update but with sports.  I really don't care about sports at all, but I love me some Norm, and the show is really, really funny.  You might need to watch it.

Sports Show with Norm Macdonald	Tuesdays, 10:30/9:30c
What the H – Athletes Dating Reality TV Stars
www.comedycentral.com
Sports Show Norm Macdonald #SportsShow

Anyway, that's enough rambling.  Now on to the ribs!

I always thought, for some silly reason, that it would be hard to make ribs.  It is not hard to make ribs.  In fact, they're absurdly easy.

Now, they are time consuming.  Yes, you've got to really be thinking ahead and to have delicious ribs in time for dinner, but there's very little hands-on time and the difficulty level is low.  Like, Mitch made our last batch.

First you make some dry rub (recipe below) and rub it generously all over a big hunk o' ribs.  (These are pork ribs, by the way.  Sometimes I feel guilty about eating pork because of Charlotte's Web, but this week I've been reading Animal Farm, so I'm all about some pork right now.  Glue, however. . .  Poor Boxer.)

And then you put those ribs in the oven at about 275 degrees for, oh, five hours or so.  When they have reached your desired tenderness, take them out and finish them off on the grill.  Grill on high for 5-10 minutes, just long enough to slap on some barbecue sauce and to soak in some of that tasty grill flavor.

Serve with extra sauce and buttery corn on the cob*.  Or whatever strikes your fancy.

And eat up.  And get sauce all over your face.  

Dry Rub for Ribs Recipe (adapted from this one)

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons brown sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons paprika
• 1 1/2 tablespoons salt
• 1 1/2 tablespoons ground black pepper
• 1 teaspoon cayenne
• 1 teaspoon crushed red pepper
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder

*I wanted to have corn on the cob at our wedding.  Matt vetoed that idea because it was logistically tough, and because our wedding was already becoming "a little too county fair."  He wouldn't let me have a moonbounce, either.  Probably for the best.

Rub a Dub Dub

But no three men in a tub.  Sorry.  This just isn't that kind of website.

Grilling season is in full swing here at M Cubed, and we couldn't be more excited.  Couple that with our new memberships to Sam's Club, and it's even more fun.  Last week we bought approximately 89 pounds of pork chops for like $2.  Matt had been jonesin' to grill some bone-in pork chops, and he wanted to find a marinade and a dry rub.  We started with the dry rub, since it was more Operation: Skinny Unicorn friendly, and we haven't even made it to the marinade yet because the dry rub was so tasty.

Also, next time I get all gripey and complainy about Savannah, remind me that grilling season goes from February to November and that should get me to shut up. 

Okay, okay, so I know you're dying to find out about this dry rub, so here it is.  You need some spices, but nothing too BANANAS!  (The paprika, as you might guess, is also from Sam's.  We're so far over on the dark side it's not even funny.)

Pork Chop Willy's Grilling Rub

Ingredients
3 tablespoons sweet paprika, preferably Spanish
1 tablespoon freshly ground black pepper
1 tablespoon coarse salt, either kosher or sea salt
3/4 teaspoon sugar
3/4 teaspoon chili powder
3/4 teaspoon granulated garlic or garlic powder
3/4 teaspoon onion powder
1/4 to 1/2 teaspoon ground cayenne

Six to eight 10- to 11-ounce bone-in pork rib chops, 3/4 to 1 inch thick
Vegetable oil spray


Preparation


At least 1 and up to 8 hours before you plan to grill the pork chops, prepare the dry rub, combining the ingredients in a small bowl. Coat the chops with the spice mixture, place them in a large plastic bag, seal, and refrigerate.
Fire up the grill, bringing the heat to medium (4 to 5 seconds with the hand test).
Remove the chops from the refrigerator and let them sit covered at room temperature for about 20 minutes.
Spray the chops with oil and transfer them to the grill. Grill for 18 to 20 minutes total. Turn onto each side twice, rotating the chops a half turn each time to get criss-cross grill marks. The chops are done when just a hint of pink remains at the center. Serve hot.

I should note, too, that we also used this rub on some boneless skinless chicken breasts, and that was really good, too. 

What have you been grilling lately?

Hello There, Mr. Weber.

First of all, you should know that Matt and I never exchange expensive gifts.  For birthdays and Christmas, we usually have a limit somewhere between $30-50.  But this year he bought me a camera.  And it is amazing.  And apparently we decided that for the month of December 2010, we would be ballers.

Because since he'd gotten something so great for me, I felt like I needed to reciprocate.

So I did.

Our grill had broken a few weeks before, see, and I'd seen the way Matt swooned over the ones at the store.  I decided to surprise him with a Weber grill.  I ordered it online, and had a plan to track it like a maniac, intercept the package, and then put it together while he was at work.  Then I was going to hide it in the guest room closet until Christmas morning when I would wheel it out to the living room with a big bow.  And it would be the best Christmas surprise!

Except a few things happened.

1.  I am terrible at keeping big fun secrets.
2. The package was delivered while we were at a solstice party that our friends were throwing, so I couldn't intercept it.
3. I am terrible at keeping secrets.
4. The box was way too big and way too heavy to keep Matt from seeing it. (Even though we had our friend Brian go home before us and hide it in the back yard--he possesses some sort of super-human strength because he moved that seven-ton box all by himself!)
5. I was drunk from the solstice party, and am terrible at keeping secrets.
6. Matt had figured out that something was up, and was very suspicious.
7. Once I got home and he questioned me, all I could do was put my face inside my shirt and laugh a lot.

Finally, Hugh and Cassie said that I needed to just give it to him already, because I was too weak and undisciplined to keep the surprise going.  Plus, we were having Savannah Family Christmas the next night, and it was supposed to be nice and warm out, and then Matt could use his new gift.

So this was Matt's solstice surprise.

And then Hugh--wonderful, smart, patient Hugh--put the grill together the next day while Cassie and I ate sandwiches and went grocery shopping.

Isn't it gorgeous?

And apparently it is awesome, or so says my husband, the grill master. 

I've got to concur, because that hot dog that he brought me and that I ate while writing this post sure didn't taste like it was cooked on any ol' hobo grill, that's for damn sure.

Mexican Mondays!

Matt and I have added a new tradition to our Monday Fundays at the beach--margaritas. Margarita Mondays with Matt and Mandy. . . Mmmmmmmmm.

Yesterday we wanted a dinner that would complement our beverages, so I searched ole Martha's website for a fajita recipe. We ended up using a modified version of this fajita recipe, and it was both fun to make and fun to eat.

First, we needed lime juice. If you regularly juice limes, I highly recommend one of these little juicers. I'm not usually a fan of kitchen gadgets that have only one purpose, but this one is great, saves your hands, and doesn't take up that much space. It's definitely worth the $5-10 you'll spend on it. (And get a metal one instead of a plastic one--way better.)

What makes this particular recipe special is what Martha calls the "mojo de ajo". Apparently that's Spanish for "garlic sauce." The sauce was delicious and I want to try it over pasta next time.

You'll need some olive oil and fresh minced garlic. Let them simmer together. Mmmmm, smells so good. . .

After about 8 minutes of simmering, add red pepper, lime juice, and salt. Remove from heat. I want to drink that with a straw.

Here's where our modification came in. We wanted to grill the chicken and onions, but the recipe instructed to cook it all together in one pan. I used half of the mojo de ajo to marinate the chicken, and saved the other half for eatin' time.

I let the chicken marinate for about 30 minutes. Meanwhile, I cooked up the fatty parts for a dog named Mitch. There are starving dogs in Africa, you know.

Matt "The Master of the Grill" whipped up his famous grilled onions. (Toss them in olive oil, kosher salt, and cracked pepper--then grill with fancy grill wok.)

And then, when the time had come, he started to grill our chicken.

Last, heat up some fajita skillets, toss chicken and onions in remaining mojo de ajo, and go to town.

We served ours with sour cream, guacamole, cheddar cheese, and warm tortillas. Oh, and frozen margaritas. Maybe you didn't know this, but frozen margaritas are a remedy for sunburn.