What We Can Learn About Art From Nature

Posted on May 18, 2012 by Mama

As I walked around my yard the other day, I took some pictures of the various flowers and flowering plants, my herbs, and my little vegetable garden.

Red and white geraniums.

I plant geraniums in the pots by my front door each year.  I usually plant red and white ones, but I have planted the salmon colored ones the last few years.  My oldest daughter told me one time, when she was a little girl, that she didn’t like these flowers because I always had them by the front door.

Stella D’Oro daylillies.

I love yellow flowers.  I’ve never really worn yellow or used it in my home, but I love yellow flowers.  There’s just something about the shades of yellow in flowers that you cannot seem to replicate in paint or fabric.

I love the aroma of the lilacs and other flowering bushes in my front planting beds.  I can smell them when I walk out of my house each day.

Wave petunias.

I have always planted petunias each Spring and I love the way the Wave Petunias spill over the pots alongside my garage.

Yellow pansy.

I posted a collage of my flowers on my timeline on Facebook and someone commented about how pansies look like little faces.

Purple pansies.

I went to Germany in February with my sister nearly 20 years ago.  We visited a WWII Memorial that looked out over a valley and a river – I cannot even remember the name of the town, but it was cold and beautiful and the beds were filled with pansies.  I always think of that place when I look at my pansies.

When I look at the beauty of nature, I understand why people crave beauty not just in nature but in that which we create as humans with minds and imaginations and thoughts and feelings.

What would this world be like without flowers and trees and lakes and rivers and oceans and mountains and deserts?  What would this world by like without art and literature and poetry and music?

When my kids were little, I remember how amazed they were by the sounds of airplanes in the sky, caterpillars, the smell of flowers, and chirping of the birds.  You know.  The things that we forget about as we get older and too busy to notice.

That is why I try to notice the sights and smells and tastes and sounds and feel of the things that exist in my own little space around me on this planet.  It is the gift of these things in nature that allows us to appreciate not only natural art, but also the arts that we create.

Posted in Musings | 1 Comment

What’s Cookin’ – No Bake Chicken Divan

Posted on May 17, 2012 by Mama

When planning my meals, I always look to see what I have on hand and then try to find something to make to use up these ingredients.

As it turns out, I had some fresh broccoli leftover from last week’s grad party (if you remember in a post earlier this week, I made some Cauliflower Soup with the leftover cauliflower) along with all of the ingredients necessary to make Chicken Divan.

The recipe I used has a few steps, but it is not hard and is a no bake Chicken Divan which is good for those warm days when you don’t want to use the oven.

The other fun thing about making this dish was that I got to do so with my middle child.  It was not only an opportunity to spend time with her, but I got to share some cooking tips and hints that she can take with her into her new life as a full-fledged adult.

I was able to share with her how to make a roux and a cheese sauce, how to properly handle and prepare raw chicken, and how to steam broccoli perfectly.  This is an easy dish to make during the week, but also just fancy enough to make for a special meal, too.

Chicken Divan ingredients – there are three different components to this recipe – the chicken, the sauce, and the broccoli.

The first step is to prepare the chicken.  Trim off any fat, and, if necessary, pound each piece so that it is an even thickness.  Salt and pepper each piece.  Combine the bread crumbs and parsley and dredge in this mixture.  Set aside.

Prepare the Mornay (Cheese) Sauce.  Melt 2 TB of butter in a saucepan over medium low heat.  Add the flour and cook, stirring constantly, for 2 to 3 minutes.  Be careful not to brown the flour.  Slowly add the half-and-half and bring almost to a boil.

Temper the egg by adding a few tablespoons of the roux mixture to the egg stirring constantly.  Add the egg mixture back into the roux and add the cheeses and onion.  Stir constantly until the cheeses are completely melted and the sauce is smooth.  Keep the sauce warm over low heat, stirring occasionally until ready to use.

While you are making the sauce, you can steam the broccoli and sauté the chicken breasts.

Melt 4 TB of butter over medium heat in a skillet large enough to accommodate the chicken breasts.  Sauté the chicken breasts for about 5 minutes on each side until completely cooked.  The time may need to be adjusted depending on the thickness of the breasts, but do not overcook.  You want them to be tender not tough.

Place the steamed broccoli onto your serving dish.

Add your chicken pieces.

Pour the sauce over it all and sprinkle with parsley.

Serve immediately.  We served this with a side of white rice.

Yummy.

Chicken Divan

Adapted from a recipe that originally appeared in The St. Louis Post-Dispatch and was served at the now closed Wharf Cafe in Lake St. Louis, Missouri.

Serves 4

⅔ cup fresh bread crumbs, preferably made from French bread
2 TB minced fresh parsley, plus extra for serving
4 skinless, boneless chicken breast halves
Salt, to taste
Pepper, to taste
6 TB butter, divided
2 TB all-purpose flour
1 cup half-and-half or light cream
1 egg yolk, beaten
¼ cup freshly grated Parmesan cheese
¼ cup grated Swiss cheese
½ cup finely diced onion
¾ to 1 pound broccoli florets

To prepare the chicken:
Combine bread crumbs with parsley.  If necessary, pound the chicken breasts to an even thickness.  Season the chicken breasts with salt and pepper, dredge in the bread crumb mixture, and set aside.

To prepare the Mornay (Cheese) Sauce:
In a saucepan, melt 2 TB of butter over medium low heat.  Blend in the flour.  Cook and stir constantly for 2 to 3 minutes.  Slowly stir in half-and-half.  Continue to cook and stir over medium low heat until the white sauce is almost boiling.  Stir about 2 TB white sauce into the beaten egg yolk.  Return the yolk mixture to the saucepan and stir in the Parmesan cheese, Swiss cheese, and onion.  Stir to help melt the cheeses and keep the sauce smooth as it thickens.  Season, to taste, with salt and pepper (about ¼ tsp of each).  Keep the cheese sauce warm over low heat, whisking occasionally.

To prepare the broccoli:
While you are preparing the sauce, cook the broccoli just until crisp-tender.  Microwave for 3 minutes and allow to sit for another 3 minutes, or boil in salted water for 3 to 4 minutes.  Drain and set aside.

To sauté the chicken:
While the sauce and broccoli are cooking, melt the remaining 4 TB of butter in a large skillet.  Add the chicken pieces and sauté for about 5 minutes per side (may need to adjust depending on the thickness of the breasts) or until done.

To serve:
Arrange the broccoli on a serving plate.  Top with the cooked chicken breasts.  Pour the cheese sauce over the it all, and sprinkle with additional parsley.  Serve immediately.

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Grand Central Station

Posted on May 16, 2012 by Mama

“What do you think this is – Grand Central Station?”

I clearly remember my mother screaming this exact line at us kids on numerous occasions when we were growing up.

My parents had 8 children.  In 9 years.  I was the oldest.

In the days before they divorced, and life as we knew it changed forever, and not in a good way, we lived a crazy kids life of running in and out of our house with the gang of kids who we grew up with in our neighborhood.  We also ran in and out of the houses of our friends.  We biked and roller skated and played tag and war and cowboys and Indians and board games and went to the neighborhood pool in the Summertime.

I’m sure we drove our mothers crazy with the running in and out and banging doors.  We played hard, but it was all unscheduled fun unlike how we have raised our kids.

I don’t remember us kids ever telling our mother that we were bored, but I’m sure we did.  I do know that if we did, we would have been given a chore to do.  That is what I have done with my own kids.  If they ever complained about being bored, I gave them a job.

I have been thinking about my mother’s line for the last 19 days.  Actually, I have been hearing it in my head for the last 19 days.  That’s because it has felt like Grand Central Station around our home.

We had a few blissful months as empty nesters.  Our home was peaceful and quiet.  Our home was clean and neat and tidy all the time.  We had normal day / night sleep schedules.

The past 19 days, we have moved three kids home from college.  We have had one graduate and then had a grad party.  We have managed to squeeze in DSH’s birthday, Mother’s Day, and our anniversary in between having various extra kids coming over to visit as well as stay overnight.

The washer and dryer and dishwasher have been running non-stop.  We have luggage and boxes and totes everywhere.  We have bags of clothes and personal items put together to take to Goodwill – part of the cycle of going through things as the kids move out and back into our home.

We’ve also made a trip to Indiana to get our newly graduated kid set up with her first apartment, and our dining room is filled with the stuff she needs to start life on her own.

And we have managed to continue taking care of the normal stuff like mowing the lawn, paying the bills, and doing our volunteer stuff.

Sleep deprivation has set in.  I don’t remember having the nocturnal, vampire schedule enjoyed by my children when I was their age.

It has been great fun meeting some of the kids who have spent the last 9 months (and four years) with our daughters.  We have had two of them spend the night with us as they have made their way across a multi-state region on the way home or to a Summer internship.

We have had two weekends of sorority sisters and friends staying with us to attend parties and baseball games and weddings in our hometown.

It has been total chaos.  Yes, it has been like Grand Central Station around here.

And while it has been great fun I have to admit it.  I am exhausted, and I am looking forward to a return to the peacefulness and quiet of our empty nest home.

In a few months.

In the meantime, I’m enjoying time with my kids and their friends.

Posted in Faith & Family | 6 Comments

A Weekend of Cookin’

Posted on May 15, 2012 by Mama

This past weekend was a busy one in our home!  We had extra kids staying with us all weekend and lots of activities going on.  I spent most of the weekend cooking.

Fortunately, I had lots of help washing dishes.  I would really like to know how many dishes I have washed in my lifetime.  I take that back.  Maybe I don’t.  My favorite part of cookin’ is having someone else doing the dishes!

I was cookin’ to feed my own kids plus the extra ones that we had coming and going.  As a result, I have no new recipes to share only some good old standbys that have served me well in the past and which I turned to for feeding the masses.

Friday night, as everyone was on their way out the door to the baseball game, we grabbed some sandwiches from a local Jimmy John’s.  Yes, I didn’t cook on Friday night or should that be No, I didn’t cook on Friday night?  Whatever.  I didn’t cook on Friday night.  There.  Friday nights are supposed to be my “night off” from cookin’.

While everyone else went to the game, I stayed home and watched a few movies.  That is my kind of evening.  And it was the only peace and quiet I had the entire weekend!

On Saturday morning, I made Ree Drummond’s (The Pioneer Woman) Blackberry Cobbler.  (I included the link for the recipe that is posted on her Tasty Kitchen website, but the recipe is also included in her first cookbook).  This is a super easy recipe and oh so good.  It calls for self rising flour, but if you don’t have any on hand you can easily use all-purpose flour.  For each cup of all-purpose flour, add 1¼ teaspoons of baking powder and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

Blackberries are in season right now, and our local grocery store has been running a great deal on them.  I’ve been too busy to make some jam (we’re on our last jar!), but I have enough berries in the freezer to make a big batch some day soon!  I love blackberries, and I served the warm cobbler with some ice cream for breakfast.  Yes, I did.  And the kids loved it.

Then I made a batch of Cauliflower Soup.  (Yes, this is another one of Ree Drummond’s recipes.)  I had some cauliflower left over from the previous weekend’s grad party and needed to use it up.  I had the soup recipe sitting in my copy holder waiting for the opportunity to try it out.  Here is what I did differently.  I took a few cups of the soup and blended it until smooth so that the soup was creamy but still had some nice pieces of cauliflower in it.  I did not mix the sour cream into the entire batch of soup, but rather I put a dollop of sour cream in each bowl when serving.

The Cauliflower Soup along with some Hot Artichoke Dip and crackers, and Restaurant Style Salsa (try Ree’s salsa, you will never buy the pre-made stuff again) and chips made a great meal for the college girls who were in town to attend a wedding.  They went to the church ceremony in the morning and then had a few hours to kill before the reception.  What better way to pass the time then by sharing a meal and snacks around our kitchen table!

Sunday was Mother’s Day, but we had nine mouths to feed!  DSH and I made a big breakfast for the kids before they all headed out.

Fresh Fruit Salad – I make fruit salads all Summer long.  I use a variety of fruits, in season, cut into bite-sized pieces, and sprinkled with a little sugar or Splenda.  If I use bananas or apples, I add them at the last minute so they are perfectly fresh.

Doughnut muffins – they take only a few minutes to make and taste like cake doughnuts without all of the work.

My son-in-law brought the fixins’ for Mimosas and they were yummy!  Thanks, Ryan!

Sunday morning (Mother’s Day) menu:
Fresh Fruit Salad
Doughnut Muffins
Scrambled Eggs
Hash Browns (not homemade)
Toasted English Muffins with homemade jams
Crispy Fried Bacon and Sausage Links
Mimosas

It was a wonderful meal that was a lot of fun to share with the 6 college girls, my son-in-law, and DSH.

Mother’s Day Breakfast Spread.

We did not go out for dinner on Mother’s Day.  I am not a fan of going out on holidays, fighting hordes of people (I have a thing about crowds), for an over-priced mediocre meal.

Here was our Mother’s Day dinner menu:
Fresh Fruit Salad (yes, I made enough for 2 meals)
Lettuce Salad with homemade Ranch Dressing
Homemade Onion Strings
Grilled Best Basic Burgers and Hot Dogs
Homemade Burger Buns

Three days of chaos and cookin’.  It was a wild weekend, and I was sad when it ended although I have to admit that I have been enjoying the peace and quiet the last few days.

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Mother’s Day

Posted on May 14, 2012 by Mama

Honestly, I wish we could switch Mother’s Day and Father’s Day.  May is always such a busy month, and it seems like we end up cramming all sorts of holidays together on Mother’s Day.  Mother’s Day ends up becoming diluted with all sorts of other events so that the mother (that is me) ends up doing a normal day’s work.

By June, things have calmed down, and Father’s Day gets undivided attention.  Doesn’t seem quite fair to me.

Someday, it would be nice to have a day completely dedicated to being a mother with all the associated attention, pampering, and stuff.  I’m not holding my breath.

We had nine for breakfast on Mother’s Day this year.

That is because we had four extra college girls staying with us.  They had a wedding for a sorority sister to attend the night before for which DSH and I were DDs (designated drivers).

I love these girls.  They are so smart and so funny and so much fun to be around.  Oh, and I got to learn some stuff about my kid that I didn’t know until I was driving four of them to our home after the wedding reception.

Sunday morning, DSH and I got up early to prepare a nice breakfast for them so that they would be ready to head home safely.

My son-in-law brought stuff to make Mimosas, and they were yummy.

Some replacement kitchen items that I needed.

I have a strategy, which I have employed the last few years, when it comes to buying me gifts for holidays.  I have found that hints and tips do NOT work.  They are too subtle.  Husbands and children require a more direct approach.

So I do a number of things.  One of them is to buy what I want and put the items on DSH’s dresser with a note to the effect – “this would make a nice gift for [name your holiday here}.”  Magically, they reappear, usually wrapped, on the designated day.

Another strategy is to place an order form for the desired item on DSH’s sink.  This works well.

A Joseph Joseph rolling pin.

A final strategy is to send a link to a designated item to DSH’s work email.  (I don’t use his personal email because he only opens it a few times a month.)  This works, too.

Some Nike Comfort Sole sandals.

Sometimes, they do manage to surprise me.  I mentioned that I was interested in these sandals after one of my daughter’s sorority sisters (thanks Katy!) had me try on hers.  They are so comfortable.  The girls were worried that I wouldn’t like them because I do not wear pink, but they are so comfortable, I don’t care about the little bit of pink on them!

After breakfast, the kids all scattered, and DSH and I cleaned the kitchen, took care of a few chores around the house, went to see a movie (Marvel’s The Avenger’s – loved it), and ended the day grilling some burgers and hot dogs and eating outside for the first time this season.

All in all it was a great day, a great weekend, and I hated to see it end.  Even though it was crazy busy, and I am still exhausted, it was tons of fun.

Doesn’t mean that I wouldn’t love a nice, quiet day of pampering though.

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Happy Birthday to Dear Sweet Hubby

Posted on May 11, 2012 by Mama

Dear sweet hubby celebrated a birthday this week.  May is always a crazy month with end of school year stuff for the kids, graduations, birthdays, our anniversary, and, oh, Mother’s Day, too.  It’s enough to make your head spin.

Here is a picture of DSH just before his first birthday.  Isn’t he a cute, chubby baby?  What you can’t see in this picture is his gorgeous red hair.  I love red heads.

DSH was the second born of four kids.  My mother-in-law tells the story that if he had been her firstborn, she may have reconsidered her decision to have more children.  Apparently, he cried a lot.  After a lot of failed attempts to determine what was the matter, they discovered that he slept well with a fan blowing on him.  To this day, he likes to have the fan on when he is sleeping.

I find this story to be hilarious because DSH is the most easy-going person I have ever met.  He is in no way demanding or high maintenance.  I guess he got it all out of his system when he was a baby.

Here he is on his 13th birthday with his siblings.  You know that because there is a big “13″ on his birthday cake.  And look at that lovely red hair!

Here he is the following year on his 14th birthday.  Yes, everyone wore a suit on their birthday in 1970.

He was a freshman in high school then.  I would meet him the following year when I went to the same high school.  I knew who he was before he knew who I was.  He had a locker across the hall from mine.  It would take me 6 months to build up the courage to walk across that narrow space and introduce myself to him.  He was an older man after all!

Here he is on his birthday last year when he turned the double nickel.  I had to use this picture because we totally forgot to light candles and sing happy birthday to him this year.

Oh, and did I mention he has the dreamiest blue eyes?  They make me melt inside.

Usually I make birthday meals around here, but this year we decided to go to one of our favorite spots to have pizza.

Happy birthday to Dear Sweet Hubby!  I’m glad you’re a year older than me again!

Posted in Faith & Family | 2 Comments

What’s Cookin’ – Brownies With Mocha Icing

Posted on May 10, 2012 by Mama

If you are a fan of The Pioneer Woman and own her first cookbook, The Pioneer Woman Cooks, Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl, her recipe for Mocha Brownies is truly decadent and delicious.

My favorite part about this recipe isn’t the brownie part, but the Mocha Icing part.  Her brownie is one of those chewy and fudgey brownies that is truly delicious, but I prefer a nice, moist cake type brownie.  Also, her recipe makes an 8-inch square pan and, well, I just have too many mouths to feed when it comes to desserts.

So I have adapted Ree’s recipe to fit my family’s tastes and need for more than a small pan of brownies.

The first thing that I do is to grease a 9×13 pan and line it with parchment paper.  Grease and flour the parchment paper, too.

Next, make a 9×13 pan of your favorite cake type brownies.  Brownies are super easy to make from scratch, and you probably already have all of the ingredients on hand.  If you need a recipe, try this Best Basic Brownie recipe from PW’s Tasty Kitchen website.

Pour the brownie mixture into the pan and bake according to the directions.  I won’t tell if you use a boxed brownie mix, but if you haven’t made them from scratch, try it – you will be surprised how easy it is.

Allow the baked brownies to cool completely.

Mocha Icing ingredients.

PW’s recipe calls for using brewed coffee.  Whenever I have a recipe calling for brewed coffee, I make espresso instead.  It results in a less bitter-tasting final product without an overwhelming mocha (or coffee flavor).  Even people (especially kids) who claim to dislike mocha, will like the flavor imparted by using the espresso instead of brewed coffee.

Tip on making this icing – the key is to beat until the ingredients are very light and fluffy.  The icing will start out dark and as you beat it, it will become much lighter.  This will take several minutes.  Take the time, it’s worth it!

Spread the Mocha Icing evenly over the top of the cooled brownies.  Refrigerate until the icing is completely hardened.  I usually make them the day before.

When ready, score the long edge of the brownie and carefully lift the entire brownie onto a large cutting board.  Score and cut being careful to remove parchment paper when lifting the individual pieces from the cutting board.

Serve.

Yummy.

Brownies With Mocha Icing

Adapted from The Pioneer Woman Cooks Recipes From An Accidental Country Girl cookbook

2 sticks unsalted butter, softened
5 cups powdered sugar
¼ cup cocoa powder
¾ tsp salt (reduce to ¼ tsp salt if using salted butter)
3 tsp vanilla extract
½ to ¾ cup espresso coffee, brewed and cooled (I use Medaglia D’Oro instant espresso coffee)

Make a batch of your favorite brownies in a 9×13 pan lined with parchment paper.  Bake and allow to cool completely.

To make the icing, combine the softened butter, powdered sugar, cocoa powder, salt, and vanilla in a large bowl.  Mix (use your stand mixer or a hand mixer) on low until slightly combined.  Add ½ cup of the coffee.  Whip until the icing is light and fluffy adding the additional ¼ cup of coffee if necessary.  It will take several minutes to get very light and fluffy.  Ice the cooled brownies and place in the refrigerator until the icing is firm.

Remove the brownies from the pan by running a sharp knife along the long edges of the pan and lift out using the parchment paper edges as handles.  Place on a large cutting board.  Score and cut into desired size pieces.

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Planning a Last Minute Graduation Party

Posted on May 9, 2012 by Mama

Our middle daughter graduated from college this past weekend at a university that is in a small town about 100 miles from our home.

Several of us planned to travel there for her graduation ceremony, and we spent a lot of time debating whether or not to celebrate by going out to dinner there after the ceremony or traveling back home and inviting others, who couldn’t come to the ceremony, to celebrate with us at our home.

Since the ceremony was at the lunch hour, at first we felt that eating locally might be the best option.  After checking with the local restaurants, we learned that no one took reservations and that about 500 kids and their families would be in town for graduation.

So, less than a week before graduation, we decided to travel back home and have a party for our daughter that included others who weren’t able to attend the graduation.

The next challenge was to decide what food we could serve that could be prepared in advance and be ready to go after traveling back home.

This was the menu that we came up with: Baked Mostaccioli, Salad, Breadsticks from a local Italian restaurant, Fresh Fruit Tray, Fresh Veggie Tray, Shrimp with Cocktail Sauce, Chips and Dip, Cheese and Salami and Cracker Tray and store-bought and decorated cookie cake and sheet cake.

All of the stuff that wasn’t bought pre-made, was prepared in advance.  The appetizers and snacks were ready to go so that people had something to eat while the prepared pasta got its final baking.

My sister and her daughter, my niece, helped with the party preparation the day before.

Sometimes it’s more fun getting ready for events than the actual events themselves.  I really enjoyed spending this time with my sister and her daughter.  We worked together well, and it really helped me a lot.

Rachel celebrating with her sorority sisters with whom she has spent the last four years.

It’s different now that they are all of legal age.

And it’s always fun spending time with my own siblings.

And our friends.

Time with Grandma.

And aunts, uncles, and cousins.

And sisters.

It was planned and executed at the last minute, but it was a ton of fun!

Happy Graduation to our red-headed middle child!

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What’s Cookin’ – Party Dips for Fruit and Veggie Trays

Posted on May 8, 2012 by Mama

We had a party this past weekend.  We have large family gatherings and other get-togethers several times a year so we have a lot of different recipes and dishes and favorite things to make for them.

Since we were going to be traveling back and forth to the college town where we were attending our daughter’s graduation, we needed to prepare dishes in advance that would be ready to go when we returned.

Two of the things that we prepared were a fresh veggie tray and a fresh fruit tray.  I never even consider ordering the pre-made trays because it is not only cheaper to make your own, but you can customize the amounts and types of fruits and vegetables based on availability and preference.

For 25 to 30 people, you will need about 2 cups of dip and about 2 ounces of fruits or veggies per person (or 3 to 4 pounds total).  Of course, you will need a little more or a little less depending on what else you are preparing and serving.

You will want a variety of fruits and veggies in different colors to make an attractive arrangement.

Here is what I prepared for our party this past weekend.  We had around 25 people.

I have a great and extremely easy fruit dip recipe that I received from my sister-in-law, Jana.

Fruit Dip – two ingredients – cream cheese and marshmallow creme.  What could be easier?

Beat the softened cream cheese until smooth and creamy.  Add the marshmallow creme and combine well.  Refrigerate until ready to prepare the fruit tray.

Our fresh fruit tray was colorful and seasonal.  It included red and green grapes (which I had also used in our homemade sangria), strawberries, cantaloupe, and blackberries.

How many pre-made trays include blackberries?  They were in season and on sale so they made it onto our tray.  We didn’t end up with fruit that wasn’t perfectly ripe or that people don’t eat.  We did end up with a totally customized fruit tray that was both beautiful and healthy.

All you have to do is to clean your fruit, dry, cut, and package in sealable plastic bags or containers.  It only takes a few minutes to put the tray together right before your guests arrive.

Tip on cleaning berries – Rinse berries under cold water.  Discard any overly ripe or bad berries.  Wash the berries in 1 part white vinegar (½ cup) and 9 parts cold water (4½ cups), rinse under another round of cold water, and pat or allow to dry.  Store in sealable plastic bags or containers in the refrigerator until ready to use.  This will wash off any mold spores and help the berries to last a little longer.

Fruit Dip

Makes about 2 cups

1 8-ounce cream cheese, softened to room temperature
1 7-ounce container marshmallow creme

Beat the cream cheese in a bowl until smooth and creamy.  Add the marshmallow creme and combine well.  Refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Serve with fresh fruit.

I have been making Beau Monde dip for fresh vegetables for many years.  Beau Monde seasoning is made by Spice Islands and its distinctive flavor is really good with vegetables, meats, and other savory dishes.

Beau Monde Dip ingredients.

Mix all of the ingredients in a bowl and chill for several hours or overnight to allow the flavors to meld.

Select a variety of colorful vegetables.  Wash, dry, and cut them into bite sized pieces in advance and store in sealable plastic bags or containers.  If using mushrooms, clean them at the last minute.

Okay, I went a little crazy on the vegetable selection, but it turned out colorful and healthy.  I have plenty left over to make a vegetable stir fry for dinner this week and a batch of cauliflower soup as well as some healthy salads just in time to use with the spinach and lettuces that are ready in my garden.

I hope you enjoy these two dips and preparing your own fruit and vegetable trays for the parties in your future!

Beau Monde Dip

Makes about 2 cups

1 cup sour cream 1 cup mayonnaise 1 TB dill weed 1 TB Beau Monde seasoning 1 TB dried minced onions

Combine all of the ingredients together in a bowl and refrigerate for several hours or overnight.  Serve with freshly vegetables.

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Challenge Accepted

Posted on May 7, 2012 by Mama

It’s been a crazy 2 weeks around here.  We’ve moved three kids and all of their stuff home from college.

We’re in the midst of readjusting to new schedules and newly independent kids coming back home to mom’s and dad’s rules.

And oh the laundry.  Mattress covers, sheets, blankets, towels, and clothes.  The smell of college kid’s laundry is indescribable.

The chaos of having kids home and having their friends around for the next few months has started.

But, the good news is that we have a new college graduate!

Our middle child.  The child who climbed out of her crib and on top of the piano when she was 15 months old.  The toddler who liked to line up the shoes by the back door.  The 4th grader who wrote a report on Harriet Woods for her Famous Missourians report and ended up talking to her, live, on NPR’s Diane Rehm Show.  The 10-year-old kid who unselfishly gave up having her own bedroom to share with our 5th (but second oldest) daughter who came to live with us when she was just 13.  The kid who graciously managed to move twice while in high school when DSH went through a few years of difficult job changes.

A little more than four years ago, she had no idea where she wanted to go to college or what she wanted to study.  The mother of her boyfriend at the time suggested that, since she was so good in math and science, she might want to consider a career in engineering.  So on the way back from a campus visit to another college, we stopped by the University of Missouri – Rolla (now known as the Missouri University of Science & Technology).

A few weeks later, she attended a WISE (Women in Science & Engineering) camp for high school girls.  She was hooked.  Within a few weeks, she was enrolled, registered, and ready to start college.

But, I was worried.  I knew that she would be able to handle the academics, but I was concerned about her having a full college experience of work and fun.  Yes, I wanted her to have fun because I spent all of my younger years working hard and not taking the time to have some fun, and I believe you need that balance in your life.

I shouldn’t have worried so much.  Our middle child has worked hard (as evidenced by her academic and leadership honors), and she has partied hard.  We won’t go into that evidence.

She has had a few bumps in the road along the way, but she has managed them on her own with some moral support from us.  She has made friends for a lifetime, graduated with a degree from a school that she loves, and is ready to go to work in the field and with the company that she wanted.

We listened to her sorority sisters say, “challenge accepted” several times during her graduation party.

It made me think that when a couple decides to have children, the goal is to raise them to be happy, productive, and independent members of society.

I guess we can say – challenge accepted.  Goal achieved.

Or as DSH says – three down, two to go.

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