Attack of the endless zucchini

This stuff is taking over my garden and my kitchen and my thoughts and my LIFE!

What on earth am I to do with so much of this stuff?!? When I was younger you would not catch me looking cross eyed at the stuff. If my mom made it for dinner I thought it was a fate worse than death. I HATED IT! But she made me eat it anyway. Then a few years ago I started to tolerate it. Now I really enjoy it. I enjoy it enough to plant it in my garden. The first year I planted it I planted 2 plants and I was over run with the stuff. I could not give it away fast enough. I could not make enough zucchini bread. From then on I vowed I'd never plant more than one zucchini a year. Well, this year I had helpers helping me start my little seeds in our yogurt cups in the house about 2 weeks before we were planning to transplant them outside. Our cute little plants sprouted very nicely in their cups. When the time was right and they all had their second set of leaves we made the move to the great outdoors. They took off. The only problem is the cup we had marked as yellow squash turned out to be a zucchini plant. Plus the one marked zucchini turned out to be zucchini too. So now I have zucchini coming out my ears, but no yellow squash. *cry* I have 7 sitting on my counter ready to be eaten and more that will be ready to be picked tomorrow and the next day and the next day and on and on. So I have been racking my brain with creative ways to eat the stuff. Here are a few of my ideas.

* Grate it with a cheese grater into your favorite spaghetti sauce just before you start to heat it up. the kids will never know it's there!

* Grate it into taco filling. We had this tonight with chicken tacos. It worked really well. Beef ones would work too. I sauteed garlic and onions then added the diced chicken. As the chicken was browning I grated the zucchini right into the pan. By the time the chicken was done so was the zucchini. I added 1/2 a taco seasoning packet. I rolled the filling up in tortillas with cheese, lettuce, sour cream and diced tomatoes (also from the garden). It was out of this world, crazy good.

* Top homemade pizza with thinly sliced zucchini, tomatoes, bell peppers, onions and olives for a healthy veggie pizza. Or add pepperoni too if you like!

* Slice into 1/4 inch circles and saute in a little olive oil with onions and garlic. When it is nearly done throw in a freshly diced tomato. Cook just until the tomato is warmed, not too long or the tomato will get mushy and gross. Season with salt and pepper. Top with Parmesan cheese for a yummy side dish. Don't over cook the zucchini or it will get really slimy.

* Zucchini boats. Cut a few in half length wise and scoop out the innards. Mash the innards (is that a word) in a bowl with a clove of fresh crushed garlic and salt and pepper and Parmesan cheese and bread crumbs (I make my own bread crumbs from the heals of our bread loaves. I put them in the blender until they are crumbs). Scoop this mixture back into the hollowed out zucchinis (like deviled eggs). Bake at 350 until tender. Or you can through them on the grill to cook with your burgers for a great BBQ side.

* Slice thinly and add them to your omelet with other fresh veggies and cheese.

* The classic zucchini bread, of course.

* Grate one up into most any baked item. Brownies, corn bread, just try what you like. If the kids ask what the funny green things are lie, lie like there is no tomorrow. Tell them you have no clue how those mysterious green bits got in there. Assure them it still tastes good. And it will. You can not even taste them, unless you go over board, of course.

* Add to soups like beef stew, chicken noodle. But who really eats soup in this heat? Not me!

* Who can forget fried zucchini?

* Dice and freeze for later use.

* If all else fails give them away.

* If you neighbors will not take them any more take them to church with you and sneak them into the cars whose windows are down. Tie a cute note to it and pretend it came from someone else.

What do you do with your zucchini? What is your favorite way to eat it? Do you eat it? Or do you gag at the mere thought of the stuff. Help me come up with other awesome ways to eat this overly excited vegetable.

Mindless Ramblings

I have no access to my photos! Mr. bird, HELP!

AAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!

What is a blogger to do? What is a blog post without pictures? Just mindless ramblings I guess. So that is what we're getting today; mindless ramblings of a stay at home, thirty something year old crazy homeschooling mom of 4 little monsters. By the way, when I call my children monsters it is with the most love and affection possible. Elmo is a little monster too and look at how many people love him. I really do love my monsters and I think they are the cutest things ever, even cuter than Elmo. I just need to share some of the funny things I hear them say so I can remember them in years to come.

Beano: "Doodle, baby cake's mouth is full of suckers!"

I come screaming while running down the hall to my tiny baby, "Who gave the baby suckers?!?"

Beano: "No, see, he has no teeth, all he has are suckers."

Let me translate: GUMS. With which to SUCK, you know suckers.

Here's another for you.

Beano: "Doodle, let's play make-up"

Doodle: "But we don't have any make-up to play with."

Beano: "No, let's MAKE-UP a game to play."

Translation: Let's play make believe, use our imaginations, pretend to be something we are not, you know MAKE-UP!

Say tuned for another edition of Mindless ramblings and funny Kid Quotes!

To see what others are talking about this fabulous Tuesday visit The Lazy Organizer.

That's a funny name for a pipe!

This is one of the many things I LOVE about Mr. Bird. I remember the first year we were married, my car died. I had no clue what was wrong. I just assumed we'd call a tow truck and have it towed to the shop. They'd fix it, call us to come get it and we'd pay them a load of our hard earned cash. We'd take it home and go about our lives as usual. Well, Mr Bird had other plans. He tried starting it again, listening very closely to the car. Within seconds he says, "It's the starter." OK, so now we'd call the tow truck, right?

WRONG!

He called his dad instead and had him bring a tow rope. What is a tow rope you ask? It is a fancy name for a chain you hook to a truck and to the car you want to pull. The truck pulls the car. The car has a driver in it to brake when the truck brakes and to steer. The car stays in neutral. It's kinda scary driving down the road in the car being towed that way. We end up dangerously close to the truck in front. I always have visions of the chain snapping and flying up through the windshield. In any case it is free. All you have to do is find a willing family member to help bail you out. And you have to be willing to bail out any one of your family members at any time. So when Jay told me he'd get his dad to tow us home I asked, "Don't you mean to the shop so we can get it fixed?!?" Wrong again. You see, it was JUST the starter. It would be a piece of cake to fix himself. I thought,

"ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

"You realize I want to DRIVE this car around? I don't want any parts falling out while I am driving down the road." He assured me it would all be OK. So he bought the part at Checker Auto and within an hour it was installed and ready to go. It started like a dream. To my amazement that car never had a problem with the starter ever again. I was floored that an ordinary person like my sweet hubby could do something himself that I would never have dreamed of even contemplating doing. He has done this too many times to count in our marriage. He has fixed leaky pipes, toilets, water heaters, furnaces, sprinklers, cars. He even remodeled the bathroom in our first house entirely by himself. He laid the linoleum, installed a new tub, toilet and sink and built a tile shower. When he is not quite sure how to do a project he buys a book, reads it, then does it. And it works! We have more car repair manuals and home improvement books to count. I love that about him. He is not afraid to take on a new challenge. And it usually ends up saving us a ton of cash. All we have to buy are the parts. This particular quality came in handy again this week. I was at my sister's house picking up her daughter so we could all go swimming. We got back out to the smoldering hot car and turned the key, waiting for the blast of cold air from the AC. The blast of air came, but that was all. It was as dead as a doornail. We figured it was the starter again (different car this time). My sweet sister loaded us all in her 16 passenger van and drove us the 2 miles back to our house. Swimming was canceled. Bummer, I know. By now I knew the protocol. Mr Bird would have his Brother-in-Law tow the beast home. He took the day off work today and got up early this morning and got the part from our beloved Checker Auto. Within an hour it was installed and it started like a dream. I went out to offer him a bowl of cereal and I found Doodle under the beast with her daddy. I caught him showing her the exhaust pipe and telling her what it was. She laughed and said,

"That's a funny name for a pipe!"

Now we have a whole day to play with Mr Bird. What should we do first? The possibilities are endless!

OREO Anyone?

Don't adjust your screen, there is nothing wrong with this picture. I know, I know you're saying there is something very wrong with that OREO, that

it is not like any OREO you have ever seen.

Well, let me tell you with this crispy little cookie everything is right! Have you ever noticed that with traditional OREOs some people like only the white cream in the middle and some people only like the little chocolate cookies? I personally only like the little chocolate cookies. The white cream seems like sweet shortening and I can hardly gag it down. Doodle on the other hand loves the cream and hands over the cookies to me. We make the perfect OREO eating duo.
Let me tell you, the makers of OREO have solved this widespread dilemma for good. All they had to do was turn the cookie inside out! They put the vanilla on the outside and the chocolate on the inside! Perfect. Now the cream does not taste like flavorless sweet goop. It is way better than frosting. You want to know why? Because it actually tastes like fudge. That's right,

rich decadent fudge.

And the little cookies on the outside and perfectly crisp and delightful. Put them together and it is the perfect OREO. Needless to say I will not be going back to the old OREO anytime soon.


Disclaimer: I am in no way advertising for the OREO corporation (although I could be). All thoughts expressed in this thread are the sloe opinion of the writer. I can not be held responsible for your going out and buying a package of these decadent goodies and eating the entire package within 10 minutes, nor the consequential stomach ache that will ensue because of such behavior. Enjoy at your own risk.

To see what everyone else is chatting about visit the Lazy Organizer.

God Bless the USA

I wanted to post about our 4th of July festivities. I kept thinking about the wonderful day we had. About how we woke up at 6 am and ran in the 5 K. About the parade and the BBQ at our house that lasted 7 hours.

About the fireworks and how Baby Cakes LOVED his first fireworks display. About the fun water fight we had in the back yard. About all the fun and celebrating we did.

But somehow it all felt trivial. But not really. I wanted to write about what this country means to me. I kept thinking about all the men who have fought to defend this great country. I kept thinking of the wives and mothers and children of those men waiting at home for their brave soldiers.

I thought of the ones who never saw their beloved soldier ever again. What pain and tears and yet honor they must have felt.

I thought of the founding Fathers and the great love and respect I have for them. They truly were inspired men with such vision for his blessed land.

I just became overwhelmed with reverence and respect and it started to seem silly to write about our festivities. I have never personally felt the pain of losing a loved one to war. I feel like I have so much that I take for granted every day.

How many soldiers are fighting right this minute so I can be sitting here in my safe home watching fireworks and eating watermelon? I am so thankful for those men.

Then Mr. Bird' s sister sent this email. I read it and cried. Those men were inspired! Thanks Mama Lis!

Independence Day Thought
"If our nation’s Founders could visit us on this, our 232nd Independence Day, what would they make of us? What would they declare of us?
"A hint can be discerned in a letter from John Adams to his wife, Abigail, on July 3, 1776, as the Declaration of Independence had just been approved. 'It ought to be commemorated,' said the man who would become our second president, 'as the Day of Deliverance by solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty. It ought to be solemnized with Pomp and Parade, with Shews, Games, Sports, guns, Bells, Bonfires and Illuminations from one End of this Continent to the other from this Time forward forever more. You will think me transported with Enthusiasm but I am not. I am well aware of the Toil and Blood and Treasure, that it will cost Us to maintain this Declaration, and support and defend these States. Yet through all the Gloom I can see the Rays of ravishing Light and Glory. I can see that the End is more than worth all the Means. And that Posterity will tryumph in that Day's Transaction, even altho We should rue it, which I trust in God We shall not.'
"Americans have maintained the 'Pomp and Parade' for more than two centuries now, and the 'Bonfires and Illuminations’ are commonplace, but how often do we recognize Independence Day as ‘the Day of Deliverance?’ How often do we honor it with ‘solemn Acts of Devotion to God Almighty’? How often do we contemplate the cost of our freedom, 'the Toil and Blood and Treasure?'"

So Independence day will continue to be one of my most favorite days of the year. I will continue to eat hamburgers and potato salad and watermelon and flag cake. I will continue to watch the parade with a lump in my throat. I will continue to watch the magnificent firework displays. But to add to the festivities I will thank God for my freedom and for all the men who have made this land free. I will praise God for this beautiful country and try even harder to do my part to make it better for my kids and their kids and on and on. I will say at the top of my voice

GOD BLESS THE USA!

A Little Slice of Heaven

Are you looking for something fancy and festive to make for your 4Th of July BBQ? How 'bout this sweet little number. She is practically perfect in every way. A light flaky crust, fresh juicy succulent strawberries topped with homemade whipped cream. That's right, you heard me, no cool whip here baby. Now don't get me wrong, cool whip has it's place and heaven knows I've eaten my share of it in my day. But for these sweet ripe berries

only real cream will do.

I made this particular pie a couple of weeks ago for our anniversary. Between Mr. Bird, myself and all the kidletts we downed the whole thing in less than 10 minutes. This recipe actually makes 2 pies so you will have plenty to share at a BBQ. And no, we did not eat 2 whole pies, our neighbor across the street had just had her baby so I took one of them over there for them to enjoy. Hope you enjoy it too!

Ingredients:
2 9 inch pie shells, baked
2 lbs strawberries
1 cup granulated sugar
2 Tablespoons cornstarch
1 cup boiling water
1 (3 oz) package strawberry flavored gelatin

In a small pan, mix together the sugar and the corn starch; make sure to blend corn starch in completely or you will have lumps or strings in your filling. Add boiling water and cook over medium heat until the mixture thickens. Remove from heat. Add gelatin mixture, stir until smooth. Let mixture cool to room temperature. Layer strawberries (remove tops and slice in half) and filling in the baked pie shell. Make three layers of each. Place strawberries in the shell being sure to heap in the middle. Refrigerate until set.

Whipped Cream

1 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla

Whip cream until almost stiff. Add sugar and vanilla; beat until cream holds peaks.

See, now wasn't that easy?
Add dollops of whipped cream around the perimeter of the pie and one large dollop in the middle. To make it more festive add a blueberry to each whipped cream dollop. Can you tell I like the word dollop? You know what else I really like?

This Pie!

Baby Boy!

Look at this cute little thing! He is almost as cute as my baby, almost. This is Mr. Bird's dad's new baby Fox Trotter. He was born last week. Aren't they the shiniest most beautiful horses ever? Grandpa was out of town (that always seems to happen when his horses are foaling!) last week when Shar went over to the house to check on things for him.

When she got there she found more than she bargained for. It's a good thing horses can just kinda do their thing without much need for help from their humans. It's a good thing she didn't start hyperventilating and begging for an epidural. There would have been no one there to help her out of her pickle. In Grandpa's defence he was born 3 weeks early. He was planning on being home in plenty of time for the birth. When Shar found this cute little guy he was not even standing yet and it was very apparent that he was born just that morning.

This new little guy is our horse, Shadow's brother. Misty is their mother. They are all the sweetest horses. They are all so good with the kids. I think it's because we start out the day they are born bringing the kids over and letting them touch the baby and feel it's mouth and belly and feet. It is so fun looking at their tiny feet. It's like when your girlfriend has a new baby and you go over to welcome the new bundle to the world. You just have to check out the glorious tininess of all the cute fingers and toes.

To see what others are talking about this fabulous Tuesday visit The Lazy Organizer. This week we are supposed to be talking about our home tours but we really don't have anything that exciting going on around here. We do have a few things in the works that we are very excited about. We have the plans all drawn up for a new garage! Bye, bye car port! We are just waiting for the city to approves them before we start building. When things get going I'll post before and after shots. Plus I am wanting to redo the boy's room and the living room. Maybe next month I'll have something to show everyone about all our projects.