Denver Art Museum

On Thursdays, Maddox attends a homeschool enrichment program (which he LOVES), so the big boys and I get to enjoy a field trip each week.  Last Thursday, we went to the Denver Art Museum.  We've been there before, but both of them asked if we could go back... who am I to deny a request to visit a museum?

Here's a fun sculpture found just outside the museum:

 As you can see, my boys got a little "swept away".  :)

A Day at Breck

Yesterday was absolutely beautiful here in the mountains, so we took advantage of it and headed to the slopes.  Here are my handsome snowboarders!

Maddox and I weren't in that picture because he and I were busy over on a different mountain... my little guy skied with me down the mountain all day without a harness of any kind!  All of that practicing in the yard has paid off... he's officially a skier now! Here he is with Dad on the lift...

And here is a little video of him showin' us his stuff!  I'm there on the right in the bright blue coat - this was my first time skiing without poles and it went very well.  Maddox and I had a blast together!  He was even daring enough to go through the trees several times.  Such fun!  The video is small, but you can click on the "full screen" button in the lower right corner of the window.

Well, it's a good thing we had such a good time, because it all came to a screeching halt - LITERALLY - when we had to endure 4 hours of traffic to get back home.  No kidding.  Apparently, there were some X games or something in Aspen, and combined with all the regular skiers like us trying to get home, it made for one very crowded roadway.  Oh well... we had a beautiful day together.

Rice Pudding

Tonight was Michael's choice for dessert... and as I stated last week, he chose Rice Pudding!  I have never made it, nor have I ever tried it, but it turned out to be a very tasty success... and simple to make!

I suppose I am posting a lot of articles on cooking.  I'm not sure if anyone really WANTS my recipes, but with 4 men in my house, cooking is a major part of who I am.  And this blog is all about giving you a little taste (pun intended) of our life... so enjoy!  :)

Rice Pudding

3/4 cup uncooked white rice
2 cups milk, divided
1/3 cup white sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 egg, beaten
1 Tbsp butter
1/2 tsp vanilla
Cinnamon

In a medium saucepan, bring 1 1/2 cups water to a boil.  Add rice and stir.  Reduce heat, cover, and simmer for 20 minutes.

In another saucepan [I'm not sure why it didn't indicate you could use the same pan?], combine cooked rice, 1 1/2 cups milk, sugar, and salt.  Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until thick and creamy - 15 to 20 minutes.  Stir in remaining 1/2 cup milk and beaten egg.  Cook 2 minutes more, stirring constantly.  Remove from heat, and stir in butter and vanilla.  Serve warm sprinkled with cinnamon (optional).

Corn Meal Lessons

Homeschooling allows for such creativity.  Maddox is not particularly fond of writing his letters with a pencil on paper all the time.  So sometimes, we improvise.

Today, we let our grain mill help us out a bit.  Nothing like fresh corn meal in which to write your letters!

He loves the variety, and I just love that he's learning to spell and read.  I told him to write "fox"... and I got his "that was too easy" look!

Nuts, Anyone?

Here's another yummy recipe for you!  Cinnamon & Sugar Roasted Almonds.... Mmmmmm!
They remind us of what you get on street corners... and this recipe lasted us about a week.  Perfect for taking in your purse for a little snack - for us, it was our fuel for ski days!

Cinnamon & Sugar Roasted Almonds

5 cups whole almonds
2 egg whites
1 tsp vanilla
1/3 cup melted butter
1/2 cup white sugar
1/2 cup brown sugar
1/4 tsp salt
1 tsp ground cinnamon

Preheat oven to 300 degrees.  Spray a 9x13 pan with cooking spray.  In a large bowl, beat egg whites lightly until just frothy.  Add vanilla and melted butter and stir.  Add almonds and stir until well coated.  In a separate small bowl, mix the white sugar, brown sugar, salt, and cinnamon.  Add to the nuts and stir until coated.  Pour into the pan and spread evenly.  Bake for 1 hour, stirring every 10 minutes.  Cool completely.

Momma's Legos!

Well, Lego has gone and done it... they have finally created something for GIRLS!  And yes, I was all over it. I purchased a couple sets of their new line, and I am not lying when I tell you that my boys were just as interested in it as I was!  ...of course, they were trying to cook up a Lego ladybug in the little kitchen and then posing Lego Mom and Lego Dad in a spiff because she tried to serve it to him.

Let me give you a little tour... For starters, here is the adorable little kitchen.  There's even silverware in those little drawers!  Don't pay any attention to that pan that takes up all four burners on the stove.  Lego has their own proportions.  Like that blender over there... it's the size of the little people's whole torso.  But I don't care.  It's doggone cute.

Next is the living room where the Lego people perpetually watch what appears to be American Idol.  That little purple chair even swivels... and we all know that purple furniture is ultra hip.

Upstairs... oh, wait... there are no stairs.  Well, ABOVE the bottom floor, you'll find a cute little bathroom with real shower doors...

And a bedroom with a dressing table, bed, and nightstand.  I guess all three Lego family members share this one bed... they're a tight-knit group.

Outside is where you'll find Lego Dad... cooking up a chicken leg the size of his head with a spatula the length of his body.  Oh, and there's Lego Sister mowing the Lego grass.

Where's Lego Mom?  Well, after cleaning her enormous 1.2 square foot house, she's exhausted.  She's resting up on the sun deck under her pink umbrella.  Oh wait... she's forgotten something.

 Ahhhhh, that's better!

Strawberry Pretzel Jell-O

Tonight was my dessert night choice.  It almost didn't happen... I had a busy day and didn't have time to get it made, BUT... I managed to pull it off and made myself (and whomever else wanted any) some strawberry pretzel jello.  For those of you who have never had it before, I'm sure it sounds quite disgusting.  Who, in their right mind, would put pretzels in jello??  Well, that's not exactly how it works.  The pretzels (mixed with butter and sugar) make a yummy crust.  Then, on top of that, is a savory layer of cream cheese, sugar, & whipped topping (I never use that nasty cool whip stuff).  Then the final layer is vibrant red jello with strawberries.  All together, it makes one heck of a dessert!!

The best part is that Mason and I are really the only two in the house who love it, so all the more for us!  I was a good girl, however, and halved the recipe so Mason and I wouldn't gorge ourselves on a huge 9x13 pan of it.  :)

I have a challenge coming next week - Michael has selected Rice Pudding.  I've never made it.  We'll see how it goes!

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Strawberry Pretzel Jell-O

9 oz. bag of pretzels, broken into small pieces

3 Tbsp sugar

1 ½ sticks butter, melted

Mix and press into 9x13 pan.  Bake 10 minutes at 350 and let cool completely.

8 oz. pkg cream cheese

1 cup sugar

2 cups whipped cream

Cream well and spread over pretzel mixture.  Seal edges of pan.

6 oz. box of Strawberry Jell-O dissolved in 2 cups of boiling water

(2) 10 oz. boxes of frozen strawberries, thawed

Mix and allow to partially set.  Pour over cream cheese.  Chill well.

A Day at the Rodeo

Coming from Texas, we've enjoyed our fair share of rodeos.  But we haven't seen one here in Colorado - until today. Some dear friends (thanks, Chad & Shell!) gave us tickets that they weren't going to use ...but they didn't tell us they were in the FRONT ROW!

The seats were padded, came with free programs, and our own personal server!  We could literally touch the dirt!    I must say, I've never had seats this good at a rodeo before.  ...but there was one downfall:

We had to take cover when anything got too close!  The dirt was flying everywhere!!  Our friends had given us four tickets, so the big boys invited one of their friends (Joe) along who happened to have never seen a rodeo before in his life (he's from California :)... well, I guess he's seen one now!

We saw bronco bustin', bull ridin', mutton bustin', barrel racin', steer ropin', lots of lassoin' (is that a word?), and just about everything else you see at a regular rodeo.  The only thing we missed was Cowboy Poker, which they always did in Texas.

We even saw this crazy little guy put on a little performance with this amazing horse... he treated that horse like a pet dog!  It was incredible!

After the rodeo, we took a little time to visit the rest of the stockyards - which we have been to before.  We always like to see the sheep shearing demonstration.

A fun day was had by all... well, except for the bulls, I imagine ...and maybe that sheep.

Ping Pong is IN the House!

It is not a secret that ping pong is a huge part of my family... I grew up with it, and my family still has heated ping pong tournaments at our family reunion every two years.  It is only fitting that I married a ping pong player!  Well, our table has spent all of its life in the garage where it can only be played during the mild days of summer.  And that just wasn't going to work for us anymore, as Michael needs to train these boys how to whip the Muenks & Obermark boys!  ...and because we've met some fellow ping pong players that we'd like to have at our house to give Michael some competition.

So... we cleared some room and brought it downstairs!

Let the tournaments begin!!

Something New to Learn

This fall, Mason will be a freshman... how can this be possible?!  As a family, we have decided to send him to public high school.  We have even decided to join the marching band!  Mason has met with the band director and several of the members (including the drum major, who happens to be our dear friends' daughter), and he has decided to play the tenor saxophone.  In order to get a head start and not be a beginner at summer band camp, we have rented a saxophone for him and hired an instructor.  His lessons will start later this week.  The instrument is almost as big as he is, but I think he looks real smart holding it!  What do you think?

Cheesecake

We have a tradition in the Force house that on Sunday evening, we enjoy a home cooked dessert after dinner.  We take turns choosing what that dessert will be, and I've had some wonderful requests over the last several months.  Consequently, I have learned how to make many things I have never attempted before:  key lime pie, bread pudding, coconut cream pie - just to name a few.   But it's always a night that we look forward to simply because it's the only night we're allowed to have dessert!  (okay, so we don't always stick to that rule, but we try).

I thought it would be fun to start sharing our dessert nights with all of you!  Tonight is Mason's choice, and he selected one of his favorites - CHEESECAKE!

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New York Cheesecake

 

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Crust:       2/3 cup graham cracker crumbs         3 Tbsp. butter, melted

                 2 Tbsp. sugar

Preheat oven to 350.  Spray 2 small spring form pans with cooking spray.  Mix above ingredients and press firmly into bottom and ¾ up sides of pans.  Bake for 6 minutes.  Set aside.

Filling:     8 oz. cream cheese, room temp.       ½ tsp. grated lemon rind

                 1/4 cup sugar                                     1 Tbsp. cornstarch

                 1 egg                                                  ½ cup sour cream

                 1 tsp. vanilla

In large bowl, beat together cream cheese & sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in the egg, vanilla, lemon rind & cornstarch until thoroughly mixed.  Stir in sour cream until well blended.  Pour into prepared crust (marble with 2 pureed strawberries, if desired) and bake on cookie sheet 25-30 minutes.  Allow to cool in the oven with door slightly ajar for 45 minutes.  Cool on rack and refrigerate at least 2 hours.

A New Family Treasure

Remember that totally awesome Lego picture Mason made for me at Christmas?  Well, I now have it framed and placed upon our wall...

Up close, it looks rather weird, but step back, and it comes to life!  I just love it!!

Snowy Day in the Mountains

It's just another snowy day here in the mountains!  Today, we're seeing big FAT snowflakes - such a lovely sight, really.  Looking out our windows makes us feel as though we're in a snowglobe... it is so beautiful and peaceful.  Here's a shot from our front porch - notice we still have our Scottish flag flying!  At present, it's the only color we see outside besides brown and white.

One wonderful new development... Mason can now plow!  And that comes in handy when Dad is out for the day!  Mason plowed this morning, and then I plowed again at mid-day.  The reward?  A nice, hot mug of hot chocolate.  Yum.

While it is plenty cold outside, we are hard at work inside.  The boys are diligently working on school, and I'm about to bake a loaf of bread... Life is good.

Playdate

One of my friends asked if I could watch her little girl today... to which I said, "sure!"  I always enjoy having a little girl in the house!  And this is one of the cutest little girls I know...

As you can see, she and Maddox get along swimmingly.  :)  Just look at the adoration in her eyes!

Ice Skating

One of the things I love the most about Evergreen is our beautiful lake.   In the summer, we spend a lot of time either on it in a paddle boat, or walking around it.  In the winter, we spend an equal amount of time ice skating on it!  Today was one such day... the sun was shining, the sky was a deep blue, so we took advantage of the beautiful day and strapped on our skates.

Maddox is a super star with his new ice walker!  He just goes and goes and goes...

The big boys and Dad were playing hockey, when along comes Maddox with his walker - which he discovered doubles as a really cool hockey stick!  They played and played...

 ...until this one was plum wore out.  :)

Homemade Pasta!

Many of you know I love to make things from scratch... bread, soap, etc.  Well, here's my newest passion - PASTA!  For Christmas, I got a couple of attachments for my Kitchen Aid mixer to help... and oh, how easy they make it!

Just in case any of you are game to give it a try, here is a step-by-step tutorial!  It's super easy, I promise!

Start by putting 1 1/2 cups of flour in a bowl, make a well in the middle and add 2 eggs (the ratio is 3/4 cup of flour to each egg in case you need to make more or less).

Begin mixing the eggs with a fork, gradually adding in the flour.

Continue mixing until most of the flour is incorporated.

When it gets to the point where you really can't stir it any more, turn it out onto a bread board (or clean counter).  Continue mixing - a pastry scraper helps.

I usually add a couple teaspoons of water as it's a bit dry here in the mountains.

Eventually, you'll incorporate all of the flour.  Keep in mind that this dough is quite a bit more stiff than a bread dough.

 Knead the dough for 2 or 3 minutes, and you'll end up with a nice ball like this.  It shouldn't be sticky or dry.

 Wrap the dough ball in floured plastic wrap and let it rest for about 20-30 minutes.

After it has rested, cut it into pieces about the size of your palm using the pastry scraper.

Gently flatten one piece just a little bit, and then run it through the pasta rollers, set on the widest setting (1).
 

 Fold the flattened strip into thirds, and run it through again.  *NOTE* Folded dough should only be run through at the widest setting... and I sometimes skip this part if the dough looks a bit dry or doesn't come through the first press nicely.

Narrow the rollers to the next setting (2) and run the dough through again (withOUT folding!).  Continue to narrow the rollers and run the dough through until you've run it through on setting 5.  As it gets thinner, sprinkle a little flour on it to prevent it from sticking to the rollers. If you find that the rollers are getting messy, then your dough is too wet.  Your rollers should look clean when you are finished (which is a good thing, because these attachments are not intended to be washed!)

 The dough strips get very long, so you may want to cut them in half or thirds as you go.  Here they are all laid out to dry for a couple minutes before cutting.
  

Place the cutter attachment of your choice into the mixer (I'm using the fettuccine cutter) and run the strips through.  Voila!

Place the cut noodles on a tray and toss with some flour to prevent them from sticking.  

 Here is the whole batch, all cut and ready to cook!  You can cover them with plastic wrap and keep in the fridge until you are ready to cook them.  I usually make the noodles in the morning and prepare that evening, but I've heard you can even do them the night before.  Be careful, though - you don't want them to dry out!

To cook, place them in boiling water with a little salt for about 4 minutes (2 minutes for spaghetti noodles).  Drain, and ENJOY!