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Thursday, May 5, 2011

Tardiness, rabbits, marinade, and cheese plates

Yeah, those things have absolutely nothing to do with each other, but I’ve got a few extra minutes to type right now so I’m cramming it all in. There will be no clever transitions between topics today, I’m just warning you. Heh.

The girls are at school right now for an early day, which they were tardy to because at 8:00 this morn I just lying in bed wishing I hadn’t stayed up so late last night and TubaDad was downstairs in the kitchen trying to erase traces of last nights’ barbeque, when the girls suddenly mentioned that it was an early day. Oops, my bad (again, gah!) – seems I never got around to loading the special May school events into my calendar after spring break.... Luckily Ro and Ree had already gotten dressed in these adorable getups (which practically begged for one quick pic), so I threw on a hat and some sweats, we stuffed them with a few handfuls of Multigrain Cheerios, and we sped out the door:DSC_5457LR

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The rabbit has been back and apparently approves of the new menu. I went out the morning after Ro’s note, meaning to gnaw on a few carrots to give the girls a thrill that their plan had worked, and was absolutely shocked to see every single carrot had a bite taken out of it. Seriously. !!! DSC_5452LR
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For the barbeque last night, we made mashed potato casserole, grilled tomatoes (put some cherry tomatoes on skewers, pour italian salad dressing over top, marinate it for a while, then grill), and grilled steak with a yummy marinade that is our new summer staple.DSC_5447LR

Best Steak Marinade (printable recipe)

The steak marinade is fun because kids can make the whole thing themselves. Plus, Ro and Ree love the taste.
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Ingredients
  • 1/3 cup soy sauce
  • 1/2 cup olive oil
  • 1/3 cup lemon juice
  • 1/4 cup Worcestershire sauce
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons garlic powder
  • 3 tablespoons dried basil
  • 1 1/2 tablespoons dried parsley flakes
  • 1 teaspoon ground white pepper
  • 1/4 teaspoon hot pepper sauce (optional, we don’t use it)
  • 1 teaspoon dried minced garlic (optional, we didn’t use it, but next time will use some fresh minced garlic instead of the garlic powder above.)
Directions
  1. Place the soy sauce, olive oil, lemon juice, Worcestershire sauce, garlic powder, basil, parsley, and pepper in a blender. Add hot pepper sauce and garlic, if desired. Blend on high speed for 30 seconds until thoroughly mixed.
  2. Pour over your steak. Seal it up and marinate for a few hours in the fridge, turning the container over a few times to distribute the marinade. Then grill. (If a Texan is manning the grill, be aware that he might like his meat RARE, as in “Just knock the horns off,” you know? So you might need to request that your steak get a few more minutes on the grill.)
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TubaDad was out of town the night before last, so the girls and I had a nice cheese plate for a light dinner. Ro and Ree were playing on the monkey bars when I brought it out, and Ro danced over singing “It’s ready, it’s ready, our cheese plate is ready!!” and Ree screeched to a halt in front of it and said “Wow!!!!” I’m calling that one a successful cheese plate. Ro passionately claimed the white cheddar was the best ever, and Ree declared the havarti to be her favorite this time. The fontina (which was universally adored last week) was pretty much snubbed by all. I need to find a nice Brie for next time and some goat cheese (maybe the kind with dried fruit inside):DSC_5426LR

This one has blueberries, shelled pistachios, apple slices, black olives, raisins, and crackers – mostly because this just happened to be what we had on hand.

So, what would you put on a cheese plate? (I’m making the grocery list right now, so all suggestions are welcome!)

Alrighty, guess I’m done bouncing all over the dang place and will now wrap this up and go take a sorely needed shower. Cheers!

28 comments:

  1. The fact that the girls can read and follow that recipe is just a testament to your ability to teach! Way to go Momma!! So what if you are tardy: your girls can make dinner.

    Happy Mother's Day Early!

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  2. You posted about the Ore Ida steam and mash potatoes last week or 2 ago. I bought a pack last night to make twice baked potato casserole and they turned out amazing. It was so much easier than doing regular potatoes. Thanks for the idea! I didn't know they made such a thing.

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  3. Anonymous5/05/2011

    Do you think the marinade would work for chicken?

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  4. Oooh girl fashion, gotta love it.

    I can't help but notice those outfits would be against dress code in most Canadian schools - I guess warmer climates are not as strict about spaghetti straps!

    And I agree - unless they are disruptive when they arrive, your girls can well afford to be tardy!

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  5. That cheese plate looks like my kind of dinner.

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  6. My favorite thing to eat with cheese and crackers are dill pickles (the refrigerated kind, in halves). They compliment each other so well. I also like them with pepperoncinis, but that would be in ADDITION to the pickles, not in lieu of them. My youngest daughter Chloe won't eat most veggies; she only eats three. One of her favorites is dill pickles.

    (Some red wine would be nice too, but I'd wait a few years before introducing the girls to that.)

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  7. Brenda5/05/2011

    Looks fabulous! I would get the Costco container of fresh mango. I would also put some fresh green grapes on it. How about a few pretzels for good measure??

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  8. Like Lori Lynn, I was going to suggest pickles (yum). I would also suggest a few tricuits with pizza sauce and mozzarella. How about some cream cheese (there is a lovely tomato-basil) and provolone on tortillas and cut into pinwheels? We had that with home made soup tonight and it was divine.
    I've discovered a new site called Snack Girl that is chalk full of great (and healthy) snack ideas. :)

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  9. Those outfits are way too cute. I love their sense of style. And my favorite pics are the ones of the girls with the blender. So beautiful with the light coming through the window! And good to know that rabbits actually eat carrots. Who knew? :)

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  10. Okay.....I am so hungry and trying not to eat since it is almost 11 p.m..... But here I am looking at your delicious food and I just saw LIsa's blog too! You all aren't helping me!;)

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  11. I think it is in poor taste to have the words rabbit and marinade in the same topic ;)

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  12. Indianalori: Aw, thanks, the little honeys have been cooking and baking since they were two. It's always been a fun diversion.

    Sarah G: Glad you tried them and they worked out for you!!

    Anon: Hm, good question. I don't know if the marinade would work on chicken. I'd tend to think chicken would need a little more of a teriyaki or sweeter type of marinade. If you try it, let me know!

    Samantha: Spaghetti straps are prohibited in our school too. Guess the girls are just rule breakers like their mama. :-)

    Lisa: Oh it was... a few mangy olives and some of the snubbed fontina were left at the end, but we pretty much mowed through that thing.

    Lori Lynn: Mmmmmm! We call red wine "mama juice" around here.

    Brenda -- pretzels sound like a great addition.

    Two Kayaks: Thanks for the web site -- sounds great!

    Fourunderfour: Thanks! The light through the windows was just gorgeous. I had to completely ignore the camera's dire warnings that I was overexposing and go with my gut to get the exposure on their faces to work.

    Laural: I hear ya. I'm hungry and trying not to eat and just went to Target (our power had been off for 5 hours and I was bored). Ah, the temptations around every turn.

    Fuzzandfuzzlet: Bwa ha!!!!!! Dang that made me laugh.

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  13. I could not cope if we had days that started at different times. I am doing well to get my kids to school for the normal time everyday - if we had early days it would be a disaster!

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  14. Marina5/06/2011

    I always think grapes go well with cheese, at least that's what we combine cheese with back in Germany.
    Here in the UK it's cheese and pineapple

    I always love cheese and triscuits or wheat thins

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  15. I seriously LOVE their outfits!

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  16. Can Tate and I come live with you??? Serously, yummm to all the food AND fun with bunnies. I might even be helpful in getting the girls to school on time!

    Hugs

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  17. We love Manchego cheese, grapes, any kind of Brie, and figs are yummy with any cheese plate!

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  18. mmmm..and crusty french bread! You just happen to hit upon one of my fav foods in the whole world. Bread, cheese and fruit.

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  19. Anonymous5/06/2011

    There's a fig spread that is heavenly with strong white cheese. We also like a good genoa salami (applegate farms makes a preservative-free one) with our cheese.

    Thinking a cheese plate needs to be on our menu next week. It's been too long!

    Amy

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  20. Just wait until they're in first grade and you get to use the drop-off line. That means you can go in your pajamas and no one will know -- or so I've been told because I would never drive my girls to school in my pajamas. :)

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  21. That cheese plate looks SO GOOD!! I could do that for dinner any night of the week.....of course paired with a great glass of wine and it is even better:)

    Have you ever seen Goat Cheese with Cranberies in it? My Mom brought some to the house a few weeks ago and it was GREAT!!

    The girls look as adorable as ever in their outfits....so glad you stole a quick minute for a photo!

    Happy Mother's Day to one of the coolest Mom's I know!! Enjoy your super special day:)

    xoxo,

    Lisa

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  22. Dried cherries or crasins. I love the tartness!! That's what i would add, if you had them on hand.

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  23. prosciutto wrapped around honeycrisp apple slices and a soft Muenster cheese is to die for.

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  24. Anonymous5/09/2011

    Try to make the marinade with fresh herbs too, it's even better! Especially parsley is so much better fresh than dried!

    For a cheese platter, I'd say fig jam, chutney (quince chutney or quince jam), and definitely on some crusty fresh french bread. Grapes!

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  25. Yum... that's a serious cheese plate. Good idea for a light dinner. We might do that next week before gymnastics.

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  26. We love marinated steaks I will have to see if I can get Jim to try that one he is pretty convinced his is the best.
    Love that they bunny's took a bite out of the carrots but are the leaving the plants alone?
    And Cheese is one of the few words that Chloe can say, it is more like eeeezzzzzzz but I know what she means :)

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  27. Our kids love mango chutney and cheddar cheese served on bread or crackers.

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  28. We tried the marinade tonight. Fabulous!!!

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