New Year's Eve

We entertained friends and family on New Year's Eve. Appetizers were served. There are two schools of thought regarding pigs in a blanket. 1 - A hot dog wrapped in a crescent roll. This is incorrect. 2 - A sausage link with half a slice of cheese wrapped in a crescent roll. This correct.

Tony's favorite, bruschetta. This one of my specialties but I rarely make it.

Here's where the evening really gets exciting! The chocolate fondue fountain, a gift from Tony's mom. A special thanks to David for assembling the fountain and running the show.

Strawberries and marshmallows.

What do you do with a ton of excess melted chocolate and a pound of strawberries? Make chocolate covered strawberries, of course!

Here's some other stuff - cheese, crackers, chips and salsa, hummus, pita, and veggies.

Spring Break, Evening 3. The Kids Have Won and I am Defeated. 3.25.2009

I give up. The kids have won. They've worn me out. It's chaos in this house and I am counting the days until they go back to school next week.

I took the kids to the grocery store with me yesterday and that is what finally broke me. Connor and Ian are exhausting to shop with - physically and mentally. They insisted on riding in the grocery cart that has the car attached to the front. Connor is too damn big to be riding in the car grocery cart but he managed to wedge himself in next to Ian. They then proceeded to argue the entire time while I pushed 93 pounds of kids around Kroger - plus the additional weight of the cart itself and the cart full of groceries. About 15 minutes in to our shopping trip, I just gave in to almost all of their demands. Ian wants a baguette - Fine. Connor wants little ice cream cups - Fine. Starburst? FINE. Nerds Rope? FINE? Popsicles? JUST PUT THEM IN THE CART. Two kinds of Krispy Kreme Donuts? YES, BUT ONLY IF YOU QUIT FIGHTING WITH YOUR BROTHER. By the time we were checking out, I was a sweaty and tired mess.

Here are the results...

When Ian asked for a baguette, he had no intention of letting me slice it for him or of sharing it. While I was carrying the other groceries in, he found the baguette and started eating it whole. I cannot explain what goes on in Ian's head.



The kids have set up residence in a tent in the living room. Here is Ian with his bread and Connor has just finished his ice cream and is eating his Nerds Rope.






Ian with his first of about 5 popsicles. Connor had about 3 popsicles.


Connor battles my cousin, Olivia, for a bag of Krispy Kreme donuts. It was a win/win situation. She got the glazed donuts and he got the bag of powdered donuts.






After spending an hour and $166 at the grocery store, what did I make for dinner? Nothing! We got take out from the new Middle Eastern place down the street, Pita Hut-N-Grille. Goofy name, but the food was great. I had chicken kabobs, falafel, and hummus. Tony had a shwarma pita and french fries. Olivia had the falafel pita. What I loved about this place is that everything is made fresh to order. I watched them roast my chicken and shape and cook the falafel. Another huge bonus is that this place is cheap!

Dinner Out 3.21.2009

I have no idea what my kids ate for lunch or dinner last night. They spent the afternoon and the night at my grandmother's house. They probably ate popsicles and Doritos all day. That's fine with me so long as I they are all in one piece and free of broken bones and stitches when I pick them up later today.

Tony and I decided to go to My Big Fat Greek Kuzina for dinner last night. Tony's not a fan of "ethnic" foods (Greek, Mexican, Indian, Chinese, etc.), so I was really surprised when he actually suggested eating here. The food was great. And cheap!


Leave it to Tony to go to a Greek restaurant and order a Ceasar salad. He said that it was the best Ceasar salad that he had ever had. I tasted a couple bites and it was really good. The dressing tasted homemade and was heavy on the anchoives. Yummy!


The menu at this place is huge and everything sounded good. I was trying to stick to something that was remotely reasonable in Weight Watchers points (i.e. high in fiber and high in protien), so I ordered falafel on a bed of lettuce with hummus on the side. I love falafel and hummus. There is nothing more disappointing than having half-assed, poorly prepared, or bland hummus or falafel. Okay, there are plenty of things more disappointing than bad falafel and hummus - but for the purposes of this post... You know what I mean. Anyway, both were fabulous and rich in flavor.


Tony surprised me again but ordering a Lamb gyro. After 9 years of marriage, I had no idea that he liked lamb. He also got french fries covered in feta cheese and some sort of yogurt based sauce. I tried bites of both and they were both great.


More good stuff... BEER! I don't drink beer very often but a good draft beer seemed to fit the meal. I started with a draft Stella and then had a bottled Efes Dark. Efes is a Turkish beer. It's dark, but easy to drink with just enough bite. I think that Tony had a Blue Moon draft beer.

Michelle's Snack 3.20.2009

I love hummus. Giving credit where credit is due, my afternoon snack was not homemade rather it was purchased at Trader Joe's. I love their whole wheat mini-pitas and white bean hummus. Looking at this picture, the hummus and pita actually looks pretty unappetizing but it is delicious.