Bulk cooking update June 29, 2008

I ended up making three lasagnas tonight.  The third lasagna did not end up getting as much of the cheese mixture as I would like but it will do.

It really was no more difficult to make three lasagnas than making one.  I had no wasted ingredients at all and I now have at least two more meals prepared and ready to be put in the oven when I need them.  It’s a great feeling.

Based on a suggestion from my brother, Tony (who needs to get a blog!), I will be trying this method out this week with my mom’s delicious chicken enchilada recipe.  At this rate my freezer will full in no time.

Cooking in bulk June 28, 2008

As a way to save time and money I’m trying to figure out a way to cook more meals at once.  I’d like to eventually build up a stockpile of meals in our freezer so that when I don’t feel like cooking an entire meal I have something I can pull out, defrost and heat up.  My hope is that having this option will make us less likely to order take-out, plus I will have less wasted produce as I will not be using half of something and then throwing the rest away.  That half ingredient will now go into another meal.

My first foray into this new era of cooking in our home is taking place tomorrow.  I am going to make 2 or 3 lasagnas instead of one.  I will then break them up into meal size portions and put them into our deep freeze in the basement.   Wish me luck!

The Arboretum June 28, 2008

Here are some more pictures from mine and Riley’s trip to the Morton Arboretum with Michelle, John & Ethan.  The weather was perfect and the kids would have stayed in the Children’s Garden all day if we had allowed them.

Puddles June 27, 2008

Over the past month or so, Illinois and the entire Midwest has had some wild weather events.  These are just a few of the pictures that I’ve taken before, during and after the storms.

Dance to the Music June 27, 2008

Last Saturday was Riley’s dance recital. She was in a tap number this year to Sly and The Family Stone’s Dance to the Music. The show was very well done, fast paced and featured some very cute numbers.

Riley’s class was the first to perform and there was a slight hiccup with the music. The music was playing but the lyrics were not. Since this was a class of 5 year olds they were a bit confused at first but picked up the musical cues and got right into it. I talked to her teacher the other day and she said that she was off stage singing as loud as she could hoping they would hear her. It ended up a success and we were all very proud of Riley and all of her hard work. She loves to dance and really tries her best to succeed at it.
Of course there are pictures, there are always pictures. I’m excited to see how the professional shots they did on rehearsal day come out.

My pathetic bun making skills once again came into play. This is the third year of recitals, you would think I’d be getting better at this by now. Not so much as it turns out.

One more picture, after the show with her biggest fan.

The Art of the Trailer June 23, 2008

Who knew that Ferris Beueller was so dramatic? Beuller? Bueller?

Here’s a lovely little family film.

An E-mail has come in on 6 legs June 23, 2008

Tracy B, crack researcher and good friend from Illinois writes,

Ok I have done my research and both dragonflies and damselflies have 6 legs.  Dragonflies actually hold their prey in their legs and eat it as they fly.  And that’s all I have to say about that.

There you have it folks.  Tracy, you are good enough, smart enough and gosh darnit people like you!

 

Biking The Arboretum June 22, 2008

Every Saturday and Sunday night the Arboretum closes off the roads through it to car traffic and opens it up completely for the bikers. Since my mom was in town and has become quite the biker lately we decided to go check it out. The two of us, Carson and his friend John took a ride around the main loop which took about an hour.

There were a lot of hills and let me tell they don’t seem nearly as steep when you are riding in a car. I’ve barely ridden a bike at all the past few years but managed to do the whole ride. I had to walk the bike up a few of the steeper hills but I am proud of myself today. I really enjoyed the downhill portions of the ride, careening wildly out of control is always fun. The only lingering effect is there are parts of my body that hurt that I forgot I even had.

The Mystery Deepens June 17, 2008

Faithful readers, all 3 of you, may recall this post a few weeks ago when I vented about Zoo Tram drivers, dragonflies and whether or not they have legs.  Case closed or so I thought.  Yesterday, we took a trip to the arboretum where there is currently a display of very large bug sculptures.  These sculptures have done nothing to clear up the confusion, they only succeeded in mucking up the water with dragonflies and damselflies.  I have a vague recollection of damselflies from my youth but I forget the word and the bug existed until yesterday.

This is the sculpture of the dragonfly.  Please note the distinct lack of legs.  The two posts are only there to hold it up in the water.  I understand that giant carved wood sculptures of bugs are likely not scientifically accurate but still there are NO legs.

As for the damselfly it does have legs as seen here…

Once again I’m not actually compelled to do any research on the subject.

Busy Weekend June 16, 2008

Yesterday was Father’s Day and my Dad’s 60th Birthday.  We made a whirlwind trip to Cleveland and had a surprise golf outing/birthday party for him.  It was so much fun.  It was great seeing relatives and friends and my dad seemed truly surprised by it all.

Tony, world’s best brother and blog commentator, did a fantastic job grilling steaks and asparagus for the crowd.  Not just anyone can grill 30 steaks and manage to cook them all perfectly to order.   I know I couldn’t and I love to cook.  It was impressive to say the least.

I golfed for the first time in over eight years and I have to say I didn’t do quite as poorly as I had expected.  I managed to get some good shots in and even parred a hole.  I ended up shooting 125, it could have been worse.  Our foursome included me, Tony, my Dad and my dad’s sister, Patty.  It was so much fun with a lot of laughs.  I should also point out that I have some mad golf cart driving skills.  I didn’t even flip it once!

While we were in Ohio, my friend and neighbor, Michelle, took care of Reese.   She is the best and I am so grateful she took it on for the weekend.  You can see how well it went on her blog.  We need to hook him up to a dog sled.  I will make a fortune winning the Iditarod.

Riley and I are off to the arboretum today but I’ll be back later with lots of pictures from today and from the weekend.