Monday, March 20, 2006

A Planned Project

Here's what's planned for Travis and Melanie's visit next month:

Sunday, March 19, 2006

Cory's Spot: Recipe: Cuban Sandwiches

I've fallen out of the habit of posting recipes when I try a new one, which is turning out to be a problem since I don’t otherwise keep track of most of them and I’m starting to forget some of the good ones I’ve tried over the last while. Hopefully these posts will be of use to somebody else, but at least I won’t have to keep a hardcopy of my recipes.

Ingredients:
  • 1 loaf French bread
  • 1/3 lb. thin-sliced (shaved) ham (Virginia and Black Forest hams are quite tasty)
  • 4 slices Swiss cheese (that’s Emmenthaler for those who want to get specific)
  • Dill pickles (sandwich slices if you have them, hamburger chips will do in a pinch)
  • Miracle Whip (or mayonnaise if you must)
  • Dijon mustard (honey-mustard is fine, too)
  • Butter or margarine
Assembly:
  • Cut French bread loaf into fourths and then slice each of those pieces in half, leaving one edge connected.
  • Spread one inside side with mustard and the other with Miracle Whip.
  • Add ham, cheese, and pickles.
  • Close and spread butter on the outside top and bottom.
Cooking:
  • Preheat sandwich press (panini grill, George Foreman grill, or waffle iron will work in a pinch).
  • Place sandwich in press, close, and apply pressure (you want to squish the sandwich flat).
  • Cook for about 10 min. or until crispy and golden brown on the outside (I find it's helpful to put something heavy, such as a couple of cast-iron skillets, on top of the press during cooking so I don't have to hold it the whole time).
I like these sandwiches with potato wedges, but salad and chips work as well.

Mom's birthday bash!

On moms birthday Cory and I made her and dad chicken parmesean in a cast iron skillet, with spaghetti, french bread, and a ceasar salad. It was soooooo good. Then later mom opened a few gifts from everyone.


MMMMM...chicken parmesean!


Opps...there goes all our spaghetti!

Mom and dad wait patiently for their meal.


"I want to help you grandma!"


A pretty lantern from dad.


And an awesome glass cake display from Travis and Melanie. Sorry guys, I didn't really get a good shot of it. It was a little blurry so I didn't post it.

Tyler and Chocolate Milk


This is Tyler's friend Jaxon who brought his brand new puppy over to show Tyler. Chocolate Milk is 4 weeks old. Tyler really didn't know what to think. That puppy was so cute though.

Rolly Pollie

Tyler has figured out how to move! It's so cute. He'll lift his legs really high and then turn his body. When I shower in the mornings I put him in his crib horizontally and when I go check on him, his legs are dangling out of the side of the crib anf he's holding on to his crib book. It's way cute!! He just loves that book!





Wednesday, March 15, 2006

Mmmm...Green Beans!

I didn't feel like messing with baby cereal today, so I decided to feed Tyler something easier to prepare...and potentially much messier to eat - green beans! He wasn't quite sure what to think of it at first, but it didn't take to long before he was happily slurping away and he ended up eating most of the bottle of beans. And as for the mess factor, it wasn't really too bad, mostly because I had him covered up with a bib and a towel and I didn't let him get his hands into things.




Photo Credits: David M. Miles