Yesterday, I wrote all about our travels to Canada, Australia, India, Russia, France, Mexico, and China while staying home. Thanks to the Passport to Fun programs at Michaels, we had the adventure of our life at the local craft store. In the end, we went to eight of the eighteen countries. We missed two because the boys were still in school at the end of June. Then, I completely forgot about the Egypt day on June 25 and Bahamas on June 28. Luckily, I got our act together in time for Canada and beyond. I wish we had been able to make a few others, but they did not work with our schedules and two did not seem age appropriate for my kids.
On Saturday, the program ended with Brazil. What a way to end it making Rio Carnival masks. The boys had a blast working on these with all of the glitter, feathers, and sequins.
Of course, while in Michaels we HAD to check out other items. TechyDad looked for a case to house his grandfather’s old telescope in. Both of the ones in stock were cracked, so we are waiting on that. Then, we looked around for ideas to use for NHL’s 8th birthday. NHL has said that he wants lions and other animals as the focus. We chatted about it while walking around and came up with a safari theme. Seems perfect since he loved the Safari at Disney’s Animal Kingdom. I know one day I would love to take him on the African Trek I went on.
While checking out the Wilton cupcake making supplies, we wandered over to their chocolate mold section. NHL fell in love with some things there. TechyDad thought they were really interesting and said we should use our coupons and pick them up. So we did. Don’t these look fun?
So we will be making the Oreo/Pretzel molds to go along with some kind of lion cupcake. Do not think there will be time to paint the chocolate and make it pretty, but it’s still fun and something the kids can help with. If you have any lion cupcake suggestions – I would love to know.
The warm weather seems to be here. Thanks to this, people across the country will be getting their grills ready for some BBQ fun. Last Thursday evening, I was invited by Price Chopper to attend their House of BBQ cooking event sponsored by Certified Angus Beef. This event was right after Price Chopper announced the new voices of their House of BBQ commercials to replace the much loved Melvin Sparks after he passed away. Allan Harris and Lynn Sterling, two nationally known musical artists, will now be seen in the ads like this one below.
That’s right, we were not cooking Thursday night, we were learning about grilling. So with the catchy tune in my head, I made my way to The Century House in Latham, NY for the House of BBQ fun. Oh an FYI, this was not a blogger event. This is one of the cooking classes that Price Chopper sponsors throughout the year for members of the community to attend.
At our seats, we were given a bag of goodies. The recipes being prepared, some tip sheets, and extras were inside for everyone in attendance.
When it was time to begin, we decided to use the hashtag #HouseofBBQ on Twitter to live Tweet what we were learning.
First up was Chef Mike Tracy from Price Chopper. Sorry about the photo quality, the lighting at The Century House was tricky to work with.
Chef Mike was filling in for Executive Chef Dave Hamlin. He prepared the following items:
Grilled Carrots with a Maple Cumin Glaze
Grilled Shrimp and Avocado Salad
Grilled Corn on the Cob With Spring Herb Butter
Chef Mike really helped to explain that you should not be afraid of grilling vegetables. He did admit that corn on the cob grilled is not his favorite since it does not look too great when finished.
Next was Chef Michael Ollier from Certified Angus Beef. Chef Michael was tossing jokes out the entire time and keeping everyone on their toes. He was fantastic to watch and listen to. He made learning about different cuts of meats fun and enjoyable. Even this girl, who can not buy Certified Angus Beef (not kosher), knows this meat is the real deal. While Chef Michael showed us different cuts of meat, we referenced the chart below. Then, he demonstrated some grilling techniques and took questions from the audience.
When it was time to try some of the foods that were prepared, I had my camera out snapping shots. Chef Michael joked and asked if I was a blogger or something. Of course, I told him I was and had been live Tweeting the event with my friends. Yes, we even got some of Chef Michael’s jokes in there. You can also read more about the different cuts of beef that he talked about on the #HouseofBBQ hashtag on Twitter.
The final person to present to the group was Chef David Robinson. Chef David is the brilliant man behind Eat Your Mistakes. He has a video cooking series that shows people how to cook and eat your mistakes in the process. Chef David was high energy and talked about his recent trip to Las Vegas where he took local supplies from the Capital District to cook for dignitaries. Yes, I am the blogger that was taking photos of photos.
Chef David was showing us how to prepare some delicious goodies to end a grilling feast. He made Mom’s Chocolate-Chip Oatmeal Cookies (YUM!) and Chocolate Cake with Cream Cheese Frosting. Both of these items were fantastic and will be made and utilized for different events. I will admit, I have been craving more of the cookies since this event. I have seen Chef David on television before, but now his blog is in my feed reader to catch when it is updated.
When all was said and done, we were able to go to the back of the room to make a plate and try all of the foods that were prepared. Here is my plate and later on when Chef David delivered cookies fresh from the oven. Yes, being at the end of the line paid off since they ran out of cookies – so gooey fresh ones were a short baking cycle away.
Have you been to a Price Chopper cooking class? Please let me know if you have. I would love to know more about your experience. For those not in the area, what do you love to grill in the summer?
Thank you again to Price Chopper, Certified Angus Beef, The Century House, Chef Mike Tracy, Chef Michael Ollier, Chef David Robinson, and my blogging buddies for an amazing evening. I know I am looking forward to hearing when the next cooking/baking/grilling event will be held.
Disclosure: Price Chopper invited me to be a part of this event. I did not pay for this, nor was I paid to go. I was not asked to blog about this, but wanted to share my experience with my readers. The opinions expressed in this are my own. I was not compensated, but did receive the items shown above and a coupon for Price Chopper cereal after completing a survey about the event.
This weekend was JSL’s 4th birthday. As I have mentioned before, he is a BIG fan of Jake and the Neverland Pirates. Since he wanted that theme for his birthday, we had to improvise a bit. I bought the supplies and pretty much knew what I wanted to do with them.
Saturday afternoon, I baked the cupcakes in the Wilton pirate wrappers. They were nothing special to look at now, but soon they would change.
When I was preparing everything for the party Sunday morning, the first thing I wanted to get finished were the pirate cupcakes. I had my Wilton Dessert Decorator Plus, frosting, gold sugar crystal sprinkles, and pirate flags. Before I knew it, they were looking like this:
Yes, my little pirate was quite excited to see that his pirate cupcakes were finished.
After lunch, it was time to switch the table over to a Neverland Pirate Party theme. I had to take these items and make them look pretty on the table.
While I worked on this, the kids did some pirate arts and crafts. As you can see, we found some great items that worked well for several ages.
It did not take too long to get the table ready. The cupcake display with the doubloons around it was first. Then, it was time to put the Peter Pan Pirates in the front along with JSL’s cupcake and 4 candle. To tie in, we also had some cute pirate napkins to add a splash of color.
Yes, the props certainly helped to make it more of a Neverland Pirate Party feel.
After opening presents, JSL went over to have everyone sing his birthday song.
Yes, we pulled off a Neverland Pirate Party and the birthday boy seemed to have a wonderful time. More to come soon, but I wanted to share some yummy and crafty details now.
When JSL woke up, the first thing he did was run out of bed to see his big brother. After that, he came into our room to announce that NHL was the first one to wish him a happy birthday. After this, we opened up his new VTech Kidizoom Plus camera and put the batteries in. Then, NHL gave him his present.
We got dressed and went to Nana and Papa’s house. Uncle I, Aunt M, and Cousins GG and BA were at their house. JSL was too excited to eat since he was running around the house taking photos of everything.
The kids played with the new pirate toys and watching some Jake and the Neverland Pirates. I have a feeling that JSL’s camera is likely filled with photos similar to this one:
While the kids played, I was busy in the kitchen making pirate cupcakes today. They will be decorated for the party early Sunday morning.
When we asked JSL where he wanted to have his birthday lunch, his answer did not shock me. He wanted to go to Cici’s for Mac and Cheese pizza. He was a very happy birthday boy.
Next, we went to Scoops for some ice cream. JSL had a blast taking photos of their cows and running around with Cousin SG. Of course, NHL was proud when he yelled that baby BA was trying to sneak into the cow area.
We tried to play at the park. A little running by the pond got in before the rain came to stop the fun. To try to stop JSL from being upset we got him to sing the pirate song. When we got back to Nana and Papa’s house he belted out a bunch of the only verse he really knows.
Then, Aunt M and I went to get some items for the party tomorrow. We happened to find a cake that was perfect to have on JSL’s actual birthday. We sang him his song and then it was time to blow out the candle.
Aunt M, Uncle I, and the kids wanted to give the birthday boy something on his birthday so he could use it at the Pirate Party. Here is JSL right about when he figured out what was inside.
Now check out why he has such a HUGE smile on his face:
Yes, Pirate JSL was quite thrilled with his new costume by Melissa & Doug. Eventually, we were able to get him to take it off so we could head home. I have a feeling we will be seeing a pirate show at his party at one point or another.
Sometimes, it is just nice to have a lazy weekend. No real need to go to a location, just sit at home and do things with your family. That was this weekend. I should feel energized, but I think it has allowed my mind to race a little too much about the events for this week.
Yesterday, TechyDad, NHL, JSL and I all stayed in our pajamas. Why yes, it was a glorious day of just doing things around the house and not getting dressed. We started the morning off with some warm, delicious biscuits for breakfast. After that, TechyDad had a bit of the cleaning bug. He organized the kitchen (had to be done for apple baking), cleaned the bathroom, and then helped me to move the couch to get some monster dust bunnies that had escaped.
After lunch, the boys played a new game that TechyDad received to review. There was a lot of laughing, giggling, and strategy going on. While they did that, I opted to get a head start on sorting, cutting, and bagging Box Tops for Education. As the coordinator in NHL’s school, the November 1st deadline is coming quickly. This is what sat in front of me.
A bit daunting at first. The nice part, I was able to listen to a lot of The Help on my MP3 player while I did this project.
So how many Box Tops do you think are here?
In the end, there were 620 in that pile alone. It all adds up and will go to good use at school. So, if you have any extra Box Tops for Education and do not have a school to donate them to, just let me know.
The boys also watched Disney’s Alice in Wonderland, then we had dinner and the kids went to sleep.
Today, NHL went to Hebrew School. TechyDad went with JSL to the grocery store to get some items for the week. Then he came home and put up a crock pot of applesauce. After lunch, I was upset about frogging a knitting project and did not feel too well. I took a nap while TechyDad made some apple muffins.
Sometimes, you just need a slow weekend at home to catch up on family time.
