A big meal!

This slideshow has pictures from this past weekend, playing in the snow and enjoying time with our former foster daughter, Kim, her son, Tristan and my cousin who lived with us for a year, Jamie. Jamie is still in the Navy and will be for at least three more years. She lives on a small ship on the East Coast. Kim also lives near Norfolk, Virginia and was able to catch a ride with Jamie to visit. She starts a cleaning job tomorrow and otherwise stays home with her 9 month old. Her husband, Paul, works for the Navy on a different ship in the Atlantic. Below are pictures from our yummy dinner we had Saturday night. So sorry to our friends, Matt and Molly who were to join us, but were prevented by the blizzard we had.

As a side note, our VOIP (voice over internet phone) isn't working...again. Not happy with them at all! It's been down for four days now. We're looking at our alternatives. So, if you need to reach us call our cells or e-mail or something. Thanks!

This is Bulgogi. It's a Korean dish we'd order in a lot when I was a kid living in Maryland. I found all the ingredients at the Oriental Food store in Canton. We buy special beef there that is sliced super thin, marinade it in half a jar of "Assi" brand, "BBQ sauce for beef" aka Bulgogi sauce for 24 hours. Ben grills the beef (yes in a blizzard), then I add it to steamed veggies which Jamie helped chop, toss and add a little more sauce. We serve it over rice. Truly a family favorite. The girls always ask for this or my coconut chicken when they come home to visit. I just looked through all my old posts and I've never shared the latter recipe. Definitely, someday I'll do that! It's sounding yummier the more I think about it!

English oranges. This is my mom's recipe:

8 juicy oranges
2 c. sugar
1 c. water

Peel 2 oranges with sharp knife. Cut peel into thin matchsticks. Simmer matchsticks for five minutes in boiling water, drain. Pour cold water over. Peel other oranges, seed if necessary. Chop pieces in half. Put into serving bowl. Slowly heat sugar and half of water. Boil until like syrup. Pour in rest of water. Bring to boil again. Allow to cool. Stir frequently as it cools. If it hardens, add a little water and reheat. After syrup has mostly cooled, pour over oranges, stir. Add half the matchsticks, stir. Decorate with other half of matchsticks on top.

I'm not a big fan of rice pudding, I prefer tapioca. However, if I'm gonna have rice pudding I want it to have coconut milk and heavy cream in it! Yum! I found several recipes for Indian Rice pudding, or Kheer, before finding this one which I've made twice and definitely deem a winner! Thanks for making it for us, Jamie! You were such a help!

Finally, we have my favorite cookie, I think of all time! Perhaps that's a tough call, but still, these are a must to try especially if you like coconut! Check out this Easy Chocolate Macaroons Recipe!

at the bottom of the page.

Well, it was a lot of cooking and baking for one meal, but it was fun and super yummy. I think we'll just have left over oranges and sloppy joes tonight. I'm storing my energy back up to make some fancy meatballs for spaghetti. Recipes welcome!