Adventures in Cooking

So, I didn't really have anything interesting to post about 2 weeks ago, but this last week definitely made up for it. Andrew finished his spring semester in school, and we are happy to have him home more! He'll start a summer class soon, but it's all online (luckily, since we're having a baby mid-semester). And then he'll resume a busy fall schedule in August. Beth has been finding new and exciting ways to entertain herself, I guess I'm boring....It's been fun to watch her and her creativity grow. Everything is a hat....including dishes...this means she gets a bath every night most nights. She's especially excited when she does it with out hands and says "Ta-da!"

Because I am low on energy these days, I let her play with whatever she finds. Baskets, plates, dull kitchen utensils, small children (just kidding). She is always so proud of herself when she find solutions to her boredom. She recently figured out that she can wash her hands all on her own if she finds a basket to stand on. And I guess hopscotch on plates is the new cool thing!

The best part about this last week was my Dad's Birthday Dinner. My dad turns 51 today, (although my nephew has been saying Papa is 55 for 2 years, :-] ) After having to beat it out of him, my dad told my mom he wanted my Grammy's chicken and noodles for dinner. My mom has tried to make it before, didn't really like it, and hasn't tried again. I've always loved this dish, and asked my Grammy to make it for me after I had Beth (I ate it for 3 days straight!). So, I knew I wanted to learn how to make it to carry on the tradition.

I told my mom I would go over, and learn to make the dish and help prepare that part of dinner, to make sure my grandparents weren't too overwhelmed. My Grammy agreed to show me, and I was really excited. Now, this dish is NOT chicken noodle soup. It's pan fried/grilled chicken with noodles and sauce over the top. I've never known anyone else who makes it, so it's hard to compare it to. You use eggs and flour to make the noodles. Roll it flat, let it dry, then roll it up to cut noodles. Then you boil it in chicken stock and add a little flour to make the sauce. You serve the noodles and sauce over chicken, potatoes, even a shoe. I'd probably eat it.

So, Sunday afternoon I did some visiting teaching, then went over to Grammy's with my ingredients to start the process. I knocked on the door and Grammy said "Come on in to a MESS".....Ok? I walked in and saw 3 bowls of soupy stuff, and my grandpa trying to make dough out of one of the bowls....My Grammy then explained that she accidentally put 3 cans of chicken stock into the bowl, instead of 3 eggs. So, they were trying to find more flour to thicken the "soup" and add eggs to it. She kept saying "I'm 80 years old, and I've never done anything so dumb"....and my grandpa would say "No, you haven't" and I would laugh! They have been married for over 60 years, and they are so funny to watch! Well, my grandpa was worried that the dough would be too wet to cut properly, but we seemed to make it work. He would cut the noodles and I would unroll them, my Grammy kept commenting on how nice of a job I was doing unrolling noodles. :-)

My Grammy also thought it was funny that Amielia wanted to help with the process. My belly was covered in flour all day long!

My grandpa was very worried about how the noodles would turn out because they didn't have time to dry. But we crossed our fingers. They put them into boil and I went home to get the rest of my family and stuff for dinner. Eric (my brother) was on his way to Grammy's with chicken to BBQ, and he was there when I got back. Grandpa told Eric to try to noodles and he did, at first they tasted just fine. But he confessed it was because they were so hot they scalded his mouth. He discreetly asked me to come inside a few minutes later and told me I HAD TO taste them....OK. So, I made sure they weren't too hot, and tasted them. And, well, they tasted like soap. Yucko. Well, this wasn't good. Since my dad was very picky, and wanted his favorite meal to be perfect.....I couldn't figure it out, until I looked at the flour "container" on the counter. My grandparents were keeping their extra flour in an old laundry detergent container. WHAT? My grandpa said he rinsed it out, but I'm guessing that after soap is in it for a few years, flour will absorb even the slightest smell or residue. I told Eric about the mix up earlier with the chicken stock and how these noodles were having some serious trouble.

A few minutes later my parents showed up....and Eric told my dad that the noodles probably weren't going to work out. After some debating, we decided to make a new batch. I tried my hand at it, and although my dad made fun of me because I wasn't doing it the same way as his mom had, for 60 years, it was fun. We cheated and used the oven to dry the dough before we cut it. And it turned out ok. Not perfect. But I plan on trying it again soon. But without the extra chicken stock, or laundry soap. When we finally sat down at the table my Grammy grabbed her cup of White Grape Juice and said "I think I need a drink"....I think we ALL did at that point! Happy Birthday Dad!

As we were trying to decide this morning what we wanted for lunch, I decided to make a few batches of waffles. They are quick, easy, and freezable. I wasn't really feeling like peanut butter or syrup on mine. So I decided to make some homemade caramel sauce. I look for a recipe, and found a simple one online. It was DELICIOUS. You can get the recipe here (http://yummysupper.blogspot.com/2010/02/homemade-caramel-sauce.html). I would recommend letting your butter and milk (I used whole milk instead of cream) warm up a bit before adding them. Otherwise it makes the caramel harden instantly. Beth much preferred the peanut butter, that she ate with her fingers (hey, it's protein!) but she did try a spoonful of caramel, and I think she liked it, in a silly way!

Bethani's new favorite expression is the eye roll. She gets loads of laughter out of us, and anyone else watching, every time she does it. I'm sure when she's 5, and I'm no longer "cool" this expression won't be nearly as cute. But I'll enjoy it right now!

Well, we've hit the 1 MONTH TO GO, point in my pregnancy. Andrew thinks I'm bigger now, than I ever was with Beth. But I disagree. Although I feel HUGE. I'm starting to have contractions here and there. Mostly braxton hicks, but I could never really see a big difference between braxton hicks and my early labor contractions with Beth's labor. So who knows. It's really hard to get comfortable, especially at night, which makes my exhaustion even more pronounced. But, with only 4ish weeks to go, I think I can deal with it. We are so excited to add another girl to our family. I've been getting out clothes and blankets for Amielia, and it reminds me just how small and snugly Beth was. I can't wait!

Well, if you made it through this LONG blog post, congrats! Whew. We are very excited for this summer, and I hope everyone has some fun things planned!! 

Happy Blogging!