Tuesday, July 14, 2009

The 100,000 calorie Staycation

Are we getting tired of hearing about the Staycation? Yes, we are.

But will that stop me? Not when I have all these food pictures to share, it won't.

So, let's just go ahead and get the most unflattering picture out of the way, just to prove that I have no pride (which would be a total and complete lie...).

I asked my daughters to send me any Staycation photos they took that had to do with food..and this is the kind of stuff they send. No pictures of them pigging out- Oh No... just me and my flabby arms and my gooey pizza. I'm sure they thought it would never see the Light of a Bloggy Day.




This next one has nothing to do with food, but everything to do with unflattering.
I couldn't resist this picture of Uncle Shep and baby Eli. You can't really tell who is trying to mimic who, can you?



OK, getting back to our topic: High Calorie Staycation Food.

As previously noted - if you were paying attention - we split up the cooking between families (families = Brite, Jacqueline, and Dad.) The meal Jacqueline made was scrumptious. My camera failed to capture the delectability of it (that, and the fact that I didn't remember to take the picture until we'd almost finished eating and half the food on this plate is gone.)

The menu consisted of risotto, rich and creamy - chicken marsala, rich and wine-y, and broccoli salad, rich and slightly healthy. (Click those links for the recipes - and go to Costco for the broccoli salad.)




Jax also did the snacks one day. Her family had been blueberry picking the day before they came down, so she used the juicy berries in these parfaits. It was a nice break from the Cheez-its I had planned to serve.



While following this Staycation Series on my blog, you may have (rudely) asked yourself, "What did Debbie make during the Staycation? Didn't she help out in the kitchen at all?" Well, Your Nosy-ness, Yes, I did help out. I did an important culinary task - - -

I held my grandchildren so they wouldn't go in and bother the cooks ......

But I also made this one night (to rave reviews, I might add.)

Mixed greens and spinach, with Gorgonzola cheese, honeyed pecans, and a ton of strawberries, topped off with home-made, poppy seed dressing. And you can have the recipe as soon as you apologize for thinking so poorly of me.



Here's the recipe for my favorite 50th birthday cake, enjoyed during the Staycation. Yummier than last years 50th. Or the 50th before that. And you can find the recipe here. When you click on that you may be surprised to see the recipe is taken from Cooking Light.

Don't let that throw you. It tasted very non-light.

My daughter used dark chocolate cocoa powder vs. the regular cocoa powder, and she said it made a huge difference. Honestly, dear readers, you must make this cake (preferably for me...but if not, then do it for someone else you love. And be sure you make enough so that your special person gets more than one piece. I speak from experience there.)



I wasn't the only one celebrating a birthday during our Staycation. Molly Grace turned 11, and was treated to a personal pedicure by her big sis, plus a gazillion beading supplies thanks to a friend of mine who is changing hobbies, and a How To Bead book by another big sis.
I never had a big sis, and I think I missed out on a ton (of presents.)

Brite made these cupcakes for our girly-girl Molly. (Ours are partially pictured below- the ones in that link are similar, although not nearly as pretty as Brite's - sorry Pioneer Woman.) Ours were decadent. More than decadent. Ultra-decadent.

Eli is a cheap restaurant date. This straw kept him occupied during most of the meal. (And then he nursed, which was no charge.)

Mary-Faith showing her baby sister some Birthday Love.



And turning our attention back to MY birthday, which was celebrated at the beach (see previous posts for many, many extraordinary beach pics). Here's the meal. Again, poorly photographed (by me.) Shrimp salad, chicken salad, fruit, and rosemary-olive bread.


Here's one of my favorite large group breakfasts (which could be any day in our family.)

Oven eggs.
Simply spray some Pam into some muffin tins, crack an egg directly into each muffin cup, cover each egg with one teaspoon of half and half, then sprinkle each egg with some cheddar cheese and bake at 450 degrees for 10 minutes. Pop them out, and pop them in (your mouth). Forks optional.



For a really special breakfast, serve those eggs with a few of these:


A-M-A-Z-I-N-G home-made (if you don't count the canned biscuits) donuts.
I'd love to take some credit for this recipe, but we found it from our friend, Moriah at Please Pass the Salt.

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And to end my series on The Staycation (you wish!....I still have some diving contest photos to embarrass my older kids with), here's a picture of part of our family at Red Elephant. The camera (and the restaurant) had a hard time handling the entire family.



13 comments:

brite said...

You also made the broccoli salad (from Sam's). :) And I just might have more pictures of you I can post on my blog if I see any unflattering diving pictures of myself on your blog. I should go ahead and post them since you decided to put a picture of me in my pjs and an untied apron so I look like I weigh a ton and a half. Thanks. :-P

Mrs. Pittman said...

Dear daughter who looks beautiful even early in the morning with an unflattering, untied apron on,

You need to think twice before you decide to go Bloggy Tit for Bloggy Tat with your dear mother, since I have 31 years of pictures of you to choose from (think adolescence and perms...)

Love, MOM

Lauren Bretz said...

brite, you're beautiful. geez. momma pittman, another fabulous post as usual. :) loved it. please post more soon! can't wait for the diving pics.

Dayna said...

I think that every blog should don one of those adorable photos of the happy Spearing couple. Their smiles were ordained by God to go together in the photography realm!

Your salad was beautiful, and I never once wondered if you'd made any contribution to meal prep for your large family. Someone had to hold babies and document that moment in family history. (Do I get points?)

By the way, I couldn't help but notice the cafe curtains in the kitchen, That fabric is the mark of Mothers of Young Children in the '90s. (I have it, too. It's a great, timeless print!)

Shepherd said...

Is Hunter wearing his earphones at the restaurant?

Mrs. Pittman said...

Shepherd,
Of course Hunter was NOT wearing headphones at a restaurant with his parents, 10 siblings, 2 brothers-in-law, three nephews, and one niece. What in the world would he want to tune out?!

Maybe he has a hearing aid now and didn't want us to notice. :)

Mrs. Pittman said...

Dayna,
That fabric is one of my all-time favorite Waverley patterns, salvaged from some previous bedroom curtains.
I'm trying to decide whether to put glass shelves in that window (which overlooks a beautiful of our Carport!), so these are "interim" coverings.

And I needed to make them easy-to-open cafe curtains because they are constantly opened (by my husband) and closed (by me.)

Sarah said...

I love all the pictures. And Brite, I was just thinking how cute you look in that cute little red apron. And I was also thinking, "oh, I love homemade doughnuts!"

I can't wait to see the diving contest pictures! Fun, fun.

Mamajil said...

Debbie I love reading about your staycation!!!! I love the egg in muffin tin idea....I am definately gonna try that :)

Laura said...

Gotta try out the muffin-tin eggs. Those sound great! Do you think they will work in a Pampered Chef Stomeware muffin pan?

Mrs. Pittman said...

Laura - and Jilma,
I don't see why the oven eggs wouldn't work in anything that a muffin would could in. It's the best way I know to cook 12 individual serving eggs in just 10 minutes. We do two pans when we're all eating. Add a dozen bagels and some juice and my boys are full (for about an hour...)

busymomof10 said...

Debbie,

I LOVED the post as usual! You certainly know how to take your normal daily life and assorted stories and photos and share in such a way as to entertain all of your bloggy fans (and make "enemies" of your children!)! Tell Brite not to worry -- she looked beautiful!

The food all looks and sounds wonderful -- especially since I am on a strict diet at the moment! It just reminds me how much I love to cook and eat! I even enjoy reading recipe books . . .

I can't wait to try the muffin eggs!!! That is a FABULOUS idea and I am really excited about using that with my family!!! LIke you said, add a dozen bagels and a gallon of orange juice or milk, and you have a breakfast that will fill up our families for a little while!

I love your blog!
Elizabeth

busymomof10 said...

I tried the eggs today -- they were so easy and so good! I just had to share with my readers! Linked to your blog, of course! Check out my blog to read what I said about your fabulous recipe~