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.

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.