At The Fair
At The Fair, originally uploaded by Phae.
In my family it has always been tradition that we visited the Stanislaus County Fair each summer on my birthday, July 30th. This year the fair dates were moved up to accommodate scheduling changes at the state fair level.. so our plans changed for one of very few instances in my life. It’s odd to think that the fair is already over!
I hear the dates are still up in the air for next season, here’s hoping I can get my birthday back! 
Anyhow, we had a great time. You can check out the rest of the photos from our evening at the fair here.
DIY Dog Treats
It came to my attention some time ago that the treats we have routinely been buying for our family’s 5 dogs are unhealthy, filled with additives and preservatives, and costing us a pretty penny. In my effort to be rid of unnatural chemicals from our diet and land and to live more frugally, I began considering making our own treats. Yesterday I twittered a request for good dog treat recipes, and God Love Twitter- I soon had a good amount to choose from. 
We made the first two kinds recommended:
Peanut Butter Nom Noms & Tuna Training Treats
Not only were both super easy and cheap to make- all five dogs LOVED them! The kids really enjoyed lending a hand in the process and it offered an opportunity for me to talk to them about dog nutrition… something I’ve never put much thought into before now, and no doubt will inspire them to be more conscientious dog owners one day.
I haven’t tried these other recipes, but I plan to so I hope you will bookmark them as well:
Frosty Paws Dog Ice Cream
Homemade Dog Cookies
Favorite Dog Treat Recipes
Doggie Stylish Dog Treat Recipes
Do enjoy! Also, Happy Hump Day!
Tomato Sculpture
Berry Banana Shake Recipe
The kids had CST (California State Testing) all week and it’s a hot day so to celebrate we decided to forego cooking and have a delicious, healthy treat for dinner. We made fantastic early summer fruit shakes. They turned out so delicious and beautiful I thought I’d share our recipe, which is suitable to make four tall shakes.
You Will Need: 3 ripe bananas, 4 cups of vanilla ice cream, 1.5 cups ripe strawberries, 1.5 cups ripe cherries, 3 orange slices and whipped cream (optional).
Make it: Wash, pit and set aside the cherries. Wash and slice the strawberries. Peel and slice the bananas. Mix the fruit together and squeeze the orange slices over the fruit to coat with orange juice. Throw away the empty orange slice membranes.
If you have a super blender, throw it all in and mix it up! If not, we added one cup of ice cream to one cup of fruit per shake. Blend it up and pour into tall glasses- top with a dollop of whipped cream if you like… and wah-lah! Deliciousness.
Enjoy!
Gifted
My Mother’s Day was fabulous!!!! I have to give the kids and the daddy props for a wonderful and blessed day. It all started with breakfast in bed: french toast and bacon and coffee and a mimosa. Then my 9 year old Lillie burst into my room with her gift from school: a cookbook consisting of two recipes from each household of each of the students in her class. And a hand embroidered card.
My five year old Liana was proud of the card she made me at her school- in which she had stamped her hand prints, included a tea bag and also had written: “I love you! I like to talk to you.” This made me smile, we do talk so much about so many different things- and I love to talk to her too.
My 12 year old son made me a paper tower: “It’s a trophy, Mom” that was topped with a simple card that read: “Happpy Mother’s Day. Love, Mikey”.
In addition to these gifts I also got something pretty special – a new ring! It’s handmade; silver with one of my Grandfather’s opals bezel set in oval setting. For my mom’s Mother’s Day present I had a silver fairy necklace made using my Grandfather’s fire opals and opals. I had sent the gems to the jeweler in their raw form- still embedded in rock- and the jeweler tumbled them for me. There were extra opals so she surprised me with the ring in addition to the commissioned necklace. I’ve worn it every moment since it arrived and can’t stop thinking about what a cool gift it is to have to remember both my Grandfather and mother’s love by.
Speaking of gifts for my mom- boy is she a cool lady. Which is why I wanted to do something so special for her. She’s an inspiration in our lives, and the strongest and most amazing person I know. Despite her many adversities and disability, she never stops living life to the fullest. Happy Mother’s Day, Mom!
In addition to her necklace I also made mom a new purse and wallet. I haven’t photographed it, but I can show you the one I made my mother-in-law! My mom’s is blue, green and brown though.
(Hopefully my mother-in-law won’t read this before she gets it..)
Also, my husband made me a BLT for lunch and a cake for dessert, and I was encouraged to spend the afternoon and evening doing whatever I wanted- which consisted of learning some new camera tricks and working on making my own purse and wallet.
To all the mom’s out there- thank you and Happy Mother’s Day! And a special shout-out to my magnificent mommy friends. And for those of us missing special mom’s in our lives- a prayer for peace and joy in your memories of Mom. I know we were sure missing both my grandmother’s today.
And, it’s Monday again. Back to real life we go, we go.
Lillie’s Favorite Recipes
My middle child asked me to print out two family recipes for a school project. When I asked her which two she’d like, she chose Mini-Pizza’s and Chicken Yum Casserole. Since I had them handy I thought I’d share.
Chicken Yum Casserole
(Easy, healthy and the kids love it!)
You will need:
- chicken breast pieces
- chopped white onion
- Bisquik bisquit mix
- shredded cheddar cheese
- fresh or frozen broccoli florets
- large eggs
Make it:
Heat your oven to 450 degrees. In a pan on the stove, brown the chicken breast pieces and white onion in a little vegetable oil. Spray a casserole dish with non-stick cooking spray well. Place the browned chicken and onion mix in a layer on the bottom of the casserole dish. Mix in the broccoli. Cover generously with cheese. Whip the eggs and pour them over the top of the chicken, broccoli and cheese.
Now, follow the instructions on the Bisquick box for Drop Bisquits and drop large spoonfuls of the resulting batter on top of everything. If you like you can sprinkle a little cheddar cheese on top of the dough to top it off. Bake for 10-15 minutes until the bisquit layer on the top of the casserole is brown.
If you’ve noticed that I haven’t shared quantities and measurements of ingredients, it’s because we make this to suit our needs/appetite. This recipe scales well! Just a hint- if we use 1lb chicken, we use 1/2 cup onion and 1-2 cups cheese, 2 cups broccoli and 2-3 eggs.
Enjoy!
Lillie & The Rhodes Family
Mini-Pizza’s
(Let your kids make YOU dinner!)
You will need:
- English muffins
- Easy squeeze pizza sauce
- Shredded mozzarella cheese
- Sliced olives
- Pepperoni slices
(And if you like: bell pepper, sausage crumble, onions, or any other pizza topping!)
Make it:
Prepare the ingredients for easy access, I place each ingredient in a different bowl and put everything out on the kitchen table. Have your little one(s) place the english muffin halves on a baking sheet lined with foil or parchment paper to save yourself lots of scrubbing later. Next they will squeeze (or spoon, if you choose to use a canned sauce) pizza sauce on the english muffin halves. Then comes the cheese, and plenty of it. Last your little ones will add the other available ingredients.
Once all of the mini-pizza’s are assembled, simply broil them for a few minutes (usually takes about 3-5 minutes to cook, if your oven is warmed up). Do keep a careful watch the first time to make sure they don’t burn.
Enjoy
Lillie & The Rhodes Family
What I Want
