A FRIDGE FULL OF FOOD...

Mediterranean Pork Loin Stuffed with Sweet Peppers and Feta

 

I was craving something hearty and good for us, something with lots of flavor but simple and full of vegetables when I went to the freezer and what did I spy but a pork loin...and a bag of Mediterranean mixed veggies....and in the pantry was a jar of sweet pepper bruschetta topping...and orzo...and on the counter was a small ciabatta loaf....put it all together and what do you get? Exactly what I was hungry for!

 

Happy Birthday Niece Sydney!

 

Flame cake cupcakes with Aunt Joyce's family-famous buttercream (family secret)!

July Night Shift Birthday Party: Pineapple Upside Down Inside Cake

 

Happy Birthday Nicole and Gena!

One of the fun things about being in charge of the monthly birthday parties at work is that it gives me the opportunity to experiment with cakes, sort of play with all the ideas that I've wondered if would work and to play with all the new cake decorating toys on the market now. On this one, I answered a question I've had for years: Can you make a pineapple upside down cake into a layer cake?  The answer is: YES! It's actually more simple than I thought it would be.

Nieces and Nephew Summer Slumber Party: Easy Cheesy Mac for a Crowd

 

Once a year or so we try to have a big slumber party with all three of our nieces and our nephew.  Two of them live here in town but the other two live about an hour away with their mom. Just because of work, school, life in general, we don't get to see them as much as we would like but we all know how it is, right? But we do try to have an overnighter when we can so that we can do an Aunt Gonnie and Uncle Gene and the kids thing where it's more about hanging out and catching up with what's going on in their lives.

One of the things I've learned over the years is to try to put aside the OCD "party" definition in my brain that tends to make all things including food and house cleaning into a spectacle so big that by the time my guests/friends/family arrive I'm so tired from over-working myself that I didn't use to enjoy the "together" part of getting together as much as I should have.  These guys are my nieces and nephews. They know I'm not a perfect housekeeper and they don't want a meticulously Martha Stewart set table or gourmet food so this family casserole my brothers and sisters and I were raised on is perfect fare for the occasion: quick and easy to make and yummy to eat. I even made it up the day before so that all I had to do was slip it in the oven when I went to pick up the kids at my brother's and then my sister's house.  We grew up with Mom (Karen) calling it "goulash" but it's not the traditional Hungarian dish of chunked meat with vegetables, it's an Americanized version from the 50's, I believe, that's made with hamburger, macaroni, and a tomato sauce.  Gene's mom had a recipe for it in her recipe box called "Chuckwagon Macaroni". The recipes follows the jump, along with lots of fun dorky pics.

Knitting for the NICU: "Seasonal Hats for Babies" Book Update

 I just heard from the publisher that my knitting booklet "Seasonal Hats for Babies" will start shipping to stores September 1, 2011.

 The book contains 18 designs I've created for our NICU and the patterns range in size from micro-preemie through 12 months.

Will update with local stores and mail order addresses as I get that information!

Knitting for the NICU: 4th of July Independence Day 2011

 

We have lots of patriotic hats to help our babies and their parents celebrate 4th of July in the NICU!  This first pic is my little red, white, and blue contribution, a combination of patterns from over the last four years.

 

 Kathy created this FABULOUS Uncle Sam design!

 

All but two of these will stand up like the previous Uncle Sam design--so cool!

 

Ronda knitted flags that came out beautifully (even though I didn't catch a glitch in the pattern until she was done) and they're wonderful!

 

Yung created watermelon (what's better for 4th of July?) and patriotic stunners!

 

Kathy again came up with these adorable red, white, and blue munchkins.

 

And these are three adorable toppers from Brittany's grandmother that I had leftover from last year. Glad to get to see them again and pass more of these cuties on.

And not to forget Shelly who has hats at work that I'll add a pic of in later and our newbiews who have just completed their first adorable posey hats that I'll photograph and take to the NICU later in the summer.

Thanks to EVERYONE who knits and shares with out NICU!