Cookbook Destruction

This is what I get for being too trusting...

The guilty one... See the Webers Book of Grilling underneath him.

The Hobbit House

Last weekend, we drove to Lawrence, KS to visit Brook's brother, Jed, for his 24th birthday. Jed got married last May and he and his wife, Alana, moved into a new house, which they affectionately refer to as "the hobbit house." We enjoyed burgers with the best bleu cheese I've ever tasted and s'mores cupcakes! Jed has recently taken up gardening. Head on over to Ray's Garden and read about his gardening adventures. It is on my blog list.

The Hobbit House Jed grilling for everyone Give us a kiss, love!

Those Italians...always using their hands to talk! :)

Relaxing in the hammock Jed eating his bday cupcake

S'mores cupcakes!

The Thomas men...

3 Rivers in 3 Days

Father's Day weekend, we headed to central Arkansas to fish in the White River. Except we never make it to that river. You see, because of all of the spring rains, they were generating at the dam, so the White River was up really high and the only to way to fish it was in a boat, which we chose not to do. Anyway, our cabin was in Salesville, not Cotter like last year. On our way there, we stopped outside of Yellville and fished in Crooked Creek for a couple of hours. The water was very clear and the fishing was good too. I found it to be a very peaceful place and I'd love to go back. Afterwards, we stopped at Sonic for cheddar peppers and drinks. Yum! We made it to the cabin around 8:00 and fixed dinner. We all decided we would drive to Mammoth Spring on Saturday and fish for trout in the Spring River. Fishing in the Spring River was challenging. There is a lot of moss so everyone kept getting hung up. I still managed to catch three trout! Side story---I've been wearing some men's chest waders that Dale found at a garage sale a couple of years ago. They are about 5 sizes too big, so before we went on this trip, I broke down and bought some women's waders that actually fit me. When I got to Southtown Sporting Goods, I discovered that all of the women's waders were pink. Not green or brown, but pink. I don't hate pink or anything, but pink waders. Really?? I had no choice, but to purchase the pink waders. So, now I am the owner of pink waders. At least they fit! Back to the main story. After some much needed naps, we drove to Mountain View, the folk music capital of the world. We ate dinner at the Rainbow Cafe which had a lovely display of cookie jars along the wall and an obscene amount of Elvis pictures and memorabilia even in the bathroom. After dinner, we listened to the folk music on the square. There was an old couple who danced a lot. The man had his old army uniform on. It was very sweet. We ate ice cream and listened to more music and saw a motorcycle with elaborate lights that looked like it belonged in Las Vegas. Sunday morning, we headed home and stopped in Marble to fish in the King's River for a few hours. The water was extremely murky and green, but we managed to catch some fish. So, we planned to go to Cotter to fish in the White River and ended up fishing in three different rivers/ creeks, none of which was the White River. I guess that is why God says don't make any plans because he already has his own for us.

That's me. The one in the pink waders.

Train above the Spring River
The sky looked very scary that evening. River rats...

First Aioli Attempt

A few months ago, Brook and I were introduced to the best sauce ever! Aioli. Our friend, Jody, is a phenomenal cook and she was nice enough to make us a batch. Brook and I fell in love. Not with each other again, but with this AWESOME sauce. I'd have to say our favorite use for it is on grilled salmon, which we eat a lot of in the summertime. We kept going through it and asking Jody for more. Finally, I decided to attempt to make some even though I knew it wouldn't taste like Jody's as she uses a secret family recipe. I you-tubed "How to Make Aioli Sauce" and wrote down all the ingredients. I used everything in the picture except I added some Tony Chachere's and some Horseradish. I also added another egg yolk and another garlic clove.

I didn't think my version tasted anything like Jody's. Brook said it was pretty good, but he could've just said that to be nice. It definitely needed something else, but I can't figure out what. Has anyone else made some aioli lately??

This Lemon Vanilla lotion from Bath & Body Works smells wonderful. I think it smells like Lemon Ice Box pie and that is my absolute favorite summer dessert.

Greek Chicken

I've decided I want to cook more. I really enjoy it; I feel productive while cooking. I just really haven't had the time to put a lot of effort into making a nice dinner. So, on Tuesday night, I decided to take initiative and fix the dinner! It wasn't anything fancy, but I did it and I was proud of myself. We call it Greek Chicken. Here's the recipe if anyone wants to give it go!

3-4 boneless chicken breasts (you could use thighs/ legs if you prefer dark meat)

salt & pepper

Cavender's Greek Seasoning

extra virgin olive oil

3 cloves garlic

1 package grape or cherry tomatoes cut into halves

1 cup baby spinach ( i used the stuff in the bag)

1 can artichoke hearts (drained)

Feta cheese

Capers

Green olives ( I didn't actually put these on the dish. I just munched on them while cooking!)

Season chicken w/ salt, pepper, greek seasoning and cook on medium/low heat w/ evoo

Add garlic after turning chicken

When chicken is almost done, add tomatoes, spinach, artichoke hearts, & capers.

Cook on low for about 10-15 minutes.

Add feta at the very end.

Enjoy!

Last night, Vito found a kitty in the shower and stayed behind the curtain for awhile.

Ben Dye's cabin

We headed to Ben Dye's cabin this weekend for some floating, fishing, and camping. Vito had an awesome time with his cousins, Gator and Thunder. Actually, Vito followed Gator everywhere. He became quite the explorer in the woods. Thanks, Ben Dye and Tara Dye for letting all of us come hang out!

Vito exploring...

Thunder was finished.

Gator and Vito...

Brook packing up the tent.


Pics of Ben Dye's cabin...

The shower house...

Lost Privileges

Vito has now lost his roaming of the house privilege while we're gone. This has happened three times now...

Here are a few pics from our Branson & Silver Dollar City trip. Thanks, Jody, for the awesome breakfast sandwiches and granola balls!!!

Group pic before dinner (we're all giggling b/c of the camera timer)

Riding the roller coaster, Powder Keg. Bye-bye!

Look at the sign behind us!