Blackened Salmon

I made this tonight and it was so good. I found the recipe off the internet and added a little twist.

Rub
2 tbs paprika
1 tbs cayenne pepper
1 tbs Onion powder
2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp white pepper
1/2 tsp pepper
1/4 tsp dried thyme
1/4 tsp basil
1/4 tsp oregano

Salmon Filets 4 for this recipe. I made 2 and cut the recipe in half.

I melted 1/2 stick of butter with one juice of a lemon. Before adding the rub I drizzled the lemon butter onto the salmon on both sides. Add rub generously to salmon. It has a little kick to it with a great flavor. Heat a non-stick pan add a little Pam. Make sure the pan is nice and hot before putting the salmon in. Place the salmon in and let it get a nice crust before turning. Once turned I added a little more lemon butter to the pan until the salmon was flaky and moist. I added a little more lemon butter on the top once plated.

I served the salmon with garlic and chive smashed potatoes and green beans.

Garlic and chive smashed potatoes

8 yukon gold potatoes cut into quarters
Boil the potatoes until fork tender
Drain and put back on stove to let the rest of the moisture out
In a small pan or microwaveable bowl, add 1/2 stick butter, 2 minced cloves of garlic and 3/4 cup of milk. Heat until butter is melted and you can smell the butter. Not too hot, you do not want to burn the garlic or milk.
Add mixture to the potatoes and smash with a smasher. Add salt and white pepper to taste. Stir in the desired amount of chives.

Green Beans

I only use fresh green beans, that is what we like
Blanch green beans in boiling water for 5-7 minutes and drain
Add a little olive oil to the pan and sautee 1/2 of a medium white onion to carmelize (about 10 minutes). Add 2 cloves of garlic salt and pepper with a splash of soy sauce. Add the green beans back into the pan and fold the onions through the green beans. To add a little kick add a dash of cayenne pepper and white pepper. At the end I add some mushrooms.

I know, I do not write recipes well. I just kind of throw things in and taste until I am happy with the outcome.

Strawberry Mice

For some reason it was not letting me change my picture and then when I deleted it, it would not let me put it back...so here are the strawberry mice.

Kid's Food Night a Success!

I made jello moons for dessert. What a mess that was!

The tree in dirt (cupcakes in the flower pot). They had fun playing with them, don't really think they ate much of it.

We ate on the living room floor picnic style which they loved! I do not know why my pictures are fuzzy on the bottom. I think I need to clean the lense.

Kid's Food Night a Success!

Little man very excited about the strawberry mice.

Little missie already a mess. She thought it was pretty cool to just pick out what she wanted to eat. We had potatoes and chicken packets which the hubby loved.

Dad teaching the kids how to suck jello off the plate!

Little man trying it out. He ended up with jello on his eye.

We ended the evening with a bike ride. Little man said that he loved kid's night and wants to do it again:)

Kid's Food Night

I have been thinking to have something fun for the kids once a week. I am going to plan a kid's night making fun kid food. The Family Fun website has lots of fun ideas for food.


This is one of the items that I will be making. They have ladybugs out of strawberries and grapes that are pretty cute too. I am planning on making this Tuesday night. The dinner menu looks like this:

Cindy's Chicken Packets from the MOPS menu
Strawberry Mice with cheese
Armadillo potatoes (also from FamilyFun.com)
Bugs Bunny Carrots in flower pots


Armadillo or Tiger potatoes

I think we are going to have this picnic style on the living room floor. If it is a hit, I will be doing this once a week. I will post pictures.

Update:
I was looking forward to making kid's food night tonight, but it is on hold until the kitchen is put back together. They just need to hurry up and finish all the little things!

Memorial Day

For Memorial Day we went to Lemoore where hubbies Grandpa is buried. He was a Navy career man that fought in WWII, Korea and Vietnam. Hubby wanted to teach little man why we celebrate Memorial Day and who his Great Grandpa was. Here is little missie having fun with all the flags and balloons. It was neat to see all of the flags out in the cemetary. Lots of veterans buried out there.

Little man is putting a flag at his Great Grandpa's grave.

After we went to Handford and they played at the park across from Superior Dairy. They thought the big cannons were cool.

YUM! Superior Dairy...it is worth the trip!

Ice cream anyone? Little missie screamed with pure delight when it came to our table. Everyone in the place looked and laughed. I wish we had it on video. Little man loved his big ice cream sundae....okay, the four of us shared and we still did not finish it. All in all a great way to spend Memorial Day!

Summer fun!

Well it feels like summer! Can't you tell that they both just had lunch!
Little missie was in one of her dresses not knowing that hubby was going to get the slip-n-slide out, so off with the dress and welcome 10 pound diaper!
She is out for the count! She loved falling down!

They both love playing in the water. After dinner we got the little pool out that has misters on the side. Even the dogs cooled off in the pool. Lots of watery fun!

Do you see little man's garbage collection in the back ground? He asked for garbage cans for Christmas.....real ones and that is what he got! He puts dirt, leaves, rocks, you name it in them! That is all a boy needs, dirt, shovel and a garbage can!