Parsnips Anyone....

I'd like to introduce you to my new friend.....

Parsnip

I've known of Parsnips for quite sometime now... However, it wasn't until trying to find another way to get Wee Man to eat new foods did I become reacquainted... Two weeks ago we made Parsnips Chips and they were a hit.. Everyone loved them... I'm not a fan of frying foods at home often because face it fried foods are not good for you... They taste soooo good but they are not good for you... LOL

So here is the recipe to make your own Parsnip Chips... I must give credit to Alton Brown for this recipe because well he rocks and when I found this recipe I had to try it... Wee Man actually asked if we could try parsnips again and helped pick out the ones he wanted.. Now I just have to find another recipe...

Ingredients

2 quarts pure peanut oil  (DH had to run to the store to buy some hehee)
1 pound parsnips
Kosher salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Directions

Heat peanut oil in a 5-quart Dutch oven over high heat to 370 to 375 degrees F.

Meanwhile, scrub the parsnips to remove any excess dirt. Lay the parsnip flat on a cutting board, and using a vegetable peeler, peel off 4 to 5 flat, wide noodle-shaped strips. Rotate the parsnip 90 degrees and repeat. Continue to rotate until you can no longer peel strips. Repeat with the remaining parsnips.  This proved difficult with the cheapie cheap peeler we found since the good one was broken in the move...

Gently add a small handful of parsnips to the oil, stirring gently, until lightly browned and crisp, approximately 1 to 1 1/2 minutes. Remove the crisps from the oil using a spider or slotted spoon; hold over the pot and allow to drain for 30 seconds.

Transfer to a cooling rack set over a half sheet pan and sprinkle with salt and pepper, if desired. After the first batch, the oil temperature may drop. Adjust the heat in order to maintain a minimum temperature of 325 to 350 degrees F. Repeat until all parsnips are cooked. Serve warm or at room temperature. Once completely cooled, store in an airtight container for up to 3 days. Ours didn't last that long.. Of course, I also didn't do a full pound like the recipe calls for just in case the kids didn't like them..

Yum!

Freebies and Photos

Stumbled upon this and of course I had to share with you all...

Kodak is having a promotion where site vistiors get a free $15 gift plus a chance to visit the Ellen Show.... I did it and got a code in my email for $15 off at Kodak Gallery... Not sure if it's the same for everyone but worth a look.. However, you got to be quick because the codes expire November 17....

“Million Thanks Giveaway”

Shooting at Fort Hood

My heart & prayers go out to those involved in the shooting at Fort Hood...

We have friends that are stationed there and have no way of finding out if they are okay yet...

Please keep everyone in your thoughts...

Halloween present (part II)

This year Wee Man wanted to be the pirate he wanted to be last year... Visit Halloween part I for the reason why he didn't get to...

Great one costume out of the way... For Lil Kiwi I wanted to do something fun and special because once again last year was a bummer...

I made a tutu for her that was black, purple, and red..... Got some super sweet bat/demon wings custom made for her (I made wings for her last year and did not want to do that again plus she didn't get to wear them)... hunted for the black shirt and pants for weeks... and to top it off we found some really cute horns just her size....

Then it decided to be yucky and rainy on Halloween... Well... POO...

So, I ran around trying to find a costume from other things in the house... I even called my mother....

"Mom.. I need ideas... help... rain... yada yada...."  a whining pleading me

"Sweetie... how about you just dress her in something cute and just relax..." Mom, the voice of reason

"Mom... but last Halloween... need to make it up to them...." a stressed crazed me whimpers

"Don't worry..." Mom, that voice of reason again..

"Okay you're right.. Ooo I know what she can wear..." (hangs up on mom)

Yeah that was pretty much how it went.... More or umm less...

See, she was right..... Only I could not just put her in anything... Thankfully, a few days earlier I had received a package in the mail from Happy Panda .... Without knowing it Pamela saved Lil Kiwi's Halloween.... I'm so going to have to post about how much I love her clothing line... Later of course.....

So, we head out and it's sprinkling.... Hit up two neighbors for candy... As we are walking to the next place ,which isn't close because no one lives around here, it starts to rain... We head home and decide to drive to a real neighborhood for some quick and easy trick or treating.... Forty minutes later... two hungry kids.... one hungry mommy... we find a neighborhood that looks promising...

Out of the car... around the corner.... up the driveway of the first house... BAM the sky opened up and rain poured.... Grab candy... and head to the car... BAM the rain slowed.... a little..... I tell DH and Wee Man to run to the last three houses and that Lil Kiwi and I will sit in the car...

They return soaking wet but happy... Then I made them return to the last house so I could take a picture of Wee Man with the Candy Givers.... Finally, we headed home after a stop for food...

So..... here are the photographs of the kids this Halloween...

 

He loved getting his face all scary... hehee He also kept touching it so I had to keep redoing it...

 

Lil Kiwi in her rockin' outfit.... refusing to take a picture

 

Wee Man telling her how much mommy really wanted a picture of them...

 

Lil Kiwi finally looks at the camera and (bangs head) Wee Man wouldn't... ARGGGG

He was the scary pirate he had been asking for since last year.... and I think Lil Kiwi looked dang adorable in her Happy Panda shirt...

Here's to a better Halloween next year....

Halloween past (part I)

This is going to be a two part post I think... Or a really long one... Or both maybe.. LOL

Halloweens past...

I mentioned in this post about how one Halloween was really bad... Now seems like the perfect time to tell it... Last year DH was away doing top secret stuff so the kids and I were left alone for a few months... At the time Lil Kiwi was just about four months old and everything was a tad stressful because she had medical issues and at the time Wee Man was in Pre-K for only three hours a day... Lack of sleep.... Lack of privacy... etc...

Halloween was a few days away and I started to feel really sick... The type of sick when you start to physically shaking and can feel the chills running through your bones... I'm stubborn... Yep... To a fault... So, knowing that I didn't have the time to see (or even get an appointment) I figured I'd power through it....

Four or five days I was that sick but I still walked Wee Man to the bus stop and picked him up everyday... Cooked, play with, read to, and all those other daily activities... Sometimes I didn't feel so bad and then at other times I swear someone had a voodoo doll of me and ooooo they were not being nice at all....

I knew what was wrong with me by the second day because I'd had it before when I had Wee Man... Mastitis.... So I tried all the tips and tricks to help it but nothing worked...

Then on Halloween morning I decided that I really need to see the doctor and they would just have to let me bring the kids with me... Well, of course they didn't have an appointment for me but would have the nurse call me back... The hours tick by and finally she calls back and after talking to me tells me she will okay my visit to the place in town... (Remember how wonderful my insurance is)

So, I pack the kids up and drive to the local clinic 30ish minutes away... Sign in and then wait about an hour... They sit me down to do vitals and then freak out and rush me to a sign cubby hole (too small a place to have rooms).... I'm calling the only person I can think of and they aren't answering their phone... The doctors tell me that it's bad and they want to talk to the person that drove me... I explain I drove and they shake their heads... They then tell me I have to go to the hospital and will be there for probably a day or two... I explain there is no one that can watch my kids and that I refuse treatment at the hospital...

They talk and decide to give me fluids and medicine at the clinic; all the while pushing the fact I need better medical help... Bollocks! Here's me being stubborn again but honestly there was no one to watch my kids... My two sweet kids were being so great during all of this... Lil Kiwi was in her carseat and Wee Man was playing his game... Finally, I was released with more warnings about needing to visit the hospital.. Bollocks!...

I drove the 20 minutes to the house of my DH co-worker and hoped they were home... It was halloween so of course they were there still and while I crashed on the couch, my son got to be a football player in a jersey that touched the ground... I felt horrible that he missed out on being a pirate that year but he came back with a pillowcase almost FULL of candy...

He doesn't remember much of the time mommy was laying on the slab with IVs but oooo he remembers that he came home with the BIGGEST haul of candy ever.... Thank goodness...

*edited to add*  I didn't go to the hospital... I took the medicine they gave me at the clinic and rested as much as possible the next few days... Also had to have an appointment at my regular doctor where all they did was say "hmm yes that's what you have and are you taking medicine"... Like I keep saying my PCM is worthless..
Yes I'm stubborn.. I know I should have gone to the hospital but if I did what would have happend to my kids... The closest family that could help out is oh about 2000 miles away... (actually think it's something like 1856 miles) So hmm yeah I didn't have a choice...