Meatball sandwich

My friend, Kristine, gave me this recipe.  It is a winner!  Fast, easy, and tasty!  Great for those nights when you need to whip up something quickly for dinner, but don't have any prep time.

Meatball Sandwich
1 bag of frozen meatballs (I used Italian style, but you could probably use any style, really)
1 jar of Marinara sauce
Provolone cheese slices
Hoagie rolls or french bread  (I used hot dog buns because that is what we had on hand.)
Olive oil (or butter)
garlic salt

In a skillet, heat the meatballs together with the marinara sauce for 20-25 minutes (based on meatball package directions).  While heating the meatball mixture, brush the buns with olive oil (or spread with butter) then sprinkle with garlic salt.  Place on a baking sheet and toast in the oven at 375 degrees for about 5 min.

Then place meatballs (and a little extra sauce, if you like) onto bun, cover with a slice of provolone cheese, and put back in the oven for 2 to 3 minutes or until cheese melts.

Yum!!

Unbelievable Chicken

The name of this recipe makes me chuckle.  "Unbelievable". Hmmmm.... well, it is pretty good, but I don't think it qualifies as unbelievable.  :)  Sort of like the Incredible Chicken recipe I have posted here on the blog.  But, as I couldn't really come up with a better name, I went with the original.

Unbelievable Chicken
¼ cup cider vinegar
2 tsp. sweet hot mustard
1 ½ tsp. garlic powder
½ tsp. onion powder
¼ cup lime juice
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
½ cup brown sugar
salt and ground black pepper to taste
¼ cup olive oil
6 Schwans chicken breast filets (4 oz. each)

In a large bowl, mix the cider vinegar, mustard, garlic powder, onion powder, lime juice, lemon juice, brown sugar, salt, and pepper.  Whisk in the olive oil.  Place chicken in the mixture.  Cover and marinate 8 hours or overnight.

Preheat grill for high heat.  Lightly oil the grill grate.  Place chicken on prepared grill and cook 4 to 6 minutes per side, or until juices run clear.  Discard remaining marinade.

Rachel's Dance

My dear niece, Rachel, shares her heart and soul every time she dances.  It is poetry in motion.  We were so happy to be able to go to Cedar Falls to watch her in her spring recital a couple of weeks ago.  It was doubly important because she and her husband, Stephen, are moving this very weekend back to Oklahoma where Stephen has accepted a new job.  Although we are happy for them and their return to their home area of Oklahoma, we have to admit that we got very used to having them close enough to come visit several times throughout the year.

Jackson was at camp with Brianna, so missed the weekend.  But, Jonathan, Marvin, and I traveled up on a Friday afternoon.  As we were pulling into our hotel, Stephen texted us and wondered what time we would arrive.  Perfect timing!  We were able to meet up with him for dinner, which was wonderful.  He then took us for a drive around the area, including a stop at the Cedar River, a lovely area.

Marvin, Stephen, and Jonathan 

Marvin and Laura

Kerry, Candace, Hannah, and Susanna were driving up from OK so we didn't see them until breakfast the next morning at the hotel.  Candace and I laughed when we realized we were wearing the exact same shirt.  You can tell where we shop!   :)

Updated to include a photo from Saturday night showing that Candace and I are wearing the same shirt (although different colors) and our fellas are wearing similar plaid shirts!   :)

We spent the morning taking a walking tour of the campus there in Cedar Falls.  Daddy and Mama moved there in 1959 when Julie and Kerry were very small.  They left behind their pretty little house that they had built here to wind up living in a corrugated tin building (married student housing at the time) with a front door that froze on the inside.  A little depressing, actually.  Daddy remembers making the long, cold walk through the tunnel from their apartment to the campus where he was doing research with radioactive isotopes.  It was that time and those experiences that helped him determine that he really wanted to teach, not do research.  

Jonathan, Susanna, Hannah, Candace, Marvin, and Kerry at the tunnel

This view sort of reminded me of Truman

We stopped for lunch at a place called 'Pizza Ranch' which was a hit!  I would love to have one of these here at home!  It was a pizza buffet with wonderful and unique pizza options available, as well as more 'homestyle' offerings like fried chicken, mashed potatoes, green beans, meatloaf, etc.  They also had gluten free pizzas for the OK crew.  Great place!!  

After lunch we made a quick stop at the Hartman Nature Reserve.  What a beautiful place tucked away in the midst of Cedar Falls!  You literally drive down through a quaint neighborhood, on winding roads, then suddenly you are at a nature preserve with many beautiful trails and exhibits!  Incredible!

Marvin, Candace, Kerry, Stephen, Hannah, Jonathan 

Then it was on to the dance recital, which was held in the performing arts center on campus.  We had good seats and enjoyed the recital thoroughly.  It was based around the theme of 'An American Story' and told our nation's history through music and dance.  Truly, I was riveted.  And of course, I cried when I saw dear Rachel.  (I always do...)   :)

Rachel and Candace

Rachel and Kerry 

Rachel and Stephen

Susanna, Rachel, and Susanna 

Susanna, Rachel, Stephen, Hannah, Candace, Kerry

Laura, Rachel, Marvin, Jonathan 

Rachel and Hannah 

Jonathan, Marvin, and Kerry 

After the recital we headed downtown to a neat little place restaurant known for their sushi and tapas.  I ordered stuffed mushrooms and tequila chicken kabobs, both of which were quite tasty.  It was right next to a beautifully historic hotel and we enjoyed a few brief moments of gawking while en route to the bathroom.  :)  

Hannah, Susanna, Jonathan 

Laura, Rachel, Stephen 

Kerry, Candace, Marvin, Rachel  

Sunday morning, which also happened to be Father's Day, we enjoyed a relaxing breakfast at the hotel with everyone, then set off for home.  We arrived home just in time to have dinner with Mama and Daddy at the lake restaurant.  (The day before they left for their trip out west.)   A terrific weekend!

Lo and behold... we wore the same shirt
(although different colors) on the 2nd day, too!   :)  Too funny!

Candace, Stephen, Kerry, Rachel, Hannah, Susanna, Jonathan, Laura, Marvin.
The whole group at the hotel.

One final memory of our trip up to Iowa.  Marvin and I so enjoyed seeing all the neatly kept farms and farm homes, the quilt paintings decorating so many barns, the rolling countryside and farmland; all so beautiful and picturesque.  Iowans are a uniquely friendly group, as well.  In fact, as we were traveling north on a highway, I became aware that a car that was passing me had sort of slowed down beside our car.  I nervously looked that way, wondering what to expect, when the driver smiled great big and give a huge 'thumbs up' sign.  It took me a minute, but then I realized that he was doing that for Marvin because of our Purple Heart license plate.  What a lovely gesture!  (and not the one you might usually get in other states!!)   ;)

Here is a link to an entire album of photos from our weekend.

Easy Chicken Satay

Yes, the curry makes the sauce look greenish... but it was tasty!!  :)

This was yummy!  I ended up not making it on skewers, though.

Easy Chicken Satay

½ cup coconut milk

1 tsp. garlic powder

1 tsp. curry powder

1 ½ tsp. brown sugar

½ tsp. salt

½ tsp. ground black pepper

4 Schwans chicken breast filets (total of 16 oz.) cut into strips

Warm Peanut Sauce

1 cup coconut milk

1 Tbsp. curry powder

½ cup creamy peanut butter

¾ cup chicken stock

¼ cup brown sugar

2 Tbsp. lime juice

1 tsp. soy sauce

salt to taste

10 skewers

For the chicken

Stir together ½ cup coconut milk, 1 tsp. curry powder, 1 ½ tsp. brown sugar, salt, and pepper until the sugar has dissolved.  Toss marinade with chicken, cover, and marinate for at least 2 hours.  

For the sauce

Bring 1 cup coconut milk, 1 Tbsp. curry powder, peanut butter, chicken stock, and ¼ cup brown sugar to a simmer in a saucepan over medium-high heat.  Simmer for 5 minutes, stirring constantly, until smooth and thickened.  Remove from heat and stir in lime juice and soy sauce.  Season to taste with salt.  (we didn't need any added here.)

Preheat a grill for medium high heat.  Thread marinated chicken onto skewers, then grill 4 to 5 minutes per side, or until cooked through.  Serve with the warm peanut sauce.  

I grilled the chicken strips on their own because I didn't have my skewers.  Very tasty!  I also sautéed up some onions and green peppers to mix in with the chicken and sauce and served over rice.

I ended up having enough of the peanut sauce left over to have a chicken stir fry the next night.  I just stir fried some more chicken along with onions, peppers, carrots, celery, and broccoli then poured the peanut sauce over all.  Let simmer a couple of minutes (long enough for the peanut sauce to thoroughly coat the meat and veggies) then served over rice.  Also very good!

More catching up...

I am afraid I have really neglected the blog this month.  Perhaps it is a natural response to all the busyness of April and May.  Perhaps I have just gotten lazy.  I think I'll choose the first reason, regardless of the truth.   ;)   Since I do print this blog into keepsake books, I really don't want to ignore any of the events of the month.  So here is yet another attempt to catch up on the events of June.

Jackson and Brianna attended church camp in northern Iowa for a week.  Everyone had a wonderful time and I so appreciated Shonda posting photos on Facebook for all of us here at home.  I have shamelessly stolen some of her photos to post here.  Thanks Shonda!   :)

Even after having it explained to me, I still don't fully understand anything about this...   :)

Dear Brianna had surgery last week to remove her tonsils and adenoids.  She came through like a trooper but is now having some greater discomfort.  Jackson has been an extremely attentive boyfriend during her recovery period and we sure hope it continues to go well.  She has had some greater discomfort this week, so continued prayers are appreciated.

Jonathan has resumed playing tennis this summer with the Parks and Rec program.  In addition, he is taking lessons from Tyler H. and they are going exceptionally well.  Tyler is a terrific tennis teacher and I highly recommend him!  Jonathan is learning a lot and having a great time.

Jonathan and Tyler, his tennis teacher

Tyler and Jonathan 

Tyler and Jonathan 

Jonathan and Jackson playing tennis on a lovely afternoon

:)  Jonathan happy that he beat his brother!  

So, Jackson clearly wasn't dressed for tennis.  :)  But, just happy that he found time to play!

Jonathan and Jackson 

Mama and Daddy have been enjoying a vacation out west (our entire family's favorite destination!).  They have been sending home photos of their adventures and it sounds like they are having a wonderful time.  And I am just now realizing that I never reported here that Mama's ankle actually did end up being broken.  It wasn't visible on the first x-ray that was taken immediately after her fall in April.  However, it was discovered a few weeks later that it was, indeed, broken.  We are so thankful that her ankle healed up in time for the trip.  She has enjoyed hiking at every location!

Daddy at Jenny Lake in the Tetons

Mama at Old Faithful Inn - Yellowstone

Old Faithful geyser

Daddy and Mama at Artist Point in Yellowstone 

Daddy's been working hard

My Daddy does not know how to sit down.  He is twice retired and going strong.  His new hip that he got back in November has made him go even faster, it seems!  I am thankful for all that he does, not only for his health, but because I have absolutely no idea what we would do without all his work!  It takes a bunch of folks working hard to keep things going smoothly here at Willis Creek Ranch (and beyond to Anna and Matthew's house in town!)

Remember the tree that went down at Anna and Matthew's house in the storm a few weeks ago?  Daddy worked on that cleanup for several days and finally had to take the tractor to town to get the root of that tree to come up and out.  It was quite a sturdy root!  Too bad about losing that tree.  

He has been working in the family garden on all of our behalf.  That is not an easy task!  But wow, doesn't it look great?

Daddy is also a master with the tractor.  He can smooth out surfaces like a pro, literally.  He moved a lot of dirt to this area in their yard that had been dug up for a new water line.  Then he smoothed it all out and planted grass seed.  Looks great!

Since he is not all about work without reward, Daddy took Mama to one of their favorite places - a little cafe along the Mississippi River.  So glad they had a nice evening there.  

Although Daddy didn't build this porch, I thought I would include it in this post.  Newly constructed at Anna and Matthew's house and it looks fantastic!