Today was my Grandpa’s 90th birthday party. I’ve been lucky enough to be super close with my grandparents throughout my entire life. My dad’s parents were both deceased before I was born, so I was even closer to my mom’s parents than I probably would have been if my dad’s parents were still alive.
My grandma passed away in January of 2009, but I still think she lives on in my Grandpa. He is a strong, determined, caring man and I am so lucky to be his granddaughter.
His stories are full of character, history and bravery. His hugs are full of love.
He is my favorite grandpa, ever. :)
I don’t know what year this was, but either late 80’s, early 90’s. And I was afraid of stuffed animals as a child, don’t tease me. Also this was my favorite dress.
This was my wedding in February 2010.
I decided to make Corn on the Cob Cupcakes for the party, and apparently they were a hit!
They were a lot of fun to make. I used yellow cupcakes, vanilla frosting (dyed yellow), and 3 kinds of jellybeans. The white were coconut, the light yellow were pineapple and the dark yellow were banana. The melted pats of butter were Starbursts that I melted down a little and molded into their shapes.
Seriously sweet, but seriously delicious!
Tonight the hubs and I hosted dinner and a movie for his parents. I made french dip sandwiches, mashed potatoes and corn on the cob.
His mother brought tons of movie goodies and we watched Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 1.
I could not be more excited to go see HP7 part 2 tomorrow. Seriously, I kind of feel giddy. And nauseous. I don’t want it to be over!
Anyway, I decided to make french dip sandwiches for dinner tonight because they were the first recipe I tried on this blog! See?
I think I made them a lot better this time, and my picture taking abilities have definitely increased. That first picture was taken on my cell phone!
Also, I forgot to take a picture so ignore the third of the sandwich that is missing. Okay, thanks.
Here is a picture of all the goodies we had to snack on… most of it is leftover but that’s okay by us!
I love chocolate covered strawberries. And Draco Malfoy. Yum.
Listen, I’m kind of a huge nerd.
I really need Photoshop on my new Mac. I have the full Adobe Design Suite on my HP laptop… but a 13″, 2 year old, barely functioning laptop with Photoshop vs a brand new 21″ desktop that’s a Mac…. yeah, I think I’ll take editing pictures in iPhoto and Open Office (I don’t even have Office!!) over my laptop.
But my Adobe Suite is yelling at me via my laptop from inside my nightstand.
As is my wallet.
And by that I mean my school loans.
Shut up already!
Tonight’s dinner was Turkey, Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches, minus the bacon. I am not a bacon lover (and gasps were heard around the world….) and cooking bacon for one is just too messy for a girl that doesn’t like bacon. The hubs lived.
I also heated up some store-bought Cheddar and Broccoli rice (I could eat rice everyday if it wasn’t so bad for me) and my italian dressing covered cucumbers.
Cucumbers are my favorite vegetables to snack on. I used to dip them in ranch, but I feel like Light Italian dressing is a better alternative.
However, if we compare yesterday’s sandwiches vs today’s sandwiches, yesterday’s totally win. In flavor, texture… everything.
But I do love me some cresent rolls, so that was yummy. I might have pulled out the turkey and cheese glob and ate the cresent roll.
Don’t judge me.
I’ve been cooking up a storm here lately! And I love it!
The hubs and I had my brother, sister-in-law and their 2 kids (read: Easter Baskets) and my younger sister over for lunch on Sunday. My sister-in-law dyed my hair, and I cooked them lunch! I didn’t take any pictures… but I made pulled pork sandwiches and baked beans for us old folk, and she made homemade KFC slaw. That was some seriously yummy stuff. For the kids I had mac n’ cheese, hot dogs, Cheese-its and Capri suns. It was a beautiful day.
I also bought some new summery plastic plates for the occasion. Aren’t they pretty?
And see the $20 bag of jelly beans in the corner? That’s for the Corn on the Cob Cupcakes I’m making this weekend.
I sneak a couple now and then because I bought banana, coconut and pineapple flavored beans. Holy cow.
Tonight, the hubs was going to play softball with some friends. To this, I laugh. See below.
I can’t find a screenshot of the temperature at 6 pm when we got home, but just believe me when I say it was 99 degrees with a heat index of 112.
Right now, it’s 11:30 pm and it’s 91 degrees outside.
So I made Ham & Cheese Sliders and we stayed INside, IN the A/C and watched the Home Run Derby.
Ah, the joys of being married.
Mmmm, Hawaiian rolls. They remind me of communion at church. I haven’t been to church in years.
Right before I stuck them in the oven.
The glaze on top was perfect. I loved these little guys.
THEN! Since I felt bad he had to miss softball with his friends (even though our friends Roadie and Carrie came over to watch the HR Derby and we love them), I decided to make cookies. I had leftover white chocolate and semi-sweet chocolate chips from another recipe, so I threw them in together and made a delicious double chip cookie. My sister got me a silicone baking sheet for my birthday and I **FOR ONCE** didn’t burn the bottoms of the cookies! YAY ME!
Best part of the meal if you ask me! :)
Okay, so I’ll come right out and say it. You might see a theme in the menu choices below.
If you don’t understand, the theme is that my husband and I love sandwiches.
And I don’t just mean we fancy them every once and a while.
I mean, give us the option to choose fast food for dinner and we will pick Bread Co (Panera), Subway or a trip to the deli before any other fast food restaurants.
Every time.
(except maybe Taco Bell…. so sue me.)
At one point in my life, I actually took this picture of my meal because I was so excited. And it is still saved on my computer.
I want one now.
Put stuff between 2 slices of bread and hand it to me, and we will be the best of friends.
(maybe not literally, some people are creepy.)
WEEK 7/10-7/17
Sunday – Slow Cooked BBQ Pork Sandwiches
Monday – Ham & Cheese Sliders
Tuesday – Turkey, Bacon & Cheese Sandwiches
Wednesday – Tacos
Thursday – French Dip Sandwiches
Friday – Sweet Tomatoes and HARRY POTTER!!!
Saturday – Corn on the Cob Cupcakes for my Grandpa’s 90th birthday cookout! I love family.
Sunday – Sloppy Joes (what can I say, I’m a kid at heart)
Tonight I made Shredded Chicken Enchiladas.
The picture above is some delicious looking chicken that was simmered in enchilada sauce and garlic. And it was so juicy and flavorful and tender and blessed-be amazing.
The hubs deserves all the credit because I hate cooking chicken more than anything in the entire world. I am terrible at it and mostly because I refuse to touch raw chicken. Raw beef, no problem. Raw chicken is a no-no.
But then it turns into this and all is right again. Cheesy, chicken-y (?), melty goodness.
I left out the cilantro because we are both big cilantro haters. I added red pepper flakes and parsley to the top of the enchiladas for a kick and it was perfect. The hubs added salsa to his but I preferred mine naked. Yum, naked. ;)
The hubs and I went to a 4th of July party tonight and had a blast!
In honor of the festivities, I made red white and blue chocolate covered strawberries. They were a hit… even my 1-year old cousin was sucking them down like candy. I was super happy and will probably make them again.
Healthy, yet indulgent. My kind of snack!
This is kind of a terrible picture, but I forgot to take a finished one at our house. This was taken after they had sat out a while.
But you get the idea.. right? Ha!
Newlywed Cooks 