Turtle Photo Prop

Brit's having a boy! She had mentioned a while ago, that if she was going to have a girl, she wanted to do a princess theme, but if it was a boy, Evan wanted a turtle. Cue Wendy and her ever growing crochet skills. I started work on the turtle shell part yesterday, and I finished piecing it together tonight.

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Thank you, Nutmeg, for being my model! And thank you, HodgePodge Crochet, for the great pattern.

Marty's 50th Birthday Party

This evening I attended a surprise birthday party for Marty. Boy, was he surprised! His birthday was over a month ago, so Martina told him that she was catering a party for someone else, and that she forgot something, and had to send him out to get it. He would, of course, be pissed off that she forgot whatever it was, and while he was out getting this item, everyone would arrive.

It worked out well. Marty was surprised, and the food was good. Unfortunately for me, there weren't many people I knew there, so I left early, but that meant I could spend the rest of the evening relaxing.

S'more Cake

Today, at Huber, we had a luncheon for the Grand Re-Opening of the deck off of the break room. It had been power-washed, and the weather had been iffy, so it was a great time to have a celebration. I made a cake that I found on Pinterest.

Better than Anything S'more Cake

Ingredients

• 1 box chocolate cake mix and any ingredients it requires
• 1 (12.25 oz.) jar Smucker's Marshmallow Topping
• 1 (16 oz) jar caramel topping
• 1 (8 oz) container cool whip thawed to room temperature
• 1 cup crushed graham crackers

Instructions

1. Bake cake according to directions in a 9x13 pan.
2. Let cake cool for about 5 minutes.
3. Poke holes in cake with the handle end of a wooden spoon.
4. While cake is still warm, slowly pour over marshmallow topping over the top making sure some gets in all the holes of the cake.
5. Next drizzle the caramel topping evenly over the cake slowly, making sure some gets in all the holes as well.
6. Spread cool whip over the top evenly.
7. Sprinkle top of cake with crushed graham crackers
8. Store in fridge until ready to eat. Store any leftovers in fridge.

It was great. Everyone loved it, and it was so easy to make. I brought the leftover cake to Tidewater, and they loved it, too.

Tilapia with Savory Herb Butter

For dinner tonight, Tom and I decided that baked tilapia would be fabulous. I knew how to prepare his - sprinkle it with Old Bay and top it with a little pat of butter - but I wanted a little bit more. After searching Pinterest, I found a recipe for Tilapia with Savory Herb Butter.

Tilapia with Savory Herb Butter

Ingredients

• 1/4 cup (1/2 stick) butter, softened
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Garlic Powder
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Perfect Pinch® Italian Seasoning
• 1/2 teaspoon McCormick® Mustard, Ground
• 1 pound tilapia fillets
• 1/2 teaspoon salt
• 1/4 teaspoon McCormick® Black Pepper, Ground

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 400°F. Mix butter, garlic powder, Italian seasoning and ground mustard in medium bowl until well blended.
2. Place fish on foil-lined shallow baking pan. Sprinkle with salt and pepper. Spread fish with herb butter mixture.
3. Bake 10 minutes or until fish flakes easily with a fork.

I didn't have any Italian Seasoning, so I replaced it with 1/4 tsp oregano and 1/4 tsp basil flakes, and I think it turned out well. The flavor was subtle, but good, and the fish wasn't overpowering (but tilapia isn't supposed to be). I'll add this to the list of recipes I'd make again.

Sweet Potato Fries

In addition to the other baked items I made tonight, I attempted baked sweet potato fries.

Baked Sweet Potato Fries

Ingredients

• Olive Oil, for tossing
• 5 sweet potatoes, peeled and sliced into 1/4-inch long slices, then 1/4-wide inch strips, using a crinkle cut knife
• 1 tablespoon House Seasoning (recipe follows)
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 450 degrees F.
2. Line a sheet tray with parchment. In a large bowl toss sweet potatoes with just enough oil to coat. Sprinkle with House Seasoning and paprika. Spread sweet potatoes in single layer on prepared baking sheet, being sure not to overcrowd. Bake until sweet potatoes are tender and golden brown, turning occasionally, about 20 minutes. Let cool 5 to 10 minutes before serving.

House Seasoning:

• 1 cup salt
• 1/4 cup black pepper
• 1/4 cup garlic powder

For the House Seasoning:

1. Mix ingredients together and store in an airtight container for up to 6 months.

I had purchased a huge sweet potato and it was quite difficult to cut into fries. Other than that, I think they turned out okay.

Baked Mozzarella Sticks

Since I had the night off, I thought I'd attempt to make a couple of new little things. It started with baked mozzarella sticks.

Ingredients from taste of home

• 4 pieces of string cheese cut in hallf (I used Sargento Reduced Fat Mozzarella cheese sticks)
• 4 egg roll wrappers cut in half
• olive oil
• salt
• Marinara or spaghetti sauce

Directions

1. Place a piece of string cheese near the bottom corner of one egg roll wrapper (keep remaining wrappers covered with a damp paper towel until ready to use). Fold bottom corner over cheese. Roll up halfway; fold sides toward center over cheese. Moisten remaining corner with water; roll up tightly to seal. Repeat with remaining wrappers and cheese.
2. Brush cheese sticks with olive oil and sprinkle with salt.
3. Bake at 400 degrees for 15 minutes. Turn and bake for another 5 minutes. Serve with marinara sauce or whatever sauce you like to dip your cheese sticks ili>n.

The flavor was good, but I was disappointed that a good amount of the mozzarella escaped the wonton wrapper.
I also attempted to make baked zucchini chips. They didn't dry out as much as I expected, so I think I'll try a dehydrator next.

Cherry Blossom Festival 2013

Today, Tom and I spent the day with his daughter, son-in-law, and granddaughter. We went to Washington, D.C. to see the cherry blossoms.

Unfortunately, the cherry blossoms were not in bloom.

That didn't stop us from enjoying our day togehter. Ava signed the Japan America Friendship Mural,

and, although we missed their performance, we heard these performers from across the Tidal Basin.

We went to the Smithsonian's Museum of Natural History

and saw the Tyrannosaurus rex,

a triceratops,

and the Hope diamond, among many other things.

Then, Tom took Ava on the carousel at the Smithsonian.

Afterwards, we stopped by a Pizza Hut in Odenton for dinner. We had a really nice time with them.