Sunday Gumbo

Seeing the picture of Ben sitting behind the pot of gumbo prompted me to get out my big pot and make a gumbo yesterday. I was able to get all of my ingredients ready while the roux and juice were boiling. I make chicken and sausage gumbo...even though for every bowl of c&s gumbo he eats, Michael will ask me to make a seafood gumbo. Maybe one day. My gramdma makes gumbo just like this!!
After the gumbo was made and the Saints lost their game, Ben woke up from his nap and we made cookies. These are the cookies out of the book by Jessica Seinfeld, Deceptively Delicious. I make them often. They are a very healthy version of chocolate chip cookies...there are chicpeas in them. Also, there isn't as much sugar and no egg yolks, only the egg whites. Another great thing about these cookies is that they keep their shape when you bake them. I use a little ice cream scooper and they are perfectly round on top and flat on the bottom. I put them in the freezer (notice the ziploc bag) and put a few in Ben's lunch everyday. I don't have to feel guilty about him getting junk...and they have lots of fiber because I also add raisins and oatmeal!!

If you have this cookbook and kids, get it out and look and see if there are things in it that your little one wouldn't eat when you got it but would eat now. Ben has discovered that he likes cheesesticks just recently and there is a healthy version in it. Next I am going to try the chocolate dip for fruit. Ben eats an apple almost everyday. I need to jazz those apples up soon or he is going to get tired of them, just like he did broccoli.

The Snack Bar!

I was looking on my mom's card in her camera and I found this picture that I forgot that I had taken. Every one of the grandchildren has sat at the snack bar at my grandmas and watched her cook. This has got to be where I learned how to make good food. Mo Mo makes everyone their favorite..some like peas, some like pork-n-beans, some like cabbage. She knows what every grandchild, great-grandchild and great-great-grandchild likes and makes sure to have it all cooked when it is time to eat. It looks like we were having gumbo in the picture of Ben sitting at the snack bar. Of course, some don't like okra in the gumbo, so it is always on the side. I personally like gizzards in my gumbo. Mo Mo is still cooking on that old stove in Louisiana.

Sunday at Our House!

I can't say that I am crafty like one of my blogger buddies. I am so far behind on my scrapbooking that I am scared to open the cabinet where I keep my unfinished projects. I don't bake either like my friend Amy. Since I am a Cajun from Louisiana, cooking is what I do best. Mom and dad brought some shrimp when they came. I decided to cook them on Sunday. I started peeling them and saw that I had enough to keep the peel on some and boil them up. As I was working on the shrimp, Michael fried some green tomatoes. It wasn't easy to get this picture. Michael and my dad were wondering why I was taking their treats. You always think that you have enough of this cajun delight, but you never do. We put some remoulade sauce on the side for dipping. We weren't done when these goodies were devoured. I used the peeled shrimp to make shrimp creole! I even made my roux from scratch! C'est Bon!!

The Rock Ranch

We are keeping Nanny and Paw Paw busy while they are in Georgia. Today we drove about an hour northwest to the Rock Ranch. There are lots of activities for children spread out over about 15 acres. There is a corn maze there and I have always wanted to go through one. Upon entering, we were given this stick with a flag on one end. If we were to get lost, we just hold up the flag and there are people sitting on deer stands and they will guide us back on track. I wouldn't say that we were lost, but we surely didn't have the patience to find the exit. Apparently we were some of the first visitors and all of the workers weren't there yet because the 'guides' were not in place. Luckily, we found the entrance and used it as an exit. When we came out of the maze we made a big deal about being out of it so Ben thought that the 20 minutes that we were in the maze was all it took to really find the exit. I didn't realize that corn is such a complex plant!
The REAL reason for our trip was to see the 'Pumpkin Cannon.' It is this redneck creation that shoots pumpkins a very, very long way. Since we were cannon 'groupies' Ben was picked to help aim the cannon for the first firing. The pumpkins go so far that they had to drive a four-wheeler into the field on the other side of the pond to get the cows to move out of the way!

We had a great day. After we left the Rock Ranch, we drove through Barnesville and Nanny spotted a restaurant that looked like it might be good. She was right! With our tummies full of fried squash, ribs, fried chicken, veggies, and a little dessert, we drove up to the outlet mall in Locust Grove.

The Fair!!

Today we went to the fair. Ben has been talking about it for a year. It wasn't the rides or the food that he didn't want to miss, it was the baby chickens. Nanny and Paw Paw are in town from Louisiana and they wouldn't miss the fair.

Can you see Ben and his daddy in the pink bucket? Last year he wouldn't get near the sky buckets. This year he rode them twice.

Here they are with the famous baby chickens. Poultry World is always our first stop and usually our last.

The bumper cars and the racing car roller coaster were Ben's two favorites! Daddy was a good sport....fair rides aren't the smoothest rides.
The weather wasn't the best but we had a great day! It was a wonderful way to kick off our Fall Break from school. We can enjoy our days off and our visit with Nanny and Paw Paw.

Geaux Saints!!!

I couldn't resist getting the camera out on Sunday to get this picture. I didn't think that the dog would actually stay on Michael's lap long enough, but he did. Getting him to look at the camera is another story. Ben is starting to turn into a little football fan. He lets us watch football (instead of Curious George) in the living room when it is on. What you can't see is the pirate village on the floor and the lego creations from earlier in the day!

Our First PreK Field Trip

Today we went on our much anticipated field trip with Ben's class. I don't know if he was more excited to ride the big yellow school bus or to go to the park to play. He told me that I would need to take my car. I informed him that I wouldn't sit with him on the bus so he agreed that I could ride the bus with him. The weather was great and all of the kids, teachers and parents enjoyed the day.

Football Season is Here!!

I had Michael's work polo ready for him to put on this morning. When I saw him come into the kitchen to get his coffee something hit me...it is Football Season. Ben has been wearing his Reggie Bush and Eli Manning jerseys for the past two Sundays. He has also been wearing his Auburn shirts on Saturdays for a few weeks. It was not until I saw that Michael had gotten the Auburn tie off of the rack and realized that he means buisiness today. Auburn plays LSU tonight..War Eagle!!!

WAR EAGLE!!!

Today we went to the Auburn football game with Poppa and Nana. It was a beautiful day in Auburn. We arrived early to see the band march in...along with Ben's favorite mascot, Aubie. We knew our seats were in the upper deck, but you couldn't get much higher than we were. There was only one row behind us. We all made it up there (way up there) and stayed for the first half. Poppa was thankful for the elevator and the golfcart ride! Ben was itching to get his souvenirs that we had promised him. We headed to Tiger Rags for our 'merch' and headed home. It was a great day!!!

One of the BEST sights was seeing the Eagle fly from the top of the upper deck and circle a bunch of times until he landed on the 50 yard line on the field!!!

The Storm is Over!!!

Mom and dad (along with the rest of the family) made it through Hurricane Gustav without much excitement. Mom and dad don't have electricity. They will just stay at my grandmas!! Looks like it will be an active season...more storms brewing out there. I'll keep everyone updated!!!