There's Nothing Better Than a Good Visit

Monday: Leftovers
Tuesday: Minestrone Soup
Wednesday: Grilled Talapia, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Baked Asparagus and Salad with Roasted Beets
Thursday: Falafel
Friday: Out for Dinner
Saturday: Pizza
Sunday: Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Roasted Veggies, Salad, Bread with Pineapple Cake and Ice Cream

Leftovers
Well, today I was not going to eat any chocolate...but, it was grey today and the kids didn't find all the eggs. Instead of prompting them a little when I noticed one, Dave insisted that we let them find them on their own, how fun to find a chocolate egg two days later. The logic behind this is good, but flawed very, very flawed. Especially since one of the ones that they hadn't found was on the window sill in the kitchen by the sink, I stared at that thing all morning, finally I ate it...and then five more that I knew about. I think that's it, although how excited will I be if I find one in two days from now...I mean the kids, yes the kids.

Recipe
We had leftover blueberry pecan french toast from yesterday with leftover baked beans, killer coleslaw and fruit.

Minestrone Soup
Dave's parents are coming to visit they arrive late tonight. The girls are so excited Harper keeps running around yelling, "Gammie and Gampie are coming today!" We usually see them once or twice a year but, this time it's been over a year since we've seen them and it's been too long.

Recipe
I made the minestrone soup from this post here, except I forgot to buy the greens and I used ziti instead of pasta.

Grilled Talapia, Roasted Baby Potatoes, Baked Asparagus and Salad with Roasted Beets
I have kind of fallen off the writing this week and am trying to catch up so you'll have to bear with me as I try and remember our days because, honestly my memory is really quite bad. I do remember how excited the girls were when they woke up Wednesday and saw Dave's parents, Harper not even hesitating to give them a cuddle. It's really so lovely to have them here to visit. I especially love listening to the girls giggle with excitement and cuddle up with them. The excitement in Hannah's voice when she asked me if Grammie could walk her to the bus stop (not to mention the fact that I was in the middle of two, yes two with one child, potty training incidences). Hannah said to me, when I mentioned how great it was to see Grammie and Grandpie, "Yes, it's really good to see them here - I mean I do get to see them all the time, but not like touch them and hug and kiss them and that's much, much better." Yes, it is, isn't it?

Recipe
Dinner tonight was fairly simple, I brushed the fish fillets with a little olive oil and Dave grilled them on the BBQ.

I roasted baby potatoes with a little olive oil and salt and baked the asparagus with a little olive oil and some grated lemon zest and baked them for about 8 - 10 minutes until tender.

The salad was from Jan's Sushi Bar and was delicious, I still can't seem to get enough of the roasted beets.

3 medium beets, red

1 tablespoon olive oil

10 ounces mixed baby greens

3 ounces goat cheese, crumbled

1/2 cup pistachios, I used a mixture of salted macadamia nuts, almonds and cashews

2 tablespoons raw honey

1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard

3 tablespoons red wine vinegar

1 1/2 tablespoons minced red onion

1/2 teaspoon kosher or sea salt

1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

6 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil

Preheat oven to 425°F. Lightly scrub the beets; trim the stem and root ends. Place beets on a large piece of foil; drizzle with olive oil, then wrap foil around them to form a neat packet. Roast directly on a rack in center of the oven until easily pierced with a knife, about 1 hour. Unwrap the beets and allow to sit until cool enough to handle. Rub off the skins with a clean paper towel or peel with a paring knife; cut into ½-inch dice. Set aside.

In a small bowl, whisk together the honey, Dijon mustard, red wine vinegar, red onion, salt and pepper. Whisking constantly, slowly add the olive oil in a steady stream. Taste and adjust seasoning if necessary.

Divide the greens onto plates, then sprinkle with beets, nuts and goat cheese; drizzle with the vinaigrette. Serve immediately.

Falafel

Thursday was beautiful and so I thought that after we took Hannah to school I would take Harper and Dave's parents on a walk through this nice little trail a neighborhood over. I had to ask my parents directions three or four times of how to drive to the trail (I've only been on it once) the directions were follow one road and then turn right and follow that road until the end, the fact that I had to ask for these directions three or four times should have been a warning. So we all headed off on the trail which I was sure was a circle (and apparently is...which really speaks volumes about my directional sense) and still we wondered off somewhere and I got us lost. Luckily it was a beautiful day, perfect for an hour and a half walk. Harper alternated up and down off my shoulders and I'm sure that Dave's parents weren't all that surprised that I got us lost, it's kind of how I roll...

There were a bunch of deer on the trail and Harper was using her binoculars to spy them.

Taking a little rest

Recipe

I made falafels from here, which I love - it's always popular.

Out for Dinner

We all went out for dinner tonight to Bombolini's. It was raining out, I had Dave's mom and the girls and Dave and his dad went ahead in the other car to pick some dessert (cakettes from Cake-ology of course). When I went to drop them off at the restaurant before I went to park the car I looked back and Harper was fast asleep. So Heather (Dave's mom) took Hannah in and I took Harper with me to park. You know sometimes there are these moments where you are reminded why you married someone (not that you don't know all the time, but it's these obvious moments that stick out sometimes), as I'm walking in the rain with a two year old slung over my shoulder I look up to see my husband come sprinting out of the restaurant and down the street towards me to scoop up the little one from me, it's not that I was surprised, I wasn't expecting it, but it was more that I was in no way surprised.

Harper did wake up when we got in the restaurant and was quite a character. The girls did really well, staying in their seats (we did visit the bathroom five or six times of course). Harper, who is naturally loud, would talk/yell, "WHY DID THEY GIVE ME A KNIFE?" and then after being shhhed would repeat everything in a whisper.

Pizza and Salad

The girls jackets and clothes were washed twice today, ahhh spring. It's been mostly raining this week and the girls have been decorating the deck with mud and they have made a huge mud patch in the middle of the yard in which they continued to play and slip in. This was followed by a round of running through house after dinner with their cousin in their underwear! It then fell silent and I crept up the stairs to check on the three of them, worried that they were into something, and I found all three of them sitting on Hannah's bed in different bathing suits with a stuffed animal each, a doctor's kit and embroidery thread wrapping casts around their stuffies and checking their temperatures...they're pretty cute.

Recipe

We topped our pizzas with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, sun dried tomatoes, red onions, olives, peppers and mozzarella cheese. I just tossed together some of the leftovers from Wednesday night's salad.

Salmon, Rice Pilaf, Roasted Veggies, Salad, Bread with Pineapple Cake and Ice Cream
Here's the difference between a parent and a grand parent. The girls were heading out to play today, but had left their boots out over night and were complaining that they were cold. I, hearing this from upstairs would have said, "Put on an extra pair of socks and run." Their Grandpie on the other hand got the hair dryer and warmed up the inside of their boots for them before they put them on. I have to be honest, part of me felt a little sad that warming their boots with a hair dryer was not something I would do for my children, and part of me felt hopeful that I would one day take the time to do little, wonderful things like that for my grandchildren because I will have learned to always make it a priority to do the little things for the ones we love...

I hope the sun shines down on you this week and you are able to find the time to do the little things for the ones you love...