Category: Family

Getting rid of Dad

Beta: Dad! If you go to work, you get to socialize with grown ups, get work done, and I get to finish out my turn on the computer! adorable poop-eating grin

Quinn and I: die laughing

Quinn: I think our children are trying to get rid of me!

Beta: Yup.

Blanket Fort

It’s too cold for playing outside – even sledding isn’t any fun today – so the girls made a fort in the living room where they could watch movies on a tablet.

Alpha and Beta made a blanket fort.
Alpha and Beta made a blanket fort.

Blizzard of 2015

About two feet of snow fell since last night.  We never quite got the blizzardy white-out conditions that were forecast, but we got the right amount of snow, and more was falling as I took this picture.

snow piled up on our door
We’re going to have some trouble getting out of our house!

Sledding in Wilmington

Wilmington sits in region of Massachusetts that is sadly bereft of protrusive terrain.  Coming from hilly Connecticut, I quickly noticed the lack of sledding opportunities.

It’s not all sad flatness, however.  We have a great prominence left by the glaciers at the south end of town, by a local ball field.  I’m not sure if the hill or the field have a name – Google Maps is currently mum.  It appears to be about 100′ high.

From the road, you would never know a sledding track is there, except for the number of cars in the parking lot that appear immediately after a snowfall.

There are two sledding tracks, one steeper than the other.  The flatter one is a favorite of the little kids, but the “ruts” tend to be better defined on the steeper track (ironically, making that one the safer track as you’re less likely to drift off-course).

Mt. Sled Helens

For a couple of years now, I’ve been pushing all the snow in the driveway into a single pile at the end.

As few as six inches of snow makes a pile three feet high, with a run of eight feet.

The kids have dubbed it “Mt. Sled Helens.”

mt. sled helens
Sledding down Mt. Sled Helens

We don’t have many hills of any decent size in this corner of Massachusetts, so this fills the gap when I can’t drive the girls to the good sledding hills.

Mummenschanz!

We took all of the joneslings to see the Mummenschanz at the VETS Theater in Providence tonight.  They come through every few decades – the last time I saw them was 25 years ago.

But first: dinner at the Cheesecake Factory (right around the corner from the theater).  We relegated the cousins to their own end of the table.

joneslings at dinner
Joneslings around the kids’ end of the table

I think it’s safe to say we were all in good spirits.

20150122 Meghan at Cheesecake Factory
M., being especially beautiful tonight

Finally – the show.

happy joneslings
Happy joneslings

Breakfast Casserole

breakfast casserole - finished product
Breakfast Casserole

Ingredients

  • 1 pound of frozen hashbrowns (about 1/2 package)
  • 1/2 pound sausage (we like spicy chicken, but pork or another kind is good too)
  • 1 small/medium onion, diced
  • 1/4 bell pepper (any color) (optional)
  • handful of sliced mushrooms (optional)
  • 5 eggs
  • 1/2 cup of milk
  • 1/2 tablespoon garlic powder
  • 1-2 cups mexican cheese
  • black pepper to taste

Steps

  1. Preheat oven to 350°
  2. grease a 1-2 quart baking dish
  3. Brown the sausage, onions, and peppers/mushrooms/what-have-you in a skillet over medium heat
  4. Whisk the eggs, milk, garlic powder, and pepper
  5. Spread the hashbrowns into the baking dish
  6. Pour the egg mixture over the hashbrowns
  7. Layer down half the cheese – enough to cover the hashbrowns
  8. Spread out the sausage mixture
  9. Layer down the rest of the cheese – enough to cover everything
  10. Cover with aluminum foil and back for an hour
  11. Uncover and bake for another 10 minutes to brown the cheese a little

Makes 5-6 servings.  Serve with a dollop of sour cream on top!

Tortillas

Tortillas are surprisingly easy to make, but it does go a lot faster with two: one to flatten dough while the other cooks the previously-flattened dough.  Each tortilla takes about as long to cook as to roll.

These tortillas are good enough to eat plain.  They store well in a ziploc baggie.

Ingredients:

  • 3 cups flour
  • 1 teaspoon salt
  • 1/3 cup oil
  • (up to) 1 cup warm water

Steps:

  1. Preheat a large skillet on medium heat (our stove runs hot so it’s more like medium-low, YMMV)
  2. Mix flour and salt in a medium mixing bowl
  3. Cut in oil with a pastry blender or a fork
  4. Slowly incorporate water, mixing until a soft dough forms
  5. Make 2-inch dough balls – probably ten or twelve
  6. Roll flat with a rolling pin.  The dough should be as close to paper-thin as you can make it (you’ll probably wind up with cardstock).
    • You  won’t need to flour the surface – if the dough is good it won’t stick (except maybe to the rolling pin)
  7. Cook the tortillas one at a time until they start to bubble, then flip and heat until brown spots form.

Credit to https://kbmillers.wordpress.com/2013/09/05/169/

Black Bean Burgers

I love black bean burgers, which means in my house I’m the odd man out.  Used to be that I would only buy them when we went out because they seemed hard to make.  That is, until now.

Black Bean Burgers

Print Recipe
Prep Time 20 minutes
Cook Time 10 minutes
Servings: 4 patties
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: American
Ingredients Equipment Method Notes

Ingredients
  

  • 15 oz Black beans, canned drained and rinsed; I prefer the low-sodium beans
  • 1/2 - 1 whole Bell pepper
  • 1 small Onion
  • 3 cloves Garlic minced
  • 1 Egg
  • 1 tbsp Chili powder
  • 1 tbsp Cumin
  • 1/2 cup Bread crumbs up to 1 cup may be required
  • 1-4 tbsp Vegetable oil

Equipment

  • Potato Masher
  • Skillet
  • Flat bottom bowl or sauce pan

Method
 

  1. Finely dice the bell pepper and onion
  2. Mash the beans in the bowl; you may optionally reserve some from being mashed if you like whole beans in your patties
  3. Mix in peppers, onions, garlic, chili powder, cumin, and egg
  4. Mix in a half-cup of bread crumbs, until you have a dry, grainy paste. If mixture is still wet, mix in small amounts of bread crumbs until it's dry.
  5. Divide into quarters (or fifths/sixths if you prefer smaller/tiny patties)
  6. Fry in a little oil over medium heat until each side is slightly browned

Notes

  • The patties tend to be "thirsty" and require a bit of oil, generally 1 tablespoon per patty.
  • Patties freeze exceptionally well; you can throw frozen patties right on the pan.
  • I tend to make these while I'm making hamburgers as well, and the beef fat substitutes the vegetable oil very well (though it makes the burgers non-vegetarian).

 

Sam

[The kids are watching “How To Train Your Dragon 2”]

“Hiccup looks like Uncle Sam.”

“… Oh, yeah.  A very young looking Uncle Sam.”

“Yeah, when he shaves.”