Archive for » February, 2010 «

Boot(y) Scootin’ Boogie

I haven’t posted anything new in a week.  Sorry. 

I’ve done this before and then given you a myriad of excuses.  I have some excuses this time too.  They include a mini-weekend vacation, a sinus infection, four worthless hours of “American Idol,” and of course, my old standby: laundry.  But, actually, the real reason I haven’t blogged in a week this time is because of this…

Is that not the weirdest thing you’ve ever seen?  (And I’m talking about Jack Henry’s floor movement…not my mountain of clutter in the chair in the background.  That is our drop-off chair where I always sit down the diaper bag, my keys, the baby’s blanket, my jacket, etc., etc., etc…)

I thought Cap’n Jack Henry was skipping the whole crawling stage.  Well, technically, he is skipping it because you can hardly call sidling around like an injured hermit crab crawling.  He’s been pulling up and cruising around holding onto furniture since around Christmas, so I was thinking we’d be seeing his first steps around this time, but no.  We have booty scooting.  Fast booty scooting.  I can hardly get anything done these days, except chase his little booty around and try to keep him out of trouble.

Yesterday he had his fifteen month check-up, and his pediatrician asked me if he was walking yet.

“Ummm…no.  Not really,” I replied.

“Well, is he trying to get around?” she queried.

“Oh, yes.  He gets around,” I said.  I then launch into an explanation of his maneuvers, complete with leg and arm motions, which get some eye rolls and snickers from his two older siblings.

“Oh.  Well, I see,” she answers.  She then goes through some little muscular tests with him.  He does everything she wants him to do easily.

“Well, I don’t see any problems with him.  He’ll walk when he’s ready,” she concludes.

I should have told her he has pirate blood, and a pirate will always use his booty.

P/P Project: Red Velvet Cake

A few of my readers and I are cooking our way through Ree Drummond’s book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  We’d love to have you join in with us.  Jump in any time, cook the recipe, and then come discuss it here on the comments section of  my blog.

Don’t let the above picture fool you.  This recipe, for me, was a disaster.  But I’m pretty sure it was my fault, and not PW’s.  Allow me to explain.

First of all, despite the misleading heart I put on top of my cake, I did not bake this over Valentine’s weekend.  No, I baked it about two hours ago.  Valentine’s turned out to be a lot busier than I anticipated, and then this week has been busy too with Jack Henry having his first head cold and all of us trying to make preparations to make a quick trip this weekend.  So, knowing I needed to get this posted today, I was rushed, and I’m blaming baby snot for it.

Secondly, I think my shortening was a little on the old side.  I had just used it before Christmas, so I don’t think it was detrimentally so, but it did look a little glossier than I think it should.  I threw the tub away after I made the cake, but by the time I realized it had seen better days, Jack Henry was napping, and Bonny Annie was at her tutorial, so a grocery run was not a prospect at the moment.

Thirdly, I had a headache.  I think it was because I colored my hair last night, and I always get a little bit of one when I do that.  I am more than likely giving myself a brain tumor for the sake of vanity concerning a handful of white hairs.  But, regardless, by the time I was finished I just felt like I was throwing ingredients everywhere and not really baking with purpose.

I think that’s all, but I’ll let you know if I can think up any more reasons that this cake kinda failed for me.

This is the kind of recipe that will totally trash your kitchen.  By the time I was finished, every single counter was covered with baking paraphernalia.

I pretty much stuck to the recipe, with just a few minor changes.  I used plain, old all-purpose flour and not cake flour.  My Publix apparently doesn’t carry cake flour, and that’s where I made a quick grocery run yesterday afternoon. 

I have no idea how much red food coloring I used.  I didn’t have the liquid kind on hand.  I had the gel kind that comes in little tubes, and the tube wasn’t full.  This accounts for the lighter pink color of my cake.

The only other variation was, like I said, using shortening that was a little “off.”  This may account for the slight aftertaste that I think my cake has.  It’s slight, but it’s there.

I had to bake my cakes for about ten minutes longer than the book calls for.  When I checked them at 20 minutes, there was still wet batter on my cake tester.  Then I think the outsides got a little too brown.  Then they stuck a little in the pans too, even though I let them cool longer than the 20 minutes that was called for…

Nothing terribly tragic, and they frosted up just fine.  The icing, I thought, was really good, but then how can you go wrong with cream cheese icing?

Overall, the cake tasted okay.  Dirty Harry was the only one available to taste-test, and he gave it a thumbs-up…but then he’s a nine year-old boy who is having a piece of cake before his lunch, so he’s perhaps not the best critic.  After a few more people have tasted it, I’ll let you know in the comments.

My sister-in-law, Susan, sent me these sweet pictures of her baking experience…

 

As you can see, she opted to make cupcakes, and I’ll let her share the details of that  in the comments section.

So, how did it go for all of you?  Did you whip it out for Valentines Day?  Are the ingredients still in your pantry?  Weigh in below and let us all know…

For our next assignment, we’re going to the “In the Morning” section.  Let’s get back to the basics and try the Buttermilk Biscuits on pages 44-45.  I’m going to skip all of next week and give you until Monday, March 1 to cook up a batch of these babies.   Have fun! 

Create-a-Calendar…Anytime of the Year!

Many years ago, when Indiana Mimi was still living in South Carolina, I used my scrapbook supplies and made a calendar for her with pictures of Bonny Annie and Dirty Harry.  Indiana Mimi loved the calendar so much that she has demanded that either myself or my sister Debbie make her one every year, or she will be forced to post naked baby pictures of us on our facebook pages. Debbie took over for the next year, but ever since then we’ve collaborated, and each of us has created pages for six months, and then we put it all together when we all get together for Christmas.

Indiana Mimi’s birthday is Christmas Day, so it makes for an ideal time for a gift calendar.  But since you are putting pages into a blank calendar, you can start on any month of your choosing, making it a great gift at any time of the year.

To get started, you’re going to need one of these…

As you can see, the link for this company is printed right on the calendar, but I’ve also seen similiar items on sale in various craft stores before.  They generally run about $12 to $15.  We used the 12×12 size, but they also come in 8×8.

You will then need to choose your pictures and supplies.  Debbie and I both chose to have our pictures printed in sepia to give the calendar a uniform look.  It also helps if you’re going to use a holiday kind of theme for your calendar.  That way it doesn’t matter what colors are in your pictures.  You could still use the traditional red, white and blue for your July page or oranges and blacks for your October page. 

I chose to use only one picture on all of my pages, and I had them all printed as 5x7s.

But Debbie used 3-4 pictures on most of her pages and cropped them with her cutting tools to fit her needs.

After you decide on your photos, you’ll need to gather your craft supplies.  Debbie and I are both longtime scrapbookers, and we’ve both collected a ton of supplies over the years.  But if you don’t have all of that, the basics you will need are some good scissors, various colors of cardstock in sizes compatible with the calendar that you chose, a black pen (for writing in the dates, days, etc. on the calendar), and a strong adhesive.  Some extras you might want to consider are patterned papers, stickers, rub-ons, and ribbon.

On the March page, you can see I simply used a few sheets of coordinating patterned paper, cardstock, some small letter stickers,  and a chipboard frame accent…

Debbie was equally simple with her April page, using only patterned paper, cardstock and letter stickers…

I have this thing for tearing paper.  I kind of like the imperfection and artistic shabbiness it gives.  I’m also a tad lazy, and tearing your paper is a lot faster than using scissors or a trimmer.  On my May page, the torn paper contrasts nicely with the overall linear feel the page has.  Then I simply added some pre-purchased die-cuts and letter stickers for the title, and I was finished.  This page took less than fifteen minutes to pull together.

Debbie’s June page is good example of how you can crop some photos to fit more images on your calendar.  She used patterned paper as a background, a trimmed piece of cardstock and a chipboard frame for a minimalist look.  Her title is stamped using acrylic paint and foam stencils.  She also proves that you can make up your own words for your handmade calendar, and no one can stop you.

I’m not going to continue to break down the process/supply list  month by month  because I think you can see now how simple it is to pull together some pages for a meaningful calendar.  This is something that kids can work on together for a grandparent or other special adult, and it would be even more special.

Here’s how the rest of the calendar turned out…

After a year is up, and Indiana Mimi has proudly displayed her calendar on the kitchen wall, she cuts the decorated pages free from the calendar and places them in a scrapbook, which she always has on her coffee table.  The kids always enjoy thumbing through these and seeing how they’ve grown over the years.

I promise that whomever you choose to make one for will love it!  And then they will expect it every year after that, and will threaten you with spitbath facials and the withholding of family heirlooms if you don’t deliver.  And you’ll have me, The Pirate Mom, to thank for it!

Related links:

Boxer Scrapbook shopping site

A site that has images and instructions for different types of handmade calendars

A digital kit for scrapbook calendars for those who are scissor-impaired

 

The Gospel According to LOST, by Chris Seay: A Review

To date, 108 “Lost” episodes have aired on ABC, and if you’re like me and have seen all of them, you fairly quickly realize that “Lost” is not your typical science fiction television series.  It is not even your typical stranded-on-an-island story.  “Lost” is really not typical in any way, shape, or form, which probably explains the devotion, constancy and urgency of its fans.  Everyone who watches “Lost” wants to know what is going on with this messed up island.  We all want to know the answers.  Chris Seay, the author of the above mentioned book, is a pastor and one of those fans.

Admittedly, Mr. Seay is hooked on the show.  And like most of the show’s others millions of viewers, he realized this is more than an epic story that we’re all watching unfold.  Mr. Seay recognized the symbols, saw the layers and is making attempts to read the signs by writing his book, The Gospel According to Lost.  Mr. Seay doesn’t have an insider’s scoop on what’s going on.  He’s not a best friend of the producer.  He doesn’t know Matthew Fox personally.  Mr. Seay doesn’t give us any answers, but what he does do is dig a little deeper into the historical and biblical references of the show in order to give the viewers, particularly the Christian viewers, a little more food for thought.  He goes character by character and cleverly breaks down some of clues, analogies and symbols that pop up regularly in the series and gives his take on it from a biblical perspective.

Normally, I don’t go for books like this.  I see them as an opportunist’s way to make a fast buck, preying on society’s interest in popular culture.  I’m also a fan of the show “24,” and I once saw a book on the shelf called Finding God in “24″, or something like that.  While that show has been greatly entertaining, I simply pshawed at this title, because I don’t think you can find a lot of God in “24,” unless, of course, the author was talking about the star Jack Bauer because the writers regularly portray him as god-like.  But “Lost”, as I said before is different….

One simply has to read over the characters’ names to realize the writers had something more than just a compelling story in mind:  John Locke, Jacob, Faraday, Benjamin Linus, Jack Shephard, Juliet, James, etc.  It reads as an eclectic list of historical figures, biblical heroes, literary characters, scientists and philosophers.  Some of the episode titles are: “Man of Science, Man of Faith,” “The Greater Good,” “The 23rd Psalm,” “The Cost of Living,” and “316.”  Obviously, there’s a little more depth here for an author to work with than your common television series.

I, as a “Lost” fan, enjoyed this book.  Mr. Seay explained a few of the obscure references and caused a few light bulb moments for me.  He brought to light a few references that my tired, mommy brain never picked up on, and caused me more than once to want to go re-watch a few of the older seasons that have become a little fuzzy in my memory.  The author does all of this without sounding preachy or overly didactic.  And yet, in the course of the book, the Gospel (according to Jesus this time) is within the pages, so a random fan who might pick up this book and read it, might put it down one step closer to not being lost (spiritually).

One thing that is crucial in the reading of this book, is that you MUST NOT pick it up until you have watched the series through Season 5.  I had only watched through Season 4, and there was no apt warning, and sadly I experienced a few spoilers because of it.  Another weakness in the book, obviously, is the limited audience.  Although “Lost” has a following of millions, I don’t think that anyone who is not a fan would be interested in the book.  As a matter of fact, they’d be…well, um…lost trying to read and make sense of it.  And of those millions of fans, I think only the ones that are Christians, would actually seek out the book.  However, like I said, it might be a good read to pass onto unbelieving friends.  The worst they could do is scoff.

All in all, The Gospel According to LOST, is a well-written, easy read for fans that are interested in peeling back some of the spiritual layers of this popular TV series.

***Thomas Nelson provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.***

P/P Project: BBQ Jalepeno Poppers Outcome (and Your Next Assignment)

Some of my readers and I are cooking our way through the book, The Pioneer Woman Cooks.  Feel free to join in, what I’m calling, The Pioneer/Pirate Project any time!  The more the merrier!

So, how did it go my fellow pirate chefs?  Did you make ‘em?

I put all of them together on Saturday evening.  I read in the book that you can prepare them up to 24  hours in advance and keep them in the fridge until you want to bake them, and this seemed to work just fine.

Overall, the prep was fairly simple, albeit a little time consuming.  I did decide to wear gloves for slicing the jalapenos, and I scraped out all to most of the seeds, since I was going for a as mild a version as possible in hopes that the kids would be brave and try them.  I had no problems with the bacon wrapping process, although I did opt to place the toothpicks in before brushing with the BBQ sauce, rather than after like the directions said.  I did this because I thought it would be less messy, and because I’m a rebel at heart. 

I put a pineapple tidbit in half of my poppers’ filling, and to be honest, I didn’t find the addition all that noticeable.  Maybe it was because I was using canned instead of fresh.  Maybe it was because the tidbit size was too small.  I don’t know, but next time I probably wouldn’t go to the trouble of that step….not that it was all that much trouble really.

(Please ignore the oven that needs to be cleaned and focus on the poppers.  Thank you.)

I’d say that these were a hit at my house.  Big D, Indiana Mimi and I all really liked them.  Dirty Harry thought they were okay, and Bonny Annie, who hates all things spicy, ate one without much comment.  Cap’n Jack Henry, who is perfectly willing to put anything at all in his mouth, was not afforded the opportunity.  I really didn’t think they were spicy at all, which was interesting to me since it was a fresh jalapeno pepper we were dealing with.  The removal of the seeds must be really significant.

The one improvement would be to figure out how to get the bacon crispier.  I think next time I might try baking at a higher heat for less time, and see what that might do.  Any other thoughts on that?

Also, next time, I will do a better job of picking out similiar sized peppers.  I bought mine on Saturday afternoon at Publix, and I think about 75% of my town was in the store at the same time, so I was rushed and agitated when I was choosing and just started flinging the peppers in my cart with wild abandon.  When I got home I realized I had a mixed bag of sizes, ranging from tiny to huge.  I think uniform sizing would be more ideal.

I only received pictures this time from my sister, Debbie.  Here are some shots of her adventure…

Thanks, Deb for sharing!  Love that you are wearing your Bears sweatshirt, even though they didn’t even make the play-offs!  Please, please, please share your story about your pre-heating/Tupperware debacle in the comments.  I almost shared it for you, but thought you could probably share it with more gusto…since it was your husband and your Tupperware.

It’s not too late to send pictures if you forgot.  I can still add them at any time.  kellie@thepiratemom.com

Okay, so let’s discuss these babies.  Here are some questions to consider…

  • Did you try any deviations from the original recipe?
  • What were the general reactions of your “tasters”?
  • Would you make this recipe again?
  • Did you have any mishaps?
  • What did you like/not like about the process and/or the recipe in general?

We’re going a total different direction for our next assignment.  It is in the Sweets section of the book:  Red Velvet Cake!  I thought this would be good for a Valentine’s treat for your family, friends or significant other.  The recipe is found on pps. 233-235 of the book (almost the very end!)  I couldn’t find this recipe on her site, so I think you’ll need the book for this one.  However, if you don’t have it yet, feel free to use another red velvet recipe (from scratch!) and chime in anyway.  It might be fun to do a comparison.  I will post about this recipe late next week…probably Thursday or Friday, so it will give you plenty of time to pull it off.  Happy baking!

Peyton Manning’s Face

I completely enjoyed the Super Bowl last night…and I wasn’t expecting to all that much.  While I will cheer for anyone who is playing the Colts, I’m not much of Saints fan (although I have decided that I like Drew Brees a lot)., and if I’m being honest, I really thought the Colts would win.  So, going into the Big Game, I was just looking forward to the commercials and the BBQ Jalapeno Poppers.

The game ended up being a really exciting one, but what drew me to the screen most was Peyton Manning’s face, and not because I think it’s particularly good looking.  No, I had a sort of bet with myself after a while to see if at any time the camera would catch him with any other face other than the pouty, surly, someone-stole-my-lollipop face that he always wears.  I also had a good time coming up with what he might be thinking at any given time the camera caught him.  It turned out that I had a lot of chances to do this because the camera was on Peyton Manning a lot.  A whole lot.

Here’s what his face looked like before the game…

I am so mad!  I just found out that one expert out of 247 picked the Saints to win.”

Here’s what Peyton looked like during Carrie Underwood’s singing of the National Anthem…

“Why didn’t they ask me to sing the National Anthem?”

Here’s Peyton walking onto the field while his teammates are still on the sidelines, in a huddle, chanting and getting pumped up for the game…

“Silly, pagan rituals.  They should spend their time watching more film and studying play books instead of jumping around like fools.”

While not a shot of his face, this was taken right after he threw a touchdown pass, giving the Colts a 10-0 lead…

Nice catch, chump.  Next time, though, I’m going to both throw it and catch it, so I only need you to block for me.  Got it?”

Here’s Peyton right after the Colts kicker missed a field goal attempt…

“I told them to let me kick it.  Now look what has happened.”

And then here’s Peyton, in the locker room, after they lost…

“Shoot.  I probably lost at least three commercial deals over this.”

Finally, here’s what Peyton is going to look like for the entire off-season…

Poor Peyton.  It almost makes me want to send him some of the BBQ Jalapeno Poppers.  Almost.

 

 

The Pirate’s Plunder, January 2010

Pirates do a lot of things (except for the vegetable types), and plundering happens to be one of them.  For pirates of old, the purpose of plundering was to get things at little or no cost to the pirate.  Now, of course, we all know that what those pirates were doing was illegal…not to mention mean.  And in the end, it did, often, end up costing the pirate quite a bit:  eyes, legs, lives, reputations, etc.

Well, here at The Pirate Mom Dot Com we don’t condone that kind of plundering for reasons of morals and safety.  But we do condone a more modern…and legal…type of plundering:  ruthless and cutthroat bargain hunting!  Argh!

I’ve been writing a little bit for the past several months about my couponing adventures and such, but for the sake of encouragement, to both myself and any interested readers, I thought I might post monthly about my plundering conquests.  I’ve always been a bargain shopper when it came to clothing, items for my home, things for the kids, etc., but as for groceries, with the exception of buying non-name brand items, I pretty much just bought what I needed, when I needed it, without much thought to what I was paying for those products.  Now, with a little bit of time set aside each week, for coupon organizing and carefully planned grocery shopping trips and a lot of help from the website www.southernsavers.com , I’ve made MAJOR dents in our grocery bills.

Here’s a breakdown of this month’s shopping:

Early in January, our household was in need of a lot of groceries!  We had been out of town for a week for Christmas, and basically all we had left were some two-week old gingerbread men, so I had some major shopping to do.  On a Saturday I went to two different grocery stores in order to get the best deals, Publix and then Kroger.  At Publix I spent $47.30 and saved $64.02.  The weekly BoGos (Buy-One-Get-One-Free) really help with the savings at that store.  Here’s how the savings broke down…

Remember Publix stores in most areas will accept competitor coupons, and they double coupons up to $0.50 in value.

At Kroger, the damage was not as great.  Kroger has the better prices for things that are not on sale, so I bought quite a bit more there at regular price.  Like I said, I was desperate to get our pantry back in order, so I had to spend $123.72, and I only saved $32.90.

Our Kroger also doubles coupons in the same manner as Publix, but they do not accept competitor’s coupons.  Also, when you spend certain amounts at the stores, you can get a little bit of a discount at their gas stations, which we use almost exclusively.  After these two trips, we were set for many meals at home, with only the occasional milk or deal-seeking runs.

About mid-month, Publix had a particularly good ad, and I was able to spend $66.49 and save $86.94.  I saved almost $20 more than I spent!

On this particular trip, I was seriously tempted to give up couponing altogether, because my overly friendly cashier was so impressed with my savings that she insisted on high-fiving me and announcing to several other customers, baggers and cashiers about my successes.  Then they all applauded me.  I was momentarily embarrassed, but then I decided to just swallow my pride and take it like a pirate.  I was plundering…clap if you must, people.

Right before the end of the month I made one more trip to each store.  At Kroger, I spent $43.41 and saved $40.78.

Then I had another banner week at Publix where I spent $95.09 and saved $94.83.

Again, I had the zealous cashier, who remembered me this time and almost called me by name (“Karen”), high-fived me again, and made a little trumpet with her hands before she announced…loudly…what I had saved.  I’m fully expecting for her to get on the loud speaker the next time I go through her line.  Oh well….it’s better than at Kroger where they sigh and roll their eyes when you hand them your stack of coupons.

Okay, so I spent a grand total of  $376.01 for the month.  That includes everything:  food, snacks, diapers, toiletries…you name it.  It doesn’t include a couple of runs for essentials like bread or milk, but even with those things you’re looking at about $400 a month for a family of five (six, if you count Clara).  Not bad, if I do say so myself.

On another note, January is good time of year to scour the clearance racks.  Retail stores are wanting to clear their shelves for their new inventory, so you can find some deep discounts on clothes, toys and other things.  I’m always on the look out for clothes for Cap’n Jack Henry in particular, since he’s the fastest growing pirate around here.  Here are a few things I found this month…

Pirate pajamas at Target….

Even at the full price of $15, I’m not sure I could have resisted, but I only paid…

$3.74…can you believe that plunder?!

This is a little off-topic, but can you help me settle something here?  Look at this…

Is that another pirate mom, or just a very effeminate male pirate?  These are the things that keep me awake at night.

Then I also picked up a couple of tee-shirts that he can wear this spring (or even now layered with a long-sleeve shirt)…

I paid about $4 for the baseball one, and $1.74 for the superhero one.  Gosh…for $1.74 I would have bought him one with Strawberry Shortcake on it!  (Just kidding, Big D.)

Goodwill stores are a great place for plunder.  I found these shoes for $3, and they still had a regular store’s tag on them, so I’m assuming were never worn.

Now, if the little turkey would just start walking, they would be useful for something other than just a fashion statement.

Please feel free to share about your own plunderings.  I’d love to hear about them, and I’m sure other pirate shoppers out there would too!

Movie of the Week: Faith Like Potatoes

Last Sunday we couldn’t make it to church because our driveway, which is at least a 45 degree angle, was a solid sheet of ice.  Even if we could have managed to slide safely down the drive, all the roads we take to our church were also covered with ice because we live in the state of Tennessee which owns all of about five snow plows.  So, we all grabbed our Snuggies and cuddled on the sofa to watch this film, which I had picked up before Christmas at a Christian bookstore for $5.

Faith Like Potatoes is based on the true story of a Scottish farmer, Angus Buchan, living with his family, first in Zambia and later in South Africa.  The movie follows the ups and downs of his farming and family life in a land that is wrought with hardships and violence.  It also highlights the spiritual journey of Angus, a man who struggles with doubt, substance abuse, and a hot-headed Scottish temper.

I will fully admit that I was not expecting to like Faith Like Potatoes as much as I did.  While the film is simply made, with no well-known actors or over-the-top special effects, the simple, believable story draws you in early on, and you find yourself cheering for Angus and his family to ultimately “make it”.

Highlights:

  • Even without the glitz and glamour of Hollywood, the movie doesn’t feel cheap and the acting was decent.
  • The cinematography of the landscapes is beautiful.
  • The story is the real gold nugget of this movie.  It is inspirational, and I’d be surprised if you don’t find yourself talking about how it has challenged you and your own family in the matters of faith, prayer, and evangelism.

Low points:

  • The film feels a little sluggish in parts and overall, it’s just a bit long.  It simply needed better editing but is still worth watching despite that criticism.
  • Sometimes I found it a little difficult to understand what some of the characters were saying with their Scotish and South African accents.  This was minimal for me, but kids in particular, might struggle with this.  I guess you could always turn the subtitle option on if it got too distracting.
  • As far as watching with your kids, the movie is free from any bad language or any inappropriate material.  I don’t want to give away anything, but towards the end of the movie, there is one scene of violence that might bother some children.  I’d advise that if you’re unsure, to preview it first.  The scene could be easily skipped on a DVD player, and one would not necessarily lose the essence of the story.

This movie is might be a little hard to find in your local video store, but it can be purchased in many places on-line, and like I said earlier, I got my copy at a Christian bookstore.  It’s definitely worth the hunt!

Related links:

The Pioneer/Pirate Project: Come Cook with Me!

I had an idea.  Sometimes, when you’ve been snowed and iced in for four days, that happens, I guess.

Remember this movie review for Julie and Julia?  Well, after I saw that movie, I had a natural inclination to want to cook through a cookbook and blog about it too.  Julia Child’s book on French cooking is way, way, way beyond me.  So I kept perusing my shelves, trying to decide which one to tackle, when it suddenly hit me that the Pioneer Woman’s cookbook would be perfect!  She’s a blogger.  I feel like over the past three or so years that I’ve read her blog that I’ve watched her become famous.  Her recipes can be a tad challenging at times, but they are attainable…especially with her mouth-watering photography.  And, most importantly, pioneer, pirate, and project all begin with the letter P, and I’m in love with alliteration.  Perfect! (Ha!  Another P!)

But then I had another idea!  (Remember:  four days…snow and ice…a long, long game of RISK with the kids)  What’s the fun in cooking through a book by yourself?  Wouldn’t it be more fun if others joined in?  Wouldn’t it be like the biggest party if you had a whole posse participating with you? (Sorry…I really can’t stop with the P’s.)

So, do you want to join me?  Here’s a sort of outline of what I had in mind….

  • Every other week, probably on Monday or Tuesday at the latest I would post which recipe I’m going to make.  I will post the title and page number and the link, if it’s also on her website.
  • Then sometime over the next week (I will probably be doing mine over the weekend) we all cook up the recipe and serve it to our families or our friends or our neighbors or our postal carriers.
  • I will then post about the experience….the good, the bad, and the ugly.  If you have also joined in, then you can post about your experience in the comments section and hopefully some lively, fun discussions will ensue.
  • You can also send me some pictures via e-mail, kellie@thepiratemom.com .  It might be the finished product.  It might be your spouse’s satisfied smile.  It might be your kitchen stacked with dirty dishes.  Or, best of all, it might be you covered in flour or tomato sauce or the like.  Whatever you want to share, send it to me, and I’ll add it to my post.
  • Then I will post the next assignment, and the whole process will begin again.
  • You don’t have to cook every recipe to participate.  Feel free to float in out as you choose.
  • Anyone can join:  bloggers, non-bloggers, men, women,  kids (with parents’ permission, of course), Republicans, Democrats, pioneers, or pirates…just come join us in completely trashing the kitchen every once in a while for the sake of education and a good time!

Her cookbook is pretty easy to find.  It’s available at most major bookstores.  You can also purchase it here or here or about a dozen other places on-line.

For our first recipe, I chose the very first one in the book.  It is The BBQ Jalapeno Poppers, and it is found on pps. 14-15 of the book, in the Starters section.  I thought these would be perfect for the Super Bowl this Sunday, especially if Peyton Manning is sacked twelve times and the Colts lose 521-3.

Many of her recipes are also on her website, and the poppers are one of them.  I thought this one might be good to start with, so that anyone who wants to join would have time to get the book.  So, if you need it, here’s the on-line link:

BBQ Jalapeno Poppers

Sound fun?  Want to join?  I hope so, but even if I don’t have any takers, I’m still gonna’ do it and blog about it because, ya’ know, I had that idea and all…

Leave me a comment, and let me know if you’re up for the P/PP!  And feel free to grab my picture above and link to the post in order to share with your friends.  The more the merrier!

This blog post was brought you by the letter P.  Thank you.


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