Duck and Goose

Kitty is in love with the Duck and Goose books by Tad Hill.

We started with Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin.

Then we got What's Up, Duck? and Duck and Goose 1, 2, 3.


Duck and Goose Find A Pumpkin is our favorite. Kitty can sign 'pumpkin' and Boo can recite the book word for word.
They are board books, so they have been perfect for Kitty to handle.

Next on our list:

Baked egg cups

With the cooler weather, we have been using the oven more. When we have a little extra time in the mornings, I like to make egg cups. Warm and filling, but less mess than pancakes or waffles.

EGG CUPS

Ingredients:
6 slices of bacon
6 slices of bread
6 eggs
Shredded cheese
Salt and pepper

Directions:

You will want to pre-cook the bacon a bit. You can fry it, but I like to throw it in the oven at 400 degrees for about 15 minutes (it doesn't need to be completely cooked).

Cut out a circle from each slice of bread with a drinking glass or biscuit cutter.

Grease 6 wells of a muffin tin.

Line each muffin well with a slice of bacon.

Place a piece of bread in the muffin well, and press it against the sides and bottom of the muffin well.

Crack an egg in each muffin well. You can leave out part of the egg white so as not to overflow the muffin well.

Top with salt and pepper.

Bake at 400 degrees for about 10 minutes.

Remove tin from oven, top each egg with shredded cheese, and then bake for 1 minute more. This will give you melted cheese and a boiled egg consistency...bake it a little less if you like your egg more runny.

Let the egg cups cool for a couple of minutes, then run a knife around the edges and remove each egg cup.

Enjoy!

*Adapted from Annie's Eats*

Chicago...the end

Our last two stops were for good eats.

We got some ice cream at Ghiradelli's (best chocolate ice cream I've ever had).
And grabbed a Giodano's pizza on our way out of town.
Chicago pizza, I have missed you. But you are slow and pricey. Good thing I can make you myself.

Chicago...Hancock Observatory

I've been to the Hancock Observatory before.

But it is STILL completely RIDICULOUS to be on the 94th floor of a building, looking DOWN on skyscrapers.

Looking straight down to the square - Ghiradelli's is in the bottom right corner.

Looking to the south.

Looking to the north.

Doesn't this look like I'm on a green screen?

My favorite Dad in his favorite hat.

Grandma, who has been a good sport about trekking all over Chicago.
Only two more stops for the day...

Chicago...Art Institute

After Millennium Park we spent a fair amount of time browsing the Art Institute gift shop. I found a Monet print and Georgia O'Keeffe print for the girls' rooms, and now I'm regretting not getting a few more.

I also found a series of toddler board books of famous art. Each book features an artist and about 10 of his/her famous works of art. Rhyming text accompanies each picture and creates a clever little story. There are several, but my favorites:

A Picnic With Monet

In the Garden with Van Gough

Quiet Time with Cassatt

Sharing with Renoir

Painting with Picasso

I almost put the prints back in favor of the books. But I've put the books at the top of the Christmas list instead.

Chicago...Millennium Park

So in planning our Chicago trip, we decided to go on the day when there was no rain predicted.

Despite our clever planning, we got a good soaking during our visit to Millennium Park.

I had just begun photographing The Bean...

...when the rain began to pour. All the tourists crowded under The Bean and we stayed mostly dry.

I entertained myself with clever reflection photographs...

...and pictures of the downpour.

Fortunately it didn't last too long and I got a few drippy pictures of the reflection of the skyline.

Chicago...lunch

After the museum we headed downtown for lunch. We walked about 4 blocks in from the Art Institute to my favorite Elephant and Castle.
We had a fabulous lunch.

The best fish and chips ever.
And the best chicken pot pie. Sorry, no pic.

Chicago...MSI

I talked my dad into taking a day trip to Chicago while he was here.
We even conned my grandma into going with us.

Did I mention we went without kids?

Waaaaaaaay fun.

We left early in the morning, got lost in a rather unsavory neighborhood in south Chicago, and still made it to the Museum of Science and Industry 30 minutes before opening. Because my dad has this amazing ability to get unlost, even with a deceptive Garmin.

It just so happened that we went on a free admission day. I was glad when we arrived 30 minutes early, I thought there would already be a line.

But we were the only ones there. Score. The museum was basically deserted all morning.

Our first stop at the MSI was the Science Storms exhibit. We watched a tornado,
an avalanche, and a lightening storm. But this was my favorite part:
Next up was YOU! The Experience. I loved this exhibit.

They had a long, narrow, darkened room exhibiting preserved fetuses at progressive stages of development.
This picture doesn't do it justice. I hesitated before walking through this exhibit. I expected it to be disturbing. But it was fascinating.

My dad and I played mindball. There is a little ball in that plastic tube on the table, and the ball rolls away from the person with the most relaxed brainwaves. I don't want to say that my dad is uptight or anything, but I totally thought I had this in the bag.
But I lost. Big time.

On our way out of the exhibit we looked at our veins. Cool.

Next we went on a flight simulator. Dad was the pilot, I was the gunner. We had a fun little joyride, but didn't do much shooting. Couldn't ever seem to find the enemy because we were too busy doing barrel rolls and dives.
We saw a movie on the Hubble Telescope in the IMAX. It was really interesting, until the very end when the early morning and dark room got the best of me and I took a little snooze.

I had to see the German U-boat before we left.
That is a real German submarine. Captured during WWII.
And here's what I want to know: HOW did they get that thing in the basement of the museum??

Stay tuned for our first round of Chicago food...

Grilled Chicken Fajitas

Grilling season has just about seen it's last. But we ate this so often this summer, I had to put it up. I have to grill at least once more.

Grilled Chicken Fajitas
Adapted from Annie's Eats

For the marinade:
2/3 cup freshly squeezed lime juice
1/2 cup TB vegetable oil
4 cloves minced garlic
2TB Worcestershire sauce
3 tsp brown sugar
2 jalapeños, seeded, ribbed and diced
3 TB minced fresh cilantro
2 tsp salt
1 1/2 tsp pepper


3 boneless, skinless chicken breasts, butterflied (6 halves total)
1 large red onion sliced into ½-inch thick slices
2 large bell peppers, stemmed, seeded, cut into strips
2 TB vegetable oil
8-12 (6-inch) flour tortillas

Directions:
Whisk together the ingredients for the marinade.

Set aside 1/2 of the marinade.

Pour the other 1/2 of the marinade into a large ziploc bag and add the butterflied chicken. Allow to marinate in the refrigerator for 15-30 minutes.

Grill the chopped onions and peppers in 2 TB oil in a cast iron skillet. You can cook them on the grill grates, but I found it easier to just use the cast iron skillet on the side burner of my grill.
Heat your grill on high for about 10 minutes. Turn burners down to medium high. Add the chicken (discard the marinade) to the grates and grill until cooked through.
Remove the chicken from the grill and slice into 1/4" strips.

Toss chicken and veggies with reserved marinade. Cover with foil to keep warm.

Grill tortillas about 30 seconds per side. Wrap in a towel after grilling or they will dry out.

Serve fajitas with cheese, sour cream and salsa.

Yum!

PBJ Explosion

Cafe Rio Salad

Do you have a food that you dream about?

For me, it's the Cafe Rio chicken salad with creamy tomatillo dressing.

Sadly, there are no Cafe Rio restaurants in the midwest. It's been years since my last salad, and I got tired of waiting around.

Fortunately, there's this great thing called the internet....with copycat Cafe Rio recipes a plenty.

It was hard to choose one, but I finally settled on working with the one from Kalyn's Kitchen.

As I was busy making everything, it occurred to me - I don't even remember what Cafe Rio chicken salad taste like. I just have this memory of awesomeness.

When everything was finally finished and the salad put together, it was quite possibly the best salad I have ever made. It was fabulous.

It tasted familiar, so I think I got close to the actual dish.

So if you love Cafe Rio and remember how it tastes, give this a try for me and tell me if it's close.

Even if you've never had Cafe Rio, this is an AWESOME salad. Try it.

CAFE RIO CHICKEN SALAD
Adapted from Kalyn's Kitchen

You will need:
tortillas
chopped romaine
black beans
the rice
the chicken
cheese
creamy tomatillo dressing
broken tortilla chips

THE CHICKEN

1 small bottle Kraft Zesty Italian Dressing
1 T chili powder
1 T cumin
3 cloves garlic—minced
5 lbs chicken breast

Cook all together in a crock pot for 4 hours, shred meat and cook 1 additional hour.
(I halved this and used 3 frozen chicken breasts, and had plenty of chicken).

THE RICE

3 cups water
4 tsp chicken bouillon
4 tsp garlic –minced
½ bunch cilantro
1 can green chilies
¾ tsp salt
1 TB butter
1/4 of an onion
3 cups brown rice

Blend cilantro, green chilies and onion together in food processor. Bring water to a boil and add all ingredients, simmer covered 30 minutes.


CREAMY TOMATILLO DRESSING
Go here for more detailed and picture-rich directions.

Buttermilk dressing
2 tomatillos
1/2 bunch fresh cilantro
1/2 tsp minced garlic
2 TB lime juice
1 jalapeno (seeds removed)

Make your buttermilk dressing (this recipe will make 1 1/2 cups).

Chop the tomatillos and roast at 400 degrees for 15-20 minutes. Remove them when they are barely browned. Watch them, they burn fast.

Combine all the ingredients in a food processor and mix well. Refrigerate.


SO...

Now all you have to do is put it all together.

Start with a tortilla.

Pile on chopped romaine.

Sprinkle on beans and rice.

Add shredded chicken.

Top with cheese, dressing and broken-up tortilla chips

There you have it - the best salad ever.