Happy Mother's Day 2014

Happy Mother’s Day 2014

Happy Mother’s Day to all you moms out there.  My brother and family came over for lunch.  Unfortunately the star of the day had her eyes closed for the picture below, but when you are photographing 7 people someone is going to be sacrificed for the sake of the group, I’m afraid.  When I say “cheese” you better be grinning from ear to ear with your eyes wide open.  There aren’t too many second chances!

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Olivia celebrated her first furry Mother’s Day.  It’s somewhat the same.  They poop, you clean it up.  They give you slobbery mommy kisses.  And, they are expensive.  Pretty much sums up child rearing and pet rearing.

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For lunch we had Swedish Meatballs on noodles, squash casserole, steamed broccoli, three-bean salad, and chocolate strawberry shortcake.  Recipes listed at the end.

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Olivia gave me a great “extra” mother’s day gift.  She mowed the lawn!  Whoo Hoo.  I am not a yard person.

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Davis was busy studying for his exams this week.  Or so he said.  There was a lot of mouse clicking every time I came near.  LOL

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Now, I’ve saved either the best or the boring for last depending upon your love of flower pictures.  My peonies cooperated this year and I was able to use them on our table.  If you are not a flower person, see ya next post.  If you are, then scroll down to see some of my peonies.  I don’t grow many kinds of flowers so I really look forward to when these bloom.  I wish there were smellervision because they smell wonderful!

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Mothers Day

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I’ll finish out with a few recipes from the day.

 

Swedish Meatballs

1 1/2 pounds ground beef

1 tablespoon butter

1/2 cup chopped onion

3/4 cup soft breadcrumbs

1/2 cup milk

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/4 cup flour

1 1/2 cups chicken broth or vegetable broth

1 1/2 cups half and half

12-ounce package medium noodles (6 cups dry noodles)

Melt butter in a large skillet.  Cook onions until tender.  Add onions, breadcrumbs, milk, salt, pepper, allspice and lightly beaten egg to the meat.  Mix well. Shape into 1 1/2 inch balls.Cook meatballs in a large skillet over medium heat, turning occasionally to ensure even browning.  Remove meatballs from skillet, reserving 2 tablespoons of the drippings in the pan.  Stir in flour and cook, stirring constantly until mixture is smooth and bubbly.  Gradually stir in the chicken broth.  Cook until mixture boils and thickens, stirring constantly.  Stir in half and half; cook an additional 2 minutes.  Add meatballs to sauce and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Serve meatballs and sauce over hot cooked noodles.

 

Squash Casserole

3 cups cooked and drained squash

1/2 cup chopped Vidalia onion

2 eggs, beaten

1 cup milk

3/4 cup butter,melted

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon pepper

3/4 cup grated cheddar cheese

12 butter crackers,crumbled

Boil the squash and onion until tender.  About 5 minutes.  Allow to cool slightly. In a small bowl mix together mix together the rest of the ingredients except the crackers.  Add the squash and onion and place in a 9 X 13 greased casserole dish.  Bake at 350 degrees for 30 minutes.  Add the crackers and bake an additional 15 minutes.

Three Bean Salad

1 14-ounce can  green beans

1 14-ounce can yellow wax beans

1 14-ounce can kidney beans

1/2 cup chopped green pepper

1/2 onion, sliced

1/4 cup sliced almonds

1/3 cup sugar

1/3 cup white vinegar

1/3 cup vegetable oil

salt and pepper

Drain beans.  Mix all ingredients.  Chill several hours or overnight before serving.

 

Chocolate Strawberry Shortcake

5 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

3/4 cup butter, cubed

1 1/2 cups sugar

3 eggs

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/4 teaspoon salt

1 1/2 cups water

Filling:

4 cups siced fresh strawberries

1 pint whipping cream

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

2 tablespoons confectioners sugar

Chocolate Glaze:

3 ounces semisweet chocolate, chopped

1 tablespoon butter

1 cup confectioners sugar

3 tablespoons water or half & half

1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract

 

Melt chocolate and butter; stir until smooth.  Cool  Transfer to a large bowl; beat un sugar until blended.  Add the eggs, one at a time, beating well after each addition.  Beat in vanilla.  Combine the flour, baking soda and salt’ gradually add to chocolate mixture alternating with the water. Pour into 24 cupcake papers.  Bake at 350 degrees for 20-25 minutes or until cake tests done.

In a large bowl, beat the whipping cream until stiff.  Stir in the vanilla.  Add the powdered sugar.

For the glaze,  melt the chocolate with the butter.  Stir until smooth.  Stir in confectioners sugar, water and vanilla until smooth.  Cool slightly.  Assemble the shortcakes by slicing a cupcake in half and fill with whipped cream and strawberries.  Add the top back to the cup cake and add more whipped cream and strawberries.  Drizzle the chocolate glaze over all.

 

 

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