2010 September

Recipe Roundtable – Barbados Pork Chops with Black Bean Salsa

September 12, 2010 By Big Binder 2 Comments

How did the first week of school go, Michigan friends? It’s like a whole new world, isn’t it? I hope we can still squeak a few summer-ish activities in before the snow flies though (did I just say snow??). I have a grilling recipe I only got a chance to make once this year and I love it so much I really want to make it again.

Barbados Chops with Black Bean Salsa

4 pork chops, 1 1/2-inch thick
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 teaspoons finely chopped green olives
1/2 jalapeno chile, seeded and minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon ground allspice
2 tablespoons lime juice
1 tablespoon olive oil
1 small onion, diced
1 (15-ounce) can black beans, rinsed and drained (or you can follow my directions to make them from dried beans)
1/2 red bell pepper, diced
2 tablespoons cider vinegar
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon hot pepper sauce
3 tablespoons chopped cilantro

In large self-sealing bag place vegetable oil, garlic, olives, jalapeno, thyme, allspice and lime juice; mix thoroughly and add pork chops. Seal bag and refrigerate 4 to 24 hours. You can freeze it here if you do freezer cooking.
For Salsa: Heat olive oil in small sauté pan; sauté onion just until tender, about 4 minutes.
In medium bowl stir together onion with black beans and remaining ingredients. Cover and let rest at room temperature for one hour to let flavors blend. Refrigerate for longer storage. You can also freeze this; but in a separate bag from the chops.
Prepare medium-hot style grill.
Remove chops from marinade, discarding marinade.
Grill chops for 12 to 15 minutes, turning once.
Serve with Black Bean Salsa.

Makes 4 servings.

Nutrition Facts: Calories 387 calories Protein 36 grams Fat 16 grams Sodium 458 milligrams Cholesterol 87 milligrams

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Things I Love Thursday – Video Reviews

September 10, 2010 By Big Binder 1 Comment

A friend of mine told me yesterday that from a reader’s perspective, reviews can get kind of boring, and it’s hard to tell if the reviewer really likes the product, or is “just saying that”.

She inspired me to try something new – a video review! I loved it, and I hope you do too! I tried the Waterpik SinuSense, which was sent to me by MomSelect. I didn’t receive any compensation for this; all opinions are my own. This post is part of Things I Love Thursday at The Diaper Diaries.

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Fun, Free and Frugal with Kids in Grand Rapids

September 8, 2010 By Big Binder 1 Comment

Happy Back to School! I can’t believe how much better my coffee tastes when it’s quiet in my house. I have a small pang of missing my kids, of course, but they were so ready to join their friends and learn and eat snacks and lunch. AT SCHOOL. This is a very big deal for A.P., and we spent a lot of time talking about it. He’s not picky, so the contents weren’t important. It’s a Grand Rapids Griffins Lunchbox we got free at a game two years ago and he has been waiting for it’s inaugural lunch. The Griffins just released their promotional calendar today but sadly, there are no lunchboxes this year.

There is SO MUCH to do this weekend. You have to make good choices; just like we tell our kids. Check out my listing of What’s Happening in Grand Rapids for the complete list of interesting, frugal things to do with kids. My picks are the Lowes Build and Grow Workshop where kids can make a little dog leash hangar and Celebration on the Grand, especially Saturday. The Community Day celebration takes place at 3:00 at Ab Nab Awen Park with all kinds of fun for kids, including a movie at dusk!

Enjoy your week. Don’t forget those that died on 9-11, but don’t forget to be thankful for what we have in this country either. Happy New Year to my Jewish friends!

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Top Ten Tuesday – Get a Sitter

September 6, 2010 By Big Binder 2 Comments

I have friends with family hanging around their houses, begging to take their kids for the afternoon, or the evening, or the weekend. They never have to get a sitter because there is always someone close by to babysit. My husband and I don’t have the luxury (and if you do – I hope you realize it is indeed a luxury!) because we don’t have a ton of family nearby. We occasionally are able to make arrangements to drop our kids off and run out for a while, but for the most part we have to rely on other resources.

The good thing is that there are a ton. Some are Grand Rapids specific, but not all. Even so, look in your area and this will at least give you some ideas of where to start your search. Here are the Top Ten Babysitting Childcare Resources:

Date Nights at the YMCA. This is DA BOMB. Our kids love it and we know they are having tons of fun while they’re there. It’s $30 for both kids and I think $40 for two kids if you aren’t a member, plus a few bucks for pizza. They play games and play for 5 hours which, as it turns out, is enough time to get a few drinks in early and recover nicely by the time you have to go get the kids. In case you were wondering.
Care4hire one of the online databases that reference checks its babysitters. There is a monthly fee for the service. Can I just say: step away from Craigslist? I know it’s free, and you can pay for your own reference check but at some point it has to be cheaper just to have it done. Plus, I dunno. The whole thing with the, um, other services provided by people on Craigslist is creeping me out a little. I mean; whatever pays the bills but I am just not sure I want to find my babysitter from the same source.
Nannies4hire.com like Care4hire but on a more ongoing basis. Some of the nannies might take a babysitting job if the nanny business is slow, too.
Care.com has reviews of sitters written by other parents. In our area anyway, there are more registered caregivers on this site than the other ones of its kind.
Sittercity.com is like the others above in that you pay a fee for the service, but they are having a sale through September and you can get 15% off with the code “TAKE15“.
Gymco. This is similar to the YMCA in that you drop your kids off and they have a ton of fun, but it is a little more expensive. Still, it’s a gym for kids – it’s as much a treat for them as date night is for you.
Gymboree. Like Gymco and the YMCA but more expensive and less frequent with their Parents Nights Out. Also, this is for the younger set – the upper age of kids that can be dropped off is six. But still – a complete blast for the kids.
College kids. We have Aquinas, Calvin, Davenport, Kuyper, and Grand Rapids Community College here. All of them have thousands of students and more importantly (to us), a career center that posts off campus jobs, such as babysitting. Be prepared; I can’t believe how good kids are at negotiating these days.
Naked Plates, a pottery painting studio has a date night event occasionally. I’ve never done it because, well, if you’ve met my kids you’d understand. A.P. anyway. Leaving him in a studio with a bunch of breakable items is not a good move.
Great Start Connect. This is a re-format of what used to be Kent Regional 4C, a free database of all licensed childcare providers. I don’t need to write any more about this; because it’s already been covered brilliantly in this article.

This post is rife with affiliate links; and is also submitted to Top Ten Tuesday at Oh Amanda.

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No more make-believe, because I Believe

September 6, 2010 By Big Binder 3 Comments

Someone pretending they are something they are not.

That was the prompt. From my bloggers’ writing group for this post, but also the “get off your butt and do it” prompt for a project – an entirely new blog. I chewed on the prompt for days. Picked it up, turned it over, set it down. Picked it up again, squinted, set it down again.

I’ve known I had to launch this new blog for a while now. And when I say known, I mean known. God has talked to me exactly four times in my life, which I look at one of two ways depending on how pouty I feel. On a grateful day, I think of how lucky I am. People wait for God to talk to them their whole lives, and never hear Him. On a day I’m being a baby, I think that once every decade is not exactly a relationship, and isn’t a relationship with me what God wants? That’s what all the books say anyway.

So I am clearly not a prophet.

But I can tell you what God wants; for me anyway. He wants me to tell you a story about someone who was pretending they were something they were not. Someone who pretended they were just like everybody else, until they got married, and with that came deep love but also scrutiny, and they couldn’t pretend anymore.

When I saw that writing prompt, I was tempted to tell you about a situation that happened recently when I really wanted to yell, “Liar liar pants on fire!” at someone, but instead I just nodded and listened (and kept a close eye on their pants) because it was so ridiculous, it was funny. It would have been great writing material.

Or I wanted to tell you about myself; times that I have pretended I was more than I was, or less than I was, or just something different than I was.

But that’s not what, as Eve (WALL•E; not ‘Adam and’) would say, my “directive”.

It’s so hard, because it’s not someone we can laugh at. It’s not me. It’s my husband. And he has ADD.

He and I talked about this new blog and what people would think. About him. About me. About us.

It wasn’t a long conversation. Very soon into it, he said, “Most wives wouldn’t put up with what you put up with. Or even know how to deal with it. I mean yeah. It will be embarrassing for me. But what if we save someone’s marriage?”

I am the writer, and he is the one who is willing to be the main character in a real life drama, because he is kind. And generous. And willing to be embarrassed for someone else’s sake because the stakes are that big.

I tried to get out of it. I searched for a novena (a Catholic prayer) for wives whose husbands have ADD. When I couldn’t find a novena I went to the big chain Christian bookstores because let’s face it; there is a Christianized version of everything in those stores. When I couldn’t find anything there, I looked online and found nothing. Words from Christian writers about how to deal with ADD if your child has it, yes. But not your husband.

God has remained very quiet about this ADD in a marriage business. I asked Him to lead me to something like a Christian Wive’s Guide to ADD and for the fourth time in my life, He talked to me.

You do it.

My hands are sweaty just typing that because 1) I am not sure how I am supposed to quote God in a blog post and 2) it freaked me out. I got all Moses on him and was like, “Oh! I, um, er, I think you meant someone else. If you could just, like, magically make a book appear on my doorstep, I will read it and follow every word. Promise!”

No. YOU.

“Someone who was pretending they were something they were not” was the prompt. Here is the response: My Family Has Add.

This post is, among many things, part of a writers group I belong to. Nothing like jumping in head first.

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Budget Boosters – Yes! We! CAN!

September 6, 2010 By Big Binder 1 Comment

Last month I was telling A.P. that we wouldn’t be able to do something he wanted to do. My astute little negotiator replied with, “Mom! Come on. What does our main man Barack Obama say?”

Ummm… Pakistan. Iraq. Haiti. Oil Spill. Watch your mouth, Biden? Will someone remind me why I wanted to be President again?

“I don’t know, what does he say?”

“Yes! We! CAN!” Complete with fist pump.

He didn’t get what we wanted, but I got a title for this blog post.

I canned tomatoes yesterday. Let me show you the money (and then I’ll stop with the cliches):

A quart of tomatoes equals 2.2 cans (14.5 ounce).
I canned 14 quarts of tomatoes, which equals 30.8 cans.
I paid $13.00 for my tomatoes, so that is the equivalent of $0.42 a can.

This is a good price on canned tomatoes, for sure. Factor in that the flavor is superior to even those fancy, premium brands and the deal just got better. If BPA concerns you (and it probably should) there is a tiny amount of BPA in the lids used for canning, although I have heard there are BPA-free lids now. The tomatoes don’t touch the tops of the lids for any significant time because you leave about an inch of ‘headspace’ when you can. Compare this to the BPA lined cans that store bought tomatoes hang out in for months.

You can’t even buy BPA free canned tomatoes, regardless of how much you pay.

I am mentioning tomatoes specifically because our family goes through more tomatoes than any other canned item. I’m all about bang for my buck. It’s not worth it to me to spend a day canning beets even if I got the best deal ever because we wouldn’t eat them. No money saved, no BPA exposure reduced. Just a lot of beets on the shelf.

If you haven’t canned before, start with tomatoes. They are the easiest thing to can, and have a way higher yield than stupid peaches. That means that unlike stupid peaches, which by the time you get rid of the skins and hack it apart to get the pits out and have approximately 1000 raw peaches per quart, tomatoes are pretty much What You See Is What You Get.

As an added bonus, you can often get them for free from overwhelmed friends whose tomato plants are ripe and demanding to be picked. Once you purchase the initial equipment, you can use it year after year with the exception of new lids (they’re cheap).

So how do you do it? I have some resources for you (of course!).

Read my initial post about canning, just a year after I started. We were so young then.
Listen to my Dad about using old, cracked jars.
Check out Eat Local, West Michigan! for more resources (even if you don’t live in here).

Let me know how it turns out! Yes! We! CAN!

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Recipe Roundtable

September 5, 2010 By Big Binder 5 Comments

Well, first things first! According to Random.org, the winner of the insulated picnic tote and blanket giveaway is comment number 3, left by Chris. I actually know her in ‘real life’ because our kids go to the same school AND she’s a blogger AND she’s a runner AND we have the same birthday.

Congrats on the fun prize, and also on getting to volunteer with me every week at school. It’s your lucky day And a big thanks to everyone else who entered – stay tuned for more giveaways!

On to today’s recipe. My family is good about eating salad and that makes me happy. I’ve been told that I make a good salad. Hard boiled eggs, chick peas, crumbled bacon and cubed mozzarella are my big secrets. So now you know. I think the real secret is just that eating a salad someone else makes for you is always more delicious than eating one you have made for yourself.

What doesn’t make me happy is our range of dressing interests that range from Ranch to Peppercorn Ranch. Maybe Bleu Cheese if we’re feeling a little crazy. The day my kids eat Raspberry Vinaigrette will be a rewarding one; but first things first.

My grandmother gave me a recipe that my Ranch-centric family will eat. I love that it’s home-made, because it makes me feel all old-school and domestic. It’s called “Gloria’s Salad Dressing” but since y’all don’t know Gloria you are welcome to rename it. Enjoy!

(Insert Name Here)’s Salad Dressing

1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. pepper
3/4 c. sugar
1 large onion, grated
1 tbsp. Worcestershire sauce
1 c. olive oil
1 can Campbell’s Tomato Soup (that’s what Grandma said and I’m not messing with it)

Shake well; then add:

3/4 c. white vinegar
1 tsp dry mustard

Give it a good shake each time before serving. Store in refrigerator.

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Fun, Free and Frugal Labor Day in Grand Rapids!

September 2, 2010 By Big Binder 1 Comment

I am guessing that since school is finally starting in Grand Rapids, most of you don’t need suggestions for how to keep busy this week; but I’m going to give you one anyway.

It’s what I do.

I have spent the last couple of days trying to nail down our fall schedule. Tae Kwon Do has once again made the cut, however, Boy Scouts and Gymnastics will have to wait. This is Maybelle’s first year of having class every day and A.P.’s first year of having class all day. Throw in the first year of Faith Formation at church on Wednesday nights, and my kids are going to be pooped! Plus, when you live in an awesome place like Grand Rapids, you don’t need a million classes to keep the kids busy. I love fall and I can’t wait for it this year! More to come on fall fun soon…

Even with school starting, you’ll still need to make sure your kids get some exercise. Did you sign your kids up for the Grand Rapids Marathon yet? A great way to log some miles on Labor Day is at the Labor Day Bridge Walk. Follow it up with the West Michigan Labor Fest, which, according to the website, includes a “blow up bouncy house” for kids.

Looking for more? Check out “What’s Happening In Grand Rapids“, and then have a great week! Don’t forget to enter my giveaway for a great picnic tote and blanket but hurry – I’m picking the winner on Saturday!

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