Friday Things #364
Hello friends! Quarantine Day #17 here for us, how about you? Here’s a look at what we’ve been up to this week…
1. The dogs have been thrilled to be getting tons of walks around the neighborhood, and the boys have been doing a lot of bike riding and, now that it’s getting nicer, playing on the playset.
2. I turned 40 on Wednesday! 😱 A milestone birthday in quarantine is definitely one I won’t forget ;-) The boys insisted we make a cake so we could put candles in something, so they helped me make an easy Texas sheet cake – a forever favorite!
3. Both boys have had some online class time this week and Joseph gets excited any time there are new worksheets to do. Dominic had show and tell yesterday for the letter “N” so my husband got him decked out in a necktie 😍
4. We made our usual Saturday morning pancakes.
5. Isabelle loves her pasta! She has also been obsessed with that Superman mask for the last week and has worn it nearly 24/7 😂
6. OH! Also! Dominic got glasses last week! They had a vision screening at preschool a few months ago and he was flagged for a follow up with an eye doctor. When I took him, he was diagnosed as farsighted with astigmatism; they had to order frames to try on since he’s pretty small, and we finely got the finished glasses mailed to us last week. He’s done SO well wearing them; I’m so proud of that little guy!
7. We built a fort in the basement. (Joseph got a fort building kit for his birthday and we busted it out.)
8. School crafts to pass some time.
9. I’d love for you to share the meals you’ve been making while at home in the comments below. I think most of us have meats stocked in the freezer and random other things; I thought it might be helpful for everyone to get some ideas of new/different things they could make!
This last week I’ve used meat sauce from the freezer for pasta, made a batch of oven BBQ chicken with rice and broccoli (and repurposed into wraps and quesadillas for the kids), and I’m thawing ground beef to do burgers on the grill today.
10. TGIF! I hope you continue to be healthy and safe, xo
Hi Michelle!
I can’t believe how fast the kids are growing! Love all your photos of them and the pups.
I am responding to your request for a dinner idea during the shelter-in-place. I tried the easy sesame chicken from Kitchn. It turned out amazing! I added diced red pepper and cashews and served with white rice and roasted broccoli.
Very Yum!
Hi there ! Hang in it will get better.i live alone and have not been with my grandchildren for 3 weeks. Cooking and baking to keep busy. My rubbish collectors and neighbors are benefiting. My deliveries of food and packages for people helping me without contact. I just made your Koulourakia cookies. I followed the direction and they are good but very sticky . What did I do wrong. I love your hint with the orange and sugar. Thank you for your recipes!
I made teriyaki chicken and rice last weekend and made extra rice bc my husband had the idea of using our random collection of veggie bits and some extra chicken to make fried rice. I also have friezes shrimp so that will probably get tossed in as well. I also made lentil soup this week. There’s only two of us so I’ve been freezing the extra using a bowl and then stashing the frozen soup in a ziplock bag. I figure that way it’ll be easier to get a serving of soup out and reheated when we want it! We’ve also had burritos – ground beef, canned refried beans, and salsa. Today I’m trying out potato bread for the first time ever. We have left over mashed potatoes that my husband doesn’t want to eat any more so instead of tossing it, thought I’d finally try making bread out of it.
Your kids are so cute!! I found your blog years ago, before you had any kids 😊 and although I am not regular, I like to stop by now and then to see how they are growing.
Belated happy birthday!!
All the very best
Anna
Happy Birthday!🎉🎂💖
Beautiful family
I made your spaghetti meat sauce (crowd favorite), chuck roast with potatoes and carrots and biscuits, homemade pizza, your beef enchiladas, burgers and dogs on the grill, grilled pork chops, chicken, chipotle. I’ve baked a cake. Baked cookies. Love having time to make nice meals. That’s some of what I’ve made. Stay healthy!
Love your posts every Friday, I feel like I’m growing up with your family , haha, happy 40th birthday, you look great!
Love your recipes, I’ve made many of them, always tasty.
Happy 40th Birthday! Your children are simply adorable in their own ways, and loving Dominic in his new glasses!
Some things we made recently here in the kitchen were potato=cheese pierogies, chicken barley soup, shish tawook skewers, meat lasagna and my absolute favorite things to do were to roast many pans of fresh vegetables drizzed with evoo and various spices. Love them so much, and wanting to keep our nutrition up in hopes of keeping immune system good! God bless everyone. Take care of yourself and your loved ones!
Happy Birthday! Your children are so cute. Stay well
Happy 40th. Always enjoy your Friday posts.
Happy 40th Birthday! Dominic looks so cute in his glasses – I bet he’s glad to be able to see better. Day 7 of quarantine for me. Now that the CARES checks have been approved. we have to go back to work at IRS to get them out. Scheduled to return 4/9 – not feeling too good about that. Take care
Happy Birthday Michelle! Dominic is so cute in his little glasses but then all your kids are adorable! I haven’t felt very motivated to do much cooking. I’m on self Quarantine for another three days after 41 hours in Mexico. There was talk of all major airports except 4 in Canada being closed so we had to come home. It was a fun 41 hours!Hope you all stay well.
Did you travel after the travel advisory was put in place?
I love Dom’s glasses! And love that he is totally cool with wearing them :)
Happy 40th! My cousin’s 50th was 3/17…she didn’t take being on house arrest as well as you seem to have taken it…one to remember for sure!
I made your Irish Car Bomb cupcakes and gave them to friends and neighbors (dropped off safely, of course…) and as usual (I have made them before) a HUGE hit! People are still talking about them!
Your Italian Bread recipe (yum!) got me back into bread making. A friend turned me on to this recipe. It is AMAZING and SOOOO EASY! Everyone should try it! I may never buy french bread again…
https://www.itsalwaysautumn.com/homemade-artisan-bread-easiest-bread-recipe-ever.html
Your posts of the kids brought many smiles to me today. Thanks. 💕
Happy Birthday!
Happy belated birthday! Today is mine. We’re making your yellow cake with chocolate frosting to celebrate
Oops! Forgot! A very happy birthday to you!
Love those glasses! Is Isabelle possibly wanting to wear the mask so she can have “glasses” as well? I’ve made oatmeal bread, chicken soup, German sausages and mac ‘n cheese with raw vegs and dip, easy taco pie, chicken pot pie – crust on top only, scalloped potatoes with ham, lasagne. Tomorrow, husband is going to make egg rolls – I bought the ingredients we needed today.
Happy 40! Isabelle looks more like you every day. I could eat Dominic!!! Love his little face! Joseph is getting soo big. You’re such a great mother and it shows thru these pictures of your happy little ones. Thanks for all your pictures and weekly updates. And of course your fabulous recipes. Stay safe
Good job Mom!! The kids are so stinkin cute and look so happy! I’ve been relying on your website for recipes! I’ve made your brownies, rice krispie treats, and biscuits. All so good! Thank you for the wonderful recipes.
Happy Birthday, Michelle!!!! Well, life begins now, LOL! :-). Lovely, adorable family– Glad you all have each other. I’ve made this pizza dough twice in the last few weeks. https://tastesbetterfromscratch.com/perfect-pizza-crust/. I’m not sure if it’s using my new stand mixer, or the fact that I’m actually pre-baking the crust, but this is my new favorite pizza dough, and has been the best pizzas I’ve ever made … like I plan to make pizza every week now!! HUGS!
Happy belated birthday!! You do not look 40.
So nice to receive your newsletter among all the Covid-19 news. Dominic’s glasses look great! Your newsletter provides some normalcy to my closed in world. Thank you!
thank you so much for sharing your family with us. my husband and I are very senior so are self “exiling” for the time being. the joyful look on your kidlets faces brought happy tears to my eyes.
Looks like we have some birthdays in common- guess what! We also had Texas sheet cake! Great minds… lol! Birthday supper was pan fried chicken (Alton Brown recipe), mashed potatoes and corn on the cob! Tonight having some ribeyes (we sous vide then sear in cast iron) mushrooms and creamed spinach (Ruth Chris top secret recipe from Todd Wilbur). Wishing everyone good health and a great weekend!
Happy Birthday!!!🎈🎂🎁. I spent my 40th birthday packing up our camping trip in the RAIN. Two weeks in the wilderness of Maine. Two small children and a golden in car waiting with my husband and I rolling up the canopy on our pop up trailer. Water running down my arms!! I was on the verge of tears. But it’s a birthday I’ll always remember!!
Happy Birthday Michelle! I really enjoy your recipes, and seeing the photos of your beautiful, happy children!
Thank you so much for all that you do. It’s really a delight to get emails from you. Have a great day, and be safe!
Thank you for what you do, and God Bless you and your beautiful family!!!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY! I’m hoping I don’t have to spend mine quarantined (it’s in May). But it is definitely one to remember. My sister in law is due with her 3rd in a few weeks, what a story to tell!
I’ve been making tried and true recipies I know my family likes. Last night i made Our Best Bites Sausage & Roasted Veggie Sheet Pan Dinner, but use veggies my family will eat.
Oh my gosh Dominic is so cute with his glasses and tie! Your children are just so dang cute.
I made Spanish Rice, Mexican Soup (very good), Chicken Spaghetti, Ham and Bean Soup, Pork Roast and Sauerkraut, Chicken Noodle Soup ( Iowa Girl Eats). One Pot Spaghetti, Steaks, Hamburgers, Salmon Patties, etc.
Thank goodness food bloggers! Also Happy 40th
Love seeing all the pictures of your kids, so cute! I look forward to being able to do some cooking hopefully soon. My husband and I both have this virus and it has been so awful and scary. Please everyone stay quarantined!!
happy Birthday and many more god bless you all
thank you for the bread recipe for i have tryed others maybe this will
be better
Little kids in glasses. ❤️
Loved the pictures this week, Michelle!!❤️❤️
A bright spot in a crazy time!
Dominic is SO handsome in both his necktie and his glasses. My granddaughter (8) just got glasses also. She adjusted quite well, too! Such good kids!
Isabel…the mask…made me smile in every pic!
God bless…stay healthy❤️❤️
Happy 40th birthday, Michelle!
Happy Birthday Michelle!
Your weekly Friday Things always bring a smile to my face, especially now in this troubling time. Ya’ll stay safe and healthy!!xoxo
Hay Dominic,
Cool glasses where did you get them. My husband needs a new pair and yours are great.
Taking a lot of walks and cooking too
Auntie Chele
Happy Belated 40th Bday! I’m glad to see you and your family staying busy, happy and healthy.
So, my son and I have baked gluten free chocolate chip cookies, I’ve made chicken curry, taco night, risotto with white wine and leeks, baked breaded pork chops, and we’ve ordered delivery a few times. Today, I’m planning to make your baked ziti with Italian sausage. It’s a tried and true recipe with plenty of leftovers.
Happy Birthday Michelle, hope you had a good one with your family. We’ve been at home shopping online and cooking from scratch. We’ll try baking bread as there seems to be a bread shortage, just like toilet paper!
I must say Dominic looks quite handsome in his glasses! Looks like the kiddos are busy and happy with their activities. I give credit to all parents at home with little ones, who have to come up with ideas to keep their children entertained all day, it musn’t be easy. Be well and stay safe and healthy to everyone out there, especially our frontline workers.
Happy Birthday! Hope you get to celebrate for real soon!
Happy belated birthday Michelle, was thinking of you this week knowing your birthday was coming up, you all look happy and healthy, I think if there is an upside to all this chaos its that we all get quality time with our family xox ; )
We have been doing a lot of baking: sugar cookies, homemade cake, pretzel bites, etc. And yesterday I made a double batch of your crock pot Mac and cheese along with a honey glazed ham and made deliveries to my elderly parents and neighbors— a great way to spread some joy while remaining socially distant.
Happy Belated Birthday sweet Michelle!! Thank you so much for sharing what you’ve been up to- it looks like you’re doing a great job keeping everyone occupied! Burgers on the grill sound fantastic today I may have to do the same! Stay well!
Happy belated birthday! I bet it was weird to not have an Oakmonter!
My usual meal schedule is cooking full meals, S, M, T… then W. I take one of the leftovers and make it into something completely different. Th. is leftovers, F. is pizza, Sat. is soup and sandwiches.
So this past week I made a pork roast on Sun. in my Ninja Foodi. Leftovers were shredded and made into pork fried rice on Wed. The other meals were ravioli with homemade meatballs and Chicken Divan, using frozen cooked chicken from last week’s meals, and frozen chopped broccoli (Paula Deen recipe).
I’ve really found us to be less wasteful during this troubling time. My husband works as an ER physician, and he’s been taking meals with him to work, as opposed to buying food there or hitting fast food. I’ve also been baking every week for him to take into the staff for our appreciation.
The hardest thing about grocery shopping is just getting a pickup or delivery slot. It’s been nearly impossible the last week.
Be safe and enjoy the extra time you get with your babies, and husband, if he’s working from home.
Happy belated 40th Michelle! Keep the pictures coming. Anything close to normal is so welcome!!! Stay safe an d healthy.
In these weird, unsettling times it’s these pictures of “normal” that are getting me through. Have been following you for awhile, don’t know if I have ever commented. Thanks for continuing to share your skills and your beautiful family with all of us. Stay safe, stay healthy!
Happy, happy birthday, Michelle!
Happy birthday! Texas Sheet Cake is a favorite of mine too.
Your kids and dogs are adorable. Happy birthday! One of my favorite dinners was this recipe for sheet pan fajitas. https://damndelicious.net/2019/07/24/sheet-pan-chicken-fajitas/
I was able to get some veggies in our lives to counteract all the snacking while locked down. 😂 I also made your white bread recipe which gives me three loaves! Pizza this weekend since it’ll be rainy here in Chicago . Our prayers have changed haven’t they? Whereas we may have asked for things, we are now saying thank you that we are protected and healthy. fed, and loved. Be well.
We had filet with mushrooms and skillet roasted crispy potatoes….sausage, peppers and onions….sausage, bean and tomato soup….a Stouffer frozen meat lasagna ( which is surprisingly good when you need a break from cooking!). Sunday I’m going to try my hand at making pork schnitzel and spaetzle. ..I have a potato ricer which, hopefully, will work well for the spaetzle.
Also making rice pudding this morning before “working from home” and made peanut butter cookies and chocolate cream pie earlier in the week.
Getting used to working at home was a challenge, but have to say I’m enjoying it! OH, and our washer broke yesterday but am having a new one delivered Monday. I guess I’m doing my part to stimulate the economy! A positive attitude will get you far.
Love, love, love all the photos of your children. They make me smile remembering when mine were that small! You’re a good mama and they look so happy. Stay happy and safe.
Happy Birthday! Your family is beautiful – thank you for sharing them with us.
Happy 40th Birthday Michelle :)
I am sure it one it wont forget :) I wish you everything of the best for the year ahead x