Dessert Entitlement

Photo credit: Bass

MeeMom: When DooDad and I were first married I already had my own compilation of favorite recipes - all desserts!!  While I have since added much, much more variety to my recipe collection, I have successfully passed on a love of desserts to my children. All of whom have sadly grown-up thinking that a dessert comes with every meal!

B Sharp: My favorite dessert is cookies and ice cream. I like ice cream for breakfast, but MeeMom won't let me have it unless my brothers make a fruit smoothie on Saturday morning. Then she says it's okay.

Coda: Puh-lease don't talk about dessert.  I still have to work my way up to rice cereal!

Treble: Okay, so I love dessert! But I don't think that every night we should have one, but I think that every once and a while we should have one - at least four or five times a week. Some nights I really. feel like one, but I don't constently ask for one. GO DESSERT, I say!!!

Middle C: I am one of the guilty parties who ALWAYS asks MeeMom "What's for dessert?" Most of time she makes us desserts. But when we get irritated that she didn't, DooDad tells us we should be grateful because GrandMeeMom only made desserts once in a while. And DooDad said when her cookies came out of the oven, if they weren't eaten hot, they were used for hockey pucks 10 minutes later.

Staccato: I got mad today because I could see frozen cookie dough in the freezer from the cookies MeeMom made yesterday but she wouldn't bake them for me. She said we were going to have dinner in a half an hour. A half an hour is such a long time. I think I was going to starve.

Bass: Dessert is the best ever! I prefer dessert over pretty much anything. We should get a dessert every once in awhile, not everyday. Tonight, I feel like dessert. My favorite dessert is cornflake chewys. Fermata is a cornflake chewy and a really big piece of snow pudding.

Fermata: We should not eat dessert any day of the year because it is bad for our bones! HEY, Bass typed that! I think we should eat stuff like cheesecake so we can get our dairy for the day. We also need to eat banana cream pie so we can get our potassium. Chicken pot pie should be considered dessert so we can get our protein and veggies.

Mezzo: I like dessert. It is the best at our house. Our mother is the best chef in the world. I think that we should have dessert some of the days of the week (at least the ones that end in -day).

Allegro: My favorite part of dessert, other than eating it, is helping MeeMom bake. I like that. Signed, Allegro.

DooDad: Dessert? I'm more of a main-course kinda guy. Succulent steak or tender, slow-cooked ribs is my kinda dessert.

MeeMom: Gulp.  Pretty sure we are now on the USDA/Michelle Obama radar as an unhealthy, dessert-loving family. . . Just you wait until we blog about c.h.o.c.o.l.a.t.e.

Monday's Menu Item

photo credit: MeeMom

Here is the Argentine Dinner we made last week. Mmm, it is always a treat to eat what DooDad loves. This meal takes a lot of time to prepare but it is so worth it. I didn't use a recipe for the Milanesa Nepolitana, so I will give you the basics of what we did. (Nepolitana means it is layered with sauce and cheese. You could eat it without it if you would like).

The Gnocchi's are best served with your favorite sauce - red or white - and then sprinked with Parmesean or Mozzarella cheese!

MILANESA NEPOLITANA
Chicken Breast and a beef roast (we asked the butcher to slice it as thin as he could)

1 column Soda Crackers
1/2 cup flour
1 Tablespoon granulated garlic
1 1/2 Tablespoon Basil
1 Tablespoon Oregano
1 - 3 tsp salt
2 tsp ground black pepper

Bowl #1: Crush soda crackers until fine. Add all other ingredients.

Bowl #2: Beat 3 eggs with 1/8-1/4 cup milk.

Tenderize beef. You could fillet your chicken breasts and pound them a little if you like. We just filleted them.

Dip meat in egg mixture, then in dry mixture.

Fry in 355 degree oil until golden to medium brown or until meat is done in the middle. (Will take longer for chicken if your beef is thinly sliced).

Spread a thin layer of your choice of marinara sauce and sprinkle with Mozzerella.


GNOCCHI'S - Potato "Dumplings"
2 pounds baking potatoes, washed but not peeled
2 eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt
2 cups flour

1. Steam potatoes until tender. While still hot, peel potatoes, place them in bowl and mash.

2. Beat in egg and salt. Slowly mix in flour.

You want the dough to be soft and firm, but not sticky.

3. Turn mixture on floured surface and knead.

4. Put a pot of salted water to boil.

5. To form gnocchi's: Break off small pieces of dough and roll to make short ropes. With a knife cut

them into 1" pieces. Press gently each piece with the tines of a fork. (This is not really necessary, it just makes it look nice).

6. If just one person is cooking, you may want to form all your gnocchi's before boiling them. If this is the case, place gnocchi's on floured napkins so it can absorb the moisture from the potatoes.

7. Drop the gnocchi - several at once - into the boiling water and cook for about 3 minutes of until they rise up to the surface. (No, they won't turn brown as one of our children asked how we would know it was done).

8. Remove cooked gnocchi with a slotted spoon and drain well.

9. Set gnocchi's on a clean, dry dish towel for a few moments and then place on a platter.

10. Cover to keep warm while cooking remaining dumplings.

Obedience

photo credit: Bass

For the past two weeks we have been working on memorizing and living the Christlike attribute, Obedience, found in Preach My Gospel (PMG). We've "likened" it unto our family and this is how we recite it in our home:

"As a member of my family, I am expected to keep the commandments willingly, to obey family rules and to follow the counsel of my parents. Obedience is the first law of heaven. It is an act of faith. I may sometimes be required to do things I do not completely understand. As I obey, I increase in faith, knowledge, wisdom, testimony, protection and freedom. I will strive to be obedient to the Lord, the living prophet and my parents."

Here's is what each of us are learning and/or doing about obedience:

Middle C: I memorized the first paragrah and the half of the second of obedience in PMG. I learned that you should be obedient to the Lord and to your parents. Obedience it is the first law of heaven and it is an act of faith. And it is kind of hard to be obedient to my parents but then after a while I am obedient to them.

Allegro: I'm learning about being nice to my brothers and sister and obeying my mom and dad. Signed, Allegro

Bass: I'm going to write about "As I obey I increase in testimony." To me that means that I should go to church, read the scriptures, pray etc. When I do that I can increase in testimony and that will make me the missionary I want to be. For me it is a little hard to be obedient to my mom and dad. There are sometimes when I don't want to do things when my mom and dad ask me to, but I will try my hardest to be obedient.

B Sharp: I am obedient to my mom and dad. I like to be obedient except when I don't want to be obedient. by B Sharp

Treble: I'm going to write about "As I obey, I increase in knowledge." I know that when I obey my knowledge can grow. Now that I am in school, I know that when I obey my parents my knowledge can grow stronger. I know that when your obedient to everyone, your knowledge and grow and you can be smarter than a 5th grader.

Staccato: It was me who chose obedience for our family to memorize!! It was so I could remember to be obedient. It is hard for me to be obedient. I like to tease and make faces so one time, I had to write "Obedience is the first law of heaven. It is an act of faith." SEVEN WHOLE TIMES times because I wouldn't stop bugging Allegro.

Fermata: I'm going to write aboout "As I obey I increase in faith." You can't do anything without faith. With the Lord or with faith nothing is impossible. We need to be obedient to our parents because it is one of the commandments.

Mezzo: In our family we have a family motto thing about obedience. We recite what MeeMom wrote at the beginning of the post. It's not very fun to recite this but it helps us to be obedient to our parents. It's hard for me to be obedient to my parents. This weekend I had to write up a contract about using my IPod. It's okay, I guess. I'd really just would like to use the computer and my IPod for as long as I want - like when all my downloads are finished, and other stuff, but my parents think I'm on the computer too long.

MeeMom: Oh, how I remember being 14 and thinking that obedience was such a hard, difficult principle of the gospel. I remember thinking that my parents were the meanest parents in the whole entire world for having family rules. Now I'm a MeeMom and I am realizing how crucial good, firm family rules are in helping each of learn and live obedience. I appreciate Mezzo's honesty because we all want to think that the sky is the limit when it comes to our choices.  I am learning that disobedience only takes us down a road of captivity while obedience increases our ability to be free. That is SO not what the adversary would have us believe.

DooDad: If there is one thing I have learned about obedience over the years it would be this; obedience is not about doing or not doing something because I am "supposed" to, it is about doing or not doing something because I know God is wiser than I.

Saturday Sound Off

photo credit: MeeMom

MeeMom: Since this blog is new and each family member has a say in what we write about, the kiddos want to have a day when they can talk about anything they want.  So it's looking (as of week 1) that Saturdays are the day to SOUND OFF about anything that has happened  in our family during the week.  So to give us all a little memory jogger here are some things that have happened this week: back-to-school father's blessings, wearing school uniforms, Saturdays, Milanesa and gnoochis, swimming, homework, our "new" daily responsibility chart, and Mezzo's IPod contract. Certainly this is not all inclusive, but it's a start.

Mezzo: My IPod contract is okay. I wish my parents would let me go on the computer to get apps and that kind of thing. My parents hardly ever let me get apps for my IPod. I wish I could get more ITunes Gift Cards but I don't.

MeeMom: Mezzo had the golden opportunity today to write up his own contract regarding the use of his IPod and the family computer.  It's not like we hardly ever let him get apps, it's more like we don't let him get whatever apps he wants whenever he wants to get them.  So, after it was all said and done, I was very impressed with his capacity to try to see his parents' side of things.  And I'll be even more impressed to see his contract in action!  I'll see is he will let me post a copy of his contract in the weeks to come.

Treble: I don't really like Saturdays, because we don't do anything. Even if we do something it's what the younger kids want to do. I always want to do something after cleaning the house but we don't really do anything. I think that Saturdays are one of the weirdest days. But I guess it's good because we get a break from school!

Middle C: I don't really like Saturdays either because we hardly do anything so we just sit around and watch TV.

MeeMom: Treble is right.  Saturdays are our "get the work done day."  It does seem that by the time we get everyone in the cleaning groove it seems like the day is already gone.  And Middle C seems to think that TV is what he should be doing in between the cleaning groove he should be getting in.  Take today, for example, I was ready to pull out all my grey matter (for that matter) due to children being over-indulgent in other people's business and not their own.  It took h-o-u-r-s for us to be somewhat done withour chores because everybody wanted to do something other than what they should have been doing.  Finally, when we were ready to get out and go, we had to have a family council to figure out what we wanted to do.  Because we do have such a large family and DooDad is self-employed, we have to be very creative on finding activities that are free or next to nothing.  Going to library, playing basketball at the Church gym, going for a hike all come to mind, but it doesn't always jive with everyone, so there are compromises to be made. And that's what happened today.  We got out of the house and did what the younger kiddos wanted to do.  At least it saved my grey matter.

Fermata: Every day we have individual daily responsibilities. This Saturday I had to unload the dishes, -and I HATE unloading dishes. I don't mind the other chores, so every time I have unloading I try to switch chores with someone.


MeeMom: Yup, he tried to switch with me, but I had a cushy responsibility today: clear and wipe the dinner table and put away food.  (Oh, if that were the ONLY responsibility I had . . . .)


Staccato: I have a new teacher.  This is her first year teaching.  She is the nicest teacher.  Tomorrow I'm going to Church and having an interview with my Bishop because I'm going to get baptized.  Am I done now?  Because I can't think of anymore things to say.


Allegro:  What we should have had for dinner was peas, carrots, corn, coconuts, chicken and that's all.  Instead we had corn and this stuff with cheese on it - what was it called?  Oh yeah, milanesa and pears and soda drinks. Signed Allegro.

Bass: Our dinner was very good. We had many things: milanesa, chicken, soda drinks and much more. My mom and dad are the best cooks in the world. Hope they cook something big tomorrow.

B Sharp: I played games. I played games with my family.

DooDad: What is left to say? Kids with wiggles and always hungry.  We had a great Argentine dinner that took about two hours to prepare. The funny thing was that during the two hours of dinner prep the kids asked over and over when dinner would be ready. When it was finally done, it took them about 10 minutes to finally drop what they were doing, wash up and get to the table. It's like that every day.

MeeMom:  And well, that about sums up our first Saturday Sound Off.  BTW, believe me when I say the Milanesa and gnocchis were out. of. this. world. Yummo.

Got Milk?

photo credit: MeeMom

MeeMom: With eleven bodies in our home, most of which are children who think they need to eat and drink because they will starve to death, we go through A LOT of milk. If we weren't such city folks we would seriously consider buying a milking cow. But since we would never seriously consider milking a cow, we settle for the double pack of milk (times five) everytime we pass through Costco. (And who can just "pass through" Costco?)

Coda: Well, I'm not the cow milk drinker so no one can look at me. I'll stick to my Kirkland brand formula, thank you very much! Isn't that why you go to Costco anyway, or is it really for the food samples???

Treble: Well MeeMom, I hate to burst your little bubble, but milk is sick! I don't like it! Sure, drinking milk is great with cookies and cereal and that stuff, but drinking a plain glass of milk is gross. It's Mezzo who loves milk. He drinks it for every single meal. I think milk is just a gross, gross liquid. YUCK!

Middle C: I agree with Treble, I don't like milk but it is good with cookies and cereal and when I put a lot of chocolate or strawberry syrup in it. Ooooooh, now that is when milk is good!

MeeMom: So now I know where all the Hershey syrup disappeared . . .

B Sharp: I have to have a milk whenever I take a drink. But, if there is juice or soda, I will choose soda. I leave my cup of milk in the fridge so it will stay cold because I don't like drinking warm milk.

Bass: Just for the record, I do. not. drink. milk. But I do with waffles or pancakes. Milk is my last preference of drinks. Water, on the other hand, is my favorite thing to drink, and I drink about 5 cups a day.

MeeMom: Umm, so where is all the milk going?

Allegro: Milk is good. I like milk. I especially like giving myself a milk mustache.

Fermata: I'm with Bass and Treble on this one. Milk is definitely not on my beverage list.

Mezzo: I LOVE MILK! Milk is the best drink that has ever come into our house. I love milk so much that it doesn't matter to me what temperature the milk is. I pretty much drink milk when ever I get a chance. And boy, do I take all my chances!  Folks, milk is the best!

MeeMom: Ohh-kay, I just figured out that we've been buying 10 gallons of milk a week for one teenage boy who, honestly, can drink a gallon or more a day!

Allegro: I want to say something else: I love milk. It is so good because I love it. Signed me, Allegro

Staccato: Milk is my comfort food (I didn't write that. MeeMom did and I had to ask her what comfort food means). I like milk so much that when I was six MeeMom made me a quilt with cows on it so I could dream of milk when I went to bed.

DooDad: Let's just say that milk is, well, rather moo-ving. :)

MeeMom: Whoa, this topic opened my eyes to some ways we could budget our food money and use more of that powdered milk that's in Food Storage. Tofu, anyone?!?!

Bingo

photo credit: Treble Clef

MeeMom: So, we have this game we play as a family while we drive. Whoever spies a Volkswagon bug or a yellow car, they shout BINGO and then the person next to them gets slammed with the fist. When Mezzo sits next to me my arm is about ready to fall off because he doesn't quite figure out that I AM NOT A PUNCHING BAG. And I'm the driver!! So I decided to put my foot down yesterday (with the Bingo game, not the gas pedal) and let the kiddies know that while they are more than welcome to shout "Bingo" as many times as they want, there is no. more. punching. BTW, I can't believe how many yellow cars there are out there on the interstate. Honestly, who would choose to drive a yellow car that's not a school bus or a taxi?

Bass Clef: The game B.I.N.G.O is very, very fun to play. Hitting my brothers and sister is just so fun to do. But when I hit them, I know it is fun for them while they are getting hit. For the past couple of days I have found so many yellow cars. Buses are the easiest to find while driving home from school. It is fun to hit my brothers very, very hard so there arm hurts like it's jello.

Staccato: Yeah, I like Bingo. It's fun. Hey, can I play bingo before I go to bed?

MeeMom: Umm, Staccato, it's not that Bingo. It's the one we play as a family when we drive in the van and see a yellow car.

Staccato: Oh yeah. That one. Can I have a cookie before I go to sleep?

Middle C: I love B.I.N.G.O! Sometimes we all think gold or orange cars are yellow, so we purposefully hit our neighbor (seating partner, that is) ten times! Around school time, school buses are very simple to find. MeeMom said that you just yell Bingo on Volkswagon bugs. What she should have said was that it can be any yellow cars. And, if we see an old, yellow convertible Volkswagon with its hood down, we get to hit 5 times. And Bass Clef, when you punch me it doesn't make my arm feel like Jell-o!!

Mezzo: My friends, not my brothers, punch me so hard that I get bruised really bad because they have been playing Bingo their whole life. Sorry Bass Clef.  When we were coming home from Scout Camp, exhausted from getting four merit badges including the painful Shotgun Merit Badge, we played Bingo and it was 2 to 1. By the time I got home, my left arm was one giant bruise. It is a really fun game. SOME FRIENDS!

Treble Clef: Bingo! This is such a great game to play. We drive 10 miles to and from school so it's a perfect time to get out my energy by hitting my brothers. I think Fermata does not enjoy playing the game. Whenever you hit him he hits you back because he hates the game! Poor, poor Fermata does not love to have an enjoyable time with his brothers and sister in the car. Whenever I get in the van I sure do enjoy the fact that we are hitting each other. Whoa Middle C, your arm probably does feel like jello, your just to tough to admit it.

Fermata: I don't agree with Treble Clef. Okay, so it's true that I used to hate playing Bingo because my older brothers would punch me like I was their pillow and I would get these HUGE bruises. But I have had a change of heart and now I like it because when they punch me I punch them harder. Also I find lots of yellow Beetle bugs, and other yellow cars. Treble Clef always asks me "Does that goldish yellow car count?" Then I say "no" because it is not fully yellow.

Allegro: I like playing Bingo. I sit in the very back, so most of the time my brothers forget I am there because they are too busy punching each other.  Does every family who drives in cars play this same game?

B Sharp: My favorite part about Bingo is getting to hit someone.

DooDad: I am pretty much King of Bingo, but without the punching. Really. Ask MeeMom. I give her sweet, little love taps when we ride along and I find the yellow cars. One time I had 8 Bingos to her zero. Woop, woop, I am King of Bingo.

MeeMom: Ahem, now you know why I had to put my foot down!

First Day of School 2011 - Chaos in a Can

MeeMom:  I did it. I mean, we did it. Got seven kids off to the First Day of School - all in uniforms mind you - by 7:35 this morning (SEVEN.THIRTY.FIVE.A.M.) all after family scripture study, showers and a wholesome, USDA approved breakfast of chocolate muffins.  Of course we started at 6:00, which has not been a part of our schedule - let alone our thinking - since we got out of school in early June.

Middle C: Today was my first day at a new school and it is the best school ever!!!  I was so tired when I had to wake up at 6.00 am to start getting ready for school, and it is such a long drive to school.  At school I was so tired! At school I played "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire" on the smart board, for those who don't know . Those chocolate muffins that MeeMom mentioned were so good. When I was waiting for the carpool to come (aka our 15-passenger van), it felt weird because at my old school I usually went right out of the door and walked home.

Treble Clef: So, waking up at 6:00 in the morning got my day starting out tired. When I got to school, I went to my locker ( Man, I feel so proud that I have my very own locker. YES!). It was my first day in 7th grade and I had to go to eight classes to meet eight teachers to know what is happening. My first period class was English, and I was told by Big Brother, Mezzo, that the English teacher was REALLY REALLY MEAN! Right when I got to class, two classmates darted in like a bullet (that fast!) and sure enough, the teacher yelled at them like they were her kids! So the rest of the day I read my silly-buses, because the teachers told us to. And that is how my First Day Of School went. Pretty Awkward!

Mezzo: Today I started EIGHTH grade. It was a great time seeing my friends again. The teachers were really nice and they were very helpful. My friends were great and my favorite classes are Geometery and Honors Science.

Staccato: Well, my 2nd grade teacher was nice and I got Elephant Bucks. And, hey Middle C, I just saw a horse fly fly by.

Allegro: I tapped my teacher before school let out and told her that I didn't know the name of my carpool.  I was really nervous about it but then they called just our last name and I wasn't nervous anymore.

B Sharp: It was so much fun staying home ALL day without my brothers and sister to bug me.  I worked on my math skills and colored while MeeMom tried to figure out this blog and sew pants into shorts for the boys. I'm so excited go to kindergarten in SEVEN more days!

Bass Clef: The first day was okay I guess. I can tell 7th grade is going to be a very long year! Hope school goes by very, very fast but filled with fun stuff.

Fermata: The first day was fun, but very slow. My teacher is very nice and awesome. We were lucky to be able to get lockers in sixth grade because last year, hee hee, Bass and Treble didn't get lockers AT ALL, hee hee.

MeeMom: So tonight we gathered around the table to figure out what our family carpool name should be for this year.  Who wants to go by just their last name?  Especially if their last name is common like Jones or Smith or Marinoniolla?  Last year our 15-passenger van went by the name "Hey guys, we're going home."  So we tossed around some names like "1 Sister and 7 Misters" and "Uncle Rico's here to get you."  Like usual, it caused a hot debate.

DooDad: And because of the hot debate that was brewing, I finally had to put in my two cents worth because three boys were trying to climb over my chair and two others were having a very loud discussion about naming or not naming this year's carpool "Snow White and the Seven Dorks," all while I was feeding  Baby Coda and the dog was barking out of control because he hadn't been walked since this morning.  So I threw out the name "Chaos in a Can" and there was a heavenly moment of silence before everyone broke out in hysterics.  The dog even stopped barking.  I think that's going to be our family carpool name this year.  Watch out!  Because it is true! We are Chaos in a Can.