Bits and Pieces Today

I have to start today by bragging about my daughter. It seems like she can never find enough ways to amaze me. This weekend is her Nutcracker debut. She has spent the last two evenings at hours-long dress rehearsals, and just can't seem to get enough! Despite the late hours she has been waking chipper and ready to head to school, because once she's at school, that means she's that much closer to going back to Nutcracker activities. Tonight is her first performance, and we're all so excited for her- and she is equally excited. She just lights up when she's on stage, I cannot wait to see her dance her little heart out. She has two roles- the first being a battle mouse and the second being a Chinese dancer. She's been practicing her dances at recess all week, and The Nutcracker has taken over our home- every time we watch or listen, she drops what she's doing to dance her part. She truly is amazing and passionate about her dancing, as well as watching her colleagues on stage. She's really shown a maturity this week that, frankly, I'm not ready for. :-)

So the last two days there really hasn't been much cooking, nor is there going to be today or tomorrow much. We've had to have dinner at 3:30 in the afternoon,because it's just too late by the time we all get home to eat before bed. That's really flipping early. But I've manged. The first day it was the Oatmeal Pancakes we had on Halloween, and last night it was grilled cheese with Zesty Oven Baked Fries. It felt really strange to be making fries at 2:00 in the afternoon. But, they were a new recipe to me, and I'm rather pleased with them. The only error I made was that I double the potatoes, but didn't double the seasonings- I was worried about them being too zesty for my kids. As it was, they were tasty, but I could see where double the seasonings would have had me really excited about sharing them today. You can click on the link for them above to see the recipe on Recipezaar.

With all the excitement of having a daughter performing on stage, I've decided that I've felt a little left out. So I'm playing Oprah, and I've made up an Amazon store of some of Tummy Treasure's favorite things. I get asked quite often for ideas for gifts for people, so I took my favorite things and made a few lists. Most everything in my Amazon store is tried and true for me, and if it's not, well, then it's something I really, really want, and I know the foodie in your life will love it. Check it out! There's also a link in my sidebar if you'd rather.

I also wanted to mention today that I did finally get around to making The Pioneer Woman's Cinnamon Rolls. They are ridiculously easy to make- no kneading required. We had them Thanksgiving morning for company,and they were a huge hit all around. I had made them ahead of time and froze them without the icing, and then perked them up in the oven for 20 minutes before icing and serving. I think I'll be making them again for us to have Christmas morning. They're definitely dangerous, and I could see them becoming a staple in the freezer. I did cut the recipe in half, and I have it posted in my Recipe Trove as a half batch. Be sure and check out Pioneer Woman's take on them though to see exactly how it's done, and to see the recipe as a whole. Wonderful, wonderful cinnamon rolls.

That's about it for today. There likely won't be a weekend post here from me, as we'll be spending all day tomorrow at Kaukauna High School for three performances of The Nutcracker, and Sunday we'll be spending the day painting a set for next weekend's Christmas program at our church. Sigh. After that, we are free to be un-busy for the remainder of the holiday season. Knock on wood. I'll leave you with this picture of my handsome little man sampling one of Mommy's green apple lollipops.