Fruit Pizza

There's a reason I don't do food photography.

And if you need me to tell you what that reason is, well. SORRY. You're on your own.

Despite its looks, fruit pizza is one of my favorite summertime desserts. What you see there in that festive and highly attractive picture was what I whipped up for a Memorial Day party.

It tasted better than it looked. I promise.

There's something so wholesomely happy about fruit pizza. Go ahead and make a tray of it this summer. Just remember to take a picture of it when you do.


Fruit Pizza

2 (18 ounce) packages refrigerated sugar cookie dough*
1 (8 ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1 (8 ounce) container frozen whipped topping, thawed

2 cups sliced fresh strawberries
1 cup fresh blueberries

Glaze (optional):

1/2 cup white sugar
1 pinch salt
1 tablespoon cornstarch
1/2 cup orange juice
2 tablespoons lemon juice
1/4 cup water
1/2 teaspoon orange zest

Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Press cookie dough flat into pan. Bake for 10 to 12 minutes. Allow to cool. In a large bowl, soften cream cheese, then fold in the whipped topping. Spread over cooled crust, and then top with fruit. If using the glaze, spoon it gently over the fruit. Chill for two hours and then serve.

Glaze: In a saucepan, combine sugar, salt, corn starch, orange juice, lemon juice and water. Cook and stir over medium heat. Bring to a boil, and cook for 1 or 2 minutes, until thickened. Remove from heat, and add grated orange rind. Allow to cool, but not set up.

*I like to make my own sugar cookie dough, especially since I always have the ingredients on hand.

Sugar Cookie Dough

1/2 cup butter (no substitutes), softened
2/3 cup sugar
1 whole egg
1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/4 teaspoon pumpkin pie spice, optional

More recipes over at The Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap and Ann's Food on Fridays.

This Hike Brought To You By Subway

I've been on a little "ourdoorsy" kick this summer.

What? You too?

I love the outdoors, especially when it's 72 degrees, party sunny, and not raining. But the one thing I don't like about getting outdoors is all the prep.

U. G. H.

Packing a lunch is the first thing to send me over the edge. If I was smart, I'd hike or bike when the kids aren't hungry, which is from approximately 2:30-3:00. In the morning.

So. Food is a must.

Oh, occasionally I'll pack peanut butter and jelly for us all, but I never look forward to eating that for lunch, and it still requires that I slap together FIVE sandwiches. I break out in a sweat just thinking about it.

And speaking of sweat, whenever I get done with a three-minute hike, I am RAVENOUS, and feel I've deserved a Sandwich Worth Eating.

Enter :: Subway.

Oh, I don't get paid for this post, if that's what you're thinking.

Ever since I-don't-know-when and going until who-really-knows, they've had a selection of their footlong subs for $5 a piece. And, to quote my Dad, "Ya cain't make it at home fer that."

So now our first stop before any Outdoor Adventure is at a Subway. And amazingly, there's practically one on every street corner. Just be aware that the particular sandwiches that are $5 are not always the same at each store. You wouldn't want to have to pay $6.50, THE THOUGHT.

I've found that the sandwiches pack well in a backpack, and are ready to go whenever The Hunger Alarms start going off. Sometimes that's at a cute little picnic area; sometimes it's right by the john.

Regardless, these happy little sandwiches have given me the freedom to "pack the kids and go" without having to fret and fume about lunch.

Anyone else have an outdoorsy kind of tip to share?

Eat My Ice Cream Dust

By the time the official first day of summer rolled around, I had already completed my goal to "try three new ice cream shops" in my 'hood.

Now THAT'S an accomplishment.

If there's one thing I've learned about goals, it's this: Create ones that are measurable. And by "are measurable," I mean, "involve a tape measure and my waist."

Measurable, indeed.

In the mix of the three shops I visited, I tried not just ice cream, but frozen yogurt, frozen custard, and gelato. (Overachiever alert!) You won't catch me turning a single one of those down, but I gotta say this: I like a frozen milk product that makes my fat cells CHEER.

Sorry, frozen yogurt. No pom-poms are comin' out for you.

Speaking of not donning a tiny cheerleading skirt, I'm pretty pleased with checking one fun thing off my list of summer plans.

Might need some ice cream to celebrate.

To my local Portland friends: I included the names of the shops in case you need to say, MAKE SOME GOALS for your summer as well.

Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

Both strawberries and rhubarb are in season now, so whatcha waitin' on? Make this pie!

What? You're trying to be healthy? Awesome. Strawberries are a fruit, rhubarb is a (fiber-filled!) vegetable, pie crust comes from grain, and ice cream is loaded with calcium-popping goodness.

Still not convinced?

EAT IT BECAUSE IT TASTES GOOD.

Carry on.


Strawberry Rhubarb Pie

3 cups thinly sliced rhubarb
1 quart (4 cups) sliced strawberries
1/2 cup sugar, or more if needed
3 tablespoons cornstarch
2 refrigerated pie crust rounds
ice cream

Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Place the rhubarb, strawberries, sugar, and cornstarch in a bowl and toss well. Place the mixture in the unbaked pie shell and cover with the top crust. Transfer the pie to the lowest shelf in the oven and cook for 15 minutes. Lower the heat to 350 degrees and cook until the fruit starts to bubble and the crust is golden brown, about an additional 45 minutes up to 1 hour. Serve with ice cream. 8 servings.

Source: The Bake Sale Cookbook: Quintessential American Desserts

More recipes over at Ann's Food on Fridays and the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap.

10 Ways To Break The Ice With Your Neighbors

I always nodded enthusiastically when Mr. Rogers asked me if I wanted to be his neighbor. I mean, a TV friend is a real friend, right?

Okay, so just because Laura Ingalls, Daisy Duke, and Scooby Doo didn't even know I was alive--that doesn't mean they still weren't my friends.

I also grew up out in the country (with pigs! shocker!), where the nearest neighbor was not within shouting distance. Now that I'm a mother, I can see how that would totally. rock.

Then I eventually married and ended up in suburb where people had to break some sort of neighborly code in order to look each other in the eye. I believe the local motto was, "You keep to your privacy fence; I'll keep to mine."

Nearly a decade had passed (that's almost ten years, in case you needed help with the math) and we hadn't even met the majority of people who lived up and down the street from our house.

I mean, we're anti-social and everything, but ten years? TEN YEARS?

Hubs and I decided that when we moved to our next home, we'd make it a priority to know our neighbors. Two years later, I feel it's one of the best decisions we've ever made.

I don't know much about socializing, but I do know that relationships are worth the work. Especially when those people are right next door to help in a crisis, loan out some sugar, and have a sprinkler they're willing to share.

Not to mention all the nice things *I* can do for them. (*cough*)

I've assembled a list of ten ways to help break the ice with your neighbors. Some things are ongoing; some are one-time events:

1. Take a walk :: Exercise is good for you, right? So take a break from the gym (*as!* *if!*) and simply step out your front door and walk.
   
   
2. Move it to the front :: Okay, so it feels a bit like living in a "fishbowl" whenever you spend time out in front of your house. But how else are the neighbors going to see that you're normal "safe?" Here are just a few things you can easily do in your front yard as well as the back:
   
   
   • Grill
     
     
   • Play in the sprinkler
     
     
   • Garden
     
     
   • Read
     
     
   • Sit and relax
     
     
3. Clean up the street near your house :: If nothing else, it provides a simple conversation starter with those you see along the way.
   
   
4. Wave when you drive by and see a neighbor outside :: This is a first step for the most introverted of us all. Hey, it counts.
   
   
5. Give away drinks on a hot day :: I recommend carrying a small cooler and letting your neighbors pick out a drink they'd like.
   
   
6. Host an ice cream party :: I mean, who doesn't like free ice cream? Besides lactose-intolerants and those allergic to milk? Truly, this is one of the easiest events to pull off.
   
   
7. Help neighbors move in or move out :: Loading, unloading, providing snacks, hosting a pizza party, asking other neighbors to help...the list goes on.
   
   
8. Work together on a project :: Look and ask around at what other neighbors might need help with. The elderly can often use assistance with yard work or other maintenance tasks. Or maybe there's a person without a job who could use some groceries you've collected from neighbors on your street?
   
   
9. Cook outside and invite others to share :: You're already tormenting the neighbors with the fantastic smell of your dinner--why not let them sample some too? Potlucks are pretty snappy to put together.
   
   
10. Plan an end of school / back to school pizza party :: The beginning or ending of summer is always a reason to celebrate. Get together with other families with kids and make it a party!

I'm hoping these ten ideas spark an idea of ways you can get out and build positive relationships with the people on your street. Or, at the very least, I hope you close out this blog post singing the Mr. Rogers' theme song.

Feel free to chime in with other ways to meet the neighbors besides becoming a peeping tom or eavesdropping while the cops are at their door that have worked for you.

Other tips at the Works For Me carnival hosted weekly by We Are That Family.

Books I'm Hogging From The Library: The June 13, 2009 Edition

When I'm not ignoring my blog, I'm ignoring these books. Maybe you'll see a title you like, read it, and give me a full report. Double-spaced, please.

The Duggars: 20 and Counting: Raising One of America's Largest Families--How hey Do It :: I'm reading this solely for entertainment purposes. Four kids. I'm having four kids, do you hear me? The next child is the FOURTH AND FINAL.

Paula Deen's The Deen Family Cookbook :: Paula Deen is impossible not to like. I never catch her on TV anymore because well, I get a total of four channels. Food Network not being one of them. Anyway, I caught Paula on NPR a couple weeks back,--because in my van I have a very fain-cee thang called a "radio." (A RADIO!) And she was delightful.

KidChat Oh, the Places to Go: 204 Creative Questions to Let the Imagination Travel :: This small little book has conversation starters for kids. I plan to annoy my troops to the 47th degree. At mealtimes, most likely. But I won't hold myself back from using the book at other times, too.

Making Work at Home Work: Successfully Growing a Business and a Family under One Roof :: If I could just fold a basket of laundry within one week of washing it, I'd consider that a success.

Three Little Words: A Memoir :: This adoption story starts off depressing-like, and then makes its way to a happy ending. Woo-hoo.

Geography of the World :: I am vuuuuury slowly putting together a curriculum for next year's schooling with the kids. I've been looking for a good geography reference book for grade schoolers. I have impossibly high standards--the book must cover each country, but with just enough information to be interesting yet not overwhelming. Yeah, GOOD LUCK Book Industry in making me happy. Maybe this one's the one. Any ideas?


So, who's doing a summer reading program? Who's up to a $50 overdue book fine? You too? Good.

Coins In A Bucket

Recognize that bucket?

I paid four bucks for that five-gallon bucket. I couldn't use it for just killing planting a tomato. So, before it became the First And Only Member of my Container Garden of 2009, it got to have a little fun.

Fortunately, my kids got to be a part of the bucket's party as well. Amen and amen, I finally have two kids who are old enough to do something besides run in the street or color on walls. So as part of my Big Honkin' List O' Summer Plans, I decided my boys (ages 7 and 5) were going to learn some new games.

"Coins in a bucket" was the first one I picked from The List. Here's how the game works--and listen closely as it gets a little complicated--you toss "coins..." in a "bucket."

That bucket just happens to be filled with water, and the idea of the game is to toss a quarter in first, and then kids take turns dropping pennies in one at a time. First penny to land on the quarter is the winner.

You need me to explain that again?

"Coins."

In a "bucket."

If it's a hot day, the best part of the game is digging the coins out of the bucket to start the game all over again.

Have any of you played this game or some variation of it?

Garden Of Shame: Part 1

I'm at it again. After last summer's miserable attempt at "gardening," I promised myself I wouldn't put y'all through that summertime journey again.

But then I had three people, all in one week, walk up to me and specifically say, "Lisa, you need to grow something this year."

And by using the term "grow" I quickly surmised that they meant "plant something in your miserable excuse for a yard so we can all watch it die a slow death together."

I live to please.

Next thing I knew, I had one neighbor giving me a pile of "clean dirt" and another one shoving a half-grown plant in my hands.

All I needed was a bucket, I was told. So I went and grabbed the only thing I had--an Ikea trash can--and my friend said, "Ha ha ha ha ha ha what kinda sissy gardener are you?" "You might need something a little bigger than that."

So I went to the Stuff Mart and bought, YES I SAID "BOUGHT," a five-gallon bucket.

Thus shaming my farming heritage forever.

I mean, what kind of person doesn't have eleven or sixteen of those things already hanging around?

So.

I got a tomato plant in my shiny new bucket. Hope you stick around to see if it lives.

(To see what else I've got going on over the next few months, check out my Big Honkin' List O' Summer Plans.)

BLT Chicken Salad

This main-dish salad is a breeze to whip up, and it's great to make in the summer when you can grill the chicken outside. Plus, it's a fun way to eat BLTs without all the mess and without all the carbs.

Enjoy.


BLT Chicken Salad

1/2 cup mayonnaise
4 tablespoons barbecue sauce
2 tablespoons finely chopped onion
1 tablespoon lemon juice
1/4 teaspoon pepper
-----
8 cups torn salad greens
2 large tomatoes, chopped
1 1/2 pounds boneless skinless chicken breasts, cooked and cubed
10 whole bacon strips, cooked and crumbed (or bacon bits, on those lazy days)
2 whole hard-boiled eggs, sliced

In a small bowl, combine the first five ingredients; mix well. Cover and refrigerate until serving. Place salad greens on a large serving platter. Sprinkle with tomatoes, chicken and bacon; garnish with eggs; Drizzle with dressing. 4 main-dish servings.

Recipe source

More recipes over at the Grocery Cart Challenge Recipe Swap and Ann's Food on Fridays.

Big Honkin' List O' Summer Plans

Two days into our summer vacation, and my kids have already mastered the following:

• Slamming the front door
  
  
• Staring into the fridge
  
  
• Sticking to me like glue
  
  

While those are certainly admirable skills, I have much loftier expectations for the summer. Mostly, that my kids stay out of my hair do some learning and growing without me accidentally slipping and calling it "school."

(I have no doubt those who are "fun" or "laid back" tremble when they hear my name.)

So I came up with a big list of things that I want my family to accomplish have fun with this summer. Maybe there's something here that sounds like "fun" for you too, in a "cater to your inner geek" kind of way.

So here's what I plan to get done during June, July and August. Of 2009.


Play ten new outdoor games:

1. Hopscotch
   
   
2. Frisbee golf
   
   
3. Frisbee boink
   
   
4. Water balloon splat
   
   
5. Coins in a bucket
   
   
6. Musical sprinkler
   
   
7. Shark
   
   
8. Cold potato
   
   
9. Water balloon squat
   
   
10. Ice shot game

Enjoy the foods of summer by:

1. Drinking blueberry lemonade
   
   
2. Trying three new ice cream shops
   
   
3. Cooking at least one thing over a fire
   
   
4. Picking berries
   
   
5. Making an entire meal (main ingredients) with items from the farmer's market

Build brain matter by:

1. Attending an outdoor concert
   
   
2. Growing at least one thing in a "garden" (bucket)
   
   
3. Participating in the library's summer reading program
   
   
4. Going on a nature scavenger hunt
   
   
5. Reading one book together as a family
   

Give back to the community by:

1. Hosting an ice cream party for those on my street
   
   
2. Handing out cold drinks to people working outside
   
   
3. Giving out popsicles to the kids at the park
   
   
4. Setting up a lemonade stand and "selling" the drinks for free
   
   
5. Planning a backyard barbecue for the neighbors

You think I can get all that done in three months?

Stick around to see.

For lots more boredom-busting ideas for the summer, head over to We Are That Family!