Cooking Club XI

It was a sad night for cooking club; Brent's final night of joining us. He has a new work schedule that won't allow him any Saturday nights offs. Since it was his last time, he got to choose the menu. The theme? New Orleans style! Unfortunately Jeff & Jenny had some family stuff come up so they weren't able to come, but the 4 of us still got our Mardi Gras on and had a blast. The menu wasn't revealed until we arrived. As Justin and I walked through the door this is what we saw: 15 lbs of live crawfish squirming around in the netted bag. 

We were all going to try and hold one, but I chickened out and just posed next to Cran. Creepy crawly things give me the willies big time. These qualified, plus they kept rearing their claws at us. No thanks. You can call me a wimp.

The first course was a shrimp and corn fritter served with a salsa sauce. There were delish!! We tried not to eat too many to save room for all the crawfish.

Before the crawfish were cooked, we dumped them onto the floor. You are supposed to remove all the dead ones. There were a few that tried to escape.

The guys had a fun time with the boil. I am happy to report that crawfish don't scream.

Main course: 

Crawfish boiled with potatoes, corn, & artichokes

New Orleans Rice & Beans

Rolls

Bibs were even included for everyone and OMG it was so good. I had to admit at first I was a little grossed out by those beady eyes staring at me. But once I cracked my first one and took a bite, I was smitten. They were buttery and melted in your mouth. And no, no one sucked the head. I don't do organs. They were flavorful enough without that. 

Dessert: Paula Dean's Chocolate Lava Cake.

To.Die.For. Even being gluten and dairy free. So easy and so good.

Brent - we will miss you in our upcoming cooking clubs! Great choice for a last meal.

AZ

I've been a little MIA, but I had a good excuse! We were out visiting my parents in AZ at their house. It was Justin & Sienna's first time out there. We had a great long weekend enjoying the warm weather and seeing some family friends. Too many pictures to post them all but here are a few of the highlights.

Sienna picked fresh tangelos off of their tree. They were so juicy and delicious. She loved them as the juice ran down her arm and kept saying, "messy! messy!"

We hit up the Phoenix Zoo. They had a lot of African animals and ones that you can't see at the MN Zoo. My favorite was the giraffes. Sienna and I just made the cut, and were the last people to get to feed them before they took a break. Their long tongues curled around the lettuce in our hands and slurped it back in. It was really cool.

We spent most afternoons outside enjoying the warmth and having happy hours.

Sienna even had a special outdoor chair with her favorite Minnie Mouse on it.

We enjoyed a dinner with Ron & Diana, who live in the same community as my parents. 

We also went to Roger & Sues' house, but unfortunately I didn't get any pictures of that get together. We stayed at their house for a couple hours and then went to Scottsdale for dinner. Since there were so many of us we caravaned to the restaurant. Whenever Sienna is in the car, she always tells the person driving to Go!!  Especially when you get to a red light - she doesn't like to be stopped. Justin was driving, so she kept saying "Go, Daddy. Go!" We told her that we couldn't go any faster because we were following Roger and got her to say "Go, Roger. Go!" instead. She said it the whole car ride there, the whole car ride home, and every time in the car for the rest of the trip. Even now if you say the name Roger, she says, "Go, Roger. Go!" I think that might be stuck in her head. 

We found a fun park right near my parents house, with 2 big play gyms and a splash pad. 

My big girl on the ride home. We were so lucky and no one sat next to us on either flight.

Easter

Our weekend was filled with fun Easter events. Saturday Sienna and I headed to the Eid's house for some Easter egg coloring. This was her first year dying eggs. She didn't really get it, but had a good time stirring the eggs while they were soaking. Since Mom & Ron were in Arizona this year, only Cari, Greg, & Ariana came over for an Easter lunch. The girls did a quick Easter egg hunt outside without getting blown away in the wind. Once again I forgot to take pictures of all the adults, but know that the guys were there too. :)

Early Spring Means...

...our garden is already producing! We had our first few asparagus popping up so we sampled them. Half were super tender and delicious. The other half were woody and stringy. No idea why that was. It didn't seem to matter the size. We'll have to see what the rest of the year brings.

...we got an early start on our deck! Since it's been so warm and the snow is gone, Justin's put in 3 good weekends on our deck. All of the framing is done. He started the stairs this weekend and hopes to have them and the decking done next weekend. Soooooo excited! I can't wait to have this done. And to have my husband back.

View from the patio underneath the sun room.

View from the back yard.

View of the stairs going up.