Memorial BBQ

This family uses any excuse possible to get together and tank eat. I mean, thank goodness for holidays. Without them we would have to get together just for the heck of it...which we also do on a regular basis. But anyway, at least on holidays we can pig out with just a little bit less guilt.

This memorial day we decided to get together at my house and have a BBQ. For the menu we decided to do the classic burgs and weenys-with relish (the rebel in me cannot resist quoting Rizzo when the opportunity presents itself), some fresh fruit and the dreamiest fruit dip, honey glazed shrimp, stuffed shrooms, chips, and the best, I mean the BEST... homemade ice cream for dessert.

Now when this family gets together things tend to get a bit wild(she's wild)! So the husbands tend to do their part by being completely useless and ignoring everything going on. They actually have learned they are better off to just stay out of the way or they could get trampled by the stampede when the mushrooms come out of the oven. It's like that bull rush thing in France you see on TV. And I'm not kidding. If you don't get your hands on a shroom asap you plain and simply wont even get a smidgen of a bite, and then we will hear complaining for the rest of the day that we should have bought more mushrooms. Shoot I'm rambling. My point was... it's just better for everyone if the men play X-box while we get the goodens ready. See for yo-self.

I'm not sure what Collin is doing here, and don't mind Mindy behind the couch...she was taking care of the nappiest diaper I have ever had to sniffer. Oh wait, that was me.

Mindy is cooking the onions for the stuffed mushrooms.

This is Kim trying to get the ice cream and all that junkets ready.

Min making up the dreamy fruit dip. I call it heaven on a spoon.

My mom doing the dishes. Have I ever mentioned my mom and her love for doing the dishes? We sisters all love when she comes to our houses because she ALWAYS does the dishes. I'm talking like a million times a day does the dishes. If there is even just one dish in the sink she will wash it. You should borrow her sometime, she is super fab and handy dandy to have around!

Oh I can't foget to mention this uber cool mushroom.I bet you've never seen this before, because we hadn't. It was like a siamese twin of mushrooms which means only one thing...double the delishco mushroom goodness! We actully fought about who got to eat it (yes we are still 5 sometimes), and I don't even know who ended up with it, but it wasn't me:(

You cannot have a burger without avie! It's one of those little things that make life worth it!

This would be my hubs Grant trying to be funny. He thinks its just hilarious to try and thwart the amazing pictures I take.

Min glazing the shrimp skewers.

Ya gotta love a good cheeseburger! Oh and notice my awesome retro backsplash,

just pretend like its the 60's and you will think I am the bomb.com!

Macie and Brynlie eating who knows what at this point.

Anyway, we had a lot of fun stuffing our faces hanging out and letting the kids play. Watch for the homemade ice cream and the fruit dip recipes coming soon!

Tell us about your Memorial Day!

Delicious Homemade Cheesecake

(image found here)

One day my I owed my friend Marnie a HUGE favor--when don't I?! If you know either of us, you know she is ALWAYS doing something nice for me and I am ALWAYS in debt to her! Her payment? Cheesecake, homemade cheesecake was her demand. Demand? Yes! I went in search of the perfect, most divine cheesecake recipe I could find, so I went to my "Betty Crocker" of a sister and she hit the nail on the head! One bite and we were all smitten with this creamy, delicious concoction! So it's not low on calories, it is so good you won't even care!

Crust:
2 1/2 C. graham cracker crumbs (20ish rectangles)
1/3 C. sugar
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 C. butter (melted)

**Stir together dry ingredients. Add melted butter and press into the bottom of a spring form pan and 2 inches up the side. Bake at 350 for 5 minutes. Remove from oven and reduce heat to 325.

Filling:
3 8 oz pkg. Cream Cheese--softened (1/3 less fat works too!)
1 1/2 C. sugar
1 tsp. vanilla
4 eggs (separated)

**Beat cream cheese, sugar, and vanilla until smooth. Add egg yolks and beat on low. In separate bowl beat egg whites until soft peaks, fold into cream cheese mixture. Pour into crust.
Bake 1 hour or until knife comes out clean in the center. Cool 10 minutes, run knife around the edge and cool 1 hour longer.

Topping:
1/2 C. whipping cream--whip
Then add:
1/2 C. sour cream
2 T. sugar
1/2 tsp. vanilla

**Spoon over each slice and top with berries!

Giveaway Winners!!

Thanks to everyone who entered! We seriously wish we could give all of you a prize for following us and reading our blog. So THANK YOU!

We used Random.org to choose our winners.

Okay, ladies. Send us your address at: howetocook@gmail.com and we'll get your gift cards in the mail!!

Congratulations!

Thanks again to EVERYONE who entered, and thanks for spreading the word about Howe to Cook! We are planning another giveaway for when we get to 200 followers, so keep it up!

so here's the dealio...

so the gals and i have been talking. gals meaning me and the seestas. tonight we were on the phone (can and i), and grant (her hubs) was being a major distraction and requesting otis spunkmeyer cookies. got that? we admit it...we don't always bake butterscotch chocolate chunk cookies or cadburry mini egg cookies. sometimes you just gotta buy a 74 lb. box of otis at costco and bake to your heart's content. anyway, as grant was making his request, can told him that she couldn't chat because she was in a meeting. a blog meeting. it was hilarious. maybe you had to be there. but the point is that this blog here is our little friend. you might just think it's another child or two. we have been working on it and trying to get some things organized. have you noticed? we hope so.

anyway, as we were chatting, i was realizing that you guys might not really even know who writes this blog. sure, maybe you've read our "who we are" section, or maybe you actually know us personally, but i don't know how many of you really know us. and by that i mean the real us. so today, i'm posting a little bit about the real me.

first thing's first--i don't like to use capitalization when i blog. this is slightly ironic because i am a junior high english teacher. i nag my students all day long to use capitalization, and then i come home and throw the rule out the window. on my personal blog, i never capitalize. on this one, i usually do. trying to be all profesh and whatnot. and also, because the other girls might think i'm being sloppy mcslopster, but tonight i'm saying oh well. it is 11:39, and my bedtime is 10:30, so i figure if i'm breaking one rule, i might as well break them all. aren't i wild? ha.

so the real me...gosh. who is that? first of all, it's the girl who usually cooks in her sweats. exhibit a:

you can be just as classy for about $8.99 at your local hell-mart. let it be known that i hate, i hate, i hate wal-mart. but i will save that post for another day.

i am also the girl who lets her child lick the batter off the beater. say that 3 times fast. he loves it. just like his momma.

i am also the girl who, apparently, gets ultra classy with the bibs and uses dishtowels instead. don't judge. if nothing else, you should be proud because the bibs are obviously in the washer and i went the extra mile to protect his clothes. 2 mom points for me.

i am the girl who used to have an awesome avocado green stove. and then we moved. dangit! you just can't find those gems anywhere, people!

 

bam! you just can't buy that kind of class.

i am also the girl who doesn't know how to pull a normal fact in a picture. observe:

 

i know. i'm a hot mess.

anyway, i had planned to write more, but my laptop decided it was time to die, and i am much too lazy to go find the computer cord and plug it in. so the end.

so, tell us something about the real you!

oh. and don't forget to enter our giveaway here. tomorrow (technically today since it's 12:09. holy crap i haven't been up this late in ages) is the last day to enter!