Being from England originally, and mainly growing up in the north and midwest, I didn't know much about barbecue until I went to grad school at South Carolina. There was one famous BBQ place in Williamsburg but as an undergrad I rarely had funds for such luxuries. Once I moved to the "real south", I had to learn about "real BBQ". Luckily I had some good southern friends to explain the difference between Carolina BBQ and the other kinds, and the joy of Maurice's BBQ and the pig park. Once I left Carolina and went back to Virginia, it was back to Memphis BBQ. Now that we are down here, I have decided to try and make my own version of Carolina BBQ. My husband doesn't really like the vinegar, but I like a touch of it. So here's my "semi-homemade" Carolina recipe.
One package of chicken breasts.
One packet of McCormick grill Carolina Country Marinade
One bottle of BBQ sauce - any kind
Make the grill packet as directed (oil and cider vinegar) and put in the crockpot. Add chicken. Add more water or chicken stock if it needs more liquid. I usually cook it about 4 hours on low or until the chicken falls apart.
Take out chicken, drain out liquid. Add about half a botttle of BBQ sauce and let the chicken cook another 30 mins - 1 hour.
All done!
Disney 101
There has been a lot of discussions in our playgroup lately about kid friendly movies. It seems that many of our young ones are finally able to sit through (most) of a movie. And with that comes the need for a little variety, because we can only really watch Cars so many times (unlike our kids, who could watch it 24 hours a day). But even though most kid movies are rated G, there are definitely some that are more toddler friendly than others.
So just in case you don't have time to watch every movie in the Disney catalogue, here's a run down of the most popular ones, and their level of kid-friendliness (if that's a word) and during what parts you might want schedule a "potty/snack" break. Not comprehensive, but hopefully it's a good start!
Cars - Probably one of the least scary. Nothing really to fast forward
Beauty and the Beast - beginning is fine, but probably want to skip the "kill the beast" section. Once they are in the castle, it's fine again until the fight scene at the end
Little Mermaid - Ursula scenes could be a little scary but they are short the rest is fine and there's great music.
Princess and the Frog - shadow scenes can be scary so might want to skip those.
Finding Nemo - beginning is sad - Nemo's mom is killed but it happens quickly and then is over without a lot of discussion. Shark scenes may be scary for some kids
Monsters, Inc - some of the scare scenes in the bedrooms might be scary but there aren't many
Aladdin - Beginning is fine - scenes with Jafar and the Genie can be a little intense (toward the end).
Lion King - hyena scenes might be scary for kids. Scene where Mufasa is killed is pretty depressing. Fight scene at the end between Scar and Simba is also pretty intense.
Wall-E - not too scary, but may not be as kid friendly as the others with the subject matter
Ratatouille - most of the movie is very kid friendly - some kids may not like all the rats in some of the scenes
Toy Story 1 - scenes with Sid are scary for most kids - probably want to skip the scenes in his room and in the yard. rest of the movie is fine for most kids
Toy Story 2 - less scary than the first movie. Not much that would scare kids
Toy Story 3 - sadder and scarier than the other 2. If you haven't seen it, bring tissues! Several scary scenes - monkey scene in the control room, and scenes at the end may be too intense for some kids.
Mary Poppins - classic Disney - nothing too scary.
Snow White - wicked witch can be scary - may want to skip some of those scenes and just watch the dwarf parts
I know there are many more out there, but hopefully this gives you an idea of some more movies to add to your repertoire!
So just in case you don't have time to watch every movie in the Disney catalogue, here's a run down of the most popular ones, and their level of kid-friendliness (if that's a word) and during what parts you might want schedule a "potty/snack" break. Not comprehensive, but hopefully it's a good start!
Cars - Probably one of the least scary. Nothing really to fast forward
Beauty and the Beast - beginning is fine, but probably want to skip the "kill the beast" section. Once they are in the castle, it's fine again until the fight scene at the end
Little Mermaid - Ursula scenes could be a little scary but they are short the rest is fine and there's great music.
Princess and the Frog - shadow scenes can be scary so might want to skip those.
Finding Nemo - beginning is sad - Nemo's mom is killed but it happens quickly and then is over without a lot of discussion. Shark scenes may be scary for some kids
Monsters, Inc - some of the scare scenes in the bedrooms might be scary but there aren't many
Aladdin - Beginning is fine - scenes with Jafar and the Genie can be a little intense (toward the end).
Lion King - hyena scenes might be scary for kids. Scene where Mufasa is killed is pretty depressing. Fight scene at the end between Scar and Simba is also pretty intense.
Wall-E - not too scary, but may not be as kid friendly as the others with the subject matter
Ratatouille - most of the movie is very kid friendly - some kids may not like all the rats in some of the scenes
Toy Story 1 - scenes with Sid are scary for most kids - probably want to skip the scenes in his room and in the yard. rest of the movie is fine for most kids
Toy Story 2 - less scary than the first movie. Not much that would scare kids
Toy Story 3 - sadder and scarier than the other 2. If you haven't seen it, bring tissues! Several scary scenes - monkey scene in the control room, and scenes at the end may be too intense for some kids.
Mary Poppins - classic Disney - nothing too scary.
Snow White - wicked witch can be scary - may want to skip some of those scenes and just watch the dwarf parts
I know there are many more out there, but hopefully this gives you an idea of some more movies to add to your repertoire!
Purim Ponderings
The Jewish holiday of Purim is coming up in a couple weeks, and with that comes the need for hamentashen. For those who have never heard of them, hamentashen are a shortbread/sugar cookie with jam (or chocolate) in the middle folded into a triangle. They represent the hat worn by the villain in the Purim story.
There are many schools of thought on what makes the best hamentashen. Some like them heavy, some want them crispy. Some say that the only proper filling is prunes or poppy jam. Less traditional toppings like apricot jam, raspberry jam, chocolate chips, and even Nutella have started to take over from the traditional fillings. Then there's the options of making them from scratch, from cookie dough, or from a cake mix. I'll probably be opting for scratch, with cookie dough as a back up. I'm an apricot/raspberry jam kind of gal, but will probably do a few chocolate ones too to keep the fans happy.
If you want to give these tasty treats a try, allrecipes has some easy recipes - from scratch and from a cake mix. Give them a try - or stop by and have some of ours - surely we'll have plenty!!
There are many schools of thought on what makes the best hamentashen. Some like them heavy, some want them crispy. Some say that the only proper filling is prunes or poppy jam. Less traditional toppings like apricot jam, raspberry jam, chocolate chips, and even Nutella have started to take over from the traditional fillings. Then there's the options of making them from scratch, from cookie dough, or from a cake mix. I'll probably be opting for scratch, with cookie dough as a back up. I'm an apricot/raspberry jam kind of gal, but will probably do a few chocolate ones too to keep the fans happy.
If you want to give these tasty treats a try, allrecipes has some easy recipes - from scratch and from a cake mix. Give them a try - or stop by and have some of ours - surely we'll have plenty!!
Not quite homemade
I'm a big fan of the blog. Other people constantly amaze me at their ability to whip up an amazing looking cake, ridiculously cute looking craft, or any number of other things. I also love looking at the emails I get every day from various sites with the 20 cutest cupcakes, 15 best kid friendly meals, etc. But unfortunately, I seem to just look at them and never manage to actually make any of them. Who has time for that? And who happens to have all that stuff on hand? Me, I'm the queen of semi-homemade. I love a good banana bread. But be sure it started from a box and was "enhanced". I also aspire to be super crafty, but I'm only so-so with the hot glue gun, which seems to be an essential ingredient to most super cute crafts. I did actually make zucchini bread from scratch this week, but that's a rarity. And it turned out great. So maybe I'll start trying things from scratch...maybe.