Creamy Mango Sorbet

I got Mike a Fruit-of-the-Month Club gift from Harry and David's for Christmas last year. Last weekend the honey mangoes arrived. I have to admit that both Mike and I are not fond of mangoes. However, making smoothies and sorbets made them palatable for the both of us.

I found the recipe for Creamy Mango Sorbet on allrecipes.com. It's one of my favorite places to go for new recipes. There were a few differences that I made and here's my version:

Mango Sorbet

2 mangoes, ripe and diced
1 c vanilla ice cream
1 c ice cubes
1/4 c sugar

Combine all ingredients in mixer and puree. Freeze in zip lock bag and kneed every 15 minutes. Will be ready to serve in 1 hour.

Since I didn't have any whipping cream on hand, I used vanilla ice cream and reduced the amount of sugar needed. It's best to try your mango to see how sweet or tart it is and you'll have to adjust the sugar you use. I also garnished the sorbet with frozen blueberries. It's what I had on hand and it worked. I think it's a refreshing dessert, especially for these hot summer days we've been experiencing.

Baby's First 4th of July

We finally got around to having a family picture taken. Benjamin wiggles a lot, so it's been difficult to get all three of us looking decent. I really like this one, though. It was fun to get dressed up in 4th of July themed t-shirts.

Well, it was a nice and peaceful Independence Day holiday for us. I know Benjamin is quite young to understand what this holiday means, but we hope to teach him to appreciate his country and the freedom we enjoy. Our family heritage has a diverse culture and that has come from different countries and states. They came looking to provide greater opportunities for their families and we have all been blessed in our own ways because of the sacrifices and hardships they endured.

God bless America!

Bed & Breakfast - Woodland

Mike and I took baby on an overnight trip this week to the Woodland Farmhouse Inn Bed and Breakfast. We wanted to see how well Benjamin handled a trip as well as ourselves. It went very well and gives me confidence in taking a longer trip. However, after a few hours in the car seat, Benjamin likes to stretch out and will make a little fuss. I think it is manageable, though.

The Woodland Farmhouse Inn is where Mike and I stayed for our 1 year anniversary and decided it was a perfect get-a-way for our overnight trip. The drive was a little over an hour, which was far enough to feel like you've escaped city life. We really like the peaceful location and enjoy visiting with the Innkeeper, Miss Sheri. Her visitors are also very fun to chat with during breakfast. And breakfast...I really enjoyed. It's nice to have a homemade meal that you don't have to cook.

Father's Day Feast (Recipes)

Since this was the first Father's Day for Mike, I wanted to make a special meal. We had steak, potatoes and corn on the cob...a man's meal. I price matched the steaks for a great deal on the New York strip steaks that I marinated with a recipe I got from a RS meeting (what seems like ages ago in Midland). Then Mike grilled them...they were one of the most amazing steaks I've ever had at home.

Pepper Garlic Beef Marinade

1/4 c butter
1/3 c lemon juice
1 T sugar
1 tsp dried thyme leaves
3/4 tsp salt
1/4 tsp dried oregano leaves
1/4 tsp pepper
2 T finely chopped onion
1/2 tsp finely chopped garlic
1 tsp hot pepper sauce

Combine all ingredients in sauce pan and bring to a boil. Remove from heat and cool 5 minutes. Stir in meat and marinade 15 minutes. Grill as desired.

As a note, I did not use the hot pepper sauce since I'm breast feeding Benjamin. However, I did use a bit of cayenne pepper for a bit of spice. It is definitely a marinade I will use again.



For dessert I made a frozen strawberry yogurt pie that is supper easy to make. It is two yogurt containers mixed with half a container of whipped topping. Pour into a graham cracker pie shell and freeze. It's a great refreshing dessert for a hot day. Plus, it is inexpensive for the ingredients.



Here is Benjamin wishing his dad a Happy Father's Day!

Little Women

I am so glad that I finally read Little Women. My sister had this book when we were growing up, but at the time I was so young, and over 500 pages was daunting to me at the time. I've seen two different versions of the movie that I thought were decent, but this is definitely one of those books that is better than the movie. I liked the character development and enjoyed how they grew over the years. I also liked all the moral lessons that Mrs. March taught her daughters. I think it would have done me some good if I would have read it when I was younger.