Supper Time! (also known as The Disaster In My Kitchen Tonight)

Okay, this isn't the disaster, but don't they look YUMMY???

Tony and Clinton are playing "special music" in church Sunday...Tony on his banjo, Clinton on his guitar and Indian flute. Well, they thought it wise to practice, so we had Clinton over for supper tonight. Sus and Luke were so excited that Clinton and Steven were coming over to play...but wait a minute! I didn't invite Steven! Oops...no problems, why not? So we called back, invited Steven, and had great anticipation all day.

Steven (sorry about the red-eyes)

(Clinton...yes, his hair really does look like that!)

Tony also wanted to try some of the steaks from the latest butchering, so I thawed out two T-bones and four rib-eyes. I also decided to try some new recipes from another GREAT site I found (actually, it's part of another site which has a bunch of different subsites on it and I'm loving them all! I've been trying to read some of the archives whenever I get a chance, and find myself laughing hysterically at just about everything written) -- check it out at http://www.thepioneerwoman.com/ -- a full list of her recipes can be found at http://thepioneerwoman.com/cooking/category/all-pw-recipes/ and since I'm not typing or linking any specific recipes tonight (for the simple reason that DIAL UP TAKES TO LONG TO DO THAT!!!), do check it out. I love that she does step by step instructions with pictures of everything...and then some.

my banjo player.....

Anyway! Two hungry guys plus my hungry bunch...perfect targets, I mean, victims, I mean what a great opportunity to try new recipes! So I marinated the steaks in a couple dashes of basalmic vinegar, a couple tablespoons of Watkins original grapeseed oil, and a couple tablespoons of Watkins Meat Magic while the kids and I got to work. I wish I'd taken pictures of them "helping" out! But I got pics of the food!

(ummm...don't they look great! And hormone-free!)

Perfection!

I made up a batch of my sister-in-law Julia's french bread recipe so it could raise and I could use it for the Buttery Thyme Bread.

And while that was raising, the kids and I went to work on Dump Cake, a Potlucker's Paradise. Well, the kids made that one. I just opened things for them (no WAY am I showing them how to use a can opener!). And they did a great job!

(we used a strawberry cake mix instead of white or yellow...it was delicious!)

Then it was on to baking that and the bread while making Watkins Mushroom Soup to use in my green bean casserole (not on her website, but it's just the Mushroom soup sauce recipe with green beans...preferably Carter's own...topped with French's Fried onions. Lots of them!).

Meanwhile, I scrubbed ALOT of "b" potatoes (baby reds) and the kids very carefully put them in the almost-boiling water so we could make Crashed Hot Potatoes. I wish I'd videotaped Sus helping with this. She didn't like the "smoke" from the water and kept trying to push it away!)

(foggy pic from boiling water!)

(crashed potatoes before seasoning)
(crashed potatoes after seasoning)

finished product!

The bread was done; I took it out of the oven and put in the green bean casserole. Let the bread cool then cut it in half to put on the butter and put it back in the oven for the butter to melt (after the cake was done).

Let me just insert right here that Ree SHOULD have suggested using a tray with side while putting the bread with butter back in the oven. See, a tray with sides would prevent melting butter from dripping into the oven possibly preventing what might be a FIRE in the oven when the heat is increased to bake the crashed hot potatoes! Of course, that is ONLY a suggestion, but one I highly recommend if you don't want your house filling with smoke and having two smoke alarms screaming continuously (which actually was a good thing since we never remember to test them and I have no idea if we've ever changed the batteries since Tony installed them almost six years ago...of course, my man always double checks things like that so he probably has been maintaining them while I've been oblivious).

Anyway, supper was great. And 30-some potatoes, no matter how small they are, are really way too many for even a very hungry 20-year-old and an almost teen boy along with my hungry bunch. But everything was a hit!

You can't even tell where she chopped her hair!

Did you know a nickel is worth five pennies? Guess who learned that today!

Doesn't he look scary? Although all thru supper Sus kept leaning on him saying "Clinton, I love you SO MUCH!"