Last week my friend Holli and I went to a quilting class. It was our first quilting class and we pinky swore before we went that we would behave so we wouldn’t get kicked out of class. Sometimes we can be a bit, how shall I say … rowdy. Anyhow, we went and we were very, very good. Although they did set us up to work by ourselves over in the corner – I don’t know if they were trying to tell us something?

The only real problem was that Holli signed us up for “Beginning Quiliting Three.”  Which begs to reason that there was a Beginning Quilting One and Two. But, she didn’t care about that. She knew she wanted to make the table runner that was advertised in Three and that is what she signed us up to take.

At first we were freaking out a bit when we realized we had NO clue what we were doing, but then I told her “Don’t worry, I’ve got this. I read a blog on quilting once.” and then we laughed and made the best of it. We moved a little slower than some of the other ladies in the class, but the instructor was very kind and helpful and we were able to get through without cutting off our fingers. Later this week we have a date to get together and finish up the work we weren’t able to complete during class. It won’t be perfect, I’m sure, but it will be mine and it will have some pretty amazing memories attached to it when I pull it out each holiday and put it on my table.

I’ve noticed that a lot of folks will freak out a bit when they get in the kitchen because they think they have no clue what they are doing. They might make one small mistake and then their confidence will lag and they’ll start making other mistakes and at the end they’ll throw their hands up and say “I can’t cook! I’ve never been able to cook!”

Here’s what I want each of you to do when you think you’re in over your head. Laugh. Make the best of it and realize that it’s your hot mess and have fun with it. So what if your cake is crooked with pocked icing – how does it taste? Who cares if your chicken is too hard to eat around the edges – just cut that part off. And, if you figure out you’re out of mushrooms at the last minute – add apples instead. I promise you’ll never forget the night you had apple, red onions and bell peppers for dinner. The memory will remain – and make you smile. Besides, maybe you’ll get lucky like I did, and they actually ROCK!

Give these a try. They are totally different, but I really really liked them. Bob thought they were a little weird, but what does he know? I felt like the sweet apple really offset the vegetables in a delicious contrast.

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Tomorrow it will already be October! As much as I miss summer, I am completely ready to do some fun decorating and get ready for the impending holidays.

There are so many fun things you can cook and make this time of the year –  this is just one example. I saw this idea in last month’s All You Magazine and immediately added them to our menu for the week.

This is the ghost of bad mustaches past …

In year’s past I’ve made “snakes” out of our calzones, a “mac -o-latern”  (taco meat eyes, mouth and nose over a pan of macaroni and cheese to look like a jack-o-latern) and candy corn cupcakes.

These weren’t too hard too make, although I had some trouble with crumbling. Probably it would have been easier if I had more time to let them cool.

Use your favorite cornbread recipe like this one or maybe these, if you’re in the mood for spicy ghouls. Bake them in a well oiled square pan and let them cool slightly.

Try to remove the cornbread in one large piece (like you would remove a layered cake from a pan.) You can cut it into two large pieces if it gives you trouble. Use your cookie cutter to carefully cut out the ghouls and put them on your family dinner table. When you see their reactions, you’ll be glad you did!  My oldest literally clapped like an excited two year old! Totally worth the extra time (don’t tell her I told you, o.k.?)Similar Posts:

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In case you were wondering, Angie’s Pangies is not a Mommy Blog. It is true that I am a Mom and it is also true that this is a blog (or at least it plays one on the internet), but other than sharing the occasional story about Katie, Lily and Babs it’s really not intended to be a Mommy Blog. Having said that, please forgive me as I momentarily pretend I am a Mommy Blogger.

I was reading something over on a another blog about parenting and I got a little crabby. This particular flavor of rant was just one of those “How could you even THINK about having children if you don’t do things the way *I* do things.” Maybe I got crabby because I have special needs kids or maybe not, but I left the conversation feeling very defensive.

Sad thing is, as funny as it is to say “Don’t you judge me!” I’ve had my inadequate parenting skills constantly scrutinized. Fact is, and I’ll be the first to admit it, I often really stink at parenting. I started too young. I didn’t really like kids to begin with (hey, just keeping it real here) I absolutely detest playing with dolls and toys and I do LOTS of other stuff WRONG. I let too many things go, I try to be a friend when I need to be a parent, I let my kids deal with natural consequences when I should probably be doling out groundings and penalties and taking away privileges.

Every single time I’ve had to carry a screaming Lily out of the restaurant potato-sack-style while leaving behind a table of uneaten food I’ve felt the knots in my stomach begin. I’ve gotten everything from really incredulous looks to comments like “Give me a week with her and I bet she wouldn’t act that way!” Can I tell you how badly I just want to make it to the car with her so that we can get out of the public spotlight and regroup?

Goodness gracious, don’t even think about it letting it slip to folks how many hours of computer, video games and/or television my kids are allowed to watch. And – do you know what it’s like to have someone cluck their tongue at you at the grocery store when you agree to let your slightly overweight child pick a chocolate bar from the candy shelf at checkout? Yeah. I do.

I try every day to get better at parenting. I want to learn to like to play with my girls. I try to be firm and am learning when I’m being a push over. Ultimately, my girls  know I love them immensely and unconditionally and I tell them so every chance I can.

I’ve written all of this wondering “What is my point? Why am I putting this on my food blog? Why am I boring my readers to tears when all they want to know is how to make real baked beans?”

Here’s the scoop. Why do I love cooking and baking so much? Because I am good with food. Because I totally rock the kitchen scene. I can’t think of one person out there that would disagree with that statement. (I’m quite sure there is someone out there who would, but I don’t know them. Just sayin’.)

And, that is what I want to tell all of you. It is never too late to become what you might have been. I want to be a great parent and I’m going to keep working at that. If you want to be a great cook or writer or even a dog groomer – I want you to keep working at that. Leave the haters behind, because it can happen. I have faith in you.
xo,

AP

Oh, and also, here’s how to make those baked beans. I like mine just the way they are, but my family likes to squirt ketchup all over the top. Either way, they are delicious and [bonus!] not only do they taste better, but they are way cheaper to make than the canned variety.

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Recently my family and I went to Disney World. Our family hadn’t been in a little over ten years and Babs, the youngest of our girls, had never been.

The last time we went it was a spur of the moment thing – Bob had put $99 airline tickets in at Priceline, as a joke, and [Oh CRAP! No Way!?!] they went through.  We threw our clothes in the suitcase and off we went. It was JUNE and I was HOT and I don’t like to be HOT and I made sure everyone knew I was HOT. But, still, we couldn’t wait to go back.

This trip was a lot different. We had been planning it for over a year. We went in April, so it wouldn’t be so HOT. I made each of the girls customized little autograph books for all the Disney characters to sign. I purchased gifts for the girls to receive from Mickey while we were there and had a special vacation journal to make notes in while were there. I made “travel bags” for the girls to keep them occupied, had “touring plans” printed out and even had a nifty little app installed on my phone that told me what the wait times were for all the rides in the parks. I know, I know, I’m a little bit of a control freak at times. What can I say?

The kids had a BLAST. Bob and I enjoyed ourselves, too. A lot.

I cried the day we left (it was 82/sunny there and 29/snowing at home- for serious) and we were already planning our return trip on the way home. We made so many happy family memories during that week and half – it was truly amazing.

That’s not to say there weren’t some mishaps. Well, actually, kind of a lot of mishaps.

Our truck broke down and needed a very expensive repair at the dealership while in Orlando.

It wasn’t HOT, but it was WET.

Babs stepped on her laptop and squished the screen into a million pieces.

It rained and rained and rained.

Bob lost his credit card.

We had to stay in a very, ahem, scary motel on the way home because everything was booked.

And, don’t forget how much it rained! I was WET and I don’t like to be WET and I made sure everyone knew I was WET.  No one really cared that I was WET, because they were all WET too. Holy canoes, people of central Florida!  Invest in a gigantic umbrella for your city, would you?

Even with all that we still can’t wait to go back.

One of the best parts of the trip were the eats! I think I ate my weight in food during the trip. I totally would have gained 10 pounds if it weren’t for the fact that I walked 8-10 hours a day most of the trip. Anyhow, the food was … well, unbelievable. I really expected it would be like all the theme park food in the rest of the world – boring fast food on a stick that’s overpriced and has about a 50-50 chance of giving you botulism. Not so at Disney. (By the way, we also visited Universal Studios and I can tell you, the food there was like all the other theme park food in the rest of the world. Except for the Butterbeer. But that’s a story for another day.)

While we were at Epcot we had lunch at The Biergarten and for the first time Bob was exposed to the wonderful deliciousness that is German Potato Salad. This isn’t Grandma Bryant’s mustard-miracle whip-white sugar-dill pickle relish potato salad recipe. This actually doesn’t have any salad dressing or mayonnaise whatsoever. Every so often, in the days after our trip, Bob would say (usually while drinking a beer) “Oh, and remember, the potato salad? Oh! The potato salad!! Angie Pangie, I think that was the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my whole entire life.”

To be honest, Bob says “This is the best thing I’ve ever eaten in my whole entire life” quite often. He likes to eat as much as I do. The only difference is he loves potatoes the most and I love cookies the most.  So, anyhow, being that it was the best thing Bob had ever eaten in his whole entire life I figured I better add it to my repertoire. And now you get to add it to yours. This should hold you over until you can go down and visit The Biergarten and try it yourself. I highly recommend you do so (and be sure and take an umbrella, for real.)

Kartoffelsalat – German Potato Salad

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This is an Amish Candy Onion.

Now, I do not know how they know it is Amish. It could be a Baptist onion or a Pentecostal onion. I mean, it’s not like they can ask the onion about it’s religious preferences.

“Ms. Onion, may I call you Candy?”

“. . .”

“Alright, well, Candy, is there anyway that we can help support you in your religious beliefs before we turn you into a sweet onion tart?”

“. . .”

Candy doesn’t have much to say. She’s the quiet type as it turns out. But, what she lacks in conversational skills, she more than makes up for with flavor.

This girl is packed with absolute deliciousness. Delectable-ness.

Amish Candy Delectable-ness.

I’ve used Candy’s relatives in lots of goodies. Onion Rings. Pulled BBQ Chicken. Fish en Papillote.

I knew that she’d be perfect when I decided to make this tart. The magazine I pulled the idea from used pizza dough and called it onion bread. I used crescent rolls and called it a tart. Not because she’s … you know … a tart (she’s Amish for goodness sake!), but because tarts are associated with sweet stuff and Ms. Candy Onion is most certainly sweet.

This recipe will make you look like you’re a rock star – it’s absolutely gorgeous when done. This is a simple, fast and excellent side dish to serve with soup and salad. We had ours with a stir fry proving that Angie Pangie never plays by the rules it honestly doesn’t matter how or what you serve it with. Just serve it. Today. Soon.

Pull out your trusty 10″ Iron Skillet. If you do not have an iron skillet go directly to the store and buy one use another oven proof pan until you can get an iron skillet. I’m going to be using the iron skillet a lot over the next few weeks, so you really do need one. Really. Every kitchen needs one. They are fairly affordable and you can often find them dirt cheap at second hand stores. Just make sure it’s not rusty, because that would be gross.

Anyhow, pull out your oven proof skillet. If your pan likes to stick you can lightly oil or spray the bottom.

Place a roll of crescent roll dough in the bottom of the pan. It only needs to go up about an inch to maybe a half inch. You can tear pieces off here and there and patch it together to get it in the right shape. Set the dough aside.

Slice your sweet onion into rings. I used my handy-dandy mandoline to quickly slice it into evenly sized pieces, which will help it cook evenly.

If you do not have an Amish Candy Onion, do not despair. You can use any sweet onion you are able to find at your market. If you cannot find a sweet onion of any sort (that’s just a darn-dirty shame, by the way) then you can just add a little more sugar to the onion and it will give very similar results.

Add two tablespoons of butter and 1 tablespoon of olive oil to a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and a teaspoon of brown sugar to the pan. Cook until it is soft and caramel colored. Dish the onions over the crust, sprinkle with a smidge of salt and lightly with Parmesan cheese. Bake the tart at 375 for about 15 minutes.

Remove from the oven and cut into wedges for serving. Serve warm. We also ate our leftovers cold the next day for lunch – which was almost as good.

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