Sammy's Tale Twister 1: I LUB HER!

During an afternoon ride home from pre-K (5 years ago). Sammy spoke incessantly about a little girl in his class. Upon nearing the house, Sam's Dad said "sounds like you have a little crush and you really like this girl".
Sammy defensively responded "Dad! I...DON'T..LIKE HER! Long pause......but...but... I LUB HER."
Sam's dad laughed and said: "THAT'S OK SAMMY. THAT'S EXACTLY HOW I FEEL ABOUT YOUR MOM!"

RECIPE: GUACAMOLE HEAVEN

Time to prepare: 10min
Servings: 2
Eat immediately or it will brown.

There is nothing better than fresh Guacamole Salad to eat with chips, to spoon over Taco Salad, or served as a side on Mexican Dinner night.
Fast, easy and de-lish-ous!

How to pick an Avocado: I like the smaller Avocados because the inside taste meatier and not so watered down. If you are ready to make this dish today, pick the ones that are dark brownish-black. They should be soft to the touch but not so soft they are mushy inside. If your a couple of 3 days out from making this recipe, pick the Avocados that are brighter green and hard. Allow them to ripen on the counter for 1-2 days and then refrigerate til you are ready but don't keep them longer than a week. They will get mushy fast. $1 a piece is a pretty good price. 2 for a $1 is a bargain ... buy lots if you see this price.


1 Avocado (Halved and insides scooped out and cut into cubes)
1 Tbs cilantro chopped fine
1/3 to 1/2 jalapeno chopped fine
1/3 Concord Brand Guacamole mix pack - Spicy($.99) OPTIONAL
1/3 fresh lime juice
Sea Salt to taste
(optional if you like it chunky) 1 green onion chopped white part only
(optional if it is too spicy) 1 Tbs sour cream
Combine all ingredients and serve with Tostito's Multi grain Tortilla Chips

Gavin's Tale Twister 10: Before I Was Ever Born and Around the World Kisses

Guess How Much I Love You by Sam McBrantney is one of our favorite children's bedtime stories. It is basically 20 pages of conversation between Big Nut Brown Hare and Little Nut Brown Hare about who loves the other more. I Love You to your toes, I Love You as high as I can hop, I Love You as high as that tree and of course we get all the way to I Love you to the moon and back.
How much more love could possibly be expressed in any single sentence?
Well, on one particular day Gavin said to me during an I Love you more competition ...
"Mom, I just love you so much that I MISSED YOU EVEN BEFORE I WAS EVER BORN!". To top things off he finished with "now I am going to give you an AROUND THE WORLD KISS". For those of you who do not know what that is ...it is when you start a kiss on one cheek, proceed up the face with tiny kisses, kiss across the forehead and all the way down the other side of the face, under the the chin which always gets a little giggle and back up to the place from whence the kisses started. Now suddenly that little phrase Guess How Much I Love You? has a whole new meaning. Oh and...GAVIN WINS!

Recipe: Breakfast Rice

Ever wonder what to do with left over Rice? This is a great rice dish for breakfast or brunch. Serves 2

2 Tbs 50/50 blend Olive Oil/Butter
2 Green onions chopped in rounds all of the white part and 1/2 way up the green stem
2 Tbs fresh chopped dill
1/4 tsp paprika
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper
1/4 tsp Salt
1/8 tsp Pepper
2 1/2 cups cooked Rice
3 eggs whipped with 4Tbs milk
4 Tbs grated Jalapeno Jack Cheese

sprigs of fresh dill for garnish
1 Tbs Jalapeno Jack Cheese for dressing

Heat Oil.
Add onions and dill. Saute 2 minutes.
add Paprika, Cayenne, Salt, Pepper and stir.
Fold in rice until coated and rice is sizzling.
Add egg/milk mixture in a well in the center of rice and just fold in to rice mixture.
Grate cheese over rice and eggs and gently fold it into the mixture.
Place 1 sprig of dill in a small bowl sprinkle a little cheese over the dill.Fill the small bowl with the breakfast rice and tamp down. Flip bowl upside down on plate to release the rice in a perfect uniform serving and already garnished. Serve with cut fruit.

This is one of our family favorites.

Gavin's Tale Twister #9: The Ultimate Verbal Abuse for a Six Year Old

If you know Gavin (6 1/2), you know he adores his big brother Sammy(10). But on this one particular day Gavin was truly annoyed. Since he has been banned from using the words idiot and now banned from saying imbecile, he resorted to the following phrase (with a lisp of course): Sam ...you stink cause your armpits are dirty and and you didn't take a bath last night, your feet smell horrible and your breath is disgusting!I'm not playing with you anymore! Sammy's gave him the standard response ... "Well, I don't care!" Ha! At least there are no more I words flying around.

Gavin's Tale Twister #8: I Love You More!

This past weekend Sam (10) had a friend over and like all little brother do, Gavin(6) was wanting to play with the big boys. He pestered them and tried to get in the middle of everything Sam and his friend did. Pretty soon small wood ABC building blocks were flying and then the WWF wrestling match finally broke out. I broke it up and called each of my children individually to thier respective rooms for a talking to. Sam first then Gavin.
This is how Gavin's talking to went:
Bla Bla Bla (That is what he heard I'm sure) because I don't even remember what I said. "Those blocks are made of wood and could really have hurt your brother. Wouldn't you feel bad if something happened to your brother and you were the cause." His only response was " But I missed!" Since there was no remorse, I finished off with a stern "Keep your hands off MY SON in there, if you hurt MY SON I will be very angry with you." Gavin looked at me and said in a calm sweet voice " Mom, did you by any chance say the same thing to Sammy cause I know you don't love him more than me." Hmm... How did he know?

Recipe: The Best Spaghetti Sauce Ever

3 Tbs Olive Oil
1 Large Onion Chopped Fine
1 Green Bell Pepper Chopped Small Pieces
1 Red or Yellow Bell Pepper Chopped Small Pieces
2 Celery Stalks Chopped Small Pieces
1 Tbs Garlic Minced
4 Tbs Tone's Spaghetti Seasoning (Purchased at Sam's and CostCo)
1 Large Can Rotel Original
1 Large Can Tomato Diced
1 Large Can Tomato Sauce
6 Grated Large Carrots (About 4Cups)

Heat Oil
Add Next 5 Ingredients and Saute until tender about 5 minutes.
Add Seasoning and Stir and cook 5 more minutes.
Add the 3 cans of Tomatoes
Simmer for 10 minutes
Add Carrots (serves as a thickener).
Reduce heat to Low and cook for at least 40 minutes up to 2 hours.

Serving suggestions:
Over pasta with meatballs and grated Romano Cheese.
Mix in some Clamato Olives and Serve over Bow Tie Pasta.
Great as a Pizza Sauce.
Calzone or Mozzarella Stick Dipping Sauce.
The kids will never know there are vegetables in there.
Store in Freezer for up to 3 months.