Bugle Snack Mix

 

6 C original bugles

5 C nacho bugles

4 C Cheese Its

6 oz. colored goldfish crackers

3 C mini pretzels

2 C Crispix cereal (or corn Chex)

2 C cashews (I substitute more of the other ingredients if there are allergy concerns)

¾ C butter flavored popcorn oil (vegetable oil is a fine substitute)

2 – 1oz. envelopes of Hidden Valley Ranch DRESSING mix (4 Tbsp)


Combine first 7 ingredients in large bowl. Combine oil and ranch powder and mix well. Pour over cracker mixture and toss until evenly covered. Divide among 3 – 10X15 baking sheets.

Bake at 250 for 45 minutes stirring every 15 minutes. Cool in pans over racks.

Egg Bites

I don't have a lot of time in the mornings in my current job and I'm looking to boost my protein intake, so I thought I'd try egg bites that can be batch cooked (and even frozen) then reheated quickly.

Yields about 24 egg bites 

• 12 eggs 
• 1 lb. bulk breakfast sausage, browned and drained 
• 16 oz cottage cheese 
• 5-6 green onions, thinly sliced 
• 1/2 cup finely diced bell pepper 
• Pinch of salt and pepper 
• 1 cup cheddar cheese 

1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grease about 18 cups on a muffin tin. (I use the silicone muffin pan and bake two batches) 
2. Whisk eggs in a large bowl until slightly frothy. Stir in cottage cheese & salt/pepper to taste. 
3. Add cooked sausage, green onions, peppers & the cheddar cheese. Stir well to incorporate. 
4. Pour egg mixture into each muffin tin filling about 3/4 of the way full. Don’t overfill as it will expand a little while baking.  
5. Bake in preheated oven for about 20-25 mins or until fully set.  

To freeze, let them come to room temperature, then chill in fridge. Pack in freezer bags and freeze.

To reheat: microwave for about 30 seconds for every 2 bites.  

Refurbishing Cornhole Boards

Cornhole boards are surprisingly expensive- even used ones, and I've been lurking online for reasonable used ones for a few months. I wanted regulation length of 4 feet. I'd seen a few on FB Marketplace, but if you don't move fast, they're gone. I finally caught a pair on FB Marketplace that were posted only an hour or so earlier. After a drive to Apple Valley and $35 these wood ones with the Apple Valley hockey logo were mine.

On closer inspection, I saw that the surface was really some kind of contact paper. Fortunately, it peeled off in one pull, but the logos still persisted underneath. 

Contact paper peeled off, behind

I gave them a quick sanding for rough spots, then primed them, two coats on the fronts and one on the backs, which were unfinished wood.

After priming

After much thought and rejected design ideas I decided to go with a Swedish flag- the design lends itself to the shape, and the colors are bright. Using the published flag proportions, I did a little basic math then used a measuring tape and straight edge to pencil the outlines. I had more paint mixed that I used on the benches, and applied two coats of each.

Flag dimensions

Taped and ready for paint

One Bowl Brownies

I got this recipe from a colleague, Jodi, back when I was a PT. It's written in her handwriting on an old scrap of paper from the clinic. I've made it a lot over the years- it's a reliable winner.

One Bowl Brownies

• 4 oz unsweetened baking chocolate (I use the Pound Plus chocolate from Trader Joe's)
• 1/2 c butter (1 stick)
• 2 c sugar
• 3 eggs
• 1 tsp vanilla
• 1 c flour

Melt butter and chocolate in a medium saucepot over low heat stirring until combined. Stir in sugar, then eggs (one at a time) and vanilla until combined. Stir in flour. Spread in greased 9x13" pan, bake at 350 for 30-35 min.

Members of the household will say you need to stir in a bunch of stuff- nuts, M&Ms, chocolate chips, etc. Sometimes I just like a straight-up brownie. Some will also grumble if they're not frosted. Sure- frosting is nice, but also not always needed for the great flavor and texture of these brownies.

Mix everything in the same pan you melt the chocolate & butter in

Camping 2025

Another great year of camping, including our first 2-week camping trip. Andy bought a new mattress, custom sized for our camper and sleeping is much more comfortable. 

Whitewater, May

Hiked Sat and Sun to the top of Coyote Point. On Sunday we had to carry Harriet up the stairs all the way up the hill, which put us really out of breath. Dad was excited about the baby ferns. We ate Friday dinner at the St Charles Moose Lodge, and Sat dinner was porkchops in mushroom gravy.

Fort Ridgely, July

Back at one of our favorite nearby parks. This weekend was HOT. We did a couple of hikes (one with Harriet, the next with her chilling in the camper's AC). We were sweating just sitting. We struggled to put up our new-to-us screen tent and eventually learned we were trying to put it up inside out. One of the neighbors at the camp across the road eventually wandered over to see if he could lend aid. It was pretty ridiculous, really, that two pretty high-functioning adults couldn't put up a tent. We cooked pork chops in our sour cherries and baked potatoes in the coals. The air conditioning cycled on and off all night and it sounded like we were in a rocket. Not very restful. We left Sunday at 9 AM. We're discovering that we like camping better in the shoulder seasons- July, not so much.

Enjoying the blooming prairie

Glacier and Banff, Sep

See post here

Minocqua, Sep

We'd been hearing about Beef-a-Rama in Minocqua from Will and Cara and decided to meet there for a weekend together. We stayed at the nearby Indian Mounds State Forrest campground, which was lovely, with a site right on Tomahawk lake. We did the 5K, enjoyed the booths, samples and beef sandwiches, then went back to the campsite Saturday afternoon, where Cara's parents cooked a great meatloaf dinner over the fire. It was a great weekend.

Before the 5K

Even Harriet enjoyed the festival

Glacier & Banff

Lake Moraine, Banff

We've camped many weekends, but never more than 3 nights. Our ambitious plans for this trip involved driving to Glacier, then Banff, then home, over 12 days and a total of 3,532 miles. 

Our planning needed to account for a number of variables:

• Significant competition and timing for booking campsites, especially at Glacier
• Reservations for Going-to-the-Sun road,  Many Glacier, and in Banff Lake Louise and Lake Moraine
• Planning driving routes that would break up long drives with a few fun stops
• Prioritizing sites and hikes, including all the work that went into making sure we could visit Lakes Moraine and Louise in Banff
• Detailed menu planning and packing so we wouldn't run short of food in the parks
• Planning and packing for cold weather (spoiler alert- it wasn't cold. We packed a variety of cold weather clothing and didn't use it)

We intentionally planned the trip for the 2nd-3rd weeks of Sep, reasoning that the parks wouldn't be quite as busy, but still enjoy pleasant weather. We calculated exactly 6 months earlier from our intended dates and we were online at precisely the right time in the morning to book a campsite in Glacier's Apgar campground. There was more camping availability in Banff, so that wasn't such a nail-biter.

Itinerary

Observations

• We loved the historic lodges and hotels. You don't have to spend thousands to stay there- we enjoyed meals at Lake McDonald Lodge, Many Glacier Lodge, Fairmont Banff Springs, Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise
• Tim Horton's donuts are yummy. Poutine not so much
• While going after Labor Day had advantages (reduced crowd size), it also meant we were out-of-season for things we'd hoped to do, like the gondola, hot springs, and heritage park in Calgary
• Gas stations are sparse in these rural areas- we'd fill up when we were at half-tank so we wouldn't risk running out. We went through gas faster than usual towing the camper

  

  Lewis and Clark Interpretive center, Washburn ND

  
  

  

  Fort Union

  

  Breakfast in bed

  

Hidden Lake, Glacier

Avalanche Lake

Andy and the kids sitting on the same rock, 2009!

Kayaking at Many Glacier

Mighty fine donuts

Andy enjoyed this fried dough, town of Banff

Tunnel Mountain campground

Lake Moraine

Lake Agnes Teahouse- worth the hike

Kootenay National Park

Dinosaur Provincial Park

Espresso break

International Peace Park

Cleaning a Burnt-On Le Creuset

We've had this 7 qt Le Creuset pot for many years, and have had occasional stains/burning. This latest episode is another time Andy assumed that the only temperature on the range is high. If he were a cook for the band Spinal Tap he would always go to 11. His habit became even more challenging when we switched to an induction range, which can get exceptionally hot. exceptionally fast.

For previous burns/stains I've muddled through and eventually been able to clean it. Once I even did a bleach solution soak, but that was apparently risky because it's quite harsh. Over the years the finish within the pot has become more matte and porous, so I didn't want to potentially damage it further by using bleach again.

This particular stain has been around for a couple of months, and just wouldn't clean up with use and cleaning. While Andy claimed it lent a certain patina, I got fed up and decided to see what I could do.

Burned stains on bottom of pot

My first step was boiling a couple of inches of water with about 1/4 cup baking soda in it. I used a wooden spoon to scrape the burnt spots as it boiled, then let the water sit in the pot overnight. The burned material is so embedded, this didn't really do much.

After boiling and soaking in a baking soda solution

After the soak I used Barkeeper's Friend. This also didn't do a whole lot.

After Barkeeper's Friend

Now with some research, I was going to try a step I never had. Apparently "yellow cap" oven cleaner (like EZ Off) contains lye, which can treat burnt on areas, like the enameled surface of an oven, without damaging them. I sprayed the bottom of the pot with the cleaner then put the lid on and left it for 12 hours (I did this in the garage but the fumes were still noxious- hold your breath and wear eye protection). Then I washed it and did another round of Barkeeper's Friend. I was pretty happy with these results, and given the relative porosity of the finish, I think this is as good as we're going to get. It will be much more pleasant to use. 

After soak with oven cleaner

I quietly stored the pot away in the cabinet with a post-it note on the bottom for Andy: "You better think about it..."