Mish Mash Momma

Family unfriendly dining at Johnny Rockets

You ever go to a restaurant expecting one thing and instead end up with your eyes bugging out of your head? That's what happened to us with our dining experience yesterday.

Hubs and I took the kids downtown to check out the Cincinnati Reds Opening Day Parade (a Cincinnati tradition!) and decided to have lunch at the Johnny Rockets that just opened next to the ballpark. It started out well enough, as we were able to get seated relatively quickly despite the opening day/lunch time crowds. It went downhill from there, though. First, we got a very limited menu, which I kind of understood considering it was a game day and they need to move people in and out quickly. But then I asked about the kids menu, only to be told the only thing they had for kids was a plain hot dog. Okay. My kids like hot dogs. No biggie.

So, we order. Two hot dogs, two burgers (mine was very simple: lettuce, onion, and pickle), two orders of fries for us to share (because they don't come with the burgers or dogs), and four drinks. - The drinks came before we ordered, actually. I was surprised the girls got a large size, but they were all in take out cups, so I didn't think much about it beyond that. The food came out, but not my burger. Apparently the waiter forgot to put in my order. Then they brought out a burger for me. Except it had cheese on it, and I can't eat cheese. That was quickly fixed, and everything was fine. I really don't get worked up over things like that, so it barely factors into the experience until you put it all together.

Then the bill came. This is the point where my eyes bugged out of my head. How much would one assume two plain hot dogs for kids, two fries, two burgers, and four drinks would cost?

How about $56? Yes, FIFTY SIX DOLLARS! That was before tip.

I hate to cook, so we dine out probably more than we should, but we're very good at keeping our meals between $20 - $30 for our family of four. We knew this would cost more than normal, but WOW! Eyes. Bugging.

Yeah, so it doesn't take much to guess why I find Johnny Rockets to be terribly family unfriendly. Lack of a kids menu is the main reason - though their website claims they have one, but not this location. I can't confirm this personally, but I was told the location across the river in Newport, KY no longer has a kids menu either. Those hot dogs were darn near $7 each. Then the drinks were $3.75 each. That makes one "kids meal" - AKA a hot dog and drink - almost $11. That's $11 per kid. We can go to some of the finest restaurants in town and not pay nearly that much for an actual kids meal, complete with a side and probably a drink too. And sadly, the food isn't even really that spectacular. Or even good, actually. Funny how it seemed so much better nearly nine years ago, when we spent almost every night of our honeymoon cruise at the ship's Johnny Rockets and the food was all free. Free food is always tasty.

So, what is my point here? It's this: If you have a never ending supply of money and enjoy mediocre food, then disregard this entire post. But, if you think spending that much money for a child to eat - or probably not eat - a crappy hot dog, then skip your visit to Johnny Rockets. A trip to Red Robin will yield a much better dining experience for way less money. - And those fries are bottomless!

FIFTY SIX DOLLARS!! Holy crap!

 

*Adapted photo by Loadmaster

For St. Patrick's Day - Green Beer Bread

Despite all of us being (sorta, mostly) half Irish, we generally don't do much for St. Paddy's Day, aside from the wearing of the green (which is more because Z insists upon it). Today, I decided to get creative and make some green beer bread. I had some beer bread mix packets from Wildtree, but alas, no beer. I did have some ginger ale, and that works okay too, though real BEER bread tastes better. - You'd never guess from that statement that I have never had a beer to drink in my life. I can't get past the taste... Unless it's cooked into food. I know, go figure.

Anyhoo, back to the baking of the bread. I used the bread mix, ginger ale, and some green gel food coloring. - I find that the gel coloring makes for a really nice deep color. I just mixed it all together and dumped it into a loaf pan. Easy peasy.

The unbaked batter looked a little, uh, suspicious. 

Then I baked it up and it looked more like food. Green food. But edible at least.

 

 

Once the bread cooled, I sliced it. I was a lovely green inside. The girls weren't sure about it, but they were game a gave it a taste. Then asked for more!

 

 

So there you have it. In honor of St. Paddy's day, green beer bread. I still can't get my husband to eat it though. I'll take it over green ketchup any day.

Changing how you comment... and something about Disney

Lately I've been getting a lot of spammy comments. Some with links and others that just plain ol' don't make sense. First I tried changing the settings so everyone had to fill in that stupid Captcha thing before commenting. It did help some of the weird "BUY SHOES!" comments with million character links, but not the bizarro comments. So, now everyone has to sign in before commenting. I know. It's a pain in the butt. If It does nothing to keep the weirdos at bay, I'll take it back down a notch. I hate having to inconvenience people who are kind enough to leave comments here.

Thanks for understanding, everyone! Please let me know if the new system is a major pain. By, uh, leaving a comment! If it's too much effort, feel free to email me by clicking the "email me" link on the left side of the page.

We're getting set to head off on another trip to Disney World, but I hope to fit one more post in here before we go. (Because I post so much!) We're becoming quite the Disney experts now! If anyone has any questions or anything specific you'd like me to post about, let me know! You know, by commenting. :)

Food Friday - Freezer meals and how I hate to cook

Apologies for slacking on Food Friday. I NEED recipes, people! Click the email link on the left side of the page and send some my way!

Alrighty... So, I'm just going to admit that I really hate to cook. Once in a while I feel domestic enough to whip up an awesome meal, but usually, I'd just rather go out to eat. I am a fan of restaurants for sure. I know that's not always the healthiest thing, and it's certainly not good for the budget, but we do end up eating out more than we dine in. My husband's step mother is convinced I have no idea how to even boil water after he once mentioned that I don't like to cook. Attention: I DO know how to cook! Hubs swears I'm a good cook, even. I'll take his word for it.

One of the reasons I don't care to cook is that it can be time consuming. I've been dealing with the kiddos all day, and I don't particularly care to stand in the kitchen for an hour or more working on dinner. Once upon a time ago, I would sometimes go to one of those meal prep places where you assemble meals into containers or baggies, then take them home to freeze. The only problem is that it tends to be pricey and I had to drive all the way across town to the nearest one.

Lately, I've decided to start tackling freezer meals on my own. I'm still pretty new at it, so I don't know exactly which things freeze well, but I'm learning. Case in point; when I thawed out my Rosemary chicken and Potatoes, only to discover that all the potatoes were black. Yuck.

I don't really set a day to work on my freezer meals. I just get to it when I have a free moment here and there. Usually during the afternoons, while I plop my 3 year old in front of the TV. Sadly, she rarely stays there. Today, I put together some apple and sage pork chops, Lemon Rosemary Chicken, pre-cooked chicken tenders, and some Italian chicken breasts for a Chicken Parmesan Bake I was intending to assemble, until I realized I had no pasta. (Whoops.) A couple weeks ago I made the aforementioned Rosemary Chicken and Potatoes, Garlic Dill New Potatoes, Beef Barbecue, and I browned some ground beef to use on the fly.

Here is what my freezer looks like right now:

 

 

In full disclosure, the bag you see in the front are the Italian chicken breasts I had just made. There shouldn't be moisture in the bag before freezing, but it was still warm. I waited for it to cool down before actually freezing it. Same with the chicken tenders.

 

Here are a few tips I've learned along the way:

• Potatoes turn black when they thaw. With the Garlic Dill New Potatoes, I stuck them right in the oven from the freezer, and they were perfect.

• McCormick's makes these pre-measured recipe cards with all the spices you need for a particular recipe. I really like them.

• Let your stuff cool before freezing. Condensation leads to ice crystals, which leads to freezer burn. Never tasty.
  

• Double bag your stuff, because you don't want it leaking everywhere while it thaws.

 

Any other tips? Since I'm pretty new at this, I certainly do welcome them! Happy freezing!

Giveaway! - Morgie Porgie Ribbon Works belt

Okay, it's still Friday somewhere, but it's time here to declare a winner... Random.org tells me the winner is...

Emily!

Congrats! Look for an email about getting your prize ASAP!

____________________________________________________________

It's nice having crafty friends. One of mine just happens to be amazing with a sewing machine, and she sent me a beautiful child-sized belt from her Etsy shop, Morgie Porgie Ribbon Works. My oldest daughter tried it out, and as you can see from the photos posted below, she knows how to work it! I only have the girl belts pictured here, but the boy ones are really cute too.

I invite everyone to go to Melanie's page and check out all her adorable merchandise, but mostly, take a look at those belts, because one lucky person can win one!! The winner will be able to pick any of the designs on the Etsy site or Facebook page, and Melanie will send it out. The winner will be picked Friday, February 17th. So mark your calendars!

So, here's how it works: Go visit Morgie Porgie Ribbon Works, check out all the cute stuff, and post here what your favorite item is. It's that easy! For an extra entry, share this blog post on Facebook or twitter and post that in the comments too. Technically, Facebook frowns upon liking a page for the purpose of a contest, but it would sure be nice if you liked Morgie Porgie's Facebook page too!

Now check out Zoe modeling her belt! - I have no idea what was up with her hair!

 

 

 

 

 

After you're done looking at Morgie Porgie Ribbon Works, go check out Melanie's other shop, Little Bee Linens. Super cute kid bedding!

 

No poo no more - part 4

I'm done. I'm out. My no poo experiment has ended after a little over three months. It wasn't all bad, but I just couldn't do it anymore. I'm not sure if I just have funky hair chemistry or what, but I just couldn't deal with the smell. I don't think I had stinky hair per se, but... well, yeah, I think I had stinky hair. To me, it always smelled like I went one day too long between washings. And this was the day after washing it the night before. I heat style my hair, and it always smelled like warm funk. Even if I had just washed it. Maybe no one else noticed (I do have a sensitive nose), but I found it bothersome. Most people say their hair smells just fine with no poo, so maybe it's just me. I have been back to poo for about a week, and honestly, I'm not even noticing a difference, except that my hair isn't stinky anymore.

 

I do have some observations to share about going no poo that some people might find helpful:

• I have an occasionally recurring spot of seborrheic dermatitis on the back of my scalp, and going no poo did actually help keep it at bay.
  
  
• Lemon juice really does make a good conditioner, but I found it left my hair feeling waxy. Not what one would expect from lemon juice, but it sure did help my hair hold a style. Also, I'm a brunette, but didn't notice any significant lightening of my hair from the lemon juice, probably because I never left it on very long.
  
  
• Tea tree oil can be helpful for keeping the oil at bay and can help various skin conditions, like dandruff (which oddly enough, I don't have, despite the seborrhea).
  
  
• Apple cider vinegar made my hair smell like a salad. I hated it.
  
  
• If you mix hot water and baking soda in a bottle and shake it up, it will explode when you open it. Use caution.

 

So, there you have it. No poo was not for me. It's not to say that I won't try again at some point, but I really like having clean-feeling, nice-smelling hair right after I wash it. Honestly, add a little patchouli and I was on my way to feeling like a dirty hippie. (Phrase borrowed from a friend of mine.) I have made some changes in how I wash my hair, though. I've switched to sulfate free shampoo and conditioner, which is supposed to be healthier. It does cost more, so that's a downside, but clean smelling hair... Ahhhhh. So worth it.

 

That time I lost my mind and bought a cake pop maker

My 5 year old watches way too much TV, so that means she watches way too many commercials. Besides the Slushy Maker, the second most requested item on her "Mommmm can I have it pleeeeeaseeee?!" list is some sort of cake pop pan. So, while I was out shopping before Christmas I spotted the George Foreman Grill version of a cake pop maker. It's called the Babycakes Cake Pop Maker. I decided next time I got a 30% off coupon from Kohl's I'd pick one up. And so I did.

Zoe and I wasted no time in getting started, so there we were at 9:00 at night delving into the world of cake pop making. It seems like a good idea in principle; mix up the batter, fire up the cake pop maker, squirt in the mix, cook 5 minutes, pop out, decorate. EASY! Nothing is ever easy.

My first sign that this might not go according to plan was when the printed words under the power lights melted off. Seriously. The word "power" (I think that's what it said) liquefied and melted away as it was preheating. The word "ready" under the green ready light is only half melted away. Which is good, because how would I know which light was which? It didn't go unnoticed by me that the cake pop maker on the box doesn't have any words printed under the lights. I guess those melted off too.

Next, I decided to use the handy dandy syringe that came with the cake pop maker. It's supposed to make the little half-dome divots easy to fill. The problem is that the syringe itself is messy to fill, and only holds about 4 cake balls worth of batter. In the time it takes to refill the syringe, your 4 cake balls have already cooked. That was a moot point though, because the plunger in the syringe broke before I ever got around to refilling it. - A plastic baggie with a corner cut off works pretty well and holds all the batter.

Once we got past the melting and breaking, the actual cooking of the cake pops was pretty easy. 12 of them cook up in about 5 minutes and they're not too hard to pop out with the fork-like thingie included. We made chocolate cake balls (not yet cake pops), and they looked pretty good. I did purchase a box of cake pop batter (with glaze) because I'm too lazy to make it from scratch. They are tasty little things. Even if they do look like little turds in this photo.

The stick sticking-in and decorating part wasn't as easy. We did chill the little cake balls for a while to make it easier, but by the time we finished Zoe and I were both covered in chocolate glaze and sprinkles. It was messy to say the least. Not to mention the balls were prone to falling off the stick as we tried to dip it into the glaze. I'm thinking maybe some of those chocolate candy melts might work better. Needless to say, they looked nothing like the picture on the box. I will say that after a night in the refrigerator, they were much more solid, and just as tasty. So, It wasn't so bad after all.

When I say it's like the George Foreman Grill version of a cake pop maker, I'm not kidding. Specifically the George Foreman Grill that's hard to clean. Why is it so hard to make these things with removeable plates? Cleaning was not fun.

I might actually take the cake pop maker out of the box again at some point. Maybe after I have a better plan of action about how to not make a disaster of ourselves or our kitchen. Or if Zoe begs me enough. Or, maybe I'll get a little pie maker. Mmmm. Pie.

 

Beyonce too posh to push?

So, apparently Beyonce and Jay-Z had a baby or something. I don't usually write about entertainers, as I don't care about most of them, but I was struck by a few things regarding baby Bey-Z. Well, actually I think her name is Blue Ivy. - A typical weird name from the entertainment world. Ivy Blue would make more sense for a name. Blue Ivy sounds like a paint color.

Besides the weird-ish name, rumor has it that the Carters (actual last name of Jay-Z. I don't think his first name is even Jay. Go figure.) rented out an entire floor of the hospital for a lot of coin, and in the process of birthing a baby inconvenienced all the normal people who were also birthing babies, or trying to visit the already-birthed babies. People were actually denied access to their OWN babies because Beyonce was giving birth there and security was crazy. The fact that a hospital would even allow such a thing is reprehensible. If celebrities want celebrity treatment while delivering a baby then they can probably afford to go to a fancy birthing center or build one next to their pool.

Lastly, and really my main point, is that when I heard that Beyonce gave birth via a scheduled c-section, I'll admit my first thought was "Too posh to push!" I'm definitely not the only one out there who considered it; just Google "Beyonce c-section." While I don't wish a complicated labor and delivery on anyone, I also hope she wouldn't be so stupid to skip trying for the no-good-reason slice-and-dice method. As someone who's had two c-sections herself, I think that sort of thing is ridiculous from a health standpoint, IF that's what went down. She may have had a legitimate medical need, but c-sections are major surgery, and unless there is a medical reason doctors have no business doing them for the fun of it. - One of our dearest friends died after a common, simple surgery, so I have strong opinions on this sort of thing. But, as Theresa over at Rock On Mommies says,  it's none of your business. And while I do mostly agree, celebrities who rent out entire hospital floors and immediately use their offspring in songs open themselves up to the opinions of the public, and IF a woman thinks she's too posh to push, she deserves the criticism. I'm not saying that's what went down because we have no way of knowing for sure, and unless they decide to share all the gory details, we'll probably never know. Be certain that I'm not leveling any criticism at Beyonce here for having a c-section, only the idea of those who might choose the not-as-easy-as-you-think way out. - Recovery is a bitch, and having a pee bag hanging off you isn't as glamorous as one would think. There are all sorts of legitimate reasons to have a c-section, and there's no shame in doing so when warranted. No matter the reason, I do know one thing though; part of me is not-so-secretly delighted that Beyonce's ab muscles are probably shot to hell now. At least a little bit. Probably more like shot to heck.

Busy busy. Holidays and paint. Super pink paint.

The holidays have been crazy around here! There was some major cleaning going on before we hosted Christmas Eve for my family. - I call it the holiday version of Spring cleaning. Then I decided to take on painting my 5 year old's bedroom. I promised her if she kept it clean for one month then I would repaint it. Apparently she didn't care for the original design, and was especially annoyed that her little sister had a pink room and she didn't. So, she picked out a pink color from Lowes called Strawberry Fields, and after the new year I started painting. It took two days and THREE coats of paint! I even used the stuff with the primer already mixed in.

All that cleaning and painting left me seriously run down, because I've been sick three times in the last two weeks. This last one is a doozy of an upper respiratory virus, so Miss Z's room is still unfinished. It's painted and her new (repurposed) headboard is on the bed, but she still needs things hung on the walls and I have a new bookcase to put together. Eventually it'll happen. Until then, half the contents of her room are in my bedroom. Lots of books and toys to trip over.

 

Here's a photo I took of the room while I was still pregnant. All ready for my  first baby girl. It would never be that clean ever again.

 

Almost six years later, here is the new and almost-improved room. Super pink with purple accents. The headboard was a Craigslist find. It was a putrid shade of light purple with ugly yellow butterflies screwed into the top. I painted it with the extra pink paint from Sabrina's room and found pink crystal drawer pulls from Target to replace the yucky butterflies.

 

We reused the old curtains, and they go great with the pink.

 

Food Friday: Simple and tasty Beef Barbecue (Otherwise known as Sloppy Joes. Only better)

This recipe first originated from my grandma; most likely a clipping from the newspaper or a magazine. Some call it Sloppy Joes, but we've always just called it Beef Barbecue. It's so much better than a can of Sloppy Joe mix off the shelf, and with very few ingredients. I have yet to come across a similar recipe with so few ingredients, yet so much flavor. My husband and everyone who's ever had this say it's delicious. I sure think so, but I might be a bit biased. My Beef Barbecue recipe is great for a gathering or holiday party because it's so super easy to make and can be adapted to feed as many or as few people as you need.

Beef Barbecue
(By Mish Mash Momma)

These ingredients plus ground beef are all you need!

Ingredients:

• 1 lb ground beef (I like ground sirloin)
• 1 green bell pepper, chopped (I use pre-chopped frozen)
• 1 medium onion, chopped  (I use pre-chopped frozen)
• 1 cup ketchup
• 2 tablespoons yellow mustard
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon white vinegar
• Hamburger buns
  

Useful items to have:

• Measuring spoon (Tablespoon)
• Measuring cup
  
• Frying pan
• Saucepan
  

Directions

• Brown ground beef and drain
• Mix Ketchup, mustard, sugar and vinegar with ground beef
• Simmer for 20-30 minutes

 

Serve on hamburger buns. Goes well with cole slaw and french fries.
Optional: Use small buns for appetizer size and keep warm in a crock pot for parties.

This recipe makes about 8-10 Beef Barbecue sandwiches on regular sized buns.