Adventure Aquarium

Well, yesterday we got an early start. Up, dressed, and out the door. Our first stop, Dunkin Donuts, cuz Momma aint happy without her coffee...Coffee for me and Norm, OJ for the kids....and Donuts all around! That was a nice treat. Then we all pile back into the car and drive off on our adventure. Into Bordentown City to catch the River Line train to Camden. Not bad, $2.70 and we are off.... kids ride free on the weekends with a paying adult!!

So the ride up, the train was pretty empty, people get on, people get off. A girl is singing along to a song that no one else can hear, since she is listening to an Ipod.... My son Matty thinks this is strange, stranger still is when a lil man starts rambling on in Very Fast Spanish, and my son is looking around all bewildered! Ahh we arrive at the Aquarium. Luckily we bought our Membership on line, so we only had to go to the Will Call window and pick it up. It saved us from what we later found out was a 30 minute wait in line, dealing with some cold wind!

First we are off to see the Hippos...... Ahh my butt doesn't feel so large today! Finally we see them OUT OF the water! That was nice.... they have built a new look out area, so we could see them better! We even got to watch 2 birds build a nest! Off to see the sharks! I swear my husband could stand in the Shark Tube for hours just watching them swim overhead! Gift shop, Pirate hat for my lil Pirate, CHECK.....Necklace for our lil Diva, CHECK..... Fossil digging kit for my future scientist, CHECK! And we are off.... Jellyfish, Starfish, Sting Rays, Eel, Sharks, Ducks, Turtles,........OH MY! AND.... even a 4D Sponge bob show! WOW what a day! NOW it's lunch time..... oh man to find a seat in the cafeteria....but we did YAYY, everyone ate, as we are finishing up we find a mom with a stroller aimlessly wondering around for a table...Norm gets up to go get her and tell her to take ours! Yayyy a good deed for the Day. Back off to see Hippos(again) Sharks (again) quick run through the gift shop..... go dig our coats out of the rented Locker.... ousted PENGUINS & Seals! What a day! Then we took a nice lil walk along the River.... across the river we could see what looked like an Old Pirate ship with no sales, Matty thought that was AWESOME! around the building to see a Battleship in the water, and to the arena parking lot to get on the train! Ahhhh on our way home.... the end to a great day out!!

Hungarian Ghoulash Casserole

lb. ground pork ( i am using ground beef)

1/4 tsp salt

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/4 tsp pepper

1 tablespoon veg. oil

1 cup sour cream (divided)

1 tablespoon cornstarch

1 can (10 1/2 oz) cream of celery soup (undiluted)

1 cup milk

1 teaspoon paprika

1 package (12 ounces) egg noodles cooked & drained

1. Preheat oven to 325 degrees. Spray 3 qt casserole dish with nonstick cooking spray. 2. combine meat, salt, nutmeg + pepper. 3. Shape into 1 inch balls. 4.Heat oil in larege skillet over med-high heat. Add meatballs; cook 10 minutes or until browned on all sides , and no longer pink in the center. 5.Remove meatballs from skillet; discard drippings. 6. Stir together 1/4 cup sour cream + cornstarch in small bowl. Spoon into same skillet. 7.Add remaining 3/4 cps sour cream, soup, milk & paprika. Stir until smooth! 8. spread noodles in prepared casserole dish. arrange meatballs over noodles, and cover with sauce. bake 20 minutes or until hot.

Swedish Meatballs

Well for tonights dinner, I served Swedish Meatballs. My husband was leary of meatballs NOT serve on a torpedo roll, with red sauce. But he enjoyed these, so did Jr, who HATES meat. So here is the recipe I used. Believe it or not, I actually followed the recipe.




1 1/2 Cups fresh bread crumbs

1 cup heavy cream

2 tablespoons butter (divided)

1 small onion, chopped

1 pound ground beef

1/2 pound ground pork

3 tablespoons fresh parsley, divided

1 1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon allspice

1/4 teaspoon black pepper

1 cup beef broth

1 cup sour cream

1 tablespoon all purpose flour

1 Combine bread crumbs and heavy cream in a small bowl, mix well. Let stand 10 minutes.

2. Melt 1 tablespoon butter in large skillet over medium heat. Add onion; cook and stir 5 minutes or until onion is tender.

3. Combine beef, pork, bread crumb mixture, onion, 2 tablespoons parsley, salt, all spice, and pepper in large bowl; mix well. Cover; refrigerate 1 hour.

4. make about 36 (small) meatballs. Melt remaining tablespoon of butter in the same skillet over medium heat. Add meatballs. Cook 10 minutes or until browned on all sides and no longer pink in the center. Remove meatballs; drain on paper towels.

5. Drain fat from skillet, but DO NOT wash. Pour broth into skillet, Heat over medium-high heat, stirring frequently and scrappin gup any browned bits. Reduce heat to low.

6. Combine sour cream and flour in small bowl; mix well. Stir sour cream mixture into skillet;cook 5 minutes, stirring constantly. Do Not boil. Add meatballs; cook 5 more minutes. Sprinkle with remaining parsley.

A LIttle Jewelry Making!

As you can see, I spent part of the Holiday break making some new jewelry Pieces.

Remember all my designs are available at www.meliascreations.etsy.com

Chicken Tetrazzini

8 ounces Vermicelli, broken in half

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) cream of mushroom soup;undiluted

1/4 cup half & half

3 tablespoons Dry Sherry (i left this out)

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes

2 cups chopped cooked chicken breast (about 3/4 pound)

1 cup frozen peas (I USED CANNED)

1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese1 cup fresh coarse bread crumbs ( i used canned)

2 tablespoons butter;melted

1. Preheat oven to 375 degrees F. Spray 8inch square baking dish with non stick coking spray; set aside.

2. Cook Pasta according to package directions. Drain and set aside.

3. Meanwhile combine soup, half and half, sherry, salt, and red pepper flakes in large bowl. Stir in chicken, peas, & cheese. Add pasta; stir until pasta is well coated. Pour into prepared baking dish.

4. Combine Bread Crumbs and butter in a bowl. Sprinkle over casserole; Bake uncovered 25-30 minutes or until heated through and bread crumbs are golden brown.

Beef Stroganoff

8 ounces uncooked egg noodles

1/4 up flour

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1 1/4 pounds beef tenderloin steaks, or tips, (even stew meat or ground beef works)

4 tablespoons butter , divided

3/4 cup chopped onion

12 ounces sliced mushrooms ( i leave these out)

1 can (10 1/2 ounces) condensed beef broth

2 tablespoons tomato paste

1 tablespoon Worcestershire sauce

1 cupo sour cream (room Temperature)

fresh chives (optional)



1. cook noodles according to package directions, drain and keep arm.

2. Combine flour, salt pepper in a large resalable food storage bag.cut steaks into 1 1/2 inch 1/2 inch strips; add half the beef to flour mixture. Seal bag; shake to coat well, repeat with remaining meat. Discard flour mix.

3. Melt one tablespoon butter in large nonstick skillet over med-high heat. Add half the meat, stir and cook until brown on all sides, transfer to bowl, repeat with 1 tablespoon butter and remaining meat. transfer to same bowl and set aside.

4. Melt remaining 2 tablespoons butter in same skillet over med-high heat. Add onion, cook 5 mins, stirring occasionally. Add mushrooms; cook and stir 5 mins or until tender.

5. Stir in broth, tomato paste, & Worcestershire sauce ; bring to a boil, scrapping up any browned bits.

6. Return beef and any accumulated juice to the skilet; cook about 5 mins or until heated through and sauce thickens. Stir in sour cream; heat through. DO NOT BOIL.7. SERVE BEEF MIXTURE OVER NOODLES. Garnish with chives.

Beer Battered Fish

OK, beer batter, may sound intimidating, but it's SIMPLE. 2 1/2 cups beer & 2 cups flour. Mix it, set it aside for a couple hours. I also added some seasoning to mine; salt, pepper, & cajun seasoning. I used Tilapia; took the fillets, cut them in half..... dipped em in the batter, then into the hot pot of oil..... It was Delisious.I also made home made fries... they were YUMMY! sliced up the potaotes using my Vidalia Slice Wizard... put them in a bowl sprinkled a little cornstarch, salt, pepper, & cajun sesoning. I let that sit for about 30 minutes. Then into a sperat pot of hot oil. OK, so not a figure friendly meal, but it was delicious, and HOME MADE...so ya know exactly what's goin in there!