| Tweet |  Delicious |
Colleen Coble writes romantic suspense with a strong atmospheric element. A lovable animal of some kind--usually a dog--always populates her novels. She can be bribed with DeBrand mocha truffles.
Denise Hunter writes women's fiction and love stories with a strong emotional element. Her husband says he provides her with all her romantic material, but Denise insists a good imagination helps too.
Diann Hunt writes romantic comedy and humorous women's fiction. She has been happily married forever, loves her family, chocolate, her friends, chocolate, her dog, and well, chocolate.
Cheryl Hodde writes romantic medical suspense under the pen name of Hannah Alexander, using all the input she can get from her husband, Mel, for the medical expertise. For fun she hikes and reads. Out of guilt, she rescues discarded cats. She and Mel are presently taking orders from four pampered strays.
26 Comments:
It's funny, but taking a cruise has never interested me. Every day on our way home from school, we can see the big cruise ships in the distance, docked on the Bosphorus. Some are absolutely gi-normous! They don't look like ships, they look like boxy, floating skyscrapers!
Ok, now your question about what to feed kids. I don't know, but some of the recipes you mentioned in BE SWEET sounded good...! :)
I forgot to mention. I've only been on one cruise ship (if you don't count the Doulos): My parents visited us here in Istanbul, flew to Greece, and came back on a cruise ship on their way to the Crimea. We ate dinner with them on the ship. They told us when they would be returning and the exact time they would be coming up the Bosphorus. At the time, we were living in Bebek, five minutes walk from the Bosphorus. We walked to Rumeli Hisar (15 minutes walk farther up the Bosphorus)--one of the narrowest points of the strait, near where the second bridge crosses. With white kitchen towels in hand, we waved the towels at my parents' cruise ship as it passed. My dad and mom "be-o-wheet-ed" (a unique, family whistle we do) and we "be-o-wheet-ed" back. My dad was crying so hard that everyone around him was crying, too. After they could no longer see us on the shore, one of their passengers said (with tears streaming down her face), "God, that's emotional!"
Oh my goodness, Pam, that brought tears to MY eyes! Wow! You should write a book! :-)
Instant coffee...yuck, yuck, you get 'em girl!
Now, the kids. You didn't mention their ages. Something that's pretty easy is baked spaghetti and cheese. Just like mac and cheese except you use spaghetti noodles. Cook the pasta. Drain, put into a baking dish. Add seasoning, a little milk and then some grated cheese. Bake @ 350. Time depends on size of baking dish. (You be the judge.)
Either add a meat to it or on the side with a helping of a veggie. You may want to add a splash or two of Nyquil....depending how far into the week it is! Just kidding. :)
Oh my gosh, that's hilarious, Rhonda!! Thanks for the recipe! I'm going to try that--minus the, um, Nyquil, of course. ;-)
I can't believe that in the land of coffee, you drink INSTANT!!!!!
And with friends like yours, I especially can't believe it. LOL.
I am not a big coffee drinker, but I refuse to drink anything that is instant. I have an expresso/cappuccino machine at home, and while I don't use it that often, mostly when I have visitors, there's no way I'd ever go for instant! Ick! I have been known to serve instant to friends though. However, I do always grind my own beans when making real coffee.
(But between you and me, I'd rather go out and buy a coffee than make it myself, so I'm good friends with the local Gloria Jeans store - can you believe we don't have Starbucks here? I emailed them once and asked if they were moving to Western Australia and they said they had no interest in it whatsoever, apparently Sydney is a more important place or something. Hmph.)
But as far as kiddy cooking goes... hmmm...
I don't have kids, but I babysit a lot, so it really depends on the ages of the kids what you'd feed them. The 10yr old I babysit eats pretty much everything his parents eat - apart from peas, he hates peas. And cabbage (I made him eat it tonight LOL). But he was pleased I served mashed potatoes so I was in the good books in the end.
Having said all that, I have noticed that you Americans eat a LOT differently to us in Australia, so I'm probably not a lot of help anyways.
Well, I must say, you redeemed that coffee with the cocoa and whipped cream. That said, chuck the writing and put your feet up for a few hours. Sounds like you're going to need it :)
As for food, I can't remember their ages but if they're elementary, have plenty of squishy bread for sandwiches and fishy crackers. If they're older, have the grill ready along with dogs and burgers. Have fun!!! And don't forget--cookies!
I'm not even going to mention the coffee.
For food, grilled cheese is easy and popular.
I make mac and cheese sometimes and add a pound of ground beef and an extra splash of milk. Quick and easy.
my kids like breakfast for dinner--bacon or sausage with pancakes
Sorry, I should have told you all that the kids are ages 8, 6 and 10 months. The six year old we'll only have through the weekend.
Bethanie, I'm curious about how Americans eat differently than Australians. How so? More chocolate, maybe? ;-)
I have 3 children 7, 4 and 2, and here are my suggestions (and also mostly our weekly menu... my kids are picky...)
Mac and Cheese
Spaghetti
Hot Dogs
Pizza (we make ours homemade but delivery works too!)
Any kind of chicken
Tacos
Sloppy joes (my kids don't like them but most kids do...)
Corn Dogs
Hamburgers...
I am running out of ideas now...
I agree with keeping LOTS of fishcrackers on hand. Also, what most grandparents feel is their right: Hoard ALOT of cookies ice cream and cake for them, and let them have at it.. oh... maybe 5 hours before the parents come to pick them up... That is what grandparents are there for right??
And I can say this, because I have received my 3 children back from grandparents high on sugar MANY times. It is great fun.... (note sarcasm...)
"But GRANDMA let me have ice cream before dinner!!!!"
"I want my GRANDPA!!!"
"GRANDMA never made me go to bed this early!"
"GRANDPA always let me have as many cookies as I wanted!!!"
See, your name will be infamous, and they won't forget your loving ways... (and you might not have to babysit so much in the future either!)
I'm not a cruise person because I'm a control freak, and I can't control anything on a big boat. I feel trapped. But I did like it with kids and someone else feeding them. That was nice.
Let's see, my kids' favorites are my Nana's spaghetti, French bread with butter and they love turkey or roast chicken if you make it moist. It's easy when you're home to do it though. They also love mashed potatoes. We have a lot of mashed potatoes -- the fattening kind.
Oh Lasagna, they like that. Teriyaki Chicken and rice. They love pizza, but don't be swayed. Kids are monsters on pizza and sugar!
My kids love baked potatoes.
Fish sticks
Chick-fil-A (assuming there's one in your neck of the woods)
Spaghetti
I made a really good, really easy taco soup last night my whole family liked.
Hamburgers on the grill with baked Ore-Ida Fast Food Fries
Frozen chicken strips/nuggets
Grilled cheese
Good ol' stand-by PB&J
Cereal
Pancakes or waffles
Breakfast tacos
Oh and The Preacher's Wife sent out an appeal for recipes that are kid-friendly and baseball-season friendly (i.e., quick and easy) and got over 40 responses! That might give you some ideas recipes!
WOW, you guys rock!! Thank you for all the ideas!! I'll keep you posted on how we do. Linda, I'll check out the Pastor's wife link. Thanks!
Ditto on Kristin's opinion of cruise ships. I've read several books describing boats, ships, and other sailing vessels; but no matter how romantic it sounds, I wouldn't be able to stop hyperventilating. Plus I'd get seasick. ; )
Considering feeding your grandkids, I'd say pizza, hot dogs, and Chinese food. Oh, and anything chocolate, of course.
The movie Iron Man sounds cool. I know my brother wanted to see it, but I wasn't sure if it was good until now. Thanks for the opinion!
I babysit grade-school kids quite a bit. They have fun when I make "octopus" out of a hotdog, and toss that in with the Mac N Cheese. You just cut some hotdogs about 2/3 of the way up, into "legs" and then boil them. The "legs" curl up, and it looks really cute. "My boys" also like Lil' Smokies in their Mac.
Depending on how old they are, have them help make cookies or some craft and take it to an assisted living center.
I agree with the whole "so much water" issue. I am deathly afraid of drowning, even though it is highly unlikely for my landlubber self. Like driving a car... I have to trust the pilot, and I don't know that ship's captain from any Joe on the street. Not happy. But... it is a CRUISE! Seriously, if I could afford to go, I still would.
I'll forgive you the instant coffe, Di, since you added the other goodies to it. :D
We finally joined the homeowners' association in our neighborhood (we were the 2nd people in the neighborhood and before the assoc, so didn't have to join) because of the grands. Now whent hey coem, we hand them the key to the pool gate and have peace for most of the day. :D
Hey, don't look at me that way. They don't live close enough to have bicycles and all that electronic stuff. They live in TX. WHen they come, all they bring is a game boy and an attitude.
A gal's gotta do what a gal's gotta do.
It seems to me, telling a Instant coffee drinker not to drink it, is only counterproductive. It make's Us want it more. LOL!
Diann
We aren't big on mac&cheese, baked beans or hotdogs. We rarely eat turkey (I noticed a lot of americans eat turkey a LOT, in fact, it's quite difficult to buy here actually. We eat more beef (ground, or steaks etc) than we would turkey. And chicken is probably what I eat the most out of all meat.)
I guess from eating in restaurants etc when I was in the states, and also eating camp food when I worked at a summer camp, it's probably not the same as a family eating meals at home, but restaurant food is rather different! We have a lot less chains (which seem to all serve the same food in the USA??) and more independent restaurants I guess so the food choices for me, seem a lot different. I'd
I also have never eaten so much mashed potato in my life as when i was in the States!
That's really interesting, Bethanie! That's too funny about the mashed potatoes!
So do the independent restaurants there all have different menus, or how does that work?
Hey Diann--
you could always take them to Chuck E Cheese!........or not. I seem to remember a conversation about that place, not too long ago! LOL
How about taco pizza? You use a pizza crust mix (I use two pkgs for a regular large cookie sheet). Then cook your groundmeat, add taco seasonings and one small can of tomato sauce. Spread it over the (unbaked) crust. Top with 1 cup of grated cheddar or Mexican cheese and bake at 425 for 15 to 20 minutes. Then, cut into slices. Top with normal taco stuff--diced tomatos or salsa, lettuce, sour cream, extra cheese, whatever each kid likes. Add crushed tortilla chips for crunch. My daughter has friends who request this if they know they're coming for a sleepover!
(I also like to add a can of Mexican chili beans (but I smash them into mush so most kids don't realize they're there) to the meat mixture. My secret ingredient!)
I second the control freak issue and boats. And all that water? Ugh. I'll trade their cruise for a hammock. :)
As for what to feed kids? I suggest you ask them what they like. My kids don't like fish stix, they like grilled salmon. They don't do PB&J but they will do a nice grilled chicken breast, lol. They hate McD's. And they loved broccoli, lots of broccoli. They're weird for kids. I digress....if you ask the grandkids what they want you will save yourself a load of money and wasted groceries.
Have fun!
Hey Diann, Just finished reading For Better or Worse! It was great! I laughed out loud at a couple of parts!
To: All you Mom's out there,
Happy Mother Day!
Diann I dunno, I guess just from like, ho matter where we went, everything on the menu seemed to be burgers or steak. LOL.
I guess also I live in an area where we have a LOT of wineries and cafes, so we have a huge choice, although I tend to enjoy going closer to downtown for good ole italian pasta. But check out www.swanvalley.com.au and have a look at the restaurants and check out websites and menus. :)
That is where I live by the way, on the edge of Western Australia's beautiful Swan Valley.
Post a Comment
<< Home