Easter fun

Easter is so early this year that it seems to have snuck up on us!

But we got some egg-dying in last night:



Here's a cute picture of the kids waiting for T. to finish he Gameboy game so they could look for baskets and eggs:
And the baskets--and CANDY!

Second Snowiest Winter on Record

We've officially surpassed almost all other winters in terms of snowfall. The "official" snowfall for Milwaukee this year (recorded at the airport) is 96.9 inches, with 12.9 inches falling on Friday the 21st (yep--C's birthday party).

Luckily we had gotten some bare spots and the roads and sidewalks were bare before this snowfall. We still had banks built up, though. I can't imagine what it would have been like if we'd not had any settling...
We're several miles north of the airport, and closer to the lake and we got at LEAST 14 inches. You can see it piled up on the wishing well below:
But since it was such heavy, wet snow, it was perfect snow for making snow bunnies:
or snowmen in the neighbors' yard:
Temps hit 50 on Saturday and (unfortunately) both the bunny and the snowman lost their heads...

OK, I'm perfectly happy being second snowiest--we can be done now. No, seriously!

C's Birthday Party

Her 13th birthday isn't until next Friday, but with Spring Break, we decided to have C's party this Friday.

She had 12 friends over for a 70's themed party that lasted SIX hours (yikes....).









They painted pet rocks:

People brought 70's music and they danced, played twister, watched The Brady Bunch, and generally hung out and did teenager things. :)

There was pizza--and cake, with singing:



The cake was a layer of chocolate and a layer of yellow cake, with mocha cream filling and buttercream frosting.

That's five boyfriends, if you're keeping track...

I think a good time was had by all--and six hours wasn't "too long" after all!

500th Post

I logged on to try to catch up on my blog and noticed that I was at 499 posts, so for post #500, here's a picture of a real cutie-pie:

Caprese Stuffed Meatballs with Tomato Pesto Sauce

From Rachael Ray:

Caprese-Stuffed Meatballs With Tomato-Pesto Sauce

Ingredients

• 5-6 slices of bread, torn up
• 3/4 cup milk (eyeball it)
• 1 pound ground sirloin
• 1 pound ground veal
• 4 cloves garlic, grated or finely chopped
• A small handful of flat leaf parsley, chopped
• 1/2-3/4 cup grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese
• 1 teaspoon allspice
• 1 egg
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• 4 cherry tomatoes, stems removed
• 4 bocconcini (mini mozzarella balls), look for ones that are about the size of a cherry tomato. If they are bigger, cut them in half.
• 2 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil (EVOO), plus additional for drizzling, divided
• 1 can San Marzano plum tomatoes (28 ounces)
• 1/2 cup homemade or store-bought basil pesto (eyeball it)
• Zest of 1 lemon, if using store-bought pesto
• A loaf of crusty bread

Preparation

Pre-heat the oven to 425ºF.

Place the torn bread in a small bowl with the milk (make sure all the bread is submerged) and reserve.

In a large bowl, combine the ground meats, garlic, parsley, grated Parmigiano Reggiano, allspice, egg, salt and freshly ground black pepper. Squeeze out the excess milk from the soaking bread (it should be loose and in small pieces) and add it to the meat mixture. Mix everything with your hands to combine.

Divide the meatball mixture in half and score each half into eight sections with the back of your hand. Take one of the portions of the meatball mix and slightly flatten it out in your hand. Place a cherry tomato in the center and evenly wrap the meat around the tomato, completely encasing it in the meat. Repeat the process again with another portion of meat and one of the bocconcini balls.

Transfer the stuffed meatballs to a baking sheet, using one half of the baking sheet for the tomato one and the other for the bocconcini one so you can keep track of which is stuffed with what. Repeat the processes until the rest of the tomatoes and bocconcini have all been rolled in a portion of the meatball mixture. Wash your hands after handling the raw meat.

Drizzle the stuffed meatballs with some EVOO, transfer them to the oven and roast for 15-18 minutes, until golden brown and firm to the touch.

While the meatballs are cooking, place a saucepot over medium-high heat with two turns of the pan of EVOO, about 2 tablespoons. Add the canned tomatoes and break them up with a potato masher or the back of a wooden spoon. Add a little salt and pepper, bring up to a bubble and simmer while the meatballs are cooking.

Once the meatballs are ready, remove the sauce from the heat and stir in the pesto. If you are using store-bought pesto, add in the lemon zest. Transfer all of the sauce into a serving dish and nestle all of the meatballs into the sauce, keeping the cherry tomato-stuffed ones on one side and the bocconcini-stuffed ones on the other. Serve with some sliced crusty bread alongside.

My notes:
I stuffed them all with cheese, and kept some separate from the tomato sauce for T. to eat (since he hates red sauce). I also served it with pasta, since the red sauce was soooo yummy! I was very impressed with how the lemon zest really made pre-made pesto and canned tomatoes taste so yummy! Oh, and I used 1/2 lb. gr. pork--not 1 lb. gr. veal!