Grandma’s Excellent Weekday Adventures

So far this grandma has had a busy, fun week….in the last 48 hours I have traveled to the rainforest, became a doctor and the bed in the spare room magically transformed into a pirate ship that went sailing into shark infested waters.

On Tuesday night Josh invited me to go to the “Wonders of The Rainforest” show sponsored by his school.  We traveled to the rainforest and learned all about the animals of the rainforest.  We learned about how animals in the show learned their tricks and we even had the opportunity to touch them.  What a great time we had!!  Twenty years ago these shows were not available when Nikki and John went to school.  I am so glad that I have the opportunity to be included!

Josh was the brave one……grandma stayed on the side!!  That’s a live Albino Anaconda!!  Do you know that they don’t actually crush their prey like most people think they do?  NO!  They wrap around their prey, wait for their prey to exhale then squeeze it causing the prey to suffocate because it cannot get air into its lungs!!!!  Grandma learned something new!  Trust me…grandma was watching that snake very closely when Josh was holding him.

 

Josh with a huge Albino snake "OH NO!!"

 

Petting alligators too!!!

 

 

 

Can you tell my little guy is having a good time??

This laugh is what made it such a great night.

 

Wednesday afternoon Nikki and Lil E came over to spend the night with grandma and papa.   Lil E’s daddy was remodeling the bathroom at his house and it was better if lil E and momma weren’t around the fumes from the adhesives.

We spent the afternoon shopping (had to get banana’s and chocolate milk, lil E’s favorites) then came home and it was time to play and fix dinner.  Lil E and his momma became firefighters and Lil E said grandma was the doctor.  Lil E made my room the hospital so when the firefighters were injured they had to go to the hospital (hospital rooms should be as comfy as grandma’s room) so it was my job to take care of all the people hurt in the fire.  Tickles, hugs and kisses were great medicine for a speedy recovery!!

 

Grandma's little firefighter!

 

Lil E getting all the gear on

 

 

My little guy with a great imagination

 

Today, before it was time for lil E to head back home, we made cheesy scrambled eggs, toast and chocolate milk for breakfast.  We sang the alphabet song, 5 Little Monkeys, The Wheels on the Bus and Lil E’s all time favorite….Itsy Bitsy Spider.  We played pirates and Hungry, Hungry Hippo while watching Max and Ruby. It was a fun-filled morning.

There is nothing that can bring me out of a bad mood or low point faster than the sound of my grandchildren’s laughter.  It’s infectious!  I love to listen to them laugh and giggle…..music to my ears.

I knew my little guy was going to be with us last night so I made sure I planned something that I could just throw together and let it simmer on the stove, we had Hungarian Goulash.

There are so many versions of goulash.  Some people say it’s a stew, some say it’s a soup (wouldn’t that make it “Stoup” like….I think….Rachel Ray calls it?).  Some recipes call for only meat served over noodles or mashed potatoes.  Other recipes tell you to add vegetables like carrots and potatoes (sounds like stew to me).  Some add vinegar and brown sugar, others add worchester sauce.  The one thing that they all have in common is paprika and lots of it.

Although this recipe is good, it wasn’t the one I was looking for so the search continues.  I have to say though, the stew beef was so tender it melted in your mouth.  I served it over my homemade cheesy mashed potatoes and it met with approval from both Walt and Nikki.

Here is the version I made last night, I found it on “Allrecipes.com”

HUNGARIAN GOULASH

Ingredients

                    1/3 cup vegetable oil

                    3 onions, sliced

                    2 tablespoons Hungarian sweet paprika

                    2 teaspoons salt

                    1/2 teaspoon ground black pepper

                    3 pounds beef stew meat, cut into 1 1/2 inch cubes

                    1 (6 ounce) can tomato paste

                    1 1/2 cups water

                    1 clove garlic, minced

                    1 teaspoon salt

Directions

• Heat oil in a large pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. 
• Cook onions in oil until soft, stirring frequently. 
• Remove onions and set aside.               
• In a medium bowl, combine paprika, 2 teaspoons salt and pepper. 
• Coat beef cubes in spice mixture, and cook in onion pot until brown on all sides. 
• Return the onions to the pot, and pour in tomato paste, water, garlic and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. 
• Reduce heat to low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, 1 1/2 to 2 hours, or until meat is tender.               

Serve over mashed potatoes or egg noodles.