Passing on Memories

I haven't saved too many things from when I was a child.  A few art pictures here and there, a few items of clothing, not too much.  But of all the things I still have from my childhood, there are two that I cherish the most - my old dolls Mimi and Gigi.  Truthfully, I can't take any credit for still having these dolls.  My mom has held on to them for me, sitting on a shelf in her bedroom since I stopped playing with them years ago.  And on that shelf in my mom's bedroom is precisely where Olive was stopping on a daily basis to take Mimi and Gigi from the shelf, wanting to play with them.  As you can see, they were still alive but have seen better days.

Gigi is on the left, Mimi on the right.  Now, my daughter, while very sweet, is not the most delicate.  I knew that if I let her play with the dolls, they would be destroyed in no time.  Both of them had holes in their body, hair falling out, clothing ripped, and were obviously a little dirty.  I really wanted her to be able to play with them but I wanted them to hold up, so I decided to give Mimi and Gigi a little makeover!  Here's how they turned out:

Gigi got a whole new face - literally.  New skin, eyes, nose, and mouth.  I also changed her hair, gave her a little head kerchief and front dress panel to match, reinforced her arms and legs, cleaned her dress and sewed up little holes here and there.  Mimi got a good cleaning as well as new hair, a re-stuffed hat and all her holes were sewn up tight.  I'm so happy with the way that they turned out!

Olive likes them better, too.  Except she keeps trying to pick off Gigi's nose.  :)  The best part is that I know that they are now better able to withstand her torture she sometimes inflicts on them.  It can go from hugs to "toss across the room" in an instant.  I love that she is able to enjoy a toy that I loved for so many years and I'm sure she will enjoy them for years to come, too.  (I have a picture of me holding them when I was about her age.  I think it's boxed up somewhere but if I find it, I'll put it up, too!)

Chopped Challenge - Round 2

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So, this past Saturday, my husband and stepdad squared off against each other in our Chopped Challenge.   Jonathan (my hubby) won.  Last night, it was Round 2 - me vs. my mom.  The winner of tonight's challenge will battle Jonathan next weekend in the finals.....Prize to be determined!

Checking out our mystery ingredients.

The basket's mystery ingredients:  stew beef, mint jelly, jarred grilled artichokes, cornbread muffin mix, and mango.

I started by blending some yogurt and mango together.

I added some mint jelly to the mango yogurt.  My plan was to make a sort-of tzatziki sauce. 

My mom carefully peeling the mango.  Those suckers aren't the easiest things to work with!

The makings of my hummus (garbanzo, tahini, lemon).

My mom is mixing the mango and mint jelly into some concoction.  

Testing some baked cornbread.

I utilized the artichokes by blending them with the hummus.

My meatballs - stew beef, pork sausage, onion, curry powder, turmeric, garlic, cornbread muffin mix.

My mom's veggie stir fry - mango, bell pepper, artichoke.

One last taste test before we start to plate.

My mom's completed dish:  Meat balls and veggie stir fry over pan fried corn bread with mango-mint jelly sauce.  

My completed dish:  Curry meatballs with artichoke hummus, mango-mint jelly tzatziki sauce, grilled veggies, wrapped in a corn tortilla.

So in the end, I.........was chopped!  Booooo!  The judges - my hubby and stepdad - both liked the flavor of both dishes, but they said my mom's presentation was better.  Well, I would have to agree with that, but at least it all turned out edible!  I was a little worried with the mint jelly, but it wasn't terrible, just really sweet.  That means that next weekend will be the finals with my mom and hubby competing against each other.  My stepdad and I get to pick the ingredients!  I'll post pictures of the competition, so stay tuned!

"Chopped" Challenge!

We like to watch the show "Chopped" on the Food Network.  If you haven't seen it, the contestants are given a basket with mystery ingredients and then have to create a dish using those ingredients.  Around the Olive Juice Mama house, we like to have our own Chopped challenges from time to time.  Last night, it was my husband vs. my stepdad.  My mom and I judged as well as picked the basket ingredients:  ground pork sausage, instant cheddar mashed potatoes, patty pan yellow squash, mini Baybel cheese, and Nutter Butters.  In the end, everything that was made was edible, and actually pretty good!  (We bought a frozen pizza, too....just in case!)

Competitor #1:  Jonathan, my hubby

Competitor #2:  Dan, my stepdad

The basket ingredients

Time Limit:  45 minutes......Begin!

Nutter Butters in the food processor

Chopping some red bell peppers and squash

Uh-oh!  30 minutes to go!

Adding some cheese to the potatoes and sausage patties grilling in a pan.

Cheese in the sausage?  Interesting!

Fry, baby, fry!

Squash and onions 

Believe it or not - Mole sauce made from Nutter Butters.

22 seconds left!  Get your dishes plated!

Dan's completed dish:  A duo of potato.

Jonathan's completed dish:  Sausage meatballs with mole dipping sauce.

In the end, Jonathan won!  And the winner gets to....clean the dishes!  Dan's dish was pretty good, too, but word to the wise - Nutter Butters blended with Baybel cheese and instant mashed potatoes are not a good mix.  Don't try it at home!