The Pevey's

Ever since I have become a full time stay at home mom, I have become more interested in cooking. I have started watching more cooking shows and trying out more recipes. I have decided to add a weekly recipe blog. I usually try out one or two new recipes a week. Some of them are duds and some of them are good. This is one way I can keep track of them.

For this week I have two recipes: Crab cakes and 4th of July rice crispy sparklers.

Crab Cakes (adapted from a recipe on my Epicurious app on the iphone)

Ingredients:
1/4 cup mayo
1/4 cup onion thinly sliced
1 jalapeno thinly sliced (actually I just processed the onion and jalapeno in the food processor)
1 egg, beaten
1 tbsp dijon mustard
2 tsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp old bay seasoning
1 lb lump crabmeat
1 1/4 cup panko bread crumbs
1 tbsp thinly sliced chives
salt/pepper to taste
vegetable oil for frying

Prep:
Whisk first 7 ingredients together then fold in crab. Stir 3/4 cup panko, chives, salt and pepper. Divide into 4-6 equal portions and form into 1" thick patties. Refrigerate for 10 minutes.

Heat enough oil to cover heavy bottomed pan. Place remaining panko crumbs on plate and coat cakes. Fry until golden brown (about 3 minutes/side). Enjoy! We served them with roasted corn.

This was an excellent dinner. Brooke loved it and ate every bite of her crab cakes. I was really impressed that she enjoyed it because she is usually very cautious when it comes to trying something new. Next time I make this I'm actually going to add another jalapeno because you could not even taste any spice with just one. It really didn't take that long to cook, maybe 30 minutes total including prep. This is definitely a keeper recipe! I don't have any pictures of this recipe! I forgot! Now that I am going to blog about food, I will try to remember to take pictures.

4th of July rice crispy sparklers:

I got this recipe from pinterest. We had our HOA celebration tonight and I thought this would be a perfect dessert for the kids.

First, I made rice crispy treats using the traditional recipe printed on the box and then used a star shaped cookie cutter to make my star shapes.

Next I washed and sliced a package of strawberries and washed the blueberries.

Then I skewered a strawberry followed by 3 blueberries and topped with a rice crispy treat. Then I tied a ribbon below the strawberry to keep the fruit from slipping when the pop was upright. I used a lollipop as my skewer, however, I don't think I will do this in the future because the moisture from the fruit was absorbed by the lollipop and it didn't look pretty once the fruit was eaten.

Once all the skewers were done, I stuck them in some styrofoam that was covered with cute fabric. They turned out great. I think they should be kept refrigerated until serving, otherwise the treats start to fall off.

They turned out cute and were a hit at the party.

I hope y'all enjoy my recipes. Leave me a comment if you like them and/or have tried them!

Disclaimer: First, I would like to apologize for the length of time it has taken to get this posted. We have been extremely busy during the past few weeks and it took a lot of time to upload and organize these pictures. Here is the story of our trip and a few (I mean a lot!) pictures from our trip! Enjoy!!

Our Family at the tunnel view

The week before Memorial day we took a family trip to Yosemite, grandparents included! It turned out to be a great trip. Of course I was really worried about how the girls would do on the plane ride and the trip itself. I took great measures to make the transition from home to hotel as smooth as possible. First, I had bought a pop up tent for Brooke to sleep in on trips since she had out grown the pack n play. Then I bought another one for Heather and those tents were the best investment I made. The girls slept well in them and they each had their own sleeping environments. The girls did as good as expected during the plane rides as both the one out there and the one back were during their normal nap times. I loaded up the iphone and ipad with videos and had sticker fun for the times we had to turn off our electronics.

Anyway, on to the trip itself.... Our trip to Fresno, went relatively smoothly with only a few melt downs due to late/short naps. We arrived in Yosemite Saturday evening and checked in our hotel, The Wawona. It was built in the late 1800s and they have done a good job of preserving a lot of the style from then. It is a nostalgic place for Ryan and I since this is one of the places we stayed during our honeymoon. Although, this time we had a much nicer/bigger room. Upon checkout we found out that the room we stayed in is one of their most requested! I have no idea how we lucked out in getting it, but we will definitely request it in the future.

The side view of the front of the Wawona

Night time picture of the front of the Wawona

Our room was in the Moore cottage pictured above

Our first full day, Sunday, we visited the Mariposa grove, which is full of giant sequoias. The girls did great walking/riding our backs. We hiked about 2.5 miles through the grove before heading back to the hotel for lunch/nap times. After nap time, we drove up glacier point road and did a 2 mile (round trip) hike to the top of Sentinel dome. At the top, you have great views of the valley and the high country. The girls liked running around once we got to the top. It was windy and chilly at the top, so that is why we have our jackets. After the hike, we continued on to the glacier point look out. It is one of the most beautiful look outs over the valley. It is about 3000ft above the valley floor and you can also get fantastic views of Half dome, vernal, and nevada falls. After taking a ice cream break and doing some gift shopping we headed back to the hotel for dinner and bed time. Our room had a great porch to relax and talk at night after we put the girls down. The weather was perfect during our stay. It was mid 60s-70s for the daytime and dropped to low 50s at night.

Some of the giant trees in the Mariposa grove

Brooke and Heather standing near the roots of a fallen sequoia. Notice Brooke is taking a picture of me taking a picture of her. We bought her a kid friendly camera to take on the trip. More about that later....

Our family hiking through the grove with our child carriers.

Ryan and Brooke standing in the walk through tunnel tree!

View from Washburn point on Glacier Point Road

Big Mama with the girls on top of Sentinel dome. Note: it was chilly wind on top!

The girls on top of sentinel dome in front of an iconic jeffrey pine tree that was photographed by Ansel Adams when it was alive.

Me standing by the tree we at lunch at during our honeymoon visit.

The girls sitting on top of sentinel dome with half dome in the background.

G-dad and Brooke hiking the trail to Sentinel dome

Nana and Heather walking to Glacier Point

Looking down on the Ahwahnee from Glacier Point

Heather and me at Washburn point on Glacier Point Road. Half dome and Nevada falls are in the background.

The view from Glacier Point. Most notably half dome, nevada and vernal falls.

The next day, my parents watched the girls all day while Ryan and I did a 15 mile hike in the high country. One of our passions is hiking to less crowded hidden gems in the park. It is relatively unusual for the high country road to be open during this time of year. I think on average it opens in early June after most of the snow melts and they can plow it, but Yosemite had a mild winter this year, so it was open early. We were definitely some of the first hikers on this trail. We did the Glen Aulin trail and saw some beautiful scenery and waterfalls. During our hike we only encountered 7 other people and 5 of those were when we were almost done with the hike. It was a treacherous day, but I loved it.

Tuolumne Falls

Tuolumne River

Ryan hiking next to some cascades

Our view on the hike

Ryan standing next to some cascades. It gives an appreciation for how large they were.

One of our bridge crossings on the Tuolumne river

Tenaya Lake on our way to the trail head for Glen Aulin

The next day, we were switching hotels, so we decided to take it easy in the morning and hang around the hotel, pack our things up. They have a pioneer living area near the hotel where people dress up in period clothes and tell you about their jobs. It was neat taking the girls around and letting them explore that area. After lunch, we headed to another area of Yosemite that Ryan and I had never visited, Hetch Hetchy. There is a big dam that provides drinking water to the San Fransisco bay areas and Wapama falls. After that, we headed to our next hotel, which is located in the valley and also another nostalgic place to Ryan and I, The Ahwahnee. After dinner we went to a Wee Wild Ones talk by a ranger. Brooke loved it and learned a lot about what animals leave behind.

Brooke pumping water in the pioneer camp

Brooke and Heather checking out the horses at the pioneer center

Tunnel bridge that leads to the pioneer camp

Brooke during the Wee Wild Ones ranger talk. They learned about what animals leave behind (footprints, scat, fur, trails of food)

The next day we explored the valley and visited all the major waterfalls. First we drove to the Bridalveil falls, which is one of the first waterfalls you will see at the tunnel view, if you enter the park from the south entrance. The girls didn't care too much for the misty spray at the foot of the falls, but it is still beautiful. Then after a short nature walk, we viewed the Yosemite Falls, which is the tallest waterfall in North America.

The girls at the base of Bridalveil falls

Yosemite Falls

The girls being silly on the trail the Yosemite Falls

Lower Yosemite Falls

The girls at Lower Yosemite Falls

Then we headed to Yosemite Village, where they have lots of shops, museums, and places to eat. Brooke earned her Junior Ranger badge by completing tasks in a work book, so we headed to the visitor center where she was sworn in as a junior ranger and got her name in a huge book of all the other junior rangers! We were proud parents! Then we visited the Indian museum and learned about how the miwoks used to live in the valley.

Brooke standing in a teepee showing off her junior ranger badge!

After lunch we headed back to hotel for a nap. After nap time, we hiked (about 3 miles round trip) to near the top of Vernal falls. This was a tough hike carrying a squirmy toddler on your back. Although it is mostly paved, it is straight uphill the entire time and it is steep! We got some beautiful views and even got to see a rainbow. After taking the girls to dinner in Curry Village, we headed back to the hotel. We put the girls to bed and our parents monitored them. Then, Ryan and I had dinner that night in the Ahwahnee dining room. It is always a special treat I look forward to during our trips to Yosemite. They have amazing elegant dishes! My mouth waters just thinking about it!

Vernal Falls from the Bridge

Vernal Falls from the Mist trail. Do you see a faint rainbow? It was more vibrant in real life.

Brooke and Daddy on the mist trail...now you know why it gets that name.

The next day we headed back to Dallas. We stayed overnight at the Gaylord hotel, then the next day we met up with some friends of ours that are missionaries in Ethiopia and are in town for a month. It was great getting to catch up and find out what life is like living in Africa.

Here are some of the identifiable pictures from Brooke's camera. Enjoy a view of our trip from Brooke's eyes!