I don’t understand why Cupid was chosen to represent Valentine’s Day. When I think about romance, the last thing on my mind is a short, chubby toddler coming at me with a weapon.
Author Unknown
It all started at Christmas.
Santa brought HBear a BIG sticky hand. Do you remember those things? You would smack it against everything in sight while your Mom freaked out about leaving slime marks on her walls, tables and… back?!?!? LOL 4 months later you would find it in the bottom of a drawer covered in dirt, hair and lint and you would smack it against the window and 1 finger would lift, then the next and then it would sadly crawl down the window until it rolled right off.
Yup. HBear and SBean have been playing with that hand for 2 months and it still isn’t getting old, dirty, yes but still just as hilarious as the first time they tried it.
So I saw on Pinterest a cute idea and Voila, for Valentine;s this year we decided to treat all her school friends with a fun sticky hand!
Sticky Valentine’s Cards
16 sticky hands
16 ziplock bags
16 labels
Apparently every dollar store in town was sold out of sticky hands or had no idea what I was talking about?!?! I finally found 8 boxes of 2. The exact number of kids in HBear’s class! Perfect 🙂
I bought Valetine ziplocks from the dollar store too.
I printed up the labels and cut them into strips and HBear put a sticky hand in each bag.
She signed the “cards” (labels) and Ninja stapled them onto the bag.
For her friends in the other class we picked out super special stickers 🙂
So, I have said this before but another one of my dreaded dinners as a kid was Shake & Bake pork chops and spaetzle. Spaetzle is boiled dough that is quickly pan fried for a bit of color.
Yum.
I remember for my sister’s 21 birthday Granny and Grandpa gave her a gift and when she opened it it was a box of No Name Shake & Bake. Ninja was like, “It’s just a box, open it!”… but I knew better lol. It was actually No Name Shake & Bake!
I have tons of those stories. Granny LOVED giving gifts. She never came over without a gift, but they definitely weren’t typical gifts lol. One Christmas Ninja got a bag of marshmallows. They were so old that Dad called him over and said “watch this” and tossed the bag at the wall.
It actually made a hole!
I’m serious!
LOL Man do I miss her! My Grandpa called the other day 🙂 He recieved 2 Valentine cards! My sister, as you know is a working Mom but still managaes to find time to make handcrafted Valentines! Amazing, yes I am gushing 🙂
Look how freaking cute my little SweetPea is!
I sent out family Valentine’s this year too but mine weren’t nearly as cute LOL In our family we spell L.O.V.E to each other to say I love you, the other day at the park I was looking at us all in our colorful runners and thought, hey! Insert picture of lightbulb here 🙂
Totally side tracked!
I hate spaetzle LOL
My Mom loved it and Ninja mentioned the other day that he missed her yucky boiled/fried dough! Why? I have no idea must be the German in him LOL.
Then, I saw a post that had breaded pork chops AND spaetzle. Well, it must be fate lol so I thought let’s do it!
Tonight HBear and I are going on a date… So You Think You Can Dance is in town!!!! We are so excited 🙂 I figure if dinner sucks, we can get hotdogs and popcorn LOL!
Jaegerschnitzel
Adapted from Scrumpdillyicious
Adapted from Scrumpdillyicious
4 boneless pork chops
8 slices bacon, chopped
2 cups mushrooms, quartered
2 tablespoons oil
1/2 cup flour, for dredging
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
½ teaspoon parsley
½ teaspoon thyme
1 cup panko
4 tablespoons butter
4 tablespoons flour
3 cups beef broth
Cut pork chops in half through the middle to create two thinner pieces out of each chop. Place each pork chop between 2 pieces of saran wrap and with a mallet, pound to flatten to about 1/4-inch thick. Season each piece with a bit of salt.
Combine the panko, parsley and thyme. Dredge the pork in the flour, dip in the lightly beaten eggs, and coat in the seasoned panko. Set the breaded chops aside.
In a large pan, over medium heat, cook the bacon until it just begins to get crispy, about 5-7 minutes. Use a slotted spoon to remove the bacon. Set the bacon aside.
Add the mushrooms to the bacon fat remaining in the pan and cook for 5-7 minutes over medium heat. Use a slotted spoon to remove the mushrooms and set aside.
Add 1-2 tablespoons of olive oil to the bacon fat remaining in the pan, so that you have a very thin, even layer of bacon fat and oil. Add the breaded pork cutlets and cook for 2-3 minutes on each side, over medium heat, until they become lightly browned and cooked through. Cook in batches, adding more oil between each batch, if necessary. Set the cooked pork aside.
Clean the pan out with a paper towel to remove any brown bits.
Add butter and flour to the pan over medium heat. Whisk to combine. Cook for a minute or two. Then, gradually begin whisking in the beef stock. Bring to a simmer. Simmer for about 5 minutes, whisking frequently. The sauce will thicken. Season with salt and pepper, to taste.
Add the cooked pork cutlets, mushrooms, bacon, and any juices to the sauce. Gently move the pan to coat the pork in the sauce. Cook for a minute or two to reheat all components. Taste and adjust seasonings if necessary.
Spaetzle
Adapted from Scrumpdillyicious
1 cup flour
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon pepper
1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg
2 large eggs
1/4 cup milk
3 tablespoons butter
2 green onions, finely chopped
In a large bowl, combine the flour, salt, pepper, and nutmeg.
In another mixing bowl, whisk the eggs and milk together.
Make a well in the center of the dry ingredients and pour in the egg-milk mixture. Gradually draw in the flour from the sides and combine well; the dough should be smooth and thick. Let the dough rest for 10 to 15 minutes.
Bring 3 quarts of salted water to a boil in a large pot, then reduce to a simmer. To form the spaetzle, hold a large holed colander over the simmering water and push the dough through the holes with a spatula. Do this in batches so you don’t overcrowd the pot. Cook for 3 to 4 minutes or until the spaetzle floats to the surface, stirring gently to prevent sticking. Dump the spaetzle into a colander and give it a quick rinse with cool water.
Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat and add the spaetzle; tossing to coat. Cook the spaetzle for 1 to 2 minutes, and then sprinkle with the chopped green onions and season with salt and pepper.
So just so you know… I won’t be getting popcorn tonight, it was really good! I know?!?! I’m shocked too! Ninja walked in after work looked around and said “mmmm looks good, so what are you having?” LOL
On a final note, my Sis has a Besty from way back when. She is lovely lady that always thinks of our family. She even came out for Mom’s Celebration of Life 🙂
Yoday I got a beautiful card in the mail that was all about Memories… with the beautiful card was a gorgeous necklace for me,
and 2 beautiful bracelets for the girls!
HBear loved it so much she HAD to wear it tonight!
Thank you so much M.W.
L-O-V-E
0 thoughts on “Jaegerschnitzel, Spaetzle and Valentines”
Sounds good! Thanks for sharing with the Thursday Blog Hop! Hope you can visit me http://www.over50feeling40.com. Have a great weekend!
Pam I just wanted to tell you… I would absolutely WOULD wear the jumpsuit!!! Gorgeous! I have been looking for one and that is it! Thanks for sharing it must be kismet 🙂