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they really like it

It can be quite difficult to find food other than Cheez-Its and goldfish crackers to please my kids. Thankfully, broccoli, strawberries and watermelon are welcomed. However, it would be nice to mix it up a bit. I found a recipe for chicken and asparagus with peanut dipping sauce. My kids love peanut butter sandwiches and now love the sauce too.

This recipe is from Family Fun magazine. I marinated chicken (did not marinate the asparagus- less is more) instead of pork tenderloin the first time. The second time, I halved the recipe and used it only as a sauce.

Grilled Pork Tenderloin & Asparagus with Peanut Dipping Sauce

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• Rated by 12 members

In this recipe, half the marinade is used to flavor the meat and vegetables. The other half is whisked with peanut butter to create a tasty dipping sauce -- a fun job that kids can lend a hand with. You can also enlist their help preparing the asparagus: show them how to gently hold an end in each hand and then bend the stalk into an upside-down U until the tough part snaps off.

Ingredients

• 1/2 cup soy sauce
• 1/2 cup rice wine vinegar
• 2 tablespoons toasted sesame oil
• 2 tablespoons honey
• 1 teaspoon peeled and grated fresh ginger

• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 1/2 teaspoon lemon pepper
• 1 pound fresh asparagus, rinsed and snapped
• 1 pound pork tenderloin
• 1/2 cup peanut butter (smooth or crunchy)

Instructions

1. Make the marinade by whisking together the soy sauce, vinegar, sesame oil, honey, ginger, garlic, and lemon pepper in a bowl, and reserve 1/2 cup of the mixture in a separate container.

2. Place the asparagus in a ziplock bag and pour in 1/4 cup of the marinade from the bowl. Work the bag gently with your fingers to distribute the marinade. Do the same with the pork tenderloin, using a second ziplock bag and the remaining marinade from the bowl. Let the meat and vegetables marinate at room temperature for 30 minutes. Meanwhile, prepare a charcoal fire or heat a gas grill to medium-high, and oil the grates.

3. Add the peanut butter to the reserved marinade and whisk the mixture until smooth.

4. Grill the tenderloin for 3 to 4 minutes on each side, rotating it a quarter turn at a time, until the internal temperature registers 145º in the center. Remove the meat from the grill and let it rest for about 5 minutes (the internal temperature will rise to 150º). Meanwhile, grill the asparagus spears for 2 minutes per side.

5. Slice the pork diagonally into 1- to 2-inch slices. It should be juicy and slightly pink inside. Serve the meat and the asparagus with the peanut dipping sauce. Serves 4.

Nutritional Information:

Per serving:
Calories 431
Protein 35g (71% DV)
Carbohydrates 14g (5% DV)
Total Fat 27g (42% DV)
Saturated Fat 6g (31% DV)
Cholesterol 75mg (25% DV)
Sodium 1141mg (8% DV)
Vitamin C (50% DV)
Vitamin B6 (38% DV)
Vitamin E (21% DV)
Vitamin K (85% DV)
Iron (16% DV)
Percent daily values are based on a 2,000-calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.

doing science

If Sean watches and episode of "Sid the Science Kid" it is usually followed by a request to "do science". The fastest activity I can produce is a pie pan filled with cornstarch and water (glop). Both kids love that it oozes slowly and stiffens up if you try to stir it. They can play with that mess for at least 30 minutes. I tried to explain that it acts like a non-Newtonian fluid but...

Here's the answer to the hows and whys.

hip huggies

No way. My sister just spotted a new trend- denim diapers. The hip Huggies have hit California and are coming to Kmart on May 23rd for a limited time. Further research shows that they have been available overseas for a couple of years. Here is the photo from Huggies' Facebook page:

ABCs

I want these cups but can not figure out how to order them. Try here.

cake pops

As soon as I discovered Bakerella's blog, I was determined to make her cake pops. Easter was on it's way so I went for the chickies. The instructions are here. I've already been dreaming of a Hello Kitty birthday party for Kate just to make these. Or maybe the owls. I can not even stand the Sesame Street pops- they are amazing! Bakerella is so talented that a book is coming out in the Fall with pre-orders taken by Amazon.

Be prepared to spend time and money gathering items to make the pops but you will have extras for the next batch. I made the flower pops a few days later with the extra candy melts. The basic instruction is to bake a cake in a 9"x13" pan, let it cool, mix it with frosting (I recommend only 1/2 of a tub if using prepared.), roll into the ball and chill. Then you add the stick, dip and decorate. I used red velvet cake mix and cream cheese frosting- all from a mix and tub as a short cut. The chicks were made with a brownie mix and a block of cream cheese. YUM.

The kids were able to help by rolling the balls and sorting the candies for the decorations. When left to decorate on his own, Sean made aliens by dotting the cake pop with Skittles. As far as reactions go, my family was impressed but I didn't see many of them actually eating one. The kids gobbled them up.

Easter egg hunt

It is Easter Egg Hunt season. If you plan smart, you can hit at least 6 different hunts during the 3 weekends before Easter. Lowe's Garden Center, Eagle Creek, Breezewood Gardens, Bainbridge/Howard Hanna, Aurora, Solon, and Chagrin Falls are just a sampling of the event locations. There is even a helicopter drop in Macedonia. The eggs are really dropped from a helicopter! And the bunny waves to the kids from high above! I know this because I attended the first annual helicopter egg drop last year. Both children and parents (ridiculous!) stormed the field like a scene from "Braveheart". Sean was 2 years old and Kate was in the stroller. Needless to say, he did not get one egg. The mayhem was enough to scare me from returning for the second annual. To boot, they are dropping 100,000 eggs this year, an increase of 94,000 eggs compared to last. I must admit, it was a thrill which I do not regret witnessing.

We were going to pass on the public Easter Egg Hunts this year but Saturday was just beautiful and we had no plans. Which one do we pick? I have heard horror stories about parents coaching kids and reaching over boundaries to grab eggs at the local garden centers. The discount coupons inside random eggs are as enticing to parents as chocolate bunnies are to children. So, no hunts sponsored by a local business. I wasn't about to watch Sean get trampled again. We also had to plan around Kate's morning nap so Chagrin Falls Riverside Park was the winner.

Perfect choice. We walked into "Pleasantville". There was a crowd but it was organized and reserved. There were 5 age groups. The children patiently waited for their turn. The parents casually watched as the kids grabbed the eggs. Everybody was happy. Nobody over the age of 12 was in possession of a plastic egg. Every child went home with candy.