Zoo Time & Free Recipe

This weekend Cori came out and we took the boys to the zoo. She's married to my brother in law's brother, so she's kind of like a sister in law. I think I will have my boys just call her "aunt" from now on, as she is kind of like an aunt to them.

It was hotter than Hades, and the indoor nature center was closed :( so we only stayed an hour and didn't ride the train. The temp was about 100 degrees. They got to see a clown when we first got there.

Cori is trying to show Lk this furry creature...

I didn't take any pics of it, but Lk really enjoyed feeding the goats! We bought some food out of a machine they had, and he sat on my knee and kept giggling while feeding the animals, it was adorable. Lm just wanted to run all over the place while Cori gamely tried to catch him.

Next we went to Lazlo's, one of my favorite restaurants. While driving there I almost passed out, even with the air conditioner on full blast; it was rather scary, as everything just started to turn black as we pulled up to a stop sign. Probably I just needed some hydration.

At the restaurant my guys got to color Spiderman with crayons, and eat french fries, apples, and beans.

Lm tried some fried rice and seemed to really like it.

Cori helped him along...

Sadly, their Backyardigans water sprayer already bit the dust! They only had it for under 3 weeks before it burst. We didn't even have the thing turned up more than half speed, either. At the risk of sounding like a redneck, I tried to tape it back together with duct tape, but it was like trying to pull out a gray hair: when you pull one there are 5o more, and so it was with the water toy.

Alas, Grandma came to the rescue with this frog pool! It was on clearance. It's a kiddie pool and sprays water out the front. My guys love it!

Okay, here's the recipe. I'm no Julia Child, but someone showed me how to make these kabobs, and they truly are THE BEST. The key is the marinade. It's called "Allegro Hot & Spicy" and I can no longer find it in stores so have had to order it online at $8 per bottle. However, it is worth it.

Just marinade the steaks for a good 12-24 hours after tenderizing. Cut them up into little squares. Then you need a green pepper, an onion, and mushrooms (or you can use tomatoes, or both, or neither). Then just cut the vegetables to fit on the kebobs. Don't pack the kebobs too tight.

Basically the only way you could screw it up is if you cook the meat too long. I like my steak a little pink in the middle and the onions and pepper a bit crisp. Put the cover on the grill and turn them over every now and then. I usually mix myself a martini while they are grilling, and back in the old days, I'd smoke a couple of cigarettes while waiting.

Have a plate ready to take off the end pieces which cook faster. Now, when you eat this, it's like a bite of heaven. To eat it right, don't just pop a pepper in your mouth and start munching. You need to get the meat, onion AND pepper all in the same bite for the full effect. It is amazing!