Teriyaki Beef Skewers & Grilled Pineapple

 My favorite kind of recipes are fast, simple, and easy. This one is all 3!

I found it through Pinterest from Indulgy. I would suggest this to anyone who is looking for a fun, easy summer dinner. It was great because we ate them as they came off the grill while the kids played in the back yard. No plates or silverware needed! Perfect, summer night.

First, soak your wooden skewers for at least 30 minutes so they wont burn.

You can use a cookie sheet filled with a thin layer of water.

Next, slice your steak thinly, to about 1/4 inch pieces, 

and thread them onto the skewers. Salt and pepper to taste.

 

Then combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, mirin, minced garlic, and minced ginger and bring to a boil. Combine the cornstarch and water and add to the soy sauce mixture to thicken it. 

 

Cook the skewers on the grill for a couple minutes on each side, coating them generously with the marinade.

 

 You can sprinkle them with sesame seeds once you've finished grilling them, but I didn't have any on hand so I skipped that step. I didn't miss them.

 

 Then enjoy! Thing 1 loved them!

 

We couldn't resist grilling up some pineapple at the same time, it's one of our favorite things! All we do is slice it up, skewer it, and grill it.

 

 Thing 1 ate a boatload :)

Next time I think I will marinade the steak with the Teriyaki glaze. It can only get better! This was a great, simple, delicious recipe!

BBQ Beef Teriyak

1 flank steak 

salt & pepper

16 bbq skewers 

Teriyaki Glaze 

2 tsp sesame oil

1 cup soy sauce 

1/2 cup brown sugar 

2 Tbsp honey 

1 Tbsp mirin 

1 Tbsp garlic, minced 

1 tsp ginger, minced 

1 Tbsp cornstarch 

1/4 cup cold water 

Slice the steak. Combine the soy sauce, brown sugar, honey, mirin, garlic, and ginger and bring to a boil. Combine the cornstarch and water and add to the teriyaki mixture. Stir until thickened. Keep a cup of the marinade to use for glazing, and use the rest to marinade the meat for at least 30 minutes.

Soak the skewers for at least 30 minutes before threading the meat onto the skewers. Grill for a couple minutes on each side, flipping and glazing with the leftover marinade until cooked through. You can sprinkle sesame seeds over the glazed beef if you'd like. Then enjoy!

Grilled Pineapple

Slice it

Skewer it

Grill it

Eat it

Awesome Retro Movies on Netflix (June 2016)

Netflix's has decided to kick into another gear of awesome and add some retro favorites! Like, totally awesome!

I tried making a complete list of all of the great classics, but there were just too many. So here are 15 of my favorites movies from the 80's and 90's that are now on Netflix. 

Sixteen Candles (1984)

Pure classic! I love watching Molly Ringwald be driven crazy by her family, Long Duck Dong, and the beloved Anthony Michael Hall. Who doesn't love a girl who will give up her undies to save a dork from embarrassment?

And Jake Ryan. I've still got a crush on Jake Ryan.

Can't Buy Me Love(1987)

 

I mean, come on. Patrick Dempsey as the nerdy outcast who risks it all to get in with the cool crowd. Knowing that McDreamy started out as Ronald Miller just made me love him all the more.

  I'd take a ride on his lawn mower anytime. 

WARNING: There are a couple of inappropriate scenes.

 My Girl (1991)

 Oh Vada. Her mother died, her dad is a funeral director, her best friend is allergic to everything, and she's a hypochondriac with a crush on her teacher.
I don't think I'll ever stop loving Vada.

Thomas J., we miss you.

Jurrasic Park Trilogy (1993)

Ever since I watched Jurrassic World (I love me some Chris Pratt), I have wanted to go back to the beginning and Watch Jurassic Park. Netflix knew. I don't know how, but it knew. 

It was everything I hoped it'd be and more. With the added bonus of being able to laugh at the 90's clothes and hair.

Clueless (1995)

 Like, if you claim that you weren't obsessed with this movie, then I have one thing to say to you. As if!

I hope you don't watch it sporadically!

Meet Joe Black (1998)

 

There was something so complex about this movie. Watching 'Death', such an imposing and eternal thing, testing out the human experience in a borrowed body (Brad Pitt, whoo, whoo!) was so strange.

 Brad Pitt makes eating peanut butter look GOOD!

Adventures in Babysitting (1987)

 I'm not sure if this one is as well known as the others, but it was a staple in my house. I made Tad watch it for the first time last night and he thought it was a little ridiculous. I can't say he's wrong, but it's the awesome kind of ridiculous.

If you HAVE seen it, then I know you've performed Elisabeth Shue's opening dance scene. Admit it.

WARNING: There is some bad language in this one.

Grease & Grease 2 (1978 & 1982)

 I'm a sucker for musicals, and Grease is the word. haven't you heard? I think I loved this movie all the more because my mom hated the ending. 

"Why did she change for him, when he was willing to change for her?!"

 And I think it's only appropriate to watch this during These Sum-eh-er Nigh-HIGHTS!!

 Ok, so I know a lot of people won't agree with me, but I will admit that I like Grease 2 better than the original Grease. Maybe it's because it's cheesier. I love cheesy movies.

Although, I do find it a little unrealistic that it took Michelle so long to fall for the tall, handsome transfer student with the sexy accent. 

What's Eating Gilbert Grape (1993)

 What's Eating Gilbert Grape is an incredible story. Johnny Depp is Gilbert Grape, a kid who has to take care of his sister, obese mother, and mentally challenged little brother Arnie, played by Leonardo DiCaprio.

It really is a beautiful movie. I haven't had a chance to re-watch it yet, so I'm not sure if there's any inappropriate content.

The Princess Bride (1987)

Cary Elwes, I love you. This movie made me love you. Even if you're playing Robin Hood from Men in Tights or Pierre Desperaux on Psych, you'll always be Westley to me.

Just be careful of the ROUS's.

ALSO, did anyone else know this????!!!!!

Can't Hardly Wait (1998)

It's your last chance to finally tell your crush how you feel. Don't chicken out! This movie is FULL of awesome actors: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Seth Green, Jason Segel, Melissa Joan Hart, Selma Blair, Jenna Elfman, the list goes on and on!

It's got a very sweet ending for an off-beat,
slightly awkward 90's movie about high school kids.
WARNING: There is some crude language, and a couple of inappropriate scenes.

The Sandlot (1993)

 I'll forever love this movie. It transports me back to my days as an awkward pre-teen. I moved a lot when I was a kid, so I can totally relate to Scotty Smalls. 

You're killing me Smalls.

Honey, We Shrunk Ourselves (1997)

 Yes, it's on the cheesy side, but I like it anyways.

 I also just noticed that the daughter, Jenny, is no other than Allison Mack!
I love her!

 I love her most as Chloe Sullivan from Smallville.

A League of Their Own (1992)

This was the movie I would rent from Hollywood Video every Friday night as a girl. No matter how many times I watched it, I never got sick of it.
I find that's still true.
(It took me years to connect Madonna with All the Way Mae)

And Tom Hanks rocked the roll of Jimmy Dugan.
Of course he rocks every roll.


Tommy Boy (1995)

I really don't think I need to say much about this movie. It's just pure awesomeness.

I wish I could have mentioned all of the great, old-school movies, but there were just too many. Here are a few more that I just had to mention:

ET (1982)
The Last Unicorn (1982)
Girls Just Want to Have Fun (1985)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

Forest Gump (1994)

The Truman Show (1998)

Drive Me Crazy (1999)

Notting Hill (1999)



Did I miss any that you love? Let me know, I'd love to check them out!

Simple Summer Craft for Kids, Puffy Paint!

Today I attempted to be a cool mom. After cruising Pinterest I picked out a project that looked low maintenance. I found How to Make Puffy Paint on the blog One Little Project at a Time, by Debbie. I'll admit right now that hers turned out way cuter than ours, but the kids had fun all the same. 

When I look for projects to do with my kids, the first thing I look at are the ingredients. If there are too many, or several that I've never heard of before, I move right along. Thankfully Debbie's Puffy Paint was very simple! The only ingredient I didn't already have was shaving cream, and I found it at the Dollar Tree!

 First, we poured the glue into some disposable plastic cups. The instructions just said to try and add the glue and shaving cream in equal parts, so I decided to see how much glue I had before I started with the shaving cream.

Second, we added the shaving cream. 

I may have a little too much fun squirting it out.

Third, we added the food coloring. I used all 4 colors that came in the food coloring box and then we experimented with the last two cups. I let the kids pick which colors we should try.

Fourth, I let the kids mix away! They were thrilled to see that they'd created orange and purple. This is where I ran into my first couple of issues. I wish I had used bigger containers than the small plastic cups; the paint kept creeping over the edges. Especially since the mixers were a little less than careful. Also, the popsicle sticks that I'd planned on using to mix the paint were too short, so I switched to using BBQ skewers. Yes, I know that sharp sticks are probably not the safest thing to give my children, but I used what I had (and monitored them carefully). 

Their little hands did get tired after several minutes of mixing, so I stepped in to give each of the colors a good stir. I also wanted to make sure that I got all of the glue I'd poured into the bottom of the cups mixed into the shaving cream.

 

 Fifth, It was time to paint! I dressed the kids in some of my old t-shirts, and pulled the girl's hair out of their faces. I also wrapped some hair ties around the extra slack at the neck of their painting shirts so it protected their clothes a little better.

I managed to do most of this project while Thing 4 was napping, but he woke up while the kids were painting. By some miracle, he wasn't interested in the paint, SO we got in a few snuggles while Things 1-3 finished up!

And here are Thing 1 and Thing 2 with their favorite paintings, I must have accidentally deleted the picture of Thing 3:

Although, there were lots of other pictures to choose from:

So after all that, I would recommend this to other moms without hesitating. Although, I might suggest you have them paint outside ;)