Recipes: Campfire Toasted Portobello Mushrooms & Cinnamon Apples
Food is prepped and ready to be cooked for dinner over the campfire
First we shared our Campfire Steak & Kielbasa main dish. Last week we shared with you our Campfire Garlic Bread. Now this week we get to do another side dish – Portobello Mushrooms as well as desert – Cinnamon Apples.
Are you seeing a theme this month? Maybe I am gearing up for a another fun family camping trip!? The only probably is figuring out when to fit it in with all the other fun stuff going on! Our family really does enjoy a good camping trip or fire pit meal! It is fun to try new things or take items we used to only do on the grill and make them over a fire. By the way, all of these recipes work beautifully on a grill too so feel free to cook up these goodies on it instead.
Campfire Toasted Portobello Mushrooms & Cinnamon Apples
A campfire is not the same without desert. While we do really enjoy the sweet chocolate goodness of toasted marshmallows and s’mores this time around we tried something new. Campfire Toasted Cinnamon Apples and they turned out crispy, sweet, and delicious!Servings: 4Ingredients
- 2 Portobello Mushroom Tops
- 1 tbsp Italian Salad Dressing
- 2 Sliced Apples Granny Smith or other Baking Apple
- 1 tbsp Cinnamon Sugar Mixture
- Wooden or Metal Skewers
Instructions
- Soak the wooden skewers in water for about 5 to 10 minutes. This allows them to not burn up once over the campfire. If you have metal skewers these can be used immediately.
- While the skewers are soaking in water. Drizzle a touch of the Italian Salad Dressing over the outside of the portobello mushroom and the remaining tablespoon amount on the inside of the mushroom and allow to sit inside the cap to marinate it until it goes onto the campfire.
- Stick the skewers through the portobello mushroom. Two skewers per piece works a little better when turning over the fire, but 1 will work too.
- Sprinkle the cinnamon & sugar mixture over the outside of the apple slices.
- Stick the skewers through the apple slices. We put 2 slices on each skewer.
- Place the portobello mushroom (do the top side of the mushroom first so the bowl with the extra Italian Salad Dressing is facing up and continuing to season the mushroom as it cooks) on the campfire. Cook until slight lines start appearing on the mushroom and flip once. Depending on how hot the fire is it should only take 1 to 3 minutes per side when you see the Italian Salad Dressing start to boil or bubble inside the mushroom cap it is time to flip it.
- Place the apple slices on the campfire. Cook until the apple juices start bubbling and flip once. Depending on how hot the fire is it should only take 1 to 3 minutes per side
Mushroom seasoned with Italian Salad Dressing is ready to go onto the fire
Cooking the portobello mushroom and cinnamon apple slices together
Almost done, both have been flipped and about ready to come off the fire! Smells wonderful!
School: Family STEM Activity Night
STEM Club team members getting ready to speak to family, friends, and school faculty.
On Family STEM Activity Night all students and families were invited to participate in dinner, activities, and a STEM Club presentation. Both of our girls spoke in front of all the school faculty, family, and friends that were at the event. So proud of their courage and willingness to speak in front of so many people. They did fantastic at the robotic competitions and speaking at the event.
Karlie speaking. Brina spoke too, but we didn’t get a clear picture of her.
Our little super heroes!
Karlie getting ready to test her balloon rocket.
Mrs. Williams (Brina’s 4th grade homeroom teacher) helping Brina put her balloon on the string so she can race it.
Mr. Moore (one of the STEM Club coaches) timing Brina’s balloon as it zips down the string to the target.
Brina making her container for her egg drop. You got 1 containers and could use 2 items. She picked bubble wrap and yellow feathers!
Karlie picked cotton balls and sponges for her egg drop container!
There goes Karlie’s!
Brina getting ready to watch her egg drop. The girls were the first ones to not have their eggs break on the concrete (almost 40 people went in front of them)!
Jake met us at the school. He was great at building the tower out of spaghetti noodles and marshmallows. They were given a specific amount of dry spaghetti noodles and marshmallows to see how high of tower they could build. They had one of the highest towers when we left the room.
Measuring the tower! It was leaning a little, but could stand on it’s own without assistance!
Our spaghetti noodle and marshmallow tower design!
At the end of the night the school held a drawing for all the people that came. We had the grand prize ticket – an Amazon Kindle! The kindle has already been proven valuable on our last couple of road trips. Instead of bringing extra books they can read a lot of books that we downloaded on the Kindle. It’s been a nice item to have for the kids. They are very lucky girls!
Travel & Vacation: Homewood Suites & Paddington Movie (Atlanta, GA)
Swimming at the pool
On a recent trip to Atlanta, Georgia we stayed at the Homewood Suites. The girls were begging to go swimming so on the first day we were there we wrapped up early and headed back to the hotel so they could swim. It was in the high 70’s that day, however, they had just filled the pool a couple days before we arrived so the water was freezing cold. Both kids got into the pool, but Brina was done after a few minutes. Karlie stayed in a little longer, although it wasn’t much fun swimming by herself. The entire time we were at the hotel we didn’t see one other person in the pool….I wonder why?!
Since we scrapped our pool time activity we decided to look for some other activities that we could do together that night. We headed back to the room to re-group and figure out what we wanted to do that evening. While the girls got dressed Jake and I made dinner in the hotel room. It was nice having one with a fridge, sink, dishwasher, microwave, and oven so we could eat at the hotel!
Jake found a movie theater nearby where you can get movie tickets for $3 each and they were showing some good kids movies so we decided to check it out. It was only a few miles away inside a open shopping mall and market. We chose to watch the movie Paddington with the girls at the Venture Theater.
It was a cute movie. I seriously cannot remember the last time our family went to the movie theater so this was a special treat for the kids. Usually it is so expensive just to go to the movies so we usually wait until it comes out on video. It was a nice activity for the four of us and only cost $12! The kids enjoyed the movie. Jake and I had a couple good laughs too. Thankful for a fun evening with the family. Sometimes even the best of plans don’t go as expected so it’s always a good idea to have a Plan B.
Ready for the movie to start
Karlie is focused
Our kids typically don’t sleep in very late so one morning after breakfast we spent some time playing games until the place we were going to that day opened. During the evenings after dinner if we had time and everyone wasn’t too tired we would play some card games too. It’s always a good idea to bring card games because you never know when you’ll have a few minutes of down time to relax and have fun.
Karlie relaxing on the couch at the hotel.
Brina setting up the game
It didn’t take them long to crash after a fun filled day in Atlanta!
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun, and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Everything Beautifully Covered in Icicles
All the trees coated in ice!
The past couple of weeks have been busy with changes in schedules due to the weather. Our first big storm started as sleet went to snow and ended in more sleet. The result was everything covered in a sheet of ice.
The kids that it was great they got out of school. They didn’t care that it was cold or slick they loved playing outside in it! It was nice having some extra fun time with the kids. With all the fun we have been having it has taken me awhile to catch up on the things around the house and get the blog pictures posted. Hopefully, I will have you all updated on our snow and ice activities within the next couple of days! 🙂
Brina volunteering to take out our mail. So happy to have a “snow / ice” day from school!
Skipper loves snow days as much as the kids. She loves playing outside with them!
Brina sledding. The ice on top of the snow actually made the sledding a lot of fun for the kids.
Karlie getting ready to go down too!
Karlie sledding. It’s amazing how well the sled worked even going through the leaves!
Icicles on the back porch.
Icicles on the jungle gym.
My old planter is covered with ice!
Our poor trees….they looked so sad! They were not as happy about having the weight of ice on them.
Icy branches!
Love It – Ozobot Robot
Ozobot running through its course!
One of the gifts the girls got for Christmas was an Ozobot. It has been really neat seeing them learn more about robotics and create more maps for it to explore. The Ozobot is very tiny and comes with a couple maps.
You can create any number of additional maps for the Ozobot – all you need is a piece of paper and some markers. The kids have really enjoyed doing different maps for the Ozobot. One of the best ways to create new maps is to get a large piece of drawing paper from an easel and have the kids continue to add various paths to it until it is full of fun routes and activities for the Ozobot to go on.
We got the Ozobot from a deal site, but you can also find it on Amazon as well. The Ozobot helps the kids learn more about programming and coding while having fun! If you know of a kid (or an adult!) who enjoys robotics, computers, and/or engineering you may want to check it out!
We made a list with all four of our names – we ask the Ozobot after dinner who should clean up the table! He will pick someone at random…interesting way to decide who gets chosen for the task! Ha! Dad was the lucky winner this time around!
Karlie mesmerized by Ozo!
Learning how to program it and make new maps for it.
Brina designed a new map for Ozo to run on.
Really neat robot! Love that you can create new maps!
Ozobot picking the next lucky winner! Who gets to choose the next game for the family to play?!
You can learn more about the Ozobot and read some of the reviews on the Ozobot website or on Amazon.
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
Flashback Friday – Time Spent in the NICU
Karlie and Brina in their bed at the NICU!
Today’s flashback is to February 2005 when the two beautiful blessings were born – my daughters Brina and Karlie! After 12 weeks of permanent bed rest they came 7 weeks early and spent almost a month in the NICU. Thankfully, they spent the majority of their time in NICU sharing a crib. They looked so cute and all wrapped up together in their blanket. It is hard to imagine them being this tiny – Karlie was 3 pounds 15 ounces and Brina was 4 pounds 9 ounces when they were born.
At first they were not able to finish all their milk on their own so they had NG tubes. Jake had to hold up a syringe with the remaining milk and would drain directly into their little tummies! It wasn’t long before they were drinking their full portion on their own!
Sleeping beauties! Can you tell who is who?! Karlie is next to Mr. Duck and Brina is sleeping next to Miss Kitty
Greenville: Journey to Bethlehem Event
Roman Solider on the outside of the gate to Bethlehem
We went to the Journey to Bethlehem Event with Jake’s cousins family a couple weeks ago. It was a really neat event by the Greenville Nazarene church. When you arrived you signed in and received a token to pay your taxes to the Roman soldiers once you arrived at the city of Bethlehem. Before going into the city you watched a short video sharing the history behind the event and preparing you for what will happen once inside the city. The event is free and well worth going through with your family. They do it every year.
They had about 12 booths that you could go to each one doing something different. At each booth you got a treat (like bread that would be eaten during that time) or bead to put onto your necklace or you made something (like a toy from that era). There were animals you could pet, hot chocolate, a manger scene, and so much more. We have wanted to attend this event for the past few years, but always had a conflict on the weekend they did it. Thanks Luke and Kristen for inviting us to come with you. We had a great time and it was a wonderful learning experience for the kids too! It was really nice to attend an event that reflected on the original meaning of Christmas. This event had to take a lot of time and energy from many people to make happen. Thank You!
Eating a homemade cookie and listening to the lady tell a story!
Making a toy out of wood and string – fascinating!
As always the animals were a hit with the girls!
Angels making the announcement to the shepherds.
A live camel, the girls really wanted to go for a ride or at least pet it!
Travel & Vacation: Aquarium Underwater Dining Adventure (Nashville, TN)
We were able to go to the Aquarium An Underwater Dining Adventure Restaurant with the kids while we were in Nashville, TN. They thought it was the best place to eat. I am not entirely sure they even tasted their food because they were so fascinated by all the fish and the aquariums all around us. It was a unique experience and a lot of fun especially if you have kids. The kids were so excited about the fish I forgot to take a picture of our delicious food!
One of the huge circular aquariums! We planned to go there for dinner as a surprise for the kids. They were hooked and excited as soon as they stepped foot inside the door.
Karlie wanted to take a picture at one of the sharks1
The last time we saw sting rays we were swimming with them at Grand Cayman Island. These were on the other side of the glass.
I see you hiding…a sprinkle of sand doesn’t make you invisible!
Colorful fish!
In the middle of the restaurant was a giant aquarium you could see from any where in the restaurant. Fascinating!
So many fish!
The girls decided they would enjoy one of these huge aquariums at our house! 🙂
Travel & Vacation: Adventure Science Center (Nashville, TN)
During our recent visit to Nashville we went to the Adventure Science Center. The kids LOVED it! It was a lot of fun hanging out, playing, and learning with the kids for several hours. We were there when it opened that morning and left when it was closing 7 hours later, I would say it was a hit with the kids! Even better is our whole family got in free (WOOHOO) because we are members of our local Roper Mountain Science Center in Greenville and the museums are part of the same affiliation.
Brina and Karlie discovered that they CAN lift a car off the ground, using the right tools!
Activity that simulates walking on the moon, they had a blast!
Karlie especially liked the Space Chase room. Standing near her favorite planet….Saturn!
The space room was two stories high, this is looking up from the ground level. Pretty neat!
Chatting with Brina, the old fashion way!
Brave Karlie putting her hand into the mouth of a fish and pulling it out of the log.
The water table was a popular spot for the kids!
Brina checking things out!
Karlie using the wind from the Jungle Gym to blow the sails on the sailboat!
Karlie in the bubble under the dinosaur as Brina points out that the dinosaur is moving.
Karlie generating energy on the bicycle! Pedal faster!
Parachute race! Whose going to win! You raise the parachutes on the pulley system, when it clicks they release and see who lands first!
Locating our house!
Found Grandpa and Grandma’s house too!
Exploring particles and magnets….
Feeding the giant mouth!
Trying to master the digestive track maze!
At the top of the 3 story jungle gym you can look out over downtown Nashville. Great view!
Jake and the girls waiting for me to come down from the top. They obviously move faster, ha! Fun times with the family.
It’s probably been awhile since Jake’s been on a 3 story jungle gym. He was a good sport and allow the girls to “show him around!”
This was a laser game that we played several times. The good activities compete against the germs / sickness to see who will win.
Jake playing checkers with Karlie.
Brina maneuvering the wheelchair around the ramps and basketball court. Takes some skill getting around places in a wheelchair.
Heart Reflections: Spending One-On-One With Each Kid
I cannot remember how old the girls were when we started with official Date Nights, but we always tried to make sure we had one-on-one time with each child even when they were little. That could mean taking one child to the grocery store while Daddy reads to the one at home. Now that the girls are older we give them several Date Night options that appeal to them.
We do a mix of “Home Date Nights” and “Out on the Town Date Nights” to help make it more cost effective for the family. Most months we swap, usually one of us goes out with one child and the other stays home (great chance to watch a movie or do puzzles, play a game or build a castle out of legos). The date nights with the kids give us time to have fun, make memories, and opens up a multitude of opportunities to have some heart to heart conversations with our kids.
Also, it is very important that your children see you and your spouse go on Date Nights and have fun together too. Usually when Jake and I go out the girls want to make sure that their “turn” is coming up soon! Thankful for time to spend with my family!
