Our "Wright"-ing Pad: 31 days... of dinner chez les Wrightlings... Toad in the hole and roasted squash ~ seriously! {day 25}

25 October 2013

31 days... of dinner chez les Wrightlings... Toad in the hole and roasted squash ~ seriously! {day 25}

One morning Toad sat in bed.

“I have many things to do,” he said.

“I will write them

all down on a list

so that I can remember them.”

Toad wrote on a piece of paper:

A list of things to do today

Then we wrote:

Wake up

“I have done that,” said Toad,

and he crossed out:

~~Wake up~~

I've got a list today, too... even if it isn't written down and

Making Toad in the hole... a traditional British meal... is on it.

Why?

Because not only do my kids love to eat frog legs
from their favorite Chinese restaurant in Niamey;

they also

~~like~~ love to play with live toads (and frogs)... like seriously...

See?

(Click this link if you'd like to see more pics from many moons ago

of Wrightlings toad snuggling.)

Their ~~Redcoat~~ Brit friends recently posted on fb about making Toad in the hole.

Had never heard of it, but was intrigued.

I asked... but I also googled and found a recipe.

I figured I had to at least give it a try.

After all, if Gibbo could make it...?

There are no REAL toads in the recipe...

although I had Jonathan, Elsie Mae and Mary Michelle

seriously

worried for several days.

They all liked the dish, just not the butternut squash served on the side.

After all, what's not to like about sausage, Yorkshire pudding and onion gravy?

We also had company for dinner.

Cousin Laura, Aunt Mary, and cousins Olivia and Ada...

They came by the house, picked up the littles and took them to a local Halloween walk.

You know, one of those things where the kids come home with a lunch bag loaded up with all sorts of sweet and unhealthy things to spoil their dinner and lead to teeth decay?

But my favorite moment came after dinner, while we were sitting around chatting with Cousin Laura.

Anna asked Laura and Tim how they were related.

Laura began explaining that they were cousins -

Tim's mom was Laura's aunt because Laura's daddy was the little brother of Tim's mom.

Anna kinda had her blank expression... the one that says:

"I understood the words you just said, but I still don't really get it!"

So Laura kept on talking, giving more details -

she and Tim were born really close to the same time:

Her mama was just leaving the hospital with her and her twin sister the day Anna's daddy was born. Then there was Cousin Mike, born just a few weeks later.

Four cousins in about 6 weeks time.

(And it is fun to see them all such good friends as adults, now!)

Then Anna looked back and forth between Tim and Laura several times before wondering aloud,

'"You mean you're actually older than Dad?"

"Yes, by about a week," Laura replied.

"Wow! I thought Daddy was so much older than you. He definitely looks like it!"

I could've fallen off the couch laughing...

That may have been the first time EVER that Tim has been told he looked like...

the old one!

And, in case you were wondering?

Toad in the hole was a definite repeat...

"...minus the squash, Mama!" Can you hear Jonathan cry out?