Grand Canyon National Park Created - Feb 26, 1916

If you haven’t stood in awe yet at the edge of the Grand Canyon, it’s not too late to start planning your visit. In 2016, America will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the establishment of Grand Canyon National Park where you can ride a donkey down the steep switchbacks to the bottom of the canyon, or enjoy the beautiful geologic layered science lesson on land erosion from the rim.  For more info check out... http://www.nps.gov/grca/index.htm

If you won’t be able to visit the Grand Canyon on February 26, you can still celebrate the creation of this spectacular national park by enjoying a delicious "layered" menu...
Savory Salsa Dip & Nachos
Tossed Salad 
Berry Cheesecake Trifle 

Savory Salsa Layer Dip

3 medium avocados

2 Tbsp fresh lemon juice

2 Tbsp grated onion w/ juice

  Smash avocados and mix with lemon & onion juice

1/2 tsp salt

1/4 tsp pepper

1 cup sour cream

1/2 cup mayonnaise (optional)
     Mix salt, pepper, sour cream and mayonnaise in separate bowl

3 medium tomatoes

1 bunch green onions

8 oz. cheddar cheese

2 - 3 oz. cans sliced olives (optional)

  Chop tomatoes and onions and grate cheese

2 - 15 oz. cans refried beans

1 small can green chilies

  Mix beans and chilies

Any leftover cooked meat such as chicken, beef or pork

  Chop meat into small pieces

  Layer in the following order starting at the bottom:)...

• Beans
• Meat (optional)
• Avocado mixture
• Sour cream/mayonnaise mixture
• Green onions
• Tomatoes
• Olives (optional)
• Cheese

  Chill for best flavor and serve at room temperature with tortilla chips topped with   melted cheese.

Berry Cheesecake Trifle

1 pkg. (8 oz) cream cheese, softened

2 cups powdered sugar

     Mix cream cheese & powdered sugar

1 cup sour cream

1/2 tsp vanilla

     Add sour cream and 1/2 tsp vanilla

1/2 pint whipping cream

1 tsp vanilla

1 Tbsp. sugar

  In a new bowl whip cream, 1 tsp vanilla and 1 Tbsp sugar. 

  Fold the two mixtures together.

2 quarts fresh or @ 2-3 cups frozen berries (I like the Costco frozen berry mix)

3 Tbsp. sugar

  Combine berries and 3 Tbsp. sugar.   

1 angel food cake torn into bite size pieces

  Layer in a glass bowl:  cake, cream, berries, repeat 3X.  

  Cover and Refrigerate until ready to serve - you can prepare the night before.  

Disclaimer

Let it be known that while I'm trying to include balanced menus, the recipes included in this blog are intended to be for FUN and to taste good according to me and my family, which means that any nutrition will be somewhat coincidental. Although I'm all for organic, low fat, whole grain etc. that is not my aim.  

Also, I've modified recipes to suit my taste but will include a source or reference whenever I know one.  

Just wanted you to know - Enjoy!

Thanks to Mom ~

The inspiration? My Mom. Some people are cooks by choice and training, some have cooking thrust upon them. With six kids, my mom fit into the latter category, fixing three meals a day for 20+ years resulting in over 175,000 meals!  
     
My own experience raising four children is that it's a daunting and often tedious task to come up with a wide variety of nutritious and delicious meals day in and day out and desperation or boredom often make cold cereal on the run sound as good as anything.  

   
But family meal time has been making a comeback for a while.  In a 2006 Time Magazine article... http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1200760,00.html  Nancy Gibbs reminds us, “Studies show that the more often families eat together, the less likely kids are to smoke, drink, do drugs, get depressed, develop eating disorders and consider suicide, and the more likely they are to do well in school, delay having sex, eat their vegetables, learn big words and know which fork to use. "If it were just about food, we would squirt it into their mouths with a tube," says Robin Fox, an anthropologist who teaches at Rutgers University in New Jersey, about the mysterious way that family dinner engraves our souls. "A meal is about civilizing children. It's about teaching them to be a member of their culture."
     
And that’s how I grew up.  We ate together.  Breakfast, lunch when we weren’t in school, and dinner, each meal homemade, as we sat around the table talking, laughing, arguing and bonding.  So how did Mom do it?  Not the cooking, how did she maintain her sanity? How did she avoid getting bored coming up with all those meals?  She got creative and found reasons to celebrate, not only our culture but others as well.  

 
This blog is a fine tuning of my mother’s practice of celebrating big, little and quirky holidays at meal time, giving us insight into different cultures, exposing us to new foods and saving her sanity by making dinner fun. My desire to re-establish and pass along the tradition for my children prompted me to ask mom for her menus and recipes, and when my writing group suggested that others might be interested I thought I would start this blog.  Please feel free to suggest holidays, activities, menus and recipes and share your own reasons to celebrate with food.