Zoo, Cow Sandwich, and Chinese Spaghetti and Meatballs

On the plate:  Chinese spaghetti and meatballs

Soundtrack to cook to:  Al Green's Greatest Hits....ahhh the Reverend...how I love him so. :)

"Animals!!!"  That's what Alexander kept enthusiastically shouting in the car on our way to the zoo.  I, of course, got him all excited by telling him that we were going to go to the zoo and see all sorts of animals.  We went through all of the animals that he knows and he was kicking his legs and shouting, "Yay!!" on the way there.  Thankfully, the Franklin Park Zoo is only about 15 minutes away from the house, which is refreshing because every other place that we go to seems like it's about 45 minutes to 1 hour away.  Here's a few pictures and videos from our visit to the zoo:

In the car, on the way to the zoo.  Isn't he handsome? :)

Zebras!

That was one ferocious roar, huh?  The lion was pretty

loud, too.  Ha ha ha :)

The baby gorilla just turned one yesterday!  It was

absolutely precious!

The hippo was so cute!  Too bad they're pretty vicious...

and always hungry hungry.  Sorry...bad joke. :-/

The giant anteater really is giant!

Alexander enjoyed playing on the playground
at the zoo and watching the "big kids" play.

After the zoo, it was time for lunch, so we drove home.  It was a very chilly day, so I thought I would try my hand at making a warm sandwich for Alexander.  We've tried this before, but he really hasn't liked sandwiches.  Then, I thought to myself, "Ooh!  I bought farm animal cookie cutters!  I'll make a grilled cheese and turkey sandwich and use a cow cookie cutter to cut the sandwich into the shape of a cow!"  

Once we got home, I told Alexander that he was going to have a special, yummy sandwich for lunch.  A cow sandwich!!  How exciting! (lol)  He totally bought into it!!  Here's a picture of Alexander enjoying his "cow" sandwich:

Alexander munching on his sandwich.  There
was a little bit left over, and I didn't want to waste it,
so I cut it into a strip and gave that to him as well.
I've finally found success with getting Alexander to
eat sandwiches!  Hooray! :)

Being the fan of Rachael Ray that I am, I was inspired by her Chinese spaghetti and meatballs recipe that she showcased on her show the other day.  I love how creative she gets with seemingly average, commonplace recipes.  I've made her Thanksgiving leftovers spaghetti and meatballs and those are pretty delicious as well.  Plus, she incorporated Chinese 5 spice (yum!), kale (I've been in love with this green for over a year now, thanks to being introduced to it by my friend Ai-ris), and mushrooms into this recipe.  I felt like with all of the ingredients in this recipe; I couldn't go wrong!

First, you make the meatballs and bake them in the oven:

After your soup base, pasta, and meatballs are done cooking, you incorporate them together to create this beautiful dish:

Report:  Absolutely delicious!!  It tastes like a giant soup dumpling!  I was magically whisked away to Chicago's Chinatown where I had the BEST soup dumplings ever with Joseph's family.  The subtle heat from the jalapeno and Chinese five spice was warming and the meatballs were absolutely delicious!  You could even make the meatballs as an appetizer and serve it dipped in hoisin sauce.  This is a definite addition to the family recipe book and a crowd pleaser to boot!

Well, I'm off to good ol' West Lafayette, IN for the weekend!  (I'll only be in town for less than 24 hours.)  I'm going to celebrate my friend Erin's wedding at her wedding reception in downtown Lafayette, and am going to visit my in-laws Elias and Linda as well!  I'm looking forward to seeing everyone, but will miss Alexander, Joseph, and Oscar terribly!  Don't worry boys, Mama Nikki will be home by Sunday afternoon!  Until next time...

Love and kisses,

Nikki