Friday, April 25, 2014

A Double Celebration

We celebrated Tingting's 22nd Birthday today.  It seems like only yesterday she was new to our family and we were celebrating her Sweet 16. Since that time she has become our daughter. People sometimes say wow 7 yrs, she must be like a daughter to you.  Our response is always that she is not at all LIKE a daughter, she IS a daughter.  In good times and bad (man, can she be crabby) LOL.  I tease her all the time that she is my Chinese slave, the only problem is that it is us waiting on her hand and foot! LOL

We planned a special menu and invited all our closest friends and family and we also got to meet Tony's Mom, Marlene, and brother, Joshua.

Ting loves Barbecue Ribs and Frank makes the best around.  He uses this recipe, and his own homemade bbq sauce.  We use this sauce all summer long, on ribs, chicken and pork chops.  Try it...you will never use store bought again.





Frank's Special BBQ Sauce

2 c. Ketchup
1/2 c. brown sugar
1/4 c. worcestershire sauce
1 t. hot sauce
1 t. lemon juice
4 cloves garlic, minced

Mix all ingredients together.  Slather generously on meat of your choice during last few minutes of cooking allowing to carmelize.
Print Recipe





You can find the recipe for Fried Chicken here and Baked Beans here.  I used store bought cole slaw and the fruit salad was a mixture of strawberries, blueberries, blackberries and raspberries.  I also put out a bowl of Watermelon and I had some hot dogs and buns on hand in case I started running out of food (I didn't).





The Roasted Red Skins are a very common side dish for us.  In the winter I roast them in the oven as I did today.  In the summer, I throw them on the grill.  They are easy and delicious.


Roasted Red Skin Potatoes

3 lbs. baby red skin potatoes
1/4 cup olive oil
salt and pepper to taste.

Cut potatoes into even chunks (leave small potatoes whole, halve medium potatoes and quarter large potatoes) so they are all uniform size.
Toss with olive oil and seasonings.  Roast at 375* for 1 hour or more, until potatoes are browned and easily pierced with a fork.  Print Recipe


  
This Rice Salad is one of Ting's favorites.
It is a great side dish for grilled meals and a great potluck dish as well.

Rice Mingle Salad

3 c. cooked rice, cooled
2 green peppers, chopped
1 English cucumber, diced
3 tomatoes, seeded and diced
5 green onions, white and light green sections, sliced
1/4 c.chopped parsley
1 c. olive oil
1/3 c. rice wine vinegar
2 cloves garlic, minced
2 pinches kosher salt
1 dash white pepper

In a large bowl, mix together rice and vegetables.  In a small bowl, whisk together oil, vinegar, garlic, salt and pepper.  Pour over rice mixture and toss to coat.  Chill before serving.  Print Recipe


Dinner is served

  
And Enjoyed.


By all.

After dinner we all visited for a bit and then we sang Happy Birthday and cake, provided by Amy, was served.  While we were singing, Tony dropped his fork and knelt down to get it.  While he was down there he pronounced his love to Tingting and asked for her hand in marriage.


She is not very happy!!


But she did say yes...
Many times!!


Her ring is beautiful!

We are so happy for them both.  And we are happy that Tony proposed properly.  You know it is not easy when you find out you are going to be grandparents and your daughter isn't married. We were not sure what we were going to do but THIS was always an option LOL.





13 comments:

  1. Congratulations to all!!!! I loved how he proposed and that last picture is a hoot. She has a cute little baby bump already, doesn't she. I will have to try that rice dish on Richard. He loves green peppers so much. Did you know that Tony was going to propose?? Now a wedding to plan. Does she see her Chinese family ever?? And one more question please...do you guys have other grandchildren or will these be the first.....

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    1. Yes, Paula, he had told us ahead of time so that we could make sure his family was here for it. We would not normally have had such a big party for Ting's birthday. She usually goes home to China for several weeks during the summer but this past summer she was working so was not able to. She intends to go home for a while after the baby is born and her Mom may be coming here for the birth. We have 24 grand nieces and nephews with whom we are very close. We are especially close to Lili and Spencer, who live up north and who we have always considered our grandchildren since their Mom is like a daughter to me but to answer your question....we have no biological grandchildren and are very excited about this impending addition.

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    2. Thanks! This helps me fill in the spaces. LOL! You have a wonderful family! You are very lucky. You said one time that both you and Frank were married before. Are any of the kids yours and his together or did you blend families. You can always tell me to MYOB if I get too personal. My kids tell me I would be a great interrogator. LOL

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    3. No, none together except for the exchange students. My eldest was starting college and the youngest was living on his own when we got married. Frank's oldest was 9 and the youngest was 7 when we got married. When we first got married Amy said "Hey you guys could have a baby" I said nope, our life was not conducive to babies. When we decided to take in exchange students Amy was quick to remind me that had we had a child it would have been the same age as the exchange students LOL.

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    4. You two are awesome together. You fit! Wasn't it a blessing that you were partnered up?? And you have to be so excited to be getting a grand baby soon.

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  2. What a great night! Super excited for you and Frank! Happy belated birthday to your daughter and congratulations too! I also loved the last picture!

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  3. Great blog! Great pics!! I'm all teary eyed-and look-I'm not anonymous anymore!!

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  4. Looking forward to the party on Saturday! Let me know if there is anything I can do or bring please! Will be fun to see everyone again!

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    1. We are going to do a Cinco de Mayo party Sharon. It will be a blast.

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  5. Yes that will be a fun party theme! You are so creative! Just bought 2 big jars of Salsa from Costco....want me to bring them? I can also pick up some chips to go with them :)

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