A Haven for Vee

Monday, January 28, 2013

Of Breadsticks, Pirates, Books, and Puzzles

Documenting a long overdue birthday party of sorts. My daughter-in-law has been ill with the flu much of the month, along with her mother and sister. One of the grands got it; the other is still vertical. My son has managed to stay vertical as well. Illness made getting together to celebrate a six- and seven-year old a challenge. At least we made it while it was still January.


Carol first mentioned a recipe for breadsticks *here* and I was intrigued because my grandsons love them. I remembered being out for lunch recently with one who scarfed them down and didn't eat much of his pizza when it arrived. I decided then and there that I could happily give up the pizza as well and have breadsticks and salad or soup and be perfectly content.

**The recipe I used was found *here* and it does come very close to its claim of being a P*zza H*t knock-off. Not quite, but close. Each one of those pieces was sliced into strips on the diagonal. What I loved about it was the speed of it. Mix up the bread dough, allow to rise for just 15 minutes and bake it off for 25 minutes. An hour from start to finish was perfect! I used a jar of marinara for the dipping sauce and it was great.

{**Edited to Add: January 28, 2020
The recipe I linked to no longer exists and so I have rounded up *this one* that mentions Pizza Hut breadsticks. I don't recall that my recipe had dry milk powder. Oh well, there are many recipes out there.}



This boy especially enjoys dressing up and had asked for a Super Hero cape. My sister gifted him with a pirate's hat and he promptly took the name "Smee."


This pirate is now known as Captain Hook. Not sure that he ever found treasure though he studied his map carefully.

Puzzle time with lots of good instruction going on from dad about north, south, east, and west, etc. They seem to have enjoyed it. Sam Captain Hook definitely knew where Canada was and Maine.

And then, too soon, the afternoon was over and Sam Captain Hook grabbed his father by the throat and they were off! Jake Smee's already nearly out the door.

Happy Birthday, Boys! We you!

44 comments:

  1. Those bread sticks look really good! Love the pirates hat on Smee...:-)

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  2. I love the way boys can take on personalities so quickly based on a hat, cape, mask, etc. My grandsons are the same way. Those bread sticks look yummy. I'm going to go check out that recipe!

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  3. I am definitely giving that breadstick recipe a try, looks delish!
    We have (fingers crossed) avoided that dreadful flu so far here this year, but it has reach official epidemic status in our nearby city.

    Keep warm and healthy,
    hugs,
    Niki

    ps...and cutest pirate ever....well, except of course when our grandsons are pirates, then it's a tie :)

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  4. The breadsticks look delicious!
    Captain Hook is so cute!!

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  5. Don't you love the imagination of young ones! Looks like a fun time at your place, and the bread sticks look yummy.
    Judith

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  6. Sorry about all the sickness, about. But so happy you got to celebrate the boys Birthdays.

    Oh my but those bread sticks look good!!! Ya' know, it's things-requiring-real-bread, which I miss an awful lot. -pout-

    Betcha' a Super Hero Cape will be sewed up soon, by his sweet Auntie. :-)

    OHWOW! Just realized... Sam is "Capt. Hook"!!! GREAT choice there, Son! The "Capt. Hook" on "Once Upon A Time" is the most delicious of all the characters on that show! -grin-

    Although Sam probably never saw THAT "Capt. Hook." Or did he??????????? ,-)

    "Auntie"

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    1. Btw, please do click on that click-able (pale green) "Capt. Hook" link above...

      You won't be sorry..............

      :-)))))))))))

      "Auntie"

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  7. Good morning! Those breadsticks look sooo good, I can smell them too! Happy birthday to Captain Hook! Enjoy your day...

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  8. So cute - what fun it would be to have a pirates birthday theme party!! Sure glad that Captain Hook knew where Canada was.
    Your breadsticks look wonderful and I'll bet they smelled oh so good while baking too. Have a great day Vee.

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  9. Hi Vee, I have been catching up with some of your past posts. Seems I am never caught up visiting my favorites. What a fun day with Captain Hook and Smee. Love the ice mosaic. Right now it is just raining here, temps up in the 50s for a few days then scheduled to go down again. I am willing to bet a spring snow for us. The breaksticks look great. Have a great week.
    Peggy

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  10. Vee
    Happy Belated B'Day to the boys!
    I'm with your g'son, I can fill
    right up on the breadsticks too.
    Yours look yummy!

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  11. Birthday celebrations are fun, even if they're a little late. I still have a few to catch up on before January floats away:-D Love the breadsticks; must try them, XOXO

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  12. Yummy looking breadsticks! Sounds like those two are very creative. Nice to see!

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  13. It seems everyone I know has been sick sometime this winter! My daughter is sick again, this time with a cold.

    Christopher went through a pirate stage, it was so much fun. Especially when I knew he didn't truly understand that pirates were thieves, hehehe.

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  14. I always love seeing the grands...because they are Benjamin's age...and we will be having his 7th birthday party this weekend, yes one month late.

    Oh those bread sticks look wonderful.....glad everyone is better and you had such a great time...priceless pirate hat!

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  15. Aw ... my boys had a pirate hats like that ... funny how one thing you see will open up a whole box full of memories!

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  16. Vee, those bread sticks look melt-in-your-mouth delish! Such cutie pies, your grandsons. Happy Birthday to both of them. Glad everyone is feeling better. What a rough season it has been. xo

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  17. May they both live long and prosperous, joyful lives!

    Arrrrghhh! Aye, Aye, Capn! Shiver Me Timbers!

    Yo ho ho and a bottle of juice!

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  18. Oh yikes! That's a lot of long spells of illness. Glad you could finally celebrate. Smee and Captain Hook made me smile! Hope you continue to stay vertical...

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  19. Well, Captain Hook and Smee are both adorable! Happy, happy birthday to them! (And I love that they had fun with a map. It's the homeschool teacher in me, I suppose.)

    Good to know that everyone in your family is on the mend. I'll bet you've been taking your echinacea...

    Those breadsticks are making me hungry! If I try all of the bread recipes that interest me, my winter series could just go on and on...until next winter!

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  20. Such a precious time! Family times are the best --- and boys never outgrow their love of pirates! I hope everyone gets to feeling 100% soon!

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  21. Happy birthday to both pirates! :) It looks like they had a fun afternoon! I'm glad to hear everyone is feeling better--the flu this year was a bad one. Both my grandsons were quite ill with it for awhile. :(

    I'd never trade breadticks for pizza..lol..but yours look very good, Vee!

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  22. Your little Capt. Hook is a doll! A real live action figure. So glad your family is feeling better and you could finally celebrate.

    The bread sticks look wonderful, I agree, they'd be great with soup and salad. Hubby would flip...he loves his bread! :)

    XO,
    Jane

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  23. How fun! Love the geography lesson, too. Breadsticks. YUM

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  24. What a fun party. I remember my boys wanting to dress up when they were kids. They always wanted to be cowboys.:))

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  25. A fun and learning time! : ) Happy Birthday to the pirates.
    I gave my son a birthday day party when he was little with a pirate theme to it. The cake looked like a treasure chest and the invitations were on pieces of paper bag like a treasure map leading to our house. I made little treasure bags filled with chocolate coins that they had to find that I had hid. He still talks about that party now that he's 40!!!

    The bread sticks look delicious. I love bread sticks but love pizza too and couldn't give up one for the other. : )

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  26. Aaaww, best wishes to the little guys! That cheese bread looks sinful. I bet they gobbled it down.

    Sorry to hear that sickness has been floating around there. I am down for the count with the sickies too. Pbbbttt...

    Oh, BTW. I am sending folks over your way via my "interview" with Ann of Ann's Snap Edit Scrap blog. Yeah, I was talking about you behind your back!

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  27. You know, breadsticks with cheese and a salad would be a good idea at PH instead of pizza. I love their breadsticks. I'm glad the pirates had a fun afternoon with you. Cute little guys and they don't look one bit dangerous to me. BTW, I enjoyed Chapter 2 very much. :) Hugs, Pam

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  28. Cutie pies,for certain!

    Those breadsticks look delicious! We'll have to take a look and see about trying them.

    Deanna

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  29. Oh how cute your little pirates are. Love that picture of him reading the map.
    Those bread sticks look mighty tasty.
    I do hope everybody is vertical by this time (and stays that way).

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  30. Now that was a proper celebration!
    Love it....Arghhhhh.
    By the way...I'd pass on the pizza for the breadsticks every time.

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  31. The breadsticks look mouthwatering. Yum. Yum. Yum.
    The frost was beautiful too, but in a different way.
    What a fun celebration!

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  32. You have a couple of cute pirates there! Happy Birthday to them.
    Thanks for the mention of a suet cake link. I must have missed it, so now I'm off to try and find it.

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  33. I sure hope everyone feels better soon! And aren't Pirates the best? I would like to be one, too! I wonder what my name would be....hhhmmm! Hugs!

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  34. What a horrible way to start the new year. Glad they're feeling a bit better and were able to celebrate! Those breadsticks look DELICIOUS!

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  35. Better late than never! It looks like it all turned out just fine in the end...from pirate get-up to bread sticks. Happy Birthday, Jake & Sam. Where have the years gone?

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  36. Wow - hope everybody starts feeling better soon. That bread looked really good. I an not a good bread maker at all so I'm not even trying the recipe. Tempting, but I know it won't turn out for me. Bread anything on a cold day with real butter is heavenly.

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  37. Sweet Post. Nothing like having the boys over to make your day complete. As for the breadsticks, I absolutely cannot click on the recipe. I can almost smell and taste them through the computer. One of my ultimate weaknesses in food. Have a wonderful wintery day. ~ Abby

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  38. I meant to add, so sorry about all the sickness in your family.

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  39. Aw, what a neat birthday! Those breadsticks look awesome. I'm trying to lay off the bread and white stuff. SO hard - bread is my FAVE. Those boys are so cute with their pirate stuff. Wouldn't it be so fun to be able to pretend again and dress up and just 'play'???

    I'm sorry the flu bug has hit - hope everyone is well soon. Knock on wood..... we've been okay here so far. Every time I say that, I feel I might have to eat my words. I think I jinx myself! Stay warm!

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  40. This was such a fun post and I think I will be trying those breadsticks! So much fun to look back and see the boys younger and loving costume gear. Many of mine still are enjoying their super hero capes and I have 5 to make as soon as I can. Three for kids who've never had them and two for those who have outgrown theirs. Hoping to accomplish all of that this spring. 4 of the capes will be going to Nevada and it would be nice to just take them along when we go in June.

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    1. Alas, the link goes nowhere these days. I should have known that you would check in. I love that you read the old posts. ☺ I am sure that the method of shaping them and cutting them on the diagonal would work for any recipe. I must make a concerted effort to find something that works...wonder if I actually wrote this one down somewhere. Children surely enjoy dressing up and capes are perfect!

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    2. I'm going to try the new link that you shared for a breadstick recipe. Looks easy but it seems to me that 4 cups of flour should produce more than 12 breadsticks. Thanks for updating! That's something I'm trying to do on some of my older posts as I find time.

      And yes, I love your old posts. If I'm ever sidelined with the flu or something, I will read a lot more of them.

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