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Recipe For 4th Of July Weekend

I have been very negligent in my weekend recipe posting lately.  For the 4th of July weekend, however, I am making up for it by posting a very appropriate one.   This is my favorite baked bean recipe and it makes enough to feed a crowd.  Enjoy and have a safe and happy 4th!

Country Baked Beans

• 4 cans (16 oz. each) baked beans, drained
• 1 bottle (12 oz.) chili sauce
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 lb. sliced bacon, cooked and crumbled
• 2 cups packed brown sugar

In two ungreased 2 qt. baking dishes, combine all ingredients.  Stir until blended.  Bake, uncovered, at 350 degrees for 45-60 minutes or until heated through.  Yields 10 - 12 large servings.

This is my favorite baked bean recipe, but I had a neighbor that made some wonderful baked beans that included ground beef and I don't know what else.  Unfortunately I didn't get the recipe from her before she moved.  Browned ground beef can be added to the recipe above, as well.  For those who have a problem with onions, the recipe above is also good without them.

If you have a favorite recipe that would be great for a 4th of July cookout, please share in the comments section.

Enough With The Killer Sharks...

I want to see more killer catfish stories like this one.  Link via Right Wing News.

I Admit It Isn't Going To Win An Oscar

[UPDATE:  For those who have never been here before, this is my personal site where I post stuff that would potentially embarrass my fellow Polipundit bloggers.  (Here is a sampling.) Please check out my post at Polipundit today on what I think President Bush needs to say tonight in his Fort Bragg speech.]

I am with the Insta-wife and daughter on Are We There Yet?  I expected to hate the movie, but really did enjoy it --both at the theater and on DVD.  It falls into the same category of movies as Herbie Fully Loaded in that it doesn't pretend to be anything more than what it is.  It is good, clean family fun.  Anytime I can take my kids to a movie that we can all enjoy together, that is not animated, I am happy.  I am not against animated films. I loved The Incredibles, and love most of the Disney movies.  It is just nice that all family films out now are not cartoons.  I am especially looking forward to this one due out in September.

UPDATE:  Thanks to Instapundit for the link!  I didn't really say Glenn was wrong, though.  I just owned up to my questionable taste and admitted I agreed with the Insta-women on this one.  I would chalk it up to the man/woman thing if my husband hadn't enjoyed the movie more than I did.  I think what I enjoyed most was hearing the laughter of my four and eight-year-old girls when they watched it.  My taste in movies isn't completely horrible.  Although my kids liked it, I found this one torture to sit through.

Herbie The Love Bug Rides Again

I loved the new Herbie movie!  Maybe it was because I loved the old Herbie movies as a kid.  Maybe it is because I was not expecting to enjoy this movie and was pleasantly surprised.  Maybe it was the excellent music -- this is actually a soundtrack I will buy and enjoy along with my kids.  For whatever reason, I really enjoyed the movie.  It is family friendly fun.  It is also very predictable, which is probably why it got some of these reviews, but it is a Disney film to watch with your kids.  Do you really want a bunch of surprises in that kind of movie?  No one dies, Herbie wins the race, and the boy (and Herbie) gets the girl.  It is a happy, fun movie.  It doesn't pretend to be anything more.  And I loved it.

Speaking of family movies, I saw an excellent trailer for an upcoming movie, The Greatest Game Ever Played.  If it is anywhere close to being as good as the trailer, it will be a must see more than once and have to purchase the DVD movie.  I believe it is to be released in September.  The photography (or whatever you call it in movies -- cinematography?) is beautiful, the story is compelling and based on a true story, and the scenes shown in the trailer were wonderfully acted.  The boy playing the main character was absolutely adorable.  I hope I am not disappointed by this one, because my expectations based on what I have seen so far, are high.

This Is Mean, But Funny

I found this hilarious post via Mary Katharine at Townhall.com.

I Wonder How He Signed Her Book?

Really Casual Friday

I will definitely not be doing this today. (Link via Ace)

How DID that happen?

My four-year-old daughter asked me how old I am.  I told her that I'm 39.  Then she asked me how old Daddy is.  I said 37.  She said, "If you are older than Daddy, then how did he get to be the boss of the house?"  My reply: "I don't know.  That's what I was wondering, too."

Of course, he isn't REALLY the boss of the house.  The kids are.

Aruba Police Arrest Father Of Dutch Teen

Judge Paul van der Sloot has been arrested by Aruban police in the case of missing Alabama teen, Natalee Holloway. As always, check Scared Monkeys for the latest in the story.

UPDATE: I have caught some of Greta Van Susteren's excellent coverage of this story, including interviews in Aruba.  I can't help but wonder where the heck she is doing her live interviews.  Maybe it is outside of the nightclub where Natalee was last seen?  Wherever it is, it is darned distracting.  She is interviewing Natalee Holloway's grief stricken family members with extremely loud party music in the background.  One night it was "Love Shack," the next "Caribean Queen."    Can't she find somewhere else?

The Adventures Of Shark Boy and Lava Girl

I really hate to talk bad about a movie that is based on a story dreamed up by the movie writer's young son, but the movie The Adventures of Shark Boy and Lava Girl was so bad that it has to be done.  My husband and I took our two daughters, ages 4 and 8.  They loved it.  My husband usually enjoys kids' movies more than I do, although lately I have seen quite a few that I loved.  This one, though, we both hated. 

The part of the story that takes place on Planet Drool (yes, I typed Planet Drool) was too long and too strange to hold my attention.  I actually fell asleep during much of that part of the movie. 

My other big complaint was the acting by the three main kid actors.  It was not just bad, it was Brady Bunch bad acting.  It was worse than that, even.  I spent the entire movie trying to decide if the kids were just bad actors or if they were being directed to overact on purpose.  Whichever it was, it didn't work.

George Lopez had a mildly amusing role and he was fun to watch.  The girl that played his daughter in the movie was actually one of the child actors that did a good job, but her character did not have a very big role. 

If your kids insist on seeing this movie, they may well enjoy it, as mine did.  I would suggest that only one parent attend with them, though.  It is better to have only wasted the time and money of one parent than two.  Maybe I am being too harsh.  There were some moments of the movie that were cute and interesting, but just not enough of them.  If any readers have seen the movie I would love to hear your comments.

UPDATE:  Not all the family movies out there now are bad -- Madagascar is the most recent one I reviewed.  And, of course, one of my all time favorite recent family movies, The Incredibles, is available on DVD.