Well, i’m back from vacation!   I would ask if you all missed me but from what I’ve heard foodbuzz was having some technical difficulties so I suppose there wasn’t the opportunity to even miss me! Oh well..

I had an absolutely amazing time up at Lake Geneva, WI with my family from Pennsylvania.  We only meet up about once a year, and usually at this same camp ground every time.  I had full intentions of having tons of blogging material during this trip.  Unfortunately, I somehow lost nearly all food pics I took during this trip.  My camera decided to lose most of my pictures.  I did cook breakfast, lunch and dinner every day.  The only proof I have is this picture of potatoes :

It’s pretty rock star, I know!

I had the opportunity to borrow an incredible table-top gas grill from work.  Oh the joys of working for a BBQ company.   We had amazing dishes, definitely not your crispy wieners toasted over a camp-fire type food.  This is how neurotic I was about camping . . . .

Yes, I took a traveling spice kit camping.  You never know when you need Chinese Five Spice.

My boyfriend was nice enough to stop at World Market for me to pick this up.  I had seen it before but never had a purpose for it.  Yay! I finally got to use it..and it was so useful.  I believe I used up about 8 of those little guys.  I used up the Italian Spice for making Chicago Style Beef Sammiches (complete with slow roasted peppers and onions and au jus) paired with my Pesto Pasta Salad from a previous post.  I was able to use the kosher salt and pepper for most dishes without having to lug up big shakers.  The BBQ spice was used up the day I made pulled pork and ribs.  I slow smoked them at home and wrapped them up for the evening where my entire family was up to enjoy the day with us.  I will admit, I did have a blonde moment.  I wondered to myself – “What do I do when these are empty?”  Hmm…Maybe refill them with the hundreds of spices I have at home. *Face palm*

Anyhoo, if you are traveling I definitely suggest picking up the traveling spice kit from World Market, it was very useful and made me feel fancy.  Since I failed at keeping my foodie photos safe from this trip, here’s a picture show from my trip:

Pffft…im not a proud aunt at all…..

I must say, the ice cream ball works quite well rolling at rapid speeds down hills.  (Kid not attached of course) My lovely Aunt Sandy and adorable cousin Connor.

Well, that was my trip! Sorry for the lack of food…I’ll take care of my pictures better next time!