The Desert Museum

Sunday I managed to wake up early again. Well, early for me that is! We had wanted to get out to the Arizona-Sonora Desert Museum really early, but it didn't end up happening. We got there about 10am, before the heat of the day. This place is so great! Think of it like a zoo/museum in one.

NOTE: All of the information I have posted regarding the park I took from their map.

Our first stop was the reptile and invertebrates exhibit. Bridget and Logan loved looking at all the different snakes, but got scared when Maeve started hissing because she saw all the snakes! They thought that one of them had gotten out. It was hilarious because Bridget was hiding behind me, as if I'd protect her from the snakes! I would try... but snakes aren't really my thing. I don't think I'd run in fear, but then again I've never been in a room with a loose snake... so who really knows!

After we left that exhibit we went to the Earth Sciences Center. They had a limestone cave that we took the kids through. The cave had stalagmites, stalactites, pools with crayfish, and a separate loop trail. I have to admit, it was really very cool! The cave is full of low ceilings, tight passages, and rough footing. TJ and I took Bridget through it, she really enjoyed it!

After we left the cave we went into the mineral gallery to look at everything. That was when I remembered that my dad really wanted pictures of the grandkids, so I made sure to have us stop and take some family picture! 

Erin, Bridget, Maeve, and Logan. Apparently I didn't have the flash on for this picture, but it still came out cute! Too bad Maeve was distracted with something else lol

Erin, Bridget, Maeve, Logan, and myself. That's so nice that Bridget has her hand on top of Maeve's head for the picture! She's such a sweet big sis! LOL

TJ and I.

Next we stopped at an area outside of the center where the kids could play in the sand and dig up "fossils". They provide brushes and safety goggles for the kids. Erin brought some sifters and buckets though too, to give them more stuff to play with. This little area is a great place for the parents to take a load off while the kids let out some energy!

Maeve stole her brother's hat! She's our little hat girl :P

After the kids got their fill, we started making our way through the rest of the park. The first thing we got to was the mountain lion area.

I'm really glad that my Dad let me bring his camera on the trip out here, because without it we wouldn't have been able to get such good shots of the mountain lion!!

Next we came up on the bear area. I'm pretty sure he's a black bear, but I can't remember for sure, and the map I have for the park doesn't show his area on the map at all... :( 

I think he was a very happy bear, because he was covered in leaves! I can only imagine he was rolling around before he took his long bear nap.

TJ wanted me to add one of his super corny jokes that he said when we saw the bear. There were some parkgoers looking at him and saying how hot he must be because he was just laying there, and TJ said "Yeah, he thinks this heat is un-bear-able!" They giggled. Bravo TJ for super corny jokes! :P

After leaving the bear area, we came up on a type of Falcon. The sign for him said something about his type of falcon being the smallest out there, and how he was native to AZ.

He was a very pretty Falcon!!

Next we got to see the Mexican Wolves! Wolves are so gorgeous! I can't believe how lucky we were to not only be able to see the mountain lion and bear, but the wolves too!

Am I allowed to bring him home? Please? Although that might not be the best idea... there are only 50 left in the wild. Poor little buggers.

We found a view point that also leads into their Desert Loop Trail. This was definitley not a day for that! It was definitely warming up (thank goodness I put on sunscreen or I would have been a crispy critter!!), so we avoided the trail, but took some more pictures!

Myself and TJ.

Myself and Erin!

The view was so pretty! I love the desert :)

As we were leaving the view point we saw this cute little guy just chillin' on some rocks. He was definitely not part of any exhibit, just part of the natural desert!

He started doing lizard pushups! Gotta keep up his awesome bod to impress the ladies!

Next was my favorite area... the PRARIE DOGS!!!!!! They are the cutest little guys ever. If you don't belive me, just look at these pictures and try to tell me they aren't cute!

Mmmm yummy food! Om nom nom nom!

More om nom nom!

We had a yummy lunch at their Ironwood Terraces Restaurant. You wait in line for whatever type of food you want, then you go and pay and choose a table and enjoy! After we relaxed and let watermelon Maeve out to run around for a bit, we went to the gift shop to pick out a toy for each of the kids; that's where I found something really special.

In their children's book section I found a book called "Katie of the Sonoran Desert". It's based on a true story about a rattlesnake that was being studied. Since Katie is my name after all, I thought it was too awesome to not get for my future children. I'm not planning on having any for a while, but who knows if I'd be able to find this story when I do.

After we finished up at the gift store we headed for home. When we were in the car I looked at the temperature and it had heated up to 96 degrees F! Yeah, it had definitely warmed up while we were there LOL The thing I didn't understand though was that it was that hot when we left at about 1pm... and yet people were just getting there! Oh well, maybe they just like walking around outside in the sun melting and getting sun burnt. Not my cup of tea, but who am I to judge? :P

When we got home we relaxed a little bit before getting to dinner. We decided to make Pamko-Crusted Pork Chops with Plum Sauce. It's another recipe from one of Erin's Pampered Chef cookbooks, which you can order from her here.

Everything you need for the recipe (minus the ingredients for the homemade plum sauce because we just didn't have time to make it) is here. This recipe is designed around serving 2 people, so you'll have to adjust the ingredients to fit however many you're wanting to make it for. You'll need: 2 boneless pork loin chops, cut 3/4-1 inch thick, 1/4 tsp salt, 2 tbsp all-purpose flour, 1 egg, lightly beaten, 1/2 cup panko crumbs, 1/4 cup vegetable oil.

 The recipe wants you to use a meat tenderizer to flatten out the pork chops. It's a lot of work doing that, so we just bought the thin cut ones to start out with so we wouldn't have to spend our whole lives working on those pork chops!

 

Next add your egg to coating trays...

...and lightly beat it.

Then add your flour. Don't really worry about exactly following the measurements for the flour and panko crumbs. If you end up not having enough, just add some more!

Then you rearrange the trays because you realized that they were in the wrong order! Oh wait, that was just Erin and I. Well, for the record the correct order is supposed to be flour --> egg --> panko crumbs.

Add your oil to the skillet and heat it over medium-high until hot.

We did this meal with Jasmine rice. You can do it with normal rice if you prefer, or no rice at all! But I definitely recommend the rice :) All you need to do is follow the directions for however much rice you want to make, then add the rice and water to a microwaveable bowl and then follow the microwave directions.

Start coating your pork chops while the oil heats up in the skillet. Coat it in the flour and shake the excess off.

Then coat it in the egg.

And then finally coat the pork chop in the panko crumbs. Be sure to get a good coating on it.

As you finish coating the chops, add them to the skillet. Cook for about 4-6 minutes, or until crust is deep golden brown and pork is no longer pink in center...

...turning once.

While everything else finishes up we put them on a baking sheet and put them in the  at 350 degrees F to keep them warm and finish browning.

As I said before we weren't doing the homemade plum sauce this time around, but we did add a little something to jar of plum sauce we had. All you need for it is a jar of plum sauce, and a piece of ginger root that is about the size of your thumb (don't be afraid to break it off of a bigger piece in the grocery store if you have to).

First you need to peel the section of ginger root that you plan on grating.

Grate some of the ginger root into however much plum sauce you plan on using.

Be sure to mix it in well. And yes, that is Erin's super fab Spiderman band-aid!

Once everything is done and ready to go, pull the pork chops out of the oven and turn it off. Slice the pork chops into strips and serve over jasmine rice with a side of your choice and the plum sauce. Enjoy!!

<3 Kate

Panko-Crusted Pork w/Plum Sauce  [click to print]

Serves 2

Pork

2 boneless pork loin chops, cut 3/4-1 inch thick

1/4 tsp salt

2 tbsp all-purpose flour

1 egg, lightly beaten

1/2 cup panko crumbs

1/4 cup vegetable oil

Plum Sauce

1/4 cup plum preserves

1 tbsp rice vinegar

1 tbsp soy sauce

1 garlic clove, pressed

1/2 tsp finely grated fresh ginger root

2 tbsp thinly sliced green onions with tops

Method

For pork, flatten to 1/4-inch thickness using toothed side of a meat tenderizer; trim excess fat. Season both sides of pork with salt. Lightly dredge pork in flour, shaking off excess; dip into beaten egg and then into panko crumbs, coating generously.

Heat oil in a 10-in. skillet over medium heat until hot. Add pork; cook 4-6 minutes or until crust is deep golden brown and pork is no longer pink in center, turning once. Remove pork from skillet; drain on paper towels.

Meanwhile, for plum sauce, combine preserves, vinegar, soy sauce, garlic and ginger root in a 1.5-qt. saucepan. Whisk over medium heat until heated through. Slice pork lengthwise into 4-5 strips; serve with sauce and garnish with green onions.