Lucky No. 7

One of my favorite things is to sign on to Blogger and see new blogs. It just makes me happy. Mine have had the shades drawn for a little bit, but let's see what I can do to change that.

1. Summer dance. Oh, I love to watch my kids dance. The baby is taking ballet and hip hop this summer. This is her first exposure to both. She loves them. That makes me happier than you could ever know. Our hip hop teacher makes my heart go pitter pat. She is awesome and creative and she makes me smile. Ballet is not that mamby pamby stuff you think it is. You should have seen the big girl's class sweating it out today. Oh. My. Giddy. Aunt. I have to say that I was jealous. Sounds weird, I know. Just watching them made me wish I could move like that. The big girl is also taking tap. Her first class is this week and she's a little nervous. The boy is taking ballet and hip hop. His first hip hop class was today. He rocked it. I am so proud of my kids stepping out of their boxes.
2. Summer camp. My two big kids just got back from camp. They love going to camp and I love sending them! The boy had a "primitive" cabin. That meant the bathrooms and showers were in a separate building from where they were sleeping. The big girl had a cabin full of girls she knew and some new girls. Her cabin counselor was one of the cabin counselors she'd had her first year of camp. 4 years ago. What is that?!? How could that much time have passed? The boy came home with a gaga ball wound on his hand which is much better than the goose egg he came home with last year. The most important part of camp: they come home on fire for God! The passion is amazing and I pray it stays with them forever!
3. Summer reading. Yeah, that hasn't happened. We normally join 2 or 3 library programs, but summer dance and summer camp is what we've been focusing on. We're reading, just not with the library. We finished A Wrinkle in Time before the kids left for camp, so now we need a new after dinner book. Hubby and the kids are asking for the next 39 Clues book. On to the library website I go.  
4. Summer bowling. We signed up for Kids Bowl Free. If you haven't, do it. We pay for shoes and that's it. There is a group of us that plan a date and get together. It has been great for the kids and great for the mamas. If we an all make it, we do. If not, we don't. It has been a mucho, mucho good time.
5. Summer cooking. We are at the dance studio quite a bit this summer, so I've been making lunch and taking it with. And sharing. So far we've had black beans and rice, chicken salad, and chicken spaghetti. Tomorrow, I'm making a 7 layer dip (with 6 layers) and tortillas. Hubby was a sweetheart and made tortillas tonight. The big girl shredded a huge block of cheese. I made guacamole. My mouth is watering just thinking about it.
6. Summer school. Yeah, when is that going to happen? It's not. But I am planning my little heart out. I am facilitating a biology co-op starting in the fall. I am sooooo looking forward to it. I'm a freak, I know. I want to have a plan to start with and see how our dance schedule falls in to place. There may be a lot more crock potting going on. Oh, and I learned how to use the timer feature on my oven! That comes in handy, let me tell you what! The big girl has a ton of work to do this year. We did cut down her online classes from 2 to1 just to see how the work load goes. Hopefully it goes well...
7. Summer yuckiness. Lots of stress in our home this season. We were working on getting our home loan modified. It didn't work the way we wanted it to for a while, but that is finally settled and done! We breathe a small sigh until September when it becomes final. We are on probation until then. Mother's Day was so hard for me to get through. I absolutely miss my mom. There is a hole on my heart that is the size of the universe. And then there was my birthday. The last time I spoke to my mom was my birthday last year. Blech!! 9 days after my birthday, she was gone. I have just been one big bundle of nerves and bitchiness. To top it all off, I've been stress eating. I have done very well with that for the last year and a half, but throw that ugly cocktail together and I had to wash it down with something. That something turned into everything I could shove in my mouth. I've gained 10 pounds, but it feels like 50. Here's to season's past, and the end to stress eating. Please. And thank you.

Well, winner, winner, chicken dinner! I made it to 7. Who would have thunk it could happen? Me, really, because I had a list. Me and my stinkin' lists. But, if I don't write it down, it didn't happen.

Have a great day.

Daybook, 'Cause I'm Tired, but I Want to Blog

Oh, I would love to say this is a quiet day. It kind of is, but there are chores that need to be done and my house is a sty. We've spent 3 going on 4 days being lazy, lazy, lazy. It's time. But first, I blog, because I really don't want to clean my house.

• Around the house: as mentioned in the opening paragraph, it's a sty. There's 4 loads of laundry on my love seat. Stella has chewed her duckie until the stuffing has fallen out and she refuses to vacuum it up. The dishes are overflowing the sink even though I already loaded the dishwasher once. I will not mention the huge pile of curriculum I need to take pictures of and post online to sell or the way I have to dig through the pantry to find anything or the fact that I still need to clean out the recital bag. Crap. I think I just mentioned it. Well, there you go.
• I'm listening to: something I swore I would never listen to. There are tap shoes tapping in my house. The big girl will take tap this summer for summer dance. The only problem is that she'll miss the first week because of camp. She also wants to try out for company so that means she has to have tap. Which she's never done. The boy, the baby, and I are teaching her some simple, basic steps to get her ready and hopefully keep her from getting too far behind. So, because I love her dearly, I'm letting them tap in the house. Thank goodness for iPods and earphones!
• From the garden: something is eating our tomatoes and it better not be you!! Something has taken to gnawing parts of our growing tomatoes. If they would finish one, I would be OK with that. Nope, it gnaws a good chunk out and then goes to the next. We tried neem oil and a pepper spray, but it rained. And rained. And washed it all away. We haven't tried again because it's been raining every afternoon. The next few days should be good and dry so we'll try again then. The lettuce in our tower is amazing!! I go out every day and pick some for us and trim the ugly leaves for the chickens. There's not much ugly out there, but I do what I can. The chickens are loving it as much as we are!
• From the kitchen: with the 4 day affair that recital is, there was much driving through, but not much cooking. I have more than made up for that. Hubby, too. Sunday morning, hubby got up bright and early and made us pancakes. That man makes the best pancakes. Ever! Last night I made a turkey and lots of stuff to go with it. Hubby asked if it was Thanksgiving already. Homemade hamburger helper has become a staple in our home. This time I added carrots and broccoli so it was a one dish meal. It was really a couple of dishes, but that's ok, too. The frig is loaded with leftovers, so I shouldn't have to cook today.  
• I am reading: Over a Thousand Hills I Walk With You by Hanna Jansen. It is the story of a young girl from Rwanda that lost her entire family. Holy cow!! I can only read it in bits and pieces. My heart aches. Our after dinner book is A Wrinkle in Time. I tried to get the big girl and the boy to read it and they both declined. Grrrrrrr. I figured the only way I would get them to is to make it our after dinner book. We are all enjoying it. Just goes to show, I do know what I'm talking about. Most of the time.
• From the schoolroom: Not much! This is part of our summer break. I decided not to summer school. We'll be at the dance studio a couple of days a week and nobody will want to school when we get home, specially me. This summer will be the summer of PE and fine arts. Bowling and dance on our schedule and a trip or 14 to Disney. The most pressing thing I have to do right now is get the portfolios together for the kids' annual eval. I'm working on it! We did a lot of work this year. Next year will be no different. I've already put the new stuff in the school drawers and have made a list of school supplies we need for next year. Pencils are NOT on that list. I must have hundreds.

That's about it for now. I might take a nap. After the laundry gets folded and all the unexciting, but very necassary chores get done. Or I might wait to that stuff until after my nap. Yeah, you know where this is going. Sweet dreams!

Have a great day.

Daybookish...

Outside my window: It's a little gray, but the sun should be out soon. It's going to be cold tonight and the next couple of days, but hopefully, it will get back to the 80's. Soon!

Around the house: Holy smokes, will someone please get the Christmas stuff into the tubs and put away?!?!?! I have it all together, it's just getting the rest done. Meanwhile, all that stuff just sits in my kitchen, taking up space. It could sprout legs and help itself just any second now...

From the garden: I am this close to having rabbit for dinner! Stinkers ate our garden. We had taken some cabbage out of the tower and planted it. It was beautiful! It's gone. Brussel sprouts, bok choy, cabbage, broccoli and carrots are all gone. Gonna clean a rabbit it happens again! We cleaned out the tower to get it ready for "planting". We are plotting our square foots. And we are planning a fence! Grrrrrr...

From the schoolroom: We are taking the day off. I had work scheduled, but it's the boy's birthday. Hubby has to work Saturday, so we're gonna school then instead. I am trying to get the big girl to schedule her time better. Some days she can get it all done. Some days it's like pulling teeth to get anything finished. On a bright note, I have some curriculum planned for next year already. See how I am.

I am reading: Alas, Babylon. I know it should be a good book, but I haven't had the time to devote to it. I'm hoping to sit and read today and see if it gets any better. If not, it goes back and gets replaced by one of the 5 books I get to pick up from the library today. We finished Mark of Athena as our after dinner book, and are reading Shatterproof, which is a 39 Clues book. We have 3 series we're reading and they keep coming out with new books! Somewhere in there, I manage to throw in some classics and just some fun stuff.

From the kitchen: Smoothie heaven!! We are loving the Ninja! My favorite so far is kiwi, apple, spinach, cucumber, and coconut water. It is refreshing and cool and so stinking good! Hubby and I are rededicating ourselves to not going to restaurants. There are a couple of new vegetarian cooking websites that I like. I'm looking forward to trying some of the recipes. And adding meat to a couple.
 
From the dance floor: Love, love, love, the kids new class! They are all taking a spins, leaps, and jumps class. After the spins, you should see the baby! Too funny. She's working on her spotting, but doesn't have it quite down yet. Recital dances are being learned. It is going to be crazy for us this year with 2 dances for each kid. I don't know how the kids with 4 and 5 classes or more do it. Eeeekkkk!

That's about it. I'm going to enjoy the quiet a little longer and do some reading.

Have a great day.

Daybook or 7 Quick Takes, Whichever Comes First

So much stuff in my head. I'm making my list and checking it twice. Really, I'm just crossing stuff off and hoping I'm hitting the high points.

Outisde my window...the sun is starting to come up. Daylight savings always messes me up. Makes me wish I lived in Arizona or Hawaii, where they don't participate in this nonsense. I think we should always fall back. I don't care if it's noon and pitch black. I get 2 "extra" hours a year and that means more than you can imagine. I do like the sun coming up a little earlier, but the setting earlier, not so much. It should be a beautiful day, and we have a cold front coming in tomorrow evening. I like the cooler weather. I see soup in our near future.

I am listening to...the morning news. I'll be glad when the election is over. Social media is full of political posts and insults. Just makes me want to scream "shut up". Pretty soon, I'll be listening to the kids as they get up and get ready for their day. It's going to be a busy one, let me tell you what. That brings us to why...

From the schoolroom...eek! It's going to be a day. Our plans got shifted a little last week and we got behind. The big girl has a quiz and a test she has to take from last week. First she needs to finish her review for the test. The boy had a math review that he did pretty good on, but there are some corrections. The baby just keeps moving on. It must be nice to be a third grader. I hear grumbling every now and then about how easy her work is. Well, get over it. We are taking a week off for Thanksgiving and 2 for Christmas/New Years, so we need to get this stuff done. Our winter break is almost here. And if we don't get it all done, I have a big eraser I can use on the lesson plan book. I have a new lapbook we're going to do for Christmas. Pretty excited about that!

From the farm...I love our chickens, but I wish they knew how to clean their own coop. That is the one chore I really dislike. I feel much better when it's done, but it's yucky. They just keep laying eggs and laying eggs. The weather is getting cooler, but we don't have to put heat in the coop yet. We pulled sweet potatoes yesterday. It's really too cool for them right now. Something has been eating the tops and it was time. They're so little. We're going to plant potatoes. Our other potatoes are doing well. Carrots and beets are growing strong. We lost another strawberry plant, but we still have 2 or three that are doing well. Our peas are beautiful! Excited about those! And those darn bell peppers are just going and going and going. They are smaller in size, but they're still growing.

From the kitchen...we are busy planning our Thanksgiving meal. I've ordered some things from co-op for our meal. I am waiting for cranberries to go buy 1, get 1 free. I have plans for those little babies. I'm going to make cranberry sauce and a cranberry compote. The turkey will be brined again this year. I'm thiking an orange glazed turkey, but we'll see. I've ordered mushrooms to make cream of mushroom soup. For the first time ever, I'm going to make a sweet potato casserole. Hubby is getting a little tired of sweet potatoes, so I'm trying something new. And we have to have brussel sprouts, because that's the law in our home. I know Big Sis is going "blech!" right now. She's funny! The big girl wants to make an apple pie. We're sending her to my FIL's. If she's going to learn, she might as well learn from the best. Hubby got a recipe from him so we can swap some of the ingredients. Pretty excited about the meal.

Around the house...we are working on some projects. Hubby has been cleaning around the sheds trying to get rid of piles. Our room is stil clean even if my desk is a mess. We are about to hit a super busy time with rehearsals for the Christmas parade starting up soon. The parade is the beginning of December so it's all over in about 4-5 weeks. The boy won't be dancing this year. He has a birthday party for the first rehearsal and he really needs to be there. If you miss one rehearsal, you can't participate. I'm not sure what that means for the day of the parade since hubby and I both walk while the kids dance and ride the float. Maybe he can ride the float. We'll see what happens. Is it break time yet?

We are reading...I have to rerequest a couple of books. I had to turn them in before I got the chance to read them. That stinks! One of them I really wanted to read, but didn't even open it. We had to turn in our after dinner book. We got 10 chapters in, darnit! It was a one week loan because it's a new book. I requested it under all of our library cards so hopefully we'll get to finish it. I am about to read "Guilty Wives". I say that, but then there's that whole time thing. When is that going to happen? I'll get to it, I'll get to it.

I didn't make 7, but I made a few. Good thing I'm stopping, though. It's time for breakfast. Then we school, school, school. I think I may take a reading break. Or a nap.

Have a great day.

   

Sweets For the Sweet

There are 2 veggies I really like. They are probably my favorite. Brussel sprouts and sweet potatoes are my thing. They are not favorites for anyone else in my house. That's kind of depressing. Hubby grew up eating meat and potatoes. His mother is German and his dad is from Minnesota. Yeah, there isn't a lot of seasoning going on there. He has eaten more strange food since we've been married than he ever would have thought. The kids grew up on canned veggies. I am so glad that isn't what we do anymore. I don't remember the last can of veggies I opened.

You can probably tell from the title that this blog isn't about brussel sprouts. I think they're pretty sweet, but no this about that orange tuber-like veggie. Are sweet potatoes tubers, like potatoes? I don't know. Research project for someone (just not me. I could Google it, but I won't.). I like my sweet potatoes just about any way you cook them. I like them baked, roasted, french fried, candied, cake, and as biscuits. Cinnamon butter over a soft, hot sweet potato always sounds lovely to me.

There are two ways my family will usually eat them without a fuss. The first is sweet potato chocolate cake. Hubby was giving me grief because I wouldn't write down the recipe for a customer of his. Here's the deal. It is my original recipe and as it is posted on my blog, just like everything else, including but not limited to comments, it is my property, intellectual and otherwise. That means you can't take it and claim it as an original recipe. Pretty sneaky, huh? If I write it down and give it to someone, that means it is no longer my property. Forget that, Mister.

The other way is as biscuits. I have posted on the social media site that I wished I had made a sweet potato so I could make biscuits. I've been asked for this recipe before, so here you go. I have no idea where this recipe came from originally, so if you know, I would like to give credit. For now, though, here's the directions.

Sweet Potato Biscuits

1 cup of mashed sweet potato
2 cups sifted flour
1 1/2 tsp sugar
1 1/2 tsp salt
2 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 cup vegetable oil
1/2 cup milk

Sift the flour, sugar, salt, and baking powder into a bowl. Mix oil, milk, and sweet potato until well blended. Add sweet potato mix to flour mix. Use fork to mix until just combined and mixture will hold together. Turn dough out onto floured surface and knead until smooth. Roll dough to 1/4 inch thick and cut into rounds with biscuit cutter. Place biscuits on baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10-20 minutes. 

As soon as these babies come out of the oven, butter them! Oh my giddy aunt! They can be a little plain, so I would suggest adding a little cinnamon to the flour mix. Maybe 2 tsp? I don't measure, I just add, sorry. That makes them so freakin' good. If you don't want to add cinnamon to the dough, then sprinkle them when they come out of the oven after you butter. I would not suggest using whole wheat flour. They are not nearly as good. And for my gluten free friends, if you have a baking flour you prefer, please share. I am very interested in that info. Use whatever oil you use. I would be interested to try this with grape seed oil. That's my next foray into eating better. I also use honey instead of sugar, but you could use agave I'm sure. Just a little dab will do you.          

These are really good if you don't mess them up like I did tonight, darn it. For some reason I used baking soda instead of powder. DON'T do that. I didn't realize why they tasted so funny until I was listing the ingredients. That'll teach me to pay attention. Enjoy these little gems of sweetness. I have half a potato just calling my name.

Have a great day.
 

7 Is the Magic Number

I know it's really 3. I have the Schoolhouse Rock DVDs. Let's hope I make it to 7.

• Dinner was extra scrumptious tonight. Hubby made gravy! Believe it or not, I am gravy challenged. Sometimes I make good gravy, but sometimes not so much. I made a pot roast. In years past I would use a can of cream of mushroom soup and a packet of onion soup mix. Not anymore. I did use homemade chicken stock and fresh basil when I cooked the roast, though. I made mashed potatoes and they needed gravy. So hubby worked his gravy magic. Even the picky baby ate it, and she doesn't like gravy. Oh, to have a sweet potato biscuit... 
• My SIL that I get along with posted a math problem on FB. She needed help solving it. Several people tried, including me. I got 432. I got it right! But, really, the big girl and I just got done with that in her math. If I hadn't gotten it right, then shame on me. 
• We have bell peppers galore in our garden right now. We picked several the other day for stuffed peppers. We must have 7 or 8 that are almost ready to pick. Loving that! We have okra. Unfortunately, we only have 3 okra plants right now, so there will probably only be enough for one person. Or I could be nice and share with hubby. We have more started and we originally planted 6 okras. 3 died and one is very small. It still has little okras on it. Our broccoli is getting big. We are excited for that. We have brussel sprout sprouts ready for the tower. Our sweet potatoes and yukons are growing like gangbusters. Hubby wants to train the sweets to grow up then put them in a big pot, like at Epcot. We don't really have the growing room that they need, but we make a lot of things from sweet potatoes and would like to grow as many as we can. Our bok choi looks so cute. Now, if we can make it to harvest, we'll be ecstatic.
• The baby has switched jazz classes. She tried the one after her tap class and loved it! That makes me happy. I wasn't sure she'd like it since it's a bigger class. She has her most of her tap friends in her jazz class so that makes her happy. We're in town one less day so that makes my gas tank and wallet happy. Happy for small favors right now. 
• We have a couple of field trips coming up. We like field trips. We're going to the Museum of Natural History with a group. It happens to be where a dear friend moved a couple of years ago. We miss her and her family. They're coming, too! SO excited to see them. Before that we have a field trip to the zoo. They are having a bee keeping class. We aren't going to get bees, but what a cool thing. We get to see their hives and watch the bee keeper handle the bees and eat the honey! Oh, the honey! It is so nice to have field trips in the books.   
• We have finished our book Missing May. The last chapter was a little hard for me to get through. Then the last couple of pages just wore me out. The kids took it hard, too. It was a great book just in case you're interested. It wasn't what I expected, but it was still good. We are reading a 39 Clues book now. We had started this one, but had to turn it in when it was due. I backed up a couple of chapters to help refresh our memories. I picked a second book for the big girl. I am trying to get all the kids out of their reading ruts. The baby isn't that bad. She reads all kinds of stuff. The boy and the big girl tend to get stuck in one genre. She said it was funny. I'll take that. I picked Hatchet for the boy. I can almost guarantee you that he hasn't gotten past Chapter 2. That'll change tomorrow. 
• School is pretty great right now. I think the change in classes and feeling a little less stressed about it has helped us hit a groove. The big girl is still working into the afternoon, but that won't change any time soon. I have cut her back as far as I can and she knows that. She has been very good about it. The boy has decided he wants to do the science that the baby is doing. That's actually ok. The curriculum we're using is made for a wide range of grade levels. I also have a ton of stuff on all levels to supplement. I do need to look up a couple of experiments for the big girl, but I have a ton of those, too. I made myself promise that I would get better at grading the kids stuff in a more timely manner. I did until Thursday. After a busy long day, I forgot. I had gotten some of it graded earlier. Then we did Saturday school. I had the stuff graded by then and there wasn't anything they needed to work on from the previous lesson, so all was good. Saturday school got whines, but that's what happens when you don't get Friday's work done. Good thing hubby was working or that could have gotten ugly. I would have had to rebel and cancel school and set a bad example and we can't have that, now can we?               

Look, I made it! I made it! That was easier than I thought it was going to be.

Have a great day.

Cheater, Cheater, Pumpkin Eater

We have had a couple of days lately that just haven't worked out as planned. School has kind of turned into the same situation as paying off our cars. You would think we'd have more money every month since we paid them off. No, it's more like that's less we have to come up with. We quit science co-op and we no longer have bible study, so you would think we would have more time. Not so much. Crazy how that works, huh? Because we are pressed for time and have some late nights, it means crazy cooking or a lot of crock pot cooking. We all know how much I love my crock pot, but sometimes, I need a break. 

The last couple of weeks, I've made "cheater" meals. I either didn't have everything I needed to make dinner or I no longer use some of the ingredients or for some reason I just didn't have time for the recipe. The first was stuffed peppers. I did use peppers from the garden. They are so lovely. The one thing that has consistently produced are the peppers. You should see our sweet potatoes and yukon potatoes, but they aren't ready to harvest yet. My recipe for peppers calls for instant rice. I'm sorry, I'm Hawaiian. I can't use instant rice by law. It's really my own law, but it's there. I was going to use brown rice, but I still have some sticky rice from when my dad came to visit and it needs to go. I will eat it all if it doesn't. I cooked the rice because if it didn't cook completely while the peppers cooked, they would have been awful. I don't like crunchy rice and I wasn't taking a chance. I also didn't have fresh tomatoes, so, gasp, I used canned. Cool your jets, people. You know it was the good stuff. Since everything was cooked when it got put together, I didn't have to cook it as long. It also didn't seem as time intensive. I put it all together and put it in the fridge. When hubby got home with a couple of the kids, he popped them in the oven to warm up. They were scrumptious.

Mexican chicken is one of my favorite things to eat. Some of the ingredients, however, make me cringe now. I had leftover chicken that needed to be used. This was another thing I could put together and cook later. And once again, since everything was cooked already, it just needed to be heated. I used blue corn chips, They are so good. I layered chips, chicken, Rotel ( I know, don't judge.), more chips, and Provolone cheese. I sprinkled the chicken with some cumin and oregano and a little cayenne. Not too much cayenne since the Rotel more than made up for the spicy. I should have added a little chicken or veggie stock to add a little more moisture, but I didn't think about that until I was eating and it was a little dry. As I was putting it together, the big girl asked if there was enough for everyone to have thirds and fourths. Darn it, no, but next time there will be.

And, last but not least, I picked up a pie pumpkin at veggie co-op. Just one, but it makes a lot of pumpkin. I am going to process that bad boy today. I have visions of pumpkin pancakes, pumpkin cake or pie, and maybe a little pumpkin in my coffee. I'll make my own darn pumpkin spice latte. Take that! I'm really the only one that likes pumpkin flavored things. Except when I make them with fresh pumpkin. Then it gets eaten faster than you can say "Peter, Peter". It's all in the ingredients you use, I have found. My family is not big on sweet potatoes or Brussel sprouts, either, unless I cook them. I think it's because I sprinkle everything with extra love. 

That's all I got for now. I think I have time for a second cup of coffee. I wish that pumpkin was already done. Tomorrow is another day.             

Have a great day.

Eating Well

  I haven't done a recipe blog in a while. Shame on me. Really, though, I was burned out when it came to cooking, so the blog would have been short and sweet. Well, short anyway. I blogged a few weeks ago about hubby and the kids picking some recipes out of my stash. They came up with some good ones, let me tell you what. We also spent last Saturday, um, processing chickens. I have a freezer full. I roasted one Sunday then used the leftovers later in the week. I made chicken enchiladas. I haven't made those in forever. Tonight was hubby's night to cook. He made potato soup. It doesn't sound fancy, but the crispy carrots were great to just snack on. Both recipes were a hit.

I had never made my own enchilada sauce. I always relied on a can. Nothing is easier than that, but we don't do that anymore. I came across this recipe on Food.com. It was so stinking good. My biggest recommendation is buy good spices. If you go cheap, you can taste it. And after the kids were eating it, I told them there was a secret ingredient. Here's what I did:

Enchilada Sauce

3 Tbsp chili powder
3 Tbsp flour
1 tsp cocoa powder
1/2 tsp garlic salt
1 tsp oregano
3 cups water
1 8 oz. can tomato sauce

Combine all dry ingredients in a small bowl. Stirring constantly, slowly add enough water to make a thin paste. Pour into pan and add rest of water. Cook over medium heat, stirring constantly, until mixture thickens. Stir in tomato sauce. Use in you favorite recipe.

You know I changed something because I am that way. Don't combine the ingredients in a bowl. Use the pot you're going to cook in. That's one less dish, thank you. I cut the chili powder just a little because I have some sensitive palates that don't do spicy very well. I also didn't use garlic salt. I used garlic powder. If you're adding salt already, cut where you can. Or use fresh garlic. I also added more cocoa powder because chili and chocolate are so good together. I had some left over, so I froze it. It would be good as a sauce for quesadillas or tostadas or anything else you need a spicy sauce for. I'd make another batch if I had enough tortillas. Or a spoon. 

When I sat to plan the menu, I knew there was at least one night hubby was going to have to cook. That was tonight. I tried to plan something easy. He really is a good cook but he doesn't have much confidence in his skills. Crazy man. I showed him the recipe and we talked about it before we decided that was what we were going to have for dinner. We didn't realize that it was for a side dish, so I did have to stop and get something else to go with it. Oh, well, we know better for next time. This came from my Better Homes and Gardens magazine. This is one reason I love that mag.

Rosemary Potato Soup with Crispy Carrots

1 Tbsp butter
1 medium onion, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/4 tsp pepper
4 medium russet or white potatoes, peeled and cut into chunks
4 cups water
1 tsp dried rosemary, crushed
1/3 cup vegetable oil
2 medium carrots, peeled and sliced into ribbons

In 4 or 5 quart pot, melt butter. Add onion, salt, and pepper. Cook until translucent. Add potatoes, 2 cups of water, and rosemary. Bring to boil, cover, reduce heat and simmer for about 20 minutes or until potatoes are tender. Remove from heat. With a potato masher, mash potatoes until no lumps remain, or process with a wand blender. Add remaining water. Bring to boil, reduce heat, and simmer, uncovered, for 10 minutes or until thick. Stir frequently to keep potatoes from sticking to pot. While simmering, heat oil in a pan. Add carrot ribbons and cook for 1-2 minutes, or until crisp. Drain on paper towel or cooling rack. Spoon soup into bowls and top with carrots. 

Please, I am from the south. We don't fry onions in a tablespoon of butter. And that little bit of salt and pepper is for the birds. Salt those potatoes, people. You can't go back and add it. It'll be too late. That's all I have to say about that. Moving on. We used Yukon Gold potatoes because that's what we have. If you use a blender, please be very careful. Only process small batches at a time. Big batches make your blender turn into a bomb and it could explode. NOT FUN! I have a wand blender, but hubby used the regular masher. It worked wonderfully. We didn't have rosemary. Hubby called and asked what to use instead. I said oregano, but you could use parsley, basil, thyme, or any combination of those. The carrots didn't get quite as crunchy as I would like, but they were still darn good. If you want more soup, I would double or even triple the recipe depending on how much you want or how many people you're serving. You could even add cooked ham or bacon.

Good food is always present in our home. I like to eat too much to have crappy food. These were both winners. The baby and the boy didn't particularly care for the carrots in the soup. That's sort of odd for the boy since he's my carrot eater. I picked up a baguette and we had that with our soup. You could crouton it and let it sit in your soup before you eat it. Oh, yummy. I may eat hubby's leftovers he was going to take to work tomorrow. He'll never know. I'll blame it on the kids. Or the cat. Wait, we don't have a cat. Oh, never mind. It would totally be worth it.

Have a great day.
 

You Win Some, You Want to Dump Some

It has been a very busy couple of weeks for us. Finally I have a minute to sit down. Of course, Revolution is on, so I'm blogging during commercials. So far there haven't been any, so I'm doing what I can.

My dad and step mom came to visit. It was nice. They haven't been to our home since we moved here. We hadn't been to there house in about 5-6 years. It was a nice visit. One little snafu. My dad and I got into it about homeschooling and me being stubborn. Well, it takes stubborn to know stubborn is what I always say. Anyway, I'll repeat what I said to him. I don't give a damn what anyone thinks about our decision to home school. It wasn't anyone else's decision but mine and hubby's and we made the right one. We went and had ice cream and to the park. There's this little place across from the park that has a lovely dreamsicle ice cream. I could have eaten my weight in that stuff. We went and ate sushi. And the kids got spoiled at the big box store. So did I. And it was nice. It was good to see them and great to spend some time. It was a much needed break for us.

The kids and I have decided that we do not like our science curriculum. We have been using Apologia: Exploring Creation with Physical Science. I can guarantee you that I won't use anymore of their science curriculum if it's written by the same man that wrote this one. At one point today, I could have stabbed my eyes out with my pencil. Good thing I wear glasses and have a barrier between my eyes and the sharp, pointy end. Do we really need a paragraph explaining that when you have a chemical symbol with two letters, the first letter is capitalized and the second letter isn't? Do we have to repeat through 4 chapters that the chemical formula for water is H2O? The first experiment in chapter 4 is the same as the experiment in chapter 1, except using Epsom salt and not baking soda. I'm all for review, but repeating over and over is something else. And he doesn't know when to stop talking. We just need to hang in there a few more months until co-op is over. Lord, give me strength.

I didn't get much sleep last night. About 3:30, my eyes popped open and they didn't want to close until about 5. Not good. About 5 this afternoon, I couldn't take it anymore. I made it to the couch before I kind of just faded away. Hubby came home and took the boy to dance. I finally rolled off the couch about 6:30 to make dinner. I had something else on the menu, but realized yesterday I didn't have everything I needed. So I made it up. We had meatballs, zucchini and carrot ribbons sauteed in butter and garlic, and sweet potato biscuits. EVERYONE ate the biscuits. They were lovely. I'm going to make more and post the recipe. Hubby told me he doesn't like sweet potatoes (he really doesn't), but he will eat them any way I cook them. He feels the same way about Brussel sprouts.

I've been picking books for the kids. They still get to pick their own, but I pick something outside their comfort zone. The boy has read 2 of my picks and really enjoyed them. He's already asked me to pick another. He also found a new author he likes. The baby has liked my picks as well. She has been on an American Girl kick for a couple of months now. I picked some cute books for her. The big girl isn't real happy, but she's reading her book because she's a good girl. I'm not sure what I'm picking next for her, but it will be way out of her box. That's the way I roll.   

And now I'm rolling off to bed. I am wiped out and Revolution is over.

Have a great day. 

And, Big Sigh...

I am starting to feel just a tad overwhelmed. I usually stay pretty busy. When we have a day where we can sit around in pajamas, we relish it.We are about to go into overdrive, but I'm not sure I'm gonna survive.

Our curriculum choice this year was based on the fact that I got most of it for free. It's good stuff, don't get me wrong. Free is not a reason to use it if it doesn't work for my kids. What's the point, really? The issue is that it is A LOT of work. There are some days we are still working at 3 in the afternoon. What kind of junk is that? Granted, the days we did that we got started just a little later than normal, but this is not the point. Even on days we do start on time, we are still schooling into the afternoon. Now we throw dance and girls club in the mix. Oh, yeah, and book club for the kids. Good thing that's once a month. And Latin. I'm ordering that this week. What have I gotten myself into?

A big giant ball of stress, that's what I've gotten into, dang it. There is so much we have to do that isn't together. What we do have together is taking some time. I have cut back as far as I can. There are some things that just can't be cut down anymore if we're expected to actually work. I mean, I could always just sit around all day and not do anything. Yeah, that's gonna happen.

Added to that is a strict "no going out to eat" until November. Hubby and I are putting ourselves on a pretty tight budget for the next couple of months. We want to see where the money is going and how it's getting there. That means menu planning and lots of cooking. Good thing the kids need to learn how to cook. There will be a couple of nights a week that the kids and/or hubby are going to make dinner. There is just no way around it. I do have a stack of recipes that they picked out. I added the Better Homes and Gardens Recipe app to my phone. Hopefully I can get some good ideas from that. I also sat and pulled a bunch of recipes from magazines today. I needed to get rid of the magazines, but I wanted the info in it. I pulled some pretty good vegetarian recipes and some I can make vegetarian. I like those. I do have a menu for the rest of this week. Please let it work.  

My dad is coming to visit! Yea!! I'm not sure if my step mom is coming or not, but it'll be good to see her, too. That will be the only exception to our "no going out to eat" rule. Dad wants sushi. Who am I to disappoint? I have some meals planned for next week, but we'll see how it goes. This will be our last hurrah for a little while.

I need to research and gather info on a couple of field trips. I got a request for the chocolate factory again. I am so in to that, let me tell you what. And then the beach? I say, yes, and thank you. When are those supposed to happen? I told the kids I would try to schedule a day every few weeks so we can go to Disney. Doesn't that sound lovely? Why, yes it does. I'm not sure when those days will be. I think they call them Saturdays.  

This, too, shall pass. I feel a little overwhelmed because we haven't started extras. I'll have a better idea of what kind of time we have. I think that's why we haven't found a groove yet. We don't have everything we need to groove. That starts this week. So ready for dance! I'll have a better picture of our schedule when that happens.

Right now, I'm gonna take it day by day and not put so much added stress on everyone. It's that whole trickle down thing. We have one week to get through, vacation after that, then a settling in period. Oh, to settle. Taking a breath, and big sigh.

Have a great day.
 
 

Plugging Away

We have been steady at it for about 3 weeks now. We've made some additions, and some subtractions, and really we're just trying to find a groove. My dad is coming to visit in about 2 weeks, and there will be no school that week. Here's what we've got going so far.

• The baby says she's bored. OK. I can fix that. Really, poor thing doesn't have that much to do. I have a few more workbooks she could do, but I don't want her to just do busy work. At the park the other day, one of the moms had some Rod and Staff language arts. So I got it. Rod and Staff is a curriculum I have wanted to use with my kids for awhile. The only place you can get it is the Rod and Staff website. Which I forget about when it's time to order. Anyway, it's grammar. Ooooo, the most dreaded of the dreaded subjects. I like the thoroughness of the curriculum. It has a lot of extras that come with it that we may or may not need. I always read the teacher's manuals (I'm weird that way) and it said that 120 minutes should be set aside for this. I'm not gonna, but the baby won't be bored anymore. 
• The boy is having motivation issues when it comes to his guitar. I think because he doesn't have anyone to just sit and play guitar with. He hasn't picked it up in over a week. Probably closer to two or three. It breaks my heart. He enjoyed the lessons so much. My dad is supposed to be bringing his ukelele with him. I'm hoping it helps the boy. Then we can get back to it. I'm thinking about putting him in piano with his sisters. Or maybe drums. I just don't know.
• The science we are doing for co-op is very time consuming. We work on it for about an hour, then we go to co-op the next day. But between the exercises and the reading, good grief. We could spend an hour and a half on it and probably still not get everything done. We go over half of the chapter one week and some experiments, then we finish the chapter and test the next week. I'm starting to think we may have to test at home. Then there's the chapter review. I use it as a test prep. If we have time. It is wearing me out. 
• We got all the shoes we need for dance. I finally found a white shirt for the boy. Just a plain white shirt. You could not imagine how hard that has been. The big girl has her leotard and tights. The baby has been set for awhile. She couldn't find her jazz shoes. One day she had them. The next day they were gone. Crazy girl. I found them under my desk. I have no idea and neither does she. The best we can figure is that she was wearing them while she was playing on the computer.
• We desperately need a new computer. This one is old, loud, and we can't always access all the websites we need to access. It gets very frustrating. At least we can use it for history. It's better than nothing. 
• I made stuffed shells for dinner. They were lovely. Everyone agreed they should go in the keeper pile. I'll post the recipe later. I looked through the stack and realized I have a lot of cooking to do. I made veggie stock. I'm going to make turkey stock in a few days. I also need to make cream of broccoli soup and maybe cream of chicken. I need them for two casserole type dishes the kids picked. Then there's the sweet potato crescent rolls. Oh my giddy aunt, they look amazing! I cooked a chicken today and deboned it so I have chicken and stock ready for soup and dinner. And I got a butternut squash at co-op. I am the only one that likes it, and I don't always. I do like butternut squash soup. We are going to have a couple of dreary days and soup is good on dreary days. I might make the rolls with the squash soup. Can you imagine? I think I'm drooling.     

I think that's good for the run down. I need to go put my stock away now that's it's cooled some. I think I may flip through my Better Homes and Gardens. I almost feel my kitchen mojo coming back.

Have a great day.        

Daybook

I have about 8 minutes until I get the kids up and we get ready for school. I like my quiet time in the morning. I can sit with my coffee and computer(or phone more often then not these days) and just browse through some sites I like or play Angry Birds or any of my Friends games. Then they wake up and it is pedal to the floor all day it seems. Here we go, 'cause we are wasting time.

• Outside my window: it is sunny and starting to get hot. Who knew at 745 in the morning it could be so muggy? You would think I was back home in Texas. Oh, now that is a lovely dream.One day, my dream will come true. I hope we have time for a swim this afternoon before it rains. We like the rain. The garden gets watered and the pool gets full. Mercy, the humidity, though. 
• I am reading: I have a couple of books that the big girl checked out and one for me. She started one and said it was boring. It looked pretty interesting to me, so she handed it over. The other one is by an author she really likes, but she didn't realize it was an adult book. There's nothing bad in it so far, but she wanted me to read it first. Can do. We just finished our after dinner book, which was The Secret Under Platform 13 by Eva Ibbotson. There were a couple of things that were a little weird in the book and I thought for sure we were gonna have questions, but no. I don't know whether to be OK about that or terrified. There was a part where a young man sat with his grandmother as she died. That was kinda hard to get through. Now we need a new book. I'm not sure what that will be, but we'll figure it out. And, of course, we're still listening to The Hobbit. It's not my favorite book, but it's better than I thought it would be.
• From the garden: Hubby and I cleaned some things out of the tower. We lost some strawberry plants to the heat, but it leaves room for other things. Right now we want to put in kale and Brussel sprouts. Our purple cabbage has not done much and they are getting pulled this weekend. There are three and they're tiny, so we'll use them all at once. Our sweet potatoes are flourishing as are our bell peppers. I wish the peppers would get bigger and come in at the same time. They are loving the rain, so hopefully. We pulled the rest of the tomato plants, but hubby rooted them and stuck them back in the ground. The bottom half of the plants were bare and ugly, but the tops were green and growing. We cut out the middle man and hopefully we'll get Romas and lemon boys and mortgage lifters out of it. We also planted beets, red okra, green okra, chard, and bok choi. So excited for our fall/winter crop. 
• From the schoolroom: We started school yesterday! So happy to have that going again. The baby has already asked for more work. Can we get through the first week, please? Really, though, her language arts is lacking, so I may change it. Or add to it, I haven't decided which. I have a couple of weeks before I order Latin, so I have some time to decide. Day 1 went well. There was some basic orientation to do. For us, that means looking at the new curriculum, discussing how the assignments are laid out, going over our schedule, that sort of thing. This year is the big girl's first year of high school so that means keeping grades. And I got our dance schedule finally! It is quite hefty this year, but that's fine, too. I've added dates for science co-op, girls club, and dance to my phone. Now to get it all on the big calendar. 
• Around the house: Operation clean rooms is mostly complete. Everybody has a little more that needs to get done, but the baby got her room vacuumed and the boy got his swept. So really, that means they do have a floor and I'm happy about that. We need to get the big girl some shelves so we can move her desk out. Now to get the pile in the kitchen to the thrift store. We could stock their shelves for years to come. 
• From the kitchen: I'm bored!! What kind of junk is that? My goal is to go through my gray box of yummy, aka my recipe box, and a bag of recipes I've torn out of Better Homes and Gardens magazines and pull 10 recipes I haven't made before. Hubby has to do the same thing. That will give us 20 new meals. We have got to find something in all that that is a winner. I'm hoping it will help me get creative in the kitchen again. Our schedule isn't nearly as wonky as it has been in the past, but there are still a couple of late-ish nights, so I'm hitting my crock pot blogs, too. There was a lemon chicken recipe I wanted to try. You know I'll post the recipe if it's a winner. 

I have gone over my allotted 15 minutes by about 10. The kids are up and I need to get moving. I have a bowl of oatmeal with honey and butter calling my name. And I'm hungry this morning.

Have a great day. 

Daybook Style

I like the daybook when I have a lot I want to say, but don't quite know how to say it yet. At this point, I'm just glad to have a computer to use. I'll grumble about it on the other blog shortly.

• Around the House: We are trying to get to those things finished that didn't get done during school or at the beginning of our crazy summer. The kids' rooms are coming along. The baby needs help, but have you seen her room? I'm cleaning up and cleaning out piles. I have books for the kids library at church I need to drop off, clothes to the thrift store, and things I had promised to give to friends that are just sitting in the corner of the kitchen. But at least they're organized. The yard is finally taking shape as is the garden. One thing at a time.
• Outside My Window: The sun is trying to peak out. It's been a rainy summer (duh!) and we appreciate every drop. Specially the drops that filled our pool. We didn't do much of that, but God has worked overtime on it. It's nice and full now. It will be oppressively hot for a few hours then rain, glorious rain. 
• I Am Reading: Nothing right now. I did just finish the 50 Shades trilogy. It is not what you think it is. I've got a blog planned for that as well. My next book will be Heaven Is for Real. I've been wanting to read that one for awhile, and borrowed it from a friend. Maybe when I'm done working this afternoon, I'll have a few minutes to get started. And, as usual, my request list is full at the library, I just don't have any books ready to pick up yet.  
• From the Schoolroom: School starts for us in 2 weeks. Lots of work to get done this year, but I think I've got a groove planned. Can you plan a groove? Anyway, we had to borrow a computer from my FIL, since our laptop decided to go to sleep. Like permanently. It's not what I had, but we can use it for school, so there ya' go. I cannot believe this will be our 5th year homeschooling. Where did the time go?
• From the Kitchen: There is not much happening there. Between Art and Music Camp, VBS, and all our other summer activities, I haven't made a "real" trip to the grocery store or planned a menu in weeks. I do have a list and even printed my coupons. I did manage to make a really good stuffed zucchini using lentils and brown rice instead of ground beef and white rice. It was lovely. We've been eating more vegetarian meals and no one has complained. I like it when that happens. Now to start adding more raw meals. Slowly, but surely.
• I Am Thankful: For my HUBBY!!!!! He has stood beside me in good times and not so good times. He has lifted me up and treated me like a queen. As my mom's health was steadily declining, he comforted me and held me and prayed with and for me and for Mom. God hand picked this wonderful man for me and I am ever so grateful for God's discerning wisdom. 
• From the Farm: You should see our chickens! They are so big! We get between 9-10 eggs a day. I am selling eggs as quickly as they lay them it seems some days. Talk about fresh eggs. We are going to add a run to the coop, but it will probably be the fall before we get to it. The tower has been cleaned out of old plants and is ready for some new stuff. We didn't take everything out, just what was done growing. We are going to start a few things to replace it with. Hubby wants a whole square foot bed full of brussel sprouts. I love that man. He said he never liked them until I cooked them. See what I mean? The man is amazing. We are putting up a portion of privacy fence by the garden, hopefully next weekend. The garden beds have been cleaned out as well. We had to pull several plants that died while we were in Texas and either haven't come back or only partially. It's ok, they'll make great compost. We did move the sweet potatoes container and ended up pulling 5 lbs of sweet potatoes! So happy about that!
• I Am Researching: Alkaline water. I very much believe that diet and nutrition has as much, if not more, to do with your health than any other thing, including exercise. While I believe that exercising is an important component, I also believe that the food you put in your mouth trumps even that. I am looking at both sides before I decide if that's a route we want to take or not. I know that keeping your body as alkaline as possible will help prevent and discourage sickness and ailments. I even have a list of alkaline foods. I'm basing a series of meals on them and we'll see how easy it is. Lots of veggies, that's for sure. Good thing veggie co-op is this week. 

That's what I've got for now. I think that's more than plenty for now. I've been inspired by my friend and fellow blogger to do some rearranging of my closet and clothes to create new looks. Thanks, ALT. I needed another project. At least my closet will get cleaned out. Wait, I thought that's what the blog was for. Oh, different kind of closet.

Have a great day.          

Sweet Summer and Beyond

If I just wrote about our summer plans, this is what the blog would look like.


(cricket, cricket, cricket)

That is exciting, let me tell you what! I haven't made many plans at all. Well, a couple, but after June, we are foot loose and fancy free. Most of these things are either a week or only a couple of weeks. Except the last two. They will go on and on. Anyway, here we go...

• Summer dance- I would really like the kids to take summer dance classes. They could take, and I'm asking them to, a dance they may not want to devote a year to. Or take a class they may be interested in to see if it would hold their attention. They cannot take what they've been taking as a regular class. It needs to be outside their normal. And we have to have shoes they can wear. I don't want to buy new shoes for three weeks of dance. Except the big girl. She wants to take ballet. If I have to buy her shoes, she may take ballet as her regular class next year. My hip hop girl in ballet. I have a feeling she'll love it. We just got done with recital and they'll have a couple of weeks off before dance starts. But, for the older two, there's always...
• Summer camp-They will actually miss the first week of summer dance because of summer camp. This will be the boy's first year, and the big girl's third year. They are so excited. The big girl will be sharing a cabin with some friends. The boy, however, will be the only middle school boy going with our church group. The big girl went solo her first year at camp. I'm hoping the boy does well. He is his mother's son. I have had to hear how excited they are since we started talking about camp at church in March. Some days, I have to tell them if they do NOT hush their mouths about it, I may have to beat 'em. And I would.
• Summer reading- This is something we have done every year since the big girl could read. I just kept adding kids as they learned to read. The big girl and the boy will be in the teen and tween program. Good grief, how did that happen? We usually register at a couple of different libraries. We are close enough to four, but we're only registering at three. Even though they're part of the same system, they all run their programs a little differently and have different prizes. It keeps the kids on their toes. And me, too.
• Summer math- Ugh! Who wants to do math in the summer? Me!! But I'm weird that way. I have these fun math books from the makers of Highlights. Math and fun do go together! No, really, they do. I promise. This way, the kids keep some of their skills, it's not a cruddy math book, and I don't have so much to back track on when we start school again. Winner, winner, chicken dinner!
• Summer cooking- See how that tied in to the chicken dinner thing from the last one? I am clever! It is time to teach the kids to cook. The big girl has a few basics down and the boy, too. But they would starve if they only ate eggs, chicken nuggets, and hash browns or french fries. The big girl got a cookbook for Christmas several years ago. I think we may start there, replacing yucky ingredients with good ones. If they can read a recipe and know what it means, they won't starve. That makes me happy. I can throw nutrition in there as well. I smell cooking disguised as a unit study. Shhhhhh!! Don't tell.   

Those are our summer plans for now. Not much really. Just enough to keep us out of trouble. Yeah, I know. I need ALOT more than that! But that's what we're doing for now. 

Have a great day.

Sweet Cakes

This is one of the hardest Lenten seasons we've ever been through. Normally I give up soda and chocolate. That isn't as bad as it seems. There are lots of alternatives and we don't drink much soda anyway. This year, we gave up two things. We gave up sugar and going out to dinner. Aaaaahhhhhh! Fine...Do you know how many things they put sugar in that don't need it? We were, but until we gave it up, it didn't really hit home. We had to find new lunch meat, chicken nuggets, ketchup, mayonnaise, and a ton more stuff. We did stick with natural sweetners like honey. It's a good thing we like honey and it has so many health benefits. It also makes a great cake.

One thing we did miss was dessert. We aren't big dessert eaters, but when you can't have it, it sorta becomes important. I had plans to make all kinds of great things with healthy ingredients, but time just got away from me. I didn't start making sweet things until a couple of weeks ago. I made brownies. They were so good. We all went a little bug nuts crazy. The panful was gone in less than 24 hours. My kids scour the racks at the grocery store for cereal that doesn't have sugar or it's evil twin cane juice. That had us suckered for a little while, too. But last night, I made the best thing ever. I made a sweet potato chocolate cake. Oh my giddy aunt, I could have eaten the whole pan by myself. Hubby says no I wouldn't 'cause he would have eaten half. Let the games begin, my man.

My mom is the best mom ever. I mentioned that I had a free subscription to Better Homes and Gardens and how much I love that magazine. So she bought me a subscription. I get all giddy when I see it in the mailbox. I have a stack by my bed. I look at them over and over. I drool over the recipes and dream that one day my house will look that magnificent. It is time for the stack to disappear. I have been scouring them for recipes to put in my collection. This cake is one that immediately got added to the cook now stack.

It's actually a cupcake recipe. The recipe calls for chocolate kisses and we can't have those. We can have cocoa powder, though. Want to know what's in it? Cocoa. Thank you, God, for cocoa powder. So I changed the recipe. And it was awesome. Next co-op, I'm getting extra sweet potatoes just to make this cake again. I'm going to add my changes to the recipe and omit the kisses and cupcakes. It seemed like alot when I looked at the recipe, but if you organize your ingredients, it's not that bad. It is worth the effort!!

Sweet Potato Chocolate Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour
1 cup cocoa powder*
2 tsp. pumpkin pie spice
1 1/2 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp baking soda
1/4 tsp salt
1 cup unsalted butter, softened
1 1/4 cups granulated sugar
3 large eggs
1 lb. sweet potatoes, roasted, peeled, mashed
1/4 cup milk
1 tsp vanilla


Preheat oven to 350 degrees. In a medium bowl, combine flour, pumpkin pie spice, baking powder, baking soda, salt, and cocoa powder. Set aside. In a large bowl beat butter with an electric mixer on medium for 30 seconds. Add sugar and beat until light and fluffy, about 2 minutes. With mixer on low, add eggs one at a time, scraping the sides of the bowl after each. Add sweet potato, milk, and vanilla. Add flour mixture to egg mixture until combined. Fill oiled cake pan.* Bake 20-25 minutes or until the middle is springy to the touch*. Cool in pan for 10 minutes, then remove and cool on a wire rack.  *My changes.

Ok, from the top. That is alot of cocoa powder, but it's what I used. You can change that to your liking. I loved it. I also didn't have pumpkin pie spice, so I used cinnamon and ginger. I thought I had nutmeg, but no. I added about 1 tsp of each, then a little heavier on the cinnamon. I didn't use sugar. I used honey. I used a cup, but not quite 1 1/2 cups. It blended very well with the butter. Considering my butter wasn't quite soft enough when it was time to make cake, I thought it did a great job. I didn't realize until I was typing out this recipe that I only used 2 eggs. The consistency of the batter with two eggs is almost frosting like. It's very thick. When it cooks, it's almost fudgy brownie. The top stays a little soft and gets gooey on your fingers. Oh, yeah!! I roasted my sweet potatoes the day before. I cooked them at 400 degrees for about an hour, hour and a 1/2. I let them cool, then skinned 'em. I just left them in the fridge until it was time.

We absolutely loved it the way it was. It was thick and chocolatey and gooey and so good warm dunked in a cold glass of milk. I might not make it with three eggs. Or I might for a change of pace. I know I'm making it again and that's the important part.

Have a great day.

Brought to You By the Letter "A"

I always loved Sesame Street. It was kind of a bummer when my kids didn't really take to it. Then Elmo showed up. Man, am I ever glad my kids didn't take to Sesame Street. That puppet annoys me. It's the voice. But this isn't about that. This is about dinner last night.

It's no secret that hubby and I are trying to eat better. Yes, we eat organic, and blah, blah, blah, but we still have a long way to go to get where we really want to be. Anytime we try to incorporate something new and different into our diet, it gets kind of scary. Specially if it's something we don't know much about. We are exchanging our grains and pastas. We are looking into alternatives for some staples. Enter quinoa.

Quinoa (keen wa) is very flexible and can be used in place of rice and some noodles. Would I make lasagna with it? No. It's not that flexible. One of our favorite things to eat is Japanese sticky rice. Yeah, that is not the healthiest rice ever. But man is it good still warm with soy sauce. See, it doesn't get much better. We're changing that, too. One step at a time. My problem with quinoa is a texture issue. It's small, not quite like couscous but different than rice. It can get kind of mushy. Yeah, I m not a fan of mush. When it cooks, the smell reminds me of when hubby boils peanuts. I like the taste, but the issues are still issues. What to do, what to do? Hide it. Not hide it exactly, but cook it where texture isn't an issue, and hopefully the smell.

Most of my friends either are or are becoming more attuned to their health. One friend, in particular, has really made great strides. At the park one day, K had a quinoa cook book. I need to check it out from the library and see if I can come up with something. I have searched the internet and come up with some ideas. I tweaked an idea of hers to fit our family and an idea was born. K hides it with ground beef. Well, I can do that. And now that I've taken you on that journey, let's take a detour.

We don't have satellite anymore. No more Food Network or Cooking Channel for me. That doesn't mean I haven't seen some great cooking on TV. And lately, the one thing that seems to be cooking is polenta. I've made polenta before and it was good. I made it the mushy way. It's really just cooked cornmeal dressed up fancy. I wanted to try it the crispy way. After you cook it, you chill it until it's firm. Then you cut it into shapes and either bake it or fry it. Since my oven is on the fritz, I crisped it in butter and some olive oil.

Apparently while I was cooking I was a bit distracted. I inadvertently started making a double batch, but I didn't season it like a double batch. And I probably could have cooked it longer the first time. I didn't, and it was a little plain, but it was still good. The big girl helped. I do not have four hands, but I sure needed them. Polenta can be a little time and stirring intensive. My polenta recipe came from Food.com, which is one of my favorite recipe sites. I also found a sweet potato polenta that I am going to try.

I am also admitting that I freaked a little in the grocery store when I was buying cornmeal. I stood there on the baking aisle, looking at a bag of cornmeal, and I needed a moment. I started thinking about corn and how most of it is now a GMO product and I couldn't do it. I couldn't buy the regular cornmeal. I had to go over to the organic section and buy organic cornmeal. It was pricey and a big splurge, but I just couldn't buy the other with a clear conscience. I am such a freak.

Here's what I did with the quinoa. It was really good and even the baby ate it. She even ate the spinach. I never thought I'd see the day.

Quinoa and Beef

1-2 lbs of ground beef
1 cup cooked quinoa
1 small onion, cut up
1 14.5 oz. can diced tomatoes, undrained
2-3 cloves of garlic, minced
1 portabello, diced
2 cups raw baby spinach
basil, oregano, and parsley to taste
salt and pepper to taste

Brown ground beef with onion, garlic, and spices until cooked through. Drain off grease. Add beef back to pan. Add tomatoes and mushrooms. Stir to combine. Add cooked quinoa and 1/3 can of water. Stir to incorporate quinoa and water. Reseason. Let simmer 10 minutes. Add spinach and cover. Lower heat to medium to medium low. Let sit until spinach starts to wilt, about 5 minutes. Remove cover and stir. Serve over crispy polenta. 

This would be good with any ground meat, like chicken or turkey. It would probably be good with ground pork, but we have stopped eating pork. The quinoa clings to the ground beef and, texture wise, doesn't stand out too much. When I cooked my quinoa, I used veggie stock. It flavors the quinoa and cut down on the overwhelming nutty smell. That made it much better. Some of you may be freaking out that I used canned tomatoes. I used organic tomatoes from a company that has uses BPA free lining in their cans. It's ok. I know Big Sis is going to be mad I didn't add amounts to the spices, but I don't measure. I get a couple of good, healthy pinches and sprinkle that over the meat as I cook. I use a couple, stir it in, let it cook. Add some more when it's time to stir the meat. I season every time I move the food in the pan. I think this would also be good if you want to give it a southwest flavor with cumin and cayenne. It would also be good with maybe a curry flavor if you use chicken or turkey. If you don't have spinach, use kale or chard or cabbage or bok choy or whatever leafy green you have. If you have fresh tomatoes, use those. You could chop a medium size tomato or use grape or cherry tomatoes. This is so versatile, you could mix and match everything.   

I have to say that this is probably one of the best things I've made lately. It was so pretty over the polenta. I would have taken a picture, but it was after 7 and my family wasn't waiting. I'm lucky we got through the prayer before they started eating. I would have had seconds, but I quit eating those, too. Next time I might get a bigger first serving. Now, there's a good idea.

Have a great day.

What the Kale?

One of the things I like about veggie co-op is that it has forced me to try new things. Who would have thought that we would like beets? I can get stuck in a rut quicker than you can think about it. I make myself buy something new and look up recipes for it. One of the things that I have found we all like, well except the baby, is kale. It is dark green and frilly looking and I had no idea what to do with it. I have several friends that like to make kale chips. I tried. That is not for me. I'll try again because I can never leave a recipe alone. I'll change a couple of things and hopefully that will do the trick and get us off those bags of yuck on the store shelves. If not, I'll figure something out. I hope.

The first time I bought kale, I used it like I would a cabbage. I cooked my beautiful, organic kale with smoked sausage and beer. Then we piled it on white rice. Yeah, there's a learning curve. Thank goodness it's a big curve. It was really good, too. But really, I was defeating the purpose, wasn't I? Fine. I'll try something else.

My friend K had a raw foods cookbook at the park one day. I know, it's an oxymoron, but what else am I going to call it? As she was leafing through it, I was sneaking peaks at some of the recipes. I saw a couple that had potential and asked her later if she would send me a copy of a kale recipe I had seen. Thankfully, there were only two kale recipes. Good thing because that book was huge and I couldn't remember what the recipe was called. I changed it, of course. I didn't have everything the recipe called for, I don't like some of the stuff in it, and really, that's just how I am. Here's my version:

Kale Salad

1 bunch kale
1 avocado, sliced and cut into chunks
1 zucchini or yellow squash or both, shredded
basil to taste, fresh or dried

Dressing

1-2 garlic cloves, pressed or minced
1/4 cup olive oil
1/4 cup honey or to taste
lemon juice
salt and pepper to taste
1 Tbls Italian seasonings or to taste

Mix ingredients for dressing until combined. Take kale off stems. Cut in to small pieces wth kitchen shears if desired. Add kale to dressing. Massage kale for at least 5 minutes. Add avocado, zucchini and/or yellow squash, and basil. Mix and serve.

You have to massage the kale if you are eating it raw. It is very fibrous and tough if you don't. Wear gloves or the honey is a huge mess to try to lick wash off your hands. Always taste your dressing before adding the kale or anything else. If you don't like it, you won't like it on the kale. Adjust to your liking, then add kale. Kale is very salty, so easy on the salt when you make the dressing. The kale will more than make up for it. The original recipe calls for agave. Use it if you have it, but start with a measure smaller than 1/4 cup. I don't have any so I use honey. You could also add raisins or cranberries or almonds or walnuts or any combination of those.

Hubby liked it, but was a little skittish about the avocado. He isn't a big fan, but he ate it. He's good that way. My friend S had given me a similar recipe, so I just kind of combined them and it turned out great. The kids ate it which made me happy. Well, except the baby. But it has veggies in it, so really, she was done before we got started. But she did take her no thank you bite and survived. Crazy girl.

Have a great day.


   

Prepping

It is going to be so, so busy today at my house. I'm getting an early start, hubby has fired up the frig in the shed, and I'm blogging. What a way to spend a busy day!

The pumpkin has been cooked and is cooling. I was going to do a pumpkin pie and a cheesecake, but I think I'm going to do a pumpkin cheesecake instead. I can combine two things and it won't take near the time to make each one seperately. I'm halfway there already.

Next on the agenda is applesauce. I had made some on Monday, but we had a spillage accident. By accident I mean I opened the door of my overstuffed fridge, the bowl the applesauce was in fell onto the floor and went EVERYWHERE. By EVERYWHERE, I mean under the crisper doors of the fridge, under the fridge, and all over and under the dishwasher, which is across from the fridge. Let's just say I had a moment. Hubby was great and cleaned it all up. He even took out the drawers in the fridge and cleaned that mess up. So, I start again. And then it goes in the outside fridge. Where there's room.

Next is the pomegrante compote. I'm mixing pomegranate, orange juice and zest, honey, and water. I'm going to cook it down until it is super thick and sweet. We'll use that to put on top of the cheesecake. I may use it as a side dish as well since we aren't having cranberry sauce.

Then the brine. I am super excited about this part. A brine can make your turkey so, so tender and flavorful and juicy. This will be the first year I cook a brined turkey, so wish me luck. That, too, will go in the outside fridge.

The I prep the broccoli rice casserole. I have a feeling I may have room in the inside fridge for that. After getting rid of tons of stuff putting the rest of the dishes together, I better have room! The casserole will go in the oven tomorrow as the turkey rests.

Thursday all I have to do is make stuffing, stuff and cook the turkey, make sweet potato fries, mashed potatoes, warm the casserole and breads, put together the kale salad, and eat until I cannot eat anymore!!! I should buy bigger stretchy pants.

Have a great day.

Gobble, Gobble

I'm sitting down trying to get my ducks, or turkeys in this case, in a row and figure out what in the world we're having for Thanksgiving. Then I get to figure out what I have and what I need. Then I get to go to the grocery store. The closer it gets to Thursday, the worse the grocery stores get. So far, here's what I've got.

• Turkey!! Love me some turkey and a turkey coma. This year I am going to brine the turkey. I have had brined turkey before and it is super tender and juicy. This will be my first attempt at it so hopefully, all will go well. A brine is just a salt water bath for the turkey. You can brine any meat, but for a large cut, it helps to tenderize it. I bought a 20 pound turkey. It is so beautiful. And I am stuffing it. I'm pulling out the recipe that my FIL gave me that was his grandmother's. But where my FIL uses regular white bread, I like to use chiabatta. It's crusty and adds a different flavor and texture. Look at me messing with tradition. Like you expected anything less.
• I am making a healthier version of broccoli rice casserole. I'm using fresh, organic broccoli instead of frozen. I made my own cream of mushroom soup, organic of course. And Amish cheese. It isn't organic, but it'll do. Not sure how it's going to taste, but instead of white rice, I'm using organic brown rice. Won't that be interesting?
• Homemade apple sauce is going to make it's first appearance on the Turkey Day table. That's what I should be doing now, but as you can see, I found a way to distract myself. I do a combo of apples and pears. My kids don't know I use pears and we need to keep it that way. So mum's the word. They would eat it all in one day if I let them.
• Thanksgiving isn't Thanksgiving without pumpkin pie. Tomorrow, hubby will cut the pumpkins and I'll get them processed and make a couple of pies. I was actually thinking about making mini pies in a muffin pan, but we'll see what happens. I may not have time for that, but that's my goal. Bite size pumpkin pie could be dangerous. At least when I eat three pieces, I know I've eaten three pieces of pie. But when they're smaller, I may eat the equivalent of ten pieces. I may have to rethink the mini pies. Or not, depending on how tight I want my stretchy pants to be.
• Green beans. I'm not sure about those yet. I may actually use my brussel sprout recipe for these. I'm going to look at recipes when I check out the brines.
• I'm making a kale and avocado salad. We like kale and it is so good for you. I have a couple of recipes and I'm pretty sure I know which one I'm going to use.
• Instead of regular sweet potatoes, I'm making fries. I bake them in the oven and that's about the only way I can get my family to eat sweet potatoes. I think they're nuts, but what are you gonna do? I'm just glad they'll eat them because that gives me an excuse to buy them.
• My last item, probably not, is mashed potatoes. I love mashed potatoes. I try to make them as healthy as possible. I could bore you with the details, but that just sounds like bragging. I'm pretty good at that, too.
• And bread. You just cannot have a great big dinner without bread. Carb overload and a great big nap for Thanksgiving. Yea!! Instead of brown and serve rolls, we're doing cheese foccacia and chiabatta rolls. Yummy.

That's most of our menu. I'm going to try to make a cheesecake with a pomegrate compote to drizzle over the top. If I don't eat all the pomegrantes first. And maybe a chocolate pecan pie. I like different and I like delicious. I try not to follow too many trends when I plan a big meal. Must be my high dollar tastes. Hopefully I can make a great meal with our low dollar budget. Thank goodness for coupons and sales.

Have a great day.

In the Dark

If you have time to watch the video I posted, please do. It's about an hour and a half long, so get comfy. Hubby and I have been looking into health and nutrition for a couple of years now. There is so much information out there. It seems like whatever issue you are looking up, there is a pro and a con study. This is good, but wait, here's a study that says it isn't. It can be confusing, but I always look first at who funded the study. That tells you more about the study than the outcome does. One thing that cannot be denied is that fresh, organic fruits and veggies are better for you than anything that comes processed in a box.

We have eaten organic produce exclusively for the last three years. It really has made a difference in our health. While many of our friends and family have battled flu and colds and mystery illnesses, we have been blessed enough, and healthy enough, to skip that. I know that some of you are concerned thinking I am anti-doctor. Let me set the record straight here and now. I am anti-STUPID. Stupid people make me angry. Yeah. I'm angry alot. Wellness is not found in a pill created from who knows what. Nutrition is most definitely tied into how our bodies deal with stress, illness, and even stupidity. Nutrition is very much tied into healing our bodies.

Hubby and I decided that we need to focus more on those fruits and veggies and less on the junk. We have decided that at least three meals a week will be vegetarian. I remember when I was a kid, Mermie made beans and cornbread for dinner. I asked where the meat was. Here I am now taking that out of my diet as often as I can. That's just weird.

For dinner last night we had portabello burgers. I don't mean burgers with portabellos. I mean the portabello was the burger. I had seen them before, but had never cooked them. I like mushrooms, and these in particular, but I was a little nervous about trying them as a main dish. Shame on me. They were simple, easy, and super yummy. Hubby said I could make them again. Tomorrow was good for him. Yeah, no. Tomorrow is my birthday dinner and I ain't cooking it. Here's the recipe. I got it from food.com, which is one of my favorite sites. I think out of the many, many recipes I've gotten from that site, there was only one or two that didn't make the cut.

Portabello Burgers:

4 portabello caps (save the stems if you like to use for something else)
1 cucumber, sliced thinly
1 tomato, sliced thin
4 hamburger buns
3 Tbls butter
1/2 head lettuce

Gently rub mushroom caps with a damp paper towel. Do not wash. The mushrooms will absorb all the water and be tough and chewy when you cook them. Melt butter in large skillet over medium heat. Place mushrooms in pan, stem side down. Cook 5 minutes. Flip mushrooms. If your pan looks dry, add a little more butter. When the caps are tender or soft to the touch, they are ready. Set on paper towel covered plate to drain a little. Top burger with cucumber and tomato.

I already changed the recipe. It originally called for margarine. We don't use margarine. It's one step away from plastic and when heated has no redeeming health benefits at all. We use organic butter. I don't know why you would use 1/2 a head of lettuce. We just used what we needed. I didn't use the cucumbers on the burgers, because we ate them on the side. I think these would be really good wrapped in a lettuce leaf and with out the bun. We also didn't add cheese, but they didn't need any. If you didn't know they were mushrooms, you wouldn't know they weren't meat.

Read that last sentence until it makes sense. Took me a minute, but I got there. Easy, quick, and simple. That's my kind of recipe. I served it with a plate of grapes, apples, and strawberries. We also had squash from the tower and onions sauteed in organic butter and coconut oil. My plate was clean, hubby's plate was clean, and our friend T, who joined us for dinner, cleaned his plate, too. I call that a success!

Have a great day.